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Last Updated on 23 May 2019

Author: Ursula Kunnert

CAPInv. 1012: to synergion ton en tei seitik[ei] omophoron

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Eastern Asia Minor
ii. Region Cilicia
iii. Site Tarsos

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) τὸ συνέργιον τῶν ἐν τῇ σειτικ[ῇ] ὠμοφόρων (SEG 27: 947, ll. 13-15; Broughton 1938: 55-7, ll. 10-12)
ii. Full name (transliterated) to synergion ton en tei seitik[ei] omophoron

III. DATE

i. Date(s) ii - iii AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i. Name in other forms τὸ συνέργιον τῶν ἐν τῇ σειτικῇ ὠμοφόρων Ἁδριανῆς [Σεο]υηριανῆς Τάρσου [τῆς] μ̣ητροπόλεως τῶν [τριῶ]ν̣ ἐ̣παρχε[ί]ω̣ν̣ [Κιλικίας Ἰσα]υ̣ρ̣[ίας Λυκαονίας προκαθεζομένης καὶ β’ νεωκόρου κτλ.], to senergion ton en tei seitikei omophoron Andrianes [Seo]yerianes Tarsou [tes] metropoleos ton [trio]n eparche[i]on [Kilikias Isa]ur[ias Lykaonias prokathezomenes kai B' neokorou ktl] (Broughton 1938: 55-7, ll. 10-18)
ii. Name elements
Geographical:... Ἁδριανῆς [Σεο]υηριανῆς Τάρσου, Hadrianes Seouerianes Tarsou ( Broughton 1938: 55-7, ll. 12-13)
Professional:omophoroi
Topographical:ἐν τῇ σειτικῇ (ἀγορᾷ or στοᾷ), en te seitike (agora or stoa)
iii. Descriptive terms συνέργιον, synergion
Note synergion: SEG 27: 947, ll. 13-14; Broughton 1938: 55-7, l. 10

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) Broughton 1938: 55-7
SEG 27: 947 (ii - iii AD)
Note Other editions/commentaries:
AGRW
Dittmann-Schöne VI.6.1-2
GRA II 437
Online Resources AGRW ID# 13496
SEG 27: 947
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Both inscriptions are written in Greek.
Honorific inscription dedicated by the association of porters in the grain market of Tarsos to the emperor Caracalla (Broughton 1938: 55-7).
Honorific inscription for M. Aurelius Gaianos by the association of porters in the grain market (SEG 27: 947).
i.c. Physical format(s) - marble slab, probably a revetment of some kind (H. 0.255 m, W. 0.298 m, Th. 0.017 m) (Broughton 1938: 55-7).
- statue base (H. 1.50, W. 0.65 m, Th. 0.45 m) (SEG 27: 947).
ii. Source(s) provenance - found in an Islamic cistern during the excavations in the spring of 1936 in Tarsos (Broughton 1938: 55-7).
- Tarsos, the exact find-spot is unknown (SEG 27: 947).

VII. ORGANIZATION

iv. Officials Two γραμματεῖς, grammateis, who are responsible for the erection of the monument (SEG 27: 947, ll. 16-17).
v. Other staff The honorand, M. Aurelius Gaianus, is a σύνδικος, syndikos. Maybe he acted as a lawyer on behalf of the association of the porters (van Nijf 1997: 96; Dittmann-Schöne 2010: 55f.).

X. ACTIVITIES

iv. Honours/Other activities The association honours
- the emperor Caracalla (Broughton 1938: 55-7). For honorific inscriptions dedicated by an association to an emperor cf. van Nijf 1997: 74-5, who interprets them as "demonstrations of the loyalty of his subjects, rather than the product of any special relationship". A little farfetched is the interpretation of Ziegler 1985: 146 (cf. Dittmann-Schöne 2010: 241). He suggested that the dedication to Caracalla may be an expression of the equation of the young emperor with the fertility god Dionysos, that is on record on Tarsian coins. Assuming that the synergion of the graincarriers is identical with the servants of Demeter, another fertility god (cf. below XII.i.Comments), Ziegler thought that the synergion had honoured Caracalla due to his equation as Dionysos.

- with a statue M. Aurelius Gaianus, kilikarches, highpriest and panegyriaches of the festival for Apollo Patroos of Argos (SEG 27: 947). The honorand is prostates of the association. The term is interpreted as patronus, not as the leader of the group (Robert 1977: 90; Dittmann-Schöne 2010: 54; Zimmermann 2002: 50-1). For honorary inscriptions set up by associations for members of the elite and the role of the civic elites as patrons of professional associations cf. van Nijf 2003: 307-21, esp. 313.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments In the inscription Broughton 1938: 55-7, ll. 10-18 a geographical specification is given: τὸ συνέργιον τῶν ἐν τῇ σειτικῇ ὠμοφόρων Ἁδριανῆς [Σεο]υηριανῆς Τάρσου [τῆς] μ̣ητροπόλεως τῶν [τριῶ]ν̣ ἐ̣παρχε[ί]ω̣ν̣ [Κιλικίας Ἰσα]υ̣ρ̣[ίας Λυκαονίας προκαθεζομένης καὶ β’ νεωκόρου κτλ.], to synergion ton en tei seitikei omophoron Adrianes [Seo]uerianes Tarsou [tes] metropoleos ton [trio]n eparche[i]on [Kilikias Isa]ur[ias Lykaonias prokathezomenes kai b’ neokorou ktl.]: the association of porters in the grain market of Hadrianic Severianic Tarsos, the presiding metropolis of the three eparcheiai [of Cilicia, Isauria, and Lycaonia, and warden of the two provincial temples of the imperial cult etc.]

The dedication to Caracalla is dated to the year 205 AD (the eighth year of his tribunician power).
The honorand of the second inscription, M. Aurelius Gaianus, is dated to the end of the 2nd (Dragron and Feissel 1987: 90) or the 3rd century AD (Robert 1977: 88. GRA II no. 437).

Maybe the association of porters in the grain-market is identical with the synergion of the servants (therapontes) of Demeter, known from an honorary epigram for Hemerios in Tarsos (see CAPInv. 1013), cf. Broughton 1938: 57, n. 3. Robert 1977: 93. Ziegler 1985: 146.
iii. Bibliography Broughton, T.R.S. (1938), ‘A Greek Inscription from Tarsus’, AJA 42: 55-7.
Dagron, G., and Feissel, D. (1987), Inscriptions de Cilicie. Paris.
Dittmann-Schöne, I. (2010), Die Berufsvereine in den Städten des kaiserzeitlichen Kleinasiens. 2nd. ed. Regensburg.
Harland, P.A. (2014), Greco-Roman Associations: Texts, Translations, and Commentary. II. North Coast of the Black Sea, Asia Minor. Berlin, Boston.
Robert, L. (1977), ‘Documents d'Asie Mineure’, BCH 101: 88-119.
Van Nijf, O. (1997), The Civic World of Professional Associations in the Roman East. Amsterdam.
Van Nijf, O. (2003), ‘Les élites comme patrons des associations professionnelles dans l'orient romain’, in M. Cébeillac-Gervasoni and L. Lamoine (eds.), Les élites et leurs facettes. Les élites locales dans le monde hellénistique et romain, Rome: 307-21.
Ziegler, R. (1985), Städtisches Prestige und kaiserliche Politik. Studien zum Festwesen in Ostkilikien im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert n. Chr.. Düsseldorf.
Zimmermann, C. (2002), Handwerkervereine im griechischen Osten des Imperium Romanum. Mainz.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note The name of the association, the presence of officials and the documented activity suggest a private association.
ii. Historical authenticity Certain