Iupiter Dolichenus

views updated

IUPITER DOLICHENUS

IUPITER DOLICHENUS . The god known in the Latin-speaking part of the Roman Empire as Iupiter Doli-chenus was a local god of Syrian origin. His cult as a major cosmic god became widespread in the Empire in the second century ce, and he was given the majestic epithets of the Roman Jupiter (Optimus and Maximus). Although honored with Roman religious formulae, certain specific dedications have nonetheless retained evidence of his exotic origin.

Doliche (modern Dülük, in Turkey, near Gaziantep) was a town of Commagene beside the Euphratesand thus at the crossroads of Anatolian, Syrian, and Iranian influencesand had come under Roman sway at the time of Pompey (10648 bce). Its local god (whose sanctuary has not yet been excavated) was derived from the Hittite-Hurrian Teshub, a weather god who had absorbed some of the characteristics of the Aramaic Hadad, a Syrian storm god. In the absence of literary sources giving details of his myth, the way he is portrayed sheds light on his character. Typical iconography shows him upright on a bull, holding a double-bladed axe and thunderbolt and wearing a Persian crown or Phrygian cap. From the Hellenistic period on, he also wears military armor. The fixed religious formula describing the godubi ferrum nascitur (where iron is born)recalls both his theogony and a powerful nature. The theology of the great god providing prosperity, the universal lord, "eternal guardian of the entire cosmos" (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, no. 376), is displayed via complex symbolic ornamentation, in which he is surrounded by attendants making clear his cosmic sovereignty (the Dioscuri, the Sun, the Moon). Like the Anatolian and Syrian master gods he is accompanied by a female consort, whose character was borrowed from the goddess Hebat/Hepet of the Hurrian/Hittite substrate. In the Roman Empire she was known widely as Iuno Doli-chena, or sometimes Regina, like the Roman goddess.

The cosmic power of the god explains his support among the military (around half the devotees in about 650 dedications). The geographical extent of his spread is along the lines of the militarized areas as far as Hadrian's Wall in Brittany, and sometimes the trade routes with the East. Even in places where easteners were numerous, such as the Vrbs (the City of Rome), the face of the cult was still romanized. The oriental image of the god merged into the Roman melting pot during stages of integration: under Hadrian in Africa and Rome (two sanctuaries on the Equiline and the Aventine), then from the middle of the second century in the Danube provinces (Pannonia and Noricum, with the outstanding collection of Mauer-an-der-Url). The significant number of soldiers highlights the fact that the majority of the faithful were male. However, the cult was not barred to women, who took part in family dedications (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, no. 381) or offered silver plaques on their own (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, nos. 303 and 304).

The military factor enlightens the period of time over which the evidence is spread as well, from Hadrian (117138) to Gallienus (253268 [The last dedication is dated in 260]). The growing interest for the god under the Severan emperors betrays mainly the military situation rather than an official support from a dynasty originating from Emesa. The reasons for the cult's disappearance have caused scholarly debate. In the absence of clear proof of an "Illyrian backlash" by Maximinus the Thracian (235-238), the military crisis, which arose in 235, saw fighting and destruction in the frontier regions, which are sufficient explanation of the disaffection with a cult that persisted elsewhere (in Rome, for example). Under Gallienus, who redrew the limes (frontier) along the Rhine and the Danube, Shapur I captured Doliche and destroyed the temple. The disappearance around this time of devotions in the Empire might mean that the Doliche as a religious metropolis played a significant part in the organization of the cult, perhaps by sending out priests (a number have Syrian names); most likely the existence of the city served as a symbolic point of reference.

The cult was well organized. Even if it was not actually sent out by the main temple, the priesthood, which was linked to Doliche, ensured a proper framework, which could explain why the conception of the god was more or less consistent. As far as we know, the structure of groups of the faithful was established on a basis of collegia, at least in Rome. Cult sites (more than fifteen have been excavated) were long-standing and well maintained (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, no. 547). The Dolichena (temples of the god) that have been preserved are varied in size with no "canonical" plan. We have only a partial idea of the rituals that took place, probably sacrifices with ritual meals (attested at Zugmantel [Germania] and at the Aventine temple). Raised votive hands and bronze triangles with complex symbolism might have served as religious emblems for display or procession, and mounted silver plaques served as an ornate display.

The two great heavenly lords of Doliche and Heliopolis in Syria, which had similar theologies, are jointly invoked on several documents (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, nos. 183 and 221). Another Syrian Baal "from the mountain," Jupiter Turmasgades, was also sunnaos (housed in the same temple) of Dolichenus (at Doura Europos and in Dacia). However, the god who was closest to Iupiter Dolichenus was Mithras, due to the similar beliefs and social composition of their followers. Apart from these usual associations within polytheistic systems, the god of Doliche borrowed little from other great gods, except the testimony of two bronze plaques, which show an influence of Isis' religion (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, nos. 512 and 511). In contrast, the god is often figured with the characteristics of a Latin Jupiter, with scepter and thunderbolt, along with an eagle (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, no. 515, for example).

Since the god of Doliche, like the Roman god Jupiter, was a god of power and victory, his followers, some of them high-ranking military officers, included the emperors and their families in their prayers. The link between the god of Doliche and the Empire started as early as his "meeting" with Rome at the beginning of the common era. It was figured on a civic stamp that shows a dexiosis (shaking hands) between the god and an Imperator. Even so, the cult of Doli-chenus was not, as one might think, an official army cult, a religion of the military camps. Of course, this god with a military aspect, and possibly in Roman guise, was well able to act as divine patron in the eyes of military units. More generally, this god of victory, and thus of salvation, may be seen as a "great" benevolent god, in keeping with the trend of religious developments in the second and third centuries.

See Also

Aramean Religion; Blessing; Hittite Religion; Hurrian Religion; Roman Religion, article on the Imperial Period; Teshub.

Bibliography

Epigraphical and archaeological data are published by Monika Hörig and Elmar Schwertheim, Corpus Cultus Iovis Dolicheni (Leiden, 1987); for Rome, see Gloria M. Belleli and Ugo Bianchi, eds., Orientalia Sacra Urbis Romae Dolichena et Heliopolitana. Recueil d'études archéologiques et historico-religieuses sur les cultes cosmopolites d'origine commagénienne et syrienne (Rome, 1997). Rainer Vollkommer discusses iconographical typology in "Iuppiter Dolichenus," Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae 8, no. 1 (1997): 471478. The standard study is Pierre Merlat, Jupiter Dolichenus. Essai d'interprétation et de synthèse (Paris, 1960). It has been updated by Monika Hörig in "Iupiter Dolichenus, " Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II 17, no. 4 (1984): 21362179, and by Elmar Schwertheim in "Iupiter Dolichenus. Seine Denkmäler und seine Verehrung," in Die orientalischen Religionen in Römerreich, edited by Marteen J. Vermaseren, pp. 193212 (Leiden, 1981). German readers should see Michael P. Speidel, Juppiter Dolichenus. Der Himmelsgott auf dem Stier (Stuttgart, 1980). For a focus on the army issue, see Michael P. Speidel, The Religion of Jupiter Dolichenus in the Roman Army (Leiden, 1978).

Nicole Belayche (2005)

Translated from French by Paul Ellis