IGII34 969 Dedication to Dionysos at Rhamnous

Dedication to Dionysos at Rhamnous

IG II³ 4 969 Date: 4th century BC

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References:

IG II³ 4 969 (Translated text) (IG Online)

IG II² 2849 (PHI)

SEG 40.197 (PHI)

I Rhamnous 82 (PHI)

Csapo and Wilson II, 238-240

Russo, Ripartizioni, D120

Translation by: Stephen Lambert, Liubov Eliseeva

Monument type: Throne

Inscription type: Dedication (private, priest of the Founder Hero), Dedication (Dionysos)

Findspot: Rhamnous, theatre (Rhamnous Fortress 1695, 1696, 1697 Φ)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual note: In l. 2, P. Eustratiades (SEG 40, 197) suggested "having become the priest of the Founder Hero and having been crowned" ([γενόμενος] καὶ στεφανωθείς).

Rhamnous on the north-eastern frontier of Attica has a similar profile to Eleusis on the north-western frontier (on which see I Eleusis 68, with notes). Both were locations of garrisons which impact significantly on the epigraphical record in the period between the ephebic reform of ca. 335 BC, through the 3rd century BC and beyond. Both demes were also locations of significant cults, the Mysteries in the case of Eleusis, the cult of Nemesis in the case of Rhamnous (on the latter and on the deme Rhamnous in general see IG I³ 248 with notes).

This two-line inscription was placed on five marble seats (in the translation, the breaks in the text between each throne are marked with the vertical pipe symbol), comprising a row of preferential allocated seats (proedria) in the theatre at Rhamnous. They were found in situ on a marble base and are thus the clearest evidence for the site of the theatre. The first and fifth throne are lost, but it is possible that I Rhamnous 83 and 84 are fragments from them. There are slots at the far ends of the base which may be for a sunshade or for further seats. The priest of the deme's founder hero dedicated this set of seats to Dionysos after being honoured by the Athenian Council, demesmen and soldiers. For more details see B. Petrakos, Ὁ Δῆμος τοῦ Ραμνοῦντος. I. Τοπογραφία, 1999, 89–94; Csapo and Wilson, pp. 234-45. IG II³ 4, 514 is another set of preferential seating from the same theatre. IG II³ 4, 292 and 972 are further dedications to Dionysos from the sanctuary in the area. Relevant decrees are I Rhamn. 15, 19, 50 and 58. Decrees of the deme and other bodies might be set up "in the sanctuary of Dionysos" (I Rhamn. 1, 8). I Rhamn. 19 was set up "in the theatre" (as perhaps was I Rhamn. 55); I Rhamn. 17 in the precinct (temenos) of Dionysos and a decree of Athenians of the Rhamnous garrison dating to 267/6 BC in the temenos (precinct) of an unknown deity, very possibly Dionysos, I Rhamn. 404, 38-9. On the Rural Dionysia in general see IG II³ 4, 498.

Ceramic evidence suggests Dionysos' cult took place at Rhamnous already by the mid-6th century and theatrical performances possibly by the early 5th century BC (see Csapo and Wilson, 234; Petrakos, 1999, I 324, 326). Some have argued that the Dionysia at Rhamnous may have been celebrated specifically, and uniquely in a deme, in honour of Dionysos Lenaios, who is the recipient of IG II³ 4, 292 (see e.g. Petrakos 1999, I 324, and M. Tiverios, in K. Kalogeropoulos et al. eds. Sidelights on Greek Antiquity.... Essays .... Petrakos, 2021, 359-81). This raises the possibility that at Rhamnous the Dionysia took place at the same time as the City Lenaia in Gamelion, rather than as in other demes in the preceding month, Posideon. K. Takeuchi, however, points out per email that there are arguably other instances of a Dionysos distinct from the Dionysos of the deme Dionysia bearing an epithet in demes, e.g. perhaps Dionysos Anthios in Aixone (CGRN 57). Csapo and Wilson II, 234-35 prudently leave the matter open. [2] Cults of an eponymous hero are attested in many Attic demes; for more details on this matter see, for example, B. Steinbock in K.P. Hofmann, R. Bernbeck, U. Sommer, Between Memory Sites and Memory Networks (2017), 104–110. This founder hero is also mentioned in IG I³ 1019. F. Kolb connected the cult of Dionysos Lenaios with the cult of the founder hero of Rhamnous (Agora und Theater, Volks- und Festversammlung, 1981, 66–73).

Added: 15 May 2025
Updated: 22 Jul 2025
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