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Last Updated on 21 May 2019

Author: Nikolaos Giannakopoulos

CAPInv. 133: synodos

I. LOCATION

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

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) σύνοδος (TAM IV.1 63, l. 6)
ii. Full name (transliterated) synodos

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 145 / 146 AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

iii. Descriptive terms σύνοδος, synodos
Note synodos: TAM IV.1 63, l. 6

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) TAM IV.1 63 (145 / 146 AD)
Online Resources TAM IV.1 63
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Dedication in Greek on behalf of the association.
i.c. Physical format(s) Small altar. The right side is broken off.
ii. Source(s) provenance The inscription was found near a fountain in Kandira, in the area of Izmit (Nikomedeia).

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii. References to buildings/objects An altar is dedicated by an individual (P. Ailios Markianos) to Thea Angiste on behalf of the synodos.

XI. INTERACTION

i. Local interaction If the dedicator of the altar was not a member of the synodos, he seems to have functioned as an external benefactor of the association (cf. below under field XII.i: Comments). The exact nature of the bonds uniting the two parties is not clear. However, since the dedication took the form of a thanks-giving to Thea Angiste, it could be argued that the dedicator believed that some form of divine assistance was offered to him, perhaps through the mediation of the synodos on behalf of which the dedication was made.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments The dedication of the altar to Thea Angiste (Mother of the Gods/Cybele; see Robert 1940: 318; Schwertheim 1978: 798 no. 8; Dörner in TAM IV.1 63, based on Paus. 7.17.9-12) as thank-offering in the name of the synodos (see Mendel 1901: 58 and Robert 1940: 318) may be taken as an indication of some sort of cultic activities performed by of the association in honour of the Goddess. However, no specific attestation of such activities exists. The dedicator, P. Ailios Markianos, may have been either a member of the synodos or an external benefactor. According to Marek (2002: 38-39) he could perhaps be identified with the homonymous strategos of the Aurelian tribe of Klaudiopolis who appears in a dedication to Septimius Severus dated to 198 AD (cf. SEG 52: 1231 and 1233). However, since the Nikomedeian dedication bears a reference to the eighth year of Antoninus Caesar, this is not very likely.

The altar dedicated to Thea Angiste in the name of the synodos was probably owned and/or used by the latter.
iii. Bibliography Marek, C. (2002), ‘Die Phylen von Klaudiupolis, die Geschichte der Stadt und die Topographie Ostbithyniens’, MH 59.1: 31-50.
Mendel, G. (1901), ‘Inscriptions de Bithynie’, BCH 25: 5-92.
Robert, L. (1940), ‘Inscriptions de Bithynie copiées par Georges Radet’, REA 42: 302-22.
Schwertheim, E. (1978), ‘Denkmäler zur Meterverehrung in Bithynien und Mysien’, in S. Şahin, E. Schwertheim and J. Wagner (eds.), Studien zur Religion und Kultur Kleinasiens. Fetsschrift für Friedrich Karl Dörner zum 65. Geburtstag am 28. Februar 1976. 2 vols, Leiden: 791-837.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note The use of the term σύνοδος (synodos) to describe the group in the name of which the dedication is made indicates that it was a private association.