IGII2 1173 Honorific decree (of a deme? Acharnai? Kydantidai?)

Honorific decree (of a deme? Acharnai? Kydantidai?)

IG II² 1173 Date: ca. mid-iv BC

Crown flanked by a plant Gods.^[1] Leonteus proposed: [since -kles the demarch?] managed [the festival and the administration?] of the common funds [of the deme well, praise?] (5)-kles son of Kalli[kles? for his justice and?] crown [him with a gold crown of a thousand or five hundred] drachmas [and praise also the? -], Lykomedes . . . [and?] . . . and the or To- . . . [and crown] (10) [each of them] with a foliage crown [because] they jointly [managed the - well] and with love of honour (philotimōs) . . . the festival . . . [the demarch] . . . . . .

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Greek text

References:

IG II² 1173 (Translated text) (AIO) (PHI)

Humphreys, Kinship, 1011

Csapo and Wilson II, 39-43

Russo, Ripartizioni, D105

Translation by: Stephen Lambert

Images: Ohio - (1)

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Deme Acharnai or Kydantidai?)

Findspot: Unknown (National Museum, Copenhagen ABb255)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual Note AIO's translation follows the text of IG, with the addition of several "?", and the following three significant adjustments noted by Csapo and Wilson: at top, one inscribed crown (two crowns IG); 6 500 dr. IG, or 1000 dr. Cs-Wil.; 9 τὸ[ν ('the") IG, or name in Το- Cs-Wil. Csapo and Wilson also note some other possible restorations. 5 -kles son of Kalli- IG, -kles son of Kalli[kles] (Καλλι[κλέος]) ? SDL (see below).

This is a decree of an unidentifiable civic group (deme?) honouring someone (the demarch?) with a gold crown inter alia for his management of the group's finances and, as restored, a further two or perhaps three men with foliage crowns. A festival is also mentioned (12). The proposer's name, Leonteus (2), is rare, attested only in Acharnai and Kydantidai, which are therefore possible candidates for identification as the group passing the decree. For other decrees of Acharnai see SEG 21.519. There are no other grounds for connecting the decree with Kydantidai, but if we were to restore the principal honorand as -kles son of Kalli[kles] (5) in accordance with the common pattern of father and son sharing a name component, we might posit a relationship with the Kallikles of Acharnai attested in 5th cent. literary sources (Pl. Gorg. passim, Andok. 1.127, Lys. 30.14; see further Athenian Onomasticon s.v. Kallikles - Acharnai). The name Lykomedes (8) is not attested in either Acharnai or Kydantidai. Csapo and Wilson note that the plant depicted to the left of the crown above the inscription resembles a young vine shoot being trained up/curling round a stiff reed, in the manner recommended by Columella 5.5.8, supplying some support for the identification of the festival mentioned in this decree as the Rural Dionysia, which is well attested in Acharnai (see SEG 43.26). The date of the decree is given as "early 4th cent." by Csapo and Wilson, but demes did not start passing decrees honouring their officials until the 350s (cf. RO 46, IG II² 1180, with notes) and there is no feature of the inscription that would not be consistent with a date in around the middle of the century, or even a little later (Humphreys, Kinship, 1011 n. 32 also argues for a lower dating).

Added: 19 Jul 2022
Updated: 7 Jan 2024
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