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Last Updated on 03 Jun 2019

Author: Vincent Gabrielsen

CAPInv. 498: Panathenaistan kai Herakleistan koinon

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Aegean Islands
ii. Region Rhodes
iii. Site City of Rhodes and Lindos

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) Παναθηναιστᾶν καὶ Ἡρακλειστᾶν κοινόν, IG XII, 1 36.
ii. Full name (transliterated) Panathenaistan kai Herakleistan koinon

III. DATE

i. Date(s) i BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i. Name in other forms [Παναθ]ηναιστᾶν Ἡρακλειστᾶν δεκάς
[Panath]enaistan Herakleistan dekas
ii. Name elements
Cultic:The first element of the name probably derives from the festival held in honour of Athena (the Panathenaia), rather than from the name of the goddess: Poland 1909, 62; I.Lindos II, col. 797, though there are no compelling reasons to follow Blinkenberg's supposition (ibid.) that the Panathenaia of Attica are referred to here, see Suppl. Epigr. Rodio 43.
Theophoric:The second element of the name derives from the name of the god Herakles. For his cult in Rhodes, see D. Morelli, I culti in rodi. Studi Classici e Orientali (Pisa, 1959) 147-49.
Other:The element δεκάς, dekas, refers to a military/naval unit, see below.
iii. Descriptive terms The term κοινόν, koinon
The term δεκάς, dekas
Note The term κοινόν, koinon, is securely attested in IG XII, 1 36.

The last line of NSER 39 is restored to read κα[ὶ Ἡρακ]λει[σ]τᾶν [. . . . κο]ινοῦ? If this is accepted, then we must assume that the name consisted of more than two elements. The term δεκάς, dekas, could possibly be that element. However, the current restoration is too uncertain to make the presence of the term koinon something more than just possible.

The term δεκάς designates a military unit (Pollyx, Onom. I, 127 (δεκὰς. μέρος στρατεύματος). It and the term δεκάταρχος, dekatarchos, are used in Rhodian naval contexts (IG XII Suppl. 2010, cf. A.-M. Vérilhac, BCH 107 (1983) 428) and also about first-century Chian naval crews: E.K. Skarlatidou, Horos 8-9 (1990-91) 157, ll.10-14.

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) NSER 39
IG XII, 1 36
Clara Rhodos 2 (1932) 210, no. 48.
Possibly also PAAH (1952) 559, BE 803, A = SEG 15.497, ll. 4-5 or 8-9.
Note Two things should be noted.
(1) Almost certainly the first three inscriptions record the same association (see also G. Pugliese Carratelli, ASAA n.s 1-2 (1939-40) 184); in addition to the identical name, all three date from the first century BC; the third one in particular can be dated to after 69 BC, cf. I.Lindos II, col. 797.

(2) Since in SEG 15.497, Παναθηναιστᾶν [- - - -] δεκάδος appears twice in connection with the award of separate honours (ll. 4-5 and 8-9), in each case it must relate to different associations, only one of which can be tentatively identified with that of the present entry. Because of the insecurity involved, however, both of these occurrences are given their own entry in the database.
Online Resources NSER 39
IG XII, 1 36
Clara Rhodos 2 (1932) 210, no. 48
SEG 15.497
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script NSER 39 is a honorary dedication.
IG XII, 1 36 is a dedication.
Clara Rhodos 2 (1932) 210, no. 48 is an honorary dedication.
SEG 15.497 is a honorary dedication.
All in Greek.
i.c. Physical format(s) NSER 39 is a rectangular altar base made of Lartian marble. On each side of the text two decorative olive-branch wreaths are carved in bas-relief.

IG XII, 1 36 is a fairly small (marble?) plaque, the text of which is written within an ellipse-forming frame.

Clara Rhodos 2 (1932) 210, no. 48, is a fragmentary stele of grey marble with a cornice.

SEG 15.497 is a dedicatory base made of Lartian marble.
ii. Source(s) provenance NSER 39 is reported to have been found in the suburban zone of the city of Rhodes: A. Scrinzi, 'Iscrizioni greche inedite di Rodi (dalle schede dell'Hedenborg)', AIV 57 (1898) 251-287, no. 7.

IG XII, 1 36 was found in the estate Mangavly between the city of Rhodes and Asgourou.

Clara Rhodos 2 (1932) 210, no. 48, was found in Lindos in the church of Agh. Sterphanos.

SEG 15.497 was found in the northern part of the area in which the acropolis of the city of Rhodes is located.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

iv. Status Philiskos, who is honoured by the association in NSER 39, was probably a member of foreign origin, i.e. from Antiochia.

The individual who dedicated the plaque IG XII, 1 36, Kratippos son of Zenodotos, was a foreigner from Kyanai and probably a member, too.

The unknown individual who is honoured in Clara Rhodos 2 (1932) 210, no. 48, must -- in view of the offices he had held -- have been a Rhodian citizen and probaly a member, too.

X. ACTIVITIES

iv. Honours/Other activities In NSER 39 the association honoured Philiskos from Antiochia, but the honour is not specified in the extant text.

In Clara Rhodos 2 (1932) 210, no. 48, the association honoured an individual who had held high military, naval, civic and religious offices. The honour consisted of a golden wreath: χρυσέωι στεφάνωι, chryseoi stephanoi.

Also the association recorded in SEG 15.497 (if it is identical with the above) honoured an unknown individual with a golden wreath: χρυσέω[ι στ]εφάνωι, chryseo[i st]ephanoi

XI. INTERACTION

i. Local interaction On the strength of other Rhodian evidence, and on the basis of the occurrence of dekas as an element of the name, our association must be classed among those that possessed a military/naval branch, a feature quite typical of groups calling themselves Panathenaistai, cf. I.Lindos II, col. 797; V. Gabrielsen, The Naval Aristocracy of Hellenistic Rhodes (Aarhus, 1997), n. 55 (on p. 203). In the present instance, the name of the 'parent' association was to Panathenaistan kai Herakleistan koinon, the name of its military branch Panathenaistan kai Herakleistan dekas. Since the term dekas here specifically refers to naval crews (cf. also above), it indicates the close link of our association to the Rhodian navy: M. Launey, Recherchers sur les armées hellénistiques. Réimpression avec addenda et mise à jour, en postface par Yvon Garlan, Philip Gauthier, Claude Orrieux (Paris, 1987) 1018-22 and xix; V. Gabrielsen, 'The Rhodian Associations and Economic Activity', in Z.H. Archibald et al. (eds.) Hellenistic Economies (London and New York, 2001) 222-27.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments The circumstance that Clara Rhodos 2 (1932) 210, no. 48, was found in Lindos should not be automatically taken to mean that our association, or a branch of it, was based there.
ii. Poland concordance IG XII, 1 36 = Poland B 252

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note Given the elements constituting the name of this body -- one cultic, the other theophoric -- and the probable membership in it of two named foreigners, its identification as a private association can be regarded as certain.