College of Aesculapius and Hygia

Last updated

The College of Aesculapius and Hygia was an association (collegium) founded in the mid-2nd century AD by a wealthy Roman woman named Salvia Marcellina, in honor of her dead husband [1] and the procurator for whom he had worked. [2] It is known from a lengthy inscription, [3] dated March 11, 153 AD, that preserves the statute (lex) under which the college was constituted. [4] The college was located on the Appian Way on the outskirts of Rome, [5] between the first and second milestones near the oldest Temple of Mars at Rome. [6] In addition to its commemorative purpose, the college served as a burial society and dining club for its members. [7]

Contents

Purpose

Head of Aesculapius from the Palatine Hill (latter 2nd century AD) Asklepios Palatino Inv1115.jpg
Head of Aesculapius from the Palatine Hill (latter 2nd century AD)

The college was founded by Salvia Marcellina, the mater (female chief patron) of the college, to preserve the memory of her husband, Marcus Ulpius Capito, and the procurator Flavius Apollonius, for whom he had worked. Capito is commemorated in the inscription as maritus optimus piissimus, "best and most devoted husband". Apollonius had overseen the art galleries (pinacothecae) at the imperial palace. [8]

According to the inscription, the building in which the college was housed took the form of a shrine (aedicula) and pergola, with an attached covered solarium. It had a marble statue of Aesculapius, a god of healing. The cult of Aesculapius and Hygia had come to Rome in 293 BC. Although Hygia had been officially recognized as the counterpart of Roman Salus ("Health, Wellbeing, Salvation, Security") in 180 BC, she was rarely cultivated apart from Aesculapius, and her devotees at Rome were typically Greek. [9]

The collegium also had an obligation to take part in Imperial cult by observing the birthday of the reigning emperor, Antoninus Pius. The name of Flavius Apollonius, the procurator who was the joint honoree of the college, indicates that he was a freedman of a Flavian emperor, most likely Domitian. Commemoration of the emperor's birthday was the only observance required of the college that specifies a site other than its headquarters: in templo Divorum in aede divi Titi, "in the shrine (aedes) of the divinized Titus within the precinct (templum) of the Divine [Emperors] (Divi)". This cultic link between Aesculapius–Hygia and the Temple of Vespasian and Titus is one of several indications that the divinized Flavii were also regarded as healers. [10]

Funding

The college was established by an endowment of 50,000 sesterces (HS) from Salvia Marcellina, [11] who also provided the building for its meetings. [12] An additional grant of 10,000 HS for memorial dinners was made by Publius Aelius Zeno, the brother of Salvia's deceased husband and a pater (male patron) of the college. [13] The charter stipulated that the college would operate as a lender, and fund its expenses through interest charges on amounts borrowed from its capital endowment. [14]

Membership

The college was limited to sixty members, and admitted new members only to replace those who had died. The membership fee was half the funeraticium, a publicly funded burial allowance of 250 HS instituted under the emperor Nerva (reigned 96–98 AD) for the Roman plebs . [15] A member could bequeath his place to his son or brother, or to one of his freedmen (liberti). [16]

At the time of its founding, the president of the college (quinquennalis) was Gaius Ofilius Hermes. Some members were immunes, exempt from fees. Others were curatores, "caretakers". The body of regular members was the populus, "the people". [17]

Meetings and benefits

Like other collegia, the College of Aesculapius and Hygia would have a monthly business meeting (conventus) at which a dinner was served. [18]

The college celebrated the birthday of Antoninus Pius on September 19 Antoninus Pius (Museo del Prado) 01.jpg
The college celebrated the birthday of Antoninus Pius on September 19

Two types of distributions for members were funded: sportulae, "handouts" in the form of cash gifts; and four occasions when sportulae were accompanied by bread and wine for a meal: [19] the "love feast" on February 22 when Roman families commemorated their beloved dead; a "Violet Day" on March 22; a "Rose Day" on May 11; and the founding of the college on November 8. The full cycle of events was: [20]

The Dies Violaris and Rosalis are flower festivals during the blooming season of violets and roses when tombs were adorned with garlands. [21]

