Tag

prytaneis

Alkesippus of Kalydon’s pompe (sacrifice and public feast at Delphi)

TITLE
Alkesippus of Kalydon’s pompe (sacrifice and public feast at Delphi)
DATE
182-181 BCE  
TEXT
The Packard Humanities Institute (SGDI II 2101). See also: SEG 25, 175. 

[1] ἄρχοντος Δαμοσθένεος μηνὸς Ποιτροπίου, ἐπὶ τοῖσδε ἀνέθηκε Ἀλκέσιππος 
[2] Βουθήρα Καλυδώνιος τῶι θεῶι καὶ τᾶι πόλει τᾶι Δελφῶν χρυσοῦς ἑκατὸν τρι- 
[3] άκοντα καὶ ἀργυρίου μνᾶς εἴκοσι δύο στατῆρας τριάκοντα, εἴ τί κα πάθη 
[4] Ἀλκέσιππος, ὥστε θυσίαν καὶ δαμοθοινίαν συντελεῖν τὰν πόλιν τῶν Δελφῶν 
[5] τῶι Ἀπόλλωνι τῶι Πυθίωι κατ’ ἐνιαυτὸν ποτονομάζοντας Ἀλκεσίππεια ἀπὸ 
[6] τῶν τόκων τοῦ τε χρυσίου καὶ ἀργυρίου, συντελεῖν δὲ τὰν θυσίαν ἐν τῶι Ἡραίωι 
[7] μηνί, πονπεύειν δὲ ἐκ τᾶς ἅλωος τοὺς ἱερεῖς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα 
[8] καὶ τοὺς πρυτάνεις καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πολίτας πάντας. ἀναγραψάντω δὲ οἱ ἄρ- 
[9] χοντες ἐν τῶι ἱερῶι καὶ ἁ ἀνάθεσις κυρία ἔστω. καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα τὰ ἴδια {α} 
[10] ἀνατίθητι, εἴ τί κα πάθη, τῶι θεῶι καὶ {καὶ} το͂ι πόλει, καὶ Θευτίμαν τὰν ἰδίαν 
[11] θεράπαιναν ὥστε ἐλευθέραν εἶμεν αὐτάν, εἴ τί κα πάθη. Θαψάντω δὲ Δάμιππος 
[12] καὶ Θευτίμα καὶ Ἀγέας καὶ Πισίλαος ἀπὸ τῶν χαλκῶν, τῶν καταλιμπάνει πα- 
[13] ρ’ αὐσαυτόν, καὶ λόγον ἀποδόντω τᾶι πόλει. μάρτυροι· Κριτόλαος, Λάτροπος, 
[14] Ἀγέας, Πολεμοκράτης, Ἀγασίδαμος, Γενναῖος, Ξενοκράτης Μεδεώνιος, Στρά-
[15] ταγος, Καλλικλῆς, Ἀνδρόνικος, Πισίλαος, Δεξικράτης, Χαρίξενος, Πολέμαρ[χ]- 
[16] ος Παυσανία. τὰς διαθήκας φυλάσσει Ἄθαμβος, Ἀγέας, Πεισίλαος. 
TRANSLATION
Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum 631.

When Damosthenes was archon, in the month of Poitropios, Alkesippos of Kalydon the son of Boutheras dedicated one hundred and thirty gold pieces and twenty-two minas and thirty staters of silver to the god and to the city of Delphi, on these terms: if Alkesippos suffers anything {dies}, the city of Delphi shall perform a sacrifice and public feast to Pythian Apollo every year, which they shall call Alkesippeia, from the interest produced by the gold and silver. The sacrifice shall be performed in the month of Heraios; and the priests of Apollo and the archon and the prytaneis and all the other citizens shall go in procession from the “threshing-floor” { halos }. The magistrates shall inscribe this in the temple, and the offering shall be valid; and all his other personal possessions shall be dedicated, if he suffers anything, to the god and the city; and Theotima his personal maidservant shall be made free if he suffers anything; and Damippos, Theotima, Ageas and Pisilaos shall perform his burial, using the bronze money that he deposited with them, and they shall render an account of this to the city. 

Witnesses: Kritolaos, Latropos, Ageas, Polemokrates, Agasidamos, Gennaios, Xenokrates of Medeon, Stratagos, Kallikles, Andronikos, Pisilaos, Dexikrates, Charixenos, Polemarchos son of Pausanias. The testament shall be kept by: Athambos, Ageas and Peisilaos. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bömmer (1952), RE, s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1963, n. 267.

