IGII31 911 Honours for Kallias of Sphettos

Honours for Kallias of Sphettos

IG II³ 1 911 Date: 270/69 BC

The People (honours) Kallias son of Thymochares of Sphettos.^[1]

(5) In the archonship of Sosistratos (270/69), in the sixth prytany, of Pandionis^V, for which Athenodoros son of Gorgippos of Acharnai^VIII was secretary. On the eighteenth of Posideon, the twenty-first of the prytany. Principal Assembly. Of the presiding committee Epichares son of Pheidostratos of Erchia was putting to the vote and his fellow presiding committee members. (10) The Council and People decided. Euchares son of Euarchos of Konthyle^[2] proposed: since Kallias,^[3] when the uprising by the People against those occupying the city occurred^[4] and they expelled the soldiers from the town, but the fort on the (15) Mouseion^[5] was still occupied and the countryside was in a state of war with those from the Piraeus, and Demetrios was on his way to the town from the Peloponnese with his army,^[6] when Kallias learned of the danger facing the city, he selected a thousand of the soldiers (20) under his command in Andros,^[7] distributed pay to them, supplied them with provisions and arrived at the town immediately to help the People, acting in accordance with the good will of king Ptolemy^[8] towards the People, and leading out the soldiers with him into the countryside he (25) made every effort to protect the harvesting of the grain,^[9] so that as much grain as possible would be brought into the city; and when Demetrios arrived, and surrounded the town with his army and laid siege to it, Kallias, fighting on behalf of the People and going on the attack with the soldiers (30) with him, despite being wounded^[10] shirked no danger whatsoever at any time for the sake of the preservation of the People; and when king Ptolemy despatched Sostratos to act in the interests of the city,^[11] and Sostratos sent for an embassy (35) to meet with him at Piraeus with whom he would devise the terms of the peace for the city with Demetrios, Kallias complied with the generals and the Council on these matters, and went as an ambassador on behalf of the People, doing everything in the interests of the city, and he stayed on in the town with (40) his soldiers until the peace was concluded, and, after setting sail to king Ptolemy with the embassies despatched by the People, he shared in the effort (sunagōnizomenos) in every way and worked in the interests of the city; and when king Ptolemy the younger took up the throne, (45) Kallias paid a visit to the town, and when the generals called on him, pointing out the situation the city was in and beseeching him to hurry on behalf of the city to king Ptolemy so that some help might be available as quickly as possible to the town by way of (50) grain and money, Kallias set sail himself at his own expense for Cyprus, and meeting with the king there, with love of honour (philotimōs) on behalf of the People he delivered to the People fifty talents of silver and twenty thousand medimnoi of wheat as a gift^[12] which was measured out on Delos to those despatched by the (55) People; and when the king first held the Ptolemaia sacrifice and competitions for his father, the People voted to send a sacred delegation (theōrian) and thought it right that Kallias should serve as chief sacred delegate (archetheōron) and lead the sacred delegation (theōrian) on behalf of the People,^[13] Kallias complied in these matters with love of honour (philotimōs), refusing (60) the thirty minai which had been voted to him by the People for heading the delegation but donating it to the People, while he himself led the sacred delegation (theōrian) from his own resources well and worthily of the People, and he managed the sacrifice on behalf of the city and all other matters that fell to the sacred delegates; and at the time when the People were about to (65) hold the Panathenaia for Archegetis for the [third or first] time since the town had been delivered,^[14] Kallias held discussions with the king concerning the equipment which was needed for preparing the robe (peplon), and when the king donated it to the city he made sure that things were as fine as possible for the goddess and that the embassy members who were elected with him (70) immediately conveyed the equipment here; and now he has been stationed in Halikarnassos by the king Ptolemy,^[15] Kallias continues to show love of honour (philotimoumenos) in relation to the embassies and the sacred delegations (theōrias) despatched by the People to king Ptolemy, and individually for each of the (75) citizens who call on him he takes every care, and for the soldiers who are under his command, and collectively placing the highest value on what is in the interests and the good standing of the city; and Kallias never submitted to the . . . in his fatherland . . . (80) when the People were overthrown,^[16] but abandoned his very property to be confiscated in the oligarchy rather than do anything contrary either to the laws or the democracy of all Athenians;^[17] so that all who wish to show love of honour (philotimeisthai) for the city know that the People always (85) remembers those who have performed benefactions for it and repays each with thanks, for good fortune, the Council shall decide: that the presiding committee (proedrous) allotted to preside at the Assembly appointed by the law shall put the matter on the agenda and submit the opinion of the Council to the People, that it seems good to the Council to (90) praise Kallias son of Thymochares of Sphettos for the excellence and good will which he continues to have for the Athenian People and to crown him with a gold crown according to the law, and to announce the crown at the new competition tragedy of the Great Dionysia; and the board of administrators (tous epi tei dioikēsei) shall manage (95) the making of the crown and the announcement; and the People shall stand a bronze statue of him in the Agora; and he shall have a front row seat (proedrian)^[18] at all the competitions that the city puts on, and the director of works (architektona) elected for religious matters shall organise his front row seat (proedrian); and the People shall elect (100) three men from all the Athenians who will manage the making of the statue and its erection; and the court presidents (thesmothetas) shall introduce the scrutiny of his grant into the court (tēn hēliaian) when the days set by the law have passed;^[19] and so that for the rest of time a memorial (hupomnēma) (105) of his honour loving acts (tōn pephilotimēmenōn) for the People remains for Kallias, the prytany secretary shall inscribe this decree on a stone stele and stand it next to the statue; and for the inscribing and the stele the board of administrators (tous epi tei dioikēsei) shall allocate the expenditure accrued.

