Historia: Zeitschrift für alte Geschichte, Bd. 26, H. 2 (2nd Qtr.

, 1977)
 PLOTINA AUGUSTA AND NICOMACHUS OF GERASA

The current discussion concerns the possibility of a connection between

Plotina, wife of Trajan, and an eastern mathematician and neo-Pythagorean
philosopher Nicomachus. After a survey of the careers of these two disparate
personages some relevant conclusions will be discussed.

Nicomachus 1

The location of his birthplace is not absolutely certain, but it was most
probably the Gerasa twenty-five miles southeast of Lake Tiberias in what
was then Syria Palestina2. His name is Greek and his family was certainly
wealthy enough to give him an excellent education 3. Probably he and other
members of his family had Roman citizenship.
The career of Nicomachus falls between A. D. 50 and 150, but the exact
dates for the extent of his life cannot be ascertained. The earlier date is based

I His two extant works are Introductio Aritbmetica and Enchiridion Harmonicon (Ench.).
The former has been translated in M. L. D'Ooge, F. E. Robbins, L. C. Karpinski, Nicomachus
of Gerasa (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, 16, New York, 1926). Of
interest here are chapters V-IX, XII of the long Introduction on the life, works, philosophy,
ancient translators and commentators, and style of Nicomachus, all by F. E. Robbins. The
Ench. is mentioned only casually (e. g. 76 f.). For it cf. F. R. Levin, Nicomachus of Gerasa
Manual of Harmonics: translation and commentary (Columbia Univ. dissertation, 1967:
Univ. Microfilms, 67-12,266) which is being revised for publication. Text of Ench. C. von
Jan, Musici scriptores Graeci (1895, repr. 1962) 236-265 (with a preface 211-234). Citations
of the text are by chapter number, except for specific items which are given by page and
line in Jan. Translations are from Levin, 16-53. Cf. Sir Thomas Heath, A History of Greek
Mathematics (Oxford, 1921) 97-112; W. von Christ, Geschichte der griechischen Literatur,
2.2 (6th ed., rev. by W. Schmid and 0. Staehlin, Munich, 1924) 905 (brief); F. Kliem in
RE s. v. "Nikomachus 21" (1936), cols. 463 f. (defective: the End&. is not mentioned). There
is a translation (with brief notes) of the Ench. in Ch. E. Ruelle, Collection des auteurs grecs
relatifs d la musique, 2 (Paris, 1881) 9-40, from the text of Meibom (1652).
t As suggested by Robbins, 72, notes 3-4. Kliem: "Von Gerasa in Arabien..." R. Hoche
in the preface (p. IV note) of his edition of the Arithmetica (Leipzig, 1866) cited a scholiurn
of Philoponus to the effect that Gerasa was a city in Judaea near Bostra.
3 Cf. Robbins, 73-77. Iamblichus remarked that Nicomachus had the best teachers in
mathematics (In Nicomachi Arith. Introd. 3:4.14-16 Pistelli). The journey which Nicomachus
reluctantly took (Ench. 1) may have been an official mission such as was entrusted to pro-
vincials of wealth and rank. For the wealth and family background of so many of the
sophists of this century, cf. G. W. Bowersock, Greek Sophists in the Roman Empire (Oxford,
1969) 20-29. This forms an instructive parallel to the education and rank of Nicomachus.

Historia, Band XXVU2 (1977) i Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH, D-6200 Wiesbaden

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 Plotina Augusta and Nicomadius of Gerasa 193

upon his criticism of an inaccurate statement of Thrasyllus

16), the friend of Tiberius who died about A. D. 37. The later date is based
on a translation of his Arithmetica into Latin by Apuleius (Cassiodorus, Inst.
2.7:140.17-20 Mynors: cf. Isidore, Etym. 3.2.1), whose birth falls about
A. D. 123. The floruit of Nicomachus is often set about A. D. 100, but this
seems early4. A reasonable, but by no means certain sequence is ca. 80-150,
with a floruit of 1205.
The nature of his more advanced studies, mathematics, music, neo-Pythag-
orean philosophy, indicates training at some great center of learning, cer-
tainly Alexandria, which was notable for these intellectual pursuits6. The
musical instruments with which Nicomachus was familiar are the best indi-
cator that he spent much time there, perhaps most of his life as a student and
teacher. In the fourth chapter of his Enchiridion (242-244) he comments on
musical instruments, and three of them have a special Egyptian connotation
and were not yet favored in Rome: hydraulis, spadix, pandourus (243.10-
17)7.
The hydraulic organ suggests the Egyptian scene and was apparently an
instrument of local pride. It was invented by an Alexandrian Ctesibius in the
third century B. C., and first described by Heron in the second century B. C.
The spadix was probably of Eastern origin, and late in the first century A. D.
Quintilian said it was used at Rome in effeminate music (1.10.31). The
pandourus was Egyptian, dating as early as the sixteenth century B. C. in the
time of the New Kingdom. Nicomachus identified it as a kind of monochord,
a favorite instrument for Pythagorean experiments. This comment is notable

