AIO 842 Soldiers stationed in Rhamnous honour their unit commanders

Soldiers stationed in Rhamnous honour their unit commanders

AIO 842 Date: 301/0 BC ?

- son of -mos of Prospalta proposed: since Philokles and Diodoros, unit commanders (chiliarchoi)^[1] appointed by Diomedes the general in charge of the countryside in the archonship of Kl[earchos?] (301/0),^[2] (5) managed well and with love of honour (philotimōs) the guarding of the fort and the general and the citizen soldiers who were stationed with them in Rhamnous, and they continued to take great care, (10) speaking and acting in their interests, showing the good will that they have for them, for good fortune, the soldiers shall decide: to praise Philokles son of Prokles of Hekale, Diodoros son of Oinostratos (15) of Anagyrous, and to crown each of them with a gold crown according to the law for their excellence and the love of honour (philotimias) that they are found to have towards both the general Diomedes and the soldiers; and those of the soldiers who are chosen (20) shall inscribe this decree on a stone stele and stand it in Rhamnous in the sanctuary of Dionysos;^[3] and for the inscription of the stele and its erection the soldiers shall give the cost ⟦ . . . ⟧ (25) ⟦ . . . ⟧ ⟦ . . . ⟧

Next - I Rhamnous 3
Greek text

References:

AIO 842 (Translated text) (AIO)

SEG 49.136

SEG 56.202 (l. 4)

SEG 51.116 (ll. 4, 6, 9, 15-16)

I Rhamnous 1 (PHI)

Oetjen, Athen im dritten Jahrhundert, nο. 26

Translation by: Sean Byrne, Chris de Lisle

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Soldiers at Rhamnous)

Original location: Rhamnous (Sanctuary of Dionysos)

Findspot: Rhamnous (Rhamnous Fortress 1025 Φ)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is one of a series of decrees in honour of the generals who had their headquarters at Rhamnous. Cf. I Rhamnous 3. Unit commanders (chiliarchoi, literally "commanders of a thousand men") were originally high-level commanders in the army of Alexander the Great. The title was subsequently used in Ptolemaic Egypt for the commanders of contingents of 1024 men (Fischer-Bovet, Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt, 2014, 134-35). This is the only attestation of the position at Athens and it seems to be linked to Macedonian control. [2] The archon's name might be restored as Klearchos (301/0 BC) or Kleomachos (255/4 BC); cf. Brun and Couvenhes, ZPE 157, 2006, 107-15 (SEG 56.202; I Rhamn. had incorrectly read Elpinos, 356/5 BC). For the dates of these archons, see M. Osborne, ZPE 171 (2009), 83-99 (SEG 59.18). However, Kleomachos seems to be precluded by IG II³ 4, 293, which names Thoukritos of Myrrhinous as the general at Rhamnous in 255/4 BC. It seems, therefore, that this inscription dates to 301/0 BC, which makes it one of the earliest pieces of evidence for Rhamnous as a military headquarters (cf. I Rhamnous 3, n. 1). [CdL] For the general of the countryside see I Rhamnous 3, n. 2. [3] The sanctuary of Dionysos Lenaios was located in Rhamnous fortress, southwest of the agora, see Petrakos, Ho Demos tou Rhamnountos, I Topographia (1999), 94, 324-26. For other dedications and decrees there, see I Rhamnous 8, 17, 58, and IG II³ 4, 292, 969, 972.

Added: 15 Sep 2017
Updated: 10 Oct 2025
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ID: AIO_842