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After sailing along the southern Black Sea coast, possibly visiting the Pontic towns of Amisus, Sinope and Amastris (see here), Hadrian is thought to have spent the winter of 123/4 in Nicomedia or possibly Byzantium. Nicomedia was the capital of the dual province of Pontus et Bithynia in what is now Izmit in northern Turkey. It was also the hometown of his lifelong friend Arrian, who may have been his host on this occasion, like in 117/8 (see here). Arrian was a Stoic philosopher and a student of Epictetus at Nicopolis in Epirus, where the pair probably met. About 12 years younger than Hadrian, Arrian shared many of Hadrian’s passions, including his enthusiasm for hunting.

During his stay in the Bithynian province, the Emperor probably visited several major cities, including Heraclea Pontica, Claudiopolis (former Bythinium), Prusias ad Hypium and Nicaea. During one of these visits, Hadrian probably met Antinous, a beautiful young Greek boy who would accompany him on his many travels as a cherished lover and companion. Nicomedia and Nicaea had recently experienced an earthquake that had caused significant damage to the cities. The exact date of the earthquake is not known, but it most likely occurred in the fifth year of Hadrian’s reign in 121, between August and December, according to Eusebius. This was before Hadrian’s visit to the area in 124. Saint Jerome, on the other hand, places the earthquake in the fourth year of Hadrian’s reign, AD 120, which was the 224th Olympiad.

After an earthquake had happened, Nicomedia lay in ruins, and many things were overturned in the city of Nicaea: for the reconstruction of which, Hadrian generously gave funds from the public treasury. Jerome, Chronicle 180

Hadrian showed special care for the province and contributed to the reconstruction of both Nicomedia and Nicaea. This is evidenced by a set of coins celebrating Hadrian as Restitutor Bithyniae and Restitutor Nicomediae. Nicomedia also expressed its gratitude by adding the epithet ‘Hadriane’ (Ἁδριανή) to its name (CIG 1720). The Emperor is credited with reconstructing city walls, gates and markets in the two neighbouring towns, which had a long rivalry over which city held the rank of capital of the province. Nicomedia was the metropolis or ‘first city’ of Bithynia and wanted to be the only city claiming the title, which Nicaea also claimed. Hadrian also entrusted Patrocles, a Bithynian who had commanded two Roman cohorts, with overseeing the reconstruction of his native Nicaea (IK Iznik 56).

Bithynia was a mountainous region with heavy forests and fertile valleys, lying northwest of Asia Minor, between the Propontis (now known as the Sea of Marmara) and the Black Sea. It was bordered by Thrace to the west, Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast along the Pontic coast, and Phrygia to the southeast towards the interior of Asia Minor. Bithynia became a Roman province in 74 BC when Nicomedes IV (c. 94–74 BC) bequeathed his entire kingdom to the Roman Republic. The Kingdom of Pontus was incorporated after the defeat of Mithridates VI Eupator (120–63 BC) in 63 BC, thanks to Pompey the Great’s decisive victory in the Third Mithridatic War. The province’s area was then expanded as part of Pompey’s annexations and organisation of the eastern provinces.

During Roman rule, the provinces of Bithynia and Pontus were merged for administrative purposes, as evidenced by inscriptions mentioning Procos. provinciae Ponti et Bithyniae. The region covered the eastern part of the coast of the Propontis, the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, and the southern coast of the Black Sea up to Amisus. These three regions, namely Bithynia, Paphlagonia, and Pontus, hold significant historical importance.

Pontus and Bithynia had no Roman legions stationed in their territories, but the Roman army passed through the region during their military operations against Armenia and Parthia. To reach the Cappadocian frontier, troops would travel through Byzantium, Nicomedia, Nicaea, Juliopolis and Ancyra. Bithynia had several prominent cities, including Calchedon (a free town) and Apamea, Prusa, and Heraclea Pontica (colonies). During Hadrian’s reign, various centres such as Caesarea Germanica, Apamea Myrlea, Cius, Calchedon, Bithynium Claudiopolis, and Nicomedia issued coins with the Emperor’s image.

Greek culture thrived in Bithynia, a province that produced notable writers and intellectuals. Asclepiades from Prusa (c. 124–40 BC) was a Greek physician who established Greek medicine in Rome. Lucius Flavius Arrianus (c. 95–175), known mainly for his work devoted to the expeditions of Alexander the Great and his Periplus of the Euxine Sea, was from Nicomedia. Cassius Dio (c. 155–235) from Nicaea was the author of the History of Rome, and Dio Chrysostom from Prusa (c. 40–c. 110) was a Greek rhetorician and philosopher who gained fame in Rome and throughout the empire for his writings and speeches.

Although Bithynia et Pontus was governed by a single Roman governor, Bithynia had its own provincial assembly, called the koinon of Bithynia. The assembly met at Nicomedia in a temple dedicated to the imperial cult, known as the Temple of Rome and Augustus. Augustus, who authorised the construction in 29 BC, only allowed temples to be built in his honour if the goddess Rome was also worshipped (Suetonius, Augustus 52). The temple is depicted on the reverses of Hadrianic cistophori bearing the legend COM(MUNE) BI(THYNIAE), meaning “koinon of Bithynia”. Although the temple has not been found, it has been reconstructed based on extensive numismatic evidence (RPC III, no. 968-984). The temple was built in Corinthian style and had eight columns, and the inscription on the entablature read Romae Senatui Populo Augusto. It was probably damaged in an earthquake and later restored during the reign of Hadrian.

