Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 32/2. (2012)
Articles
APOLLO AND IUPPITER DOLICHENUS IN ROMAN DACIA Imola BODA PhD, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, RO By studying the manifestation of the god from Doliche in the Roman Empire one can notice that a series of gods and divine figures are associated to the dolichenian cult. A special, syncretic aspect is represented by the association between Apollo and Iuppiter Dolichenus. Does this connection reflects only the syncretic character of the cult or are we dealing with a sort of inclusion of the god from Doliche, who tends to gather the attributes of other divinities, in a pantheon, thus making him Supreme Being? Keywords: Roman Empire, Roman Dacia, Apollo, Iuppiter Dolichenus, syncretism In one of our previous papers (Boda-Szabó 2011) we underlined the main characteristics of the manifestation referring to the god Iuppiter Dolichenus in the Roman Empire, respectively its iconography. The purpose of that article was to reinterpret a unique relief that explains the presence of a paredra of the god from Doliche in Roman Dacia (Mehadia). The present paper examines the presence of Apollo in this cult, demonstrating that this was a usual phenomenon in the cult of the god from Doliche. The current paper wishes to underline the normal presence of this Graeco-Roman divinity in the pantheon of Iuppiter Dolichenus and also to answer the question of whether this association reflects only the syncretic character of the cult or there was a sort of inclusion of the god from Doliche, who tends to gather the attributes of other divinities, in a pantheon, thus making him Supreme Being.1 Apollo was the Greek divinity of light and Sun, one of the great gods of Olympus, the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis. The Greek world worshipped him as god protector of shepherds and cattle raisers. The sacred birds and animals are the wolf, the raven, the mouse and the dolphin. His main attribute is the lyre, suggesting the connection to music, dance, song and poetry. His sacred plant was the laurel tree as shown by the mythology of Apollo and Daphne (Hahn 1975). In the Iliad he is the only god who heals a dying man, Glaucos. His main centres were Delphoi, first of all, but also other cities like Delos. Still the Greeks will gradually renounce Apollo as a healer god, turning their attention to half-god, sun of Apollo, Asklepios. The roman Apollo was the son of Iuppiter and Latona and his twin sister was Diana. His temple was among the first to be built at Rome, close to Flaminia plain. During the second Punic War, in 212 BC, games were instituted in honour of the god in Rome, Ludi Apollinares. During Augustus’ reign the god will receive the epithet Augustus, thus becoming the protecting deity of the imperial 1 I wish to thank dr. Sorin Nemeti for the kind help offered. MARISIA XXXII, p. 145-153