4 Heath (ca. 100); Kliem ("etwa 100 n. Chr."); Heath in OCD 1st ed., 1949) (ca. 100).
Robbins (between 50-150); Heath (rev. by G. J. Toomer) in OCD (2nd ed., 1970) ("be-
tween A. D. 50-150"). Christ-Schmid-Staehlin are surely wrong in saying "um 150 n. Chr."
J. M. Dillon set Ca. 120-196 for his life span: CR n.s. 19 (1969) 274f. He cited a claim
by Proclus to be a re-incarnation of Nicomadlus, and a Pythagorean cycle of 216 years.
Since Proclus was born in 412, Nicomachus died in 196. For Proclus cf. Leonardo Taran,
"Asclepius of Tralles' Commentary to Nicomadcus' Introduction to Arithmetic", Trans. of
the American Philosophical Soc. n.s. 59.4 (1969) 7-8. Professor Taran will refute Dillon's
theory in Dict. of Scientific Biography, s. v. "Nicomachus" (forthcoming).
s For a fuller discussion cf. Levin, I f., 57 f., 199, 246. The problem of the relation be-
tween Apuleius' translation and the dates of Nicomachus is difficult, since there is no
specific evidence for the date of the translation (Jan placed it before 170). In addition there
is no way to ascertain whether Nicomadhus was alive when Apuleius did the translation.
8 This is suggested as probable by Robbins (74-76), but seems to be almost certain. For
Alexandria as an important neo-Pythagorean center, and for Alexandrian stimulation of
renewed interest in this philosophy cf. A. E. Chaignet, Pythagore et la philosophie pytha-
goricienne, 2 (Paris, 1873) 301-3.
' For full discussion of these three instruments cf. Levin, 117 f. (hydraulis), 123 f. (spadix),
124-7 (pandourus).

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194 WILLIAM C. MCDERMOTT

since he is the only one to mark such an equivalence which is natural for a
man very familiar with local instruments.
Nicomachus wrote extensively but his only fully extant works are an
Introductio Arithmetica which concerns the Pythagorean theory of numbers,
and an Enchiridion Harmonicon which has a large neo-Pythagorean content.
The former gained him lasting fame in ancient and medieval times8. The
latter is a long letter, written hastily at the request of a lady of high rank
who in the first chapter is thus addressed: 3Qio'tn XzcL OFqVOTrln yUVCtlXtV
(242.14). The epistolary form of the work allows unique biographical de-
tails. Nicomachus, apparently averse to travel which would interrupt his
studies and his teaching, is already involved in a necessary journey, and
consequently wrote in haste, and promised a fuller and definitive account
when leisure was again available9. The recipient of the letter seems to have
engaged in considerable travel. The present work covers material that had
already been used for her instruction in person by Nicomachus.
The tone of the letter shows the dignity of a man of recognized authority.
It befits an eminent man writing to a woman of high rank. Two passages
are noteworthy for the relationship between teacher and student, academi-
cian and patroness. The first is in the introductory chapter (238.6-15):

And if the gods are willing, as soon as I shall have leisure and a rest
from my journey, I shall compose for you a longer and more precise
introduction on these very subjects, articulated with full reasoning, as
the phrase goes, and in several books, and at my first opportunity I
shall send it to you, wherever I hear that you and your family 1 are
living. So that it may be easier for you to follow, I shall begin at roughly
the same point as that at which I began your instruction when I was
explaining the subject to you.
The second is the conclusion of the last chapter (12) of the letter (265.1-8):
Forgive the haste of such writing as this - for you are aware that you
asked me while I was completely unsettled in transit - and, consistent
with your most gentle and thoughtful nature, accept this as first fruits
of a sort and friendship's offering. However, the gods willing, expect

8 Cf. Robbins, 79-87 (lost and suppositions works), 88-123 (philosophy), 124-137 (fame of
the Arithmetica).
The metaphorical phrase 4xUjifvrqa .. . (pQOVTibL (237.11-12) suggests that the trip may
have been by sea, and somewhat dangerous since he would complete the definitive work "if
the gods are willing" (238.6). He speaks of his haste and promises a fuller treatment also in
dcapters 1, 3, 9, 11-12.
10 The unique use of the plural i4td; might refer to her intellectual companions rather
than to her relatives.

