AIO 2637 Honours for Philoxenos

Honours for Philoxenos

AIO 2637 Date: ca. 53-67 AD

[When Tiberius Claudius Eu]kles of Marathon [was archon, prytany of] [ -, the -th ] prytany, for which Agathokles son of - of - [was the secretary], old and new day of -, thirtieth [day of the prytany. Council] [in the Council chamber (bouleutēriōi). Of the] presiding committee . . . [was putting to the vote and] (5)[his fellow members of the presiding committee]. The Council [decided]. Thrasykles [son of – of – proposed].^[1] [Since, having made an approach] to the Council, the . . . . . . in the archonship of - [demonstrates] . . . . . . Philoxenos (son of Philoxenos) of S-^[2] . . . self-control (sōphrosunē) . . . (10) . . .

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References:

AIO 2637 (Translated text) (AIO)

SEG 21.499 (PHI)

Byrne, RCA p. 107 (ll. 1, 7)

Schmalz 9

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Agora Excavations - (1)

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Council)

Findspot: Agora (Ag. I 6173)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual note: AIO follows Byrne Roman Citizens, 106-7, 544 in restoring the archon’s name as Τιβ. Κλ. Εὐ]κλέους Μαραθωνίου in l. 1 (ca. 53-67 AD, see Byrne) and leaving the name of the archon in l. 7 unrestored. B. Meritt Hesperia 33, 1964, 199-200 (SEG 21.499) had ἐπὶ Θεμιστο]κλέους "in the archonship of Themistokles" (27/8) and ἐπὶ Παμφίλ]ου "in the archonship of Pamphilos" (28/9). The length of the line is estimated at ca. 55 letters on the basis of the restorations of ll. 3-5 and the angle of the pediment (Meritt).

This fragmentary decree in honour of one Philoxenos (otherwise unknown) was passed by the Council, one of the three bodies which passed decrees on behalf of the Athenians in this period, along with the Areopagos and the People (on the relationship between these bodies, see IG IV² 1, 82-84 with notes). In the first two centuries AD, inscribed Athenian decrees are even rarer than in the preceding Post-Sullan and Augustan periods (on which see I Rhamnous 423 with notes). The surviving decrees from this period, almost all of which are honorific, are: (1) IRCyr. C.1, ca. 15-35 AD, decree of the Council and People. (2) IG II² 1069, probably of the 40s AD, a decree of the People in response to the Council and Areopagos. (3) SEG 55.248bis, of the same date, perhaps a decree. (4-5) IG IV² 1, 82-84 of ca. 48 AD, decrees of the Council and People and of the Areopagos. (6) S. Follet, Horos 17–21, 2004–2009, 51–67 of the late first century AD, decree of Areopagos (?), Council, and People. (7) IG II² 1072 of 99/100 AD, decree of the Council (and People?). (8) Puech, Orateurs no. 1 of ca. 112, perhaps a decree of the Areopagos or other body. (9) Agora XVI 338 of 115/6 or 116/7, a tiny fragment of a decree of the Council and/or People. (10) I Rhamnous 161, before 124/5 AD, perhaps a decree of the Council and People. (11-12) Agora XV 322 and 324 of ca. 130 AD, old-style prytany decrees passed by the Council (see below). (13) SEG 58.148, a fragmentary prescript. Some post-Sullan prytany decrees may also date to the first century AD, see SEG 28.95. Two inscribed letters of the Areopagos also survive: OGIS 504-507 C to Aizanoi in 156/57 AD and I Sardis VII.2, 319-320 to Sardis ca. 150 AD. The latter also includes the minutes of a meeting of the Areopagos. A decree of the Council and People from 165/6 AD modifying the Eleusinian procession is briefly summarised in IG II² 2090, ll. 5-11.

The Council and People ceased to issue decrees commemorating the ephebes and the prytanies in the reign of Augustus (see RO 89 on the ephebate and AIUK 4.2 (BM, Decrees), no. 15 on prytany inscriptions). These had been their most regular forms of decree in the preceding period. The last ephebic decree is IG II² 1025+1040 of ca. 20 BC. From the mid-first century AD, the ephebes commemorated themselves with inscribed lists (AIUK 11 (Ashmolean), no. 4 of 36/7 AD is the first dated example). The last dated prytany decree passed by the Council is Agora XV 304 of AD 18 (with the two exceptions mentioned above). From the mid-first century AD, the prytaneis commemorated themselves with inscribed lists too (Agora XV 313 of 83/4 AD is the first dated example).

There is a further cluster of inscribed decrees from the Severan period (AD 193-235), see AIUK 4.3A (BM, Decrees), no. 10 for a list.

The paucity of surviving decrees does not mean that no decrees were passed; rather, it was no longer normal Athenian practice to inscribe them. It is significant that several of the inscribed decrees that do survive from this period come from outside Athens (i.e., the decision to inscribe was not made by the Athenians). Throughout the first two centuries AD, statue bases, theatre seats, and other monuments were frequently erected in the name of the Areopagos, the Council, and the People (together and individually) and sometimes specifically mention enabling decrees (e.g. AIUK 11 (Ashmolean), no. 16). Literary sources (particularly Lucian) and inscriptions (e.g., IG II² 1100 and Oliver, Greek Constitutions no. 193-203) often refer to meetings and decrees of the three decision making bodies.

Aside from the Areopagos, Council, and People, other bodies in Athens also passed decrees in the first and second centuries AD, such as the Panhellenion (IG II² 1091 and probably I Eleusis 489), the ephebes (SEG 50.155), the ecumenical technitai of Dionysos (AIUK 4.3A (BM, Decrees), no. 9), and private associations (e.g. IG II² 1368 of the Iobacchoi). Finally, some decrees of other cities and leagues were inscribed in Athens in the mid-second century AD (SEG 47.163 of Thyateira, SEG 30.89 of Synnada, and IG II² 1094 of the Achaians).

The two surviving Athenian laws from the period were both issued by the emperor Hadrian, who performed the role of lawgiver in 124 AD (IG II² 1100 and 1103). In contrast to the paucity of inscribed decrees, inscribed imperial letters are frequent in the second century, performing many of the functions earlier performed by decrees or the courts, such as granting privileges (e.g. IG II² 1099), organising institutions (e.g., Oliver, Greek Constitutions no. 193-203), and resolving disputes (e.g., SEG 29.127). [2] The identity of Philoxenos and nature of this decree are unclear. A. G. Woodhead in Agora XVI p. 467 proposes that Philoxenos was the treasurer of the prytany and that this is a prytany decree, but it is unusual for these to include the detailed prescript present here and there are no examples of prytany treasurers being honoured for “self-control” (sophrosyne, l. 9).

Added: 20 May 2023
Updated: 13 Jan 2024
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ID: AIO_2637