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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Central Greece
ii.	Region	Thessaly. Pelasgiotis.
iii.	Site	City of Atrax.

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	οἱ Ἱπποτά[δαι] (SEG 35: 505, l. 1)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	hoi Hippota[dai]

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

l. iv BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i.

Name in other forms

hoi hippota[i] (SEG 53: 567)

Helly also proposed the restitution of the simple noun 'horsemen/cavalrymen', since it can point to similar Thessalian dedications on behalf of the phrouroi (Helly forthcoming: n. 83); hippotai are also known from other Thessalian inscriptions (Scotoussa: SEG 53: 567).

ii.

Name elements

Cultic:	Tziafalias suggested that this was a dedication to Poseidon, inferring that -according to the mythical narration- Aiolos, the son of Poseidon was an Hippotades (Tziafalias 1984: 200).
Kinship-related:	The Hippotadai of SEG 35: 505 have been identified by the excavator as a phratry/family -'the descendants of Hippotes' (Tziafalias 1984: 200). Br. Helly argues that the term is a 'nom gentilice' deriving from the personal name Hippotes and most probably referring to a genos (Helly forthcoming).
Status-related:	The Hippotadai of SEG 35: 505 were linked to the Hippotai (horsemen/cavalrymen), attested in various Thessalian cities (cf. Scotoussa: SEG 53: 567). Tziafalias argued that they were horse breeders (Tziafalias 2000: 87).

Note

In the recent publication of two inscriptions from Larisa, Br. Helly and A. Tziafalias put forward that hippoteion (plural: hippoteia) is 'something that belongs to the horsemen/cavalrymen'; according to those new texts dealing with public administration of cultivable land, hippoteia are public land plots assigned to the hippeis ('terrains cavaliers') (Tziafalias and Helly 2013: 156-8). On the hippeis (cavalrymen) as land holders and their role in the social, political and military organisation of Thessaly, see Helly 1995: 203-11, 240-52, 287-94; also Thessalian hippeis are cited in the contemporary fourth century treaty between Thessaly and Athens (IG II² 116 and IG II² 24).

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	SEG 35: 505 (l. iv BC)
	Note	See also: SEG 53: 567
	Online Resources	SEG 35: 505 SEG 53: 567
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	SEG 35: 505 is part of a dedicatory inscription. Greek.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	Large fragmentary stele of white marble, with horizontal crowning member bearing the fragmentary inscription (Heinz 1998: 364, cat. no. 339, fig. 194).
ii.	Source(s) provenance	SEG 35: 505: city of Atrax (now in Larisa, cat. no. 80/45)

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

i.

Archaeological remains

The site of Ancient Atrax has delivered public architecture (acropolis, remains of sanctuaries and a theatre, fortification walls), as well as a rich record of public and private inscriptions, including decrees, votives, inscribed tombstones, etc (Decourt, Nielsen, Helly et al. 2004: 692).

XII. NOTES

iii.

Bibliography

Decourt, J.-C., Nielsen, Th.H., Helly, Br. et al. (2004), ‘Thessalia and adjacent regions’, in M.H. Hansen and Th.H. Nielsen (eds.), An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis. An Investigation conducted by the Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation, Oxford: 676-731.
Heinz, M. (1998), Thessalische Votivstelen. Bochum.
Helly, Br. (1995). L'Etat thessalien. Aleuas le Roux, les tétrades et les tagoi. Lyon.
Helly, Br. (forthcoming), ‘La Thessalie des 'siècles obscurs': un essai d'interprétation historique’, in Mélanges offerts à Phanouria Dakoronia.
Mili, M. (2015). Religion and Society in Ancient Thessaly. Oxford.
Tziafalias, A. (1984), ‘Ανέκδοτες Θεσσαλικές επιγραφές’, Thessaliko Hemerologio 7: 193-237.
Tziafalias, A. (2000), ‘Το Έργο της ΙΕ' Εφορείας Προϊστορικών και Κλασικών Αρχαιοτήτων’, in P. Kalogerakou (ed.), Το Έργο των Εφορειών Αρχαιοτήτων και Νεωτέρων Μνημείων (1990-1998), Volos: 85-96.
Tziafalias, A., and Hello, Br. (2013), ‘Décrets inédits de Larisa organisant la vente des terres publiques attribuées aux cavaliers’, Topoi 18: 135-249.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Possible
	Note	It has been convincingly argued (Helly forthcoming; cf. Tziafalias and Helly 2013) that this is a public group, namely a genos or even a phratry. However, following the fragmentary state of the inscription, the possibility of having a collective votive of a private group should not be excluded (cf. Mili 2015: 347).
ii.	Historical authenticity	The presence of the inscription (SEG 35: 505) attesting a gentilice deriving from the well attested name of hippotes (SEG 53: 567), in relation to the two new inscriptions from Larisa (Tziafalias and Helly 2013: 137-42, 161, fig. 1-4) renders the historical authenticity of the group certain.

CAPInv. 824: hoi Hippota[dai]