AIO 3522 Lease of two agricultural estates by the deme Rhamnous, 339/8 BC

Lease of two agricultural estates by the deme Rhamnous, 339/8 BC

AIO 3522 Date: 339/8 BC

Gods. Fortune.^[1] Of her (i.e. the goddess Nemesis) in Hermos.^[2] On the following terms the demesmen of the section (merous)^[3] of Archippos and Stesias^[4] lease the precinct (temenos) of (5)the goddess in Hermos, which Hierokles^[5] previously farmed, which the estate of Hierophon^[6] neighbours to the north; and the lessee shall farm as follows, tilling the land in alternate years, (planting) the space between the rows (metorchia) with wheat and barley, and half of the half (tēs d'hēmiseas tēn hēmisean) with pulses, (10) and the remaining land he will immediately leave fallow;^[7] and the term of the lease for which he will farm will be ten years; and the lease begins in the next archonship after the archonship of Lysimachides (339/8 BC); and he will pay the rent to the [meeting] in the month of Posideon (15) on the day of the Assemblies (agorais); and he will dig the vines twice each year, in one year raising them up at the base, in the other digging them out around the base; and he will treat the other cultivated trees in the same way; and he will stake the vines, the new ones before they (20)develop, the old ones whenever he wishes; and the lessee will inhabit the house on this precinct and will hand it over when he departs from the precinct, roofed and in good condition, as he took it over; he will leave all the chaff that is produced (25)on the estate and the dung and all the stakes which he may use; and he will plant the plants in rows, not omitting the fig trees; and he will plant twelve new plants each year, and will plant as many olives (30)as the lessors require of him; . . . [wheat?] . . . feet . . . he will - the . . . . . . if any- . . . . . . use the - . . . . . . Uninscribed space (35)Heading^[8] On the following terms the demesmen of the section (merous) of Archippos and Stesias lease the precinct of the goddess . . . and the garden; and the lessee will farm as follows, tilling the land in alternate years, (40)(planting) the space between the rows with wheat and barley, and half of the half (tēs d'hēmiseas tēn hēmisean) with pulses, and the remaining land he will immediately leave fallow; and the term of the lease for which he will farm will be ten years; and the lease begins in the next archonship: that of [Chairondas (338/7 BC)]; and he will pay the rent to the (45)[meeting] in the month of Posideon on the day of the Assemblies (agorais); he will dig the vines twice each year, in one year raising them up at the base, in the other digging them out around the base; and he will treat all the other cultivated trees in the same way; and he will stake the (50)vines, the new ones before they develop, the old ones whenever he wishes; and the lessee will inhabit the house on the precinct and will hand it over when he departs from the precinct, roofed and in good condition, as he took it over; he will leave all the chaff (55)that is produced on the estate and the dung and all the stakes which he may use when he departs; and he will plant the plants in rows, not omitting the fig trees; and he will plant twelve new plants each year, and will plant as many olives (60)as the lessors require of him; . . . [wheat?] . . . . . . feet . . . he will - the . . . . . . if any- . . . . . . may use? . . . 4 lines preserving no complete word . . . but if any- . . . . . . from the land . . . (70) . . . and he will put up security . . . cultivate the garden . . . flowing from the spring . . . preventing no-one from watering . . . provide the trees (75) . . . fruit trees; but if not . . . . . . tree to thrive . . . not to [uproot?] the old [figs and olives] in the precinct . . . and not - another tree . . . when he departs from the (80)[precinct he will leave] half the garden uncultivated, and [the other half he will sow] with celery and cabbage . . . Uninscribed space The sacred remembrancers (hieromnēmonas) shall . . . from the - . . . every year . . . sacred. (85)[On the six]teenth [of Thargelion] for Apollo Lykeios . . . in the [enclosure] of Apollo . . . for Zeus Herkeios Uninscribed space . . . for Artemis or Themis . . . for - Uninscribed space (90)[Lessee(s):?] . . . son of -nos of Oa. Uninscribed space

Previous - SEG 69.113
Greek text

References:

AIO 3522 (Translated text) (AIO)

IG II² 2494 (PHI)

IG II² 2493 (PHI)

SEG 61.154

SEG 54.239

SEG 13.61 (PHI)

SEG 70.86

Jameson, Leasing , 66-74

R. Osborne, The demos and its divisions, no. 9

I Rhamnous 180 (PHI)

I Rhamnous 512

Papazarkadas, Sacred and Public Land, 142-7

Pernin, Baux ruraux 12

Humphreys, Kinship, 1161-2

Russo, Ripartizioni, D84

Translation by: Stephen Lambert

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Lease (deme Rhamnous), Sacrificial calendar (deme Rhamnous)