Guarducci, M. (1974). Epigrai a Greca. III. Epigrai di carattere privato. Rome: Istituto poligraico dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato, 256-257.  

Harter-Uibopuu, K. (2011). “Money for the polis. Public administration of private donations in Hellenistic Greece”. In: O. M. van Nijf and R. Alston, eds., Political Culture in the Greek City after the Classical Age. Leuven–Paris: Peeters, 121.  

Laum, B. (1914). Stiftungen in der Griechischen und Römischen Antike: Ein Beitrag zur Kulturgeschichte. Leipzig– Berlin: Teubner, no. 27. 

Mannzmann, A. (1962). Griechische Stiftungsurkunden. Münster: Aschendorff, 146-147.

Sokolowski, F. (1969). Lois sacrées des cités Grecques. Paris: De Boccard, 164-165, no. 81. 

Woodhead, A. G., ed., (1971). “SEG 25-575. Delphi. Testamentum Alcesippi, et feriae Alcesippea institutae, a. 182a”. In: Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. 25, 575. Amsterdam. 

Eumenes II’s pompe in Delphi (Eumeneia)

Eumenes II’s pompe in Delphi (Eumeneia)

TITLE:
Eumenes II’s pompe in Delphi (Eumeneia)
 
DATE:
160-159 BC
TEXT:
Syll.3 671 = FD 3.3.238 

BRINGMANN, K. and H. VON STEUBEN (1995-2000): Schenkungen hellenistischer Herrscher an griechische Städte und Heiligtümer, 2 vols., Berlin

Cf. Sokolowski LSS 44; Laum 1914: no. 29; Daux FD III.3 238
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:

Syll.3 671 = FD 3.3.238

Collection of Greek Ritual Norms: (English and French : A. JACQUEMIN, D. MULLIEZ and G. ROUGEMONT 2012: Choix d’inscriptions de Delphes, traduites et commentées. Études épigraphiques 5, Athens) 
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
πομπή or its verbal form πομπεύω (l. 8-9, π[ομ]πευόντω; l. 20,  πομπεύσωντι)
Word used to mean the cult images:
βάσιν (l. 22, βάσις, “base” of the statue)
Gods or other entities named:
Apollo and Leto and Artemis (l. 5-6, Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ τᾶι Λατοῖ καὶ τᾶι Ἀρτέμιτι; Apollo again in l. 9)
Description of the cult images:
Procession’s route:
From the threshing floor/ from the circular place/”la place circulaire” (A. Jacquemin, D. Mulliez, G. Rougemont 2012, 167) (l. 9, ἐκ τᾶς ἅλωο[ς]). Cf. “The festival was also to include a procession departing from the so-called “Circular Area” (lit. circular “threshing-floor”) in the sanctuary” (vd. J.-M. Carbon and S. Peels)  
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Every year on the twelfth day of the month of Herakleios (l. 2-3, ἐν τῶι Ἡρακλείωι μηνὶ τᾶ[ι] [δωδεκ]άται), and the procession took place exactly on the twelfth day at the second hour (l. 8-9, τᾶι δωδεκάται π[ομ]πευόντω ὥρας δευτέρας)
Performers:
The priests of Apollo and of the other gods, the prytaneis, the archons and the other magistracies, and the torch-bearers – ten men from each tribe (l. 9-11, οἵ τε ἱερεῖς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν καὶ οἱ πρυτάνεις καὶ ἄρχοντες καὶ [τ]ὰ ἄλλα ἀρχεῖα καὶ οἱ λαμπαδισταί, ἀφ’ ἑκάστας φυλᾶς ἄνδρες δέκα)
References to the public attending the procession:
Rites related to the procession:

The overseers sacrificed three full-grown oxen to Apollo and Leto and Artemis, and they managed the other sacrificial victims according to the instructions, and they used the meat for the public feast, as is customary; and they provided forty metretai of wine (l. 5-8, θυόντω δ[ὲ ο]ἱ ἐπιμεληταὶ βοῦς τρεῖς τελείους τῶι Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ τᾶι Λατοῖ καὶ τᾶι Ἀρτέμιτι, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἱε[ρε]ῖα οἰκονομεόντω κατὰ τὰ διατεταγμένα, καὶ τὰ κρ[έα] καταχρείσθωσαν ἐν τὰν δαμοθοινίαν κα[θ]ὼς εἴθισται· οἴνου δὲ ἀναλισκόντω μετρητὰς τεσ[σα]ράκοντα) 

