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Last Updated on 22 Feb 2017

Author: Ilias Arnaoutoglou

CAPInv. 356: Amphieraistai

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Attica with Salamis
ii. Region Attica
iii. Site Rhamnous

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) Ἀμφιεραϊσταὶ (Petrakos, Δῆμος τοῦ Ραμνοῦντος, 167, l. 11)
ii. Full name (transliterated) Amphieraistai

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 229 (?) BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i. Name in other forms Ἀμφιεραϊσταὶ οἱ μετὰ Διοκλέου Ἀμαξαντέως, Amphieraistai hoi meta Diokleou Amaxanteos (Petrakos, Δῆμος τοῦ Ραμνοῦντος, 167, ll. 18-19)
ii. Name elements
Personal:hoi meta Diokleou Amaxanteos: 'those with Diokles'
Theophoric:Amphieraistai, from the name of the god Amphiaraos
iii. Descriptive terms κοινόν, koinon
σύνοδος, synodos (?)
Note koinon: Petrakos, Δῆμος τοῦ Ραμνοῦντος, 167, ll. 9, 28
synodos: Petrakos, Δῆμος τοῦ Ραμνοῦντος, 167, l. 2

In ll. 1-2 we read: ἐπειδὴ Διοκλῆς συνῆ|χε τῶι Ἀμφιαράωι σύνοδον, epeide Diokles syneche toi Amphiaraoi synodon; perhaps synodos does not refer to an association but to the group of worshippers.

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) Petrakos, Δῆμος τοῦ Ραμνοῦντος, 167 (229 (?) BC)
Note Ed. pr.: An.Ép. 1909: 271; SEG 49: 4
Other publications: Michel no. 1556; Laum, Stiftungen II: 20a; IG II2 1322; Pouilloux, Rhamnonte: 145-7; Meier 2012: no. 8

Cf. SEG 33: 145; 38: 132; 40: 139; 43: 35; 44: 255; 51: 111; 55: 1968. BE 1942: no. 50; 1997: no. 218. Oetjen 2014: 225, no. 77.
Online Resources Petrakos, Δῆμος τοῦ Ραμνοῦντος, 167 and AGRW ID 23246
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Decision of the group to raise funds through voluntary contributions of its members to financing the rebuilding of certain parts of the sanctuary and to list all the contributors. In the same decision the group decided to honour the officials for their rightneoussness and generosity. Written in Greek.
i.c. Physical format(s) Marble pedimental stele with crowns depicted at the bottom, broken in two, measuring 1.26x0.45-49m.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found in Rhamnous, now in the Epigraphical Museum, EM 8101.

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii. References to buildings/objects Reference to a sanctuary (ἱερόν, hieron, ll. 2, 10, 12, 15), a house (οἶκος, oikos, l. 3) requiring repairs, roof tiles (κέραμος, keramos, l. 3) and the table (τράπεζα, trapeza, l. 5) being broken, and the portico (προστῶιον, prostoion, l. 6) about to collapse, ll. 2-6.

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii. Leadership Perhaps, the chief-eranistes (ἀρχερανιστής, archeranistes) Diokles is the leading figure of the group, since he was instrumental in gathering the Amphieraistai (ll. 1-2).
iv. Officials Secretary (γραμματεύς, grammateus, l. 22)
Treasurer (ταμίας, tamias, l. 23)

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

ii. Realty The association perhaps owned the sanctuary, the house (οἶκος, oikos, l. 3) attached to it required repairs.
iv. Endowments Onesimides of Rhamnous donated income (of unknown origin) to the association in order to perform annual sacrifices, ll. 18-20: καὶ δέδωκε τὴν πρόσοδον τοῖς Ἀμφιεραϊσταῖς τοῖς μετὰ | Διοκλέου Ἁμαξαντέως, καὶ θύειν κατ’ ἐνιαυτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς προ|σόδου τῆς γινομένης, kai dedoke ten prosodon tois Amphieraistais tois meta Diokleou Hamaxanteos, kai thuein kat’ eniauton apo tes prosodou tes ginomenes.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

i. Number Twenty-three members are recorded.
ii. Gender Men
Note The list of twenty-three name includes male names only.
iii. Age Adults
iv. Status Citizen: 22
Foreigner: 1
v. Relations Perhaps Θεότιμος Ῥαμνούσιος (Teotimos from Rhamnous) and Θεογένης Ῥαμνούσιος (Theogenes from Rhamnous) mentioned in ll. 38-39 are brothers.

X. ACTIVITIES

iii. Worship The association performed annual sacrifices, θύειν κατ' ἐνιαυτόν, thuein kat’ eniauton, ll. 19-20.
Deities worshipped Ἀμφιάραος, Amphiaraos
iv. Honours/Other activities The chief-eranistes and the magistrates are praised (ἐπαινέσαι, epainesai, ll. 15, 21) and crowned with an olive-leaves crown (στεφανῶσαι καὶ τούτων ἕκαστον θαλλοῦ στεφάνωι, stephanosai kai touton hekaston thallou stephanoi, l. 24).
Similar honours are granted to Onesimides of Rhamnous for the donation of land and its income for performing sacrifices, l. 16.

XII. NOTES

iii. Bibliography Arnaoutoglou, I. (1994), ‘Archeranistes and its meaning in inscriptions’, ZPE 104: 107-10.
Baslez, M-F. (2001), ‘Entre traditions nationales et intégration: les associations sémitiques du monde grec’, in S. Ribichini, M. Rocchi and P. Xella, (eds.), La questione delle influenze vicino-orientali sulla religione greca. Stato degli studi e prospettive della ricerca (Atti del Colloquio Internazionale Roma, 20-22 maggio 1999), Rome: 235-47. (SEG 52: 1898)
Baslez, M.-F. (2006), ‘Entraide et mutualisme dans les associations des cités grecques à l’époque hellénistique’, in M. Molin (ed.), Les régulations sociales dans l’antiquité (Actes du colloque d’Angers 23 et 24 mai 2003), Rennes: 157-70. (SEG 56: 2070)
Mikalson, J. (1998), Religion in Hellenistic Athens. Los Angeles.
Parker, R. (1996), Athenian religion. A history. Oxford. (SEG 47: 26)
Oetjen, R. (2014), Athen im dritten Jahrhundert v. Chr. Politik und Gesellschaft in den Garnisonsdemen auf der Grundlage der inschriftlichen Überlieferung. Duisburg.
Tracy, S. (1990), Attic letter-cutters of 229 to 86 B.C.. Berkeley: 243. (SEG 40: 295)

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note Mikalson 1998: 150 believes that this group is not a cult association but a 'group dedicated to the restoration and maintenance of a sanctuary'. However, he seems to ignore elements of permanency such as officials, not appropriate to a single-issue group.