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Last Updated on 03 Jul 2019

Author: Annelies Cazemier

CAPInv. 861: hoi hierourgoi tes Athenas tes Itonias

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Aegean Islands
ii. Region Amorgos
iii. Site Minoa

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) οἱ ἱερουργοὶ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς τῆς Ἰτωνίας (IG XII.7 241, ll. 3-4)
ii. Full name (transliterated) hoi hierourgoi tes Athenas tes Itonias

III. DATE

i. Date(s) iii BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i. Name in other forms τὸ κοινὸν τῶν ἱερουργῶν, to koinon ton hierourgon (IG XII.7 241, ll. 12-13; 26-27) -- including the term koinon
οἱ ἱερουργοὶ τῆς θεοῦ, hoi hierourgoi tes theou (IG XII.7 241, l. 24) -- with shortened reference to 'the goddess'
ii. Name elements
Cultic:hierourgoi
Theophoric:Athena Itonia (gen.)
iii. Descriptive terms koinon

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) IG XII.7 241 (iii BC)
Note older eds.:
Michel, Recueil 712
Syll.2 644
see also:
Syll.3 1046
Online Resources IG XII.7 241
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Honorary decree. Greek.
i.c. Physical format(s) marble stele, broken at the bottom and slightly damaged on the right side
ii. Source(s) provenance found at ancient Minoa (Deschamps 1888: 326; cf. Marangou 2002: 109, n. 313); subsequently taken to the museum of Syros (Delamarre 1896: 73-7, no. 1; cf. Delamarre in IG XII.7 241)

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii. References to buildings/objects τέμενος, temenos (IG XII.7 241, l. 13)
ἀγορά, agora (IG XII.7 241, l. 18)

VII. ORGANIZATION

vi. Laws and rules νόμος, nomos (IG XII.7 241, l. 19) -- this nomos may be a law or regulation of the local community and does not necessarily concern the hierourgoi in particular
[κα]τὰ τὸν νόμον, [ka]ta ton nomon (IG XII.7 241, l. 28) -- mentioned in connection with the crown awarded to Epinomides by the koinon of hierourgoi (see below: 'Honours/other activities'); this nomos is more likely to have concerned the koinon in particular.

X. ACTIVITIES

iv. Honours/Other activities The hierourgoi of Athena Itonia honor Epinomides, son of Theogenes, who, among other things, supervised the Itonia festival and supported the koinon ton hierourgon by contributing to the construction of a temenos (IG XII.7 241, ll. 12-3). He is praised for his goodwill (l. 25: arete) and munificence (l. 26: philotimia) toward the koinon. His honours consist of a crown (l. 27: stephanos) which is to be announced at the festival (l. 29: heorte, presumably that of Athenia Itonia). This announcement (especially if to be made by the prytaneis (l. 29); the text is fragmentary here) seems to lend support to the idea that the hierourgoi formed a 'civic' college of sacred officials rather than a 'private' association. See below: 'Evaluation'.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments Delamarre (1896: 75; cf. Michel, Recueil 712) more specifically dates the inscription to the second half of the third century BC, based on letter forms. Dittenberger (in Syll.3 1046) dates it to ca. 250 BC. Cf. Nigdelis 1990: 202, n. 41; Lagos 2009: 84, n. 14.
ii. Poland concordance Poland B 163
iii. Bibliography Delamarre, J. (1896), 'Inscriptions d'Amorgos', RA 29: 73-84.
Deschamps, G. (1888), 'Fouilles dans l'île d'Amorgos', BCH 12: 324-7.
Lagos, C. (2009), 'Athena Itonia at Amorgos: a new interpretation of the evidence', in S. Drougou et al. (eds.), Κερμάτια φιλίας: τιμητικός τόμος για τον Ιωάννη Τουράτσογλου, Athens, vol. 2: 81-9.
Marangou, L.I. (2002), Ἀμοργὸς I. Ἡ Μινώα: ἡ πόλις, ὁ λιμὴν καὶ ἡ μείζων περιφέρεια. Athens.
Nigdelis, P. (1990), Πολίτευμα και κοινωνία των πόλεων των Κυκλάδων κατά την Ελληνιστική και Αυτοκρατορική εποχή. Thessalonike.
Poland, F. (1909), Geschichte des griechischen Vereinswesens. Leipzig.
Ziebarth, E. (1896), Das griechische Vereinswesen. Leipzig.
Ziebarth, E. (1900), ‘Zu den griechischen Vereinsinschriften’, RhM 55: 501-19.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Possible
Note While it is quite certain that the hierourgoi of Athena Itonia formed an association (nature of the document; mention of a temenos; use of the term koinon), the civic / federal nature of the cult and festival of Athenia Itonia on Amorgos, known from other sources (IG XII.7 22-36; 229; IG XII Suppl. 330; cf. Lagos 2009), combined with public aspects of the decree of the hierourgoi (mention of demiorgos (IG XII.7 241, l. 1), agora (18), demos (22), prytaneis (29); see above: 'Honours/other activities'), suggests that they may have formed a 'civic' college of sacred officials rather than a 'private' association. Cf. Ziebarth 1896: 212; 1900: 505-6; Poland 1909: 42.