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References:

IG II³ 1 911 (Translated text) (IG Online)

SEG 28.60 (PHI)

Rutherford, State Pilgrims D2 (ll. 55-70)

Translation by: Sean Byrne, Antonio Iacoviello

Images: Agora Excavations - (1)

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Council and People)

Original location: Agora (Next to the statue [of Kallias])

Findspot: Agora (Ag. I 7295)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This biographical honorific decree provides important evidence on the revolt of the Athenians against Macedon in 287 BC (see note 4). For a full historical commentary, see T. L. Shear, Kallias of Sphettos and the Revolt of Athens in 286 BC (1978). The decree was passed on the eve of the Chremonidean War (268-262/1 BC), the conflict that pitted Athens, Sparta and her allies, and the Ptolemaic kingdom against Antigonos Gonatas (cf. IG II³ 1, 912). The honours for Kallias of Sphettos, a “friend” (philos) of Ptolemy I and II, were meant to strengthen the diplomatic ties between Athens and the Ptolemies on the eve of the conflict (see note 8). [2] The proposer was honoured in 304/3 BC with a foliage crown for his service as anagrapheus tōn nomōn, "recorder of the laws" (see IG II² 487), i. e. he had arranged for the publication of the law code revised after 307, during the first regime of Demetrios Poliorketes in Athens (see M. Canevaro, Dike 14, 2011, 71-2). [3] The honorand belonged to a wealthy and distinguished Athenian family. His father Thymochares had probably been an associate of Lykourgos and served as general several times (IG II³ 1, 355 with notes; IG II³ 1, 985 ll. 3-18). His brother Phaidros was to be honoured with a similarly long honorific decree, listing his many civic offices, after the Chremonidean War (IG II³ 1, 985). [4] The first section of the motivation clause (ll. 11-43) is our main evidence for the revolt of the Athenians against Demetrios Poliorketes in 287 BC and the expulsion of the Macedonian garrison based on the Mouseion hill (latest discussion in P. Wheatley and C. Dunn, Demetrius the Besieger, 2020, 393-405 with further bibliography). The decree complements the information on the revolt provided by other sources: Paus. 1.26.1-2; Plut. Demetr. 46.1-2; IG II³ 1, 917; and, most recently, the honorific decree for Aristeides of Lamptrai from Rhamnous (I Rhamnous 404). This revolt put an end to Demetrios Poliorketes’ second regime in Athens (295-287 BC) and inaugurated a period independence and democracy that lasted until the end of the Chremonidean War (262 BC). [5] After the battle of Chaironeia (338 BC) the Macedonians installed garrisons in strategic or rebellious cities, like Thebes (Diod. Sic. 16.87.3) and, most famously, Corinth (Polyb. 38.3.3; Plut. Arat. 23.4). However, neither Philip nor Alexander ever installed garrisons in Athens. The first to do so was Antipater, who in late 322 BC imposed a garrison on the Mounichia hill in Piraeus (Diod. Sic. 18.18.5, Plut. Phok. 27.5). When Demetrios Poliorketes regained control of Athens in spring 295 BC, garrisons were installed not only in Mounichia (cf. "those from the Piraeus" at l. 16) but also on the more central Mouseion hill (Plut. Demetr. 