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 Plotina Augusta and Nicomachus of Gerasa 195

my systematic treatment of these very subjects, which will be most

copious and absolutely definitive, and which will be sent to you by me
at the earliest opportunity.
These scanty data become more significant when the career of the Empress
Plotina has been outlined.

Pompeia Plotina Augustal

Plotina was the dauglhter of an otherwise unknown Pompeius who was

probably not a senator. The dedication of a basilica to her after her death
by the Emperor Hadrian at Nemausus in Gallia Narbonensis (SHA, Hadr.
12.2) has been taken to indicate Narbonese origin for her family. This may
be correct 12. It is probable that she was born before A. D. 70 13. Since Trajan's
birth was probably in 53, their marriage would have occurred about 85, the
year in which Trajan may have been praetor. Plotina was as a consequence
about 30 when her husband assumed imperial power. These items are specu-
lative since there are no references to her before Trajan became emperor.
The earliest literary reference to her is in Cassius Dio (68.5.5: Cary's
translation):

When Plotina, his wife, first entered the palace, she turned round so as
to face the stairway and the populace and said: "I enter here such a
woman as I fain would be when I depart." And she conducted herself
during the entire reign in such a manner as to incur no censure.

When Nerva died on January 25, 98, Trajan was legatus Augusti Germaniae
superioris and since his adoption by Nerva in November of 97 imperator
designatus. He did not return to Rome until early in 99. The wife of an
imperial legate could accompany her husband, but Plotina may have remain-
ed in Rome. Pliny the Younger narrates the circumstances of Trajan's re-
ception in Rome (Pan. 22-24) in such detail that his omission of reference to
Plotina in this passage seems to indicate that she was already there. Thus the

1" The best account is by R. Hanslik in RE s. v. "Pompeius 131" (1952), cols. 2293-2298.
The references below are to this article unless otherwise noted. There are individualistic and
original comments in B. W. Henderson, The Life and Principate of the Emperor Hadrian,
London, 1923, and Sir Ronald Syme, Tacitus, 2 vols., Oxford, 1958. For Trajan cf. R. Hans-
lik in RE, Suppl. Band 10. cols. 1035-1102 (1965).
12 Hanslik, 2293; Syme, 604, 794 (no. 17). In the latter note on her father Syme deduces
the praenomen Lucius. However at the time of her death (probably 122) Hadrian may have
received the news of her death at Nimes (cf. Henderson, 52, 83) and this could account for
the building of a basilica in her honor there. In Les empereurs romains d'Espagne (Paris,
1965) 83, Syme in a comment on the paper by R. Etienne said .. Pompeia Plotina, origi-
naire sans doute de Narbonnaise (Nimes)".
13 As Hanslik suggests, 2293 (citing iconography).

13

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 196 WILLIAM C. MCDERMOTT

scene in Dio could refer to January, 98. Plotina would have been escorted
by the principal senators and many others as she entered the palace of the
Caesars.
The next literary reference is by the contemporary senator Pliny. On
September 1, 100, he was inaugurated as consul suffectus and delivered in
the senate in the presence of the emperor his actio gratiarum (panegyricus
Traiano imperatori dictus). Later he published a much amplified version in
which two paragraphs are a fulsome eulogy of Trajan's wife and sister (Pan.
83 f.) 14. In this passage Pliny does not name Plotina and Marciana, but
stresses their old-fashioned virtue and modesty. Both vied in opposing an
offer from the senate of the title Augusta (84.6) 5. Plotina is contrasted with
the evil reputation of wives of illustrious men (83.4) -.presumably Pliny is
hinting at such imperial women as Messalina and Poppaea. Two sentences
about the empress are particularly worthy of note (83.5) 16:

Quid enim illa sanctius, quid antiquius? Nonne si pontifici maximo

eligenda sit coniunx, aut hanc aut similem (ubi est autem similis?)
elegerit?

