AIO 1169 Treaty with Samos, 439 BC

Treaty with Samos, 439 BC

AIO 1169 Date: 439 BC

Fragment b

^[1] . . . . . . . . . . . . shall live . . . . . . Lemnos^[2] . . . 5 . . . just as . . . . . . . . . remaining islands (?) . . . . . . in the . . . . . . 10 . . . apply for the future (?) . . . . . . they . . . Athen- . . . year (?); but as much as . . . . . . shall repay^[3] . . . . . . 15 . . .

Unknown number of lines missing

Fragments cda

. . . [The Samians shall swear as follows:] . . . what good I can; [and I will not revolt from the] Athenian [People] either by [word or deed] . . . allies of the Athenians . . . the Athenian People. 5 [The Athenians shall swear as follows:] I shall act and speak and [counsel] . . . of the Samians . . . . . . Samians in accordance with . . . . . . of the Athenians . . . . . . 10 [These] generals [of the Athenians swore:]^[4] . . . of Erechtheis^I; Dem[- of Aigeis^II; . . . ] of Pandionis^III; Ch[- of Leontis^IV; Perikle]s, Glaukon of A[kamantis^V . . . ] . . . of -is X- . . . 15 . . . [Antikl?]es, Tlempolemos . . . The Council in office . . . . . . of Rhamnous was first secretary.

Greek text

References:

AIO 1169 (Translated text) (AIO)

IG I³ 48 (IG Online) (PHI)

ML 56

SdA II 159

Fornara, Translated documents 115

Matthaiou, Treaty, 141-169

OR 139

Translation by: Stephen Lambert, P. J. Rhodes

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

Fragment d - Findspot: Acropolis (EM 5408)
Fragments a, b, c - Findspot: Acropolis (EM 6623)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Enough of this very fragmentary inscription can be read to show that it belongs to the treaty of 440/39 or 439/8 which settled Athens’ war against Samos, payments for which are listed in OR 138, but it adds little of value to Thucydides’ account (1.115-117). Our text omits the more speculative restorations included in earlier editions. Thuc. 1.117.3 states that the terms of the Samians’ surrender were to destroy their walls, give hostages, surrender their ships, and pay reparations by instalments (kata chronous). Fr. b contains the treaty terms; fr. cda the oaths sworn by both sides followed by the names of Athenian representatives. Though Thucydides states that Athens imposed a democracy on Samos at the start of this episode he does not make clear whether this was also a condition of the settlement of 439. Diodoros 12.28.4 plausibly claims that it was; this inscription has no bearing on the matter. [2] At an early stage of the conflict the Athenians had deposited Samian hostages on Lemnos, though the Samian rebels later recovered them (Thuc. 1.115). Perhaps hostages were to be sent back there under the terms of the final settlement. [3] Perhaps a reference to the Samian reparations. [4] At this time Athens in principle had ten generals, notionally, though not always in practice, one from each tribe. (By the 330s/320s the generals were apppointed irrespective of tribe, Ath. Pol. 22.2, 61.1). Thus for 441/0 FrGrH 324 Androtion F 38 claims to name the ten generals, in fact seems to name eleven, and certainly has Pericles and Glaukon from the same tribe, Akamantis (V). Thucydides mentions Pericles as playing a leading role in the defeat of Samos; fr. cda l. 13 suggests that Glaukon was also involved throughout the conflict. [5] Thuc. 1.117.2 mentions that Antikles and Tlepolemos (sic) commanded a fleet of 20 reinforcements against Samos, though whether they were generals or subordinate commanders is unclear. Matthaiou calculates that there was space for names of 17 Athenian oath-takers and that this may have included taxiarchs (commanders subordinate to generals) and/or trierarchs.

Added: 15 Sep 2016
Updated: 2 Nov 2019
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ID: AIO_1169