All types of Hadrianic cistophori have counterparts in the bronze series (RPC III, no. 985-1021), which regularly feature ΚΟΙ-ΝΟΝ ΒΕΙΘΥΝΙΑϹ as legends. However, no trace of this provincial imperial shrine has been discovered. The architectural appearance of the temple is only known through these cistophori and bronze coins produced by the koinon of Bithynia. The primary role of the koinon was to organize the cult of the Emperor, manage the regional economy, and collect taxes.

Bithynia, a senatorial province, was in a state of disarray, both financially and administratively, before Trajan took direct control of it. In AD 110, the Optimus Princeps appointed Pliny the Younger, an experienced administrator, as legatus Augusti pro praetore (proconsular legate of the province) to exercise his imperium in the allegedly corrupt province. During his tenure, Pliny corresponded with the Emperor to discuss administrative issues, engineering projects, and everyday life in the province and its cities. Pliny also commented on the emergence of Christianity in the province and sought the Emperor’s advice on how to deal with this new sect (Ep. 10.96).

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Nicomedia was an important port with a well-protected harbour. The city was located on the main roads that directly connected Byzantium to Pontus and Armenia, making it an important connection point between the eastern frontiers of the empire. It was founded in 264 BC by Nicomedes I on the ruins of a Greek colony named Olbia, a Megarian town founded in the 8th century BC. Nicomedia served as the chief residence of the Bithynian kings and was the centre of pre-Roman administration. During the Roman period, it became a metropolis and the provincial capital, where the main administrator of the province resided. Despite several destructive earthquakes (the city rests on the North Anatolian faultline), Nicomedia never lost its geographical and strategic importance, competing with Nicaea for the first rank in the province. It was one of 37 cities in Asia that acquired the title of neokoros several times (three times), associated with the imperial cult.

Nicomedia was predominantly built on picturesque hills overlooking the sea. It had strong walls with gates, some parts of which still exist today. The city thrived particularly during the Flavian and Antonine periods. In his letters to Trajan, Pliny mentions several public buildings of the city, such as a senate house, a forum, and a temple of Cybele. He also spoke of a great fire that engulfed Nicomedia, causing much destruction because of the lack of firemen (Plin. Ep. 10.33). Pliny further reported on the Nicomedian aqueduct, which took an investment of 3.5 million sesterces but was not completed (Plin. Ep 10.37). Nicomedia also had temples dedicated to Isis (Plin. Ep 10.37), Zeus Bronton (TAM IV 58), and Cybele/Magna Mater (TAM IV 74). Other notable buildings included large baths, a nymphaeum, a theatre, gymnasia, numerous fountains, a circus, and an agora.

The city’s chief divinity of Nicomedia was Demeter, the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture who presided over crops and the fertility of the earth. Nicomedia held regular games called Demetria in her honour. Arrian, who served as the priest of Demeter and her daughter Kore (as per TAM IV 402), reported that the Mysteries of Demeter and Kore originated in Nicomedia. During the imperial period, coins from Nicomedia usually depicted the patron goddess carrying a sceptre, an attribute associated with the Eleusinian goddess. The cult celebrating the earth’s fertility was one of the most important in ancient times and was relatively popular in Bithynia. This may have been due to the fertility of the area, as Nicomedia had very fertile valleys and coastal districts that produced a great variety of products, ranging from grain to grapes and nuts.

The renowned orator from Antioch, Libanius, resided in Nicomedia from 344 to 349. He referred to Nicomedia as “the city of Demeter” and recorded the existence of a temple dedicated to Demeter. He also documented the city’s remarkable structures, which were destroyed in the earthquake of AD 358.

What city was more beautiful? Its public buildings were splendid, its private contiguous, rising from the lowest parts to the citadel, like the branches of a cypress, one house above another, watered by rivulets and surrounded by gardens. Its council-chambers, its schools of oratory, the multitude of its temples, the magnificence of its baths, and the commodiousness of its harbour I have seen, but cannot describe. Libanius, Ornationes LXI 7

Nicomedia was among the cities that worshipped Antinous after his death in the Nile in Egypt. There are coins confirming that the young Bithynian was heroised, as he is shown on coins with the legends ‘ΗΡΩϹ ΑΝΤΙΝΟΟϹ’ (hero Antinous) on the obverse and ‘Η ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙϹ ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΕΙΑ’ (Nicomedia the Metropolis) on the reverse. Bithynia saw the importance of Antinous in linking the birthplace with the empire and wanted to commemorate him as a divine local hero as well.

