AIO 806 Decree for Dionysios I of Syracuse, 369/8 BC

Decree for Dionysios I of Syracuse, 369/8 BC

AIO 806 Date: 369/8 BC

In the archonship of Lysistratos (369/8). In the tenth prytany, of Erechtheis^I, for which Exekestos son of Paionides of Azenia was secretary. Of the presiding committee (proedrōn) Euangelos of - (5) was putting to the vote. [The Council and the People decided.]^[1]

col. 1

Crown

col. 2

Crown

Pandios proposed: concerning what the ambassadors (presbeis) who have come from Dionysios say, the Council shall decide: concerning the letter (grammatōn) which Dionysios sent about the building (10) of the temple and the Peace, the allies shall present a decision (dogma) to the People, whatever, on consideration of the matter (bouleuomenois), seems best to them.^[2] And the presiding committee (proedrous) shall introduce the ambassadors (presbeis) to the People at the next Assembly (ekklēsian), (15) inviting the allies also, and shall put their [statement (peri hōn legousin)] on the agenda, and submit the opinion of the Council to the People, that it seems good to the Council, to praise Dionysios the ruler (archonta) of (20) Sicily and the sons of Dionysios, Dionysios and Hermokritos, because they are good men with regard to the People of Athens and the allies, and they support the King's Peace, which the Athenians and (25) Spartans and the other Greeks made. And to Dionysios send the crown which the People voted him;^[3] and crown the sons of Dionysios, each with a gold crown of a thousand drachmas, (30) for their manly virtue (andragathias) [and friendship]; and Dionysios and his sons shall be Athenians, themselves and their descendants, and shall be of whichever tribe (phulēs) and deme (dēmou) and phratry (phratrias) they wish. The prytany (prutaneis) of Erechtheis^I shall (35) put to the Assembly (ekklēsiai) the vote about their citizenship;^[4] and they shall have access to the Council and the People first after the sacred business. The generals and the prytany (prutaneis) shall arrange (40) that these things happen. The secretary of the Council shall inscribe this decree . . . . . .

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Greek text

References:

AIO 806 (Translated text) (AIO)

IG II² 103 (PHI)

Syll.³ 159

Osborne, Naturalization, D10 (ll. 35-6, 41-2)

RO 33 (l. 5)

IALD II 147 no. 13

Translation by: Stephen Lambert, P. J. Rhodes

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree ([Council and People])

Findspot: Athens (EM 7363)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] 25 years earlier, following the battle of Knidos, Athens had passed RO 10 in Dionysios' favour, in the context of an (at least in part successful) attempt to persuade him to refrain from supporting Sparta in the Corinthian war. In the late 370s and early 360s, however, Dionysios was again an active Spartan ally, sending ships to Corcyra in 372 which were defeated by Athens (Xen. Hell. 6.2.33-36, Diod. 15.47.7) and, after Athens and Sparta had become allies in the aftermath of Sparta's defeat by Thebes in 371 (in 369, cf. RO 31 with notes) sending soldiers to fight in the Peloponnese in the early 360s (Xen. Hell. 7.1, Diod. 15.70.1). Now that Sparta, Athens, and Dionysios were on the same side, the way was once again open to constructive diplomacy between Athens and Dionysios. [2] An embassy has arrived at Athens with a letter from Dionysios, archon of Sicily (l. 19, translated here "ruler", archon can also be translated "governor" or "(chief) official"). The Council decides to deal with the response in two parts: in ll. 8-13 they refer the question of "the building of the temple and the Peace" to the allied Council (synedrion) to formulate a view and put it to the Assembly (note that the Athenian Assembly has the final decision). The temple referred to is the temple of Apollo at Delphi, which had been damaged by fire or earthquake in 373/2 and which an initiative was underway to rebuild (see RO 45 for the arrangements that were eventually made). "The Peace" is the King's Peace (spelled out, 23-26). What exactly Dionysios was proposing on this subject is unstated. It has been speculated that the issue referred to the allies was whether Dionysios should be invited to become a member of the Second Athenian League (which was made under the King's Peace, RO 22), but that is uncertain and RO 34, if correctly dated to the following year, shows that the eventual alliance was a bilateral one between Dionysios and Athens, not the League. Ll. 13 ff. deal with matters which the Council decides can be put directly to the Assembly, without formal consultation of the allied Council, though its members are invited to be present (15): presentation of the ambassadors from Dionysios; praise of Dionysios and his sons (19-26); sending to Dionysios of a crown voted him (to which vote the present embassy from Dionysios is apparently a response, 26-27); crowning of Dionysios' sons (27-30); and the substantive privilege of the Athenian citizenship (together with privileged access, 31-40). [3] It is rarely stated in decrees exactly what is to be done with crowns awarded to honorands. It seems to have been up to the honorand. Here the crown is to be sent to Dionysios (presumably at his request, communicated by his letter). Contrast RO 64, ll. 33-39, where the honorands opt to leave the crowns in Athens and have them dedicated to Athena Polias. [4] This is the earliest surviving citizenship grant which includes the requirement for a second Assembly vote (for which a quorum of 6,000 was required, voting in secret ballot ([Dem.] 59.89-90). The innovation (perhaps made in or soon after 385/4, Osborne, Nat. iii-iv, 161-64) reflects the seriousness with which such grants were treated and was patently designed to ensure that they had genuinely broad support among the citizens.

Added: 29 Jul 2014
Updated: 17 Feb 2019
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ID: AIO_806