Four years had passed since Hadrian last saw Rome, and it was time for him to return home. In the spring of AD 125, the Emperor departed from Athens and began his journey northward to the Adriatic port of Dyrrachium. Along the way, Hadrian visited Boeotia and Phocis, where he dedicated a bear skin to the Eros of Thespiae, ordered the construction of new irrigation dikes at Coronae and visited Delphi.

The imperial court first journeyed past Mount Cithaeron into Boeotia, continuing on to Thespiae, located at the eastern foot of Mount Helicon, a mountain sacred to the Muses, the goddesses of song, dance, music, and poetry. In the fertile valley below stood an altar, a theatre and a sacred grove adorned with numerous statues and other works of art. Pausanias describes the many statues set up for the Muses and other deities in the valley (9.30.1). He also mentions statues of poets or famous musicians (9.30.2), including that of Hesiod (9.30.3), who lived in the small city of Ascra near Mount Helicon, as well as those of contest winners (9.31.3) and Hellenistic royals (9.31.1). This sanctuary gained notable fame during antiquity and enjoyed its heyday from the 3rd century BC onwards, largely due to the Mouseia festival, held in honour of the Muses and organised there every five years by the Thespians. The festival attracted poets and musicians from all over Greece.

During the Roman period, a festival of the imperial cult was associated with the Mouseia, which evolved into the Mouseia Sebastea (IThesp 358) and later became the Megala Traianeia Hadrianeia Sebasteia Mouseia (IThesp 177). Although Pausanias has little to say about the statues erected for the Romans, the epigraphical record shows that many important Romans received honorific statues. After the Mithridatic Wars, the demos of Thespiae dedicated a statue of the Roman general Sulla to the Muses, thanking him for his benevolence to the city and placing it somewhere in the valley (IThesp. 397). Julius Caesar, Augustus, Agrippa, and his relatives also received statues (IThesp. 420, 421, 422, 423). During the reign of Augustus, the earlier Hellenistic group of statuary representing the nine muses was granted new splendour, with the engraving, under each figure, of an ekphrastic epigram signed by the Corinthian poet Honestus.

Yet, none of the artworks in the area was as famous as the statue of Eros by Praxiteles in nearby Thespiae, which was considered the town’s only attraction. Strabo notes that people would travel to Thespiae, a city often regarded as unremarkable, primarily to see the statue of Eros (Str. 9.2.25). Similarly, Cicero mentions that this statue was the main draw for visitors, as there was little else to attract people to the region (Cic. Verr. 2.4.4).

The Eros of Thespiae was highly esteemed by the Romans and attracted the attention of several Roman emperors. Pausanias describes the statue as “a very ancient image of Eros, made from unworked stone” (Paus. 9.27.1). He notes that the statue of Eros by Praxiteles was first removed from Thespiae by Caligula, then sent back by Claudius, and removed again by Nero to Rome, where it was destroyed by fire. By the time Pausanias saw the statue, it was no longer the original; it was a copy of the original by Menodorus of Athens (Paus. 9.27.4). Pausanias even implies that the statue was actually responsible for the terrible fate that awaited the looting emperors. An epigram from the Flavian period signed by Herennia Procula, a wealthy poetess from Thessalonica, was composed for the copy of the Eros statue. It reads:” This Eros teaches desire. Aphrodite herself said, “Where did Praxiteles see you with me” (IThesp 270).

Archaeologists and art historians disagree about the precise nature of the Eros copy of Thespiae. German classical archaeologist M. Pfrommer has suggested that it may survive in a headless statue excavated from the Palatine in Rome, the Eros Farnese, now held in the Louvre.

The Eros statue may have played a role in the establishment and success of the festival called the Kaisareia Erotideia Romaia, held every four years in Thespiae in honour of Eros. Plutarch, himself a Boeotian, depicts a wealthy and flourishing community filled with visitors during the Erotideia (Plut. Amat. 748f). Whereas the Mouseia were entirely musical and/or dramatic, the Erotideia were primarily athletic and equestrian for younger and older boys (IThesp 187) and were, on occasion, celebrated jointly. The sanctuary of Eros, much like the sanctuary of the Muses, became a gathering place for elite visitors to display their literary talents by leaving dedicatory epigrams.