As previously mentioned, an earthquake severely damaged Nicomedia and Nicaea before Hadrian’s visit. Late chroniclers explicitly report that the Emperor provided funds for the necessary restoration work. ‘He [Hadrian] restored Nicomedia and Nicaea of Bithynia, which had collapsed in an earthquake’ (Eus. Hist. 164). The Historia Augusta also mentions that Hadrian gave tax exemptions to communities which had been damaged by “famines, plagues, and earthquakes” (SHA, Hadrian, 21.5). Malalas claims that Hadrian “bestowed” money on the surviving citizens (Malalas, 279). Moreover, on a high-relief frieze block found within the nymphaeum at Nicomedia, the name Hadrian is written in the nominative case (TAM IV, 1 10). This is believed to be related to the original building or its reconstruction.

People attempted to assist those affected by the earthquake. A funerary monument was built to honour a male tutor named Hermes, who risked his own safety to protect the children under his care. The memorial stele shows Hermes embracing the young boys with his arms, shielding them from the falling debris.

Thraso, son of Diogenes, erected this stele for his two sons, Dexiphanes, aged five and Thraso, aged four, and for Hermes, aged twenty-five, who was bringing them up. In the earthquake collapse, so did he hold them in his arms.

From this time on, Nicomedia was plagued by large-scale destructive earthquakes. Other emperors, such as Commodus and Julian, helped rebuild the city. Commodus also presented Nicomedia with its second neokoros title, whereas Julian spent several years in the city and donated a significant amount of money towards its restoration. After the earthquake of 533/4, Nicomedia lost its grandeur, but it continued to exist in the Byzantine era. During Justinian‘s rule, the city was revived by rebuilding churches, aqueducts, and bathhouses.

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After Nicomedia, Hadrian went on to assist its rival located to the southeast on the bank of Lake Ascania.

[Hadrian] surrounded with strong walls Nicaea and Nicomedea, which had suffered in an earthquake.’ (Niceph. 256/i. 944).

While our knowledge of Hadrian’s response to the earthquake in Nicomedia is limited to ancient writers, the city of Nicaea has delivered some valuable epigraphical and archaeological evidence that sheds light on Hadrian’s efforts to rebuild the city. Among the most significant pieces of epigraphical evidence is the long dedication to Hadrian above the Lefke (eastern) and Istanbul (northern) city gates.

Nicaea was a wealthy city situated in a vast and fertile valley surrounded by mountains. The settlement was connected to the nearby Propontis via the main highway leading from Thrace to central Anatolia and extending southeast towards Syria. Nicaea is said to have been colonised by Bottiaeans from Central Macedon, who had named the city Helikore, but the Mysians subsequently destroyed the first colony. In the wake of Alexander the Great‘s death, Nicaea was rebuilt by the Macedonian king Antigonus I, who named the city Antigoneia after himself. Shortly after that, in 301 BC, Lysimachus conquered the city after the battle of Ipsus, and he changed its name to Nikaea in honour of his wife.

As Strabo records (Strab. 12.4), the town was built as a square measuring 16 stadia in circumference (approx. 700 sq. km). The city’s streets were planned using the Hippodamian system, with all intersections at right angles. This system is still visible in Iznik’s modern street layout. The city had two main streets leading to four gates that were visible from a fixed stone located at the centre of the gymnasium, which stood at the heart of the town.

As Strabo noted, Nicaea had a smaller ring of walls during the Hellenistic period. The Hellenistic walls fell into disuse and disappeared in the Roman period. Instead, freestanding triumphal arches were built under Vespasian at the ends of Nicaea’s main streets. The city walls were reconstructed after the Goths threatened the region in the late 3rd century AD. These walls formed an irregular pentagon around 5 km long, as seen on the reverses of bronze coins minted under the emperors Valerian and Gallienus.

During the reign of Augustus, Nicaea underwent significant development to the extent that it rivalled Nicomedia as the seat of the provincial governor. A temple was built for Roman citizens, dedicated to Roma, the personification of the city of Rome, and Julius Caesar. Additionally, during this time, the koinon of Bithynia established agonistic games in Nicaea, held every four years in honour of the Emperor.

Caesar, meanwhile, besides attending to the general business, gave permission for the dedication of sacred precincts in Ephesus and in Nicaea to Rome and to Caesar, his father, whom he named the hero Julius. These cities had at that time attained chief place in Asia and in Bithynia respectively. Dio 51.20.6

In the Flavian era, the city of Nicaea received four new monumental gates built using local marble. These gates were dedicated to Vespasian and his son Titus, as well as to Nicaea itself, by the Bithynian proconsul M. Plancius Varus after AD 70 (IK Iznik 25–28). The four gates were located on the north, east, west and south sides of the city. Each gate consisted of an arched central passage and two minor rectangular gateways. The gates were decorated with statues placed in the niches on either side of the archway and possibly over the gates. Later, in the 3rd century AD, the walls were raised, and the gates were completely rebuilt with new brick superstructures and towers as part of a re-fortification project.

Pliny the Younger further enlarged the city and completed the construction of new buildings. In discussing the state of Nicaea’s public works, he reported on investments in unfinished buildings such as the theatre and gymnasium (Plin. Ep 10.39). The theatre’s construction had begun shortly before Pliny inspected the Bithynian cities, costing more than ten million sesterces. However, the building was sinking, with cracks appearing, and despite Pliny’s suggestion that it should be demolished, Trajan requested that it be completed.

