Salmakis and the Priests of Halikarnassos

Abstract

Summary Earlier studies of the “Pride of Halikarnassos” have emphasized its role situating Halikarnassos in the changing geopolitical landscape of the second century. In these interpretations Rome looms large. The inscription, however, is also an example of a Local Discourse Environment, in which different versions of Halikarnassian myth and history, some Greek, others Karian, are used to assert the competing traditions of the different groups who inhabited Halikarnassos. Comparison with other inscriptions from Halikarnassos underscores the continued existence of local groups, defined by ethnicity, familial affiliation, even neighbourhood, each vying with the other for preeminence. The “Pride of Halikarnassos” offers a vision of the reconciliation of local rivalries through shared narratives.