One notable visitor was Hadrian, who composed an epigram dedicated to Eros during his visit to Thespiae in 125. In it, he implored Eros, the son of the sweet-speaking Aphrodite, who resided in Heliconian Thespiae near the flower garden of Narcissus, to graciously accept the offering of the spoils of a she-bear he had killed while on horseback. In return, he sought a breath of favour from Aphrodite Urania, the goddess associated with heavenly love. Hadrian’s epigram, composed of eight lines of Greek verse, was found a few miles from Thespiae. It is preserved on a piece of fine white marble (29.2 cm high × 57.6 cm long × 60 cm thick) with a tabula ansata bearing the poetic dedication text (see here). Translation by Ewen Bowie (University of Oxford):

O archer child of clear-voiced Aphrodite,
dwelling in Heliconian Thespiae,
by the blooming garden of Narcissus,
be gracious, and accept what Hadrian offers,
the spoils of his hunt, a bear
which he slew himself with a cast from horseback.
And may you in exchange for this chastely
breathe favour upon him from Heavenly Aphrodite.

E. Bowie speculates that Hadrian may have visited Thespiae in 125 when one of the two festivals was being celebrated. He argued that the bear was the one Hadrian slew in Mysia the year prior, which allowed one of the cities he established there to be named Hadrianotherae, meaning literally ‘Hadrian’s Hunts’ (discussed here). Bowie also interprets the dedication of the Mysian bear to the God of Love as a reference to Hadrian’s relationship with Antinous, whom Hadrian met in Bithynia around the same time as the Emperor hunted the bear in Mysia (Bowie, 2002). The “hunting” theme is a common metaphor in love poetry, representing the pursuit of love and affection. In Roman art, Erotes are often depicted hunting, as seen on the friezes from the Piazza d’Oro in Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli (see here).

Thespiae was one of the two free cities in Boeotia, alongside Tanagra. According to Strabo, these were the only cities in the region still flourishing during his time (Str. 9.403, 410). Later, Plutarch describes Thespiae as a wealthy and vibrant community that attracted many visitors during the Erotideia festival (Plut. Amat. 748f). According to the epigraphic evidence, Thespiae maintained its freedom under the rule of Hadrian. In 125, the Emperor appointed a special legate, Publius Pactumeius Clemens, a young senator from Cirta in Numidia, specifically tasked with overseeing the finances of the free cities of Athens, Thespiae and Plataia as well as in Thessaly (CIL VIII 7059).

Hadrian was honoured with statues in Thespiae. A private individual named Titus Flavius Lysander set up one such monument to commemorate Hadrian’s legislative work, giving him the title of “Legislator of Piety, Justice, and Philanthropy” (IThesp 437). Lysander was a member of a leading family in Roman Thespiae and the grandson of Flavius Philinus, a friend of Plutarch (Jones, 1970). Hadrian is commemorated in three other inscriptions, one of which refers to him as the “saviour of the universe” (IThesp 435).

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One of the most important cities in Boeotia was Lebadea, famous for the oracle of Trophonius, a Boeotian chthonian daimon, located just outside the town on the banks of the Hercyna River. This oracle continued to attract many visitors and was a notable stop on any visitor’s “grand tour”. Pausanias noted that the city was well-equipped with amenities (9.39.2). He himself consulted the oracle and vividly described his experience. First, he spent several days in a house sacred to the Good Spirit and Good Fate, bathing in the water of the Hercyna, and sacrificing to the divinities of the sanctuary. And after a series of rituals, he was let down into the chasm by means of a ladder (9.39.5). Inside, he was confronted by the god and stated that prophecy could come by sight or sound, but he does not specify his own experience (9.39.11). Back on ground level, Pausanias recorded he was still possessed with terror and hardly knew himself, suggesting that the oracle seeker was given hallucinogenic drugs (9.39.13). Pausanias also reported seeing a cult image there that was made by Praxiteles (9.39.4). It is not known if Hadrian consulted the oracle. As Birley puts it, this might have been too much for an emperor.

“The city is no less adorned than the most prosperous of the Greek cities, and it is separated from the grove of Trophonius by the river Hercyna.” Paus. 9.39.2

“If you go up to the oracle, and thence onwards up the mountain, you come to what is called the Maid’s Hunting and a temple of King Zeus. This temple they have left half finished, either because of its size or because of the long succession of the wars.” Paus. 9.39.4

The polis of Lebadea donated a statue of Hadrian at Plataea, where the Eleutheria games were held, hailing him as “saviour and benefactor” (IG VII 1675).