Although Pliny was often the recipient of favors from Trajan, he seems
not to have been on familiar terms with Plotina, Marciana, Matidia and
Hadrian. Consequently in this speech there is only the most casual hint that
Plotina is more than a model wife for a vir militaris raised to imperial power
(83.8): . . . maritum, in quantum patitur sexus imitetur? Decuerit hoc illam,
etiamsi diversa tu facias; ... This could hint of intellectual interests which
Trajan did not share.
Marciana, the sister of Trajan, and Matidia, Trajan's niece, are never
mentioned in Pliny's letters, nor is Hadrian, cousin and successor of Trajan.
The only further reference to Plotina is in a letter to Voconius Romanus
which dates about 107-108 (9.28) 7. Voconius was a member of a wealthy
and important family in Saguntum. In his early years he and Pliny became

' The best comment on these two paragraphs is by E. Malcovati in her edition of the
Panegyricus (Firenze, 1952). Her enthusiastic appraisal of Plotina goes beyond the evidence,
but is basically probable (on 83): "Ma fu anche . . . d'ingegno vivace e indipendente, di gran
fermezza nel sostenere le sue idee, di larghi interessi spirituali, capace di apprezzare la coltura
elegante e multiforme, le squisitezze della poesia e dell' arte . . ." This comment stems in part
from an article by E. Paratore, which she cited: "Plotina, Sabina e le due Faustine", Quaderni
di Studi Romani (1945) 5-17.
15 Both later received the title: Plotina from 105 (Hanslik, 2294): cf. Syme, Tacitus
1.233. An inscription from Luna in Etruria of 104/5 gives each the title: ILS, 288; E. M.
Smallwood, Documents .. . of Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian (Cambridge, 1966) no. 106.
16 Pliny is cited from the editions of Sir Roger Mynors: Pan. (1964), Ep. (1963).
17 For the dating cf. A. N. Sherwin-White, The Letters of Pliny (Oxford, 1966), prefatory
notes to 9.16, 20, 28.

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 Plotina Augusta and Nicomadius of Gerasa 197

firm friends. Pliny petitioned Nerva and Trajan on behalf of his Spanish
friend (Ep. 10.4), but apparently without success, for there is no evidence
that Voconius gained senatorial rank. He spent his later years in Spain, at
one time holding the rank of flamen for Hispania Tarraconensis (Ep. 2.13.4).
He had literary tastes which he shared with Pliny, and, if we may believe
Pliny (2.13.7) epistulas quidem scribit, ut Musas ipsas Latine loqui credas.
For over ten years there are letters to him from Pliny (1.5; 2.1; 3.13; 6.15, 33;
8.9; 9.7, 28). One of these letters was accompanied by a copy of the Pane-
gyricus (3.13). In the last letter he had sent Pliny an enclosure to be delivered
to Plotina. Pliny says (9.28.1): . .. iniungis mihi iucundissimum ministerium
ut ad Plotinam sanctissimam feminam litterae tuae perferantur: perferentur.
Probably Pliny took the letter to the palace in person, pleased to have an
excuse to visit there. Romanus may have become acquainted with Plotina
because of the Spanish origin of the families of Trajan and Hadrian, and
because of mutual intellectual interests18.
Other evidence for Plotina's career is scanty in the literary sources, and
mainly concerned with her role in favoring Hadrian (SHA, Hadr. 2.10;
4.1, 4) and in Hadrian's adoption and succession (Cass. Dio, 69.1.2-4; SHA,
Hadr. 4.10, cf. 5.9) 19. The rumor that Hadrian was her lover is undoubtedly
false and was probably bruited about by the enemies of Hadrian after the
execution of the four senatores consulares, who as viri militares surely op-
posed his accession and may have plotted his death 20.
Two references in Dio concern Plotina and Hadrian (69.10.31, 3a: Cary's
translation):

It is not strange, then, that upon the death of Plotina, the woman
through whom he had secured the imperial office because of her love
for him, he honoured her exceedingly, wearing black for nine days, erect-
ing a temple (v6ov) to her and composing some hymns in her memory21.

