CGRN 242: Fragment of decree regarding (probably Antigonid) ruler cult from Ios

CGRN 242 Fragment of decree regarding (probably Antigonid) ruler cult from Ios Date : ca. 260(221 BC Justification: lettering and historical context (see Habicht, p. 50, and Commentary below). Provenance Ios ! (https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/599673). The fragments were found in the excavations of a Byzantine church in the immediate area of the actual Church of Saint Catherine (Agia Ekaterini), in the modern village of Chora. The stone was reused in a Byzantine building which overlays what Graindor (p. 308-309) argued to be the remains of a sanctuary dedicated to Apollo Pythios (numerous decrees found at the site explicitly refer to being inscribed in this sanctuary, e.g. IG XII.5 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbrevia‐ tions/#IG%20XII.5) 1000-1001). The stone is now lost. Support White marble block broken into ten pieces. The fragmentary block is damaged on the edges of both sides, in the middle of the stone. It is broken at the bottom, but intact at the top. Height: 10 cm Width: 91 cm Depth: 23 cm Layout Two texts are inscribed in two separate columns on the surface of the block: text A (col. I) is inscribed on the left side of the surface and text B (col. II) on the right side. No reproduction of the stone is available and the editions provide only facsimiles of the inscription (in the editio princeps [Graindor, p. 32] and a second one in IG XII.5 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#IG%20XII.5) 1008). These differ from one another in certain respects (see e.g. Commentary on fragment A, line 4). Letters: 0.9 cm high. Mid-Hellenistic lettering (alpha with straight crossbar; open sigma with oblique bars; but somewhat large omicron). Bibliography Edition here based on Hiller von Gaertringen IG XII.5 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations /#IG%20XII.5) 1008, controlling the accompanying facsimile with the one published in the first edition by Graindor. We only give column I (text A) here, with relatively minimal restorations (text B is an honorific decree, see Commentary). In line 2, we tentatively restore [βασιλεῖ Ἀντιγ]όνωι partly following Sokolowski. In line 4, with similar caution, we also adopt Sokolowski's restoration (see further Carlier; Piejko). In line 6, we follow part of the original restoration of Graindor. Other edition: Graindor 1904 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/bibliography/#Graindor%201904): 319-321 (6A-7B). Cf. also: Ziehen LGS II (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#LGS%20II) 101; Sokolowski LSCG (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#LSCG) 106; Piejko 1990 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/bibliography /#Piejko%201990): 148; Kotsidu 2000 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/bibliography/#Kotsidu%202000): 250-251 no. 71. Further bibliography: Bagnall 1976 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/bibliography/#Bagnall%201976): 146-148; Carlier 1984 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/bibliography/#Carlier%201984): 431; Reger 1985 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/bibliography/#Reger%201985): 169-170; Habicht 2017 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be /bibliography/#Habicht%202017): 50-51. Text (beginning of the text missing on block(s) above) ? ? [.... τῶν] ἀ. ρχόντ. ων Κ. Λ. Ι.[..]Α. Λ. Λ. Ι.Ν. Ε. Ν. Ι.[....] ? ? [.... βασιλεῖ (?) Ἀντιγ]όνωι [(?)] , τὰ δὲ ἆθλα. διδό. ναι το[ὺ]ς ἱερ. [οποιοὺς ....] ? c.12 ? [....]ΤΟΝ θύηται Ο . [............]Ο[....] ? ? [....] τοῖς νόμο. ι.ς. βοῦ. ν. [θ]ύειν βασ. [ιλεῖ] Ἀ. [ντιγόνωι (?) ....] ? ? [....] ἐ. νάτει ἱσταμ. έν. ου το[ῦ μ]ηνὸς το[ῦ ....] ? ? [.... τοὺς νόμους το]ὺς πατρίους τῶ . ι [δ]ή. μω . ι [κ]α. ὶ [....] ? ? [....]ι.ῶ . ν. [ος μ]ηνὸς. [....] ? [....] Translation [... of the] archontes [... to king Antigonos (?)], and the hieropoioi are to award the prizes [...] is sacrificed [... (according ?)] to the laws, to sacrifice a bovine to king [Antigonos (?) ... (5) ...] on the ninth day of the month of [... the] ancestral [laws] to the people and [...] month [...] Traduction [... des] archontes [… pour le roi Antigone (?)], et que les hiéropes accordent les prix […] que soit sacrifié [… (conformément ?)] aux lois, qu’on sacrifie un bovin au roi [Antigone (?)] […] (5) […] le neuvième jour du mois de [… les lois] ancestrales au peuple et […] mois [...] Commentary It seems clear that this stone block comes from the sanctuary of Apollo Pythios in Ios, on the walls of which many decrees of the city were inscribed. Parts of two texts are inscribed on the face of this block. The text given here, text A in column I to the left, begins in medias res at the preserved top of the block; accordingly, its earlier lines must have been inscribed on at least one block placed above the present one. Though very fragmentary, the text is almost certainly part of a decree of the city of Ios. It appears concerned with at least one dated sacrifice for a king Antigonos, though the name of this king can only be tentatively restored (lines 2 and 4). The beginning of another decree of the city (text B) is preserved in a column to the right (col. II). It is an honorific decree for a certain son of Alkimedon (name missing) who benefitted the city. In this frag‐ mentary decree, the name Antigonos is mentioned in the dative Ἀ̣ντιγόνωι (line 5, followed by the some‐ what enigmatic traces ΜΕΙ̣Ι)̣ , perhaps suggesting a connection between the two otherwise distinct documents (texts A and B, cols. I and II) on this block. Most importantly, the present decree (text A) should be set in parallel with another, probably earlier decree of the city of Ios (IG XII.Suppl. (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#IG%20XII.Suppl.) 