Paul and Caristanius at Pisidian Antioch 239 doubt providing him with letters of introduction to aid his passage and his stay” (88). Various other scholars, however, have stressed the absence of conclusive epigraphical evidence concerning the identity of the proconsul at that time (89). There is currently no evidence regarding any first century marriage between members of the Caristanii and the Sergii Paulli, for it has recently been shown that the wife of C. Caristanius Fronto (probably a descendant of the Caristanius who is central to this study) (90) was not Sergia Paulla, the alleged daughter of one of the Sergii Paulli, but Calpurnia Paulla, the daughter of one of the Calpurnii (91). The “leading men” of Pisidian Antioch probably included one or more members of various prominent families. One of these leading men, we are arguing, could have been Caristanius. He claimed in his inscription that he was (or had been) duumvir for the third time. If he held this office at the time when Paul was expelled from the city, he would have been one of the official “leading men of the city” at that time (92). But he may not have been duumvir at that time, for the men who held this office could change every year (93). (88) MITCHELL, Anatolia, II, 7. For a more recent statement of this thesis, see MITCHELL – WAELKENS, Pisidian Antioch, 12. G.H.R. HORSLEY, NDIEC 4 (1987) 138, has recognized the attractiveness of this proposal, and Breytenbach, Paulus, 38-45, has argued for the historical plausibility of such a proposal. (89) Although BARRETT, Acts, I, 614, seems to hold open the possibility that the proconsul played a role in Paul’s decision to go to Pisidian Antioch, he concedes that “no inscription contains decisive confirmation of a proconsul Sergius Paulus”. While FITZMYER, Acts, 501-502, flatly states that “Sergius Paulus (or Sergius Paullus) was the proconsul of Cyprus A.D. 46-48”, he acknowledges the problems associated with the inscription that he selects as the key source (IGRR III, 935). See also HEMER, Book of Acts, 109; A. NOBBS, “Cyprus”, The Book of Acts in its Graeco-Roman Setting (ed. D.W.J. GILL – C. GEMPF) (Book of Acts in its First Century Setting 2; Grand Rapids 1994) 282-287; M. CHRISTOL – Th. DREW-BEAR, “Les Sergii Paulli et Antioche”, Actes du Ier Congrès, 186-188. (90) MITCHELL – WAELKENS, Pisidian Antioch, 10. (91) Nearly a century ago, CHEESMAN, “Family”, 261-265, published an inscription from Pisidian Antioch containing the reconstructed reading “[Serg]ia … Paulla”, and many scholars subsequently cited this reading. For a recent detailed refutation of this reconstructed reading, see CHRISTOL – DREW-BEAR, “Sergii Paulli”, 178-181. This refutation has been accepted by MITCHELL – WAELKENS, Pisidian Antioch, 17, n. 59. (92) PILHOFER, Die frühen Christen, 121, assumes that “the leading men of the city” mentioned in Acts 13,50 were the duumviri. See also G.H.R. HORSLEY, NDIEC 3 (1983) 30; BREYTENBACH, Paulus, 80-81. (93) See LEVICK, Roman Colonies, 81.