Antiochos's Hierothesion at Nemrud Dag Revisited: Adjusting the Date in the Light of Astronomical Evidence

Sullivan R. D. , “The dynasty of Commagene”, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, ed. by Temporini H. Haase W. , ii (Berlin, 1977), 732–98.

Boyce M. , “In Commagene, Syria and Egypt”, A history of Zoroastrianism, iii (Leiden, 1991), chap. 10, pp. 309–60.

Hawkins J. D. , “Scripts and texts”, The Luwians, ed. by Melchert H. Graig (Leiden, 2003), 129–69.

Bryce T. , “Kummuh”, The Routledge handbook of the peoples and places of ancient Western Asia (London, 2009), 397–8.

Sanders D. H. (ed.), The Hierothesion of Antiochus I of Commagene: Results of the American excavations directed by Theresa B. Goell, i: Text; ii: Illustrations (Winona Lake, 1996).

Translated by Burstein S. M. , in Cimak F. , Commagene, Nemrut (Istanbul, 1995), 17–18.

Boyce , op. cit. (ref. 2), 309.

Bonnefoy Y. , Diccionario de las mitologías y de las religiones de las sociedades tradicionales del mundo antiguo, i (Barcelona, 1996), 286–7 and 373–4.

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Milone E. F. Winmill B. Desnoyers , “Possible astronomical alignments and the interpretation of the hierothesion at Nemrud Dagh”, private communication. Also relevant is Kelley D. H. Milone E. F. , Exploring ancient skies: An encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy (New York, 2003), chap. 15.

Tuman V. S. , “The tomb of Antiochos revisited: Planetary alignments and the deification of the king”, Archaeoastronomy (USA), vii (1984), 56–69.

Cimak , Commagene, Nemrut (ref. 6).

Bryce , op. cit. (ref. 4), 397.

Bickerman E. J. , “Notes on Seleucid and Parthian chronology”, Berytus archaeological studies, no. 1943 (2008), http://ddc.aub.edu.lb/projects/archaeology/berytus-back/berytus08/73.html.

Hannah R. , Greek and Roman calendars (London, 2005), 95.

Bonnefoy , op. cit. (ref. 8), 286 and 373.

However, it is worth noting that, as Roger Beck has suggested, “the identification of the person of ‘my fatherland all-nurturing Commagene’ with Venus rather than, as traditionally, with the Moon, poses an unnecessary choice. Why not both, just as ‘Apollo-Mithras-Helios-Hermes’ refers to both Mercury and the Sun?” Hence, given the Hellenistic influence where the moon is female, Commagene might stand for both celestial bodies, Venus and the moon.

The sky configuration of that particular day may additionally explain the presence of the second totemic animal present in the plinths together with the lion and the statues of the divinities, the eagle (also ubiquitous at the Mount Nemrud ruins), provided the constellation Aquila and its brightest star Altair were dominating the western horizon at dusk, as an alternative manifestation of the power of the king.

His son Mithradates II (or perhaps Antiochos himself) built a much smaller hierothesion for her mother Isias at Karakush (see Fig. 1). Certain elements of this smaller but still magnificent monument have suggested an astronomical interpretation: See Beck R. , “The astronomical design of Karakush, a royal burial site in ancient Commagene: An hypothesis”, Culture and cosmos, iii (1998), 10–31.