34.4-5). The presence of a Macedonian garrison in such a central location was the main cause of the revolt. In the earliest phases of the uprising, described in these lines, the Athenians succeeded in expelling the Macedonian soldiers from the asty (i.e. the urban centre of Athens), but not from their fort on the Mouseion. [6] As soon as the revolt started, Demetrios Poliorketes marched towards Athens to quell the revolt. “From the Peloponnese” denotes “from Corinth”, the base of one of the largest Macedonian garrisons in mainland Greece. [7] Andros, the northernmost island of the Cyclades, hosted an important Ptolemaic garrison in the Aegean. [8] The decree informs us that the revolt of the Athenians was supported by Ptolemy I, who aimed to weaken the position of Demetrios Poliorketes in Greece; the other sources on the revolt – cf. note 4 – are silent on this connection. Ptolemy I and his son Ptolemy II Philadelphos (line 44) are referred to with the royal title (basileus). The title, on the other hand, is not used here for Demetrios (in contrast to, e.g., IG II² 471, ll. 15-16; IG II³ 1, 853 ll. 11, 13, and 19, passed in a context of Antigonid meddling). The reverential tone towards the Ptolemies implies that this decree had a propagandistic function; see note 1. [9] Kallias’ principal task was to protect the harvest and to oversee its transportation to the city, in order to provide the means to resist a possible siege by Demetrios (on the role of generals in protecting the harvest, see also AIO 823). In this operation, Kallias was aided by his brother Phaidros, hoplite general in the archonship of Kimon, 288/7 BC (IG II³ 1, 985 ll. 35-36); see G. J. Oliver, War, Food and Politics in Early Hellenistic Athens, 2007, 122-3. [10] Details about Kallias’ wounds in battle are unexpected in the normally unemotive language of an official state document. Such vivid touches are characteristic of the development of a narrative style in Athenian honorific decrees in the early Hellenistic period, and of “the transition from laconic to talkative motivation clauses” (N. Luraghi, in V. Fromentin ed., Écrire l’histoire de son temps…, 2022, 214). [11] This section (ll. 32-40) describes the peace negotiations, brokered by Ptolemy's' delegate Sostratos, between the Athenians (who appointed Kallias as official envoy) and Demetrios (cf. also IG II³ 1, 985 ll. 30-52, mostly erased). [12] Interceding with kings for gifts of grain and money was considered an exceptionally meritorious deed in the honorific decrees of the period (e.g. IG II³ 1, 877, on Philippides of Kephale and the donations of Lysimachos of Thrace; [Plut.] X Orat. 851e on Demochares of Leukonoion and the gifts from Ptolemy I, Lysimachos and Antigonos Gonatas (Mss. Antipatros); cf. IG II³ 1, 870, with notes). [13] On sacred delegations (theōriai), see IG II³ 1, 1390 with notes. [14] These lines suggest that the [first] or [third] celebration of the Great (quadrennial) Panathenaia since the revolt (l. 66) took place some time after the inaugural celebration of the Ptolemaia in Alexandria (ll. 55-64, datable independently to 282 or 279/8 BC; cf. e.g. V. Foertmeyer, Historia 37, 1988, 103). On the reading “first” (proton) in l. 66, the Great Panathenaia celebrated in 278/7 (i.e. the next celebration after the institution of the Ptolemaia) would have been the first after the revolt; on this theory, the Great Panathenaia of 286/5 and 282/1 would have been cancelled and the revolt would have taken place in 286, i.e. when the Great Panathenaia were cancelled for the first time. This theory is supported by T. L. and J. Shear; the latter, however, dates the Panathenaia mentioned here to 282/1; cf. the Great Panathenaia referred to in IG II³ 4, 528 ll. 10-12 (if the archon of that dedication is Nikias II, 282/1 BC, and not Nikias III Otryneus, 266/5 BC) and J. Shear, Serving Athena..., 2021, 361-5. Conversely, on the reading “third” (triton), the Panathenaia of 278/7 would have been preceded by normal celebrations of the Panathenaia in 286/5 and 282/1; accordingly, the revolt would have taken place in 287; see, e.g., M. J. Osborne, ZPE 198, 2016, 88-96. Also, the newly published honorific decree for Aristeides