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While in Boeotia, Hadrian initiated an ambitious infrastructure project to address the region’s flooding issues. He was involved in the drainage of Lake Copais and the construction of dykes. The land of Boeotia is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is traversed by many rivers, creating low-lying areas. The rich northern plain, of which the city of Orchomenus was the centre, contained Lake Copais, an inland drainage system into which several rivers flowed from the west, notably the Melas, Cephissus, Hercynne, Phalerus, and other streams from Mount Helicon. For most of its history, until it was successfully drained in the 1880s, Lake Copais was the largest lake in Greece, and its drainage was among the most ambitious land reclamation projects of antiquity. When the lake existed, it covered an area of approximately 200 square kilometres, and the towns of Haliartus, Orchomenus, and Chaeronea were situated on its shores, surrounded by fertile land with good arable soil well-suited for farming and agriculture.

However, Lake Copais was subject to annual winter flooding due to insufficient drainage, which created frequent problems, the most important of which was the loss of a substantial portion of arable lands. The earliest efforts to drain Lake Copais were during the Mycenaean era when a series of canals and earthen dykes, reinforced by Cyclopaean masonry, conveyed the water to natural sinkholes situated near the eastern end of the lake and through them to the sea. The Copais drainage project was colossal by both ancient and modern standards. It is estimated that up to 400,000,000 m³ of stone and approximately 200,000,000 m³ of earth were moved to build the dams (Iakovidis, 2001). This project may have been supervised by the Minyan (Mycenaean) palace rulers of Orchomenos and the Gla citadel, which overlooked the Copaic plain. Alexander the Great even commissioned an engineer named Crates from Chalcis to drain the Copais, but this enterprise was not completed (Strabo 9.2.18).

At least two attempts to drain Copais during Roman times are documented. The first attempt, made under Emperor Claudius, was led by Epameinondas, a citizen of Acraephnium, who contributed six thousand denarii to repair the Mycenaean dike; however, this effort proved insufficient (IG VII 2712). The second attempt occurred under Emperor Hadrian (Boatwright, 2000). Archaeological findings from 1920 near Coronea, including unearthed inscriptions carved into blocks of grey marble, contain letters from Hadrian himself to the city of Coronea (SEG 32.460–463). In these, the Emperor discusses the need for river regulation and the construction of dikes to channel the Cephesus, Hercynne, and other waterways flowing into the southwest part of the lake.

In his first letter, Hadrian pledges 65,000 denarii from the imperial treasury and instructs the Coroneans to choose the engineers (SEG 32.460). “Work will commence as soon as possible, so that they flow within their banks and do not turn aside from their course and, as happens now, flood much of the agricultural land. I shall also bring you a water supply. I shall provide the money, a sum of 65,000 denarii, which the experts in these matters say will be necessary. You should choose those who are to supervise (the project).“ A second, very fragmentary letter from the same year refers to the supply of “wine for the soldiers who [travel] with me” (SEG 32.470). The area was already remembered as “multi-vined” in the Iliad (II.507). Moreover, Hadrian issued another letter requesting the Coroneans to supervise outsiders who occupied land along the Phalarus River and offered the city support to impose a fine of 1,500 denarii for the damages to the structure (SEG 32.463).

A decade later, Hadrian again wrote to the magistrates and people of Coronea (SEG 32.462) and assigned his trusted friend Lucius Aemilius Juncus (cos. AD 127) to oversee the regulation of the Phalarus River: “I have written to the distinguished Aemilius Juncus, my friend, to go to the Phalaros River and do whatever he thinks is necessary. You should make clear to him what you said in my presence.” In an undated letter from the dossier, Hadrian confirms the project’s completion and recognised the project as useful and attractive, and emphasises the importance of ongoing maintenance, warning that any damage to the structure must be repaired at the culprit’s expense, and failure to do so would result in a fine of 1,500 denarii to be paid by the city (SEG 32.463).

However, controlling Lake Copais’ flooding triggered land and tax disputes between Coronea and its neighbours, Orchomenus and Thisbe, and caused subsequent tensions between these communities. Further letters involved disputes that followed over the next ten years and continued under Antoninus Pius. One fragmentary missive, written by Hadrian, directs the Coroneans to defer further unresolved questions to the governor of Achaea, Marcus Calpurnius Longus (SEG 32.466); “If the Orchomenians do not abide by the decision I made in the matter of the taxes, communicate with his Excellency, the proconsul Calpurnius Longus, and he will force them to collect no tax in violation of my decision.”. Hadrian also appointed Mestrius Aristonymus as a special judge to decide the case, but in AD 155, he was still involved as each side blamed the other. A letter from Antoninus Pius, written to the Thisbeans concerns the old querel; “Since you blame them and they blame you for not allowing the measurement of the lands to take place according to the decision which my deified father issued and which I retained as valid in a subsequent decision, [in] the [future] it will be of concern to the proconsul to ascertain which are the parties disobeying the rulings, [and] he will see to it as quickly as possible that the decisions be placed” (SEG 32:468).

