Æ19 - Caligula ΑΦΡΟΔΙΣΙΕΩΝ

Aphrodisias had particular reason to honor Caligula: the city's name carried an implicit connection to Venus, whose Roman identity the Julio-Claudians aggressively claimed as divine ancestry. Local magistrates at Aphrodisias were shrewd about leveraging that shared mythology with Rome, and bronze civic issues under Caligula reflect a city that understood how to cultivate imperial favor. The sanctuary of Aphrodite there held the status of an asylum recognized by Rome — a privilege worth protecting through visible loyalty.