Three monuments to Rhodopaios: a case study of re-use and continuity at Aphrodisias in the sixth century

Abstract

The honorific monuments erected in late antiquity in the city of Aphrodisias are striking in their preservation and in their appearance. Two scholars, Charlotte Roueché and R.R.R. Smith, have provided full and ground-breaking publications of these monuments and have extracted important information from careful study of the epigraphic and sculptural elements. Further study conducted under the aegis of Smith and B. Ward-Perkins in the Last Statues of Antiquity Project, has grounded these monuments in the larger, empire-wide context of late antiquity. These fine academic studies have made these late Aphrodisian honours points of reference. Without the work of these distinguished scholars, this paper would not be possible or relevant. This paper seeks merely to focus attention on small details of structure, technique, and iconography in an attempt to sharpen our vision of the very last of these monuments. It endeavours to distinguish tendencies specific to the sixth-century honorific statuary habit at Aphrodisias and to understand the concept of re-use and recycling in that last moment of the statue culture in this conservative city, by looking at three monuments dedicated to the same man in the last moments of the habit. These are three statues monuments to one Rhodopaios of the second quarter of the sixth century, preserved in different states. The paper is divided into three parts; an introduction that considers the main trends of honorific statuary, the presentation of the three monuments of Rhodopaios, and a conclusion. On cover:Late Roman wall, the portion immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with re-used blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyne and WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images). E-ISSN (online version) 2611-3686 ISSN (print version) 0065-0900