AIO 823 Rhamnous honours the general Epichares of Ikarion

Rhamnous honours the general Epichares of Ikarion

AIO 823 Date: ca. 267 BC

Fragment 1

Gods. Nikostratos son of Epiteles of Rhamnous proposed:^[1] since Epichares when elected cavalry commander (hipparchos) in the archonship of Lysitheides (272/1),^[1] after carrying out the cavalry management well and according to the laws, was crowned both by the Council and the People and by the cavalry;^[2] and again (5) in the archonship of Peithidemos (269/8) when the People elected him general and assigned him command of the coastal countryside, in carrying out his guarding duties well and with love of honour (philotimōs) he both saved the fort for the People when war broke out^[3] and brought in the grain and the arboreal produce for a distance of thirty stades, with an encampment in the countryside,^[4] stationing hidden agents (kruptous) at the lookouts (skopias) (10) while he himself took up his post alongside the soldiers, so that the harvest (sugkomidē) of the produce might be carried out safely for the farmers; and he pruned (te[tm]ēken) the vines as far as he [controlled (kurieuōn)] the countryside; and from his own resources he constructed a stoa so that if needed all might keep watch (parakoitōsi) and help might readily be available if necessary; and he has built a pair of watch-houses and supplied dogs in addition to those already there, donating (15) their feed himself, so that the guard might be greater;^[5] and he has made a headquarters (stratēgion), after constructing (kataskeuasas) the sanctuary [of Arsinoe?],^[6] so that she might be held in honour and be heeded well and in piety by the [demesmen]; and he brought in 500 medimnoi of wheat (purōn) and 500 of barley, himself covering in advance the costs, and he distributed it to the citizens and the soldiers at the official price;^[7] and he arranged on behalf of the existing prisoners (20) so that in exchange for one hundred and twenty drachmas they were restored to safety through the herald, and no citizen was taken away and no slaves were liquidated (aphanizētai); and he punished those guiding the raiders (peiratais) into the countryside, after catching and trying (exetasas) them, being from the city, in a way that they deserved for what they did;^[8] and for the soldiers who arrived from Patroklos to help, he prepared both shelters so that they had sufficient (25) . . . putting no-one in the quarters of the citizens nor of the^[9] . . . and he made arrangements for the citizens so that the - was given . . . nothing be lacking for the soldiers . . . . . .

Fragment 2

. . . . . . for their excellence . . . . . . of the Rhamnousians and . . . . . . for the generals . . . . . . management . . . . . . . . .

Fragment 3

. . . . . . the soldiers . . . . . . . . .

Fragment 4

. . . In crown? [the general] Epichares son of Pol- of Ikarion

Fragment 5

. . . . . . . . . and individually . . . . . . to those stationed . . . . . . Epichares . . . . . .

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Greek text

References:

AIO 823 (Translated text) (AIO)

IG II² 247 (PHI)

SEG 61.19

SEG 51.105 (fr. 4, fr. 5, ll. 9, 10, 21, 27)

SEG 59.146 (ll. 8, 11, 15-16)

I Rhamnous 3 (PHI)

Oetjen, Athen im dritten Jahrhundert, no. 3

Translation by: Sean Byrne, Chris de Lisle

Images: Krateros - (1)

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Deme Rhamnous?)