There was a race of torch-bearers from the gymnasium to the altar, and the winner set fire to the sacrifice (l. 15-16, ὁ δ[ὲ] δρόμος γινέσθω ἐκ τοῦ γυμνασίου ἄχρι ποτὶ τὸν βωμόν, ὁ δὲ νικέων ὑφαπτέτω τὰ ἱερά), and the tribe that won the torch-race received ten staters of silver for the sacrifice. 

The priests of Apollo, whenever they go in procession, prayed for the Eumeneia (l. 19-20, οἱ δὲ ἱερεῖς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, ἐπεί κα πομπεύσωντι, κατευχέσθωσαν τὰ Εὐμένεια καθὼς νομίζεται). 
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:

In this decree the city and sanctuary of Delphi received generous gifts from one its patrons; in this case, Delphi received corn and money in return for holding a festival in honour of Eumenes II (Εὐμένης Βʹ), who ruled between 197 and 159 BC, and surnamed Soter meaning “Savior”; he was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis, members of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. This dialogue between a city and its benefactor has been interpreted by Domingo Gygax (2016, p. 42) as a “negotiation, (…) he acted as he did partly because Delphi voted to award him great honors – honors that amounted to gifts as well as counter-gifts, and that obliged him to reciprocate”. 

The councillors in office inscribed this decree on the base of the statue of the king Eumenes II near the altar of Apollo, and they dispatched a copy to the king (l. ἀναγράψαι [δὲ τὸ ψάφισ]μα ἐν τὰν βάσιν τὰν ὑπάρχουσαν τοῦ βασιλέος παρὰ τὸν βωμὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος τ[οὺς ἐνάρ]χους βουλευτάς, καὶ διαποστεῖλαι ποτὶ [τ]ὸν βασιλῆ τὸ ἀντίγραφον τοῦ ψαφίσματ[ος])

One slightly later decree also studied in this project concerns a donation by Attalos II for the education of boys and honorific ceremonies and sacrifices, also including a procession, a banquet and a torch-race (vd. J.-M. Carbon and S. Peels)
 
Moreover, the Delphic foundation of Alkesippos (also studied in this project), a somewhat earlier document dated to 182 BC apparently served as a partial model for the foundations of the Attaleia and the Eumeneia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1967, n.289-293. 

BOMMELAER, J.-F. and D. LAROCHE (1991): Guide de Delphes. Le site (École française d’Athènes. Sites et Monuments 7), Athens

DAUX, G. (1935): “Sur la loi amphictionique de 380 av. J.C.”, RA,pp. 205-219

DAUX, G. (1936): Delphes au IIe et au Ier siècle, depuis l’abaissement de l’Étolie jusqu’à la paix romaine, 191-31 av. J.-C., Paris, pp. 682-685

DOMINGO GYGAX, M. (2016): Benefaction and rewards in the ancient Greek city. The origins of euergetism, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 42

Diodorus Pasparus’ pompe in Pergamon

Diodorus Pasparus’ pompe in Pergamon

TITLE:
Diodorus Pasparus’ pompe in Pergamon
DATE:
c. 69 BC
TEXT:
OGIS 764 = MDAI(A) 32 (1907) 243, 4
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:

OGIS 764 = MDAIA[A] 32.4, MDAIA[A] 35.2, IvP 2.256, MDAIA[A] 29.1, MDAIA[A] 32.8 

CANALI DE ROSSI, F. (2006): Iscrizioni storiche ellenistiche. Decreti per ambasciatori greci al Senato (Vol. 3) nos. 190 & 191 (Italian)
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:

πομπή (l. 43, στ̣[αλῆν]αι πομπὴν; l. 43, πομπευόντων, vb. πομπεύω) 
συμπομπεύω (l. 45, συμπομπευόν[των)
 
Word used to mean the cult images:

ἄγαλμα (l. 26, ἀγάλματι; l. 32-33, τὸ ἄγαλμα σ[τή][λ]ην λίθου λευκοῦ; l. 42, εἰς ὃν ἀνατεθῆναι τὸ ἄγαλμα) 
εἰκόν (l. τῶν εἰκόνων ἢ τὸ ἄγαλμα, “the statues he wishes – or the marble statue”)
Gods or other entities named:
Zeus the Greatest (l. 30, Διὸς τοῦ μεγίσ[του])
Description of the cult images:

