Earth and Space News: Herodes Atticus Dedicated His Wife's Land Along Via Appia as Triopion

Summary: Herodes Atticus dedicated his wife's land along Via Appia as Triopion, a garden sanctuary memorializing Regilla, who was murdered ca. 160 CE.

Herodes Atticus dedicated all or part of Regilla's estate along Rome's Via Appia as a sanctuary in her memory after her murder in 160 CE; "the sacred grove and the Temple of Ceres; now S. Urbano alla Caffarella," in R. Lanciani, New Tales of Old Rome (1901), page 294: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive

Wealthy Athenian Greek rhetorician Herodes Atticus dedicated his wife's land along Via Appia as Triopion, a garden sanctuary honoring wealthy Roman patrician Regilla, who was murdered by a kick to her abdomen in the eighth month of her pregnancy ca. 160 CE.

Herodes Atticus (Ancient Greek: Ἡρώδης ὁ Ἀττικός; Roman name: Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes; 101-177 CE), a wealthy Athenian Greek benefactor with Roman citizenship and of consular rank, engaged in numerous grief-alleviating projects in the aftermath of being charged by his brother-in-law, Appius Annius Atilius Bradua, with ordering the murder of his wife, Appia Annia Regilla (full name: Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia Tertulla; 125-160 CE), and being subsequently acquitted by a senatorial court. One of the grieving husband's freedmen, Alcimedon, was blamed for the murder but was never charged or punished.

The Appian Way (Italian and Latin: Via Appia) estate that Regilla had brought to her teenaged marriage to older Herodes Atticus ca. 139 CE has provided "the most unambiguous archaeological evidence" for Herodes Atticus's grief-driven projects in Rome, according to German classical archaeologist Barbara Elisabeth Borg in "Herodes Atticus in Rome: The Triopion Reconsidered" (page 317), published in 2018 in Visual Histories of the Classical World. Regilla's estate became the setting for a garden sanctuary that Herodes established and dedicated to the memory of his wife as "the light of the house, to whom these estates belonged" (page 320).

Herodes Atticus gave the name of Triopion to the garden sanctuary. The name referenced a sanctuary for Demeter (Ancient Greek: Δημήτηρ, Dēmḕtēr) at Knidos (Ancient Greek: Κνίδος, Knídos), an ancient port city on Cape Triopion (Ancient Greek: Τριόπιον; modern-day Cape Krio) in Caria region (Ancient Greek: Καρία, Karía), southwestern Asia Minor (modern-day western Anatolia [Ancient Greek: Ανατολία, Anatolía; Armenian: Անատոլիա, Anatolia; Turkish: Anadolu]). Greek mythology recognized Demeter is a goddess of the Earth, associated with agriculture and such agricultural concerns as harvests and seasons.

The Triopion Promontory namesaked Triopas (Ancient Greek: Τριόπας Triópas), hero and king of Thessaly (Ancient Greek: Θεσσαλία, Thessalía), an ancient region in north central Greece. Triopas was turned into a dragon as punishment for his hubristic (Ancient Greek ὕβρις, húbris, “arrogance, insolence, excessive pride") act of leveling a grove that was sacred to Demeter, according to British classicist and Ancient Greek literature textual critic Malcolm Davies and American classicist and social historian Sarah B. Pomeroy (born March 13, 1938) in "Marcellus of Side’s Epitaph on Regilla (IG XIV 1389): An Historical and Literary Commentary" (page 12), published in Prometheus in 2012. Triopas was listed among the candidates for Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer constellation by Latin author Gaius Julius Hyginus (ca. 64 BCE-17 CE) in Book II of De Astronomica (Astronomy), also known as Poeticon Astronomicon (Poetic Astronomy).

Two inscribed marble steles (Ancient Greek: στήλη, stḗlē, “upright rock; pillar; column”) extolling Regilla, Herodes Atticus and Triopion were found along Via Appia in the early 17th century. Stele B, with the inscription's second part, was discovered in 1607. Stele A was recovered ca. 1616.

Italian cardinal and art collector Scipione Borghese (Sep. 1, 1577-Oct. 2, 1633) added the two steles to his collection in Villa Borghese Pinciana, the villa that Italian architect Flaminio Ponzio (1560–1613) built in the early 17th century from Scipione's sketches. The villa's location on Pincian Hill (Italian: Pincio; Latin: Mons Pincius) placed it in the northeastern quadrant of Rome's historical center, within the Aurelian Walls (Italian: Mura aureliane; Latin: Muri Aureliani), which were built during the reign (270-275 CE) of Roman Emperor Aurelian (Latin: Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; Sep. 9, 214/215-Sep. 25, 275).

In 1808, during his first reign (May 18, 1804-April 6, 1814) as Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte (Aug. 15, 1769-May 5, 1821) removed the marble steles from Villa Borghese Pinciana and relocated them to Paris. The current location for the two steles is the Louvre Museum (David John; Davies and Pomeroy, page 14).