Findspot: Rhamnous (EM 13463 Nemesion, fr. 1-3)
Findspot: Rhamnous (Rhamnous Nemesion 609, fr. 4)
Findspot: Rhamnous (EM 2637, fr. 5)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is one of a series of decrees in honour of the generals who had their headquarters in the deme of Rhamnous. The honours awarded by the decrees are also often commemorated by inscribed dedications (see IG II³ 4, 285, n. 1). The decrees are issued by a range of different constituents, including Rhamnousian demesmen, citizen and non-citizen soldiers, and other residents of the deme. In this case the enactment formula is not preserved, so the issuer is uncertain. The demotic of the proposer suggests the deme was one of the issuers, Fragments 3 and 5 that the soldiers under Epichares' command were also involved. Compare the complicated situation in I Rhamnous 17. The Athenian garrison force at Rhamnous is first attested in 304/3 BC in the aftermath of the war with Kassandros of Macedon (Oetjen Athen im dritten Jahrhundert v. Chr., no. 1, unpublished inscription). The fort was taken by Demetrios Poliorketes in 296/5 as a prelude to his conquest of the city (Plut. Demetr. 33.3) and was probably regained by the Athenians in the late 280s following Demetrios' final defeat (Oliver, War, Food, and Politics, 2007, 125-27). This decree belongs to the initial stages of the Chremonidean War (ca. 268-263/2 BC), when Rhamnous became the headquarters for the defence of the entire east coast of Attica (see n. 3). For the situation after the Athenian defeat in that war, see I Rhamnous 7 and 10. Similar decrees are found at Eleusis (e.g. I Eleusis 182), and to a lesser degree Sounion (e.g. IG II² 1260; on these garrisons, see Oliver 2007, 138-59). The last decree honouring a general at Rhamnous is I Rhamnous 423 of 74/3 - ca. 63 BC, which is also the latest evidence for any of the Attic garrisons. [2] The cavalry was under the overall command of two cavalry commanders (hipparchs) (Ath. Pol. 61.4). Career progression from cavalry commander to general becomes common in this period (Oliver 2007, 161-62, 173-75). [3] The archonship of Peithidemos was the first year of the Chremonidean War, in which Athens fought with Sparta and Ptolemaic Egypt against Antigonid Macedon (see IG II³ 1, 912). For the date, see M. Osborne, ZPE 171, 2009, 83-99 (SEG 59.18). The general in charge of the countryside was one of the specific roles assigned to the annual generals from the mid-fourth century BC (see IG II³ 4, 276). The position is first attested in IG II³ 1, 292 l. 19 of 352/1 BC. In the mid-third century BC, the role was split between two generals: the general in charge of the countryside around Eleusis, and the general in charge of the coastal countryside, based at Rhamnous but responsible for the eastern coast of Attica all the way down to Sounion. This inscription is the earliest attestation of this regional division (Oliver 2007, 164-67 with map 6.1). [4] This decree is our best summary of the activities of the general in charge of the countryside and their agricultural focus. Thirty stades is ca. 5.5 km. If this was the radius of the area under Epichares' control, it is only 45 km². G. Oliver in Z. H. Archibald et al., Hellenistic Economies, 2000, 143-52, calculates that the harvest from this area might have been sufficient to feed 750-1500 men for three months (hence Epichares' subsequent importation of further grain). The pruning of the vines would have begun around October/November, a few months after Epichares' appointment. The grain harvest took place around June of the following year and the harvest of the vines around August, shortly before Epichares left office (Steinhauer, SEG 59.146). This inscription is also the earliest epigraphic attestation of the “hidden agents” (kruptoi) and the most detailed account of their role, as troops stationed in lookouts in the countryside to enable a quick response to threats to the harvest (see IG II³ 4, 299, I Rhamnous 20; Oliver 2007, 139; the general principle is outlined in Aen. Tact. 6-7). Later on, their zone of operation seems to have extended from Rhamnous to Sounion (SEG 51.107). After 229/8, they may have been superseded by the hypaithroi, who may, however, also have existed before then; see I Rhamnous 26, 46, 49, 55, I Eleusis 211, IG II³ 4, 324 with notes for the latest discussion (2021). [5] For watch dogs, cf. I Rhamnous 16 and Aen. Tact. 22.14. [6] The headquarters (strategion) was a complex in the fortress, near the east gate, where a dedication by Epichares was found (IG II³ 4, 291). It was rebuilt in 252/1 by Thoukritos (I Rhamnous 10). Steinhauer (SEG 59.146) restores the dedicant of the sanctuary as Arsinoe, the wife of Ptolemy II, who died in July of 270 or 268 and was deified shortly thereafter (P. Oxy. 27.2465). The posthumous cult of Arsinoe was closely associated with the Ptolemaic navy (Poseidippos 119 Gutzwiller) and is attested during the Chremonidean War in a number of other locations linked to the Ptolemaic forces, such as Delos and Eretria (I Délos 313 l. 63-4, SEG 40.763). An alternative restoration of the dedicant as Nemesis is used to identify the headquarters built by Epichares with a structure located to the east of the sanctuary of Nemesis, outside the walls of the fortress (V. Petrakos Ho Demos tou Rhamnountos, I Topographia [1999], 299-303). [7] This amount of wheat and barley could feed 250 men for three months. The official price is unknown but wheat usually sold for at least 5 drachmai per medimnos and barley for 2 drachmai in this period. Epichares may be being praised for selling at a loss or for the logistical feat of securing the grain (Oliver, in Hellenistic Economies). [8] The raiders appear to be pirates who captured a group of citizens and slaves, probably while engaged in agricultural activity. Slaves sold for 100-200 drachmai on average in this period, so the ransom price is quite low. Their guides were probably Athenian citizens in exile; the phrasing implies that Epichares had them executed, as would be normal for treason. Cf. de Souza, Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World, 1999, 2-12. [9] Patroklos was a Ptolemaic general sent to relieve Attica from the Antigonid siege during the Chremonidean War. Arriving from Keos, he fortified an island southwest of Cape Sounion henceforth known as Patroklos. Pausanias claims that he did not dare to engage the Antigonid forces directly on land (Pausanias 1.1.1, 1.7.3, 3.6.4-6). This inscription suggests that he intervened in Attica much more actively. The shelters for his troops were probably located in Rhamnous, but some scholars have identified them with the fortified camp at Koroni, whose connection to the Chremonidean War is controversial (McCredie, Fortified Military Camps in Attica, 1966, 106).

Added: 15 Sep 2017
Updated: 11 Dec 2022
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ID: AIO_823