The concern to save agricultural land from flooding in Hadrian’s time suggests that crops were the main economic resource of this valley in Roman times, as they are today. These Roman interventions marked the final ancient chapter in the region’s centuries-long battle with water. In gratitude, the citizens of Coronea honoured Hadrian with a statue in the guise of the god Mars, standing as a timeless symbol of the enduring relationship between people and the land they fight to protect.

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Hadrian’s inspection of the flooding issues may have led him to the north side of Lake Copais. Pausanias provides two pieces of evidence suggesting Hadrian’s presence in that area, at Abae and Hyampolis, two cities located in the northeastern corner of Phocis. Abae was famous for its oracle of Apollo Abaeus, one of the most important sanctuaries of ancient Greece, comparable to that of Delphi, and one of those consulted by the Lydian king Croesus. Before Xerxes’ invasion of Greece in 480 BC, the temple was richly adorned with treasuries and votive offerings (Hdt. 8.33). It was twice destroyed by fire; the first time by the Persians in their march through Phocis in 480 BC, and a second time by the Boeotians in the Third Sacred War in 346 BC (Paus. 10.35.3). Another temple was built in the Classical period, alongside the Archaic one. Since the start of the new excavations in 2004, a succession of 10 temples, dated between Mycenaean and Roman imperial times, have been found. Pausanias noted that ruins of the ancient agora and a theatre still existed in his time, both of ancient construction (Paus. 10.35.4).

Hadrian’s involvement in the region was more than just an occasion to organise the extensive drainage and irrigation works at Lake Copais. He also showed his respect for ancient local cults by providing architectural gifts. According to Pausanias, Hadrian commissioned the construction of a new, smaller temple dedicated to Apollo over the ruins of the original Archaic South Temple. This new Hadrianic temple housed bronze statues of Apollo, Leto, and Artemis, which the Abaeans themselves had dedicated.

“Beside the large temple, there is another, but smaller in size, made for Apollo by the emperor Hadrian. The images are of an earlier date, being dedicated by the Abaeans themselves; they are made of bronze, and all alike are standing, Apollo, Leto and Artemis. At Abae, there is a theatre, and also a market-place, both of ancient construction.” Paus. 10.35.4

Pausanias’ detailed descriptions of Hadrian’s building activities could be observed on the ground during recent archaeological investigations by the German Archaeological Institute. The foundations of a rectangular building erected on the same east-west orientation and measuring 16.5 × 8.68 m in plan were unearthed over the eastern part of the South Temple. The temple was probably tetrastyle in antis and had a small antechamber and a rear chamber, similar to the temple built inside the courtyard of the Caesareum in Cyrene (Grigoropoulos, 2015).

In nearby Hyampolis, also destroyed by Xerxes and later by Philip II of Macedon, Pausanias notes that Hadrian erected a stoa named after himself and that a single well in the whole city was the only freshwater source for the citizens unless they were able to collect rainwater (Paus. 10.35.6). Excavations conducted at the end of the 19th century have revealed the stoa of Hadrian located outside the city walls on the south side. However, the building has not been fully excavated (York, 1896). The well mentioned by Pausanias has been identified in a large cistern from the Hellenistic period that was uncovered at the site.

“Although Xerxes had burnt down the city, and afterwards Philip had razed it to the ground, nevertheless, there were left the structure of an old market-place, a council-chamber (a building of no great size) and a theatre not far from the gates. The emperor Hadrian built a portico which bears the name of the emperor who dedicated it. The citizens have one well only. This is their sole supply, both for drinking and for washing; from no other source can they get water, save only from the winter rains.” Paus. 10.35.6

Hadrian seemed to have a strong interest in cities that had been destroyed by Xerxes and Philip. As an avid benefactor of ancient local sanctuaries and cults, it is not difficult to imagine why he visited Abae and Hyampolis. Boatwright noted that Hadrian’s stoa at Hyampolis “underscores the diversity and frequent puzzle of his municipal benefactions.” Boatwright also points out that it is unclear why Hadrian chose to provide the Hyampolitans with a stoa instead of another type of structure, as Pausanias’ account suggests that an aqueduct would have been more beneficial.