The two differently-sized marble steles record "Epitaph of Regilla" by Marcellus of Side (Ancient Greek: Μάρκελλος Σιδήτης, Marcellus Sidetes; Latin: Marcellus Sidetes), a second century CE Greek physician and poet. With a height of 122 centimeters, Stele A contains the 59 lines of the epitaph's first part. Stele B's 117-centimeter height bears the 39 lines of the epitaph's second part.

Stele A's inscribed poem invited Roman women, as "women of the Tiber," to visit Triopion and gift the enshrined seated statue of Regilla with "sacred offerings," according to Welsh author, graphic artist and photographer David John in "Herodes Atticus" on his online travel guide, My Favourite Planet, and also according to Davies and Pomeroy (pages 3, 8). The statue was installed in an area of Triopion with spacious fields, olive trees and vineyards (Davis and Pomeroy, pages 4, 9).

Stele B's epitaph invoked Athena (Ancient Greek: Ἀθήνα, Athēnē), protectress of cities, and Nemesis (Ancient Greek: Νέμεσις, Némesis), also known as Oupis (Ουπι), Rhamnousia (Ancient Greek: Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía), watcher of human actions, for Triopion's bountiful harvests of fruits, grains and grapes. The protection of Athena and Nemesis as Rhamnousia was sought to achieve honor for the Triopion goddesses "among immortals" via the preservation of "this fruitful estate" as "sacred to Deo" (Ancient Greek: Δηώ, Deo; an epithet of Demeter of uncertain etymology) and as "a place friendly to strangers."

As a benefit to future generations, with the approval of Athena, Herodes Atticus encircled the sanctified land with a "rounded wall" that was to remain unmoved and unviolated. Disturbance of any part of Triopion would activate the exaction of punishment by Nemesis (David John; Davies and Pomeroy, pages 7, 9-10).

Herodes Atticus's Triopion, sited along Rome's Via Appia, namesakes ancient agricultural harvest goddess Demeter's sanctuary on Cape Triopion; Tuesday, July 5, 2011, 16:08, image of Demeter of Knidos, seated on a throne, about 1.52 meters in height, Hellenistic marble sculpture, ca. 350-330 BCE, British Museum (acquired 1859 from British archaeologist Sir Charles Thomas Newton, Sep. 16, 1816-Nov. 28, 1894): Raymond.ellis, CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Herodes Atticus's dedication of his wife's Via Appia estate as Triopion recalls the sanctuary of ancient harvest goddess Demeter at Knidos on Cape Triopion in southwestern Asia Minor (modern-day Western Anatolia); "Triopian Promontory and ruins of Cnidus, as they appear at the distance of two leagues; taken from the S.W. looking towards the N.E. in sailing from Cos to Rhodes," E.D. Clarke deliv. Etchd by Letitia Byrne. Published April 1, 1812, by T. Cadell & W. Davies, Strand, London, in E.D. Clarke, Travels in Various Countries of Europe Asia and Africa; Part the Second: Greece Egypt and the Holy Land; Section the First (1812), opposite page 214: Public Domain Mark, via Wellcome Collection @ https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ddmjahws/items?canvas=279&manifest=2; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triopian_promontory_and_the_ruins_of_Cnidus,_as_they_appear_at_the_distance_of_two_leagues;_taken_from_the_SW_looking_to_-_Clarke_Edward_Daniel_-_1824.jpg

Borg, Barbara E. "Herodes Atticus in Rome: The Triopion Reconsidered." Pages 317-330. In: Catherine M. Draycott, Rubina Raja, Katherine Welch and William T. Wootton, eds., Visual Histories of the Classical World: Essays in Honour of R.R.R. Smith. Studies in Classical Archaeology, vol. 4. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers, 2018.
Available via ResearchGate @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340655030_Herodes_Atticus_in_Rome_The_Triopion_reconsidered_in_C_M_Draycott_R_Raja_K_Welch_and_W_T_Wootton_eds_Visual_Histories_of_the_Classical_World_Essays_in_Honour_of_RRR_Smith_Turnhout_Brepols_2019_317-30

Bunte, Bernhardus. "XIV Ophiuchus . . . . Nonnulli etiam Triopan Thessalorum regem dixerunt esse; qui cum suum domicilium tegere conaretur, Cereris ab antiquis collocatum diruit templum. Pro quo facto a Cerere fame objecta, numquam postea frugibus ullis saturari potuisse existimatur. Nouissime prope ad terminum uitae dracone obiecto, mala plurima perpessus, aliquando mortem adeptus, inter astra Cereris uoluntate est constitutus. Itaque adhuc uidetur eum draco circumplexus aeterna merentem adficere poena." Pages 49-51. Hygini Astronomica ex Codicibus a se Primum Collatis. Lipsiae: T.O. Weigeli, MDCCCLXXV [1875].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_W0R9pZXoDPoC/page/n63/mode/1up

Bunte, Bernhardus. Hygini Astronomica ex Codicibus a se Primum Collatis. Lipsiae: T.O. Weigeli, MDCCCLXXV [1875].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/hyginiastronomi00hygigoog/

