AgoraXV 266 Honours for the prytany treasurer of Aigeis

Honours for the prytany treasurer of Aigeis

Agora XV 266 Date: mid-1st century BC-early 1st century AD, perhaps 28/9 AD

For good fortune of the Council and [the People of the Athenians], in the archonship of Oinophilos, [in the -th prytany] of [tribe ], for which Taranteinos son of Neikias of Aigilia [was the secretary . . . ].^[1] On the eighth day of [month, the -th of the prytany. Council in the] (5)[Council chamber]. Of the presiding committee . . . [was putting to the vote] [and his] fellow presiding committee members. [The Council] decided . . . . . . proposed: since the prytaneis of A[igeis and those with perpetual dining rights (aeisitoi) in the] archonship of [Oinophilos], having praised [and crowned him], [declare to the Council that the] treasurer, whom [they chose from among] (10)[themselves, . . . ] of Plotheia, [has made] the [proper] sacrifices in the prytany from his own resources [on behalf of the] [Council and the People] and children and women . . . . . . . . . in the gymnasion, brilliant . . . ^[2] (15) . . .

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References:

Agora XV 266 (Translated text) (PHI)

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Agora Excavations - (1)

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Council)

Fr. a+b - Findspot: Agora (Ag. I 2185a)
Fr. c - Findspot: Agora (Ag. I 2185b)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is a prytany decree of the post-Sullan type, in which the Council permits the prytany and the aeisitoi ("those with perpetual dining rights," various magistrates and priests entitled ex officio to dine in the tholos every night) to honour their treasurer for successful completion of sacrifices on behalf of the community (see SEG 28.95 with notes). This is the only post-Sullan prytany decree to include a full prescript with the date that the decree was passed (ll. 1–7). In the pre-Sullan period, prytany decrees were usually passed after the prytany had left office, but the dating formula here is too fragmentary to tell whether that is the case in this decree. The reference to the treasurer paying for the sacrifices out of his own pocket (l. 11) is part of a general shift in representation of the prytany sacrifices in the post-Sullan period (see SEG 28.95 with notes).

The only known archon named Oinophilos served in 28/9 AD (IG II² 1713, l. 37), which would make this the latest known prytany decree by at least a decade. This inscription was instead dated to 64/3 BC by J. Notopoulos, Hesperia 18, 1949, 3–5, 11, on the basis of a speculative theory about the secretary cycle, but IG II² 1046 and 1047 show that no such cycle operated in the post-Sullan period.

A large section of the pediment is preserved, containing a shield carved in relief and separated from the rest of the decree by an egg-and-dart border. [2] If l. 14 is correctly restored, it might be the location where the dedication in honour of the treasurer (usually a painting of him on a gilt shield) was to be erected. On the gymnasia in Athens in this period, see AIO Papers 12, 3. Traces of several further lines of text are visible.

Added: 24 Sep 2023
Updated: 24 Sep 2023
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ID: AIO_2788