1 Cf. Syme, Historia 9 (1960) 365-367, and C. P. Jones, Phoenix 22 (1968) 120, 131
(a critique of Sherwin-White's inconsistent comments on Voconius). SW in his comment on
the quoted passage seems to reverse the situation: "Pliny has easy access to the 'Palace' ...
But Romanus is not a member of the factio Plotinae ... since he is in need of an intro-
duction." This is not what Pliny said. With no public post it was not uncommon for a man
to receive with his own letter several to be distributed to others in the same area.
"I Cf. Henderson, 34-38. If there was a factio Plotinae (SHA, Hadr. 4.10) its basis was
probably intellectual rather than political.
20 Cf. Henderson, 47-50, 52-54. Syme suggests transmission of such gossip to Marius
Maximus: Ammianus and the Historia Augusta (Oxford, 1968) 91.
21 The hymns are lost. The temple may have been the basilica noted by the scriptor
(Hadr. 12.2: per idem tem pus in honorem Plotinae basilicam apud Nemausum opere mirabili
exstruxit), since it would have a sacred character: so Henderson, 52, 83. Syme suggests that
it was a different structure (Tacitus 1.246 and note 3). The reference might be to the temple
in Rome in Trajan's forum.

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 198 WILLIAM C. MCDERMOTT

When Plotina died, Hadrian praised her, sa

much of me, she was never refused anything
to say: "Her requests were of such a charact
dened me nor afforded me any justification f
One portion of the pseudodosithiana hermen
ani sententiae et epistolae22. Whatever the auth
one epistula is clearly a pastiche of the third or fo
gual letter Hadrian invites Plotina to have dinn
birthday cum sororibus meis. This phrase repr
peror had only one sister, Paulina the wife of
However the vocative address to the dowager e
xACUonT xai l'tTLWT6tv: mater optima et caris
after the adoption of Hadrian in August of 11
significant.
Plotina's interest in Hadrian's career before 11
with him while he was emperor create the imp
her part in the intellectual life. Hadrian's abilit
fold and went far beyond his official duties - h
interesting to note in this connection lhis frien
tan lyric poet who also was a musician 24.
There is considerable archaeological, numis
dence for the empress, but most of it is incon
character 25. Titles and priesthoods in her honor m
of the imperial family, especially in the easte
from the first days of Trajan's reign is a dedic
sober Roman matron is identified with Aphrod

22 E. Boedcking, Dosithei magistri interpretamentorum

M. Schanz, Geschichte der roemiscben Litteratur (2nd ed., Munich, 1914) 179; B. W. Hender-
son, 185, 277. G. Goetz reads XaWLXICT1 optima: CGL 3 (1892) 37.17. In his Commentariolum
on this work (Jena progr., 1893, p. VII) he made this comment: "Itaque si ficta est epistula
ab homine ficta est harum rerum non inscio."
23 SHA, Hadr. passim. Cf. R. Syme, "Hadrian the Intellectual", in Les Emp. rom.
243-249. He has this comment (244): "Trajan had no love for things of the mind, no
congeniality with the character and tastes of the young Hadrian. It was his wife, Plotina,
who discovered an affinity." For Hadrian and the sophists cf. Bowersodck (note 3), 34-36,
41 f. (immunity for philosophi); 50-53 (quarrels); 120-123 et al. (M. Antonius Polemo).
24 The Souda: no. 668 (Adler, 3.367). He was libertus Hadriani and especially a favorite
among his freedmen. This confirms the scriptor who included musici among the learned with
whom Hadrian was on friendly terms (Hadr. 16.10). Cf. Syme's comment on Hadrian's
familiarity with men of low estate (Les Emp. rom. 245). For Mesomedes cf. Vetter in RE
s. v., col. 1103 (1931). Bowersock (116): "The more talented versifiers of this period, men
like Mesomedes or Strabo, were political nullities."
25 There are detailed references in Hanslik's account.
26 At Tentyra: CIG 3.4716c.

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 Plotina Augusta and Nicomachus of Gerasa 199

of memorials in Crete may indicate some family connection with an im-

portant Cretan named M. Pompeius Cleumenidas, in the year 112-113 when
he was protocosmos27.
Three items of quite variant authenticity are important as evidence of
Plotina's humanitarian and intellectual interests. A strange passage occurs in
the late epitome de Caesaribus. The anonymous writer wished to make a
contrast to the evil influence exercised over Constantius II by various women
by citing an example of good influence (42.20). He chose Plotina (42.21):

Namque ut ceteras omittam, Pompeia Plotina incredibile dictu est

quanto auxerit gloriam Tralani; cuius procuratores cum provincias
calumniis agitarent, adeo ut unus ex his diceretur locupletium quemque
ita convenire: 'Quare habes?' alter: 'Unde habes?' tertius: 'Pone, quod
habes', illa coniugem corripuit atque increpans, quod laudis suae esset
incuriosus, talem reddidit, ut postea exactiones improbas detestans
fiscum lienem vocaret, quod eo crescente artus reliqui tabescunt.