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The next significant stop on Hadrian’s journey was Delphi, home to the classical world’s most celebrated oracle. If he were approaching from Abae, he would have crossed Mount Parnassus. Pausanias has nothing to report about the buildings erected by Hadrian at Delphi, but it is clear that the philhellene Emperor made a significant contribution to the sanctuary. An inscription of a frumentarius (building supervisor) shows that the damiourgoi (governing class) of Delphi granted its local citizenship to a Roman soldier from the legion I Italica named Caius Iulius Pudens. Pudens supervised the works sponsored by Hadrian in the years AD 118-120, when the Emperor was archon of Delphi for the first time (FD III 4:98), a post he held in absentia.

Improvements within the sanctuary included columns of blueish marble alongside the running track in the gymnasium, originally built in the 4th century BC. Located within the city limits of Delphi, the gymnasium’s upper terrace consisted of the xystos, the covered running track, and the parallel paradromis, the open-air running track. The xystos was covered by a Doric portico, including columns, triglyphs, and metopes. During the reign of Hadrian, the columns were replaced with 60 bluish marble columns in the Ionic order when the collonaded xystos was extended. A bathhouse, located at the north end of the lower gymnasium terrace and comprising five rooms, may date back to this period (Weir, 2004). The gymnasium in Delphi served not only civic functions but also prepared visiting athletes and their trainers for the Pythian Games. Furthermore, the initial design for a Roman agora near the southeast entrance of the Apollo sanctuary is likely to have begun around the time of Hadrian.

But the most notable enlargement and improvement that benefited the sanctuary and its games during the Roman period was the generous donation of one man, Herodes Atticus, Hadrian’s friend (Paus. 10.32.1). The stadium high above the Delphic sanctuary, where the athletic contests of the Pythian Games were held since Hellenistic times, had temporary seating until Herodes Atticus replaced it with mable ca. AD 167. However, the remaining seats are made of local limestone, as the marble has since been lost.

Adjoining the sacred enclosure is a theater worth seeing, and on coming up from the enclosure…and here is an image of Dionysus, dedicated by the Cnidians. The Delphian race-course is on the highest part of their city. It was made of the stone that is most common about Parnassus, until Herodes the Athenian rebuilt it of Pentelic marble. Such in my day the objects remaining in Delphi that are worth recording. Paus. 10.32.1

After two centuries of decline, Delphi flourished again in the 2nd century AD and regained its former glory, becoming once again, along with Athens, the centre of panhellenism. It was undeniably a period of renaissance, a time when Delphi was embellished by Herodes Atticus and immortalised by Pausanias and Plutarch. Hadrian also had a favourable attitude towards the Pythian sanctuary, as indicated by the surviving letters addressed to the Delphians. Already in 118, Hadrian had confirmed the freedom and autonomy accorded to the Delphians by his predecessors (FD III,4 301 – discussed here). In response to the renewal of the privileges granted by Hadrian, the city of Delphi set up a statue of the new emperor (Syll3 829 B). Another statue was erected by the Amphictyonic council under Plutarch‘s direction (Syll3 829 A). The prodigious Greek philosopher had assumed the priesthood in Delphi since AD 95.

The emperor Caesar, son of the god Trajan Parthicus, grandson of the god Nerva, Trajan Hadrian August: the Amphictyons’ community (erected) through the Delphic cares of the priest Mestrios Plutarch.

Plutarch spent a considerable amount of time at Delphi, serving in various important civic and religious roles in the city and its sanctuary throughout his career. He became a citizen at Delphi and was a priest of Apollo at the sanctuary at the time of the arrival of Trajan’s corrector, Gaius Avidius Nigrinus, with whom Plutarch became friends. He is credited with aiding the Delphic revival and supervising the new building projects of Trajan and Hadrian at Delphi. Hadrian is said to have had friendships with several Greek philosophers, but there is no evidence that they ever met in person. At the time of Hadrian’s visit, Plutarch had probably already passed away, and T. Flavius Aristotimus was the senior priest of Apollo. After Plutarch’s death around AD 120, Delphi honoured him with a portrait bust and a herm pillar placed in the sanctuary. The Pentelic marble herm has an inscription that reads, “Delphians and Chaeroneans together dedicated this in obedience to the Amphictyon’s decree” (Syll.³ 843A).

