FOLLOWING HADRIAN

In the mountains of Lycia, above the small city of Rhodiapolis, an extensive Greek inscription once ran along the walls of a tomb, recording in meticulous detail the generosity of a single man. This was Opramoas, a 2nd-century benefactor (euergetes) whose gifts reached far beyond his home city. When a devastating earthquake struck Lycia in…

Happy 1950th birthday, Hadrian! In keeping with tradition, I baked Hadrian a birthday cake. This year, I chose Cato’s recipe for savillum (a kind of cheesecake), one of my favourite sweet cakes from antiquity. This savoury cheesecake was served with Mulsum, a wonderfully sweet and spiced white wine, usually served before the main meal and therefore an…

On January 24, AD 126, Emperor Hadrian celebrated his 50th birthday. This event was marked by the dedication of a small temple to the god Serapis (Serapeum) in the forecourt of the Luxor Temple (Roman Thebes) in Egypt. Modest in scale, the temple, discovered during excavations conducted by Egyptian archaeologist Zakaria Ghoneim in 1950-51, features a Greek…

The ancient city of Perge, located on the coast of southern Asia Minor in the Roman province of Pamphylia, provides a fascinating case study of elite benefaction in the Roman East. In Perge, Roman euergetism was common, with wealthy individuals contributing a portion of their wealth to their community. Affluent citizens funded public buildings, meals,…