It was resolved by the decree to crown him with a golden crown for valour and with a gilded statue and two statues on horseback and another colossal statue of bronze, representing him being crowned by the people, and another statue of marble, all of them set up in the city temples (l. 24-26, καὶ στεφανῶσαι αὐτὸν χρυσῶι στεφάν[ωι ἀριστείωι καὶ ἰκόνι χρυσῆι καὶ ἄλληι ἐφίππωι καὶ ἄλλῃ χαλκῆι κολοσσικῆι στεφανου[μένηι ὑπὸ] τοῦ δήμου καὶ ἄλληι ἐφίππωι καὶ ἀγάλματι μαρμαρίνωι) 

The gilded statues were placed on marble pillars, and the bronze statues likewise on marble bases, and the marble statue in the shrine which was also constructed, with an inscription and the decree itself as well (l. 27-29, τῶν μὲν χρ[υσῶν ἐπὶ στυ]λίδων μαρμαρίνων, τῶν δὲ χαλκῶν ἐπὶ βημάτων ὁμοίως μαρμαρίνων, τοῦ δὲ ἀ[γάλ]ματος ἐν τῷ κατασκευασθησομένωι ναῶι, γενομένης ἑπιγραφῆς)
Procession’s route:

From the prytaneion to his shrine / sacred precinct (temenos) (l. 43, ἐκ τοῦ πρυτανείου εἰς τὸ τέμενος αὐτοῦ)
Frequency with which the procession takes place:

Every year (l. 49, καθ’ ἕκασ]τ̣ον ἐνιαυτὸν ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέραι) on the day when the shrine was dedicated (l. 42-43, ἐν ᾗ δ’ ἄν ἡμέραι γίνηται ἡ καθιέρ[ωσις] αὐτοῦ στ̣[αλῆν]αι)
Performers:

Diodorus and his children were followed by the prytaneis and the priests [a priest of himself, i.e. Diodorus (l. 38, αὐτοῦ καὶ ἱερέα)] 

The gymnasiarch with the deputy gymnasiarch and the ephebes and the paidonomoi (i.e. officials in Greek cities, responsible for the training of boys who were younger than ephebes) with the boys (l.  43-46, πομπευόντων [τοῦ τε]πρυτάν[εως καὶ] τ̣ῶ̣[ν ἱ]ε̣ρέων καὶ βασιλέων καὶ τοῦ γυμνασιάρχου μετὰ τοῦ ὑπο[γυμνασι] [άρχου καὶ τῶν ἐφήβων] καὶ τῶν παιδονόμων μετὰ τῶν παίδων, συμπομπευόν[των δὲ καὶ] [Διοδώρου μετὰ τ]ῶ̣ν παίδων)
References to the public attending the procession:
Rites related to the procession:
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:

These inscriptions record exceptional ‘god-like’ honours voted to a citizen of Pergamon called Diodorus Pasparus, who was gymnasiarch at Pergamum during the 29th Nikephoria in 69 BC. And led a successful embassy to Rome which was honoured every eighth day of the month of Apollonios (l. 36, τὴν ὀγδόην τοῦ Ἀπολλωνίου μηνὸς), when Diodorus entered the city after the diplomatic mission. Diodorus was also honoured with a white marble shrine (l. 42, ναὸν λίθ̣[ου] λευκοῦ)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1967, n.287

BRENNAN, T. C. (2009): “Embassies gone wrong: roan diplomacy in the Constantinian Excerpta de legationibus”. In: “Diplomats and diplomacy in the Roman world”, Brill, Leiden / Boston, pp.171-174

CHANIOTIS, A., PLEKET, H.W., STROUD, R.S. and STRUBBE, J.H.M., “SEG 49-1770. Pergamon. The chronology of Diodoros Pasparos and the Nikephoria.”, in: Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Current editors: A. T. E. N. Chaniotis Corsten Stavrianopolou Papazarkadas. Consulted online on 11 November 2021

CHANKOWSKI, A. S. (1998): “La procédure législative à Pergame au Ier siècle au J.-C.: à propos de la chronologie relative des décrets en l’honneur de Diodoros Pasparos”, Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 122.1,  pp. 159-199

