The Honestiores as Founders of Inscriptions Dedicated to Hercules

Abstract

In this article I analyse the epigraphic evidence for the involvement of representatives from the Roman upper classes (honestiores) in the cult of Hercules. The study of dedications by representatives of the two highest ordines leads us to the conclusion that senators and equites decided on the issue of religious inscriptions above all when the function performed by them was required. The deciding factor was in this instance the expectations of the environment in which the senatorial or equestrian official was active. Another perceptible force which could have influenced the decision concerning the issue of an inscription dedicated to Hercules was the prestigious nature of the centre of this god’s cult, which gave the foundation appropriate propagandistic values. If representatives of the senatorial or equestrian ranks are featured among exhibitors of inscriptions dedicated to Hercules under circumstances different from those described above, these are standard ‘new people’ in the circle of the Roman social elite. It is significantly more difficult to determine the causes of epigraphic activity (or its absence) among representatives of the municipal elite. The analysis of dedications by members of this social stratum may give the impression that in some regions of the empire (above all in northern and central Italy, Africa and Dacia), there are particular factors which encouraged members of the ordo decurionum to exhibit inscriptions dedicated to Hercules, particularly in those centres where his cult enjoyed an especially long tradition and a significant role in local religious life. In this instance inscriptions dedicated to Hercules could have become an additional form of self-representation, especially for new members of the municipal elite.