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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Aegean Islands
ii.	Region	Delos
iii.	Site	Delos

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	τὸ κοινὸν τῶν μελανηφόρων (IG XI.4 1226 cr 2)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	to koinon ton melanephoron

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

e. iii BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii.

Name elements

Cultic:

melanephoroi: this word relates to officials in the cult of the Isis, the bearer of black garments, who may have been involved in a mourning song for the death of Osiris (Bricault 2013: 291). The word is also attested in the textual evidence as an epithet of Isis, called Isis Melanephoros (Orphica 42.9).

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	IG XI.4 1226, cr 2 (e. ii BC)
	Note	CE no. 21 RICIS 202/0135 Bricault 2013: 289 no. 92a AGRW 111
	Online Resources	IG XI.4 1226 AGRW 111 ID 7474
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Thank-offering by Kineas son of Agorallos to Saparpis, Isis and Anubis. Kineas was crowned by three associations, to koinon ton melanephoron, to koinon ton therapeuton (CAP Inv. 215), (CAP. Inv. 216) and ho thiasos ho ton Sarapiaston (CAP Inv. 217).
i.c.	Physical format(s)	Marble slab broken into two fragments (H. 32 x L. 151 x Th. 18 cm). It constitutes the middle part of a long pedestal (4.50m long), originally consisting of four slabs (only the three are extant, whereas the fourth slab to the left is missing). Each slab is carved with a wreath. The names of three associations in Greek that crowned Kineas are incised within each wreath.
ii.	Source(s) provenance	Sarapieion B

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

i.

Archaeological remains

Sarapieion B (GD 96) lies in the Inopos river valley, on a terrace west of the Sanctuary of the Oriental Gods. It was probably constructed at the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 2nd c. BC, as suggested by a dedication that dates to 196 BC (CAP Inv. 222). It seems to have fallen out of use sometime in the period of the Second Athenian Occupation.
Sarapieion B may not have operated as a sanctuary of Sarapis but rather as a meeting place of associations centered around the cult of the Egyptian gods, appropriately equipped with dining facilities for banquets.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

iv.	Status	Kineas son of Agorallos was a Delian.
v.	Relations	Kineas should probably be identified with the homonymous priest Kineas in IG XI.4 1260 (RICIS no. 202/0136); 1258 (RICIS no. 202/0137); IG XI.4 1261 (RICIS no. 202/0138). All inscriptions attesting to Kineas were found in Sarapieion B.

X. ACTIVITIES

iii.	Worship	Thank-offering (charisterion, IG XI.4 1226, l. 1) to Sarapis, Isis and Anubis.
	Deities worshipped	Sarapis Isis Anubis
iv.	Honours/Other activities	To koinon ton melanephoron crowned Kineas. He was also crowned by ho thiasos ho ton Sarapiaston (CAP Inv. 217) and to koinon ton therapeuton (CAP Inv. 215).

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	Sarapieion B has yielded a number of inscriptions attesting to six associations, active within its premises (CAP Inv. 215; CAP Inv. 216; CAP Inv. 217; CAP Inv. 218; CAP Inv. 219; CAP Inv. 222). All inscriptions date to the first half of the 2nd c. BC. A certain degree of connectivity is to be noted among the various associations on the basis of individuals who were members of more than one association (see esp. CAP Inv. 218).
iii.	Bibliography	Bricault, L. (2013), Les cultes isiaques dans les monde gréco-romain. Documents réunis, traduits et commentés. Paris.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Certain
	Note	The name (koinon ton melanephoron) suggests that this group is a private association.

CAPInv. 216: to koinon ton melanephoron