AIO 305 Honours for Pythophanes

Honours for Pythophanes

AIO 305 Date: 411 (?) and 399/8 BC

Decree 1 (411?) . . . . . . -ates of Ikarion [was secretary?]. . . . was chairman . . . (5) . . . and with him p- . . . . . . of Xypete, Diop- of -, - . . . of Kephale, Kal- of -.^[1] Hippomenes proposed: for Pythophanes of -stos, since he is a proxenos and (10) benefactor of the Athenians and does what good he can for the city of Athens and that of -stos, the secretary of the Council now in office shall inscribe the decree [previously voted] on a stone stele (15) and set it down on the acropolis; and as regards the money belonging to Pythophanes in Athens or in any other place which the Athenians [rule], and concerning the ship that he talks about and the [money?] no-one shall do him wrong; and he shall have (20) [immunity from seizure (asulian)] for himself and his money both coming in and going out. Let this be decreed, wherever the Athenians [rule], for the entire household of Pythophanes in the same way; and the generals in office at any time and the Council (25) in office at any time shall take care that this comes about; and the secretary of the Council shall inscribe this decree on the same stele.

Decree 2 (399/8)^[2] In the archonship of Aristokrates (399/8). (30) The Council decided. Kekropis^VII was in prytany. - was secretary. [Aristokrates was archon] (399/8). - was chairman . . . . . .

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Greek text

References:

AIO 305 (Translated text) (AIO)

IG II² 12 (PHI)

IG I³ 98 (IG Online) (PHI)

ML 80

Walbank, Proxenies, 75

Fornara, Translated documents 149

OR 173

Translation by: Stephen Lambert, P. J. Rhodes

Images: Aleshire - (1)
Ohio - (1)

Monument type: Stele?

Inscription type: Decree 1 (Council of Four Hundred?), Decree 2 (Council)

Original location: Acropolis

Findspot: Acropolis (South slope) (EM 6875)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] AIO's text of the prescript includes fewer speculative restorations than previous texts. (It accords with the text printed in RO except that RO prints in l. 4 the speculative, [βολῆ]ς ἐπεστάτε, "the Council's chairman was -"). It does not follow the usual pattern and it has been suggested that the men named in ll. 4-7 were the five proedroi around whom the short-lived Council of Four Hundred were recruited in summer 411 (Thuc. 8.67.3), the prytaneis subsequently appointed by them (8.70.1, cf. Ath. Pol. 29.5) or the five presiding officers envisaged in the "future" constitution of Ath. Pol. 30.5 (which may, however, never have been realised). [2] If the cutter has been correctly identified as different from decree 1 it seems that decree 2 was added to the stone later. Unusually decree 2 is of the Council alone. Given that it is so fragmentary this is difficult to interpret, but decrees of the Council alone honouring foreigners (if that is what this is) were not usually inscribed. One possibility is that this is one of several probouleumata of the early 4th cent. published with a misleading prescript which omitted to mention the Assembly; another is that the original decree awarding Pythophanes the proxeny (l. 9) was destroyed under the Thirty and decree 2 merely represents its reinscription (cf. OR 177B; Rhodes, Athenian Boule [1972], 82–4, 271). Possible restorations of the honorand's home city (ll. 8-9, 11-12) include Karystos, Phaistos and Sestos. It is evident that he was a professional trader who owned his own ship, cf. D. T. Engen, Honor and Profit 2010, 279-80 nos. 2 and 3. This is one of four inscriptions honouring men for trade-related services at Athens in the 5th century BC, cf. OR 188 n. 1.

Added: 8 Oct 2013
Updated: 2 Nov 2019
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ID: AIO_305