This pleasing anecdote combines acceptable items within an apocryphal

framework28. If it were a historical datum, it would fall within the first
years of Trajan's reign, the time when Pliny was pronouncing his Panegyricus
with which it is at variance in its view of Trajan. Other evidence coinfirms
Trajan as a conscientious administrator (e. g. Plin. Ep. 10 passim). One item
fits this picture well. Pliny was a member of a consilium principis which met
at Centum Cellae (Ep. 6.31). One judgment involved Eurythmus Caesaris
libertus et procurator. In the discussion Trajan said (9): 'Nec ille Polyclitus
est nec ego Nero.' However it is notable that the Epitome is the only source
for Plotina's full name, and that the account of her humanitarian concern
represents a genuine sentiment as the next item proves.
An extant papyrus, fragmentary at the beginning and the end, gives de-
tails of an audience with the emperor in Rome. Two delegations had arrived
from Alexandria to present their views on disturbances in that city between
Greeks and Jews. The account is not a contemporary memoir, but was writ-
ten later in a rhetorical manner and with a strong Greek bias. Nevertheless
it is probably basically correct. Trajan is openly charged with a pro-Jewish
bias and Plotina is specifically accused of favoring the Jews (col. ii, lines

27 M. Guarducci, Inscriptiones Creticae 1 (Rome, 1935) nos. 27-31: from Lyttos. Of the
36 imperial inscriptions from Lyttos (nos. 15-50) 28 arc in honor of Trajan and his relatives.
Nos. 24, 31, 34 are in honor of Plotina (A. D. 111-114). No. 33 in honor of Trajan (A. D.
113-114) is in Smallwood, no. 99.
21 Anonymus has an especial interest in Nerva (and his successors to M. Aurelius) (12-16).
There are several anecdotes to illustrate mores. He seems to have read Pliny and this com-
ment on Plotina may have been an extrapolation from Pliny's comment in the Panegyricus.
For his use of a story of Nerva, Junius Mauricus and Fabricius Veiento cf. McDermott, AJP
91 (1970) 147.

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 200 WILLIAM C. MCDERMOTT

26-32) 29* This not only is an example of the hium

empress, but surely indicates one or more visits t
with leading members of that community.
In 121 Plotina Augusta sent or handed a petition to Hadrian on behalf of
Popillius Theotimus, then head of the Epicurean School at Athens, in which
she requested a ruling granting an exception to the rules governing appoint-
ment to the position as head of the School. An Athenian inscription quotes
Plotina's petition and Hadrian's favorable reply in Latin. The letter from
Plotina to the Epicureans in Greek follows in fragmentary form30. Lines
3-4 of the first item are especially interesting (Dessau, ILS 7784):
A Plotina Augusta./Quod studium meum erga sectam Epicuri sit, op-
time scis domine.
This has been taken to mean that Plotina was, at least in her latter years, an
Epicurean 3. More probably she should be thought of as patrona of the
School . Surely there is the implication of one or more visits to Athens.
Another element in Plotina's career is worth speculation. She probably
travelled extensively with her husband, with Hadrian, or merely with her
own retinue. If she was originally from Gallia Narbonensts, doubtless there
were trips to Nemausus for family reasons, perhaps also to Crete for the
same reason. The Spanish origin of Trajan and his relatives and the connec-
tion with Voconius Romanus suggest trips to Spain. We might hazard a guess
on the itinerary of such a trip: Nemausus and Narbo Martius (the empress
could hardly forego such a stop) in Narbonese Gaul; Tarraco and Saguntum
in Hispania Tarraconensis; and finally Baetic Italica.
Trips to Athens would account for her friendship with Theotimus, perhaps
one should be dated when Hadrian was archon. If she accompanied Trajan

