DiscussionPlaque from base for statue of Gratian, emperor. Emerita Augusta (Lusitania). 367-383 INSCRIPTIONIn nine lines: D(omino) n(ostro) Fl(avio) Gratiano, / pio, felici, victo/ri ac triumfa/tori, semper Au/gusto. Octavius / (6) Clarus, v(ir) c(larissimus), agens / vicariam p(rae)fec/turam, famu/lus eius, posuit. 'To our lord Flavius Gratianus, pious, fortunate, victorious and triumphant, forever Augustus. Octavius Clarus, of clarissimus rank, acting deputy of the prefecture (agens vicariam praefecturam), his servant, set this up.' Letter height: 5 - 7 cm. The formula of the inscription with the honorand in the dative, the awarder in the nominative, and the verb posuit leaves no doubt that this is an honorific inscription from a statue base to Gratian. DESCRIPTION (from L'Année Épigraphique 2005, and the published photo) Five conjoining pieces of a white marble plaque, H 75, W 61, thickness 5 cm. The inscription is complete, but it is not clear whether the present measurements are of the original epigraphic field or whether the plaque has been cut to this size for a secondary use. There are some chips on the margins especially on the right side; the surface is stained, but well preserved and smoothly finished. At the top edge, there are two rectangular clamp holes which served to fix the plaque. PROVENANCE AND CURRENT LOCATION The inscription was found in 2004 during excavations in the residential area called 'Las Abadías'; it had been used as part of the cover of a grave. There is no published record of its present location. HONORAND, AWARDER, AND DATE The honorand, Gratian, was Augustus 367-83. The awarder, Octavius Clarus, is known only from our inscription. He was vicarius of the Spanish provinces, the only one so far known to us who features in a public dedication in Emerita, the capital of the diocesis Hispaniarum (Arce 2006, 259 with n. 1). FURTHER DISCUSSION As Arce 2006 points out, the formula styling the awarder famulus (' servant') of the empeor is highly unusual, even perhaps unique, on a public inscription. It reappears only on the diptych of Probus (Delbrueck 1929 no. 1) where the consul of 406 Flavius Anicius Petronius Probus styles himself famulus, but in the context 'of Christ' rather than 'of the emperor'. The term has clear Christian associations; but Arce considers it here to be an exaggerated expression of humility within the ruling classes ('un excés d'humilité manifesté publiquement', Arce 2006, 264-5), rather than a manifestation of religious faith. The first commentators on the inscription (Hidalgo and Mendez 2005, and Le Roux in L'Année Épigraphique 2005) however suggested that the unusual expression might be intended to carry its religious associations, and might reflect the situation after the abandonment of the imperial pontificate by Gratian and Theodosius in 379. Main ReferenceL'Année épigraphique, , 2005, 765Hispania epigraphica, Madrid, 14, 34 Discussion ReferencesArce, J., Octavius Clarus vir clarissimus, famulus Gratiani, Cahiers du Centre Gustave-Glotz XVII, 259-63, Paris 2006, Delbrueck, R., Die Consulardiptychen und verwandte Denkmäler, Berlin & Leipzig 1929, 84-7 cat. no. 1 Jones, A. H. M. et al., The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. I 260-395, Cambridge et al. 1971 (1975), |
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