Clarke, Edward Daniel, LL.D. Travels in Various Countries of Europe Asia and Africa. Part the Second: Greece Egypt and the Holy Land. Section the First. Broxbourn, Hertfordshire: R. Watts, MDCCCXII [1812].
Available via Wellcome Collection @ https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ddmjahws/items?canvas=279&manifest=2; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triopian_promontory_and_the_ruins_of_Cnidus,_as_they_appear_at_the_distance_of_two_leagues;_taken_from_the_SW_looking_to_-_Clarke_Edward_Daniel_-_1824.jpg

Davies, Malcolm; and Sarah Pomeroy. "Marcellus of Side’s Epitaph on Regilla (IG XIV 1389): An Historical and Literary Commentary." Prometheus: Rivista quadrimestrale di studi classici, anno 38, número 1 nuova serie I (Año 2012): 3-34.
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Galli, Marco. Die Lebenswelt eines Sophisten: Untersuchungen zu den Bauten und Stifungen des Davies, Malcolm; and Sarah Pomeroy. "Marcellus of Side’s Epitaph on Regilla (IG XIV 1389): An Historical and Literary Commentary." Prometheus: Rivista quadrimestrale di studi classici, anno 38, número 1 nuova serie I (Año 2012): 3-34.
Available @ https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/prometheus/article/view/915/915

Gleason, Maud W. "Making Space for Bicultural Identity: Herodes Atticus Commemorates Regilla." In: Walter Scheidel and Brent Shaw, eds., Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics Paper No. 070801. July 1, 2008.
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Gleason, Maud W. "Making Space for Bicultural Identity: Herodes Atticus Commemorates Regilla." Pages 125-162. In: Tim Whitmarsh, ed., Local Knowledge and Microidentities in the Imperial Greek World. (Cambridge University Press, 2010) 125-162.
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Grant, Mary, trans. and ed. "§ 2.14.1 SERPENT-HOLDER: Ophiuchus, who, by our writers, is called the Serpent-holder, is stationed above Scorpio, and holds in his hands a serpent which coils about his body. . . . § 2.14.4 Some, too, have said that he is Triopas, king of the Thessalians, who, in trying to roof his own house, tore down the temple of Ceres, built by the men of old. When hunger was brought on him by Ceres for this deed, he could never afterward be satisfied by any amount of food. Last of all, toward the end of his life, when a snake was sent to plague him, he suffered many ills, and at last winning death, was put among the stars by the will of Ceres. And so the snake, coiling round him, still seems to inflict deserved and everlasting punishment." The Myths of Hyginus Including the Fabulae and the Second Book of the Poetica Astronomica. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.
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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/05/did-herodes-atticus-genuinely-or-fakely.html

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Marriner, Derdriu. "Disrespect From Second Son Increased Herodes's Grief for His Daughters." Earth and Space News. June 1, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/06/disrespect-from-second-son-increased.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Herodes Dedicated Wife's Via Appia Land to Her as Light of the House." Earth and Space News. Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/06/herodes-dedicated-wifes-via-appia-land.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Herodes Atticus's Wife's Ancestral Estate Was Near Quintilii's Villa." Earth and Space News. Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/05/herodes-atticuss-wifes-ancestral-estate.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Marcus Aurelius Liking Trojan Quintilii Brothers Upset Herodes Atticus." Earth and Space News. Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/04/marcus-aurelius-liking-trojan-quintilii.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Within Five Years of His Wife's Murder, Herodes Grieved His Daughters." Earth and Space News. Thursday, May 25, 2023.
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Wright, [Emily] Wilmer Cave [France]. ". . . . He mourned his daughters with this excessive grief because he was offended with his son Atticus. He had been misrepreented to him as foolish, bad at his letters, and of a dully memory. At any rate, when he could not master his alphabet, the idea occurred to Herodes to bring up with him twenty-four boys of the same age named after the letters of the alphabet, so that he would be obliged to learn his letters at the same time as the names of the boys. He saw too that he was a drunkard and given to senseless amoours, and hence in his lifetime he used to utter a prophecy over his own house, adapting a famous verse as follows: One fool methinks is till left in the wide house,1 and when he died he handed over to him his mother's estate, but transferred his own patrimony to other heirs. The Athenians, however, thought this inhuman, and they did not take into consideration bhis foster-sons Achilles, Polydeuces, and Memnon, and that he mourned them as though they have been his own children, since they were highly honourable youths, noble-minded and fond of study, a credit to their upbringing in his house. . . ." Pages 164-167. Philostratus and Eunapius: The Lives of the Sophists, Book II.1.558, pages 164-167. The Loeb Classical Library. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, MCMXXII [1922].
Available via Google Books Read Free of Charge @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Philostratus_and_Eunapius/NeYNAQAAIAAJ
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/philostratuseuna00phil/page/165/mode/1up

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Thursday, June 15, 2023

Herodes Atticus Dedicated His Wife's Land Along Via Appia as Triopion

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