IGII2 7598 Kioniskos of Demarchos of Phaleron

Kioniskos of Demarchos of Phaleron

IG II² 7598 Date: Mid-3rd century BC

Demarchos son of Philon of Phaleron.^[1] Relief on a relief of a scroll or stele: Having been victorious. (5) In the Prytaneion.^[2]

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References:

IG II² 7598 (Translated text) (PHI)

Kerameikos III A 38a

Translation by: Robert Pitt, Maya Virdell

Images: Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Kioniskos

Inscription type: Funerary

Findspot: Kerameikos, Sacred Way (Kerameikos Museum Co. 29, at peribolos)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is one of five kioniskoi from the Kerameikos funerary enclosure (peribolos) of Philon of Phaleron (see IG II² 7627 with notes), Demarchos’ father. It is likely the earliest of the surviving monuments, and the only one of the group to have relief decoration. It is tempting to suggest that Demarchos' name indicates that his father held the office of demarch; all 23 bearers of that name were citizens, but there are no cases where such a connection is demonstrable (Byrne, Athenian Onomasticon). On kioniskoi, see AIUK 3 (Fitzwilliam), no. 7, with notes. [2] Kioniskoi occasionally have sculpted decoration, but the amount of relief decoration on this monument is unique. A loutrophoros (a vessel associated with wedding ritual) indicates that Demarchos died unmarried (see AIUK 3 (Fitzwilliam), no. 5 with notes). To its left is a rectangular or cylindrical object with an inscription (ll. 4-6) in tiny letters (0.5 cm), around which is a band with something wider attached to it. This has been interpreted as a cippus or stele, but it is more likely a scroll tied up and with a label, perhaps containing the proclamation of Demarchos’ victory and a grant of sitesis, the right to dine in the Prytaneion at state expense in perpetuity (on sitesis, see AIO 1137 with notes). Sitesis en prytaneio ('dining rights in the Prytaneion') is a common formula in Athenian honours, and so ‘in the Prytaneion’ may here be a shorthand for this grant. Above the scroll is a palm branch with three ribbons hanging from it –indications of athletic victory. To the right of the loutrophoros is a circular object hanging by a string that loops around a nail above, probably an aryballos, the globular vessel that carried oil for exercise at the gymnasium (a mirror has also been suggested, not out of place for a male, but there is no handle). Taken together, it seems the young Demarchos had died unmarried after winning one of the major Panhellenic contests and receiving sitesis (see S. G. Miller, The Prytaneion: Its Function and Architectural Form, 1987, 4-9), and so that the relief depicts symbols of his athletic training and the rewards of victory.

Added: 2 Jun 2025
Updated: 2 Jun 2025
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ID: AIO_3108