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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Central Greece
ii.	Region	Thessaly. Tetras of Phthiotis.
iii.	Site	Ancient city of Pharsalos

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	ἀνχιστῶν οἱ περὶ Παρμενίσκον (I.ThessEnipeus 62, ll. 2-3)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	anchiston hoi peri Parmeniskon

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

iv BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i.

Name in other forms

ἄγχιστοι, Anchistoi (CAPInv.1235 and CAPInv.1236)

ii.

Name elements

Kinship-related:

The term anchistoi (nominative plural) denotes a group of the familial type, a group connected with bonds of kinship (Chantraine 1968: 16). The term is used to define in Attica the rights of kinship groups up to first or second cousin to participate in mourning and inheritance (Parker 1983: 40; cf. Mili 2015: 90). Likewise, Chrysostomou (1998: 237) interpreted this anchisteia as a gathering of relatives around the dead Parmeniskos. However, it has been also argued that the use of the genitive partitive anchiston in the Pharsalian inscription indicates here a part of those anchistoi, namely 'from the anchistoi, those around Parmeniskos' (Decourt 1995: no. 62). Finally, Mili refutes the possibility to have a sub-group of an already limited group; she has tentatively proposed a dependency between the term anchiston in genitive and the honoured divinity leading to the translation 'to Zeus Thaulios of the anchistoi. Parmeniskos and his entourage' (Mili 2015: 90, n. 171).

Topographical:

The term anchi ('next to') was originally used in Homer to signify someone or somebody that is close (Chantraine 1968: 16). Following that perspective, Helly has argued that anchistoi were a group of people living close to each other and possessing land in the public cadastre, by their common name (Helly 1995: 316, n. 106; lately, idem, forthcoming).

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	I.ThessEnipeus 62 (iv BC)
	Note	See also: PAAH 1907: 151 Helly 1995: 316, n. 106 Chrysostomou 1998: 60 Heinz 1998: 391, cat. no. A12
	Online Resources	I.ThessEnipeus 62
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	I.ThessEnipeus 62 is a votive inscription to Zeus Thaulios, by the anchistoi around Parmeniskos.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	The inscription was cut on the bedrock.
ii.	Source(s) provenance	It was located on the slopes of the acropolis (hill of Agia Paraskevi) of ancient Pharsalos, above the source of the Apidanos river, a tributary of the Enipeus (Decourt 1995: 79, no. 62; Chrysostomou 1998: 60; Heinz 1998: 391).

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

i.	Archaeological remains	The area of the acropolis of Pharsalos was fortified in the fourth century BC and has most probably hosted a sanctuary of Zeus Thaulios and Ennodia (Arvanitopoulos 1907: 151-3; Chrysostomou 1998: 60)
ii.	References to buildings/objects	The area of the summit of the acropolis has delivered public architecture (parts of doric columns, etc), inscriptions and large-scale sculpture, all indicating the presence of a sanctuary; also proto-geometric tombs were unearthed on the slopes and the summit of the area of the acropolis (Arvanitopoulos 1907: 151-3; Chrysostomou 1998: 60).

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii.

Leadership

The group is centred around Parmeniskos. Helly argued that he is their archon (commander), as many such archons are known presiding other civic groups in Thessaly (Helly 1995: 316, n. 106; idem, forthcoming).

X. ACTIVITIES

	Deities worshipped	Zeus Thaulios
iv.	Honours/Other activities	The group makes a collective dedication.

XII. NOTES

iii.

Bibliography

Arvanitopoulos, A. (1907) ‘Έρευναι εν Φαρσάλω’, PAAH: 151-4.
Chantraine, P. (1968), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots. Paris.
Chrysostomou, P. (1998), Η Θεσσαλική Θεά Εν(ν)οδία ή Φεραία Θεά. Athens.
Decourt, J.-Cl. (1995). ‘Inscriptions de Thessalie I. Les cités de la vallée de l’Enipeus’, Études épigraphiques 3. Athens, Paris.
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: 90-1, 351.
Parker, R. (1983). Miasma. Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion. London.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Possible
	Note	This is in every probability a civic group (cf. Helly 1995: 316, n. 106; idem, forthcoming). However, in the absence of supplementary evidence from Pharsalos the possibility to have a family group gathered around the cult of Zeus Thaulios (cf. Mili 2015: 91) or even a private group of fictile kinship cannot be discarded.
ii.	Historical authenticity	The inscription renders the historical authenticity of the group certain.

CAPInv. 1234: anchiston hoi peri Parmeniskon