IGII34 849-851 Poem on the duties of a doctor

Poem on the duties of a doctor

IG II³ 4 849-851 Date: c. 94 AD (A, II-V), c. 150 AD (A, I & VI), c. 205 AD (B-C)

Face A (IG II3 4, 849)

Inscription I On pediment (This statue of) [Sarapion] of Cholleidai . . . ^[1] . . . stoic philosopher . . . Quintus Statius [Sarapion] of Cholleidai, fire-bearer from the Acropolis, priest [for life of the Saviour] God^[2] dedicated (this statue of) his own grandfather (5) and inscribed his [paian for the god], in accordance with a memorandum (hupomnēmatismon) of the Areopagites. Inscription II Le[ontis was victorious in the men’s competition, Annius Pythod]oros was archon (c. 94 AD), [Julius Antiochos Philopappos was sponsor (echorēgei)],^[3] [Sarapion son of Sarapion of Cholleidai was director (edidasken)]. Inscription III (10) . . . . . . prizes and . . . . . . man-fighters . . . uninscribed space Inscription IV The duties of a doctor are the following: first he must take up the Paionian arts^[4] and heal his own mind before giving assistance to anyone, (15) and he must not examine or touch anyone in a manner contrary to divine laws (thesma) and the oath. He should cure with professional skill (aretai) and practice (ēthesi), and not be disarmed (ateuchēs) by young women and lovely wives, when he touches them as a helper and his breast becomes warm with desire [far from a true] doctor. Therefore, I declare to the godly minded (theophrosin) and the pure (abebalois) (20) . . . and . . . healers . . . and not quickly forget the sacred rites (orgia) . . . these things truly help . . . . . . child . . . Again, the art to become with respect to his [judgement] such a man as to be like a god, saviour (25) equally of slaves, of poor and rich, of lords (anaktōn), and such as to give assistance to all like a brother, for we are all kin. So, he would not hate anyone, nor would he conceal envy in his mind or increase his pretensions. . . . not . . . (30) . . . of health but . . . art . . . heart. uninscribed space Inscription V The manager of the city (epimelēteuontos tēs poleōs) [for life being Titus Copo]nius Maximus [of Hagnous . . . ] uninscribed space (35) The temple attendant being (zakoreuontos) . . . ^[6] uninscribed space Inscription VI very divine . . . paian . . . my . . . come . . . (40) . . .

Fragment f

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Fragment g

(45) . . . . . . . . .

Face B (IG II3 4, 850)

traces of a crown With good fortune,^[7] in the archonship of Munatius Themison of Azenia (c. 205 AD), in the priesthood for life of Fl[avius O]nesikrates of [Diomeia] , the temple attendant (zakoreuontos) being [Eukarpides] son of Ekpa[glos] of Berenikidai, (5) the key-holder (kleidouchontos) being . . . the younger, the basket-bearer (kanephorousēs) being . . . The sub- . . . and the inscribed the paian [for Koronis and] Asklepios (10) and the paianists.

col. 1

Erechtheis^I [The priest] Bouzyges [Gaius Memmi]us Ptolemaios -us Krateros . . . . . . (15) Priest . . . [Aigeis^II] Flavius – Flavius – Flavius – (20) Flavius – Py- uncertain number of lines lost

col. 2

Ptolemais^V Onesimos (son of Onesimos) of Kydantidai Eutychides (son of Eutychides) of Phlya uncertain number of lines lost Akamantis^VI . . . [Euodos also called] Zosimos [Skymnos] son of Straton^[8] (30) -on son of Diophantos Hadrianis^VII Avienius Ce[realius] several lines lost (33) . . . of – . . . of – (35) . . . . . . . . . . . . -os priest of Hephaistos (40) . . . . . . . . . - of Marathon . . . (45) Phirmos . . .

(47) . . . Fire-bearer from the Acropolis Licinius Firmus, (50) Guide (periēgētēs) and priest of Zeus Polieus Licinnius Firmus.^[9]

Fragment p'

(52) -s son of Dionys- [Corne]lius Epityn[chanon] c. 9 lines uninscribed space (63) . . .

