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4.2.1 The identification of Augustus with Asclepius

It is known that the Romans generally respected Greek gods, and the emperors asserted their association with the Greek deities. However, it is important to investigate whether, for example, the emperors claimed to be an incarnation of the Greek deity, or whether they subordinated themselves to the Greek gods.525 _{The situation in Corinth may be unique in this sense, since Romans re-founded the} city and resumed the Greek cults. In this part of the study, the question of the identification of

Augustus with Asclepius will be discussed by exploring literary and numismatic sources. Along with the exploration of the evidence, the intention of the Roman authorities in making this identification will be sought in relation to the historical context of Corinth.

Literary evidence

In Rome, the cult of Asclepius (the Romans addressed the god Aesculapius) on Tiber Island was popular among the people. The tradition of the cult, in which Asclepius was believed to have travelled from Epidaurus to Rome by boat in the appearance of a snake to cure a plague, goes back to the third century BCE.526 Thus, it is more likely that the immigrants from Rome to Corinth (or Buthrotum) were familiar with this cult of healing from Rome. Asclepius also had a strong connection with the

525 _{E.g. Price, Rituals and Power, p. 153.}

526 _{Cf. Wickkiser, ‘Asklepios’, p. 58. (Livy, 10.31.8-9, 10.47.6-7; Per. 11, 29.11.1; Ov., Met.,}

imperial family since Asclepius is a son of Apollo who was a divine patron of the imperial family. In addition, it is known that Julius Caesar claimed that Octavian was the son of Apollo.527 From this point, Bronwen L. Wickkiser stresses the identification of Augustus with Asclepius, especially in the cult at Corinth. She refers to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in which the relationship of Apollo and

Asclepius (Aesculapius) is juxtaposed with the relationship of Julius Caesar and Octavian,528 and explains the reason for the importance of this identification at that time. In Metamorphoses, two contexts are paralleled: the time of the spread of the plague in Rome and the situation during the time of Augustus. When Roman envoys are sent to Apollo in Delphi asking the god to cure the people of the plague, Apollo directs them to his son Asclepius in Epidaurus (which alludes to Caesar’s

appointment of Octavian), who then travels to Rome, as mentioned above. Wickkiser stresses that the coming of the deity of healing to Rome is depicted in such a way that it overlaps with the reign of Augustus, who would bring healing among the people who were wounded in the decades of civil war.

Thus, Wickkiser argues that, in Corinth, the Romans intended to utilize the cult in such a way that Asclepius represented Augustus.529 _{In other words, the relationship between them was that} Augustus was the incarnation of Asclepius. She also makes a clear distinction between Asclepius and Aesculapius, and raises the question of whether the deity that was worshipped in Corinth was a Greek deity (Asclepius) or the Roman deity (Aesculapius) of Tiber Island. Given that it was the Roman deity, one may also wonder whether and to what extent Greek people felt that the cult was Romanized and was no longer the cult of their deity. It may well be that the cult represented both traditions; for the Romans, the deity was Aesculapius, and for the people from Greek cultural background the deity was Asclepius.

Numismatic evidence

The question concerning the identification of Augustus with Asclepius is important, as the Romans

527 _{Suet., Aug., 94.4; Weinstock, Divus Julius, p. 14.} 528 _{Met. 15.622-870; Wickkiser, ‘Asklepios’, p. 59.} 529 _{Wickkiser, ‘Asklepios’, p. 59.}

may have intended to spread a certain message to the people by resuming the cult. The literary evidence above suggests a strong association of Augustus with Asclepius/Aesculapius, as stated above; thus, the message promoted may have been that Augustus is the new ruler who brings healing to the people, as Wickkiser argues.530 However, it is felt that there is a need for material evidence, since the message of the literary sources might not have reached the masses.531 The study will explore the numismatic evidence from Corinth to examine this identification, and to determine whether the Romans intended to propagate any kind of message to the people during the time when the cult of Asclepius was being resumed in Corinth.

In the study of Roman coinage, it is said that the type of the design shifted from specific to generalized images.532 The characteristics of the design of the deity were more specific in their context during the Julio-Claudian era than in the later period in the second century when the designs of the images of deities were more abstract. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill accounts for this phenomenon by stating that it reflects the trend of the social context; that is, it shifted from the time when Augustus still faced an unstable situation in the Empire to the period during the Antonine era when stability was relatively high.533 _{The case of the design of Poseidon in Roman coinage offers us important insights} into the question of identification in a specific context.534 _{It is said that it was Sextus Pompey who} eagerly identified himself with Poseidon (Neptune), a deity who had power over the seas; by doing so, he inherited the well-known legacy of his father, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, whose exploits in

clearing the pirates that had caused a loss to Rome were well known.535 After Sextus Pompey was defeated by Agrippa, Octavian’s son-in-law and defence minister, Octavian employed the symbol of