AIO 3567 Decree of Rhamnous and Athenian residents honouring the general Archandros of Eleusis, 248/7 BC

Decree of Rhamnous and Athenian residents honouring the general Archandros of Eleusis, 248/7 BC

AIO 3567 Date: 248/7 BC or shortly after

. . . having been elected by the People^[1] [general and] . . . assigned to the coastal territory, having performed well the management . . . the territory belonging to those who farm or the countryside, while those farming ? and . . . (5) . . . of the citizens in the fort; and again in the archonship of Diomedon (248/7), when the People elected him general, in time of war,^[2] on coming to the fort, having first carried out an inspection (exetasmon), he assigned the older men among both the citizens and the metics to guard the fort (10) together with the guards, and placed the younger men among the citizens on watch (epi tēn skopēn), and despatched the paroikoi and soldiers^[3] to occupy positions in the countryside for a distance up to sixty stades^[4] and accomplished the harvesting of the arboreal crops; and he established (15) effective hidden agents (kruptous) in the most advantageous lookouts from the number of soldiers under his command, so that the grazing animals (boskēmata) and the bodies (sōmata) (i.e. slaves) might be kept safe; and when there was a shortage of grain in the fort, he took care that, of the wheat being given out in the city, some of it was conveyed to the fort (20)safely, and some of it was sold there and bought cheaply by both the guards and those citizens residing in Rhamnous; and he made advance payments of money for the rations (opsōnia) from his own resources, so that each man might be well-disciplined in his performance of the duties assigned to him, and by these means he protected (25)the territory around Rhamnous (Rhamnousian)^[5] throughout the year of his generalship, although the rest of the countryside was infested by pirates (peiratōn); and he continues to say and do what is in the interest of the People or deme, being useful to the citizens both collectively and individually; for good fortune, the Rhamnousians shall decide, and the other citizens stationed in the (30)fort, to praise Archandros son of Kallippos of Eleusis and crown him with a gold crown according to the law for the excellence and justice he continues to show the Rhamnousians and those living at Rhamnous, so that there shall be an incentive, for all those appointed generals with responsibility (35)for the fort and the countryside to behave with love of honour (philotimeisthai) in the common interest; and to inscribe this decree on a stone stele and stand it by the gate (pros tei pulei);^[6] and for inscribing the stele to elect three men who will carry out what has been decreed. The following were chosen: Lysikleides (40)son of Nikostratos of Rhamnous . . . . . .

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Greek text

References:

AIO 3567 (Translated text) (AIO)

SEG 52.127

SEG 51.107

SEG 47.151

SEG 70.61

SEG 43.72Β

I Rhamnous 407

Oetjen, Athen im dritten Jahrhundert, no. 18

Knoepfler, Trésor documentaire, 123-34, 208.3a

Translation by: Stephen Lambert

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Deme Rhamnous and Athenian residents)

Original location: Rhamnous (in front of the gate)

Findspot: Rhamnous (Rhamnous Fortress 1233 Φ)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual Note. AIO follows the text of I Rhamnous 407, except 3-5 καλῶ]ς ποιησάμενος τὴν ἐπιμέλε[ιαν | τῆς φυλακῆς διασώιζ]ων τὴν χώραν γεωργούντων καὶ σ̣ω|[- - τῶν] ἐν τῶι φρουρίωι πολιτῶν·, "carrying out well the management of the defence, protecting the territory for the farmers and . . . the citizens in the fort", Petrakos, I Rhamn.; καλῶ]ς ποιησάμενος τὴν ἐπιμέλε[ιαν | τοῦ φρουρίου αὐτὸς ἐφοδεύ]ων τὴν χώραν γεωργούντων καὶ σ̣ω|[μάτων ὑπὲρ τῶν] ἐν τῶι φρουρίωι πολιτῶν·, "carrying out well the management of the fort, ranging himself over the territory, while the slaves (literally, "bodies", cf. l. 17) also farmed on behalf of the citizens in the fort", Knoepfler, but this yields uneven line lengths.

This is the best preserved of three extant decrees honouring the general, Archandros of Eleusis. Most of the decree relates to his tenure of the coastal command at Rhamnous in 248/7 BC, but it is apparent from the first few lines of the preserved text that he had held the same post on a previous occasion. It seems this was probably 250/49 or 249/8 BC (Knoepfler), since in the years immediately before that this generalship was held by Thoukritos (honoured by I Rhamnous 10). It is unclear whether the other two decrees, I Rhamnous 27 and I Rhamnous 28, and the dedication, I Rhamnous 131, relate to 248/7 or to the honorand's earlier generalship. The text of the decree appears to be based closely on I Rhamnous 403, of ca. 20 years earlier. In 248/7 BC Archandros also contributed to the public subscription (epidosis) aimed at supporting the harvest in the face of the hostile raids by Alexander son of Krateros, IG II³ 1, 1011, 109. His father, Kallippos son of Moirokles, from a notable family of Eleusis (cf. I Eleusis 101, with notes), had been leader of the Athenian forces at the battle of Thermopylai against the Gauls in 278 BC (Paus. 1.3.5, 1.4.2, 10.20.5). On the deme Rhamnous and its inscriptions in general see I Rhamnous 182. [2] This is the war waged by Alexander son of Krateros, who led a rebellion against his uncle Antigonos Gonatas based in Corinth and Chalkis, in alliance with Aratos of Sikyon. Athens was supported by Argos in this conflict (IG II³ 1, 1019). In this context Alexander launched raids on the coast of Attica from Chalkis, cf. IG II² 1225, 12-13. [3] The wide range and variety of military units named here is noteworthy. In I Rhamnous 27 Archandros was honoured by the paroikoi, literally "those who dwell alongside", a term which seems to have designated a category of privileged non-Rhamnousians who supplied their own military unit. In I Rhamnous 28 he was honoured by "the community (koinon) of those living at Rhamnous", i.e. apparently deme members and other citizens, who commonly combined to pass honorific decrees at Rhamnous at this period. [4] 60 stades (= ca. 11 km) is interpreted by Knoepfler as the distance between the Attic border with Oropos to the north and the modern village of Kato Souli in the area of Marathon bay, cf. Paus. 1.33.2 who gives 60 stades as the distance between Rhamnous and Marathon. This is twice the distance which the general Epichares is said to have protected by comparable measures 20 years previously at the beginning of the Chremonidean War, I Rhamnous 403, 8 (30 stades). Knoepfler, 131, suggests that, insofar as it has a basis in reality, the greater extent of relevant territory on the later occasion might be due to the fact that the Attic coast was more liable to be raided at any point, whereas, on the earlier occasion, the threat was primarily a land-based one from Antigonos himself advancing from the north. However, it seems attractive to suppose that this claim was deliberately and rhetorically aimed to outdo the earlier decree, with the implication that forces under Antigonid control were more effective in protecting the "Rhamnousia" than forces that had opposed Antigonos twenty years earlier. [5] This is the first and only occurrence of the name "Rhamnousia" to designate Rhamnous and its hinterland. [6] i.e. the East Gate, the same location as I Rhamnous 10 and I Rhamnous 31. See Petrakos' note, VI p. 30.

Added: 2 Apr 2026
Updated: 2 Apr 2026
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ID: AIO_3567