Sportulae were distributed on a benefits scale based on the member's place in the college hierarchy, and the amounts also varied by occasion. For the emperor's birthday, the patrons (mater and pater) and the quinquennalis each received 12 HS, the immunes and curatores 8 HS, and the regular members 4 HS. [22]

Significance

The lex or statute by which the college was constituted was approved on March 11, 153 AD. [23] The inscription that preserves it (Lex Collegi Aesculapi et Hygiae) is one of the most important pieces of evidence in understanding the various collegia organized among Rome's lower classes, most of which were focused on a trade or a deity. [24] Voluntary associations and confraternities were an important part of social life in the Roman Empire, particularly for those whose personal resources were limited. In addition to burial societies and drinking and dining clubs, inscriptions and other documents attest to the regulated existence of numerous professional and trade guilds, performing arts troupes, veterans' groups, and religious sodalities (sodalitates). [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

Roman Empire Period of Imperial Rome following the Roman Republic (27 BC–AD 1453)

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, ruled by emperors. From the accession of Caesar Augustus as the first Roman emperor to the military anarchy of the 3rd century, it was a principate with Italy as the metropole of its provinces and the city of Rome as its sole capital. Later, the Empire was ruled by multiple emperors who shared control over the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until AD 476 when the imperial insignia were sent to Constantinople following the capture of the Western capital of Ravenna by the Germanic barbarians under Odoacer and the subsequent deposition of Romulus Augustulus. The adoption of Christianity as the state church of the Roman Empire in AD 380 and the fall of the Western Roman Empire to Germanic kings conventionally marks the end of classical antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Because of these events, along with the gradual Hellenization of the Eastern Roman Empire, historians distinguish the medieval Roman Empire that remained in the Eastern provinces as the Byzantine Empire.

Tacitus on Jesus References by Roman historian and senator Tacitus to Christ

The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Jesus, his execution by Pontius Pilate, and the existence of early Christians in Rome in his final work, Annals, book 15, chapter 44.

Sextus Varius Marcellus was a Roman aristocrat and politician from the province of Syria.

Apollonius of Tyana 1st century AD Greek Neopythagorean philosopher

Apollonius of Tyana, sometimes also called Apollonios of Tyana, was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Anatolia. He is the subject of Life of Apollonius of Tyana, written by Philostratus over a century after his death.

Ancient Roman cuisine Food preparation styles of the civilization

The cuisine of ancient Rome changed greatly over the duration of the civilization's existence. Dietary habits were affected by the political changes from kingdom to republic to empire, and the empire's enormous expansion, which exposed Romans to many new provincial culinary habits and cooking methods.

Caristia

In ancient Rome, the Caristia, also known as the Cara Cognatio, was an official but privately observed holiday on February 22, that celebrated love of family with banqueting and gifts. Families gathered to dine together and offer food and incense to the Lares as their household gods. It was a day of reconciliation when disagreements were to be set aside, but the poet Ovid observes satirically that this could be achieved only by excluding family members who caused trouble.

Roman funerary practices Aspect of history

Roman funerary practices include the Ancient Romans' religious rituals concerning funerals, cremations, and burials. They were part of time-hallowed tradition, the unwritten code from which Romans derived their social norms. Elite funeral rites, especially processions and public eulogies, gave the family opportunity to publicly celebrate the life and deeds of the deceased, their ancestors, and the family's standing in the community. Sometimes the political elite gave costly public feasts, games and popular entertainments after family funerals, to honour the departed and to maintain their own public profile and reputation for generosity. The Roman gladiator games began as funeral gifts for the deceased in high status families.

Lucius Flavius Silva 1st century AD Roman senator, commander and politician

Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus was a late-1st-century Roman general, governor of the province of Iudaea and consul. Silva was the commander of the army, composed mainly of the Legio X Fretensis, in 72 AD which laid siege to the near-impregnable mountain fortress of Masada, occupied by a group of Jewish rebels called the Sicarii. The siege ended in 73 AD with Silva's forces breaching the defenses of the Masada plateau and the mass suicide of the Sicarii, who preferred death to defeat or capture. Silva's actions are documented by 1st-century Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, the remains of a 1st-century Roman victory arch identified in Jerusalem in 2005, and the extensive earthworks at the Masada site, a monument to the high-water mark of Roman siege warfare.

