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Last Updated on 09 Jul 2019

Author: Nikolaos Giannakopoulos

CAPInv. 681: syngenikon

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Western Asia Minor
ii. Region Bithynia
iii. Site Nikaia

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) συνγενικόν (l. συγγενικόν, I.Iznik 1035, l. 5-6)
ii. Full name (transliterated) syngenikon

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 140 / 141 AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii. Name elements
Kinship-related:συγγενικόν, syngenikon
iii. Descriptive terms συνγενικόν (l. συγγενικόν), syngenikon
Note syngenikon: I.Iznik 1035, l. 5-6

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) I.Iznik 1035 (140 / 141 AD)
Online Resources I.Iznik 1035
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Dedication in Greek of an altar to Apollo Lykios by the syngenikon.
i.c. Physical format(s) Marble altar.
ii. Source(s) provenance The inscription was found built into a well at the village Keskin in the vicinity of Iznik. It was brought there from a nearby ancient cemetery.

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii. References to buildings/objects An altar is dedicated by the syngenikon.

VII. ORGANIZATION

viii. Obligations On the possibility of contributions imposed on the members see below under field XII.i 'Comments'.

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

ii. Realty The altar dedicated by the syngenikon was probably in the group’s possession.

X. ACTIVITIES

iii. Worship The altar dedicated to Apollo Lykios by the syngenikon suggests that the latter performed cultic activities addressed to that deity (cf. Fernoux 2004: 136).
Deities worshipped Apollo Lykios

XII. NOTES

i. Comments The dedication is dated to the third year of Antoninus Pius’ principate.
The provenance of the inscription suggests that the members of the syngenikon were not urban dwellers but residents of one or more villages in the vicinity of Nikaia. The epithet Lykios attributed to Apollo is very frequent and refers either to the Lykian origin of the God or to his function as protector of herds from wolves (see Şahin in I.Iznik 1035, p. 171b). In this respect, the syngenikon's devotion to Apollo Lykeios may be related either to the rural activities of its members or to a possible Lykian origin of them.
The cost of the altar dedicated to Apollo Lykios suggests the existence of a common treasury of the syngenikon, but there is no clear proof for this. The money may have come from ad hoc contributions paid by the members of the group.
iii. Bibliography Fernoux, H.-L. (2004), Notables et elites des cités de Bithynie aux époques hellénistique et romaine (IIIe siècle av. J.-C. – IIIe siècle ap. J.-C.). Essai d’histoire sociale. Lyon.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Probable
Note On associations defined as syngeneia or with other correlated terms see Poland 1909: 88. Whether the syngenikon of our inscription corresponded to an organized association or was just a group of relatives collaborating on the erection and the dedication of the altar cannot be established with certainty. The dedication of the altar suggests lasting cultic activities on the part of the syngenikon, but does not necessarily imply a permanent organisational structure. An identification of the syngenikon which made the dedication to Apollo Lykios with the syngenikon on behalf of which a dedication to Apollo Gorzaios was made (I.Iznik 1034, CAPInv. 677) cannot be established with certainty due to the different locations where the two inscriptions were found.