The theatre was located in the southwest part of the city between the lake and the eastern gate. It was built largely on vaulted substructures in opus caementicium and faced with marble. It measured 85 by 55 m and belonged to the Hellenistic type, although it had undergone several alterations. Over the centuries, the theatre became an open-air quarry. Its stones were used as construction materials, especially in restoring the city walls during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

After the earthquake of AD 120, Hadrian provided funds for the restoration of Nicaea. The Paschal Chronicle reports that Hadrian repaired the city’s walls, gates, and market. In recognition of his contributions and visit, the northern and eastern gates of Nicaea were rededicated to him. The long dedication to Hadrian on both sides of the gates’ architrave also mentions the titles metropolis and neokoros conferred by the Emperor to the city, which suggests that the earliest known neokoros temple at Nicaea belonged to Hadrian. Additionally, a text (IK Iznik 56) reveals that a local man named Patrocles was chosen to oversee the rebuilding of the city according to Hadrian’s instructions. Finally, inscriptions indicate the existence of an aqueduct dedicated to Hadrian.

“To the emperor king Trajan Hadrian Augustus, son of the god Trajan Particus, grandson of the god Nerva, he who bears upon himself the authority of the people’s sovereignty, Nikaia, descended from the line of Dionysos and Herakles, the first (city) of Bithynia and Pontus, metropolis by the decrees of the emperors and the sacred Roman senate, offers the most pious Neokoros of the Augusti”. (IK Iznik 29)

Two inscriptions related to the aqueduct of Nicaea, one in Greek (IK Iznik 1) and the other in Latin (IK Iznik 55), reveal that Hadrian was the person to whom the aqueduct was dedicated. It is also mentioned that the Emperor imposed strict regulations for the protection of the aqueduct. According to the Greek decree, Hadrian ordered the people living near the aqueduct not to interfere with the water conduit in any way. Those who did so were to pay a fine to the treasury. The remains of the aqueduct that are visible today extend to the east of Iznik from the Lefke Gate. The total length of the aqueduct was about 1.5 km. According to Procopius (De aedificiis, V, 3), it was restored during the time of Justinian. Restorations were also carried out by Theodore I Lascaris (1205–1222) in the 13th century AD.

On a small altar (IK Iznik 32) found in Nicaea, Hadrian is referred to as Zeus Soter Olympios. The use of the epithet Olympios for Hadrian is attested for the first time in 128. However, it became regular after 131/2, the year in which the Olympieion in Athens was finished, and the Panhellenion (a league of Greek cities with headquarters in Athens) was established.

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During his tour of Bithynia, Hadrian most likely visited the metropolis of Bithynium-Claudiopolis (modern-day Bolu), located in the highlands to the east of Nicomedia, beyond the Sangarius River. Bithynium-Claudiopolis stood on the great Roman highway that ran parallel to the coastal ridge, connecting Nicomedia to Ancyra in Galatia. In the past, the city was known for its pastures and cheese and was one of the leading cities of the Kingdom of Bithynia. It is believed to be a Hellenistic foundation of the kings of Bithynia, as there is no evidence of an earlier city on its territory. An inscription found at Bolu indicates that the founder of the city was King Prusias I. However, according to Pausanias, Bithynium was founded by Arcadians from Mantinea (Paus. 8.9.7), a belief which may date from the time of Hadrian. The Bithynian city was renamed Claudiopolis during Roman times under Claudius, but by Hadrian’s day, it had reverted to Bithynion (Bithynium).

Bithynium was a city built on a low hill, surrounded by well-watered plains. It was equipped with the usual buildings found in a city, such as markets, gymnasiums and palaestras, a theatre, and a massive bath-house located at the foot of the mountain. However, Pliny had some concerns about possible overspending and poor engineering. As a result, he requested that Trajan send an architect to inspect the projects. In response, Trajan gave his famous rejoinder: “There must be plenty of architects to advise you, for there is no province which is without some men of experience and skill in that profession, and remember again that it does not save time to send one from Rome when so many of our architects come to Rome from Greece.” (Ep. 10.39-40).

According to Pausanias, Antinous was born in Bithynium-Claudiopolis, although he himself “never saw him in the flesh”. He adds that the Bithynians’ ancestors were Mantineans from Arcadia. The Mantineans, who, as A. Birley notes, “were later to honour Antinous with particular fervour”, certainly claimed him as one of their own. Dio confirms the place of birth, adding that Bithynium is now called Claudiopolis (Dio Cass. 69.11.2).

Antinous was by birth from Bithynium beyond the river Sangarius, and the Bithynians are by descent Arcadians of Mantineia. Paus. 8.9.7

There was a rural area called Mantineion located outside Bithynium-Claudiopolis, in the upper valley of the Ladon River (Socrates Hist. eccl. 2.38), which may have been the precise birthplace of Antinous. The pastoral nature of the landscape in which Antinous grew up proved key for the later presentation of the Bithynian youth as a woodland boy (Robert, 1980). In addition, the obverses of a series of medallions struck at Bithynium towards the end of Hadrian’s reign show Antinous as a divinised herdsman or as Hermes Nomios, “the protector of pastures and shepherds”.