While there may not be physical evidence of Hadrian’s building patronage at Delphi, the quantity of epigraphic materials related to his involvement with the Pythian sanctuary is considerable. At least five letters between Delphi and Hadrian were inscribed on the walls of the Apollo temple. Although most of them are quite fragmentary, they have been published in detail with extensive commentary in the epigraphic volume Fouilles de Delphes edited by André Plassart (FD III.4.300–308).

Earlier in the year, Hadrian had written a long letter to the polis of the Delphians, announcing his upcoming visit (“I will judge these matters at Delphi”), thereby intervening in the internal affairs of the Amphictyony and reviewing its rules and decrees. In the letter, he stated his intention to reorganise the membership of the Amphictyony, originally founded for the administration of the Temple of Apollo, with the intention that it become a ‘common Council for all Greeks’, thus officially and explicitly formulating his Panhellenic ideals (FD III,4 302). While several emperors had previously initiated reorganisations, Hadrian suggested increasing the number of members by reducing the large Thessalian representation (reinstituted by Nero) and redistributing the votes among the Athenians, Lacedaemonians and other cities. The letter also addressed issues regarding the organisation of the Pythian Games, including the entities responsible for their management and oversight. In addition, Hadrian announced that he would send an investigator, Claudius Timocrates, to review all the decrees of the Amphictyony.

I have ordered Claudius Timocrates, who is collecting the Amphictyonic decrees, to send to me those decrees which are in conflict with one another or with the common laws, in order that an investigation also of these may be made.

Hadrian was to write to Delphi from Tibur later in the year, in August or September, in response to a previous letter. Hadrian presented the letter to the Senate in Rome, which praised the enthusiasm shown in their decrees. The Senate also expressed its high esteem for the ambassador chosen to deliver the letter, T. Flavius Aristotimus, by bestowing upon him the honours typically given to distinguished ambassadors.

The Emperor… greets the assembly of the Amphictyons and the city of Delphi. The letter you sent me was presented in your name to the (divine) Senate; the Senate approved the (zeal) you demonstrated through your decrees and expressed its highest (esteem) for the ambassador you had designated by recommending that he be accorded the honors that have (always) been deemed due to embassies that were (worthy of them).

Aristotimus erected a private statue of Hadrian in the sanctuary of Athena and later sponsored issues of Delphic coins honouring Antinous with the title of hero (see here). Antinous was also to be honoured with an exquisite statue (found during the École Française excavations in 1893), possibly commissioned by the Delphic Amphictyony.

Hadrian’s second archonship might have coincided with his visit to Delphi (or during Hadrian’s second visit to Greece in 128-9). An inscription records a grant of citizenship to a certain Catillius Macer of Nicaea during the second archonship of Hadrian at Delphi (FD III 2:102). He was also honoured by the “Greeks who fought at Plataea” (Syll.³ 835A). They called him ‘Emperor Hadrian the Saviour who has healed and nourished his own Hellas’. As for the Delphians, they voted to declare the anniversary days of his stay “sacred days” (FD III 4:307). Hadrian would maintain regular correspondence with Delphi until his death in AD 138, with messages from Delphi increasingly overtly praising the emperor and commending him for ensuring the “peace of the universe.”

The coins of Hadrian minted in Delphi feature a wide variety of reverse designs, including images related to the sanctuary, such as Apollo, the Omphalos, the façade of the Temple of Apollo, and the tripod. One particularly interesting illustration featured on Hadrian’s coins is that of the mouth of the Corycian cave (RPC III, 440). This cave, situated on the slopes of Parnassus, a few hours’ uphill walk from Delphi, was sacred to the Corycian nymphs who lived on Mount Parnassus and especially to Pan. Pausanias visited the cave and was particularly impressed by it (10.32.2). Another fascinating coin from this period features a new figure in the Delphic cult: Antinous Propylaius, the guardian of the gates (RPC III, 444). The epithet “Propylaius” highlights the role Antinous played as a “gateway” or entrance to the divine, both in the literal sense (as a means of accessing the afterlife) and in the symbolic sense (as a representation of divine beauty).

On the way from Delphi to the summit of Parnassus, about sixty stades distant from Delphi, there is a bronze image. The ascent to the Corycian cave is easier for an active walker than it is for mules or horses. I mentioned a little earlier in my narrative that this cave was named after a nymph called Corycia, and of all the caves I have ever seen this seemed to me the best worth seeing. Paus. 10.32.2

The Amphictyonic League would eventually be replaced by Hadrian’s Panhellenion, suggesting that the Panhellenion may not have been part of Hadrian’s initial plans. The emperor originally aimed to transform the Delphic Amphictyony into a unified assembly for all Greeks. After the failure of the Delphic project, the establishment of the Panhellenion was initiated.

