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Last Updated on 14 Jun 2019

Author: Stella Skaltsa

CAPInv. 912: he heaute <s>peira

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Western Asia Minor
ii. Region Mysia
iii. Site Pergamon

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) ἡ ἡαυτὴ <σ>πεῖρα (ΜDAI(A) 37 [1912]: 286 no. 13)
ii. Full name (transliterated) he heaute <s>peira

III. DATE

i. Date(s) s. ii AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii. Name elements
Cultic:speira - the term often designates associations of Dionysos.
Personal:ἡαυτῆς (heautes) - the female reflexive pronoun refers to Asklepiake Telesphorionos.
iii. Descriptive terms σπεῖρα, speira

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) MDAI(A) 37 (1912): 286 no. 13 (second half of ii century AD).
Note The date of the text is based on the letterforms.
Online Resources MDAI(A) 37 (1912): 286 no. 13

AGRW ID 8932
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Dedicatory inscription in Greek. Asklepiake, daughter/wife of Telesphorion, set up an offering to her own speira.
i.c. Physical format(s) Stele of white marble. The text is inscribed on recessed panel (W. 36.5 x H. 13.2 cm). Beneath the text panel a fillet (taenia) runs in the front and on the sides. It is knotted in the middle of the front side, while an ivy garland in low relief is attached to the fillet.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found in the western part of the sanctuary of Demeter in Pergamon.

VII. ORGANIZATION

i. Founder(s) The reflexive pronoun heautes indicates that Asklepiake was probably the founder of the speira.
Gender Female

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii. Gender Women
Note Asklepiake was probably the founder of the speira (See VII.i).

X. ACTIVITIES

iii. Worship The inscription was found in the sanctuary of Demeter. In the light of the findspot one could assume that the speira may have been centered around the cult of Demeter.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments Ippel (1912: 286 no. 13) assumed that the speira under question may well be related to a gymnasium group of parthenoi, attested in IPergamon 463. However, his assumption cannot hold true, as there is no evidence to suggest that parthenoi were organized in a speira. Moreover, the findpost of the inscription in the sanctuary of Demeter does not support a connection with the gymnasium and its groups (cf. Ohlemutz 1968: 221 n. 54).
iii. Bibliography Ippel, A. (1912), ‘Die Arbeiten zu Pergamon: II. Die Inschriften’, MDAI(A) 37: 277-303.
Ohlemutz, E. (1968), Die Kulte und Heiligtümer der Götter in Pergamon. Darmstadt.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Probable
Note The term speira speaks in favour of a privately organized group. However, due to the nature of the evidence (dedicatory inscription), it is hard to estimate the durability of the speira, i.e. whether it outlived Asklepiake or not, nor is there any evidence for its internal organization.