29 P. Oxy. 1242: B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt, The Oxyrynchus Papyri 10 (London,

1914) 112-119; H. Musurillo, The Acts of the Pagan Martyrs (Oxford, 1954) 44-48 (text
and translation), 161-178 (commentary), and Acta Alexandrinorum (Leipzig, 1961) 32-35
(text); Smallwood, no. 516 (text); Grenfell and Hunt dated the document early in the third
century. The audience must have occurred before Trajan left Rome for the East: Hanslik
(col. 2294) about 111-113; Musurillo (164-168) before 113.
30 CIL 3.12283 (stele found at Athens in 1890). For the Latin Dessau, ILS 7784; P. F.
Girard, Textes de droit romain (6th ed., Paris, 1923) 196f. For the Greek letter Ditten-
berger, SIG 2 (3rd. ed., 1917) no. 834. For a full text Smallwood, no. 442. All three are
translated by Henderson (50-52).
31 Henderson is ambiguous (51): "Plotina's anxiety for the welfare of the Epicurean
School of philosophy at Athens is obviously very genuine. Hers is no exercise of a merely
formal patronage." Syme is more definite (Tacitus 2. 538): "Trajan's consort avowed her
adherence to that sect."
32 The conjectural restoration of the first three words of line 4 (quoted) tend toward the
view that Plotina was an Epicurean and Henderson suggested that she had named her can-
didate to succeed Theotimus, but that it was lost in the broken Greek epistle. However Quae
sententia mea (an equally possible restoration) would change this theory.

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 Plotina Augusta and Nicomachus of Gerasa 201

as far as the right bank of the Danube at the beginning of the two Dacian
Wars, she might have passed the time when he was campaigning in Dacia
by a visit to Athens, or Crete, or even Egypt. Dedications in various parts
of the empire might at times have stemmed from her presence on a visit, but
this is by no means clear. In the latter days of Trajan's life she was in the
east and was with him when he died in Cilicia. Possibly love of travel was
a common interest that she shared with Hadrian.

Analysis and Conclusions

If the patroness of Nicomadius was the Empress Plotina, why did he not
name her? Presumably she did not wish to be named, and her wish would
be honored by her teacher, as is clearly indicated by the statement that he
complied with her request for information even though he was involved in
an unpleasant but necessary journey. This reminds us of Hadrian's statement
after her death: "Though she asked much of me, she was never refused any-
thing."
The usage of Pliny bears out this reason for the omission of the name.
That consular orator was keenly aware of protocol and delicate in his deal-
ing with the imperial household, for he managed to retain the favor of
Domitian almost to the end of his reign, and he gained many favors from
Trajan even though they were so different in personality and were clearly
not on intimate terms. His avoidance of the names of Trajan's wife and sister
in his gratiarum actio was surely a carefully planned nuance, based on
knowledge of the wishes of these imperial women. A parallel can be found
in the third oration of Dio Chrysostomus which he addressed to Trajan,
perhaps in 104, but in which he said (3.2) J yEvvait aVroxQa'To instead of
naming the emperor33.
More important than parallels in the sources is the character of Plotina
as it is revealed in the chance references to her. If this is correct, it is possible
to conjecture that the letter of Nicomachus was early in the reign of Trajan
since Plotina seems to have become more forceful in her later years. She had
earlier favored Hadrian's marriage to Vibia Sabina, granddaughter of Tra-
jan's sister Marciana (SHA, Hadr. 2.10). Before 113 she intervened in the
Alexandrian quarrel. In the last years of Trajan's life she favored Hadrian's
appointment as legatus Syriae (4.1) and his nomination for a second consul-
ship (4.4) 34. Then on her husband's death she was involved in Hadrian's real

33 Von Arnim suggested a date of 105: Leben und Werke des Dio von Prusa (Berlin,
1898) 435 (on Or. 3 cf. 399, 414-438).
3 For Hadrian's brief tenure in Syria in 117 cf. W. Eck, Die Senatoren von Vespasian bis
Hadrian (Munich, 1970), 182-5, 249. For his second consulship in 118 cf. Smallwood, p. 7.

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 202 WILLIAM C. MCDERMOTT

or fictitious adoption (4.10) and in the funera

intervened in the affairs of the Epicurean School
It might be expected that the empress woul
(Augusta), but she did not accept that title unt
as Sabina was addressed in an inscription not m
the wife of M. Aurelius was named by Herodi
modesty and lack of pretense, more characteris
would have led her to prefer a less ostentatio
letter of such a friendly tone.
The five superlative adjectives used by Nicom
the letter show a nice taste, for they delicately in
lady ". Three used later in the letter are rath
attributes, and might have been used for a w
PXoXUXrT&n1 (242.14), xat- ItOV ifQ TarOv ou TQ
VEOTCLTOV (265.3-4). However the initial add
yvvauxCov (236.17: partially repeated 242.14) w
especially in the eastern provinces, appropriat
imperial family.
As early as the time of Pliny's address in th
used as an adjective peculiarly appropriate for
formed into an official cognomen by a gratefu
most natural translation in Greek would be C3
in a bilingual inscription from Delphi,". It wou
usage would be transferred informally to Plot
was the adoptive mother of Hadrian her nomenclature in the Athenian
inscription is Augusta: .EPaoT# . The bilingual letter in pseudo-Dositheus

