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Last Updated on 09 Jul 2018

Author: Paschalis Paschidis

CAPInv. 1340: kollegion Augoustalon

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Macedonia
ii. Region Chalkidike
iii. Site Kassandreia (territorium of the Roman colony)

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) κολλήγιον Αὐγουστάλων (unpublished, see Sverkos 2002: 176 n. 43)
ii. Full name (transliterated) kollegion Augoustalon

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 200 - 250 AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i. Name in other forms Αὐγουστάλαι (SEG 29: 614; SEG 46: 746 with SEG 52: 606)
ii. Name elements
Cultic:augoustalai: Although it is clear that the social and political function of the Augustales was hardly limited to emperor cult (an activity of theirs for which there is actually little evidence, see the bibliography in XIII.i: Evaluation, below), it is also clear that the name of this title alludes to emperor cult.
Personal:Augoustalai: the Emperor
Status-related:augoustalai: Given that augustalis was an individual title with specific functions as far as official status and social standing are concerned, the name of the association of augustales can also be seen as stemming from status terminology.
iii. Descriptive terms κολλήγιον, kollegion
Note In an unpublished inscription (Sverkos 2002: 176 n. 43), the Αὐγουστάλαι, Augoustalai (Augustales) are collectively called a κολλήγιον, kollegion, a common term for associations of various kinds in Macedonia and elsewhere.

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) SEG 29: 614 (iii AD)
SEG 46: 746 with SEG 52: 606 (f. iii AD)
Note See also Sverkos 2002: 176 n. 43 and perhaps Juhel and Nigdelis 2015: no 54 (cf. XII.i).
Online Resources SEG 29: 614
SEG 52: 606
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Greek funerary inscriptions
i.c. Physical format(s) SEG 29: 614 is an undecorated stele.
SEG 46: 746 with SEG 52: 606 is a funerary relief.
ii. Source(s) provenance SEG 29: 614 was found at Kalandra, near ancient Mende, in a region incorporated to the territorium of the Roman colony of Kassandreia.
SEG 46: 746 with SEG 52: 606 was found at Prinochori, near ancient Anthemous, likewise incorporated to the territorium of Roman Kassandreia.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iii. Members The members of the association / institution were obviously called Αὐγουστάλαι, Augoustalai (Augustales).

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

i. Treasury/Funds Given that both relevant published sources record donations by the association for the funerary expenses of two individuals (in SEG 29: 614 the association only covers part of the cost), the college of the Augustales in the Roman colony of Kassandreia must have possessed discretionary funds.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

iv. Status No indication of the status of the Augustales of Kassandreia can be deduced by the relevant sources (see, however, XI.i: Local interaction, below). For the status of the Augustales in the Roman Empire in general, see the bibliography in XIII:i: Evaluation, below.

X. ACTIVITIES

iv. Honours/Other activities The college paid for (at least part of) the funerary expenses of citizens of Kassandreia.

XI. INTERACTION

i. Local interaction See under XIII.i: Evaluation, below.

It should be noted that, while the deceased and his son in SEG 46: 746 with SEG 52: 606 fit very well the expected profile for an Augustalis and his son (a freedman and his son, with the latter bearing, most probably, his mother's nomen gentis: see Sverkos 2002: 172-3), the deceased and his widow in SEG 29: 614 do not bear nomina gentis and their civic status is thus unclear. We cannot therefore exclude the possibility that the college of Augustales did not only pay for the funerary expenses of the college's members, but also for those of other residents of Kassandreia, as part of civic euergetism which was an integral aspect of the Augustales' function in general.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments The phrase κατὰ τὸ δόγμα (kata to dogma, ‘by decree’) in SEG 29: 614 is the only reference to the college's institutions. The phrase κατὰ τὸ δόγμα kata to dogma also occurs in Juhel and Nigdelis 2015: no 54, an epitaph for an Augustalis, where, however, it is not entirely certain that the decree in question is a decree of the association, as in SEG 29: 614.
iii. Bibliography Abramenko, A. (1993), Die munizipale Mittelschicht im kaiserzeitlichen Italien: zu einem neuen Verständnis von Sevirat und Augustalität. Frankfurt.
Duthoy, R. (1978), ‘Les Augustales’, ANRW II.16.2: 1254-1309.
Juhel, P.O. and Nigdelis, P.M. (2015), Un danois en macédoine à la fin du 19e siècle. Karl Frederik Kinch et ses notes épigraphiques. Thessaloniki.
Mouritsen, H. (2011), The Freedman in the Roman World. Cambridge.
Sverkos, E. (2002), ‘Παρατηρήσεις σε μια νέα επιγραφή από το territorium της ρωμαϊκής αποικίας της Κασσάνδρειας (Πρινοχώρι)’, Tekmeria 7: 167-80.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Discarded
Note Kassandreia is the only Roman colony (or municipium) in Macedonia where the Augustales appear within an associative context; in the municipium of Stobi and in the colony of Philippi they are only attested as individuals (for the sources, see Sverkos 2002: 175); for a new inscription mentioning an individual Augustalis from Kassandreia, see Juhel and Nigdelis 2015: no 54.

This is not the place to discuss the institution of the Augustales in general (for the huge relevant bibliography, Duthoy 1978, Abramenko 1993 and Mouritsen 2011: 249-61 may serve as useful starting points). It is, however, clear, that, whatever their origin and their precise institutional relationship with the ordo decurionum may have been, the Augustales, both as individuals and as an organized group, were intimately tied to the institutional fabric of a Roman colony or municipium, and thus their association should not be viewed as 'private' in any meaningful sense of the word (for a different view, see now Juhel and Nigdelis 2015: 104-7).