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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Peloponnese with Adjacent Islands
ii.	Region	Eleia
iii.	Site	Olympia

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	σύνοδος (IvO 55, l. 4)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	synodos

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

98 - 138 AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

iii.	Descriptive terms	σύνοδος, synodos
	Note	synodos: IvO 55, l. 3

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	IvO 55 (98-138 AD)
	Online Resources	IvO 55
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Honorific inscription in Greek for the pankratiast and dia genous xystarches Tiberius Claudius Rufus from Smyrna, who is defined as ἄνδρα πλειστονείκην καὶ ἱερονείκην ἀπὸ συνόδου, andra pleistoneiken kai hieroneiken apo synodou (ll. 3-4). The monument in his honour was erected by his home-town Smyrna in the sanctuary of Olympia. The statue base which bears the inscription, bears also the inscription IvO 54 which is a decree voted by the Eleans in honour of Tiberius Claudius Rufus.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	A statue base of dark marble decorated with cymatia at its upper and lower edge.
ii.	Source(s) provenance	Olympia, built into the Byzantine north wall.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iv.

Officials

It is not clear, whether the office of ξυσταρχία xystarchia (l. 11) of all athletic contests of Smyrna, which was held by the pankratiast Tib. Claudius Rufus, is to be regarded as an office in the framework of the synodos in question.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii.	Gender	Men
	Note	The members of the synodos were athletes.

XI. INTERACTION

i.	Local interaction	The fact that the deme of Smyrna honours a pankratiast, member of this athletic synod (ἄνδρα πλειστονείκην καὶ ἱερονείκην ἀπὸ συνόδου, andra pleistoneiken kai hieroneiken apo synodou: ll. 3-4), shows the impact on a local level.
ii.	Interaction abroad	The deme of Smyrna honours the pankratiast Tib. Claudius Rufus, ἄνδρα πλειστονείκην καὶ ἱερονείκην ἀπὸ συνόδου, andra pleistoneiken kai hieroneiken apo synodou (ll. 3-4), in Olympia. In his honorary inscription it is mentioned that the individual was already honoured by the Eleans.

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	It is not certain, whether the synodos of IvO 55 is to be identified with the world wide synodos of athletes and hieronikai (see CAPInv. 1477 and CAPInv. 1478) Poland, 150 wonders, whether this inscription (H 10) refers to the "Reichssynode der Athleten". The athlete Tib. Claudius Rufus, honoured in Olympia by the deme of Smyrna, is defined as ἄνδρα πλειστονείκην καὶ ἱερονείκην ἀπὸ συνόδου, andra pleistoneiken kai hieroneiken apo synodou (ll. 3-4). It is unknown, which synod is to be understood, as Rufus is further mentioned as τυχόντα τῆς διὰ γένους ξυστα̣ρχίας πάντων τῶν ἀγομένων ἀγώνων ἐν Ζμύρνηι, tychonta tes dia genous xystarchias panton ton agomenon agonon en Zmyrnei, which implies that he was the head of the xystos in Smyrna.
ii.	Poland concordance	Poland H*10

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Probable
	Note	The term synodos shows that we are dealing with an association. It is however not clear, whether it was a private association and whether it is to be identified with the group defined as hoi apo tes oikoumenes hieronikai or hoi apo tes oikoumenes hieronikai kai athletai.

CAPInv. 1520: synodos