Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

 The Augustan Revolution

tohiscolleagueAntoniustorepairthedamage;butthismaytranslateman-
data,inthesenseofacommission,andhencebelessdramaticthanitatfirst
appears.ThelettercomestoEphesusbecauseithasbeenreportedtoOcta-
vianthatagoldstatueofErosdedicatedbyDivusJulius,havingbeenlooted
fromAphrodisias,hasbeendedicatedtoArtemisofEphesus.Theyarefirmly
warnedtorestoreit.Thereisnoreferencetotheinstitutionsoftherespublica.

. LetterofOctaviantoStephanusconcerningAphrodisias(andletterof
StephanustoAphrodisias)...?Aphrodisias,nos.and.

OctavianinstructssomeonecalledStephanustoprotectPlarasa-Aphrodisias,
whoseinterestshehasatheartaboveallothercitiesinAsia,intheabsenceof
Antonius(thiswillhardlyhelptodatetheletter,forAntoniuswasonlyrarely
intheprovinceofAsia).Thefirstlineaddstotheevidenceonaninterest-
ingfigurediscussedinsometypicallyilluminatingpagesbyL.Robert,^50 and
provesconclusivelyhisviewthatZoilusbelongsinthisperiodandnotinthe
secondcentury..ThedocumentsarenotableforOctavian’sattachmentto
Aphrodisias,andthecultofVenus-Aphrodite,whichhehadinheritedfrom
JuliusCaesar;hewritesthathehas‘‘taken’’forhimselfthisonecityfromall
Asia.Thedatewillagainbeabout..,forStephanusinhisletterrefers
tothehanding-overoffreemenandslavesandalsoagoldcrownafterthe
warofLabienus.

. LetterofOctaviantoAphrodisias.–(/?)..Sherk,Roman
Documents,no.A;Aphrodisias,no..

ThislettertoAphrodisiasfromaTriumvirwhosenameismissingwasearlier
supposed,asinSherk,Roman Documents,tobefromAntonius,solelybecause
Asiaformedpartof‘‘his’’territory.Butitscontents,andthecomparisonwith
no.,oughttohavemadeitclearthatitwasfromOctavian,evenbefore
thediscoveryoftheAphrodisiasdossier.Octavian,asitcertainlyis,writes
inresponsetoarequestbroughtbytheirambassador,Solon,sonofDeme-
trius(thesamemanasinno.),forcopiesofthedocumentsgrantingthem
privileges(ll.–).Thecarefuldistinctionbetweenthedifferentformsof
Romanofficialacts,decretum(?),senatusconsultum,iusiurandum,andlex,andthe
referencetothepublicarchives(intheaerarium),^51 emphasisesagaintheex-
tenttowhichtheTriumvirs,atleastformally,operatedwithintheframework

. L.Robert,‘‘Inscriptionsd’Aphrodisias,’’Ant.Class.():–.
. SeeJRS():–(chapterinRome, the Greek World, and the East,vol.);
cf.M.W.Frederiksen,‘‘TheRepublicanMunicipalLaws:ErrorsandDrafts,’’JRS():
,onpp.–.