COUILLOUD-LE DINAHET, M.Th. (2005): “Les rituels funéraires en Asie Mineure et en Syrie à l’époque hellénistique (jusqu’au milieu du Ier siècle av. J.-C.)”. In: L’Orient méditerranéen de la mort d’Alexandre aux campagnes de Pompée. Cités et royaumes à l’époque hellénistique, Rennes, PUR, pp. 65-95

GENOVESE, C. (2011): “’Per eterna memoria e immortalità di un benefattore’. L’”Heroon” di Diodoro Pasparo a Pergamo”, in L. Campagna, C. Genovese, A. Filippini, L’evergetismo in Asia Minore (II sec. a.C. – III sec. d.C.). Modelli culturali, monumenti, risorse, dinamiche sociali, in Mediterraneo Antico 14, pp. 57-74

JONES, Ch. P. (1990): “Diodoros Pasparos revisited” Chiron 30, pp. 1-14 

JONES, Ch. P. (1974): “Diodoros Pasparos and the Nikephoria of Pergamon”, Chiron 4, pp. 183-205 

KOHL, M. (2002): “Das Nikephorien von Pergamon”, RA, pp. 227-253

Attalus II’s pompe in Delphi (Attaleia)

Attalus II’s pompe in Delphi (Attaleia)

TITLE:
Attalus II’s pompe in Delphi (Attaleia)
DATE:
160-159 BC
TEXT:
Syll.3 672

CGRN 202
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:
Austin, M. M. (2006). The Hellenistic world from Alexander to the Roman conquest: a selection of ancient sources in translation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 422

CGRN 202

KEYWORDS:
Words used to mean procession:
Vb. πομπεύω (l. 56, 58, 59, πομπευόντω) 
Word used to mean the cult images:
εἰκόνα (l. 62-63, τὰν εἰκόνα τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀττάλου)
Gods or other entities named:
Apollo (l. 55, 58)
Description of the cult images:
 
Procession’s route:
From the threshing floor to the temple of Apollo (l. 58-59, πομπευόντω δὲ ἐκ τᾶς ἅλωος ἐν τὸν ναόν)
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Every 13th of the month of Heracleius (c. May, l. 55-56, τοῦ Ἡρακλείου (…) δὲ τρεισκαιδεκάται)
Performers:
The priests of Apollo and of the other gods, the prytaneis, the magistrates,  and the children wearing crowns (l. 55-57, οἵ τε ἱερεῖς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνο[ς] καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν καὶ πρυτάνεις καὶ ἄρχοντες καὶ οἱ παῖδες ἐστεφανωμένοι)
References to the public attending the procession:
The children wearing crowns (l. 57, οἱ παῖδες ἐστεφανωμένοι)
Rites related to the procession:
The priest of Apollo made a prayer and proclaimed the name of the sacrifice as being the Attaleia (l. 59-60, οἱ ἱερεῖς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, κατευχέστων ποταγορεύοντες τὰν θυσίαν Ἀττάλεια καθὼς εἴθισται)
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:
It is a decree of Delphi concerning a foundation provided by the king of Pergamon Attalus II Philadelphus (Ἄτταλος Β΄ ὁ Φιλάδελφος, which means “the brother-loving”; 220–138 BC), according to Harris 2015, n.38: “his document is a public measure enacted by the city of Delphi”; in sum, king Attalus made two donations, one of 18,000 drachmas for the education of children (lines 6-8), the other for sacrifices and processions (lines 44-63). So that the resolutions of the decree were effectively done, it was inscribed on the statue base of king Attalus II (l. 61-63, ὅπως δὲ καὶ ἐμφανῆ ᾖ τὰ ἐψηφισμ[έ]να, ἀναγράψαι τὸ ψάφισμα ἐπὶ τὰν εἰκόνα τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀττάλου).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

AUSTIN, M. M. (2006). The Hellenistic World from Alexander to the Roman Conquest: A Selection of Ancient sources in Translation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 422.

BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1965, n.278.

HARRIS, E. (2015). “Toward a Typology of Greek Regulations about Religious Matters”, Kernos, 28, pp. 53-83

HARRIS, E. and CARBON, J. M. (2015). “The Documents in Sokolowski’s Lois sacrées des cités grecques (LSCG)”, Kernos 28, p. 22 n.80

NOCK, A. D. (1930): “Σύνναος θεός”, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 41, p.23