Honorary Statues as a Means of Public Communication in Iudaea / Syria Palaestina Dedicated to the Memory of Rachel Feig-Vishnia

Abstract

The evidence presented in the article, makes it obvious, that the public face of the majority of cities in the province of Iudaea/Syria Palaestina hardly differed from that presented by other urban centers in the Empire. For a long time this was seen differently and explained with the Jewish character of the province. But especially the large excavations not only in Caesarea, but also in Dor, Askelon, Hippos and Scythopolis have shown that the public spaces, be it the fora, the streets and the large porticoes were decorated with honorary statues, not only of emperors, but of representatives of the Roman power, of citizens, members of the Roman army or freedmen. Especially the comprehensive collection of all the inscriptional material in the Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae have shown that the larger centers of the province did not differ from those in the other provinces. It became clear that earlier assumptions had been largely inaccurate. It is to be expected that further excavations will further change our conceptions.