During his visit to Delphi, Hadrian is said to have consulted the Pythian oracle, asking a series of questions about Greek culture, particularly regarding the origins of Homer and the identity of Homer’s parents, in an effort to resolve the long-standing scholarly debate about Homer’s homeland and parentage. He is told that Telemachus was Homer’s father and Ithaca his homeland (Anth. Pal. 14.102). The answer seems absurd and unsupported by other sources, as Homer’s father turns out to be a character from his own epic, Telemachus, and his homeland, like that of Odysseus, turns out to be Ithaca. According to Professor James Uden (2020), the anecdote about Hadrian consulting the Delphic Oracle served as a satirical critique of Hadrian’s intellectual ambitions and the pressure to accept his authority in scholarly matters. Sources, such as the Historia Augusta, describe Hadrian as mocking, despising, and demeaning scholars, suggesting that he viewed himself as more knowledgeable than they were. Uden argues that Hadrian’s ambition to dominate intellectual fields created resentment among ancient scholars.

You ask me the unknown lineage and fatherland of an undying Siren. As to his home, he is an Ithacan. His father was Telemachus, and Polycaste, daughter of Nestor, was his mother. She bore him, a man exceeding mortals in cleverness in every respect.

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Then, it was time to move on, and epigraphical evidence suggests that Hadrian travelled north along the Adriatic coast to the port of Dyrrhachium (Colonia Iulia Augusta Dyrrachinorum) in Dalmatia (Birley, 1997). A letter written to the city of Heraclea Lyncestis in Macedonia by an unnamed emperor and dispatched from Dyrrhachium (now Durrës in Albania) on May 20 of an unknown year has been plausibly attributed to Hadrian (Ol. 56). The date of May 20 would fit easily into the known chronology of the itinerary of the year 125. However, the year 132, his second return journey from Greece to Italy, cannot be completely ruled out (Halfmann, 1986). This letter on the subject of road-building suggests that the imperial party was returning to Italy via Dyrrhachium. The road in question was likely the Via Egnatia, which served a military purpose. 

— shall perform the liturgy. But those who have acquired privileged land be subject only to the contributions incumbent upon their [estates]. How the roads are to be paved, I have set forth in a general edict. I order the Antani too to share in the cost by paying one-third of the expense; and their share of the special levy shall be collected from the Antani who are in Macedonia. Farewell. May 20, from Dyrrachium.

There was also a flurry of road-building activity in Thessaly and Macedonia. Three milestones from the Larissa-Thessalonica road were discovered at the opposite ends of the Vale of Tempe and at Dion. These are dated to AD 125 and give the distance from Larissa (CIL III 7362, CIL III 14206, ILGR 176). Two other milestones of the same year come from Hypata, a city in Thessaly that would later join the Panhellenion (CIL III 7359) and Pharsalus (I.Thess I 112). The milestone from Hypata measures a distance of 31 miles from Pharsalus. However, a visit by Hadrian to northern Greece at this time cannot be proven due to the lack of other evidence.

Dyrrachium was founded as Epidamnos in 627 BC by Greek settlers from Corinth and Corcyra, now modern Corfu. During the Early Imperial period, Dyrrachium prospered, as evidenced by the construction of several important monuments. Among these were an amphitheatre, a library and two aqueducts. An inscription offers evidence that a major 15-kilometre-long aqueduct was donated to the town by Hadrian, which was later repaired by Severus Alexander (CIL III 709). Hadrian likely oversaw the initial works while in the city. In addition, lead pipes bearing inscriptions in high relief on the surface, which included the name of the colony and the name of the water conduit, Aqua Hadriana (Hadrian’s waters).

Aquae Hadrian(ae) / col(oniae) Iul(iae) Aug(ustae) Dyrr(achinorum) / offic(inator) Eutych(ius) p(ecunia) (AE 2014, 0812)

The Hadrianic aqueduct, which Albanian archaeologists mapped out in the 1950s and 1980s, transported fresh water from the Erzen River. Portions of the aqueduct were constructed above ground, while other sections were built underground. The height of its waterway was 1.35 meters, similar to that of the aqueduct in Athens, which was built around the same period. Additionally, the aqueduct’s width was 0.99 metres, only 11 centimetres narrower than the one in Athens (source).

