Prophesizing for kings and emperors: Apollo of Didyma and the epigraphic culture of Miletos
Prophesizing for kings and emperors: Apollo of Didyma and the epigraphic culture of Miletos

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with Apollo's Oracle at Didyma in the Hellenistic and Roman age when it fully belonged to the polis of Miletos. Authors bring information on Didyma's oracles to Alexander the Great, Seleukos I, Nikomedes II, Diocletian and Licinius. Inscriptions refer to oracles to other Seleukid kings. Indirect evidence points to oracles for Augustus, Trajan and Julian. These oracles correlate with periods of strong local activity attested by the epigraphic curve for Miletos. Sometimes an oracle set off a chain of events leading to material and political gains for Miletos. Didyma's prophesies for kings and Emperors contributed enormously towards building Miletos' prestige and position in the Hellenistic and Roman age.

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