At the beginning of October AD 117, Hadrian departed from Antioch, leaving the command of the province of Syria to Catilius Severus, who had just been installed as a legate. However, the Emperor could not return directly to Rome. He had received news of the uprising of the Sarmatian tribes who lived beyond the lower… Continue reading 13 October AD 117 – Hadrian travels back to Rome and reaches Mopsucrene (#Hadrian1900)
On 25 August AD 117, two weeks after Hadrian's proclamation in Antioch, the new prefect of Egypt (Praefectus Aegypi), Quintus Rammius Martialis, addressed a circular letter to the strategoi of the Egyptian districts (nomes) announcing the imperial accession of Hadrian and instructing them to declare festivities for ten days. The document, written in Greek, has been… Continue reading 25 August AD 117 – The announcement of Hadrian’s accession in Alexandria (#Hadrian1900)
On August 12 AD 117, Marcus Ulpius Phaedimus, a twenty-eight-year-old freedman and personal servant of Trajan, died in Selinus, Cilicia. This occurred just a few days after Trajan's death and only one day after Hadrian received the news of Trajan's passing. This coincidence added to the mystery surrounding the circumstances of Hadrian's adoption. Phaedimus, who… Continue reading 12 August AD 117 – A mysterious death occurs in Selinus (#Hadrian1900)
On the eastern tip of the Rodopou Peninsula in West Crete are the scanty remains of a temple dedicated to the Cretan goddess Diktynna (Diktynnaion). Diktynna was the virgin goddess of hunting, worshipped fervently in western Crete as the patroness of hunters and fishermen. Diktynna's name may be connected with Mount Dikte, but the Greek… Continue reading The Hadrianic Temple of Diktynna in Crete
While Hadrian was visiting the province of Egypt in late AD 130, his favourite, Antinous, drowned in the Nile River in mysterious circumstances. This tragic event led to the creation of a new divinity: Osirantinous, or Antinous, as a manifestation of Osiris, the god who dies and is reborn. One of our best sources of… Continue reading The Obelisk of Antinous
In 2016, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem hosted an exhibition titled 'Hadrian: An Emperor Cast in Bronze'. The exhibition was curated by David Merovah (Curator of Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Archaeology) and Rachel Caine Kreinin (Associate Curator) from the Israel Museum, together with Thorsten Opper (Curator of the Department of Greece and Rome) from the… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrian: An Emperor Cast in Bronze’ in Jerusalem
Hadrian and his travels have often served as the guiding thread for my travels. However, my recent trip to Turkey had a different focus, the Hittite civilization, with one of the highlights being a visit to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. After dazzling at the magnificent artefacts on display on the museum's main… Continue reading The cuirassed statue of Hadrian from Ancyra’s theatre (Ankara, Turkey)
Caesarea Maritima is one of Israel's most famous archaeological sites. Its ruins are located by the seashore of Israel, about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. It is the site of one of the most important cities in the Roman World, the capital of the Roman province of Judea. The city was founded between 22… Continue reading The Hadrianic Aqueduct of Caesarea Maritima
With thousands of archaeological sites, Jerusalem is one of the most excavated cities on the planet, and walking its streets is like walking through a thousand years of history. This ancient city has been fought over more than any other place. It has been conquered, destroyed and rebuilt many times, and Hadrian played a significant… Continue reading Exploring Aelia Capitolina, Hadrian’s Jerusalem
About a year and a half after the discovery of the bronze statue of Hadrian in 1977 (see previous post here), six fragments of a monumental Latin inscription – the largest ever found in Israel – were discovered near the camp of the Sixth Legion in Tel Shalem. The inscription, inscribed in three lines, had belonged… Continue reading The inscription dedicated to Hadrian from the Tel Shalem arch
