A client would also
be expected to publicly attest to the honor of their patron. If and when
possible, a client would expend the effort to make a lasting, public pronouncement
of said honor by having an inscription placed on a public monument of a public
building, that all may see and realize the honor and generosity of their
patron. On a monument in Corinth that dates from the middle of the first
century, one can read an inscription in honor of a man named Julius
Spartiaticus, who was looked upon and acknowledged as an important patron to
the tribe of Calpurnia. He too would have been a contemporary of
Paul.
The inscription,
offered by his clients, reads: “Gaius Julius, Son of Laco, Grandson of
Eurycles, [of the tribe] Fabia, Spartiaticus, Procurator of Caesar and Augusta
Agrippina, Tribume of the Soldiers, Awarded a Public Horse By the Deified
Claudius, Flamen Of the Deified Julius, Pontifex, Duovir Quinquennalis twice,
Agonthete of the Isthmian and Caesar-Augustan Games, High Priest of the House
of Augustus In Perpetuity, First of the Achaeans. Because of his Virtue
and Eager and all-encompassing munificence toward the Divine House And toward
our Colony, the tribesmen Of the Tribe Calpurnia [Dedicated this] to their
Patron.”
Apart from
inscriptions on monuments and buildings which, understandably, could be quite
expensive and therefore limited only to being provided by the wealthier clients
of even wealthier patrons (remembering that, apart from the Caesar himself,
everybody was a client of somebody at some level), the honor of a patron could
be expressed through the employment of a herald. It is possible to find
some excellent Scriptural example of somebody being heralded in the book of
Esther. There, Mordecai is heralded by Haman. “He led him about on
the horse throughout the city, calling before him, ‘So shall it be done to the
man whom the king wishes to honor!’” (6:11b) Though this is certainly not
an instance of a client heralding a patron, it is an example of somebody being
honored through the employment of a herald---albeit in this case an unwilling
herald.
The Gospel of Luke
presents a record of something that would have been understood as a clear
instance of heralding. Given the early church’s position concerning who
Jesus was and how He was worshiped in the years between His Resurrection and
the composition of Luke’s Gospel, the angel of the Lord making an appearance to
the shepherds in the field and telling them to “Listen carefully, for I
proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all people: Today your
Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord” (2:10b-11),
would have been perceived as an instance of a patron (the Creator God manifest)
being heralded (by one of His angels). This is not a ground-breaking
thought, especially considering the song “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”
However, the activity being referenced by the song asks to be comprehended
according to a world defined by honor, the role of heralding, and the governing
dynamics of the patron-client relationship.
Speaking to this
activity, and doing so from the basis of a clear knowledge of and undoubted
participation in the patron-client system, along with a thoroughgoing knowledge
of the role of honor in his world, Dio Chrysostom, an orator, writer,
philosopher, and historian of the Roman Empire who was also contemporary with
the Apostle Paul, wrote: “But when we come to men, they require crowns, images,
the right of precedence, and being kept in remembrance; and many in times past
have even given up their lives just in order that they might get a statue and
have their name announced by the herald or receive some other honor and leave
to succeeding generations a fair name and remembrance of themselves.”
One could even take
these words and compose an imaginary speech by a client, in honor of a patron,
hearing something like “This man deserves crowns upon his head. He should
have images erected in his honor. He and his family should have
precedence of place at all public functions. His name should be kept in
remembrance. With complete disregard for his own safety, he risked his
life, though he expected no statues. He placed himself at the mercy of
the gods, though the idea of a herald announcing his exploits was far from his
mind. Because he had acted in complete altruism, with no regard for
honor, he should be honored, as should his progeny, for generations to
come.”
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