Plancia Magna
Plancia Magna ( ancient Greek Πλανκία Μαγνά ; * probably in the 70s of the 1st century) was an ancient Roman dignitary at the beginning of the 2nd century in the Pamphylian city of Perge .
Life
Plancia Magna came from one of the most important Perges families, the Plancii , who probably immigrated as merchants from Italy to Pamphylia in the course of Roman expansion . In the last few decades, evidence of the family has been found repeatedly during excavations in Perge; thus the Plancii are one of the most popularly examined subject areas for the region.
Her father Marcus Plancius Varus made a brilliant career in Rome from the mid-1960s, which brought him to the governorship of the province of Bithynia et Pontus . This career was based on substantial property spread across Asia Minor, which mainly produced grain and wool. In his career, however, he never only had Rome and the empire in mind, but also his homeland, to which he, as a benefactor, contributed a wide variety of, especially infrastructural, achievements. Plancia's mother was Julia , a daughter of the Armenian king Tigranes VI. Gaius Julius Alexander was thus an uncle. Julia was one of the last known descendants of the Herodian dynasty .
In addition to the daughter Plancia Magna, Marcus Plancius Varus had the son Gaius Plancius Varus , who also made a career in Rome, albeit not as well as with his father. Under Hadrian he probably became a suffect consul .
Since Marcus Plancius Varus apparently only had two children on whom he could rely on family policy, the daughter was also involved in representative activities. In addition, in Asia Minor, unlike in many other regions of the empire, urban careers beyond priesthood were not normal, but possible. While the son Gaius was primarily active for the family at the imperial level and, like the father, must have traveled a lot due to the widely dispersed family property, it was up to Plancia, at the center of the family, in Perge, to represent and represent the family in local politics. From the sources it is not clear to what extent she had a free hand in this or whether she only held the family representation. It is, however, the case that the inscriptions in which most of the information is preserved do not suggest that Plancia was dependent on the decisions of her father, brother or husband. If so, it is not clear on what legal basis that was done. Probably only after her urban career did she marry another prominent Pergae, the Suffect Consul of the year 100, Gaius Iulius Cornutus Tertullus , who held this office with his friend Pliny the Younger . Together they had the son Gaius Julius Plancius Varus Cornutus .
Plancia held the eponymous ( eponymous ) and thus highest annual office of the city of Perge at least three times . Thus Plancia went down in the history of the city, because at least three contracts, inscriptions and also retrospective reflections in the city were to be named after her in the dates (for example in the form of the year as Plancia Magna, daughter of Marcus Plancius Varus, for the second Times held the highest office ). In addition, she was the priestess of Artemis and Cybele, who were particularly venerated in the region . In addition, there was the priesthood for the imperial cult . As the client, she had the old Hellenistic city gate , a well-fortified building, transformed into a Roman ceremonial gate . The gate was decorated with statues of the mythical founders and heroes of Perge, the imperial family from Nerva to Trajan and the Plancii.
Plancia was honored for her commitment by her hometown. She was given the title of "Daughter of the City". In several inscriptions she is referred to as the daughter of M. Plancius Varus and the city . The statue of Plancia from the city gate built by her in the form of the " Great Herculan " was found during excavations and is now in the Archaeological Museum of Antalya . It shows her as a young, modestly dressed woman. The headdress, similar to a diadem, is decorated with busts of emperors, which marks Plancia as a priestess of the imperial cult.
At the end of the second and at the beginning of the third century, several women from the Plancii Magniani branch came into influential positions in Selge , in particular Publia Plancia Aurelia Magniana Metoxaris and her mother Aurelia Xenoniana Maidate . They were probably descendants of Plancia Magna.
literature
- Shelagh Jameson: Cornutus Tertullus and the Plancii of Perge. In: The Journal of Roman Studies 55 (1965), pp. 54-58. [1]
- Stephen Mitchell: The Plancii in Asia Minor. In: The Journal of Roman Studies 68 (1974), pp. 27-39. [2]
- Christopher P. Jones : The Plancii of Perge and Diana Planciana. In: Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 80 (1976), pp. 231-237.
- Mary Taliaferro Boatwright: Plancia Magna of Perge. Women's Roles and Status in Roman Asia Minor. In: Sarah B. Pomeroy (Editor): Women's History and Ancient History. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill 1991, ISBN 9783525593608 , pp. 249-272.
- Johannes Nollé : Women like Omphale? Thoughts on “political” offices of women in Imperial Asia Minor. In: Maria H. Dettenhofer (editor): A pure man thing? Women in male domains of the ancient world. , dtv, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-423-04689-9 , pp. 229-259, especially 247-252.
- Barbara F. Caceres-Cerda: The Exceptional Case of Plancia Magna. (Re) analyzing the role of a Roman Benefactress. CUNY Academic Works, New York City 2018. Open Access
Web links
- Plancia Magna, Aurelia Paulina, and Regilla: Civic Donors (English; with picture of the statue of Plancia Magna)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Plancia Magna |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman dignitary |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1st century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd century |