Priestesses’ Evergetism in Roman Africa: The Case of Thugga

This paper examines the acts of evergetism by priestesses of the imperial cult (flaminicae) in the city of Thugga (Africa Proconsularis). This community represents an interesting case study, since in the African provinces it is the centre where the highest number of inscriptions concerning this typology of priestess is documented. It seems that acts of evergetism were a customary practice for almost every flaminica. Their contribution to the growth and the embellishment of the city was consequently extremely relevant. Also, some of them probably came from families with an indigenous origin that would be otherwise unknown to the epigraphy of Thugga.