IGII34 498 Choregic dedication (from Halai Aixonides?)

Choregic dedication (from Halai Aixonides?)

IG II³ 4 498 Date: 400-375 BC?

Eu-,^[1] serving as theatrical sponsor (chorēgōn), was victor in comedy: Ekphantides directed Attempts (Peiras).^[2] Thrasyboulos, serving as theatrical sponsor (chorēgōn), was victor in comedy: Kratinos directed Cowherds (Boukolo(u)s). (5) Thrasyboulos, serving as theatrical sponsor (chorēgōn), was victor in tragedy: Timotheos directed Alkmeon, Alphesiboia. Epichares, serving as theatrical sponsor (chorēgōn), was victor in tragedy: Sophocles directed Telepheia.^[3]

Previous - IG II³ 4 497 Next - IG II³ 4 499

References:

IG II³ 4 498 (Translated text) (IG Online)

IG II² 3091 (PHI)

Csapo and Wilson II, 122-26

Translation by: Stephen Lambert, Feyo Schuddeboom, Matthew Hewitt

Monument type: Round base

Inscription type: Dedication (choregic)

Findspot: Palaiochori (EM 12693)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Introduction and "Rural" Dionysia
There are three common types of inscribed dedication commemorating victories by sponsors (choregoi) of performance competitions in Classical Athens: those relating to the dithyrambic competitions at the City Dionysia (on which see IG II³ 4, 460, with notes) and the Thargelia (IG II³ 4, 475, with notes), and those, such as this one, relating to performances, mostly of comedies and tragedies, at local festivals held in the demes, the "Rural Dionysia", or more accurately "Deme Dionysia", which took place in the winter month, Posideon (see e.g. AIO 847, l. 31). For other dedications relating to the Rural Dionysia see IG I³ 969, SEG 40.179, I Eleusis 53, and IG II³ 4, 497 - 517. These dedications are important evidence for the theatrical life of the Attic demes, which has recently been the subject of a thorough and well-documented study, Csapo-Wilson II.

Csapo-Wilson II, pp. 3-36, provide a clear and up-to-date summary of the "Rural" Dionysia. They find firm evidence (most of it epigraphical or physical evidence for theatres) for theatrical performances, all linked to Dionysia, in at least 23 demes (see below; they also identify evidence for it in the non-demes Brauron, Salamis and Oropos. It should also be said that the Tetrapolis Dionysia was strictly a festival of an association of demes rather than of an individual deme). At pp. 9-11 Csapo and Wilson discuss the geographical spread of the evidence for theatre in Attica and (11) reject (correctly in our view) the suggestion of J. Paga, Hesp. 79, 2010, 351-84, that the local Dionysia were organised on a trittys level and that smaller demes systematically used theatres of larger demes in the same Cleisthenic trittys. On 11-13 they discuss the financing of the festival and the deme choregiai, on 13-15 the key elements of the festival, viz. procession (pompe), sacrifice and performance competition (agon), followed by a meeting of the deme Assembly at which among other things honours were awarded in connection with the festival (cf. AIO 2599, n. 5); on 15-18 the theatrical performances at the Rural Dionysia, their status (higher than often supposed) and their place in the history of Athenian theatre, and Greek theatre more broadly; and on 18-19 the "decline" of the deme Dionysia in the late 4th cent. BC and later survivals. On pp. 19-36 they present the literary evidence for the festival: Aristophanes, Acharnians 237-79 (pp. 18-24); Pherekrates PCG F182 (24-26); literary evidence for the date of the deme Dionysia and an Attic theatrical "circuit" (i.e. different demes holding their Dionysia on different dates in the month of Posideon): Plato, Rep. 475d, Laches 183a-b (26-29); slaves at the deme Dionysia: Plut. Mor. 1098b-c (29-30); the Theoinia and deme Dionysia: Harp. s.v. Theoinia = Lykourgos F7.3 Conomis (30-32); askos-jumping: Euboulos, Amaltheia, PCG F7 (32-36).

This dedication
This dedication is unusual and puzzling in several respects. It was found at a locality near the coast south of Athens known as Palaiochori, between Voula and Vari, in the territory of either the ancient deme Aixone (cf. SEG 54.214) or more likely neighbouring Halai Aixonides (cf. RO 46; Csapo and Wilson). It is not certain that this findspot was close to the inscription's original location. It is also not certain that Halai had a theatre (see H. R. Goette in E. Csapo et al., Greek Theatre in the Fourth Century BC, 94 and 102), whereas Aixone had a theatre and is findplace of honorific decrees for choregoi (IG II² 1198, 1200, and SEG 36.186; cf. Goette, 100-101 no. 3). It is possible that the Aixone theatre was used by both Aixone and Halai Aixonides (cf. J. Paga, Hesperia 79, 2010, 351-384; Goette, 92-94). However, if that were the case, one might expect demotics for those competitors from outside Aixone. Furthermore, another fragmentary inscription, also found in Halai, IG II³ 4, 517, seems to refer to a dramatic production (the word "directed", ἐδίδασκε, is preserved), and Csapo and Wilson suggest that another decree of Halai, SEG 59.142, might have contained provision for announcement of crowns in the deme theatre (the relevant passage, at ll. 16-18, is only fragmentarily preserved). It may be, therefore, that there was a local Dionysia at Halai Aixonides, even if the site of the local theatre has yet to be identified with certainty (Csapo and Wilson, 123-4).

