FDIII2 24 + Add. pp. 289–290 List of ephebes participating in the second Hellenistic <i>Pythais</i> at Delphi, 128/7 BC

List of ephebes participating in the second Hellenistic Pythais at Delphi, 128/7 BC

F.Delphes III 2 24 + Add. pp. 289–290 Date: 128/7 BC

God. Good Fortune.^[1] Those who were ephebes (ephēbeusantes) in the archonship of Dionysios after Lykiskos in Athens (128/7), when the priest of Apollo was Eumelos son of Noumenios of Athens,^[2] when the hoplite general was Theophrastos son of Herakleitos of Acharnai, and in charge of the fleet was Hipparchos son of Timokles (5)of Piraeus, and in charge of the cavalry was Diokles son of Diokles of Athens, and the tribal cavalry commanders (phularchountōn) were Hermon son of Dionysios, but by birth son of Antiphon of Athens,^[3] Hagias son of Boulon of Athens, Charikles son of Theodoros of Athens, Xenokles son of Demetrios of Athens, and (the general) in charge of Piraeus was Pyrrhinos son of Athenagoras of Kydantidai, (the general) in charge of Eleusis was Epiphanes son of Hippakos of Lamptrai,^[4] the interpreter chosen by the Pythian oracle (exēgētou puthochrēstou) was Ophelas son of Habron of Bate,^[5] and the superintendent (kosmētou) was Apollonios (10) son of Apollonios of Sounion, (the ephebes) having led the Pythais with their teachers,^[6] the trainer (paidotribou) Nikon son of Alexis of Berytos, the weapons trainer (hoplomachou) Sodates son of Soteles of Soloi, the javelin trainer (akontistou) Nikandros son of Demetrios of Euonymon, the archery trainer (toxotou) Pystilos son of Nikis of Oe, the secretary Tharrhinos son of Tharrhikos of Lamptrai, the attendant (hupēretou) Hieron son of Herakleides of Anagyrous, the deputy weapons trainer (hupooplomarchou) Artemidoros son of Neon (15)of Tarsos, (the ephebes made) a thank-offering (charistērion) to Apollo. The Tarantine cavalry commanders (tarantinarchountōn) were Diogenes son of Aropos (and) Lyson son of Demokrates,^[7] (ephebes) of the Athenians:

col. 1

Tharsytas son of Menedemos Chares son of Chares^[8] (20)Kephisodoros son of Demetrios^[9] Pythilas son of Apollonios Philon son of Philon Aristonikos son of Lysimachos Hestiaios son of Philokrates (25)Demetrios son of Zenon Diophantos son of Demetrios Miltiades son of Miltiades Dioskourides son of Dionysios Diodotos son of Herakleides (30)Dioskourides son of Aristokles Kleomenes son of Theodoros Telesias son of Timomachos Asklepiodotos son of Iason uninscribed space . . . ^[10] (35)-os son of Diognetos Okymenes son of Okymenes Pyrrhos son of Demokleides Plistias son of Dionysios Diogenes son of Diogenes (40)Neon son of Philokrates Apollodoros son of Apollodoros Attalos son of Adrastos Dionysios son of Dionysios Aristoboulos son of Aristoboulos (45)Sosandros son of Nikostratos Olympos son of Metrodoros Spartokos son of Spartokos^[11] Menodoros son of Herakleides

col. 2

Agathokles son of - Demetrios son of De- (20)Nikias son of Euphemides Diodotos son of Philostratos Aristodamas son of Ariston Dinokles son of Philostratos Dionysios son of Diogenes (25)Lysimachos son of Philoxenos Philemon son of Lenaios Antimachos son of Nikias Dexitheos son of Dexitheos Athenobios son of Athenodoros (30)Athenagoras son of Pyrrhinos Mousaios son of Euegoros Menodoros son of Diogenes Apollodotos son of Sthenios uninscribed space - son of Dionysios (35)- son of -mos Nikanor son of Demeas Timokrates son of Alexandros Chairokles son of Chairokles Timokles son of Demokleides (40)Charmides son of Paramonos Polyainetos son of Amyklas Onesiphilos son of Philon Diodoros son of Diodoros Phontides son of Hipparchos (45)Sosippos son of Nikanor Theodoros son of Theodoros Epikrates son of Aphrodisios Demagoras son of Euthydoros

col. 3

Teisis son of Phi- Zenodotos son of [Theod-] (20)Achaios son of Apollodoros Sophilos son of Sophilos Aristion son of Eudoxos Damonax son of Askondas Apollonios son of Dionysios. (25)When at Delphi the gymnasiarch (gymnasiarchountos) was Kleomantis son of Herys and the ephebes were:^[12] Diodoros son of Mnasitheos Nikias son of Aristion (30)Xenokrates son of Agesilaos Xenon son of Peisitheos Phainios son of Gorgilos Philinos son of Philleas uninscribed space traces of six lines

