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Local authority and civic Hellenism: Tarcondimotus, Hierapolis-Castabala and the cult of Perasia

2011; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 61; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0066154600008802

2048-0849

Nathanael Andrade,

Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History

Abstract In the mid first century BC, a dynast named Tarcondimotus asserted his authority over parts of Smooth Cilicia. Tarcondimotus' successful accommodation of the differing expectations of Roman magistrates, local Greeks and Cilicians was connected to his patronage of the Greek polis of Hierapolis-Castabala. Through such patronage, he collaborated with municipal elites to interweave Greek and local traditions into the city's culture and cult in ways that produced innovative expressions of civic Hellenism. Likewise, while Hierapolis-Castabala was under Tarcondimotus' protection, its cult to the goddess Perasia, a local manifestation of the ancient Hittite deity Kubaba, embodied these unique cultural expressions. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Perasia retained her traditional name and her cult enjoyed distinctively local rites in which her priestesses walked upon fiery coals. Such unique qualities prevented Greeks and Romans during the centuries following Tarcondimotus' rule from associating her with any single goddess worshipped in Greece or Italy. In sum, by patronising Hierapolis-Castabala, Tarcondimotus presented himself as the defender of Greek civic life and the Hierapolitai were able to persist in their unique expressions of Greek civic performance and cult in the turbulent transitional period between Seleucid and Roman rule.