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Last Updated on 16 Mar 2017

Author: Loredana Cappelletti

CAPInv. 1080: Geremellenses

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Southern Italy with Sicily
ii. Region Campania
iii. Site Pozzuoli (anc. Puteoli)

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) Geremellenses (CIL X 1578, l. 4; Camodeca 2006: 272 n. 12)
ii. Full name (transliterated) Geremellenses

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 201 - 250 AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii. Name elements
Ethnic:Geremellenses, most probably the word alludes to the inhabitants of a semitic place/city, which can no longer be determined.

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) CIL X 1578 (AD 201-250)
Camodeca 2006: 272 n. 12 (?)
Note ILS 4290; EDR102398 (= CIL X 1578)
Online Resources TM 254154and EDR102398 (= CIL X 1578)
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script The inscriptions are in Latin.
CIL X 1578 refers that the sacerdotes and iucophori, stimulated by the order of Iuppiter Optimus Maximus Heliopolitanus, erected at their own expense a base to Aurelius Theodorus, son of the priest and curator tempuli Geremellensium, who had donated a torquis and a velum to the shrine. The base was provided by Acilius Secundus Trotomias. Camodeca 2006: 272 n. 12 is a very fragmentary inscription mentioning the word Geremel[---] and a peregrinus from Byblus.
i.c. Physical format(s) CIL X 1578 is a rectangular marble base.
ii. Source(s) provenance CIL X 1578 and Camodeca 2006: 272 n. 12 were found in Pozzuoli, the exact findspot is unknown.

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

i. Archaeological remains Archaeological remains of different buildings and monuments related to the cult of Iuppiter Heliopolitanus were found in and outside the city of Pozzuoli, see Camodeca 2006: 272-3.
ii. References to buildings/objects tempulum Geremellensium (CIL X 1578, l. 4)
torquis (CIL X 1578, ll. 5-6)
velum (CIL X 1578, l. 6)

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii. Leadership Maybe a curator? See the curator tempuli Geremellensium, son of a sacerdos, honored in CIL X 1578, l. 3.
iii. Members Referred to as Geremellenses (CIL X 1578, l. 4; Camodeca 2006: 272 n. 12).
iv. Officials sacerdotes (CIL X 1578).
iucophori (CIL X 1578, l. 7), the 'yoke-bearers', whose position seems subordinate to that of the sacerdotes, (see Camodeca 2006: 274.)
Presumably Acilius Secundus Trotomias, who provided the base CIL X 1578 (ll. 8-9), was an official as well.

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

i. Treasury/Funds The attested office of curator (CIL X 1578, l.3) implies, that the association had a treasury and/or administered funds.
ii. Realty The tempulum Geremellensium was almost certainly property of the association.
iii. Income See the donation of a torquis and a velum to the shrine made by Aurelius Theodorus, curator tempuli Geremellensium (CIL X 1578, ll. 5-6).

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii. Gender Men
Note Male members: CIL X 1578; Camodeca 2006: 272 n. 12.
iii. Age Adults
Note The curator Aurelius Theodorus, Acilius Secundus Trotomias and the sacerdotes were surely adults (CIL X 1578).
iv. Status The Geremellenses were most probable citizens from a semitic place/city residing in Puteoli. The fragmentary inscription edited by Camodeca 2006: 272 n. 12 mentions a foreigner from Byblus. For the status of Acilius Secundus and Aurelius Theodorus see Demma 2007: 154 and 159.
v. Relations The curator Aurelius Theodorus was son of a priest of the association (CIL X 1578).

X. ACTIVITIES

iii. Worship The tempulum Geremellensium (CIL X 1578) was primarly intended for cultic activities practiced by the association.
Deities worshipped Iuppiter Optimus Maximus Heliopolitanus
iv. Honours/Other activities The sacerdotes and iucophori of the association, in consequence of a divine admonition (ex iusso I.O.M. Heliopolitani), honored their curator tempuli Aurelius Theodorus (CIL X 1578).

XII. NOTES

i. Comments The tempulum Geremellensium (CIL X 1578) was most probably intended inter alia for collegial meetings, banquets, commemorative celebrations organized by the association (see Castagnetti 2007: 230).
Other Puteolan inscriptions referring to the same cult, but without mention of the association are: Camodeca 2006: 273 = EDR100487 (AD 130-180); AE 1901: 169 (AD 101-200); EphEp 8: 359 (AD 201-250); (see Tran Tam Tinh 1972: 147-8.)
iii. Bibliography Camodeca, G. (2006), ‘Comunità di peregrini a Puteoli nei primi due secoli dell'impero’, in M.G. Angeli Bertinelli, and A. Donati (eds.), Le vie della storia. Migrazioni di popoli, viaggi di individui, circolazioni di idee nel Mediterraneo antico, Atti del II Incontro Internazionale di Storia Antica, Genova, 6-8 ottobre 2004, Roma: 269-87.
Castagnetti, S. (2007), ‘I collegia della Campania’, in E. Lo Cascio, and G.D. Merola (eds.), Forme di aggregazione nel mondo romano, Bari: 223-42.
Demma, F. (2007), Monumenti pubblici di Puteoli. Per un'archeologia dell'architettura. Roma.
Tran Tam Tinh, V. (1972), Le culte des divinités orientales en Campanie. Leiden.
Verboven, K. (2011), ‘Resident Aliens and Translocal Merchant Collegia in the Roman Empire’, in O. Hekster, and T. Kaizer (eds.), Frontiers in the Roman World. Proceedings of the Ninth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire, Durham, 16-19 april 2009, Leiden: 335-48.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note See Castagnetti 2007: 230; Verboven 2011: 345.