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Last Updated on 18 Jun 2019

Author: Stella Skaltsa

CAPInv. 917: he Dioskouriton symbiosis andron

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Western Asia Minor
ii. Region Mysia
iii. Site Pergamon

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) ἡ Διοσκουριτῶν συμβίωσις ἀνδρῶν (CIG 3540, ll. 2-3)
ii. Full name (transliterated) he Dioskouriton symbiosis andron

III. DATE

i. Date(s) Imp. (?)

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii. Name elements
Status-related:andron - membership would have been a prerogative exclusive to adult men (as opposed to paides and ephebes).
Other:It is unclear whether the name Dioskouritai derives from Dioskouroi (theophoric; cf. Fränkel) or denotes the place of origin of the members of the association (geographical; cf. Poland 1909: 82; Ohlemutz (1968: 200) or stands for a local toponym (topographical; cf. Ohlemutz (1968: 200). Ohlemutz (1968: 200) Διοσκουριάς is attested in Stephanus Byzantius (Meineke) p. 233 s.v. 'Διοσκουριάς' (one of the Leukai nesoi in Libya; city in Pontos).
Ohlemutz (1968: 200) puts forward that the name Dioskourias could have been a local toponym, designating a neighbourhood or an area in the vicinity of Pergamon.


iii. Descriptive terms συμβίωσις, symbiosis
Note CIG 3540, ll. 2-3

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) CIG 3540 (probably of Imperial date)
Note Cf. I.Pergamon 321 (notes)
Online Resources CIG 3540

AGRW ID 580
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Dedicatory inscription in Greek.
i.c. Physical format(s) 'inscriptio in parte inferiore sculpta est, in superiore anaglyphum nunc fractum'. Besides this description by Vidua (1826: 16, XVI.1) and a drawing of the text (Pl. XVI.1) nothing else is known about the stone and its present whereabouts.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found in an area called 'Abagi Mabalé, penes Tuream in parvo stylobate'. In light of this information Harland (2014: 122) mentions that 'the text was inscribed on the stylobate (upper step) of a structure, perhaps a sanctuary'.

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii. Leadership προεστῶτος, proestotos (l. 3): presiding
iv. Officials γραμματεύοντος, grammateuontos (l. 4): secretary

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii. Gender Men
Note The symbiosis is designated as symbiosis of men (andron).
iii. Age Adults
Note The term andres is indicative of the age of the members, setting them apart from paides, ephebes and perhaps elders.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments Boekch does not provide a date for the text (CIG 3540).
The name Telesphorion is attested in another Pergamene text that dates to the second century AD (CAP Inv. 912; MDAI(A) 1912: 286 no. 13). In this text Asklepiake, wife/ daughter of Telesphorion set up a dedication to her own speira.

The upper part of the text is missing. The dedication would have been originally addressed to a deity followed by: καὶ τῆι Διοσκουριτῶν συμβίωσει ἀνδρῶν (ll. 1-2; kai tei Dioskouriton symbiosei andron).

Fränkel (1896) thought that the name Dioskouriton was suggestive of a religious function or a religious affiliation of the symbiosis (i.e. Dioskouroi) and he restored IPergamon 321 accordingly. A sanctuary of Dioskouroi is mentioned in I.Pergamon 245 C l. 31, whereas I.Pergamon 336 attests to statues of Dioskouroi, consecrated in Roman times.
ii. Poland concordance Poland B 391.
iii. Bibliography Fränkel, M. (1896), Die Inschriften von Pergamon. Römische Zeit. Inschriften auf Thon. (Altertümer von Pergamon VIII.2). Berlin.
Ohlemutz, E. (1968), Die Kulte und Heiligtümer der Götter in Pergamon. Darmstadt.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Certain
Note In Roman Asia Minor the symbiosis is often used to denote a brotherhood/ a group with close ties not necessarily based on kinship. In this case the symbiosis has a clear internal structure (officials). It bears a distinct name.