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Last Updated on 28 Feb 2017

Author: Sophia Zoumbaki

CAPInv. 433: hoi hiereis tou Dios tou Epidotou (?)

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Peloponnese with Adjacent Islands
ii. Region Arcadia
iii. Site Mantinea

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) οἱ ἱερεῖς τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Ἐπιδώτου (?) (IG V.2 270, ll. 9-10, 13-14)
ii. Full name (transliterated) hoi hiereis tou Dios tou Epidotou (?)

III. DATE

i. Date(s) i AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii. Name elements
Professional:hiereis
Status-related:hiereis
Theophoric:Zeus Epidotes. This cult is recorded by Pausanias 8.9.2. For the epiklesis Epidotes of Zeus and its diffusion in the Peloponnese, see Jost 1985: 276.
iii. Descriptive terms σύνοδος, synodos
Note synodos: IG V.2 270, ll. 5-6. The word synodos is not fully preserved in the decree but its restoration seems certain.

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) IG V.2 270 (I AD)
Online Resources ΙG V.2 270
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script A fragmentary decree in Greek by the association of the priests of Zeus Epidotes in honour of Iulia Eudia, daughter of Euteleinos, in return for her benefactions to the synodos.
i.c. Physical format(s) A stele mutilated at its bottom.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found in Mantinea; it was built into the city-wall.

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii. References to buildings/objects On the basis of the honours voted for Eudia by the association of the priests of Asklepios in Mantinea (IG V.2 269, see CAPInv. 432) the ll. 15-17 of the decree of the priests of Zeus Epidotes are restored as [ἀναθεῖναι αὐτῆς] | ε̣ἰκό̣[να γραπτὴν ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ] | [Ἐπιδώτου] ([anatheinai autes] eiko[na grapten en toi naoi tou Dios tou Epidotou]). If this restoration is correct, there was a temple of Zeus Epidotes in Mantinea. The eikona, probably a painted portrait, of Iulia Eudia, as that dedicated in her honour by the priests of Asklepios, was to be placed in the temple of Zeus.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iii. Members Members of the association were called ἱερεῖς hiereis of Zeus Epidotes.

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

ii. Realty Iulia Eudia donates to the association 14 plethra of vineyards, given that the restoration in analogy to IG V.2 269 is correct. That means that the association owns landed property.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii. Gender Men
Note Priests of Zeus Epidotes are members of the group.
iii. Age Adults
Note The priests of Zeus Epidotes should have been adults.

X. ACTIVITIES

iv. Honours/Other activities The association honoured Iulia Eudia in return for her benefactions. She is honoured with the dedication of the painted portrait in the temple of Zeus Epidotes. There may have been more honours and privileges, which are not preserved in the fragmentary text.

XI. INTERACTION

i. Local interaction The association honoured one of the most prominent individuals of Mantinea in the first century AD, who is also honoured as benefactress by the Priests of Asklepios (CAPInv. 432). Eudia's donations to the synodos of priests of Zeus Epidotes show the group's importance within the local community.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments The name of the association is not fully preserved in the inscription. However, it is secure enough to adopt the restoration [τοῖς ἱερεῦσι τοῦ Διὸς] τοῦ Ἐπιδώτ[ου] ([tois hiereusi tou Dios] tou Epidot[ou], ll. 9-10) and [τοῖς ἱερεῦσι] τοῦ Διὸς το̣[ῦ Ἐπιδώτου) ([tois hiereusi] tou Dios to[u Epidotou], ll. 13-14), as it corresponds to attestations of further associations in the region, e.g. IG V.2 269, see CAPInv. 432 (association of the priests of Asklepios).
The donation of vineyards on the part of Iulia Eudia to the association apparently required her husband's consent, as it arises from ll. 6-8, if the text is correctly restored in analogy to IG V.2 269. On this judicial details cf. Mantas 1999: 121-2
iii. Bibliography Jost, M. (1985), Sanctuaires et cultes d'Arcadie. Paris.
Mantas, K. (1999), ‘Marriage in the Roman Imperial period’, Polis 11: 111-34.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note Although the word synodos is not fully preserved in the decree, its restoration in ll. 5-6 seems certain, as it corresponds to further associations of priests and priestesses in Mantinea (CAPInv. 430 and CAPInv. 432).