Dedication to Ceres
created: Transcription (Reynolds).
source date: Probably early first century CE.
language: ar; en; fr; de; grc; grc-Latn; el; he

Bibliography

Mentioned [...], 115-6; published [...], 1, whence [...], 1995.683, [...] 44.1538, [...] 1994.1820b whence [...] 051935; [...], A.28.2.

Cereri Augustae ex uoto Marcus Romanius Servi filius Voltinia tribu Epulo pro magister publici Cyrenensis

To Ceres Augusta, in accordance with a vow, M(arcus) Romanius Epulo, son of Ser(vius), tribe Vol(tinia), acting head of the company collecting public revenue in Cyrene.

Commentary

The goddess is here addressed in her Roman form associated with the Roman imperial house by her title. This is unique in the record from the site so far, and it might seem more rational to place such a record in the Temple of Demeter in the Agora rather than here in the Wadi Bel Gadir. On the other hand, the Wadi Bel Gadir had manifestly been the location of personal dedications to the goddesses for many years and this is a personal dedication, if by a Roman in an official position of a kind. In any case, the base was certainly in the Wadi Bel Gadir for its third use (see C.456) and it is hard to believe that this earlier dedication to the same deity was not set up in the same sanctuary. If that is accepted the text throws new light on the importance of the cult, which clearly had a public character beyond what any of the earlier texts might lead one to suppose. That helps to explain the appearance of civic dedications (C.445, C.446, C.447) on the site.

Romanius Epulo is otherwise unknown but may have been related to the Romanius Hispo (PIR2 R 0081) of Tacitus, Annales 1.74 (available at Perseus, see also R. Syme, 'Personal Names in Annals I-VI', JRS 39, 1949, 6-18, 14-15), a man described as of obscure origins who was among the first to make a career of charging public men with treason against the emperor. Epulo names himself as senior representative of the company of publicani collecting public revenue for Rome in Cyrenaica. A good harvest would of course increase the amount of tax collectable, which explains his dedication and points to the major function of the goddesses. See further the discussion by Fadel Ali Mohamed and J. M. Reynolds, cited above.