IGII31 1026 Honours for the priestess of Athena Polias

Honours for the priestess of Athena Polias

IG II³ 1 1026 Date: 236/5? BC

. . . . . . for good fortune, the Council shall decide: that the presiding committee (proedrous) allotted to preside at the forthcoming Assembly shall put the matter on the agenda and submit the opinion of the Council (5) to the People, that it seems good to the Council to accept the good things [that the priestess says?^[1]] occurred in the sacrifices that she made for the health and preservation of the Council and the People and children and women and [king Demetrios] and queen (10) [Phthia] and their descendants; and since the priestess [of Athena] took care well and with love of honour (philotimōs) of the adornment of the table according to tradition and the other things which the laws and decrees of the People prescribed, and continues (15) at every opportunity to be honour-loving (philotimoumenē) towards the goddess,^[2] and in the archonship of Alkibiades (237/6) she dedicated from her own resources a Theran^[3] and . . . and a garment of plaited hair; and contributed to the Praxiergidai^[4] a hundred drachmas for the ancestral sacrifice^[5] from (20) her own resources;^[6] so, therefore, that the People may be seen to be honouring those who rate most highly piety to the gods, to praise the priestess of Athena Polias -te daughter of Polyeuktos of Bate^[7] and (25) crown her with a foliage crown for her piety towards the goddess; and to praise also her husband Archestratos son of Euthykrates of Amphitrope and crown him with a foliage crown for his piety towards the goddess and love of honour (philotimias) (30) towards the Council and People;^[8] and the prytany secretary shall inscribe this decree on a stone stele and stand it [on the acropolis] . . . . . .

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References:

IG II³ 1 1026 (Translated text) (IG Online)

IG II² 776 (PHI)

Priests and Priestesses, 10 (ll. 6, 11)

Women and the Polis, 161-64 no. 11

Translation by: Stephen Lambert, Sean Byrne

Images: Ohio - (1)

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Council and People)

Original location: [Acropolis]

Fragment a - Findspot: Acropolis (EM 7459)
Fragment b - Findspot: Acropolis (EM 7460)
Fragment c - Findspot: Acropolis (EM 7461)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] It is unclear whether the priestess reported in person, or a male relation, e.g. her husband, reported on her behalf. Cf. Priests and Priestesses, 79. [2] The attribution of philotimia to a woman, and its direction towards the goddess, rather than the Council and People, are unusual. See Priests and Priestesses, 80-81. [3] A type of garment. Cf. Athen. 10.424e, Poll. 4.118, 7.48, schol. Ar. Lys. 150, Theophr. F119. On the significance of these dedications in the context of this decree see Priests and Priestesses, 79. [4] The genos with responsibility for Athena's garments. Cf. IG I³ 7. [5] Perhaps at the Plynteria, the festival in late Thargelion at which the old wooden statue of Athena and/or its garments were washed and at which the Praxiergidai officiated. Cf. R. Parker, Polytheism and Society (2006), 478. [6] The emphasis on expenditure by a woman from her own resources is unusual. See further below. For implied personal donations by a priestess at an earlier date cf. IG I³ 953. [7] The priestess of Athena Polias was appointed by lot from the genos Eteoboutadai and held office for life. See J. Blok and S. D. Lambert, ZPE 169 (2009), 105-9 (this priestess, who was perhaps an "heiress", epikleros, is 106 no. 4). For another decree honouring a priestess of Athena Polias see IG II³ 1, 1056. [8] The priestess's husband, Archestratos son of Euthykrates of Amphitrope, was from a wealthy family (see J. K. Davies, Athenian Propertied Families 4549), and, if he was not already an Eteoboutad, marriage into the genos will have boosted his social status (priestess no. 5 Blok-Lambert, ca. 260-220, Theodote daughter of Polyoktos of Amphitrope, was probably a relation). The decree implies that, as the priestess's kyrios, he had supported her work and her financial contributions in a way that conformed with the ideal of relations between husband and wife. See Priests and Priestesses, 79-80, and for another good illustration of a priestess being supported by her male relations IG II³ 1, 1002. On husbands of priestesses see also AIO 2841.

Added: 25 May 2015
Updated: 17 Sep 2024
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ID: AIO_686