DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4327#0033
PRIENE. 25
fragments from Priene is one which is most probably part of an Imperial letter relating to the same subject.
There were in antiquity many such disputes as to territory which were settled by the same mode of
successive arbitrations, and the same final appeal to Rome. The history of some few of these may be
traced by means of inscriptions. The inscription relating to the dispute between the two Cretan cities, Hiera-
pytna and Itanos,2' and that recently discovered at Olympia, which gives the decision of the Milesians in regard
to the long-standing contention between the Lacedaemonians and Messenians,28 are documents well worthy to be
studied in connection with the history of the dispute between Priene and Samos. Between the consulship of
Manlins, B.C. 188, and the Senatus Consultum, B.C. 135, we find the Prienians involved in another difficulty, which
forced them to appeal to Rome for protection. Ariarathes, surnamed Philopator, succeeded to the kingdom
of Cappadocia, b.c. 163, but, a few years afterwards, was dethroned by a rival claimant of the throne,
Orophernes, a supposititious child of the late king, who was supported by Demetrios Soter. Ariarathes
fled to Rome b.c 158, and appealed to the Senate, which restored him to his kingdom, though Orophernes
seems to have been allowed some share of the government.20 This joint sovereignty, however, did not last long,
for Polybios speaks of Ariarathes as sole king about B.C. 154.su In his youth Orophernes had been bred up in
Ionia, and it was probably in consequence of early associations that on his accession he deposited' 400 talents
Avith the Prienians as a resource in time of need.31 On the restoration of Ariarathes to the throne he claimed from
the Prienians the sum de|)osited by Orophernes. Having refused to give up this money the Prienians were
involved in a war with Ariarathes and his ally Attalos, King of Pergamos, in which they suffered greatly,
appealing for assistance to Rhodes, and afterwards to the Roman Senate. Ultimately they seem to have given
back the 400 talents to Orophernes as the depositor of this treasure.34 It was probably after his dethronement
that Orophernes conspired with the people of Antioch against Demetrios, King of Syria, who had been his
benefactor. His conspiracy having been detected he was thrown into prison by Demetrios, who spared his life
because it suited the policy of that king to maintain the pretensions of a rival to the throne of Cappadocia as a
menace to Ariarathes.33 The statements of ancient historians about this deposit are singularly confirmed by two
unpublished fragments of inscriptions found on the site of the temple of Athene Polias, in one of which there
seems to be a reference to the treasure of Orophernes as having been deposited in the temple of that Goddess,
and the kings Ariarathes and Attalos are both mentioned; and even without this evidence it would have been
a priori probable that such would have been the case, for the Greek temples were, as is well known, constantly
used as banks of deposit. But this assumption is confirmed by a very curious discovery which took place after the
expedition sent by the Society of Dilettanti had finally abandoned the site of the temple.
When Mr. Pullan cleared away the ruins which encumbered and concealed the marble floor of the temple,
he left undisturbed the lower courses of a large pedestal at the west end of the naos, which had been anciently
separated from the pronaos by bronze gates the position of which was indicated by grooves in the pavement
forming segments of circles.34 We can hardly doubt that on this pedestal once stood the colossal statue of
Athene, mentioned by Pausanias, of which an arm, hand, foot, and other fragments were found in the ruins, and
are now in the British Museum. In April, 1870, just a year after Mr. Pullan had left Priene, Mr. Clarke, of
Sokoi, visited the site of the temple, where he found a number of masons from the neighbouring Greek villages
ruthlessly converting the beautiful marble into gravestones and chimney-pieces. The courses of the pedestal had
all been removed except the four centre stones of the lowest course. The discovery which Mr. Clarke then made
is thus recorded by him in a letter which I reprint here from the Numismatic Chronicle, where it originally
appeared :
" Marshall's Hotel, Cavendish Square, W.
" 9th December, 1870.
" My DEAR Sill,
"I have received your note of the 7th inst., and willingly supply you with the particulars of how I found the
Orophernes coins, olive-leaves, ring, and terra-cotta seal. They are as under.
" My wife, niece, and self paid a visit of inspection to Priene, just one year since we dined there with
Messrs. Newton and Pullan. These gentlemen then kindly gave me all particulars about the temple, and
showed me the pedestal where the statue of Minerva was supposed to have stood. This consisted of a large
base, composed of many large stones of about six hundredweight each. It was then in proper order. On the
occasion of my last visit (in April, 1870) I found all these stones disturbed from their places, excepting four in
the centre of the pedestal. This destruction was apparent to me immediately on my entry to the cella ; and
27 Bockh, Corpus Inscr. No. 2,561 b, Addenda, p. 1101. '-'8 Archdol. Zeitung, Berlin, 1876, pp. 128-138.
'-"J Diodor. xxxi. [Eclog. iii. p. 517), ed. Bipont, x. p. 25 ; Polyb. iii. 5; Zonaras, Annul, ix. 24, p. 460 d.
30 Polyb. xxiii. 12 ; Livy, Epit. xlvii.; Clinton, Fast. Hell. iii. p. 434.
31 Diodor. xxxi. {Excerpt, ale Virt. iii. p. 588), ed. Bipont, x. p. 41; Athen. x. p. 440.
32 Polyb. xxxiii. 12. ™ Justin, xxxv. 1.
31 See Mr. Pullan's Report, post, p. 2!i, and pi. vi.
II
fragments from Priene is one which is most probably part of an Imperial letter relating to the same subject.
