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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Peloponnese with Adjacent Islands
ii.	Region	Corinthia
iii.	Site	Corinth

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	θηρ<ε>ύτο<ρε>ς ἄνδρες (IG IV 365, l. 2)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	ther<e>uto<re>s andres

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

ii - iii AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii.

Name elements

Professional:

The definition θηρ<ε>ύτο<ρε>ς ἄνδρες, ther<e>uto<re>s andres, has been regarded by W. Liebenam (1980: 123) as an equivalent of a collegium venatorum, as he compares them with he synodos ton kynegon in Haliartos and hoi kynegoi in Steiris.

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	IG IV 365 (II-III AD)
	Online Resources	IG IV 365
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	An Inscription in Greek on the basis of a monument erected by venatores, hunters or beast fighters, in honour of their doctor Trophimos.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	A base of a bronze statue or bust. On the base venatores are depicted in relief. The monument is known from Cyriacus's description.
ii.	Source(s) provenance	Corinth, "prope Iunonis aedem"

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii.

References to buildings/objects

The inscription mentions the bronze statue or bust (χαλκείην τήνδ' εἰκόνα, chalkeien tend' eikona, l. 3) erected by the venatores for their doctor. This inscription as well as the phrase in l. 5 ἐγγὺς θηρείων ἱστάμενοι στομάτων, engys thereion histamenoi stomaton, are an indirect reference to the place of staging gladiatorial games in Corinth. In Corinth both the Greek theatre and the Roman style amphitheatre were used as settings for gladiatorial shows, see Welch 2007: 178-85. The phrase ἐγγὺς θηρείων ἱστάμενοι στομάτων, engys thereion histamenoi stomaton, (l. 5) perhaps implies that the monument was erected in the amphitheatre and more concretely "by the gate from which the animals were let into the arena", as Engels 1990: 47 suggests.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iii.

Members

If the group of ther<e>uto<re>s andres formed a private association, then its members would have been the venatores, the beast fighters, who took part in the relevant shows.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii.	Gender	Men
	Note	The definition of the group, ther<e>uto<re>s andres, shows that it consisted of men.
iii.	Age	Adults
	Note	The members of a group of beast fighters should have been adults.

X. ACTIVITIES

iv.

Honours/Other activities

The ther<e>uto<re>s andres honour their doctor Trophimos.

XI. INTERACTION

i.	Local interaction	The interaction of the animal fighters with the local community is self evident, as such shows were very popular in Corinth, but it is moreover stressed by the consent of the town's council for the erection of this monument, as the abbreviation <ψ>(ηφίσματι) β(ουλῆς), <ps>(ephismati) b(oules), at the bottom of the text shows.
ii.	Interaction abroad	We do not have any information about the interaction of the group of venatores abroad in the 2nd or 3rd c. AD. Gladiatorial and wild beasts spectacles that took place in Corinth, were generally held as a ξενικὴ θέα, xenike thea, "a foreign spectacle", in the 1st c. AD by the town of Argos nearby. This arises by a letter that has been preserved in the correspondence of the Emperor Julian but there are strong indications that it should be dated to the late 1st c. A.D., as Spawforth 1994: 211-32 convincingly argues. Although the dispute arises out of obligatory payment on the part of Argos to Corinth for the organization of gladiatorial shows and combats with wild beasts, a hostility for such spectacles is obvious in the text, as for example the Argeians present themselves as “forced to slave for a foreign spectacle celebrated by others”. Jazdzewska 2009/2010: 35-46 argues that Plutarch's dialogue "De solertia animalium" refers to Roman staged beast shows, which are criticized, and examines it in its cultural and political context.

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	M. Walbank, in personal communication to B. Wickkliser 2010: 53 dates the inscription to the 2nd/3rd c. AD and identifies the physician Trophimos as a possible ancestor of the homonymous physician who is mentioned in a fragmentary inscription from Lechaion, see Pallas 1965: 163-4, who dates it to the late 3rd c. AD, whereas Walbank inclines to a date to the 4th or early 5th c. AD. The doctor for the venatores, who is honoured by them could have been closely connected with their group, although he cannot be regarded as a member of it. It is noteworthy that they call themselves "obedient" (πίσυνοι, pisynoi, l. 1) to their doctor, which shows the close relationship and collaboration between them and Trophies. Trophimos's name may imply a slave's or freedman's status.
iii.	Bibliography	Engels, D. (1990), Roman Corinth: An alternative model for the Classical city. Chicago, London: 47. Jazdzewska, K. (2009/2010), ‘Not an "innocent spectacle": Hunting and venationes in Plutarch's De sollertia animalium’, Ploutarchos (n.s.) 7: 35-46. Kaibel, G. (1878), Epigrammata Graeca ex lapidibus conlecta, Berlin: no. 885. Liebenam, W. (1890), Zur Geschichte und Organisation des römischen Vereinswesens. Leipzig: 123. Pallas, D. (1965), ‘Ἀνασκαφικαί ἔρευναι ἐν Λεχαίῳ’, PAAH: 163-4. Spawforth, A.J.S. (1994), ‘Corinth, Argos and the Imperial Cult. Pseudo-Julian, Letters 198’, Hesperia 63.2: 211–32. Waltzing, J.P. (1899), Etude historique sur les corporations professionelles chez les Romains depuis les origines jusqu' à la chute de l' Empire d' Occident. vol. 3. Louvain: 68, no. 189. Welch, K. (2007), The Roman amphitheatre. From its origins to the Colosseum. Cambridge: 178-185. Wickkliser, B. (2010), ‘Asklepios in Greek and Roman Corinth’, in S. Friesen et al. (eds.), Corinth in context. Comparative studies on religion and society. Leiden: 53 no. 49.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Possible
	Note	The inscription allows us to draw no conlusion regarding the nature of the group called ther<e>uto<re>s andres, whether they formed a private association or merely a collective definition of an unorganized group which decided an ad hoc honour for their physician.

CAPInv. 484: ther<e>uto<re>s andres