Late March AD 125 – Hadrian returns to Athens and presides over the Great Dionysia (#Hadrian1900)

After touring the Peloponnese and visiting all the major cities (read here), Hadrian returned to Athens in late March, in time for the Great Dionysia. He presided over this annual Athenian religious festival dedicated to Dionysus (HA Hadr. 13.1), while wearing Greek attire (Dio 69.16.1), and funded its expenses. He also restored the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus, where the festival’s dramatic contests took place.

Hadrian presided at the Dionysia, first assuming the highest office among the Athenians,​ and arrayed in the local costume, carried it through brilliantly. Dio 69.16.1

The Dionysia festival, established by the Tyrant Pisistratus in the 6th century BC to honour the patron god of theatre, was notable for its performances of tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays. A large single body of citizens gathered together over five days, beginning on the tenth of Elaphebolion (late March in the modern calendar). The festival opened with a huge procession (pompe) through Athens to the Sanctuary of Dionysus on the southern slope of the Acropolis, where bulls were sacrificed, and a feast was held for everyone. Citizens, divided into their tribes, brought offerings, including phallic symbols, food and wine. A sacred wooden statue of Dionysus Eleuthereus was carried out during this procession while musicians and poets performed their various arts. Choral competitions were also held on the first day of the festival. Each Athenian tribe, represented by a chorus of 50 men and boys, would have competed in these dithyramb contests.

The next four days of the festival were dedicated to theatrical performances at the Theatre of Dionysus. Three tragic plays were performed each day, followed by a satyr play. These performances were evaluated by ten prominent Athenian citizens, who selected the best playwright. The winning playwright was then announced and awarded an ivy crown. On the final day of the festival, five comedies were presented. Originally, all the plays were new works, but by Hadrian’s time, audiences had come to prefer revivals of masterpieces by authors such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

Hadrian supported the traditional religious cults, allowing the Athenians to continue their festival celebrations. Early in his reign, he raised the profile of the Greater Panathenaea, which had seen a decline in the number of foreign athletes, and elevated it to sacred (eiselastic) status. A decade later, he founded three new panhellenic festivals in the city: the Panhellenia, related to the Panhellenion; the Olympieia, associated with the cult of Olympian Zeus; and the Hadrianeia, named after himself. These four Athenian festivals now created their own four-year cycle: the Hadrianeia in the first year, the Olympieia in the second year, the Panathenaea in the third year, and the Panhellenia in the fourth year (Shear, 2012). No other city in the Empire, not even Rome, had as many games scheduled in its calendar. These Athenian festivals attracted top competitors to Athens, and the city benefited greatly from them.

The Emperor’s support for Greek agonistic festivals was multifaceted. He actively promoted these festivals and participated in various religious ceremonies and rituals, showing his deep appreciation for Hellenic traditions. According to Cassius Dio, Hadrian established festivals and built theatres wherever he travelled, while the Historia Augusta states that he sponsored games and performances in many cities across the Empire and presented plays of all types.

Hadrian constructed theatres and held games as he travelled about from city to city, dispensing, however, with the imperial trappings; for he never used these outside Rome. Dio 10.1

And in the theatre, he presented plays of all kinds in the ancient manner and had the court players appear before the public. HA Hadr. 19.6

Hadrian held a significant presence in the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens even before he became emperor. The Athenians erected a bronze statue of him in the theatre after electing him as eponymous archon, their chief official, in 112/113, as evidenced by a statue base with a bilingual epigraphic inscription (IG II² 3286, see here) which commemorates his election to this prestigious Athenian magistracy. As archon, one of his responsibilities was to oversee the Great Dionysia festival. Later, as Emperor, he presided over the event as agosthetes (festival organiser), dressed in Greek costume.

In response, the Council of the Areopagos, the Council of the 600 and the Demos honoured Hadrian with a series of statues in the cunei (wedge-shaped seating sections) of the Theatre of Dionysus. The statues were supervised by members of the twelve Athenian tribes (four inscribed bases still exist). They were placed at the front of the twelve cunei, in the standard tribal order, starting with Erechtheis (tribe I) in the westernmost wedge and ending with Attalis (tribe XII) in the easternmost wedge. The thirteenth and central cunei was occupied by the statue dedicated to Hadrian during his archonship in Athens (Karivieri, 2002). Additionally, specific seats were reserved for a priest of Hadrian associated with Dionysus Eleuthereus (IG II² 5035) and a priest of Antinous Choreios who belonged to an association of Dionysiac artists (IG II² 5062). The Antinous marble throne was situated in the fourth position of the fourth section of seating, located to the north, and was engraved on two separate occasions (source).

