i. | Geographical area | Western Asia Minor |
ii. | Region | Caria |
iii. | Site | Halikarnassos |
Stable URL: http://ancientassociations.ku.dk/assoc/829Download as
Last Updated on 24 Jun 2019
CAPInv. 829: hoi syggeneis
I. LOCATION
II. NAME
i. | Full name (original language) | οἱ συγγενεῖς (Robert 1937: 466-68, lines 3-5) |
ii. | Full name (transliterated) | hoi syggeneis |
III. DATE
i. | Date(s) | 200 (?) BC - 100 (?) AD |
IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY
ii. | Name elements |
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V. SOURCES
i. | Source(s) | Robert 1937: 466-8 (ca. 200 BC - 100 AD, with improved text). |
Note | First edition: Bérard 1891: 550-1, no. 22. | |
Online Resources | PHI: Halikarnassos 118 | |
i.a. | Source type(s) | Epigraphic source(s) |
i.b. | Document(s) typology & language/script | Unclear type, possibly the charter (foundational) document of the association, as it covers both the property and the rituals of the group, apparently in some detail (for a much better preserved comparandum from Halikarnassos, see CAP Inv. 830). In Greek. |
i.c. | Physical format(s) | Marble block, broken on all sides, though the left margin of the inscription appears to be consistently preserved. |
ii. | Source(s) provenance | No archaeological context, found reused in the house of Hadji Ahmet Tagliouglou in Bodrum (Halikarnassos). Now presumed lost. |
VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE
ii. | References to buildings/objects |
οἰκία, oikia (line 4) This is probably reference to a cultic building, belonging to the familial association. ἀγρός, agros (lines 13 [probably] and 16) These lines refer to a field, perhaps bequeathed as part of the constitution of the group; the field was likely extra-urban. ἐμ πόλει, em polei (line 7) A fragmentary phrase, ἐμ πόλει πρὸς τοῖς... appears to situate a building or an activity of the group in the city of Halikarnassos itself. |
VII. ORGANIZATION
iii. | Members |
οἱ συγγενεῖς, hoi syggeneis (lines 3-5) Family members, definitely male but possibly of both genders. οἱ ἐκ τοῦ γένους, hoi ek tou genous (line 10) Apart from the name οἱ συγγενεῖς, there is also a reference to τῶν ἐκ τοῦ γένους, implying male descendants (perhaps of the individual called Epikrates, see below XII.Notes). |
vi. | Laws and rules | The inscription clearly seems to be a set of rules, possibly as part of a charter document for the group: cf. the imperatives ἔστω (line 4) and ἐξέστω (line 15), as well as an apparent penalty clause, lines 13-14: ἢ εἴκοσι μηδὲ ὁμόρω[ν —]η μηδὲ παρευρέσει μη[δεμίᾳ —]. Line 11 highlights that these rules envisage the passage of time and the perpetuation of certain aspects of the group, its property and obligations: ... ὁ χρόνος διέλθῃ εἰς [—]. |
ix. | Privileges |
γέρα, gera (line 8) Apart from the attribution of the oikia (cultic building, line 4) which is granted to the syggeneis, and other fragmentary sections, the text makes an allusive mention of priestly perquisites in lines 8-9: γέρα ἐν ο[— + (pars) τῶν | σ]πλάγχνων. These privileges may have been granted to the founder or priest (or both); the remaining meat from sacrifices was perhaps distributed to members. |
VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS
i. | Treasury/Funds | The group administered funds, see VIII.iii below. |
ii. | Realty |
οἰκία, oikia (line 4) See above VI.ii. ἀγρός, agros (lines 13 [probably] and 16) |
iii. | Income | Line 13 mentions the probable requirement to lease out the field (see VIII.ii): [μ]ισθώσοντας τὸν ἀ[γρὸν —]. Funds for the cult were no doubt derived from the renting out of this field. |
IX. MEMBERSHIP
ii. | Gender |
Men Women |
Note | Definitely men, perhaps women too, see above VII.iii. Women may reasonably be presumed to have also been included in the group of syggeneis. |
X. ACTIVITIES
iii. | Worship | From the mention of gera (see above VII.ix), it is clear that the association engaged in cult, specifically in sacrificial ritual. |
XII. NOTES
i. | Comments | Founder or priest: possibly the individual called Ἐπικράτης, Epikrates (no father's name, line 8), who seems to receive the gera (priestly perquisites) of the cult. |
iii. | Bibliography |
Bérard, V. (1891), 'Inscriptions d'Asie Mineure', BCH 15: 538-62. Robert, L. (1937), Etudes anatoliennes, Paris. |
XIII. EVALUATION
i. | Private association | Probable |
Note | The Carian syngeneia is almost always a civic subdivision from the late Classical period, though no doubt also one with familial roots (see e.g. CAP Inv. 843). Here, given the character of the inscription and the absence of evidence for public syngeneiai at Halikarnassos, the term syggeneis very probably indicates a 'private' familial association. |