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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Aegean Islands
ii.	Region	Thera
iii.	Site	Ancient Thera

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	[τὸ κοινὸν] τῶν Βακχιστῶν (IG XII.3 1296, ll. 1-2)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	[to koinon] ton Bakchiston

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

160 (?) - 146 (?) BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i.

Name in other forms

Βακχισταί, Bakchistai (l. 6)

ii.

Name elements

Theophoric:

Bakchos (Dionysos)

iii.

Descriptive terms

κοινόν, koinon

Note

koinon (l. 1: restored, l. 19)

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	IG XII.3 1296 (probably in the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor, 160-146 BC)
	Note	OGIS 735 BE 1974: no. 41 Jaccottet 2003: no. 169.
	Online Resources	IG XII.3 1296
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Honorific decree in Greek of the koinon for Ladamos, son of Dionysodoros, [Alexandreus] (the ethnic is fully restored).
i.c.	Physical format(s)	Stele.
ii.	Source(s) provenance	The stele was found in the church of Aghios Stephanos located in the NE part of the ancient city.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iii.

Members

θιασῖται, thiasitai (ll. 23, 24)

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii.	Gender	Men Women
	Note	Membership to the koinon was extended to Ladamos' wife (l. 22).
iii.	Age	Children Adults
	Note	Membership to the koinon was extended to Ladamos' descendants (ἐνγόνοις, l. 22).
iv.	Status	Members of the koinon were in all likelihood affiliated to the Ptolemaic garrison stationed in Thera (Hiller von Gaertrigen 1903). This can be deduced from lines 12-16, where Ladamos is said to have been appointed commander of the city (ἐπὶ τῆς πόλεως, (epi tes poleos l. 12) and ἡμῶν, hemon (l. 12), the latter probably referring to the soldiers of the garrison. Furthermore, in line 15, the members of the koinon set themselves apart from all the others (τοὺς ἅλλους ἅπαντας, tous allows hapantas), a phrase that probably stands for the entire citizen body as well as the members of the garrison. Ladamos was a Ptolemaic official, in the close circle of the king (ll. 4-5). He bears the title τῶν περὶ αὐλὴν δια[δόχων] and he was the commander of the Ptolemaic garrison, probably in the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor (ὁ τεταγμέ]νος ὑπὸ τῶν βασιλέω[ν ἐπὶ Θήρας]) (see van't Dack 1973: 77-80; Bagnall 1976: 126-7).
v.	Relations	Ladamos, son of Dionysophanes, [Alexandreus] (the ethnic is fully restored by Hiller von Gaertringen but challenged by Fraser: 1972, 150 n. 211), was the Ptolemaic commander in Thera. The names of Ladamos and Dionysophanes are also attested in the letter of Ptolemy Philometor to Apollonios, the commander of Thera: IG XII.3 327, l. 20, 290. Ladamos was among the soldiers to whom Philometor granted revenues from some lands to subsidize the expenses of sacrifices and oil supply. Dionysophanes' name is included among the names of soldiers contributing to the repair of the gymnasium.

X. ACTIVITIES

i.	Assemblies	[νομαίαι συνόδωι], [nomaiai synodoi] (IG XII.3 1296, l. 2)
iv.	Honours/Other activities	The koinon honoured Ladamos, son of Dionysophanes. It seems that a festival may have been founded in his honour, but the fragmentary nature of this part of the text (ll. 25-32) does not allow further comments.

XI. INTERACTION

i.

Local interaction

Members of the koinon were affiliated to the Ptolemaic garrison (ll. 12, 15).

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	The inscription dates probably to Philometor's reign (164-146 BC). Hiller dated this inscription to the end of Philometor's reign (Hiller von Gaertringen 1903:), but according to Bagnall (1976: 127) the exact date should remain open to question. Van't Dack (1973) prefers a date during the joint reign of Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VII (170-164 BC) but see criticism by Bagnall 1976.
ii.	Poland concordance	B 225
iii.	Bibliography	Bagnall, R. (1976), The administration of the Ptolemaic possessions outside Egypt. Leiden. Fraser, P.M. (1972), Ptolemaic Alexandria. vol. 2. Oxford. Hiller von Gaertringen, F. (1903), 'Der Verein der Bakchisten und die Ptolemäerherrschaft in Thera', in Festschrift zu Otto Hirschfelds Sechzigstem Geburtstage. Berlin: 87-99. Thera III: Hiller von Gaertringen, F. (1904), Thera: Stadtgeschichte von Thera. Volume III. Berlin: 111-2. Van't Dack, (1973), Ancient Society 4: 71-90.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Certain
	Note	The formal elements of the name (koinon + theophoric name) and the decision-making process suggest an organised private association.

CAPInv. 16: [to koinon] ton Bakchiston