Imperial Cult in Ephesus: Expressions of Inferiority, Superiority, or Isopolity?

Erin Iosa Imperial Cult in Ephesus: Expressions of Inferiority, Superiority, or Isopolity? Dr. Julie Langford Subject Domain: History – Ancient Rome – Severan Dynasty Motivation: During my undergraduate research this summer I noticed that Ephesus minted many coins with the term neokoros on the reverse. After learning that the term eventually became a title of favoritism through the granting of an imperial cult I began researching why Ephesus was granted so many and what message were Ephesians sending and to whom. Thesis: The imperial cult temples appear to show reverence for Rome and the Emperor, but what they really show is the competition between Greek cities for the title neokoros. By putting the term neokoros on coinage, Ephesians were able to promote their city as begin favored by Rome while also holding onto their Greek heritage. Methodology: First and foremost I used the Severan Provincial Coinage Database to analyze how many times the term neokoros showed up on Ephesian coins along with images of Ephesian Artemis and the Emperor. I also used modern historiographical papers to examine the evidence. Conclusions: Through its coinage, Ephesus depicts itself as equal with Rome by showing the Emperor on the obverse and Ephesian Artemis on the reverse. However the images are not for the sake of Rome but to show superiority amongst other provincial cities. By depicting Ephesus as sharing power with Rome it places itself above other eastern provincial cities