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There were other places throughout the Empire where Asclepius was worshipped. Crete housed the god,
and in Cyrenaica he was ranked with Apollo and Venus. But the main center of the cult was at Pergamum
during the period of the Empire. Thousands traveled to the city on the Aegean Sea coast of Asia Minor in
the hope of finding a cure for their illnesses and ailments. One of the pilgrims in the 2nd century A.D. was
the writer and rhetorician P. Aelius ARISTIDES.
¤ ASCONIUSPEDIANUS, QUINTUS (2 B.c.-83 A.D.?) Also known simply as Asconius, a noted
grammarian. He probably came from Padua (Patavium) and went blind sometime around 65 A.D. Of his
vast writings, only his commentaries on five speeches of CICERO have survived. Among the fragments
of these orations were Cicero's pro Cornelia de maiestate and pro Milone, as well as in toga Candide, in
Pisonem and pro Scauro. The commentary of Pedianus was careful, scholarly and historically valuable.
He also wrote a defense of Virgil's poetry, a biography of Sallust, (d. 43 B.C.) and a Platonic-style
"symposium."
¤ ASIA A senatorially controlled territory that was, economically and administratively, the jewel of the
Empire. Formed along the western coast of ASIA MINOR, Asia composed the territories of MYSIA,
LYDIA, PISIDIA and PHRYGIA; RHODES was added later. It was the most desirable posting in the
Empire because of its regional stability, economic prosperity and heavy concentration of both Roman and
Hellenic influences.
In 130 B.C., King Attalus III bequeathed to Rome his kingdom, and Asia became a province under the
supervision of a senatorial commission. The borders of the region remained substantially unchanged
(with the exception of Vespasian's inclusion of Rhodes) until the time of Diocletian (late 3rd century). In 27
B.C., Augustus placed Asia under the authority of the Senate, and it was administered by a proconsul, who
was aided by three legates and a quaestor. Procurators served as well, mainly as the upholders of the
interests of the emperor. Administration varied from area to area. Many cities that were fairly
autonomous under the rule of the Attalid kings retained independence but were still included in the
province. Cities directly under the rule of the Romans were allowed city councils, with the usual Roman
bureaucratic intrusions. Magistrates, tax collectors and the correctores maintained an imperial presence.
Justice was dispensed by nine territorial departments, the conventus.
The proconsul administered the province from either Ephesus or Pergamum. There is uncertainty as to
which city held sway politically. Pergamum was important, located near the coast, but Ephesus held the
public records. Further, when the governor arrived to take control of the province, he was required,
historically, to begin in Ephesus.
Asia was enormously prosperous. A variety of crops were grown successfully, including olives and corn.
Clothes were dyed as well there. But true economic power came from the province's position directly on the
east-west trade routes. Asian harbors at Miletus, Rhodes, Smyrna and Alexandria Troas contained foreign
vessels trading for the wealth of the Mediterranean Sea and beyond.
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