Decree of artists of Dionysos honouring their manager, Philemon
I Eleusis 271 Date: ca. 76 BC or shortly after
. . . [1] . . . to the city of the Athenians . . . . . . exchanging [poverty?] . . . . . . humans the way of life of the . . . . . . made the handing down[2] . . . and itself (scil. the People?) resolved to perform sacrifices
(5) and Mysteries and . . . and both [theatrical or musical?] and stage competitions . . . . . . and the association (sunodos) of artists of Dionysos throughout all . . . . . . enhancing with it (scil. the People) to the extent that it was able the sacrifices and all the
other observances in honour of the gods and the benefactors resolved by it (the People), resolved also itself to sacrifice
and [make libations] to Demeter and Kore on the days of the Mysteries, and having founded an altar
(10) and constructed a precinct (temenos) at Eleusis, performed libations and paians; and
these were suspended for a number of years when the altar and precinct were
destroyed because of the general critical situation (dia tēn koinēn peristasin); and Philemon,
having become manager (epimelētēs) for the third time in the year in which Aischraios was
archon (78/7), restored the traditional sacrifices to the goddesses, and was himself first to sacrifice in
(15) Eleusis to Demeter and Kore, and having committed to additional expenditure and
provision, supported the association from his own resources;
and he allocated from the common funds provision for another two days and sacrificing
auspicously on each day he performed for the goddesses
the libations, toasts and paians decreed by our forefathers;
(20) the artists, recalling these things with pleasure, invited
and charged him to take thought with all zeal also
for the repair of the precinct so that they might perform the sacrifices
unimpeded every year at the ancestral hearth; and he, because of his
piety towards the goddesses and his unsurpassed good will towards the artists,
(25) from the revenues which he himself procured for the association
by his personal management, carried out the repair of the precinct,
and himself re-established the altar that had been destroyed in the crisis (peristaseōs),
and exerted himself in every way for the restoration of the affairs of the society,
and exceeded his obligations in transmitting the portfolio (kuklon) of loans
(30) increased by considerable additional sums, so that
by the zeal of this man the association had revenues not only for
the renewal of the sacrifices to Demeter and Kore, but also
for many others; and when the artists pressed him to undertake again for the fourth
time to be manager in the year in which Seleukos was archon (77/6),
(35) in addition to the rest of his contributions (eisphorais) and services (chorēgiais), he
also sacrificed in Eleusis both in the sanctuary and in the precinct which he himself had been first to restore,
on the altar which he had established, and taking responsibility for the sacrificial victims and for all the rest of the costs
he received the association magnificently at his own expense,
and allocated from the common funds the resources for the two days that had been decided on, and
(40) carried out every sacrifice for the goddesses auspiciously and performed the ancestral libations:
and in many other ways he conducted affairs well and in the interests of the association and
[contributed] from his own resources towards the costs of management and of priesthoods
. . . preferring the good will of the artists to everything else
. . . not only towards the association
(45) . . . was disposed . . . reception
. . . from the laws and
. . .