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Last Updated on 03 Mar 2017

Author: Maria-Gabriella Parissaki

CAPInv. 622: to hierotaton synergion

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Thrace
ii. Region Inland Thrace
iii. Site Philippopolis

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) τὸ ἱερότατον συνέργιον (IGBulg III.1 1401bis, l. 5)
ii. Full name (transliterated) to hierotaton synergion

III. DATE

i. Date(s) Imp.

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

iii. Descriptive terms συνέργιον, synergion
Note synergion: IGBulg III.1 1401bis

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) IGBulg III.1 1401bis (Imp.)
Online Resources IGBulg III.1 1401bis and AGRW ID 14186
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Dedication in Greek of a statue of Herakles by a προμέτρης, prometres, to the ἱερότατον συνέργιον, hierotaton synergion.
i.c. Physical format(s) Circular marble base (h. 0.64, diam. 0.62) that originally held a statue of Heracles.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found at the site "Starata vodenitsa" (=Old water mill), 2 km to the north of the modern village of Jagodovo. This region is attributed to the territory of Philippopolis.

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii. References to buildings/objects A statue of Herakles and a trapeza are mentioned in the text as set up in honour of the association (ll. 7-8: τὸν Ἡρακλέα σὺν̣ [τ]ῇ̣ τρ̣α̣π̣έζῃ, ton Heraklea syn [t]ei trapezei).

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii. Leadership The dedicator made the offering δεκανεύσας ε' ἀμέμπτως, dekaneusas 5 amemptos (ll. 3-4). The same term, though for two persons and in the present tense (δεκανευόντων, dekaneuonton), also occurs for the τέχνη καπήλων, techne kapelon, of Philippopolis, see CAPInv. 585. According to Zontschev 1959, Mihailov (at the commentary of IGBulg III.1 917) and Zimmermann 2002: 59, the term δεκανός, dekanos, indicates the leader(s) of the association; for BE 1961: no. 399: "ces δεκανοί sont des chefs de l’association, sans doute des chefs de section". Cf. also the comments of Kolb 2003: 117 for the hapax δεκάνιον, dekanion, in an inscription from Bithynia (CAPInv. 711).
The fact that the term occurs twice at Philippopolis seems to indicate a kind of local peculiarity (see also Zimmermann 2002, 59: 'eine Besonderheit des thrakischen Raumes').
According to the text, the dedicator held this office five times, though BE 1961: no. 399 considered the letter ε' to be a simple ornament.

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

i. Treasury/Funds It is explicitly stated in the text (l. 6), that the cost for setting up the statue and the trapeza to Herakles was covered by the dedicator and not by the association.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii. Gender Men
Note An association of προμέτραι, prometrai, probably consisted of male adults.
iii. Age Adults
Note An association of προμέτραι, prometrai, probably consisted of male adults.

X. ACTIVITIES

iii. Worship The patron deity of the association was quite probably Heracles, as indicated by the fact that the dedicator erected a statue of this god in honour of the association. According to Robert (BE 1961: no. 399) 'c’est parce qu’ils font ce travail de force qu’ils ont pour patron Héraclès'.
Deities worshipped Heracles (?)

XII. NOTES

i. Comments Though not explicitly stated in the text, we can safely surmise that this was an association of προμέτραι, prometrai (l. 3). The dedicator, who erected a statue of Heracles in honour of the ἱερότατον συνέργιον, hierotaton synergion, defines himself as a προμέτρης, prometres, and states that he made this offering after the end of his tenure as δεκανός, dekanos (ll. 3-4). The term προμέτρης, prometres, stands for the latin mensor and, although used to indicate different professions, in this particular case it may refer to mensores frumentarii, see Robert 1960: 237 and BE 1961: no. 399.
iii. Bibliography Kolb, A. (2003), ‘Δεκάνιον - ein hapax legomenon’, EA 36: 117.
Robert, L. (1960), ‘Inscriptions d’Asie Mineure au Musée de Leyde’, Hellenica 11-12: 214-62, esp. 236-7.
Zimmermann, C. (2002), Handwerkervereine im griechischen Osten des Imperium Romanum. Mainz: 28, 59.
Zontschev, D. (1959), ‘Zwei antike Inschriften aus Bulgarien’, JÖAI 44: 239-42, fig. 112 (BE 1961: no. 399).




XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note The terminology employed points to a private association.