(This statue of) Emperor Caesar, son of the God Trajan Parthicus, grandson of the God Nerva, Hadrian Augustus (was erected by) the Areopagos Council and the Council of the 600 and the People, the tribe Oeneis managing it.

The Theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus was first built in the 6th century BC and underwent significant changes throughout its history. The building suffered considerable damage during the Roman invasion led by Sulla in 86 BC. Restoration efforts took place in the 1st century AD during the reign of Nero, which included the creation of a new two-story skene to replace the old structure (IG II² 3182). However, according to A. Karivieri, it was Hadrian who decorated the proscenium with reliefs depicting the life of Dionysus. Hadrian assimilated himself with Dionysus in these reliefs. 

Karivieri argues that the four relief slabs on the western half of the stage front allude to Hadrian as Dionysus, the son of Zeus, and Sabina as Ariadne. The first scene represents the moment after Dionysus’ second birth from the thigh of Zeus. In this depiction, Zeus is shown seated on a rock, looking towards Hermes, who holds the newborn infant. Flanking the scene are two nude, barefoot men carrying shields and swords. The second scene illustrates Dionysus’ arrival in Attica, where he imparts the knowledge of vine cultivation to Icarius. The third relief depicts the wedding of Dionysus/Hadrian and Ariadne/Sabina, with Tyche present, holding a cornucopia. The series culminates with a representation of the enthronement, showing Dionysus/Hadrian seated on a throne beside his new bride, Ariadne/Sabina. To the left of Ariadne stands a half-naked male figure, likely representing Theseus, the founder of Athens, while a female figure holding a cornucopia, presumably Tyche again, accompanies them.

Hadrian would write letters to the Athenian association of theatrical artists (technitai) after his first imperial visit to the city, demonstrating his special interest in supporting Greek musical and dramatic performances. First attested in Athens in the early 3rd century BC (IG II2 1320), the technitai of Dionysus, which acted as a professional guild, advocating for the rights and privileges of their members and worshipped Dionysus, disappeared from the historical record in the 1st century BC before re-emerging in Attic inscriptions in the 2nd century AD thanks to the attention of the philhellene Hadrian (Geagan, 1972). Several fragmentary letters between the emperor and the Athenian theatrical technitai survive. One inscription, a fragmentary dossier of letters, records the correspondence between Hadrian, a priest of Dionysus Choreios (Dionysus the Dancer), and the Athenian Technitai. At least seven letters were inscribed on one side of a stele (Face A) erected by Tiberius Claudius Attalos Andragathos, priest of Dionysos Choreios (IG II² 1105). All of the inscriptions date to after AD 128 and discuss the organisation of new festivals overseen by the association, as well as details about a related dispute (source).

The Athenian synod of technitai was to honour Hadrian as the “new Dionysus”. A base destined for a statue of Hadrian was set up by the theatrical synod in the precinct of the Temple of Olympian Zeus to celebrate its consecration in AD 132 (SEG 47.222). The Athenian technitai would continue to be involved with Hadrian after his death through the festivals, competing at the Hadrianeia festival, which included dramatic competitions.

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Four years earlier, in 121, the Epicureans had enlisted the support of Empress Plotina to obtain a privilege: the right for the head of the Epicurean School at Athens to choose either a Greek or a Roman as his heir (read here). In March 125, while in Athens, Hadrian confirmed his previous reply in writing, and his letters were again engraved on marble (SEG III 226 + IG II² 1097). The epigraphic document consists of two fragmented and poorly preserved texts reconstructed by Simone Follet (1994). The first letter is addressed to the Epicureans. Hadrian confirms his decision in 121 to grant them the right to choose a successor regardless of citizenship with a will written in either Greek or Latin. The second and longer letter is addressed to one Heliodorus, the current head of the school and the successor of Popillius Theotimus mentioned in the AD 121 letter. In this case, however, Hadrian denies a request from the Epicureans for new buildings and expensive offerings, judging them as superfluous, instead giving them a small amount of money for repairs to their gymnasium  (Follet, 1994). According to Birley, it is likely that the philosopher Heliodorus was C. Avidius Heliodorus, a Syrian from Cyrrhus. He served as Hadrian’s secretary for Greek correspondence (ab epistulis Graecis) and was prefect of Egypt from AD 138 to 142. He is also known as the father of the usurper Avidius Cassius.