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References:

F.Delphes III 2 24 + Add. pp. 289–290 (Translated text) (PHI)

Syll.³ 697e

Tracy, Pythaïs Inscriptions 191-92

Tracy, ALC 170d

Kühn, Pythais-Prozession pp. 322-24

Translation by: Banban Wang

Monument type: Block (Wall)

Inscription type: List of names (ephebic)

Findspot: Delphi (Athenian Treasury, south wall, in situ) (Delphi Museum 737)
Findspot: Delphi (Athenian Treasury, south wall, in situ) (Delphi Museum 106)
Findspot: Delphi (Athenian Treasury, south wall, in situ) (Delphi Museum 730)
Findspot: Delphi (Athenian Treasury, south wall, in situ) (Delphi Museum 732)
Findspot: Delphi (Athenian Treasury, south wall, in situ) (Delphi Museum 7469)
Findspot: Delphi (Athenian Treasury, south wall, in situ) (Delphi Museum 141)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual Note. AIO follows the text of F.Delphes, but, after consultation of the squeeze at IG by BW, we read [Τεῖ]σις Φι- and Ζηνόδοτ[ος Θεοδ-] in col. 3, ll. 18-19 with Tracy, BCH 99, 1975, 192 (these names appear in SEG 15.104, col. 2, l. 223 and col. 2, l. 214 respectively) and Φαίν[ι]ος τοῦ Γοργίλου | Φιλίνου τοῦ Φιλλέα in col. 3, ll. 32-33 from F.Delphes III 2, Add. p. 290. In col. 2, l. 33, the fragmentary name is restored as Ἀπολλόδοτος Σθε[νίου], after SEG 15.104, col. 1, l. 174.

This list of 68 ephebes, along with their instructors and officers, was inscribed on six blocks in three courses (Courses I-III) on the southern wall of the Athenian Treasury at Delphi, shortly after the second Hellenistic Pythais of 128/7 BC (on the Hellenistic Pythais and the Treasury, see F.Delphes III 2, 3 with notes and on Attic inscriptions at Delphi, see IG II³ 4, 17 with notes). The list was inscribed to the right of the ephebic list of the first Pythais of 138/7 BC (F.Delphes III 2, 23). There are also lists from the third and fourth Pythaides (F.Delphes III 2, 25-26). Unlike the earlier and latter texts, this inscription has a long preamble (ll. 1-17) listing important officials and instructors of the ephebes (see nn. 4-7), which was inscribed on the blocks of the top course. The letters of the first line are spaced out to mark them out as a heading. The list of ephebes is written in three columns extending over two courses, with sixteen lines of each column on the upper block, and fifteen lines on the lower.

