DOI: 10.53084/22209050_2023_28_55

D.K. Ianchoglo
Hercules-Melqart as the political identity of Emperor Hadrian

Abstract: The article deals with one aspect of the imperial cult created by Publius Elias Hadrian (117–138), based on the identification of the emperor with the Phoenician god Melqart. The text argues that Hadrian, descended from the Spanish aristocracy, identifies himself with the hellenised cult of Melqart, which by the time of Hadrian's reign had been identified with Hercules and was well known both in Roman Spain, where the god was sanctified, and in Rome and Greece, in order to maintain the legitimacy of princep's legacy and create an optimistic image of his power resting on the provincial elite. Hadrian's succession raised doubts among the Roman nobility, so Publius Aelius turned to the cult of the god revered by his predecessor Trajan, whose expansive policies drew on the Spanish cult of Hercules in their ideology. But Hadrian
was attracted to the deity's other functions (dating back to the Phoenician Melqart) in relation to establishing dynasties, delineating the borders of the world and founding new cities. Through Hercules, Hadrian wishes to win the loyalty of the Spanish elite by stressing his succession to Marcus Ulpius, as well as to create an ideological framework for a new course in foreign policy - the rejection of expansion in favor of border stability, a function similar to that of Hercules-Melqart as a world border-setter. The article pays attention to the genesis of the imperial cult in order to show its development and transformation in the time of Hadrian, describes the cult of
Hercules in the native Betica of Trajan and Hadrian and reviews hypothetical political reasons for Hadrian's turning to the cult of the god of Gadira.

Keywords: Hadrian, Hercules, Melqart, Betica, Roman Spain, emperor's cult, orbis mundi

To cite this article: Yanchoglo D.K. Hercules-Melqart as the political identity of Emperor
Hadrian. Aristeas 28 (2023): 55–70.

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Author:

N.A. Filyanov