Fragment q'

. . . ^[10] (65) . . . uninscribed space . . . being uninscribed space . . . safe . . . paternal . . . beautiful possession (70) . . . uninscribed space

Face C (IG II3 4, 851)

Sophokles’ paian^[11] [O Phlegyas’] girl, wide-famed mother of the pain-averting god . . . one with uncut hair, with you I begin a hymn with a raised shout . . . to the well . . . shout (5) . . . mixed with pipes . . . helper of the Kekropidai^[12] . . . may you come . . . the golden-haired one . . . him . . . . . . (10) . . . . . . Olympian . . . 6 lines uninscribed . . . more . . . uninscribed space

Fragment o'

. . . . . . (20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (25) . . . . . .

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References:

IG II³ 4 849-851 (Translated text) (IG Online) (IG Online) (IG Online)

IG II² 2012 (PHI)

IG II² 2158 (PHI)

IG II² 3563 (PHI)

IG II² 4510 (PHI)

IG II² 2000 (PHI)

IG II² 4544 (PHI)

IG II² 3631 (PHI)

IG II² 3796 (PHI)

IG II² 1948 (PHI)

SEG 28.225 (PHI)

SEG 39.209a-d (PHI)

Furley and Bremer, Greek Hymns 7.3

Samama, Médecins 22

Agora XVIII 576

Agora XVIII 377

Agora XVIII 122

Agora XVIII 187

Translation by: Feyo Schuddeboom, Chris de Lisle

Images: Agora Excavations - (1)

Monument type: Base (Choregic)

Inscription type: Dedication (private, Asklepios), Dedication (public, choregic), Metrical (dactylic), metrical (elegaic couplets), Catalogue (Paianistai)

Fr. a - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 12469)
Fr. a' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4587)
Fr. b - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8350)
Fr. b' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8253)
Fr. c - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8336)
Fr. c' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9820)
Fr. d - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8337)
Fr. d' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4579)
Fr. e - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4589)
Fr. e' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8335)
Fr. f - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8251)
Fr. f' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8343)
Fr. g - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4580)
Fr. g' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8347)
Fr. h - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4578)
Fr. h' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9646)
Fr. i - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9844)
Fr. i' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8321)
Fr. j - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4581)
Fr. j' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8517)
Fr. k - Findspot: Athens (EM 5840)
Fr. k' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4592)
Fr. l - Findspot: Agora (Ag. I 103)
Fr. l' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 12875)
Fr. m - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4583)
Fr. m' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9658)
Fr. n - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8338)
Fr. n' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9589)
Fr. o - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8344)
Fr. o' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9660)
Fr. p - Findspot: Acropolis (North slope) (EM 12752)
Fr. p' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 12833)
Fr. q - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4582)
Fr. q' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 3693+3694)
Fr. r - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8348)
Fr. r' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9528)
Fr. s - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8341)
Fr. s' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9532)
Fr. t - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8252)
Fr. t' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 9531)
Fr. u - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8346)
Fr. u' - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM)
Fr. v - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 2995)
Fr. w - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8340)
Fr. x - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8345)
Fr. y - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 8342)
Fr. z - Findspot: Asklepieion (EM 4590)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual note: The text follows that of IG II³, except that the cognomen in A l. 3 and the demotic in B l. 3 are restored following Byrne, Athenian Onomasticon

