The Greek City in the Roman Period cal institutions of the city, a central place will now be claimed by the two vast
inscriptions from Claros, published by Louis Robert (posthumously) and by
Jeanne Robert.^14 These two inscriptions, neither complete, of the last third of
the second century, still come to lines (that for Polemaios) and lines
(for Menippos) and provide by far the most complex and detailed picture so
far available of Greek cities in the period of the transfer of power from the
Attalids of Pergamum to Rome. Out of many details, only one need be noted
here: that by gaining the friendship of leading Romans Polemaios was able
to benefit his fellow citizens (of Colophon) by creating for his native city
relations of patronage (patrōneiai, in the plural) with the ‘‘best men.’’
As regards the first century.., we should not forget the small Greek
cities which lined the coast of Illyricum, for instance, Issa and its colony Tra-
gurion, whose embassy to Julius Caesar at Aquileia is recorded in an inscrip-
tion.^15 Or, on the opposite shore of the Mediterranean, the Greek cities of
Cyrenaica, which were abandoned to fend for themselves for several decades
after Ptolemy Apion had left his kingdom to the Roman people in ..
This interval of involuntary independence is now brilliantly illuminated by
an inscription from Berenice: after the death of the king the city was first
besieged bykakourgoi(wrongdoers), and then, being unwalled, was twice
sacked by pirate fleets. Very typically, the inscription is in fact in honour of
a local benefactor, Apollodorus, who apart from his military role seems also
to have gone on an embassy to the Roman Senate.^16
A very similar situation, of acute political and military danger, necessi-
tating political and military action to seek protection, or at least benevo-
lence, from wherever it could be found, is reflected in the famous inscription
from Dionysopolis on the Black Sea honouring a citizen named Acornion; he
had performed ceremonials during the stay there over the winter (probably
/..) of C. Antonius, had been on an embassy to Burebista, ‘‘first and
greatest of the kings in Thrace,’’ in the interests of his city, and had also been
sent by Burebista as ambassador to Pompeius at Heraklea Lynkestis. There
. L. Robert and J. Robert,ClarosI:décrets hellénistiques(). The passage quoted is
from the decree for Polemaios, col. II, lines –. See also J. Touloumakos, ‘‘Zum römi-
schen Gemeindepatronat im griechischen Osten,’’Hermes (): , and esp. the im-
portant paper by J.-L. Ferrary, ‘‘Le statut des cités libres dans l’Empire Romain à la lumière
des inscriptions de Claros,’’CRAI(): .
. See R. K. Sherk,Roman Documents from the Greek East: Senatus Consulta and Epistulae
to the Age of Augustus(), no. .
. EditedbyJ.M.ReynoldsinJ.A.Lloyd,ExcavationsatSidiKhrebish,Benghazi(Berenice)
I (supp. toLibya Antiqua, ), , no. . See A. Laronde,Cyrène et la Libye hellénistique
(), – (photograph, text, translation, and discussion).