The Marriage of Antiochos and Nanaia: Empire and Religion in Hellenistic Iran
Abstract
Starting with the example of Antiochos IV Epiphanes’ (intended) sacred marriage with the goddess Nanaia in Elam (2 Macc. 1.13–17), this paper explores the Seleucid empire’s relation with Iranian sanctuaries. Following the example of the Achaemenids, the Seleucid king and court interacted with local communities by protecting and patronizing indigenous sanctuaries. Moreover, the king and his itinerant court regularly visited cities. During such visits, the king would personally participate in cultic activities, providing offerings and often performing the crucial act of sacrificing to a community’s principal deity. The religious sphere thereby became a contact zone were local elites and the imperial court met under the impartial supervision of a mutually recognized divine power. Temples also functioned as repositories of wealth; but the various stories about royal temple robberies suggest that there was no general agreement as to the degree of access the king had to these riches.
Citation
Strootman, Rolf. "The Marriage of Antiochos and Nanaia: Empire and Religion in Hellenistic Iran," Contextualizing Iranian Religions in the Ancient World - 14th Melammu Symposium. February 20, 2020.
About the Speaker
Rolf Strootman
Utrecht University
Rolf Strootman teaches Ancient History and World History at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. His research focuses on empire and cultural interactions in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central Asia during the Persian and Hellenistic periods. He is the author of Courts and Elites in the Hellenistic Empires, c. 330-30 BCE (2014), The Birdcage of the Muses: Patronage of the Arts and Sciences at the Ptolemaic Imperial Court, 305-222 BCE (2016), as well as a number of edited volumes, including Persianism in Antiquity (2016; co-edited with M. J. Versluys) and Empires of the Sea: Maritime Power Networks in World History (2019; with F. van den Eijnde and R. van Wijk). He is currently writing a book on the relationship between war and identity in European history from the Battle of Marathon to the war in Ukraine.