Kein Kaiserkult

Rekonstruktion und Deutung der ›ara augusti‹ im Buleuterion von Milet

Abstract

The monument in the courtyard of the bouleuterion at Miletus has been regarded as a prominent example of an Augustan imperial cult altar since the investigations by K. Tuchelt. Detailed analysis of the features described in the excavation publication can demonstrate, however, that the structure is in all probability not to be reconstructed as an altar. A connection with the imperial cult cannot be proved on the basis of epigraphy either. This article presents a reconstruction of the monument as late Hellenistic memorial architecture. Thus the interpretation as a memorial (»honorary tomb«) – first proposed by H. Knackfuß – is corroborated by reference to the archaeological record over one hundred years after the appearance of the excavation publication.