A burial society is a type of benefit/friendly society. These groups historically existed in England and elsewhere, and were constituted for the purpose of providing by voluntary subscriptions for the funeral expenses of the husband, wife or child of a member, or of the widow of a deceased member. Some also allowed for insuring money to be paid on the death of a member.

Collegium (ancient Rome)

A collegium, or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the Lex Julia during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic, and their reaffirmation during the reign of Caesar Augustus as Princeps senatus and Imperator of the Roman Army, collegia required the approval of the Roman Senate or the Emperor in order to be authorized as legal bodies. Such associations could be civil or religious. The word collegium literally means "society", from collega (‘colleague’). They functioned as social clubs or religious collectives whose members worked towards their shared interests. These shared interests encompassed a wide range of the various aspects of urban life; including political interests, cult practices, professions, trade, and civic services. The social connections fostered by collegia contributed to their influence on politics and the economy; acting as lobbying groups and representative groups for traders and merchants. Some collegia were linked to participating in political violence and social unrest, which resulted in the suppression of social associations by the Roman government.

Procurator was a title of certain officials in ancient Rome who were in charge of the financial affairs of a province, or imperial governor of a minor province.

Gaius Salvius Liberalis Nonius Bassus was a Roman senator and general, who held civil office in Britain and was a member of the Arval Brethren. He was suffect consul in the last nundinium of 85, with Cornelius Orestes as his colleague.

Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa

Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa was the capital and the largest city of Roman Dacia, later named Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa after the former Dacian capital, located some 40 km away. Built on the ground of a camp of the Fifth Macedonian Legion, the city was settled by veterans of the Dacian wars. From the very beginning it received the title of colonia and the status of ius Italicum. With an area of 30 hectares, a population between 20,000 and 25,000, and strong fortifications, Ulpia Traiana was the political, administrative and religious centre of Roman Dacia in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

Diana Veteranorum

Diana Veteranorum, today a village called Ain Zana, was an ancient Roman-Berber city in Algeria. It was located around 40 km northwest of Lambaesis and 85 km southwest of Cirta.

Marcellina was an early Christian Carpocratian religious leader in the mid-second century AD known primarily from the writings of Irenaeus and Origen. She originated in Alexandria, but moved to Rome during the episcopate of Anicetus. She attracted large numbers of followers and founded the Carpocratian sect of Marcellians. Like other Carpocratians, Marcellina and her followers believed in antinomianism, also known as libertinism, the idea that obedience to laws and regulations is unnecessary in order to attain salvation. They believed that Jesus was only a man, but saw him as a model to be emulated, albeit one which a believer was capable of surpassing. Marcellina's community appears to have sought to literally implement the foundational Carpocratian teaching of social egalitarianism. The Marcellians in particular are reported to have branded their disciples on the insides of their right earlobes and venerated images of Jesus as well as Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle. Although the Marcellians identified themselves as "gnostics", many modern scholars do not classify them as members of the sect of Gnosticism.

Food and dining in the Roman Empire

Food and dining in the Empire reflect both the variety of food-stuffs available through the expanded trade networks of the Roman Empire and the traditions of conviviality from ancient Rome's earliest times, inherited in part from the Greeks and Etruscans. In contrast to the Greek symposium, which was primarily a drinking party, the equivalent social institution of the Roman convivium was focused on food. Banqueting played a major role in Rome's communal religion. Maintaining the food supply to the city of Rome had become a major political issue in the late Republic, and continued to be one of the main ways the emperor expressed his relationship to the Roman people and established his role as a benefactor. Roman food vendors and farmers' markets sold meats, fish, cheeses, produce, olive oil and spices; and pubs, bars, inns and food stalls sold prepared food.

Rosalia (festival) Festival of roses in the Roman Empire

In the Roman Empire, Rosalia or Rosaria was a festival of roses celebrated on various dates, primarily in May, but scattered through mid-July. The observance is sometimes called a rosatio ("rose-adornment") or the dies rosationis, "day of rose-adornment," and could be celebrated also with violets (violatio, an adorning with violets, also dies violae or dies violationis, "day of the violet[-adornment]"). As a commemoration of the dead, the rosatio developed from the custom of placing flowers at burial sites. It was among the extensive private religious practices by means of which the Romans cared for their dead, reflecting the value placed on tradition (mos maiorum, "the way of the ancestors"), family lineage, and memorials ranging from simple inscriptions to grand public works. Several dates on the Roman calendar were set aside as public holidays or memorial days devoted to the dead.

