IGI3 794 Dedication by the washerwoman Smikythe

Dedication by the washerwoman Smikythe

IG I³ 794 Date: ca. 490-480 BC

Smikythe the washerwoman (pluntria) dedicated this as a tithe.^[1]

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References:

IG I³ 794 (Translated text) (IG Online) (PHI)

Raubitschek, Dedications 380 (PHI)

Translation by: Edmund Stewart

Images: Acropolis Museum - (1)

Monument type: Basin

Inscription type: Dedication (private)

Original location: Acropolis

Findspot: Acropolis (Acropolis Museum 607)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This inscription appears on the capital of a small column, which would have formed the base for a water basin (perirrhanterion). Such objects, similar in appearance to today’s bird baths, were generally placed outside sanctuaries for the purpose of ritual purification (for other perirrhanteria, see Browse by monument type: Basin). A hole has been excavated at the top of the column, into which the basin would have been slotted (largely obscuring the inscription). It was a particularly appropriate offering given Smikythe’s profession. It has been supposed that such a dedication may have involved a not inconsiderable expense for a washerwoman (see T. Jim, Sharing with the Gods, 2014, 172-3; H. Hochscheid, in E. Stewart, E. M. Harris and D. M. Lewis, Skilled Labour and Professionalism in Ancient Greece and Rome, 2020, 219-21). On the other hand, this pedestal is of relatively cheap poros and it is not impossible that workers such as Smikythe would have been able to generate over time sufficient surplus income. Ultimately, the dedicators on the Acropolis were of a wide range of social and economic backgrounds, including both men and women.

Smikythe may be identical with the homonymous dedicator of IG I³ 574 and 700. The similar occupational term of plyneus (launderer) is attested in Attica on an early fourth-century grave marker (IG II² 12372) and also on a mid-fourth-century dedication to the nymphs by a possible ‘association’ of launderers, who perhaps had a ritual function associated with the Plynteria festival (IG II³ 4, 635). Based on the testimony of both these inscriptions, we may conclude that work in a laundry was deemed a suitable occupation for both men and women. On dedications including occupational titles, see IG I³ 546 and on dedications by working women, see T. Jim, Sharing with the Gods 2014, 138-41. On working women in general, see recently M.-L. Sronek, Archimède 2018, 5, 134-44.

Added: 19 Aug 2025
Updated: 19 Aug 2025
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ID: AIO_3446