Honours for the dadouch Themistokles
I Eleusis 300 Date: ca. 24/3-20/19 BC
For the good fortune of the Council and the People of the Athenians,
in the archonship of Apolexis, in the ninth prytany, of PandionisIII,
for which Metrophanes son of Dionysios of Athmonon was secretary.[1] On the twenty-first of Anthesterion, the first of the prytany.
(5) Principal Assembly in the theatre. Of the presiding committee
Menophilos son of Satyros of Berenikidai was putting to the vote, and his fellow presiding committee members.
Diotimos son of Diodoros of Halai proposed: concerning those things which
the men appointed by the genos of the Kerykes, together with the altar-priest,
Epikrates son of Kallimachos of Leukonoion, and the fire-bearer (purphorou) (10) and priest of the Graces and Artemis Epipyrgidia,
Leontios son of Timarchos of Kephisia, and the herald (kērukos) of the two goddesses, Dionysios son of Demostratos of Pallene, and the
all-holy herald (panagous kērukos), Theophilos son of Menekrates of Cholleidai, and
the priest of Hermes Patroos and herald (kērukos) of Apollo
(15) Pythios, Gorgippos son of Eudemos of Melite, and the bearer (lithophorou) of the sacred stone and priest of Zeus Horios and Athena Horia and
Poseidon Probasterios and Poseidon Themeliouchos,
Dositheos son of Kleomenes of Marathon, and the hymn-leaders (humnagōgōn),
Aristodemos son of Argeios of Trikorynthos, Menneas son of Menneas of Azenia, Philemon
(20) son of Philemon of Melite, Diotimos son of Diodoros of Halai, Apolexis
son of Apellikon of Oion, Demochares son of Menandros of Azenia, Sarapion
and Diokles sons of Diokles of Melite, Architimos son of Architimos of Sphettos,
Themistokles son of Xenokles of Hagnous, Dionysodoros son of Dionysodoros
of Deiradiotai, Kichesias son of Leon of Aixone, Apollonios son of Ktesikles
(25) of Acharnai, Demostratos son of Dionysios of Pallene, Timosthenes son of
Timarchos of Kephisia, Menandros son of Demochares of Azenia,
Aristaichmos son of Ammonios of Anaphlystos, Sophokles son of Philotas of Sounion
and by birth son of Dionysodoros of Deiradiotai, Iophon son of Dionysodoros of Deiradiotai,
Alexandros son of Agathokles of Leukonoion, Euphron son of Euphron of Marathon,
(30) Seleukos son of Demeas of Halai, Mikion son of Philokrates of Piraeus,
having made an approach to the People, declare that the dadouch
Themistokles,[2] son of the dadouch Theophrastos, of Hagnous, being
distinguished by excellence and good birth, shows not only that his own life is
worthy of the greatest honour, but by his pre-eminence with regard to the dadouchy,
(35) enhances the holiness and the honour of the rites (hierōn), as a result of which the
grandeur of the Mysteries is accorded greater awe by every
man and by the throng of people which comes, having inherited
the good-birth, and the priesthood that derives from it, in succession to
his father Theophrastos and his grandfather Themistokles, and Sophokles,
(40) who was the uncle of his father, and Xenokles his great-grandfather,
who was brother of Leontios and uncle of Sophokles, who were
altar-priests, and Philoxenides who had previously been
altar-priest and after that dadouch, brother
of Kephisodoros the altar-priest, who was in the male line great-grandfather
(45) of his (i.e. the honorand’s) father, Theophrastos, and Sophokles, who was
his great-grandfather in the female line, and Philistides, who was father of Philoxenides and
Kephisodoros and great-grandfather of Themistokles his (i.e. the honorand’s) grandfather, who,
having been altar-priest, succeeded to the dadouchy with great distinction,
and Antiphon, who was a second cousin (ex anepsiōn paidōn) of
(50) Philistides, and having himself held the altar-priesthood,
succeeded brilliantly to the dadouchy, and Leontios father of Sophokles,
grandfather of Xenokles his (i.e. the honorand’s) great-grandfather,
and before all these Hermotimos and Hierokleides, who were
dadouchs before the writing-up of the Kerykes in the register,
(55) and whose descendants, Semon and Hierokleides and Antiphon, were
life-tenants of the altar-priesthood, for each of whom
honours and consecrated images alongside the goddesses themselves
stand as clear proof of the decrees that were voted for them many times by the Council and
the People and the genos over this whole period for their piety (eusebeias) towards the
(60) goddesses, holiness (semnotētos) in the sacred work (hierourgian), and their love of honour (philotimias) in many great events relating to the genos; and doing everything for the enhancement
of the genos and for the honour appropriate to it and each
of the priests from the genos, having zealously researched the
ancestral traditions and gained knowledge not only from
(65) the tenure of the dadouchy by members of his house for many generations, but also from
his own honour-loving behaviour as regards the recovery of discontinued traditions,
when he was responsible for the investigation of the transcripts (apographas),
he accomplished many great things . . . the appropriate . . . . . .