Findspot: Rhamnous (EM 4219+4219a+4219b)
Findspot: Rhamnous (Rhamnous Nemesion 55 + 438 N)
Findspot: Rhamnous (EM 4225)
Findspot: Rhamnous (Rhamnous Nemesion 38+209+445+511 N)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual Note. Except as noted below, AIO follows the most recent text of Petrakos (I Rhamnous 512 = SEG 70.86), who credits Jameson with the restorations of ll. 39-63. 2 The more usual spelling of Ἥρμηι is Ἥρμει | 14 σ̣[ύλλογ]ον, 44-5 [σ|ύλλογον] ("meeting", "congregation") N. Papazarkadas, ZPE 149, 2004, 70 (SEG 54.239), cf. IG II² 1254, 18-23. | 14-15 τῖς = ταῖς | 35 τῶν] ἀρχείων ? | 60 π̣υρού[ς AIO (cf. 30), γύρου[ς ("curved") I Rham. 512 | 72-4 [- - χρήσεται δὲ τῶι ὕδατι τῶι] ῥέοντι ἀπὸ τῆς κ[ρ|ήνης ὅτι ἂν βούληται, ἕτερον οὐδέ]να κωλύων ἀρδεύε[ι|ν τῶι ὕδατι τὸ ἴδιον χωρίον, "[he will use the water] flowing from the spring [as much as he wishes, not] preventing anyone else from watering [their own estate with the water]", Wilhelm, Gr. Insch. Recht. Inhalts 72 (SEG 13.61) | 82-3 [θύειν τοὺς ἱερομνή]μονας ἐκ τῶν [μισ|θώσεων τῶν τεμενῶν] ("the sacred remembrancers [shall sacrifice] from the [rents from the precincts]") Papazarkadas, Sacred and Public Land, 142-7 (SEG 61.154). | 81 The usual spelling of "celery" is σελίνωι | 90 [μισθωτ?- - - -]νου Ὀα̣εύς AIO (SDL), [- - -]νου ΟΔΕΥΣ I Rham. 512.

Fragments of this lease of two agricultural estates of "the goddess" (i.e. Nemesis) by a section of the deme Rhamnous have been known for a long time, but a complete text of all 17 fragments, owing much to the work of Michael Jameson, has only recently (2020) been published as I Rhamnous 512. The first lease, of an estate in Hermos, occupies ll. 3-34; the second, contemporary with the first, of an estate and garden apparently also in Hermos, occupies ll. 35-81. Ll. 82-87 and it seems 88-9 contain a brief sacrificial calendar which most likely provided for the rents of the two estates to be used to fund specific sacrifices to several different deities (on this see Papazarkadas, Land). L. 90 appears to conclude with a personal name, perhaps of the lessee(s?). The agricultural provisions of both leases are substantially the same, but the second includes additional provisions relating to a garden. For the deme Rhamnous and its inscriptions see IG I³ 248 with notes; for inscribed Attic leases IG I³ 84 with notes. [2] "The goddess" is not named in this inscription, but in Rhamnous is identifiable as the principal goddess of the deme, Nemesis. There was a deme Hermos in the city trittys of Akamantis and a precinct (temenos) in Hermos belonging to Athena Polias is recorded as being leased together with other properties in the area of the city (on the Ilissos and at Alopeke) at Agora XIX L6, 65-6. The Hermos of this inscription appears to be a different Attic place of this name in the area of Rhamnous (Jameson, 69). Petrakos (note on IRhamn. 512, p. 111) reports that Jameson raised the possibility per ep. that the garden in the second lease was located at Selki, a place close to Rhamnous which has a water spring (ll. 72-73). [3] "Sections" (merē) are also attested in the demes Kytherros (where 8 "section members", meritai, are named as responsible for leasing a property, IG II² 2496, 3-8) and Athmonon, where six "section leaders", merarchai, are honoured in IG II² 1203. On the character of these groups see the notes to those inscriptions. In the 5th century BC in IG I³ 248, the deme Rhamnous is recorded as lending money belonging to Nemesis. It seems that this deme made its capital productive for funding its collective expenses both by leasing its landed properties and by loans, albeit that these methods are attested a century apart. For loans and property rentals as major sources of deme income cf. IG I³ 258 (Plotheia). [4] Of the section leaders, Stesias is not otherwise known; Archippos is probably identifiable with or related to the Archippos of Rhamnous who was eponymous archon under the oligarchy in 318/7 BC. [5] The previous tenant, Hierokles, was member of a Rhamnousian family well attested from its funerary monuments. Cf. S. Byrne, Athenian Onomasticon, sv. Hierokles. [6] The Hierophon who owned a neighbouring property is probably identifiable as the Hierophon who was father of a Theophanes of Rhamnous. [7] These lines are not easy to interpret without knowledge of the property, but the sense seems to be that half of the land between the rows (scil. of vines and perhaps figs and olives) is initially to be left fallow, and the rest planted with wheat and barley, and half of it ("half of the half") with pulses. In the following year it is implied that the land left fallow in the first year is to be planted similarly with wheat, barley and pulses, and the land that had been cultivated in the first year left fallow. [8] This line (35) contained a heading for the second lease in larger letters ([- - -]archeiōn), perhaps a description of the property with respect to the archeia, "official buildings", "headquarters" or possibly even "archives". Cf. Jameson, 69 n. 13.

Added: 2 Apr 2026
Updated: 2 Apr 2026
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ID: AIO_3522