In today’s city of Durrës, the amphitheatre is the most important monument that has survived from antiquity. It was probably built in the first half of the 2nd century AD under Trajan, when a library was also built in Dyrrachium. An inscription mentions that on the occasion of its opening, twelve pairs of gladiators fought against each other in games (CIL III, 607).

Hadrian’s journey to Dyrrachium likely took him westward, almost certainly by sea, to Nicopolis in Epirus, a city founded in 29 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory in 31 BC over Antony and Cleopatra at the naval Battle of Actium nearby (Birley, 1997). He had likely been there before while on his way to become archon in Athens. It was probably during this visit that he first met the famous Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who founded a school there and remained until his death around AD 130-135. The Historia Augusta states that he had a close friendship with Epictetus, which certainly began before the Emperor’s accession. Since the philosopher was still alive, it wouldn’t be surprising if Hadrian chose to spend some time in Nicopolis. A Spartan embassy, which travelled to Nicopolis to greet the Emperor, either at the end of his first stay in Greece or when he revisited the region in the autumn of 128, proves that Hadrian did visit Nicopolis (SEG XI 493).

Multiple surviving altars show that Hadrian was worshipped in Nicopolis as Zeus Dodonaios, the divine patron of the ancient and important tree oracle of Dodona, and his wife, Sabina, in the guise of Artemis Kelkaia, a local version of the goddess Artemis (see here). The flattering gestures by the Nicopolitans towards the imperial couple indicate the city’s gratitude for their generous gifts. Hadrianic monetary issues by the Nicopolis mint of a monumental gate (RPC III, 530) and a fountain structure in the form of the famous Meta Sudans fountain in Rome (RPC III, 523) have been connected with the construction or completion of the aqueduct, which, after following a long route, brought water to Nicopolis from the springs of Agios Georgios (Zachos, 2018).

The gate featured on the coins of Hadrian and Antinous (RPC III, 533) represents the West Gate of Nicopolis, the city’s main and most impressive entrance. This gate marked the end of the road from the port on the Ionian coast and the beginning of the city’s main avenue (decumanus maximus). The gate featured three arched openings: one for wheeled vehicles and two for pedestrians. It was flanked by two semicircular towers, with the northern tower remaining in a notable state of preservation. Recent excavations in the area have revealed that the aqueduct’s pipe, which continued south on piers, passed above this gate.

Two identical Nymphaea were just a few metres east of the West Gate and on either side of the decumanus maximus (see here). These were elaborately decorated public fountains with Π-shaped ground plans that were fed by water from the aqueduct. They were built of brick and were two-story. The south and north Nymphaea share the same architectural style, but their asymmetrical positioning relative to each other, along with some differences in their masonry, allows for distinct dating. The south Nymphaeum is estimated to have been built during the reign of Hadrian, while the North Nymphaeum dates to the early 3rd century AD (Zachos, 2015).

Supplying the city with clean drinking water proved challenging due to the absence of nearby rivers, which meant that only small springs and wells were available for use. The completion of the aqueduct significantly improved residents’ lives by providing abundant water to public buildings, especially baths and private homes. One of Epictetus’ students had expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the public baths in Nicopolis. Drawing on building techniques and similarities to structures at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, the construction of the North Baths, connected to the aqueduct, was undertaken during Hadrian’s reign.

I wish I could learn everything before my return; but this requires much labor, and nobody sends me anything. The baths are very bad at Nicopolis; and things go very ill both at home and here. Epictetus, Discourses, Of inconsistency, 2.21.14.

The Nicopolitans would later adopt the cult of Antinous, depicting the young Bithynian boy on coins with the inscription ANTINOON ΘΕΟΝ (see here). In addition, a marble head of Antinous with inlaid eyes (see here, page 33) was unearthed during excavations of the House of the ekdikos Georgios, a domus that occupied a commanding position in the northeast sector of Nicopolis, taking up an entire city block (insula) of approximately 9,000 m².

Hadrian may have visited Dodona, famed for its sanctuary and its oracle of Zeus. From Dyrrachium, the usual course of action would have been to embark from there to Brundisium (Brindisi).  However, according to the Historia Augusta, he sailed to Sicily instead. The only details reported about this visit are that he climbed Mount Etna to watch the sunrise, which was described as being like a rainbow.

Afterwards he sailed to Sicily,⁠ and there he climbed Mount Aetna to see the sunrise, which is many-hued, they say, like the rainbow. HA. Hadr. 13.3

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