Imperial Presence in the Monumental Landscape of Roman Athens: New Evidence from Inscribed Architectural Members
Περίληψη
The current contribution examines two marble inscribed architraves stored in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. One of them is already known through its inscription, although it has so far received only limited scholarly attention; its exact findspot has recently been established. Its adjoining member has likewise been identified, having its findspot recorded in an old archaeological diary. Both architraves preserve part of the cursus honorum of an emperor whose identity is sought to be determined. The study reconstructs the intriguing circumstances of their discovery and traces the subsequent history of the two blocks within the evolving urban landscape of Athens from the mid-eighteenth to the late nineteenth century, based on both visual and textual evidence. On one hand, epigraphic analysis enables narrowing the chronological framework within which the associated building should be placed and reassessing the emperor’s role in construction or restoration initiatives in Roman Athens as well, considered within the broader and long- standing tradition of Hellenistic and Imperial benefactions that shaped Athenian topography. On the other hand, the uncertain ancient history of the area where the blocks were found does not provide arguments for the definitive identification of the building to which they belonged. Therefore, a comprehensive architectural analysis of the two items, examined in comparison with members of similar function known from the Athenian context of the Imperial period, makes it possible to place the architraves under discussion within a clearly defined framework of reference, with the aim of suggesting hypotheses regarding the type, function, and location of the monumental complex to which they must once have belonged.