CsapWil 51-4 Decree of Acharnai on funding an annual sacrifice from revenue from the theatre

Decree of Acharnai on funding an annual sacrifice from revenue from the theatre

Csapo and Wilson II, 51-4 Date: ca. 325-300 BC

. . . . . . . . . the treasurer and the demarch in office shall also give them (5)for [the sacrifice] each year 20 drachmas from the money collected from the theatre; and if the theatre is [unsold? (apraton)] the demarch (10)and the treasurer in office shall give the specified amount for the sacrifice from the [common (koinēs)] budget (dioikēseōs) of the demesmen; and the secretary [with? on behalf of? (hyper)] the demesmen (15)shall inscribe this decree on a stone stele and stand it in the sanctuary of Athena Hippia; and the demarch -enes shall give them (20) 20 drachmas for inscribing the stele and account for it to the demesmen.^[1]

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Greek text

References:

Csapo and Wilson II, 51-4 (Translated text) (AIO)

IG II² 1206 (PHI)

SEG 38.123 (PHI)

SEG 57.124

SEG 63.100

Humphreys, Kinship, 1013a

Russo, Ripartizioni, D5

Translation by: Stephen Lambert

Images: Krateros - (1)

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Deme Acharnai)

Original location: Acharnai, sanctuary of Athena Hippia

Findspot: Unknown (EM 7748)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual Note AIO follows the text of Csapo and Wilson, which is itself based on IG, as amended by N. Papazarkadas, ZPE 159, 2007, 167-9 no. D3 (= SEG 57.124) and K. Takeuchi, Horos 22-25, 2010-2013 [2014], 88-9, no. 2 (= SEG 63.100). The most significant amendment post-dating IG is the restoration [ἄπρατο]ν, "unsold" in l. 9, proposed independently by Papazarkadas and Csapo. In l. 16 we also note D. Whitehead's suggestion, Demes of Attica, 1986, 140, [ὑπὲρ], "[on behalf of] the demesmen"; [μετὰ] τῶν δημοτῶν, "[with] the demesmen" IG.

This decree, which is datable only approximately by its lettering, and by the possible parallel with AIUK 4.3A, no. 1 (see below), provides for payment of 20 dr. for an (unidentified) annual sacrifice from the income of the theatre at Acharnai (Papazarkadas suggests it was the sacrifice to Dionysos mentioned in the second decree on SEG 43.26). For this theatre see the choregic dedications IG II³ 4, 500, 510, 515, with notes; for a pair of honorific decrees relating to the Dionysia at Acharnai, see SEG 43.26. On Acharnai in general see SEG 21.519. On the deme Dionysia in general see IG II³ 4, 498, with notes.

In 324/3 BC the theatre of Dionysos in the Piraeus was leased to four men under the terms of AIUK 4.3A, no. 1. Csapo and Papazarkadas posit a similar arrangement in Acharnai, and that this decree stipulated that the rent paid to the deme be used to fund an annual sacrifice, but that if the theatre was "unsold" (i.e. un-leased, l. 9), the sacrifice be funded from the deme's regular budget. This is possible, but uncertain given that the restoration "unsold" is not strictly implied by the surviving text. For reservations see W. Slater, Philologus 155, 2011, 272-91 at 277-89.

Athena Hippia was still worshipped at Acharnai in Pausanias' time (1.31.6, mentioned before Dionysos); cf. SEG 54.322, a Roman imperial dedication to Athena Hippia and Dionysos. The honorific decrees relating to the Acharnian Dionysia, SEG 43.26, were also erected in her sanctuary, and IG II² 1207 is a fragmentary decree of Acharnai, apparently honouring her priestess. The sanctuary was perhaps located at the site of the church of Agios Ioannes, ca. 150 m south of the site of the theatre, findspot also of SEG 54.322 (A. Makres; cf. D. L. Kellogg, Marathon Fighters ... Ancient Acharnai, 2013, 158-9).

For a dedication by the priest of Ares and Athena Areia at Acharnai inscribed with military oaths see RO 88, for a deme decree relating to the same cult, SEG 21.519.

Added: 19 Jul 2022
Updated: 17 Nov 2023
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