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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Western Asia Minor
ii.	Region	Ionia
iii.	Site	Teos

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	ὁ [θί]ασος Διονυσ[ι]ασ[τῶν] (SEG 4: 598, ll. 50-51)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	ho [th]iasos Dionys[i]as[ton]

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

50 (?) BC - 50 (?) AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii.

Name elements

Theophoric:

Dionysos

iii.

Descriptive terms

θίασος, thiasos
κοινόν, koinon (only once, ll. 20-21: ταῖς θυσ[ί]αις ἐπ[ισ]τᾶ[σα] τῷ τε κοινῷ τοῦ θ[ιάσου], tais thys[i]ais ep[is]ta[sa] toi te koinoi tou th[iasou]. Due to the fragmentary state of the text, the context is not clear, but it seems difficult to understand κοινόν, koinon, as the association's treasury)

Note

thiasos: SEG 4: 598, l. 34 et passim
koinon: SEG 4: 598, l. 20

The decree begins (l. 2) with ἔδοξεν τῆι, edoxen tei, requiring a feminine substantive like σύνοδος, synodos.

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	SEG 4: 598 (50 (?) BC - 50 (?) AD)
	Online Resources	SEG 4: 598
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Honorific decree, Greek
i.c.	Physical format(s)	White marble stele
ii.	Source(s) provenance	Teos

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii.

References to buildings/objects

Ll. 19-20 refer to "the orgia of every sanctuary (hieron) of Dionysos".

Ll. 54-55 refer to "the sanctuary", presumably the one belonging to the Dionysiastai, and to the sanctuary of the Eleusinian goddesses.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iv.	Officials	ἱερεία, hiereia (passim): The priestess Hediste receives the honors. She is heavily involved in matters concerning the thiasos, especially the festivals and the sacrifices. The reference to several sanctuaries of Dionysus seems to imply a civic dimension - either of her priesthood or of the thiasos itself. προστάται, prostatai (ll. 26, 37): The leaders of the association are reponsible for carrying out the honors decreed by the thiasos ταμίαι, tamiai (ll. 26): Also in the plural; they are certainly reponsible for the financial aspects of the honors
v.	Other staff	Ll. 53-54 refers to the election of people who announce what has been decreed in the meeting of the association.
vi.	Laws and rules	Ll. 39-48 refer to regulations concerning the upholding of the honors decreed; they mainly deal with the financial aspects. Apparently, money was collected to finance the honors, in addition to an endowment made by Hediste herself (below, "income"). The money could also be lended out at interest; if anything happens contrary to the nomos regulating these matters, the money goes back to Hediste and their heirs (i.e., to the original purpose of financing the honors).

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

iii.	Income	Collections were made among the members (with those who have already contributed their share being aphoroi and ateleis, ll. 18-19). A general reference to "income" (πρόσοδοι, prosodoi) is found in l. 18; apart from the contributions, this seems to refer to the interest generated from an endowment made by Hediste (l. 22: [τὰ ἐπιδεδομένα χρήμ]ατα ὑπὸ Ἡδίστ[ης - -], [ta epidedomena chrem]ata hypo Hedist[es - -]).
iv.	Endowments	See income.

X. ACTIVITIES

ii.	Meetings and events	L. 54 refers to the "first assembly" according to the edition, but the text is completely restored. L. 7 mentions "the symposium of the thiasos" (τὸ [συμ]πόσιον τοῦ θιάσου, to [sym]posion tou thiasou), organized or at least materially supported by Hediste; ll. 8-9 specifies that the day of the oinoposia should henceforth be a festival for (and named after) Hediste. That day is the 13th of Anthesterion (ll. 16-17) (i.e. the final day of the Anthesteria-festival).
iii.	Worship	The association celebrates the Anthesteria (see meetings and events), and honors the priestess Hediste with sacrifices.
	Deities worshipped	Dionysos
iv.	Honours/Other activities	The association honours the priestess Hediste with a festival, sacrifices and a crown. It seems that these honours were mainly financed by Hediste herself, although there were also contributions by the members. The honours also extend to her heirs.

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	There is no way to know whether this group has any relations to the (probably earlier) κοινὸν τῶν Διονυσιαστῶν, koinon ton Dionysiaston, also attested at Teos.
iii.	Bibliography	Boulay, Th. (2013), ‘Les « groupes de référence » au sein du corps civique de Téos’, in P. Fröhlich, and P. Hamon (eds.), Groupes et associations dans les cités grecques (IIIe siècle av. J.-C. – IIe siècle apr. J.-C.), Genève: 251-75.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Possible
	Note	The inscription has many similarities to honorific decrees issued by private associations. Three points may nevertheless suggest that the group was more official than is apparent at first sight: 1.) Thiasoi are often closely connected to official institutions at Teos; cf. the general references to hoi thiasoi pantes, and in general Boulay 2013. 2.) The priestess or the association seem to have authority over "the ritual instruments (orgia) in every sanctuary of Dionysos" (ll. 19-20). 3.) The document is to be set up not only in the sanctuary of the association itself, but also in the sanctuary of the Eleusinian goddesses - this latter provision could not be made in a decree by an association without close ties to the civic organization of religion.
ii.	Historical authenticity	Certain

CAPInv. 1684: ho [th]iasos Dionys[i]as[ton]