Hadrian may have had contact with another philosopher from Athens at this time, Secundus, also known as the “silent philosopher”. Secundus is the subject of an anonymous “Life” (Vita Secundi Philosophi), written in Greek at the end of the 2nd century AD and later translated into Syriac and several other languages. According to the tale, Secundus, who had chosen to remain silent ever since causing the death of his mother, was sent for by Hadrian, who was eager to learn from the philosopher and wanted to test his devotion to silence. He forced him to talk: “Speak, philosopher, so that we come to know you; for it is not possible to observe the wisdom in you when you say nothing” (Perry, 1964). Secundus kept his silence before the emperor, even with the sword at his neck, and was sentenced to death. Secundus’s self-control impressed Hadrian, who ordered the executioner to spare him if he would persist in his silence. Secundus eventually agreed to provide written responses to the emperor’s twenty cosmological and ethical questions, all of which began with ‘What is…?’

What is God? A self-formed good, an image of many shapes, an eminence too lofty to be seen, a conformation with many aspects, a problem hard to understand, immortal intelligence, an all-pervading spirit, an eye that never closes in sleep, a power known by many names, light that prevails over all. (Translation from Perry, 1964)

What is Death? Everlasting sleep, the dissolution of the body, the desire of those who suffer, the departure of the spirit, the fear of rich men, the desire of paupers, the undoing of the limbs, flight from life and the loss of its possession, the father of sleep, an appointed day sure to be met, the breakup of all things. (Translation from Perry, 1964)

The tale enjoyed great popularity throughout the early medieval period and was translated into dozens of other languages. While the text offers insights into Secundus’ philosophical views, its authenticity as a historical record is subject to debate. All of it was possibly just fiction, but a few authentic details may have been preserved (Birley, 1997). G. W. Bowersock associates Secundus the Silent with the Athenian sophist Secundus, who was the teacher of Herodes Atticus, as mentioned by Philostratus (Phil. Lives of Sophists I.24), since both lived during the time of Hadrian. However, this identification is doubtful.

Another account that has come down to us through early Christian writings reveals that during Emperor Hadrian’s visit to Athens in 124/125 AD, two Christian apologists, Aristides and Quadratus, sought to address and defend Christianity to the Emperor. Their goal was to demonstrate that Christians did not pose a threat to the Roman Empire. The early church historian Eusebius records both discourses in his Ecclesiastical History (Eus. HE 4, 3–9). These texts marked the beginning of Christian apologetics. While only a few fragments of Quadratus’s Apology have survived, we have both Greek and Syrian versions of Aristides’s text. Jerome, another early Christian historian, links Hadrian’s involvement in the Eleusinian mysteries with anti-Christian persecution and the submission of the Apology of Quadratus, followed by that of Aristides to the emperor.

And when Hadrian spent the winter at Athens to witness the Eleusinian mysteries and was initiated into almost all the sacred mysteries of Greece, those who hated the Christians took the opportunity, without instructions from the Emperor, to harass the believers. At this time, he presented to Hadrian a work composed on behalf of our religion, indispensable, full of sound argument and faith and worthy of the apostolic teaching. In which, illustrating the antiquity of his period, he says that he has seen many who, oppressed by various ills, were healed by the Lord in Judea and some who had been raised from the dead. (De vir. ill. 19– 20)

Hadrian’s stay in Athens marked the beginning of a lavish building programme along with economic and constitutional reforms (discussed here). In the spring of 125, it was time to start the journey back to Rome, but the Emperor intended to take the opportunity to explore various locations in central and western Greece along the way, including Delphi and Nicopolis, before sailing to Sicily to climb Mount Etna. It had been four years since Hadrian left the capital.

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