The choregoi in this inscription, named without patronymics or demotics, are not identifiable. Ekphantides (l. 2) was an early comic poet (ca. mid-5th century, PCG vol. 5, 126-129; J. Rusten, The Birth of Comedy, 2011, 135-136). Nothing more is known of his "Attempts", which might have the connotation of (erotic?) "ordeals". Kratinos was a slightly younger and much more famous comic poet (PCG vol. 4, 130-133; Rusten, 173-220) and his "Cowherds" (which, as well as the obvious, may connote a group of worshippers of Dionysos) is mentioned by Athenaios 14.638d-f (F17) and Hesych. π 4455 (F20; Rusten, 181). Timotheos is not otherwise known. It is possible that he was directing for the poet Achaios of Eretria, who is known to have written an Alkmeon and an Alphesiboia. He might alternatively be identified with Timotheos the Melic composer, and friend of Euripides (Csapo and Wilson, 125). Sophocles is presumably the famous 5th-century dramatist of that name, rather than his like-named grandson, though no "Telepheia" by the great Sophocles is otherwise known (see n. 3). The inclusion of the titles of the winning plays is unparalleled in similar deme inscriptions, and there is only one example of a dedication from a city festival which includes them (IG II³ 4, 467; Csapo and Wilson, 124). Most scholars have dated the lettering of this inscription to ca. 380 BC (see the photo at Goette, 94 fig. 2.14), though it seems the poets mentioned were working a generation or two earlier. A possible explanation is that the victories were in a local competition specifically for revivals of old plays ("old" tragedies were added to the programme of the City Dionysia, though as a non-competitive event, in 387/6 BC, and "old comedies" in 340/39 BC, see B. Millis and D. Olson, Inscriptional Records for the Dramatic Festivals in Athens, 2012, 2), though in that case Ekphantides, Kratinos and Sophocles cannot have directed their plays in person. Alternatively this may have been a 4th-century (re-)dedication commemorating 5th-century victories, likely at the instigation of the successful choregoi or their families (Csapo and Wilson, 126). It is even difficult to rule out categorically that this is a dedication contemporary with the plays but inscribed in an unusually "progressive" style of writing. Why there were two competitions in each genre is also unclear. One possibility is that one was for an adult and one for a youth production (for local youth productions see e.g. IG II³ 4, 499). [2] One letter was erased before Peiras. [3] Lost. The name, ending in -eia (cf. Oresteia), suggests that it may have been a group of thematically linked plays about Telephos rather than a single tragedy. Telephos was the son of Herakles and Auge, daughter of king Aleos of Tegea. He and his mother were sent out to sea, much like Perseus and Danaë, and they landed in Mysia, where Auge married king Teuthras (Paus. 8.4.9). Alternatively, the boy is reported to have been separated from his mother and sent to Mt. Parthenion, where he was suckled by a doe (elaphos, sounds like Telephos). Reunited with his mother in Mysia, he later succeeded Teuthras to the throne. When the Greek fleet arrived in Mysia, mistaking it for the Troad, Telephos met them in battle and was wounded in the thigh by Achilles. The wound would not heal: according to an oracle, it could only be healed by its inflictor ("ho trōsas iasetai"). At long last, Telephos was cured by applying scrapings of Achilles’ spear to the wound. Euripides also wrote a tragedy on Telephos (lost), which was parodied by Aristophanes, Ach. 385-556 (cf. also Thesm. 466-764).

Demes in which the Rural Dionysia is attested
We list below the demes in which the Rural Dionysia is attested after the table at Csapo-Wilson II, pp. 7-8, and map. p. 2, followed by a link in most cases to the key AIO entry for the deme in question; demes where there is firm evidence for theatre in the 5th cent. BC are highlighted in bold type:
Acharnai: SEG 21.519
Aigilia: IG II³ 4, 502
Aixone: Ackermann no. 1
Anagyrous: IG II² 1210
Athmonon: IG II² 1203
Eleusis: I Eleusis 68
Euonymon: AIO 2551
Halai Aixonides: SEG 42.112
Halai Araphenides: SEG 46.153
Halimous: SEG 2.7
Ikarion: IG I³ 1015
Kephale: there is no public inscription of this deme. See the note at the end of this list.
Kollytos: SEG 58.108
Lamptrai: IG II² 1204
Marathon (in fact, the Tetrapolis): AIO 2618
Myrrhinous: IG II² 1182
Oa or Paiania?: IG II³ 4, 516
Paiania: IG I³ 250
Phlya: IG II² 2670
Piraeus: AIUK 4.3A no. 1
Rhamnous:
Sphettos: SEG 36.187
Thorikos: AIO 847
In addition they consider and reject evidence for local Dionysia in (6-7):
Cholleidai: Rationes F6B
Erchia: AIO 593
but find a strong possibility of evidence for local Dionysia in:
Gargettos: SEG 46.155
Pallene: SEG 63.155

Kephale was a sizeable deme (bouleutic quota 9, Agora XV 42, 271-280) at the northern end of the mining region of south-eastern Attica in the coastal trittys of Akamantis, located in the area of modern Keratea. No public inscriptions of the deme are extant. The other two demes in the trittys were Thorikos (AIO 847) and the smaller, and less securely located, Poros. The case for a theatre there is based largely on a report of the 17th century traveller George Wheler. Since the 18th century, however, some scholars have suggested that Wheler was confusing the location with the much better preserved theatre in Thorikos (for discussion see Csapo-Wilson II, p. 183). Kephale was the end-point indicated by the surviving late-6th cent. BC Hipparchan herm, set up half way between Athens and this (proto-)deme, at Sphettos, IG I³ 1023. On the deme Kephale in general see also the recent discussion of Humphreys, Kinship, 985-90, and Search s.v. "Kephale". On demes in general see RO 46.

Added: 10 Jan 2017
Updated: 24 Oct 2024
Feedback

ID: AIO_1195