IGII2 3737 The ephebes honour their trainer, 156/7 or 157/8 AD

The ephebes honour their trainer, 156/7 or 157/8 AD

IG II² 3737 Date: AD 156/7 or 157/8

Having requested permission from the Areopagites, the ephebes in the archonship of Lykomedes (156/7 or 157/8 AD), through their (5) superintendent (kosmētou) Publius Aelius Theophilos the incredible (paradoxou) of Sounion,^[1] (honoured) the trainer (paidotribēn) for life (dia biou) of the ephebes Abaskantos son of Eumolpos (10) of Kephisia.^[2]

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References:

IG II² 3737 (Translated text) (PHI)

Wilson, Ephebic Inscriptions E.043

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Louvre - (1)

Monument type: Herm?

Inscription type: Herm (Areopagos permits)

Original location: [Diogeneion?]

Findspot: Athens, House of Venizelos (Louvre Ma 130)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] For the ephebic superintendent in the Roman period, see IG II² 3739 and AIO Papers 12 sect. 2.1. Theophilos was also a member of the Council of 500 twice and exegete of the Eupatridai. See also AIUK 4.6, no. 73 (elaborate funerary monument for his son). “Incredible” (paradoxos) was a title awarded to athletes who won two events in a single day at one of the Panhellenic games (R. Merkelbach, ZPE 14, 1974, 91-96). IG II² 3771, an honorific herm erected for this superintendent by the ephebes of the year also survives. For the date, see Byrne, RCA pp. 509, 544. [2] The inscription is a herm in honour of Abaskantos, who was the ephebes’ trainer (paidotribes). There was probably originally a portrait bust on top depicting Abaskantos, but this is now lost. A large hole in the stone below l. 10 marks the location of the phallus, which was probably removed in early modern times (M. Brunet, pers. comm.). Abaskantos served as trainer for thirty-four years from 136/7 to 169/70 AD, in which role he was responsible for overseeing the ephebes’ athletic activities (see AIO Papers 12 sect. 2.2). He clearly became a fixture of the ephebate – he is frequently mentioned with the year of his tenure in ephebic inscriptions (e.g. IG II³ 4, 418-421; see S. Follet, Athènes, 1976, 206-26, 469-78). This monument was presumably erected to commemorate his twentieth year in post. Honorific herms were usually awarded to ephebic superintendents (e.g. IG II² 3739) and prominent ephebes who had died young (e.g. AIUK 11 (Ashmolean), no. 16), so the decision to erect one for Abaskantos indicates the extraordinary esteem in which he was held. His funerary stele IG II² 6397 shows that the post was also central to his personal identity. For the role of the Areopagos Council in the erection of commemorative monuments in Athens in the Roman period, see D. Geagan, Hesp. Supp. 12, 1967, 33-36. The ephebes make their request to the Council “through” the superintendent because he was in charge of interactions between the ephebate and the wider Athenian administration (cf. SEG 29.152b).

Added: 14 Jan 2021
Updated: 27 Jun 2024
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