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Last Updated on 21 Jun 2019

Author: Stella Skaltsa

CAPInv. 1877: Kyparisiotai

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Aegean Islands
ii. Region Kos
iii. Site Asklepieion

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) Κυπαρισιῶται (IG XII 4.2 623 l. 2)
ii. Full name (transliterated) Kyparisiotai

III. DATE

i. Date(s) ii AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii. Name elements
Cultic:Kyparissiotai: cult epithet of Apollo. The cult of Apollo Kyparissios is well attested in Kos already in classical times (LSCG 150 B; 159).
A cult of Apollo Kyparissos existed in the sanctuary of Asklepios in Kos long before the foundation of the Asklepieion. The locality, however, retained its name 'Kyparissos' (Craik 1980: 18).
Topographical:Kyparisson: toponym of the area where the Asklepieion of Kos was located (e.g. ED 45; EV 358).
Other:Mythical: Kyparissiotai: Kyparissos, from the island of Keos, was the handsome beloved of Apollo who was transformed into a cypress-tree (especially in Ovid, Od. 5.64, 17.340).
RE IV (1901), 1909-1938 s.v. 'Cypresse'

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) IG XII 4.2 623 (ii AD)
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Dedication of a fountain house by the former priest of the Kyparissiotai.
Greek
i.c. Physical format(s) Marble fragment in second use. H. 11.5 x W. 93 x Th. 29-32 cm.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found in the upper terrace of the Asklepieion.

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii. References to buildings/objects κρήνη, krene (l. 2): fountain-house

VII. ORGANIZATION

iv. Officials εἱερατεύσας, heierateusas (l. 1)
Caius Forcius Dinysis was former priest of the Kyparissiotai.

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

ii. Realty The fountain-house (krene) dedicated by the former priest probably belonged to the Kyparisiotai, though it is not explicit by the text.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

iv. Status The former priest bears a Roman name (Caius Forcius Dinysis).

XII. NOTES

i. Comments The past participle hierateusas is followed by the genitive case Kyparissioton. One would expect that the genitive would reveal the name of the worshiped deity, yet in this inscription the name of what looks like a collectivity is recorded.
The name of the collectivity, Kyparisiotai, terminates in -otai, an ending that is often found in the name of the demesmen body of the Koan demes (e.g. Isthmiotai, Phyxiotai).
Whether the name derives from the toponym Kyparisson or from Apollo's cultic epithet Kyparissos, is hard to tell, though the evidence demonstrates an apparent overlap of cult and place (the cult of Apollo Kyparissos was located in Kyparissos: see IV.ii).
The name could thus denote the local community residing in second century AD Kyparisson or as the editors of IG XII 4.2 think for a cultic association. The latter seems more likely in the light of the former-priest. It seems that the group would not only have its own ritual practices, but the office of priesthood would have been annual.
iii. Bibliography Craik, E. (1980), The Dorian Aegean. London.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Probable
Note The name of the collectivity which bears some cultic resonances (see IV.ii and XII.i) as well as the existence of a cult official (VII.iv) are evidence for a formally organised group. Although the evidence points to a cult association, one cannot rule out that the name stands for a local community in the area of the Asklepieion in the second century AD Kos.