Making an Artful Case: Public Sculptural Programs as Instruments of Civic Rivalry in Imperial Perge and Pamphylia

Résumé

This essay examines the sculptural programs decorating four public monuments from 2^nd and 3^rd cent. A. D. Perge within the historical context of Perge’s rivalry with other Pamphylian cities, especially Side. I argue that, taken together, the themes of these displays reflect Perge’s recalibration of its civic identity in response to changing imperial priorities and political circumstances. The shift from the promotion of Hellenic civic origins to the emphasis on its famous cult of Artemis Pergaia in these sculptural programs over the course of the 2^nd and 3^rd cent. A. D. are, I conclude, part of a long-term strategy of self presentation by which Perge continually positioned itself as the leading city in its province, culminating in its designation as metropolis of Pamphylia in A. D. 275.