168), which appears to establish cultic honours for a king Antigonos called Soter in the text (cf. line 7), most likely Antigonos I Monophthalmos in ca. 306 BC or shortly after. For this date, see Hiller von Gaertringen in IG and Reger, and note especially the partly restored phrase at line 5, [θῦσαι δὲ καὶ εὐα]γγέλια τοὺς ἱεροποιοὺς ἤδη καὶ στε[φα]νηφορῆσαι Ἰήτας ἅ[παντας], which seems to agree with this immediate (ἤδη) historical context (compare IG XII.6 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#IG%20XII.6) 56, Chios, line 7-8). By contrast, Habicht assigns this inscription to the rule of Antigonos II. In the case of the present text, at any rate, the lettering makes it impossible to identify the honorand with Antigonos I. Yet at least a few similarities of phrasing between the two distinct documents are apparent (see below on lines 2 and 5-6 in particular). Based on all of the aforementioned observations, it remains somewhat difficult to decide whether the present text should definitively be associated with an Antigonid king, and whether this must be Antigonos II Gonatas or Antigonos III Doson. The former is preferred by Habicht, who underlines the ruler’s active policy regarding the Aegean Islands. Conversely, Doson would open a quite narrow chrono‐ logical window, ca. 229-221 BC; Reger does not exclude him. If an association with either of these kings could be demonstrated, the decree containing the present regulation could be considered in the broad framework of the increased domination of the Aegean by the Antigonids after the Battle of Kos in ca. 261-255 BC and the Battle of Andros in ca. 250-240 BC, concluding a period of Ptolemaic rule over the first half of the 3rd century BC (on which, see Bagnall). Line 2: The ritual prescriptions have only come down to us in a very patchy way and abundant restorations (such as those of Sokolowski and Piejko) should be resisted. Nevertheless, some sense can be gleaned from the lines. In line 2, an allusion to contests seems clear. The hieropoioi, a well-attested group of cultic officials on Ios, were apparently responsible for the distributions of prizes from athletic contests connected with the ruler cult in question (in the other Antigonid decree from Ios, IG XII.Suppl. (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbre‐ viations/#IG%20XII.Suppl.) 168, line 5, the hieropoioi are responsible for sacrifices and public proclama‐ tions; for other cultic functions performed by the hieropoioi, compare also IG XII.5 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be /abbreviations/#IG%20XII.5) 2). Lines 3-4: In line 4, the restoration θύειν βασ[ιλέ]α, proposed in the IG edition (and already by Graindor), presupposes the institution of a civic ritual in which the king plays an active role (in order to honor himself). This interpretation does not find any ready parallel in the documentation available (see esp. the remarks of Carlier). This passage therefore should be viewed as concerning the inauguration of the sacrifice of a bovine of undetermined sex and age to a king probably called Antigonos. For an analogous case of bovine sacrifice offered to Hellenistic sovereigns, see the cult of Seleukos I and Antiochos I at Aigai (cf. CGRN 137 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/file/137), lines 14-17; for similar sacrifices also offered to dynasts, see CGRN 143 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/file/143), Laodikeia-on-the-Lykos, lines 24-26; and possibly CGRN 150 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/file/150), Labraunda/Mylasa, lines 14-15). The sense of the very fragmentary line 3 is mostly lost, but may have concerned the mode of sacrifice, e.g. [ὅπως ἂν ὡς κάλλισ]τον θύηται vel sim. Lines 5-6: the state of the text makes it possible to put forward two alternative scenarios. By analogy with the other decree of Ios honoring a king Antigonos (IG XII.Suppl. (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations /#IG%20XII.Suppl.) 168, line 3: [ἐλευθερίαν ἀπέ]δωκεν τῶι δήμωι τῶι Ἰητῶν καὶ τοὺς νόμους τοὺς πατρίο[υς …]), we may be dealing with a narrative passage intended to shed light on the sovereign's benev‐ olent action in restoring the ancestral laws to the people. However, such considerations are more regularly found in the first part of decrees, in a section preceding the enumeration of newly instituted honours (com‐ pare for instance SEG (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#SEG) 41, 1003, decree in honour of Antiochos III at Teos). Furthermore, the partial mention of a date in line 5 seems to indicate that this pas‐ sage is concerned with ritual prescriptions. The mention of the demos in the dative in line 6 allows us to put forward a second hypothesis: the allusion to a sacrifice made in accordance with the ancestral laws (see al‐ ready the restitution of Graindor: [... θύειν κατὰ τοὺς νόμους το]ὺς πατρίους). This sacrifice may have taken place in the context of a people's assembly or a civic celebration. Among the divine recipients of this ritual operation, it is possible to assume the presence of the king Antigonos honored in this decree. For sacri‐ fices to Hellenistic kings in political assemblies, see the rituals in honour of Seleukos I in Ilion (OGIS (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#OGIS) 212, lines 19-21) and Antiochos III in Teos (SEG (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#SEG) 41, 1003, lines 29-34; compare also here CGRN 137 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/file/137), Aigai, lines 40-44); for those performed as part of the celebrations of the city, see the cult of Antiochos I and his wife Stratonike organised by the Ionian League (OGIS (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/abbreviations/#OGIS) 222, lines 32-36; compare also here CGRN 150 (http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/file/150), Labraunda/Mylasa, lines 21-24). Publication Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike International License 4.0 ! (http://cre‐ ativecommons.org/). All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain somewhere a link back to the DOI (https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN242), as well as the year of consultation (see “Home” for details on how to cite or click “Export Citation” to create a reference for this specific file). Authors Jan-Mathieu Carbon Julien Dechevez Luca Lorenzon Elie Piette