The ephebes of 128/7 BC were honoured with a set of decrees at Athens, which mention the ephebes' participation in the Pythais (SEG 15.104, ll. 18-19) and state that a total of 107 young men had completed the ephebate in that year (SEG 15.104, ll. 89-90). However, that stele has space for only 94 names and only 68 names appear on this list at Delphi, of which 32 names do not appear in SEG 15.104 (see n. 11). S. Tracy suggests that the participation in the Pythais procession was mandatory to all ephebes, but that only some ephebes took measures to ensure the engraving of their names (BCH 99, 1975, 192). Alternatively, participation in the Pythais may simply have been voluntary. Many of the ephebes listed here were relatives of earlier or later Pythaists (see note below) or helped to fund the fourth Pythais in 97/6 BC (see IG II² 2236 with S. Tracy, IG II² 2236, Contributors of First Fruits for the Pythais, 1982). Such family patterns of participation are typical of the Pythaists (see F.Delphes III 2, 12 with notes, and for ephebes in particular, also T. Henderson, The Springtime of the People, 2020, 225-26). Like most of the Pythais inscriptions but unlike ephebic inscriptions in Athens (e.g., IG II³ 1, 1313), the ephebes are not arranged by tribe and their demes are not given. This was the normal practice at Delphi in the second century BC when, in contrast to the third century, Athenian demes and tribes were not mentioned (e.g. F.Delphes III 2, 93). On the Athenian ephebate, see RO 89 with notes; on the Athenian ephebate in the Hellenistic Period, see É. Perrin-Saminadayar, Éducation, culture et société à Athènes, 2007, 248-266 and Henderson, Springtime, 171-289. [2] Eumelos son of Noumenios held this priesthood in Athens. He was probably the father of Noumenios son of Eumelos, a Pythaist-boy in the first Pythais (F.Delphes III 2, 11, l. 5, cf. C. Habicht, Athenische Mitteilungen 97, 1982, 181). In this text, six of the magistrates are named merely as 'of Athens' rather than by their demes. On priesthoods in Hellenistic Athens, see S. Lambert in M. Horster and A. Klöckner eds., Civic Priests, 2012, 67-133. [3] The phrase 'but by birth son of Antiphon' was added in the space between ll. 5-6 (for this formula, see AIUK 4.5 (BM dedications), p. 59). Hermon is simply called the son of Antiphon in F.Delphes III 2, 27, col. 1, l. 10. [4] This list of generals is exceptional, both for Pythais-related inscriptions and for ephebic decrees, in naming the civic military commanders involved in ephebic training. From the mid-fourth century BC, the generals were assigned specific competencies (cf. IG II³ 4, 8 and 276, with notes). Three types of commanders are involved here: the generals in charge of specific forces (hoplite, fleet, cavalry), generals in charge of specific garrisons (Piraeus and Eleusis), and the tribal cavalry commanders (phylarchoi). From the third century onwards, the hoplite general was ultimately in charge of the ephebes' training and sometimes joined them in processions (see Henderson, Springtime, 2020, 210-211). This is the only reference to the generals of the fleet (epi ton nautikon) and the cavalry (epi ton hippikon) in connection with the ephebes. The tribal cavalry commanders assisted the cavalry commander (see IG II³ 1, 949 and IG II³ 4, 252 with notes). They participated in other Pythaides and are mentioned in lists of cavalrymen (F.Delphes III 2, 27 for the second, F.Delphes III 2, 28 for the third, and F.Delphes III 2, 26 for the fourth) and could also be involved in ephebic training for their tribes. Diokles also appears in a Delphian honorific decree for the association of cavalrymen (F.Delphes III 2, 46) and the list of cavalrymen (F.Delphes III 2, 27). However, his title here, ‘(general) of the cavalry’ (epi to hippikon), differs from the other two texts, where he holds the more normal title of ‘cavalry commander’ (hipparchos, on the which see IG II³ 1, 1281 with note). This difference is of nomenclature rather than of function; 'general of the navy' (strategos epi to nautikon) and 'commander of the navy' (nauarchos) are similarly interchangeable in the second century BC (see S. V. Tracy, I.G. II² 2336. Contributors of First Fruits for the Pythaïs, 1982, 110–2). The generals in charge of Piraeus and Eleusis oversaw Athenian garrisons at these two posts. Ephebes served as part of the Piraeus garrison as part of their military training after Athens regained control of it in 229 BC (see Henderson, Springtime, 2020, 211-214). They also went out for excursions to countryside fortresses, including Eleusis, and participated in rituals related to the Eleusinian cult (see, e.g., sacrifice in IG II² 1011, ll. 7-8 and AIUK 4.2 (BM, Decrees), 17 with notes). On the garrison at Eleusis, see I Eleusis 207, with notes. The tribal cavalry commanders, the general of the cavalry, the Tarantine cavalry commanders, and the association (koinon) of cavalrymen were honoured by the Delphians in F.Delphes III 2, 46. [5] The pythochrestes exegetes, literally the 'interpreter chosen by the Pythian oracle', was appointed in Athens from the fifth century BC (IG I³ 131, l. 9, Pl. Leg. 9.865b-d). For the interpreter in Archaic and Classical Athens, see Valdés Guía, Mediterraneo Antico 5, 2002, esp. 190ff. Although Suda, s.v. exegetai claims that there were three pythochrestoi, whose tasks were to lift curses and to expound ancestral customs, inscriptions mention only one at a time (cf. J. H. Oliver, Athenian Expounders, 1950, 36-46). In the Augustan period, the pythochrestos exegetes also appears in the Dodekais inscriptions (F.Delphes III 2, 59, 61-64). The interpreter here, Ophelas son of Habron of Bate, belonged to a distinguished family, with two other members serving as interpreter 'appointed by the People': Kallias son of Habron (F.Delphes III 2, 5 in 106/5 BC), and Kallias son of Euktemon (F.Delphes III 2, 6 in 97/6 BC); one of the thesmothetai who organized this Pythais, Euktemon son of Kallias (F.Delphes III 2, 3, col. 1, l. 8) also belonged to this family. [6] The superintendent (kosmetes) was the annual official in charge of the ephebate, see Henderson, Springtime, 2020, 204, 208-9. The superintendent here, Apollonios, was crowned the following year in the decrees honouring the ephebes of 128/7 BC (SEG 15.104). The formula here, the ephebes 'led the Pythais' (ἀγαγόντες τὴν Πυθαΐδα, l. 10), is different from that of two later Pythais inscriptions for the ephebes (F.Delphes III 2, 25-26), where the ephebes are described as 'participating at the front of the Pythais' (προπέμψαντες τὴν Πυθαΐδα). Both phrases suggest that the ephebes marched at the front of the procession. On the ephebic instructors, see Henderson, Springtime, 2020, 217-221. In Hellenistic Athens, the role of ephebic instructor was one of the few positions in Athenian public life that was open to foreigners (see M. Niku, Official Status of the Foreign Residents in Athens, 2007, 17). In this inscription, three instructors are explicitly identified as foreigners: the physical trainer (paidotribēs) Nikon of Berytos (modern Beirut), whose homonymous relative was an ephebe on Delos in 119/8 BC (I Délos 2598, col. 1, l. 9); the weapons trainer (hoplomachos) Sotades of Soloi (most likely the one in Cilicia); and Artemidoros of Tarsos as deputy weapons trainer (hupohoplomachos). The first two are also honoured in SEG 15.104, ll. 137–140, together with the javelin trainer, archery trainer, secretary, as well as the catapult trainer (aphetes), who apparently did not participate in the Pythais. [7] The first letter of l. 16 was indented to the left. A Tarantine cavalry commander also participated in the third Pythais (F.Delphes III 2, 28). For the Tarantine cavalry, see SEG 46.167 with notes. [8] At least two ephebes (as well as Pythaist-boys, see F.Delphes III 2, 12) in this list participated in this Pythais alongside their fathers or other relatives. Chares (col. 1, l. 19) was the son of Chares (II), who participated in this Pythais as sacred delegate (theoros), see F.Delphes III 2, 8, col. 1, l. 9 and note, while Athenagoras (col. 2, l. 30) was son of Pyrrhinos, the general in charge of Piraeus in this year (l. 7). [9] Kephisodoros (col. 1, l. 20) and Aristonikos (col. 1, l. 23) participated in the first Pythais as Pythaist-boys in 138/7 BC (F.Delphes III 2, 11, l. 19). Kephisodoros' father Demetrios was honoured by the Delphians as one of the ‘epic poets’ (epopoioi) in this Pythais (F.Delphes III 2, 50, l. 5). Kephisodoros was later general in charge of Piraeus (SEG 24.194, ll. 41-42), manager (epimeletes) of Piraeus and a benefactor of the fourth Pythais (IG II² 2336, ll. 107-8). [10] In order to distribute the names evenly on the lower two courses of the wall, a broad uninscribed space was left between ll. 33 and 34. As a result, 16 names appeared on the higher block and 15 on the lower block. [11] Two names in this list are attested only once in all earlier Athenian evidence, but appear frequently in other places: Spartokos son of Spartokos has a name more frequently attested around Bosporos and Damonax son of Askondas (col. 3, l. 23) has a name associated with Cyrene and Rhodes. It is likely that they were foreign ephebes: while the Athenian ephebate was exclusively for young Athenian citizens in the Classical and early Hellenistic Periods, foreign ephebes appear under the rubric 'foreigner' (xenoi) from 122/1 BC (IG II² 1006+1031+2485 = SEG 38.114). If so, then this inscription is the earliest attestation of their participation and indicates that they participated for several years before they began to be included in the inscribed ephebic lists at Athens. On foreign ephebes, see Henderson, Springtime, 267–272. [12] A list of names, including a gymnasiarch of Delphi, six ephebes with well-preserved names and perhaps six lost names, starts at l. 25, which is inscribed with no vertical gap from the previous name, but with the first letter indented to the left. The gymnasiarch, Kleomantis, is mentioned in several Delphian decrees around this period as secretary of the Council at Delphi (129/8 BC) and as a councillor (117/6 BC). This is the only occurrence of a Delphian gymnasiarch in Hellenistic inscriptions at Delphi (the only other attestation is F.Delphes III 3, 233, l. 5, dated to 80–95 AD), and the only attestation of a Delphian ephebate (C. Vatin’s restoration in BCH 96, 1972, 261 n. 14 remains uncertain), even though the gymnasium played an important social role in late Hellenistic Delphi (cf. F.Delphes II, Le Gymnase, 1953, 81–86). Some of these ephebes belonged to prominent local families: Diodoros son of Mnasitheos (l. 28) belonged to a rich family attested in various manumission texts from this time and Xenokrates son of Agesilaos (l. 30) would be archon of Delphi during the third Pythais (106/5 BC).

Added: 3 Dec 2023
Updated: 3 Dec 2023
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