IGII34 999 Dedication to Demeter and the Girl by Aristonikos, a priest of Hephaistos

Dedication to Demeter and the Girl by Aristonikos, a priest of Hephaistos

IG II³ 4 999 Date: 2nd century BC

Aristonikos son of Aristonikos of Oinoe, priest of Hephaistos, dedicated this to Demeter and the Girl.^[1]

Previous - IG II³ 4 998 Next - IG II³ 4 1000

References:

IG II³ 4 999 (Translated text) (IG Online)

IG II² 2868 (PHI)

Translation by: Danielle Mackay

Monument type: Base

Inscription type: Dedication (Demeter and Kore), Dedication (priest)

Original location: City Eleusinion

Findspot: Church of Panagia Pyrgiotissa (EM 10661)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This dedicatory inscription on a Pentelic marble base was found in the Agora , in the former Church of Panagia Pyrgiotissa, located over the southern part of the Stoa of Attalos, and probably originally stood in the City Eleusinion (on which see AIUK 4.1 (BM: Cult Provisions) no. 1 and Agora XXXI). The dedicator, Aristonikos, is not otherwise known. Although he mentions that he was a priest of Hephaistos, he is unlikely to have made this dedication in his official capacity, since Hephaistos was not linked to Demeter and Kore in myth or cult (except for Schol. ad Apoll. Rhod. 1.496, 3.911 and 4.984, where Hephaistos forges a ploughshare, a torch and a sickle for Demeter). For Attic inscriptions relating to Hephaistos and his priest, see IG II³ 4, 1752, 1763, 1888, 2025, and for more general discussion, F. Brommer, Hephaistos: Der Schmiedegott in der antiken Kunst (1978). There is a cutting on top for the insertion of a statue.

Added: 6 Mar 2026
Updated: 6 Mar 2026
Feedback

ID: AIO_3650