The priest of Apollo () was the chief priesthood of
Ancient Cyrene
Cyrene, also sometimes anglicization of names, anglicized as Kyrene, was an ancient Greeks, ancient Greek Greek colonization, colony and ancient Romans, Roman Cities of the Roman Empire, city near present-day Shahhat in northeastern Libya in Nor ...
from the fifth century BC until the third century AD.
The priesthood was held for one year. According to the constitution of Cyrene issued by
Ptolemy I
Ptolemy I Soter (; , ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'', "Ptolemy the Savior"; 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian, and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the Ptolemaic Kingdom centered on Egypt. Pt ...
in 322 BC, the priest had to be chosen from among the 101 members of the
council of elders and had to be over the age of fifty. The priesthood was a highly symbolic role, acting as the chief representative of the city to the gods. The office was highly sought after by members of the Cyrenaean elite.
The priest was required to host several public banquets and carry out sacrifices at his own expense. The priest was the city's
eponymous official, meaning that his name was used to date all civic documents produced during his year in office. Some priests also carried out building work within the
sanctuary of Apollo. After his year in office the priest became a kind of "elder statesman" with privileged rights to attend various banquets and sacrifices.
List of priests of Apollo at Cyrene
The dates and details for the priests of the 5th-1st centuries BC derive from ; IGCyr refers to the ''Inscriptions of Greek Cyrenaica'' (availabl
here; IRCyr refers to the ''Inscriptions of Roman Cyrenaica'' (availabl
here.
References
Bibliography
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*
*{{cite book , last1=Rosamilia , first1=Emilio , title=La città del silfio. Istituzioni, culti ed economia di Cirene classica ed ellenistica attraverso le fonti epigrafiche , date=2023 , publisher=Scuola Normale Superiore , location=Pisa , isbn=9788876427367 , language=it
5th-century BC establishments
3rd-century disestablishments in the Roman Empire
Apollo
Cyrenean Greeks
Ancient Greek priests
Eponymous magistrates
Ptolemy I Soter