Although the exact circumstances remain unknown, we can infer that Hadrian first encountered Antinous during his journey through the province. He may have been noticed at some public ceremony where Antinous was participating. This could have occurred at Claudiopolis, if not at Nicomedia or at Heraclea Pontica, where athletic contests for boys and men were held in Hadrian’s honour. Antinous could have been a competitor in these contests (Birley, 1997). After this meeting, Antinous would have been sent to Rome to attend the imperial paedagogium for further education before becoming part of the large entourage of Hadrian and his wife, Sabina. However, we don’t know for sure when Antinous first joined Hadrian on his travels, but his public presence with the emperor wasn’t confirmed until their tour in Egypt in 130.

Hadrian was to grant Bythinium numerous privileges as the hometown of Antinous and establish a local cult to Antinous after his death. The existence of a theatre located on the southern slope of the Acropolis and a stadium with a length of approximately 93 m are among the examples of urban architecture attributed to Hadrian in Bithynium. The remains of marble column fragments from a temple are evidence of Hadrian’s commitment to honour Antinous and his hometown.

The architectural fragments from a temple dedicated to Antinous and the Hadrianic theatre are now displayed at the Bolu Müzesi, while the clearest depiction of the temple is left to us on a single coin minted in Claudiopolis during the reign of Elagabalus (AD 218–22), which is now displayed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (see here). The Temple of Antinous would have stood above the city’s stadium, which itself hosted the Hadrianeia Antinoeia, the sacred games dedicated to Hadrian and Antinous. There is evidence of the institution of mystic rites (IK Klaudiupolis 65), and an agon mystikos is mentioned in an inscription from Ancyra as having travelled to Claudiopolis to participate in a mystical context (I.Ancyra 143).

Antinous was worshipped not only in public but also in private or domestic settings. A small limestone altar (IK Klaudiupolis 56) indicates that he was worshipped as a god. A small limestone altar dedicated to Antinous is inscribed in Greek: νέωι θεῶ[ι] / Ἀντινόωι / εὐχν / Σωσθένη[ς] (‘to the new god Antinous. Sosthenes (set this) as a prayer’). The formula indicates that Antinous answered Sosthenes’s prayer (Smith 2018, 53).

Recently, parts of a stadium have been uncovered in the city centre of Bolu, located on the southern slopes of Hisartepe. This stadium was used as the venue for the Hadrianeia Antinoeia games. It was built using limestone cut stones without using mortar. The stadium had an elongated U-shaped structure comprising a running track surrounded by seats on the east, south, and west. The estimated capacity of the stadium was 3,500 spectators. The stadium hosted athletic contests, including boxing and wrestling, as well as agonistic games, which probably included poetry, music, and drama competitions.

Seven marble slabs were discovered in 2008 during excavations in the stadium. These slabs form a 20-metre-long inscription (IK Klaudiupolis 53), written in Greek and engraved with regular letters in two lines. The inscription reveals that the stadium was built in dedication to Hadrian and the Demos of Claudiopolis. It also states that Gn. Domitius Ponticus Iulianus pledged to fund the stadium’s construction but unfortunately passed away before it was fully completed. The project was taken over by Claudia Procla and Aelius Plotius Iulianus, who were the legal foster parents of the daughters of Domitius and managed his property.

A commemorative series of coins was issued in honour of Antinous, with the inscription is Η ΠΑΤΡΙΣ ΑΝΤΙΝΟΟΝ ΘΕΟΝ, that is, “His native country (reverences) the god Antinous” (RPC III, 1110-1120). Mantinea in Arcadia was the other main centre of Antinous worship, which was traditionally regarded as Bithynium’s mother city. Like Bithynium, Mantinea also had a stadium for the integral Hadrianeia Antinoeia. During his visit to Mantinea, Pausanias reported that a room in the gymnasium contained multiple Antinous statues, most of which were conflated with Dionysus. He also mentions a temple, the institution of annual mysteries, and quadrennial games.

So far, three statue bases of Hadrian (IK Klaudiupolis 51–52–53), dated between AD 131 and 135, have been identified in Bithynium-Claudiopolis. The strong bond between the emperor and the city was ultimately expressed by renaming the city Hadriane, as seen on the local coinage and the milestones. Additionally, two phylai were also renamed Hadriane and Antinois.

The relatively high number of Aelii (25) in Bithynium-Claudiopolis suggests that Hadrian granted citizenship to individuals and larger groups during his visit. According to Henri-Louis Fernoux (2004), at least 84 families of local origin obtained Roman status at some point during Hadrian’s reign. Examples of local families who named their daughters according to Roman traditions include Marcia Domitia, Aelia Magna, Aelia Antipatris, and Flavia Valentia from Claudiopolis.

