Structure of the Inventory

The Inventory is organized in a way that straightforwardly conveys the information available for individually attested associations. Besides collecting information about specific attestations of individual associations, the Project also records references to general references to associations (i.e. mention of such groups in the plural, for instance in literary sources). The references to ancient associations include a variety of evidence, principally epigraphic and papyrological, but also deriving from numismatic, literary and other sources.

Associations are recorded in individually numbered entries (CAPInv. number), divided into thirteen main sections. The various fields record information pertaining to several aspects of associations, identifying and analyzing their internal structure and organization, membership profile, financial dealings, diverse activities, and interactions at a local or inter–regional level. Here is an overview of the fields in the various analytical sections and sub–sections:

I. LOCATION

I.i. Geographical area: the larger geographical area of where the association is attested (e.g. Aegean Islands). These are pre–defined: see Geography.

I.ii. Region: the specific region of the attestation (e.g. the island of Delos)

I.iii. Site: the site of the attestation (e.g. the city of Delos; the specific provenance of the source material is given in V.ii, below)

II. NAME

II.i. Full name (original language): the most complete version of the name as recognizable in the source material.

II.ii. Full name (transliterated): idem.

 

III. DATE

III.i. Date: a precise date for the source material or the best approximation possible is given; only dates in the range ca. 500 BC – ca. AD 300 are considered. It is important to note that this field indicates the possible absolute lifespan of an association and not the single dates of specific sources (recorded under V.i Sources).

 

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

IV.i. Name in other forms: any variants to the name listed in II.i, which can be found in the source material, are given here.

IV.ii. Name elements: available components of the name are analyzed as being cultic, ethnic, geographical, heroic, kinship–related, personal, professional, status– related, theophoric, topographical, or other (e.g. the association named to koinon Berytion Poseidoniaston emporon kai naukleron kai egdocheon from Delos, for example, would be registered as follows: ethnic = Berytioi; professional = emporoi; naukleroi; egdocheis; theophoric = Poseidoniastai)

IV.iii. Descriptive terms: terms used to refer to the association as a body, e.g. overarching concepts like Greek koinon, or more specific terms like Greek eranos, synodos, thiasos, etc., are recorded and discussed here.

 

V. SOURCES

V.i. Source(s): this gives the principal reference to the source material, as well as any additional references, and further complements such as online links are provided in the Notes field.

V.i.a. Source type(s): identification of the character of the source (epigraphic, literary, numismatic, or papyrological).

V.i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script: an identification of the type of source is provided (e.g. decree, membership list, etc.), together with the language(s) in which it is written (especially if not in Greek).

V.i.c. Physical format(s): a discussion of the object on which the source is written (e.g. stele, statue base, altar, coin, etc.).

V.ii. Source(s) provenance: an identification of the precise findspot of the source, if known, or its general area of provenance.

 

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

VI.i. Archaeological remains: any specific locations or archaeological remains linked with the association are discussed here.

VI.ii. References to buildings/objects: any references from the written sources to buildings or objects related to the association are cited here.

 

VII. ORGANIZATION

VII.i. Leadership: this provides any information known about the association’s leadership; any further details, on mode of appointment, type of leadership (if eponymous), length/repetition of the office, number of leaders (if more than one), requirements, attested duties, etc., are also analysed.

VII.ii. Members: general information about the terminology and the organization of members of the association is recorded and discussed in this field (note that a fuller discussion of the Membership is provided in field IX, below).

VII.iii. Officials: any individual or collective term(s) used for officials of the association (e.g. archon or archontes), as well as any further details on mode of appointment, eponymous office, length/repetition of the office, number of officials (if more than one), requirements for the office(s), attested duties, etc., are analysed.

VII.iv. Other staff: information about other functionaries connected to (activities of) the association, but who were not regular staff, such as individuals or committees appointed to perform specific tasks or temporary duties; any further information, such as mode of appointment, duration of duties, number of staff, requirements, attested tasks, etc., is also analysed.

VII.v. Laws and rules: any laws or rules (e.g., membership rules) attested in relation to the association are discussed here.

VII.vi. Judicial system: any information about the internal judicial system of the association is discussed here; this may also include information about any disputes arising within the groups.

VII.vii. Obligations: any regular obligations (e.g. payment of fees) of ordinary members are discussed here.

VII.viii. Privileges: any regular privileges (e.g. meals) of ordinary members are discussed here.

 

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

VIII.i. Treasury/funds: any information about the treasury and/or administered funds of the association.

VIII.ii. Realty: any information about the ownership of land, buildings, or other property by the group.

VIII.iii. Income: any sources of income of which the association could avail itself (e.g. contributions, donations, loans, interest, potential fines, etc.).

VIII.iv. Endowments: any long–term endowments attested in connection to the association; further details about how these were administered, which rules and arrangements were attached, etc., are also analysed.

 

IX. MEMBERSHIP

IX.i. Number: the number of attested members, if known.

IX.ii. Gender: the gender of the members of the association, if known.

IX.iii. Age: any information about whether the membership consisted of children, adults, or elders.

IX.iv. Status: any information about the status of members of the association (e.g. slaves, freedmen, citizens, foreigners, or a mix of several status groups).

IX.v. Relations: any information about familial or other relations (whether real or fictional) between members of the association (note that relations with non–members are discussed in XI. Interaction, below).

 

X. ACTIVITIES

X.i. Assemblies: any information about administrative assemblies held by the association, and any further information, e.g. their frequency, location, other characteristics.

X.ii. Meetings & events: details of meetings (other than assemblies) held by the association, such as (e.g., commemorative celebrations, banquets, processions, athletic contests, etc.); any further information, e.g. their frequency, location, other characteristics, is also analysed.

X.iii. Worship: any internal or external religious celebrations in which the association is known to have participated; any further details, e.g. their frequency, location, other characteristics, is also analyzed; the deities worshipped during these occasions are also listed and discussed.

X.iv. Honours/other activities: discussion of the honorific activities of the group, e.g. honours for members or outsiders, and any information on the identity of the honorand(s), the nature of the honours, their motivation, etc.

 

XI. INTERACTION

XI.i. Local interaction: any information about the contacts of the association with(in) local society, e.g. interaction with local authorities, honours (see above X.iv.), participation in local festivals or other events, etc.

XI.ii. Interaction abroad: any information about the contacts of the association with societies, religious entities, or individuals outside local society, e.g. kings, cities other than the host community, foreign benefactors, etc.

 

XII. NOTES

XII.i. Comments: this field is reserved for any additional comments concerning the association, e.g. further information about the date, name and restorations to the text, or the possible identification of one association with another, etc.

XII.ii. Poland concordance: if available, reference to the list by F. Poland, Geschichte des griechischen Vereinswesens, Leipzig 1909: 548–630.

XII.iii. Bibliography: complete references to all the works cited in the various fields/subfields of the entry.

 

XIII. EVALUATION

XIII.i. Private association: the attestation of the private association is here qualified as 'certain', 'probable', 'possible', or 'discarded'. Using the judgement of the collaborator, the Criteria are used to provide a justification for this evaluation. For instance, the name of the association (criteria nos. 1 and 2) and its organization (no. 5) may in some cases suffice to provide an evaluation of 'certain'; if only information about the name is available, however, this might result in an evaluation of 'possible'. A 'discarded' association is normally a group for which the collaborator has reasonably assessed that the private character of the group is to be excluded.

XIII.ii. Historical authenticity: if the nature of a source or its context casts any doubt on its historical authenticity, this is discussed here.