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Last Updated on 18 Jun 2019

Author: Stella Skaltsa

CAPInv. 1010: phratra Philokesareon

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Western Asia Minor
ii. Region Troas
iii. Site Ilion? (in the surroundings of Hissarlik)

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) φράτρα Φιλοκεσαρέων (Pleket 1958 no. 4 ll. 4-6)
ii. Full name (transliterated) phratra Philokesareon

III. DATE

i. Date(s) f. i AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii. Name elements
Cultic:Philokaisareis: those worshipping the Roman Emperor.
The adjective philokaisar is used as an honorific epithet for individuals, highlighting their friendship and loyalty towards the emperor. This was mostly expressed through the institution of the imperial cult (Pleket 1958: 6; Veligianni 2001: 69)
Pleket (1958) considers the plural singular to be Philokaisareioi; see however Robert (1960: 221 n. 4).
iii. Descriptive terms φράτρα, phratra
Note l. 4

According to Seyfarth (1955: 28-33) the term phratra is probably a Hellenistic creation, notwithstanding that it is interchangeably used with the term phratria. Although in classical times the term stands for civic subdivisions, in Roman Asia Minor it is used to denote private associations, mostly of groups centered around a leader (ἡ περὶ τὸν δεῖνα φράτρα) with cult interests (see also Pleket 1958: 5).

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) Pleket 1958: no. 4 (i AD)
Note Pfuhl-Möbius no. 2175 (for the stele)
Online Resources IMT Gran/Pariane 1102
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Funerary inscription in Greek for Zosimos. The funerary stele was set up by the parents, Eukarpos and Synpherousa, and two phratrai, the phratra Pegason and the phratra Philokesareon.
i.c. Physical format(s) Marble stele with a recessed panel depicting the deceased in relief- bust of a boy. The panel is surmounted by a tympanon (pediment) with akroteria in the corners and a rosette in the centre. Two laurel wreaths are engraved under and besides the text of the inscription.
H. 82 x W. 46 x Th. 11 cm.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found in the surroundings of Hissarlik.

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

i. Treasury/Funds The two wreaths carved on the stele may stand for crowns bestowed on the deceased by the two phratrai. This is positive evidence that the phratra had her own financial means.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

iii. Age Children
Adults
Note Pleket (1958: 6) considers unlikely that Zosimos, the deceased boy, was a member of the association on account of his young age. He suggests that the parents were members of these associations. However, in other instances membership in an association could extend to children and family members.

X. ACTIVITIES

iv. Honours/Other activities The phratra paid tribute to the deceased by sharing probably the cost for the erection of the funerary stele. Furthermore, the two wreaths carved on the stele may stand for crowns bestowed on the deceased by the two phratrai.

XI. INTERACTION

i. Local interaction The phratra Philokesareon commemorated Zosimos together with the phratra Pegason (CAP Inv. 1021) and the boy's parents.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments Pleket (1958: 5) considers that in Roman Asia Minor the phratra stands for 'a brotherhood formed very often for religious purposes'.

The deceased is posthumously honoured (laurel-wreaths) by two phratrai. It remains unclear whether the deceased enjoyed membership in both phratrai or whether it was due to his parents' membership that the phratrai paid honours to the deceased.
iii. Bibliography Pleket, H.W. (1958), Oudheidkundige Mededelingen uit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te Leiden (nuntii ex museo antiquario Leidensi). The Greek Inscriptions in the 'rijksmuseum van Oudheden' at Leiden, (Supplement op nieuwe Reeks XXXVIII). Leiden.
Robert, L. (1960), Hellenica. Recueil d'épigraphie, de numismatique et d'antiquités grecques. vol. XI/XII. Paris.
Seyfarth, J. (1955), ‘Φράτρα und Φρατρία im nachklassischen Griechentum’, Aegyptus 35: 3-38.
Veligianni, C. (2001), Philos und philos-Komposita in den griechischen Inschriften der Kaiserzeit', in M. Peachin (ed.), Aspects of friendship in the Graeco-Roman world. Proceedings of a conference held at the Seminar für Alte Geschichte, Heidelberg on 10-11 June, 2000, (JRA Suppl. 43): 63-80.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note The terminology used (phratra: brotherhood in Roman Asia Minor, see above XII.i.) makes it likely that the group here is a private association.