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Bithynium-Claudiopolis was also located on the Roman highway that headed northward to Heraclea Pontica and Tium (Tios/Tieion), two important Greek centres on the Euxine shores in Paphlagonia. Heraclea Pontica (identified with the present city of Ereğli) is the oldest among the two centres, with a history tracing back to 560 BC. It was founded by Dorian Megarians from Attica or, according to Strabo, by Miletus in the 8th century BC (Arrian, Periplus 13.3) or, according to Strabo, by Miletus (Strabo, 12.3.4) in the 8th century BC. The city owes its name to Hercules, who, according to Greek belief, descended into the underworld through a cave located at the adjoining Archerusian peninsula to capture the three-headed dog Cerberus as part of the twelfth labours assigned to him by the Mycenean king Eurystheus (now the Cehennemağzı Caves).

Heraclea thrived due to its proximity to the fertile lands and sea fisheries. It quickly became an important trading centre and even established colonies on the Black Sea, namely Callatis and Tauric Chersonesos. The area was also abundant in pines, firs, and beeches, indicating that woodcutting was a common industry. Heraclea boasted a natural harbour that was sheltered and spacious enough to accommodate merchant ships. The harbour had two moles and a lighthouse that presumably stood (known from coins). The city’s social structure was shaped by the dominance of sea trade, transport, and fishing, which also drove its economy.

According to Strabo, Julius Caesar established a Roman colony in Heraclea. However, the colony was later destroyed by the Galatian chieftain Adiatorix, who killed all the Roman colonists. The colony was re-established by Octavian (Strabo, 12.3.6). During the reign of Trajan, Heraclea became a metropolis, as shown on the coins bearing the legend ΗΡΑΚΛΕΩΤΑΝ ΜΑΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΑΝ (RPC III, 1172). As a Greek city, Heraclea is believed to have had a theatre and a stadium. In the Roman era, an amphitheatre was built, as depicted on coins (RPC VII.2, 2080), but its location remains unknown. According to the surviving milestones, a road network leading from Heraclea Pontica to Amastris passed through Tium, which was built as early as the reign of Vespasian.

Pliny did not write much about the city of Heraclea and only mentioned it once. In his letters, he briefly noted that a man named Julius Largus of Pontus bequeathed his estate to Heraclea and Tium. He donated 50,000 sesterces to embellish the cities and establish games in honour of Trajan (Plin. Ep 10.75). However, there is no evidence of these Traiania games in inscriptions from Heraclea or in any other victory lists. There is, however, a reference to the Heracleia Hadrianeia Isaktion (ἐν Ἡρακλε[ί]-ᾳ τῇ πρὸς τῷ Πόντῳ Ἁδρι(ά)νηο[νἩράκλειον ἰσάκτ(ι)ον), the isactian (of Actium), Hadrianic, and Heraclean competitions (Chingyuan, 2018).

An inscription found in Aphrodisias (I.Aphr. 12.215) and dated to the early 3rd century (after AD 211) commemorates the victory of an athlete named Marcus Aurelius […]os. He was a long-distance runner who won the boys’ distance race in both the Hadrianeia Herakleia Isaktia held at Heraclea Pontica and the Hadrianeia Antinoeia held at Bithynium-Claudiopolis. He also won contests in Ancyra, Chalcedon, Nicomedia and Nicaea, competing in this circuit both as a boy and as an adult.

Due to the lack of epigraphic documentation, it is unclear when the Hadrianeia Herakleia Isaktia was founded. It is suggested that they either replaced the Traianea Heracleia when a new Emperor ascended the throne (Chingyuan, 2018) or were founded ex novo under the reign of the Emperor, as in other cities (Hervás, 2018). The new Hadrianic festival associated with the imperial cult was assimilated to Hercules, the patron deity of Heraclea Pontica, and was considered equal in rank to the contests of Actium (Boatwright, 2000). The name of the games implies that their organisation probably followed the same pattern as the Actian games established by Augustus in Nicopolis in 27 BC after the Battle of Actium. The program consisted of musical competitions, athletic games, and horse races, with three age categories: boys, younger ephebes, and older ephebes. These games were held every four years, and the winner was awarded a crown of reeds.

in almost every city [Hadrian] both built something and gave games” (HA, Hadr. 19.2)

There is an interesting inscription from Heraclea Pontica (I.Heraclea 2), which tells us that the thymelic synod of artists in Rome was renamed in honour of  Hadrian and his beloved Antinous in the year 130. After Antinous’ death, he was divinised and syncretised with Hermes in Rome (IGUR I 143). At that time, the thymelic synod issued a decree in Rome for one of its members, Marcius Xenokrates, a copy of which was sent to his hometown Heraclea Pontica. Many cities created games and festivals (agones) named after Hadrian. At least nineteen of these Hadrianeia and four Antinoeia, including the one at Bithynium-Claudiopolis, are known to us (Fauconnier, 2023).

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Another Bithynian city that should have been favoured with a visit is Prusias ad Hypium (Konuralp), an important city between Nicomedia and Amastris on the Euxine in the Pontus region. The city was founded in the 4th century BC by settlers from Heraclea Pontica and was originally known as Kieron. In the early 3rd century BC, it was conquered by King Prusias I of Bithynia, who renamed the city after himself. Prusias ad Hypium was situated on a hillside overlooking the plain around the Hypius River and facing Mt. Olympus. It was strategically located on an important road that linked Nicomedia, Amastris and other settlements in the northern part of Anatolia.