of Lamptrai (I.Rhamnous 404 ll. 5-11) suggests that the uprising started in spring 287, in the archonship of Kimon (288/7 BC); cf. M. Canevaro et al., Incidenza dell'Antico 20, 2022, 79-91. [15] After the long summary of his career, the decree describes Kallias’ present function as general in charge of the Ptolemaic garrison in Halikarnassos. The wording seems to imply that, after his exile, perhaps in the late fourth century (see below), Kallias never again resided in Athens on a permanent basis. [16] The motivation clause closes with a section on Kallias’ exile from Athens. The date and circumstances of his exile are obscure. The decree states that Kallias abandoned his property to be confiscated in a period when the “People [= democracy] were overthrown (katalelumenou tou demou)” (l. 80) and, more explicitly, in a period of “oligarchy” (l. 81). The second regime of Demetrios Poliorketes, 295-287 BC, was arguably “oligarchic” (note the reappearance in these years, e.g. in IG II³ 1, 857, of the “recorder” (anagrapheus) in the prescripts of decrees in place of the secretary of the Council, which had earlier been a feature of the oligarchy of 321-318, cf. Agora XV 43 with notes; and the exceptional double archonship of Olympiodoros, cf. IG II³ 1, 858). However, Kallias’ exile more likely belongs to the first regime of Demetrios Poliorketes at Athens (307-301 BC), perhaps contemporary with the exile of Demochares of Leukonoion (Plut. Demetr. 24; [Plut.] X Orat. 851f). Despite the fact that that regime had announced itself at its start as a restored democracy (cf. e.g. IG II³ 4, 518 and IG II³ 4, 519, with their emphasis on the “People” as sponsor, and the approving reference in the decree of 307/6 honouring Lykourgos of Boutadai, who had died in 325 BC, to his having “rendered his accounts many times in a free and democratic city”, AIO 871), it could quite plausibly be described in retrospect in the Athens of the 280s/270s as an “oligarchy”. To an extent, at this period “oligarchy” was a negative slogan used of any regime to which one was opposed, just as “democracy” was a positive slogan used of any regime which one supported. This timing of Kallias’ exile is also consistent with an inscription from Limyra in Lykia (M. Wörrle, Chiron 49, 2019, 161-71) which shows that Kallias was serving as a general under Ptolemy I already by the very early third century BC. [17] The formula “democracy of all Athenians” (tēi dēmokratiai tēi ex hapantōn Athēnaiōn) is attested solely in this inscription. This politically charged language bears witness to the democratic discourse and slogans in Athens on the eve of the Chremonidean War (cf. previous note). [18] The awards made to Kallias, i.e. a portrait statue and proedria (i.e. reserved seats) in the theatre of Dionysos, were two of the characteristic components of the so-called “greatest honours” (megistai timai). On the award of such honours in the 4th century BC, see the two earliest attested epigraphical examples, AIUK 4.2 no. 7, for Euagoras of Salamis, with notes, and AIUK 2 no. 1, for Asandros of Macedon, with notes (both foreigners who had been awarded Athenian citizenship). The third common component was sitēsis in the Prytaneion ("permanent dining rights in the city hall”). For this honour see the 3rd-century decrees for native born Athenians, e.g. IG II³ 1, 877; and for enfranchised foreigners, e.g. IG II³ 1, 853. It is not known why sitēsis is missing in the case of Kallias. [19] On the judicial scrutiny (dokimasia) that the honorand had to pass in order to receive these major honours, see IG II³ 1, 985 note 17. [AI]

Added: 12 Sep 2015
Updated: 6 Jan 2024
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