Roman marble sculpture from the Levant: The group from the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi (Panias).

In 1992, a deposit of broken marble statues was discovered during the excavations of the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi (modern Banias) in northern Israel. From the 245 fragments recovered, twenty-eight statues carved in the Graeco-Roman tradition and representing mainstream Graeco-Roman deities and mythological figures may be reconstructed. These range in scale from colossal to miniature, and are datable stylistically to the first through the late fourth or early fifth centuries AD. Subjects include Roma, Athena, Zeus or Asklepios, Dionysos, a nymph, Aphrodite, Artemis, a satyr, and Herakles. The discovery of such a large number of high-quality marble statues at a site in the Levant is notable, since there is no native source of marble in the region, nor are marble dedications common at other Levantine sanctuaries. This dissertation constitutes the first study of the Caesarea Philippi sculptures. It presents a catalogue of the sculptures in which the subject, comparanda, workshop associations, and date of each statue are identified. The body of the dissertation is introduced by a discussion of the history of scholarship on marble sculpture from the Levant and by a history and archaeology of Caesarea Philippi. In addition, three interpretive chapters examine the origins, patronage and chronology, and subjects of the sculptures. The style and technique as well as isotopic analyses of their marble indicate that the statues originated in Asia Minor. Six Greek inscriptions from the sanctuary reveal that sculptures were dedicated primarily by local religious and civic officials, all of whom had adopted Roman names. Epigraphic, sculptural, and numismatic evidence suggests that sculptural dedications were made from the second half of the first through the late fourth centuries AD with a concentration in the second and early third centuries. Iconographically, the sculptures follow Graeco-Roman conventions and show that a wholly Graeco-Roman pantheon was worshipped at the sanctuary. Thus, the sculptures not only provide substantial evidence for the participation of the Levant in the imperial marble trade, but, as religious dedications, they highlight the Hellenized character of the Sanctuary of Pan and distinguish it from neighboring Levantine cult centers.Ph.D.Ancient historyArchaeologyArt historyCommunication and the ArtsSocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/130237/2/9721979.pd