Prusias ad Hypium was a thriving trading centre that became a part of the Roman Republic in 74 BC. The city grew from four local tribes (Megaris, Thebias, Dionysias, and Prusias) during the Hellenistic period to twelve by the end of the 2nd century AD, including two named after Hadrian and Sabina (Hadriane and Sabiniane). Prusias ad Hypium enjoyed a degree of autonomy in local governance and even issued its own currency. The city’s early Roman coins were first minted under Vespasian (see here). Prusias ad Hypium was home to temples dedicated to Zeus, Asclepius, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, and Tyche. An altar unearthed at Prusias referred to Hadrian as “Olympios” (IK Prusias 35).

Unfortunately, the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium is mostly buried under the modern settlement. Only the theatre remains as a preserved monumental structure. Although inscriptions identified a stadium, a gymnasium, an agora, and a bathhouse, they have yet to be located. The importance of this city is highlighted by the finds on display at the local Konuralp Museum. The museum houses a collection of 6,237 items, including 1,848 archaeological artefacts, 491 ethnographic objects, and 3,898 coins. Visitors can also see a floor mosaic depicting Orpheus (see here). The most impressive find, a marble statue of Tyche, was uncovered in 1931 and is on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

Several inscriptions provide information about a city’s cultural level. Many athletes and artists participated in the Augusteia games, which were held every four years to honour the reigning Emperor. The games were organized by the imperial priest (IK Prusias 31). Kallikleanos Kallikles, who founded one of these games, was honoured with a monument by the sacred, travelling athletic and theatrical synods (I Prusias 49). The importance of theatre performances in the city is confirmed by an epitaph that tells us that a tragedian named Philoksenos from Athens died and was buried in Prusias (I Prusias 97). Philoxenus’ tomb was restored by another visiting tragedian from Corinth, whose name was Isthmus.

The theatre of Prusias ad Hypium was constructed on a natural slope at the top of a hill that overlooks the plain south of the settlement. It is a remarkable building that boasts a semicircular orchestra, a stage building with three doors and six windows, and a cavea consisting of three sections – ima, media and summa – and six vaulted entrances on the eastern and western ends. The stage building, which is a single-storey structure, measures 50 meters in length, 12 meters in width, and 6 meters in height and has a rectilinear shape. It was entirely constructed using limestone blocks in opus isodomum, similar to the analemma wall. The theatre exhibits both Greek and Roman influences and was built towards the end of the 1st century BC. It was expanded during the Roman period. The relief of a shield and wreath on the west aditum maximus (entrance to the orchestra) suggests that it may have been used for sports competitions or gladiator shows. The pancratiast Aelius Aurelius Menandros, a citizen of Aphrodisias, won the men’s pancration in the mid-2nd century AD in Prusias ad Hypium and many other cities in Bithynia (IAph 2007, 12.920), indicating that the theatre was also used for boxing and wrestling.

According to the architectural elements and epigraphic evidence, the theatre underwent a large-scale renovation in the 2nd century AD, and the stage building dates back to the Hadrianic period. An architrave block mentions M. Iulius Proclus as the donator of the proscenium, but only one-third of the original c. 47.5 m long inscription is preserved. However, M. Iulius Proclus is the same person mentioned on the base of a statue dedicated to Hadrian (I.Prusias 34). As a result, the stage building may also been dedicated to Hadrian, in addition to the Roman Senate and people.

The theatre of Prusias ad Hypium was an intricately decorated building. During the past four years of excavations, archaeologists have uncovered numerous architectural fragments adorned with carved reliefs. In 2022, a marble block depicting the mythological tale of Actaeon being devoured by his hunting dogs was discovered in the theatre’s orchestra. Many other highly decorated architectural fragments, including entablatures with tragedy and comedy masks that were once part of the theatre stage structure, were also found. In 2023, a lion mosaic was unearthed in a rectangular room connected to the portico in the middle of the theatre axis. Finally, a well-preserved portrait head of Alexander the Great, dating back to the 2nd century, was discovered (see here).

Hadrian may have visited other places in Bithynia, such as Apamea-Myrlea, Cius, and Prusa ad Olympum (Bursa). Apamea was the patria of Lucius Catilius Severus (stuff. 110, cos. II 120). After Hadrian acceded to the throne in Antioch, he appointed Severus as governor of Syria so he could return to Rome (see here). Birley suggests that Severus could have sailed home to welcome Hadrian in person. Apamea, located on the eastern shore of the Sea of Marmara, also serving as a port, was the only Roman colony in all of Bithynia, thus named Colonia Iulia Concordia Apamea, established during the reign of Julius Caesar or Augustus. Apamea received the privileges of a free city, and provincial officials were not allowed to intervene in its affairs. However, Pliny visited Apamea and consulted Trajan to have the city’s accounts and expenditures audited (Plin. Ep. 10.47). Trajan insisted on the examination being conducted “without prejudice to their existing privileges” (Plin. Ep. 10.48).

