Welcome to Attic Inscriptions Online (AIO), a resource structured around English translations of the inscriptions of ancient Athens and Attica.

Background

Inscriptions on stone are the most important documentary source for the history of the ancient city of Athens and its surrounding region, Attica. Dating from the 7th century BC through to the end of antiquity, Greek texts are available to scholars in Inscriptiones Graecae (IG) I (up to 403/2 BC) and II (after 403/2 BC) (website), updated annually by the Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum (SEG) (website) (access by subscription), and in the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) Greek Inscriptions website. However, before the launch of AIO, very few of the inscriptions were available in English translation, whether in print, or online.

Key features of the site

The core of the site comprises annotated English translations of Attic inscriptions. The most popular means of accessing a translation is via browse by source. If you browse by an outdated reference (e.g. an old edition of IG) you will always be led to a translation of the most up-to-date Greek text. Each translation includes a link to the Greek text translated, whether on an external site or in many cases on AIO. AIO's policy is to include our own Greek text of an inscription where no up-to-date text is available online elsewhere in open access. Every translation also includes links to any available online images of the inscription, on external open-access sites or on AIO.

You can browse by date, by findspot, by original location, by present location, by inscription type, by monument type, and by publication date on AIO.

You can also carry out a word search or an advanced search (updated Jan. 2023).

The translations are supported by two series of academic papers:
AIO Papers. These generally discuss a specific inscription or group of inscriptions on the site. AIO Papers 10 is a short guide to the use of the site, with FAQs.
AIUK Papers. Each Paper contains a volume of Attic Inscriptions in UK Collections (AIUK).

Attic Inscriptions Education (AIE) contains resources facilitating the use of Attic inscriptions for teachers and students at pre-University level.

You might also be interested in the AIO Youtube channel, which contains videos about individual inscriptions or groups of inscriptions, mostly in UK Collections.