:15 From Megara, IG 7.73.1. In a poem inscribed on the statue of Memnon at Thebes in
130 her title is IiaaiLkXt;: Smallwood, no. 75, line 3. For these terms as the Greek for regina
or imperatrix cf. D. Magie, De Romanorum iuris publici sacrique vocabulis sollemnibus in
Graecum conversis (Leipzig, 1905) 69 and H. J. Mason, Greek Terms for Roman Institutions
(American Studies in Papyrology, 13, Toronto, 1974) s. vv. Mason (120f.) marks a prefer-
ence in the second century for PaaotkX; instead of ttliToxxQcIL(i) as a translation of imperator;
cf. Magie, 62.
30 For superlatives applied to emperors in the second century cf. Magie, 62 f.
37 Dittenberger, SIG 2 (3rd ed., 1917, repr. 1960) 827; decreta Avidii Nigrini dated in
SIG to 116-117, but this date is uncertain (cf. Edc, 258). Optimus (whether adjective or title)
is used three times in the Latin. Twice (col. 11.2 and IV.6) it is translated as [4yttJtO; (col.
111.3 and V.4), but once (col. IV.2) as &i@taTo; (col. V.2). Dittenberger capitalized both
Latin and Greek (as a title) in all cases. The fourth use of optimus (col. IV.13) is not in the
Greek. In the first three cases Princeps is translated as AVTOXQaTOL. Magie (62) gives o
,EyLOuO; o EtoXQa'oQ as a translation of Maximus imperator. Surely the variation within
a single set of translations indicates uncertainty in the official translation of optimus.
"I Mason is no help in his alphabetical list since the Greek words for Augusta and
optimus are not included, but he has a good comment on greater freedom in the literary

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 Plotina Augusta and Nicomachus of Gerasa 203

is clearly a pastiche, but the use by the author of optima: x

indicates earlier application of the Latin adjective to Plotina. The other
adjective applied to the recipient of the letter in the first chapter and re-
peated in the third certainly has this equivalence: orELvoT&Tq: sanctissima.
For this quality of Plotina there is not only the character of the empress, but
also the specific items in Pliny: sanctius in 100, and some years later sanc-
tissima.

Some elements ascertainable from the scanty evidence available for the
empress fit the student of Nicomachus: modesty and affability, extensive
travel, knowledge of the East including Alexandria, but above all intellectual
curiosity and an interest in Greek philosophy. None of the items adduced
gives proof of this identification, but they make it an attractive possibility
that Nicomachus was addressing the Empress Plotina.
If this theory is correct, a few general conclusions may be drawn.
1. Plotina's intellectual interests are further attested.
2. The empress was neither an adherent to the Pythagorean philosophy, nor
to Epicureanism, but was sympathetic with their aims. The same would
apply to her sympathy for the Jews of Alexandria.
3. The connections of the empress with the East, probably with Egyptian
Alexandria, are amplified.
4. The probability that Nicomachus lived and taught at Alexandria is
strengthened, and his fame is enhanced.
5. The date of the composition of the Enchiridion may be set about A. D.
100-1 05 3.

University of Pennsylvania William C. McDermott

sources (15 f.). In an earlier article he made this comment: "The Greek writer of the Roman
period chose his vocabulary with an eye to literary respectability rather than political
aptness." Phoenix 24 (1970) 159. This would apply even more in the case of the empress.
For Augusta: lEpasfToi or AMyokFT0a cf. Magie, 69.
h9 'e problem of the identification of the patroness of Nichomachus was first raised by
an inquiry from my former student, Flora R. Levin. She has graciously permitted me to
make use of her dissertation and to quote from her translation. In addition she has twice
read my manuscript and has made many cogent and valuable comments on it. At her
suggestion I have bracketed as corrupt XOlVdV in the text of von Jan (265.49). In the revision
of her dissertation Dr. Levin will present additional arguments on dating. In an unpublished
paper ("Nichomadcean Harmonics and the Pythagorean Tradition") she will discuss a novel
interpretation of the purpose of the Enchiridion Harmonikon, and present an alternative
view of the lady addressed by Nicomachus.

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