There is little information available about the architecture of Apamea. However, it is known that the local council constructed a small public bath called Balineum Hadrianum in honour of Hadrian, Sabina, and the Senate. An inscription from the year 128/9 AD confirms that Hadrian donated public funds to the project. The inscription reads balineum Hadrianum pecunia publica dedicauit (CIL III 6992).

There was a rivalry between Nicomedia and Nicaea to become “first city” of their province. Similarly, there was a long-standing conflict between Apamea and Prusa. Prusa was established by King Prusias, with the guidance of Hannibal, who had taken refuge with the Bithynian king. The city was well-sited at the foot of Bithynian Mount Olympus (today’s Uludağ) and was famous for its hot baths that bore the name “royal waters” and were still appreciated in the Byzantine age. The Acropolis was a rocky plateau c. 600 m across, bounded by steep slopes on three sides and the fourth by the rising flank of the mountain. Walls further strengthened the natural defences of the Acropolis.

Pliny made significant contributions to the embellishment of Prusa by constructing new public buildings. Among these were the baths that he found “in a neglected and dilapidated state” and needed to be rebuilt to suit “the dignity of the city” (Plin. Ep. 10.23). In a letter to the city of Prusa (IK Prusa ad Olympum 4), Hadrian writes about a controversy over its hot springs. The dispute likely involved financial questions comparable to the difficulties Pliny dealt with (Boatwright, 2000). A bronze coin of the late Severan period minted in Prusa shows two water nymphs of the springs reclining in front of a building that may represent the façade of the thermal bath (RPC VI, 3027).

One might also postulate a visit to Cius (later renamed Prusias ad Mare) on the very eastern tip of the gulf in the Propontis, called the Gulf of Cius. The city was founded by Ionians from Miletus and became an important trading centre due to its strategic location on the trade routes leading eastward to the Sangarius and southeastward into Phrygia. In 202 BC, the city was destroyed by Philip V of Macedon during the Second Macedonian War (200-197 BC) along with Apamea. However, it was rebuilt by Prusias I. Inscriptions and coins indicate that Cius appointed a Bithyniarch, who was the chief priest responsible for the imperial cult and the Koinon. This Bithyniarch erected a statue of Hadrian and a temple (IK Kios 12) and renamed the city Hadriane (RPC III, 1050).

A member of Hadrian’s entourage at the time was the famous sophist and teacher of rhetoric, Marcus Antonius Polemon, who mentions the next journey in his Physiognomica (preserved only in Arabic translation). Polemo wrote, “I once accompanied the greatest of emperors on his travels, and we set out from Thrace to Asia with soldiers and carriages escorting the emperor” (Birley, 1997). This passage fits Hadrian’s journey of AD 124 and clearly indicates that Hadrian crossed the Sea of Marmara to Thrace before entering Asia, where his presence is well-documented in ancient records.

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References & sources:

• Birley A.R. (1997), Hadrian The Restless Emperor, London, Roman Imperial Biographies
• Boatwright, M.T. (2000), Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire, Princeton
• Price, S. (1998), Rituals and Power. The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor, 2, Cambridge
• Marek, C. (2002), Die Phylen von Klaudiupolis, die Geschichte der Stadt und die Topographie Ostbithyniens’, Museum Helveticum 59: 31–50.
• Smith, R. (2018), Antinous: boy made god. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum.
• Vout, C. (2005), Antinous, Archaeology and History. The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol.95, 80-96.
• Robert, L. (1978), Documents d’Asie Mineure. Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 102.1, 395–543.
• Robert, L. (1980), À travers l’Asie Mineure. Poètes et prosateurs, monnaies grecques, voyageurs et géographie (Paris).
• Mellink, M.J. (1979), Archaeology in Asia Minor, American Journal of Archaeology 83, no. 3: 331–344 [342]
• Adak, M., Akyürek Şahin, N.E. and Güneş, M.Y. (2008): ‘Neue Inschriften im Museum von Bolu (Bithynion/ Klaudiupolis)’. Gephyra 5, 73–120.
• Fernoux, H. (2004) Notables et élites des cités de Bithynie aux époques hellénistique et romaine (IIIe siècle av. J.-C. – IIIe siècle ap. J.-C.), Essai d’histoire social (Collection de la Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée 31, Serie Épigraphique et Historique 5), Paris.
• Chingyuan, Wu (2018), The Local Impact Of The Koinon In Roman Coastal Paphlagonia, Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3204. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3204
• Hervás, RG. (2018), Competing for the emperor: games and festivals in honour of Hadrian, ARYS. Antigüedad: Religiones y Sociedades, 177-205
• Fauconnier, B. (2023). In Athletes and Artists in the Roman Empire: The History and Organisation of the Ecumenical Synods (pp. iii–iii). title-page, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Emre Okan, Ahmet Bilir, Doğuş Çalışkan (2022). Ancient Theater of Prusias Ad Hypium: New Excavations, First Data. Höyük, (9), 33-66. doi:10.37879/hoyuk.2022.033

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