There were in antiquity many such disputes as to territory which were settled by the same mode of
successive arbitrations, and the same final appeal to Rome. The history of some few of these may be
traced by means of inscriptions. The inscription relating to the dispute between the two Cretan cities, Hiera-
pytna and Itanos,2' and that recently discovered at Olympia, which gives the decision of the Milesians in regard
to the long-standing contention between the Lacedaemonians and Messenians,28 are documents well worthy to be
studied in connection with the history of the dispute between Priene and Samos. Between the consulship of
Manlins, B.C. 188, and the Senatus Consultum, B.C. 135, we find the Prienians involved in another difficulty, which
forced them to appeal to Rome for protection. Ariarathes, surnamed Philopator, succeeded to the kingdom
of Cappadocia, b.c. 163, but, a few years afterwards, was dethroned by a rival claimant of the throne,
Orophernes, a supposititious child of the late king, who was supported by Demetrios Soter. Ariarathes
fled to Rome b.c 158, and appealed to the Senate, which restored him to his kingdom, though Orophernes
seems to have been allowed some share of the government.20 This joint sovereignty, however, did not last long,
for Polybios speaks of Ariarathes as sole king about B.C. 154.su In his youth Orophernes had been bred up in
Ionia, and it was probably in consequence of early associations that on his accession he deposited' 400 talents
Avith the Prienians as a resource in time of need.31 On the restoration of Ariarathes to the throne he claimed from
the Prienians the sum de|)osited by Orophernes. Having refused to give up this money the Prienians were
involved in a war with Ariarathes and his ally Attalos, King of Pergamos, in which they suffered greatly,
appealing for assistance to Rhodes, and afterwards to the Roman Senate. Ultimately they seem to have given
back the 400 talents to Orophernes as the depositor of this treasure.34 It was probably after his dethronement
that Orophernes conspired with the people of Antioch against Demetrios, King of Syria, who had been his
benefactor. His conspiracy having been detected he was thrown into prison by Demetrios, who spared his life
because it suited the policy of that king to maintain the pretensions of a rival to the throne of Cappadocia as a
menace to Ariarathes.33 The statements of ancient historians about this deposit are singularly confirmed by two
unpublished fragments of inscriptions found on the site of the temple of Athene Polias, in one of which there
seems to be a reference to the treasure of Orophernes as having been deposited in the temple of that Goddess,
and the kings Ariarathes and Attalos are both mentioned; and even without this evidence it would have been
a priori probable that such would have been the case, for the Greek temples were, as is well known, constantly
used as banks of deposit. But this assumption is confirmed by a very curious discovery which took place after the
expedition sent by the Society of Dilettanti had finally abandoned the site of the temple.
When Mr. Pullan cleared away the ruins which encumbered and concealed the marble floor of the temple,
he left undisturbed the lower courses of a large pedestal at the west end of the naos, which had been anciently
separated from the pronaos by bronze gates the position of which was indicated by grooves in the pavement
forming segments of circles.34 We can hardly doubt that on this pedestal once stood the colossal statue of
Athene, mentioned by Pausanias, of which an arm, hand, foot, and other fragments were found in the ruins, and
are now in the British Museum. In April, 1870, just a year after Mr. Pullan had left Priene, Mr. Clarke, of
Sokoi, visited the site of the temple, where he found a number of masons from the neighbouring Greek villages
ruthlessly converting the beautiful marble into gravestones and chimney-pieces. The courses of the pedestal had
all been removed except the four centre stones of the lowest course. The discovery which Mr. Clarke then made
is thus recorded by him in a letter which I reprint here from the Numismatic Chronicle, where it originally
appeared :
" Marshall's Hotel, Cavendish Square, W.
" 9th December, 1870.
" My DEAR Sill,
"I have received your note of the 7th inst., and willingly supply you with the particulars of how I found the
Orophernes coins, olive-leaves, ring, and terra-cotta seal. They are as under.
" My wife, niece, and self paid a visit of inspection to Priene, just one year since we dined there with
Messrs. Newton and Pullan. These gentlemen then kindly gave me all particulars about the temple, and
showed me the pedestal where the statue of Minerva was supposed to have stood. This consisted of a large
base, composed of many large stones of about six hundredweight each. It was then in proper order. On the
occasion of my last visit (in April, 1870) I found all these stones disturbed from their places, excepting four in
the centre of the pedestal. This destruction was apparent to me immediately on my entry to the cella ; and
27 Bockh, Corpus Inscr. No. 2,561 b, Addenda, p. 1101. '-'8 Archdol. Zeitung, Berlin, 1876, pp. 128-138.
'-"J Diodor. xxxi. [Eclog. iii. p. 517), ed. Bipont, x. p. 25 ; Polyb. iii. 5; Zonaras, Annul, ix. 24, p. 460 d.
30 Polyb. xxiii. 12 ; Livy, Epit. xlvii.; Clinton, Fast. Hell. iii. p. 434.
31 Diodor. xxxi. {Excerpt, ale Virt. iii. p. 588), ed. Bipont, x. p. 41; Athen. x. p. 440.
32 Polyb. xxxiii. 12. ™ Justin, xxxv. 1.
31 See Mr. Pullan's Report, post, p. 2!i, and pi. vi.
II