State and Subject ments.Forinstance,intheearlydaysoftheprovincialcultinAsiaachoir
assembledtosinghymnstotheemperor;IamnotsurewhetherIwishthat
atextofsuchahymnhadsurvived.AtanyrateAugustussubsequentlylaid
downarrangementsfortheexpensesofthechoirtobesharedbythecities
oftheprovince.^41 InSyriathereisnothingtosuggestthataprovincialleague
alreadyexisted,asithadinAsia,orthattherewereanysurvivingcultsofthe
Seleucids.Indeed,untilafewyearsagotherewasnoevidenceevenofthe
existence of a provincial cult in Syria under Augustus. But now we know
therewas,andthatthefirsthighpriestwasamanpersonallyhonouredby
theemperor.Thisishowtheman,Dexandros,appearsinaninscriptionfrom
Apameainhonourofhisgreat-grandson:listingdistinguishedancestors,the
inscriptioncontinues‘‘AndaboveallDexandros,thefirstmantohavebeen
priestoftheprovince,hisgreat-grandfather[who]bythedecreeofthedei-
fied Augustus, because of his friendship and loyalty to the Roman people,
was inscribed as a friend and allyon bronze tablets on the Capitol.’’^42 The
inscriptionshowsthehonoursgiventoalocalnotableassociatedwiththe
cultoftheemperor;anditisalsoanotherexampleoftheusebyAugustusof
theapparatusoftheRomanres publica.
Theprovincialcultwasnot,eveninAsia,anaturaldevelopmentfroma
longtradition,butanorganizednovelty,soonexported,aswenowknow,
to Syria, and also, as has always been known, to Gaul. At the level of the
cityalso, the dossierof ..from Asia can simplyassume that therewill
beKaisareiaatleastintheassize-centres,and‘‘Caesarean’’gamesapparently
everywhere;citycultsofAugustusareinfactattestedinthirty-fourplaces
inAsia,afigureneveragainapproachedinthecaseofanylateremperor.^43
OnceagainthereignofAugustuscanbeseennotonlyasabeginning,butas
aphaseinitself.Equallydistinctiveisthescatterofcultsforothermembers
oftheimperialfamily,matchingtheirappearanceonbothRomanandcivic
coins(seetexttonn.–).Forexample,aninscriptionpublishedin
revealedapriestofAugustus,Gaius,andAgrippaonSamos,^44 andoneof
apriestofAgrippaPostumusandHermesatIasosinCaria(AE,).
But we do not need these passing allusions to perceive the importance
of the imperial family in the new political system.We can go back to the
. F.K.Dörner,Der Erlass des Statthalters von Asia Paullus Fabius Persicus(),col.viii,
lines–;I. K. EphesosIa,nos.–;d,lines–.
. J.P.Rey-Coquais,‘‘Inscriptionsgrecquesd’Apamée,’’Ann. Arch. Arab. Syr.():
,no.;AE,;seeBE,.
. Price(n.,),chap..
. P.Herrmann,‘‘DieInschriftenrömischerZeitausdemHeraionvonSamos,’’Ath.
Mitt.(,app.):no.,partB.