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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Eastern Asia Minor
ii.	Region	Paphlagonia
iii.	Site	Amastris

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	ὁ οἶκος ὁ τῶν ναυκλήρων (Mendel 1901: 36 no. 184, ll. 1-2)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	ho oikos ho ton naukleron

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

e. ii - iii AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii.

Name elements

Professional:

naukleroi

iii.

Descriptive terms

οἶκος, oikos

Note

oikos: Mendel 1901: 36 no. 184, l. 1
On the use of this term for associations see Poland 1909: 114; Wilhelm 1909: 52; Robert 1969: 9-13; Vélissaropoulos 1980: 104-106

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	Mendel 1901: 36 no. 184 (imp.)
	Note	See also: Wilhelm 1909: 52 AGRW 94
	Online Resources	Mendel 1901: 36 no. 184 AGRW ID# 48
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Honorary inscription in Greek set up by the association for their lifelong prostates M. Ulpius Rufunianus.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	Stele
ii.	Source(s) provenance	The inscription was found in a private house at Amasra (Amastris).

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii.

Leadership

Προστάτης, prostates (Mendel 1901: 36 no. 184, l. 5-6), was probably the head of the association (see below under X.iv: Honours/other activities). If that was indeed the case, a lifelong tenure of the post was possible.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii.	Gender	Men
	Note	The honorand is a man (see also field X.iv: Honours/other activities below).

X. ACTIVITIES

iv.

Honours/Other activities

The association of naukleroi honour their dia biou prostates M. Ulpius Rufonianus for his general attitude towards the club. The exact nature of the services he provided remains, as usually in such honorary inscriptions, unspecified. Since the term prostates is frequently used to denote an official or leader of an association (cf. Poland 1909: 363-5), the honorand probably held such a post in the administrative apparatus of the Amastrian naukleroi. However, one cannot exclude the possibility that the term prostates here refers to an external patron of the association (see Dittmann-Schöne 2001: 35 with note 112; cf. Masson 1974: 5, 12, 81 and 152).

XI. INTERACTION

i.

Local interaction

On the possibility of the association being under the protection of an external patron see above under the X.iv: Honours/other activities.

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	The inscription is undated by the editor but the name of the honorand (M. Ulpius Rufunianus) indicates the early 2nd century AD as terminus post quem. οἶκος, oikos (l. 1), frequently used as a name-element for associations, especially in the Black Sea, suggests that the association owned a common building or meeting-hall which hosted collective events such as banquets (see Poland 1909: 114; Wilhelm 1909: 52; Robert 1969: 9-13; Vélissaropoulos 1980: 104-106).
ii.	Poland concordance	Poland E* 81A
iii.	Bibliography	Ascough, R.S., Harland, P.A., and Kloppenborg, J.S. (2012), Associations in the Greco-Roman World: A Sourcebook. Berlin. Dittmann-Schöne, I. (2010), Die Berufsvereine in den Städten des kaiserzeitlichen Kleinasiens. Regensburg. Masson, H.J. (1974), Greek Terms for Roman Institutions. Toronto. Mendel, G. (1901), ‘Inscriptions de Bithynie [II]’, BCH 25: 5-92. Poland, F. (1909), Geschichte des griechischen Vereinswesens. Leipzig. Robert, L. (1969), ‘Deux décrets d’une association à Athènes’, AEph: 7-14. Vélissaropoulos, J. (1980), Les nauclères grecs. Recherches sur les institutions maritimes en Grèce et dans l’Orient hellénisé. Genève, Paris. Wilhelm, A. (1909), Beiträge zur griechischen Inschriftenkunde: mit einem Anhange über die öffentliche Aufzeichnung von Urkunden. Vienna.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Certain
	Note	The use of the term oikos to define the group and the lifelong tenure of the post (or title) of prostates indicates that it was a professional association organized on a permanent and durable basis.

CAPInv. 578: ho oikos ho ton naukleron