This complex set of inscriptions were inscribed on a three-sided marble tripod base known as the Sarapion monument, which stood in the Asklepieion on the south slope of the Acropolis, probably in the eastern part of the sanctuary which bordered on the Theatre of Dionysos. It has been painstakingly reconstructed from 48 fragments. Face A (the front of the monument) contains: I. a preamble (ll. 1-6), II. a choregic text (ll. 7-9), II. an epigram celebrating the choregic victory (ll. 10-12), IV. a poem on the duties of a physician (ll. 14-32), V. dating formulae (ll. 33-35), and VI. a paian (a type of choral hymn, ll. 36-40). Face B (the right side) contains a list of paianistai (singers of paians). Face C (the left side) presents a paian by the tragedian Sophokles. These texts were inscribed in three stages. The monument was originally designed to hold a bronze victory tripod for a choregic victory (On choregic dedications in the Roman period, see IG II³ 4, 558). Only the choregic dedication, epigram, poem on doctoring, and dating formulae (Face A, II-V) belong to this original moment. They were probably inscribed by Sarapion son of Sarapion of Cholleidai, a stoic philosopher originally from Hierapolis in Syria, whose victory is mentioned by his friend Plutarch (Quaest. conv. 628a-b, cf. C. P. Jones, Phoenix 32, 1978, 228-31, but see Aleshire, Asklepios at Athens, 1991, 55-56). This apparently occurred in the archonship of Annius Pythodoros (87/8 or 91/2 AD per S. Follet in A. Billault, Mélanges en l'honeur de J. Bompaire, 2001, 89; c. 94 AD per Byrne, Roman Citizens, 56). Another poem by Sarapion is preserved in Stobaeus 3.10.2. Around 150 AD, the base was reworked into an honorary monument for Sarapion by his grandson, Quintus Statius Sarapion, who took advantage of his control of the sanctuary to add the preamble and his own paian (Face A, I and VI), and placed a statue of his grandfather on top of the monument in place of the tripod or on another lost base nearby. He also appears as temple attendant (zakoros) of the Asklepieion in IG II² 3804 and 3805. On the family, see IG II² 3704 with notes. The list of paianists (singers of paians) on Face B and the paian by Sophokles (which they had sung?) on Face C, were added in the archonship of Munatius Themison (c. 205 AD, see Byrne, Roman Citizens, 510). On the Asklepieion and its inscriptions, see IG II³ 4, 665 with notes. [2] The Saviour God is Asklepios. [3] For Philopappos, heir to the kingdom of Kommagene, archon and agonothetes of the Dionysia ca. 93 AD, see IG II³ 4, 559 with notes. [4] The poem (IV, ll. 13-32) deals with the duties of the doctor in dactylic hexameters. The 'Paionian arts' (l. 13) are medicine. Paian or Paion, who is a distinct deity in Homer and Hesiod, but later identified with Apollo, was the healer of the gods. The idea that the doctor should first heal himself (l. 14) was proverbial (cf. Gospel of Luke 4.23; P. Maas, Bulletin of the History of Medicine 7, 1939, 321-322). On the close relationship between doctors and the cult of Asklepios, see IG II³ 1, 914 with notes. [5] Maas links ll. 16-18 to the Hippocratic Oath: "be beyond all intentional injustice and harm, especially sexual acts against female bodies and male." [6] Titus Coponius Maximus of Hagnous was manager of the city (epimeletes tes poleos) between ca. 83/4 and 101/2 (see IG II³ 1072). On the temple attendant (zakoros), see IG II³ 4, 794. [7] The list of paianistai on face B is inscribed within a line-drawing of an aedicula, with a wreath in its pediment. Several of these paianistai – Ptolemaios (l. 13), Onesimos (l. 23), Eutychides (l. 24), Skymnos (l. 29), and Cerealius (l. 32) – also appear in SEG 39.194, another list of painistai from the early third century AD. The priest Flavius Onesikrates (l. 3) also appears in IG II² 3685, 3981, IG II³ 4, 859. The temple attendant (zakoros), Eukarpides (l. 4), was superintendent of the ephebes in 223/4 AD (IG II² 2224 + SEG 21.626). For the keyholder and fire-bearer (kleidouchos kai pyrphoros, l. 5), see SEG 18.26 with notes. On the basket-bearer (kanephoros, l. 6), see IG II³ 4, 770 with notes. [8] Skymnos of Sphettos is also attested in the Council, as chairman of the prytany of Akamantis, an expensive role (Agora XV 441, ll. 5-8). [9] Licinius Firmus the firebearer of the Acropolis and Licinius Firmus the guide and priest of Zeus Polieus are father and son. They are also the subjects of Anth. Pal. 16.322: "Firmus (dedicated a statue of) me, Firmus; firebearer for firebearer; a son and rhetor for a father and rhetor," presumably copied from a now lost statue base. [10] Fragment q' gives part of a hymn, perhaps an elegiac couplet (Hallof in IG II³ 4). It might have been located below the catalogue on face B or it might derive from a different monument. [11] Sophokles was said to have aided in the introduction of the cult of Asklepios to Athens in the late 5^th century BC (Plutarch, Life of Numa 3), although he is not mentioned in IG II³ 4, 665. Sophokles' hymn was well-known in the Imperial period (Philostratos, Life of Apollonios 3.17.2; Imagines 13.4; [Luc.], Demosthenes 27). If authentic, it might have been written to celebrate this advent. It is perhaps related to the ‘Erythraian hymn’ (on which, see IG II³ 4, 777 with notes). ‘Phlegyas’ girl’ is Koronis, mother of Asklepios (whose father was Phlegyas, king of the Lapiths). ‘With uncut hair’ is an epithet of Apollo, Asklepios’ father. [12] Kekropidai is a poetic term for the Athenians.

Added: 12 Sep 2015
Updated: 14 May 2025
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