AleshireAsklepieion 1 Inventory of the Asklepieion

Inventory of the Asklepieion

Aleshire, Asklepieion, 1 Date: ca. 354/3 or 344/3 BC

Uncertain number of lines missing . . . ^[1] . . . silver . . . seal . . . cylinder seal (kylindros) or round box (kulichnis) (5) . . . glass, on which the – (are depicted) . . . full of frankincense . . . seal, glass . . . on the rafter^[2] . . . of Parian stone (10) . . . an eye, seal . . . eyes 1 or 5 dr. 2 ob. . . . in the priesthood of - , seal . . . (≥) 1 ob. . . . ivory - , another (15) . . . glass seal . . . chalcedony . . . another variegated . . . in the priesthood of -mos, seal^[3] . . . (≥) 4 ob., in the priesthood of Lysitheos^[4] . . . Admete’s ivory (20) . . . they have two - , cult-table . . . small bowl (skaphion) uninscribed space

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References:

Aleshire, Asklepieion, 1 (Translated text) (PHI)

IG II² 1532b (PHI)

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Account (Asklepieion)

Findspot: Unknown (EM 7940)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is the lower right section of a temple inventory, the earliest of ten or eleven surviving from the Asklepieion on the south slope of the Acropolis (on which, see IG II³ 4, 665). The others are Aleshire, Asklepieion 2-9, IG II³ 4, 834, and perhaps SEG 58.157b. AIO 1318, ll. 1-22 is an inventory from the sanctuary of Asklepios in Piraeus. Temple inventories were inscribed in three contexts: paradosis (“handover”), the regular handing over of responsibility for a sanctuary from one set of treasurers or priests to their successors; exetasmos or exetasis (“review”), an extraordinary audit of all the contents of a temple; and kathairesis ("cleaning up"), listing smaller dedications and other kosmos ("cult equipment") before they were melted down to make one or more larger objects. In the latter two cases, the inventory was usually inscribed along with an enabling decree. At the Asklepieion, the paradosis inventories are this inscription, Aleshire, Asklepieion 2, 3, and 4, ll. 116-134. The only exatasmos inventory is Aleshire, Asklepieion 4, ll. 16-115. The kathairesis inventories are Aleshire, Asklepieion, 5, 8, and 9. None of these inventories give a complete record of the contents of the sanctuary, since low-value dedications, like the numerous terracottas known from excavation (Aleshire, Asklepieion, p. 5 n. 4), and stone monuments, like the numerous surviving reliefs, pillars, and statues (IG II³ 4, 668-868), are omitted. [2] This indicates the location of the dedication, apparently hanging from one of the rafters of the temple’s roof. [3] The inscription switches from stoichedon to non-stoichedon at l. 18 and the rest of the inscription is cut by a different hand, apparently coinciding with the start of an entry for a new priest. The clumsiness of the letters suggests that the stele had already been erected (so that the cutter was forced to kneel down awkwardly to inscribe them). [4] The priest in l. 19 is probably Lysitheos of Trikorynthos, who also appears in IG II³ 4, 685-686 and was priest in 354/3 or 344/3 BC (S. Aleshire, Asklepios, 152). This provides a terminus post quem for this inscription. The structure of the inventory suggests a date close in time to Aleshire, Asklepieion 2.

Added: 15 May 2025
Updated: 15 May 2025
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ID: AIO_3311