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I. LOCATION

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

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	Ἑρμαϊστaὶ Θεσμοφοριασταί (IG XII.1 157, ll. 7-8).
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	Hermaistai Thesmophoriastai

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

i BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii.

Name elements

Cultic:	The Rhodian month Thesmophorios (1st month of the year: D. Morelli, I culti in Rodi. SCO 8 (Pisa, 1959) 119). Rather than referring to a Thesmophoria festival, Thesmophoriastai refers to mystai of Demeter and Kore (ibid. 120).
Theophoric:	From the god Hermes. For the god's cults in Rhodes, See D. Morelli, I culti in Rodi. SCO 8 (Pisa, 1959) 44-5, 133-35.

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	IG XII 1, 157, ll. 7-8.
	Online Resources	IG XII.1 157
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Dedicatory-honorary. Greek.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	Round altar of white marble.
ii.	Source(s) provenance	Discovered in a hypogeum outside the city of Rhodes. See also P.M. Fraser, Rhodian Funerary Monuments (Oxford, 1977), p. 3.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iii.

Members

Philokrates from Ilion, the person to whom this altar belonged, was almost certainly a member of the association.
In the same inscription, Philokrates is honoured by three other associations (see below). Very probably, he was the founder of one of these, the Matioi ktoinetai eranistai Philokrateioi ( Ματίοι κτοινέται ἐρανισταὶ Φιλοκράτειοι). See V. Gabrielsen, The Naval Aristocracy of Hellenistic Rhodes, (Aarhus, 1997) 152-53.
Attempts to establish the identity of Philokrates (see Hiller von Gaertringen's note to IG XII.1 157) have been challenged: V. Gabrielsen, 'The Status of Rhodioi in Hellenistic Rhodes', C&M 43 (1992) 48 n.9.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

iv.

Status

Philokrates of Ilion, the person to whom this altar belonged, was a foreigner in possession of epidamia in Rhodes. Philokrates had performed the liturgy of the choregia twice.

X. ACTIVITIES

iv.

Honours/Other activities

The Hermaistai Thesmophoriastai had honoured Philokrates from Ilion, who was in possession of epidamia in Rhodes, with a gold wreath. The association in recorded with other private bodies that had honoured Philokrates:the Isiastai eranistai koinon (ὑπὸ Ἰσιαστᾶν ἐρανιστᾶν κοινοῦ), the synthytai Rhodiastai epidamiastai (ὑπὸ συνθυτᾶν Ῥοδιαστᾶν ἐπιδαμιαστᾶν) and the Matioi ktoinetai eranistai Philokrateioi (ὑπὸ Ματίων κτοινετᾶν ἐρανιστᾶν Φιλοκρατείων). He was also honoured by the citizens of Kamiros (ὑπὸ Καμιρέων).

XI. INTERACTION

i.	Local interaction	The association, which was probably based in the city of Rhodos, is seen to honour an individual together with the citizens of Kamiros.
ii.	Interaction abroad	Any connection between the association and the city of Ilion, the place of origin of Philokrates, must be indirect and conjectural.

XII. NOTES

ii.	Poland concordance	B 268
iii.	Bibliography	V. Gabrielsen, 'The Status of Rhodioi in Hellenistic Rhodes', C&M 43 (1992) 43-69. V. Gabrielsen, The Naval Aristocracy of Hellenistic Rhodes (Aarhus, 1997). P. Fraser, Rhodian Funerary Monuments (Oxford, 1977). D. Morelli, I culti in Rodi. SCO 8 (Pisa, 1959).

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Certain
	Note	The cultic and theophoric elements in the name of this association render it certain that it was a private body.

CAPInv. 1618: Hermaistai Thesmophoriastai