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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Aegean Islands
ii.	Region	Delos
iii.	Site	Delos

II. NAME

i.

Association with unknown name

U-AEI-014

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

l. ii BC

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	I.Délos 1800 (l. ii BC)
	Note	old ed.: Roussel 1908: 430, no. 42 (text Schulhof) see also: Trümper 2011: 78, no. 21
	Online Resources	I.Délos 1800
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Fragmentary text, probably a dedication. Greek.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	plaque of white marble with broken top left corner
ii.	Source(s) provenance	found in the 'Quartier du Théâtre', between insulae II and III

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii.	Leadership	ἀρχι[ερανιστὴ]ς, archi[eraniste]s ? (I.Délos 1800, ll. 1-2) -- While it seems almost certain that a leader of a group or association is referred to here, the restoration is uncertain. Roussel (1908: 430, no. 42) previously suggested ἀρχι[θιασίτη]ς, archi[thiasite]s. See: 'Comments'.
iii.	Members	συνε[ραν]ισταὶ, syne[ran]istai ? (I.Délos 1800, ll. 2-3) -- While it seems almost certain that members of a group or association are mentioned here, the restoration is uncertain. Roussel (1908: 430, no. 42) previously suggested συνε[ρμα]ισταὶ, syne[rma]istai. See: 'Comments'.
iv.	Officials	ἱερεύς, hiereus (I.Délos 1800, l. 4), named as Theodotos, son of Diodoros, from Sounion; known as priest also from other sources (see 'Worship'); epimelete of Delos in 102/101 BC (I.Délos 1562); for further information on Theodotos, see 'Comments'. He need not have been a priest specifically of the association.
	Eponymous officials	I.Délos 1800 is dated after the priesthood of Theodotos, and so are several other dedications from Delos (see below: 'Worship').

X. ACTIVITIES

iii.

Worship

Theodotos, son of Diodoros, from Sounion, after whose priesthood the dedication is dated, is known from other Delian inscriptions. Three further dedications are dated by his priesthood, one of which to Hadad and Atargatis (I.Délos 2285, ll. 6-9), the second to Hadad, Atargatis, and Asklepios (I.Délos 2261, ll. 7-8), and a third made by his two sons and possibly his daughter, without mention of deities (I.Délos 2626, l. 5). A fourth text may have been a dedication by Theodotos himself (I.Délos 2228, l. 1) to Hagne Aphrodite (commonly identified with Atargatis). Focusing on the latter text, Roussel (1987: 255, n. 6) suggested that the association dating its dedication (I.Délos 1800) after Theodotos's priesthood may have had Hagne Aphrodite as its patron deity. While a connection to Syrian deities seems quite likely, it need not have been Hagne Aphrodite specifically, considering that 1) Theodotos's name in I.Délos 2228 is completely restored and 2) the other dedications in which his priesthood is mentioned were made to Hadad and Atargatis (and in one case also to Asklepios). Cf. Baslez 1977: 197, n. 3. For further information on Theodotos, see 'Officials' and 'Comments'

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	While Roussel (1908: 430, no. 42) initially restored ἀρχι[θιασίτη]ς ? (ll. 1-2) and οἱ συνε[ρμα]ισταὶ (ll. 2-3), Roussel and Launey (in I.Délos 1800) suggest ἀρχι[ερανιστὴ]ς ? (ll. 1-2) and οἱ συνε[ραν]ισταὶ ? (ll. 2-3). Note, however, the reservations expressed by Hatzfeld (1912: 155, n. 1), who comments that 'la lecture συνερ[μ]α̣ισταί (...) n'est pas assurée, quoique la restitution συνερ[α]ν̣ισταί ne s'accorde point avec les traces de lettres qui subsistent', and by Roussel (1987: 255, n. 6), who comments that 'la restitution συνε[ρμα]ισταὶ est improbable; συνε[ρα]νισταὶ est douteux'. While a hesitant restoration of archieranistes and syneranistai is preferred by Roussel and Launey (in I.Délos 1800; cf. Trümper 2011: 78, no. 21), these readings remain uncertain (cf. Baslez 1977: 197, n. 3). An identification with the Hermaistai (CAPInv. 890) now seems unlikely (see above). While there are other texts from Delos attesting to eranistai (CAPInv. 222) and associations which had officials called archithiasites (CAPInv. 9; CAPInv. 12; CAPInv. 219), it seems that no connections can be made between I.Délos 1800 and those groups. Note that Theodotos, son of Diodoros, from Sounion (mentioned in I.Délos 1800 and other Delian sources; see: 'Officials' and 'Worship') also appears in Athenian inscriptions, 106/105 BC (IG II² 1011, l. 5; 33) and 104/103 BC (Agora XV 254, l. 7). Around 150 BC, his father seems to have been a member of an association in Athens (IG II² 2358, l. 22; see CAPInv. 572) whose officials included an archeranistes and a hiereus.
iii.	Bibliography	Baslez, M.-F. (1977), Recherches sur les conditions de pénétration et de diffusion des religions orientales à Délos (IIe-Ier s. avant notre ère). Paris. Hatzfeld, J. (1912), 'Les Italiens résidant à Délos mentionnés dans les inscriptions de l'île', BCH 36: 5-218. Roussel, P. (1908), 'Les Athéniens mentionnés dans les inscriptions de Délos', BCH 32: 303-444. Roussel, P. (1987), Délos: colonie athénienne. rev. ed. Paris. Trümper, M. (2011), ‘Where the non-Delians met in Delos: the meeting-places of foreign associations and ethnic communities in late Hellenistic Delos’, in O.M. van Nijf and R. Alston (eds.) Political culture in the Greek city after the classical age, Leuven: 49-100.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Probable
	Note	While I.Délos 1800 is very fragmentary, the presence of a leader (l. 1: archi-), combined with the name or designation of a group ending in -istai (ll. 2-3), whether or not with its own priest (l. 4: hiereus), makes it very likely that the inscription concerns an association.

CAPInv. 911: U-AEI-014