Roman funerary art Historical Roman art genre

Roman funerary art changed throughout the course of the Roman Republic and the Empire and comprised many different forms. There were two main burial practices used by the Romans throughout history, one being cremation, another inhumation. The vessels used for these practices include sarcophagi, ash chests, urns, and altars. In addition to these, mausoleums, stelae, and other monuments were also used to commemorate the dead. The method by which Romans were memorialized was determined by social class, religion, and other factors. While monuments to the dead were constructed within Roman cities, the remains themselves were interred outside the cities.

The gens Pantuleia, occasionally written Patuleia, was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned during the first century of the Empire. According to Tacitus, at least some of the Pantuleii were of equestrian rank, but few of them achieved any of the higher offices of the Roman state.

Domitius Zenofilus was a Roman senator who had an illustrious political career under the Emperor Constantine. He governed many provinces and held the consulate in 333.

References

  1. ↑ John K. Chow, Patronage and Power: Studies on Social Networks in Corinth (Sheffield Academic Press, 1992), p. 66.
  2. ↑ John F. Donahue, The Roman Community at Table During the Principate (University of Michigan Press, 2004), p. 85.
  3. ↑ Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum 6.10214 = Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 7213.
  4. ↑ Donahue, The Roman Community at Table, pp. 85–86.
  5. ↑ Richard Duncan-Jones, The Economy of the Roman Empire: Quantitative Studies (Cambridge University Press, 1982, 2nd ed.), p. 131.
  6. ↑ Roger D. Woodard, Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman Cult (University of Illinois Press, 2006), p. 138.
  7. ↑ Richard S. Ascough, Paul's Macedonian Associations (Mohr Siebeck, 2003), p. 45.
  8. ↑ Donahue, The Roman Community at Table, p. 85.
  9. ↑ Harold Lucius Axtell, The Deification of Abstract Ideas in Roman Literature and Inscriptions (University of Chicago Press, 1907), pp. 14–15.
  10. ↑ Robert E.A. Palmer, "Paean and Paeanists of Serapis and the Flavian Emperors," in Nomodeiktes: Greek Studies in Honor of Martin Ostwald (University of Michigan Press, 1993), pp. 360–361.
  11. ↑ Duncan-Jones, The Economy of the Roman Empire, p. 364.
  12. ↑ Donahue, The Roman Community at Table, pp. 85–86.
  13. ↑ Donahue, The Roman Community at Table, p. 85.
  14. ↑ Peter Temin, The Roman Market Economy (Princeton University Press, 2013), p. 175.
  15. ↑ Duncan-Jones, The Economy of the Roman Empire, p. 131.
  16. ↑ John Bodel, "From Columbaria to Catacombs: Collective Burial in Pagan and Christian Rome," in Commemorating the Dead: Texts and Artifacts in Context (Walter de Gruyter, 2008), p. 187.
  17. ↑ Donahue, The Roman Community at Table, p. 87.
  18. ↑ John F. Donahue, "Toward a Typology of Roman Public Feasting," in Roman Dining (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), p. 105.
  19. ↑ Duncan-Jones, The Economy of the Roman Empire, p. 364.
  20. ↑ Donahue, "Toward a Typology of Roman Public Feasting," p. 105.
  21. ↑ C.R. Phillips, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth (Oxford University Press, 1996, 3rd edition), p. 1335.
  22. ↑ Donahue, The Roman Community at Table, pp. 86–89.
  23. ↑ Donahue, The Roman Community at Table, p. 85.
  24. ↑ Donahue, "Toward a Typology of Roman Public Feasting," pp. 104–105.
  25. ↑ Michael Peachin, introduction to The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World (Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 17, 20; Fergus Millar, "Empire and City, Augustus to Julian: Obligations, Excuses and Status," Journal of Roman Studies 73 (1983), pp. 81–82.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.