New Inscriptions from the Smintheion

Abstract

This article presents six inscriptions from the sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus. Of these, inscription no. 2 was discovered during a survey in 2006 and the other five were found during the excavations at the site from 2009 onwards. In addition to the contribution of these inscriptions to the onomastic repertoire of Alexandreia Troas in general, inscription no. 1, which attests for the first time to the existence of the office of hieronomos at the sanctuary, and inscription no. 6, which records a religious association called ἱερὰ συμβίωσις are of particular interest. Inscription no. 1 is carved on an architectural block from a building of the Hellenistic period. It is not possible to determine with certainty to which building this block belongs, but the building or restoration costs were covered by the revenues of the god, and this construction activity is dated by the office of hieronomos. Also dating to the Hellenistic period, inscription no. 2 on an altar commemorates Kallistos, son of Agemachos, after his death. The depiction of a temple key on this altar suggests that Kallistos may have served Apollo Smintheus as a key-bearer. In inscription no. 3, a benefactor named Titus Aelius Metrodoros, bearing the title philopatris, is honoured by his dearest fatherland (γλυκυτάτη πατρίς), Alexandreia Troas. Inscription no. 4 on a marble plinth is a dedication of a column to Apollo Smintheus by Publius Quintilius Axios, probably a freedman of the Publii branch of the Quintilii, a senatorial family of Alexandreia Troas, and his wife Daphne. Inscription no. 5 is a dedication to Apollo Smintheus by Turianius Gamos, which is a variant of the rare nomen Turrianius. The final inscription no. 6 is an ex-voto offered to a sacred association (ἱερὰ συμβίωσις) by a person, for whom only the father's name and the nickname, Publius, have survived.