ALAN SHEPPARD R ECONSIDERING
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L OAN I NSCRIPTION
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E PIDAUROS
aus: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 195 (2015) 104–106
© Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn
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R ECONSI DER I NG
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L OA N I NSCR I P T ION
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E PI DAU ROS*
IG IV2 I.42, a record of the Epidaurians’ repayment to the Arcadian Helisphasians of a loan and set up in the sanctuary at Epidauros, has been commonly accepted as dating to the late third-century based on a combination of letterforms and historical considerations. The inscription is inscribed on the side of a στήλη whose front face contains IG IV2 I.40/41, a lex sacra giving instructions for the correct sacrificial procedure to Apollo Maleatas and Asclepius, which is dated to c. 400 B.C.E. and thus provides a terminus post quem for the inscription. Hiller von Gaertringen, the editor of IG IV2 I, declared that the letters were third century and that the inscription could be dated to 221/0 B.C.E. by virtue of the fact that Athenians, Megarians and Corinthians are all listed as witnesses on the stone and that therefore their πόλεις must have been politically aligned at this time. Hiller von Gaertringen thus arrives at a date of 221/0 based on the political history of the late third-century, speculating that the money loaned to Epidauros by the Helisphasians must have come from the conquest of Mantinea by Antigonus in 223 B.C.E. and dating the inscription to a couple of years after this. This note returns to an idea of Michael Jameson who remarked in his studies of the South Argolid that the appearance of the ethnonym Ἁλικός in the inscription casts doubt on the traditional dating (Jameson– Runnels–van Andel [1994] 88–89 building on the initial observation in Jameson [1969] 315). Jameson observed that since the city of Halieis was abandoned in the early third-century, most likely by 280 B.C.E. as a result of piracy and a drop in agricultural production, the inscription was unlikely to be as late as suggested in IG. The appearance of the ethnonym in an inscription some sixty years later is extremely unlikely (especially considering that the inhabitants of Halieis appeared to often identify themselves as Tirynthians on their coins)1 and, when combined with the fact that Epidaurian letter forms show relatively little variation in the fourth and third centuries, suggests that the inscription should be dated to sometime in the fourth or early third centuries. Moreover, the inhabitants of Halieis, located at the tip of the Southern Argolid some 30 miles from Epidauros, had regular contact with the sanctuary during the fourth-century and the ethnonym Ἁλικός also appears on several accounts of miracle cures from this period (IG IV2 I.121–122). Indeed, the city had a strong enough association with the sanctuary for Pausanias to remark that, while the site was deserted in his time, ‘mention is made of citizens of Halike on the Epidaurian slabs on which are inscribed the cures of Asclepius. I know, however, no other authentic document in which mention is made either of the city Halice or its citizens.’2 We should thus not be surprised that someone from this relatively tiny πόλις could act as a witness alongside representatives of much larger cities during the late Classical or early Hellenistic era. Finally, the dating of the inscription to 221/0 on political grounds is not a strong enough argument on its own since Epidauros’ status as an international sanctuary meant that it was a place where citizens of πόλεις from across the Greek world interacted on a regular basis – regardless of wider political alliances and obligations of their home πόλις (Migeotte [1984] 89). While Epidauros’ links with the Peloponnese
* Initial research for this article was carried out at the Ohio State University Center for Epigraphical and Paleographical Studies during the Summer Epigraphy Workshop in May 2014. Thanks to my fellow participants at the Workshop as well as Fritz Graf, Ludwig Koenen, and Alfred Breitenbach for their advice and comments on draft versions of this article. 1 Bronze coins were being produced in fourth century B.C.E. Halieis bearing the inscription ΤΙ, ΤΙΡΥ or ΤΙΡΥΝΘΙΩΝ. See Head (1967), HN2 443, Breitenstein–Schwabacher (1982), SNG III Argolis 148–55. 2 Paus. 2.36.1 trans. Jones: ἡ δὲ Ἁλίκη τὰ μὲν ἐφ’ ἡμῶν ἐστιν ἔρημος, ᾠκεῖτο δὲ καὶ αὕτη ποτέ, καὶ Ἁλικῶν λόγος ἐν στήλαις ἐστὶ ταῖς Ἐπιδαυρίων αἳ τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ τὰ ἰάματα ἐγγεγραμμένα ἔχουσιν· ἄλλο δὲ σύγγραμμα οὐδὲν οἶδα ἀξιόχρεων, ἔνθα ἢ πόλεως Ἁλίκης ἢ ἀνδρῶν ἐστιν Ἁλικῶν μνήμη. – Jameson–Runnels–van Andel (1994), 580 explain that Pausanias’ naming the town as Halike rather than Halieis arose from the fact that he was unaware of the link between the ethnonym Ἁλικός and the former settlement of Halieis. Evidently Pausanias or his informants based their information from the surviving inscriptions which listed the ethnonym.
Reconsidering a Loan Inscription from Epidauros
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undoubtedly increased after joining the Achaean League in 243 B.C.E. (Plut. Aratus 24.3; Paus. 2,8,5), the sanctuary had strong links with both Athens and the Peloponnese in the fourth century too.3 An analysis of the numerical notation used in the inscription also suggests a date in the late Classical or early Hellenistic period. IG IV2 I.42 records two separate methods of recording numerical notation, using both acrophonic numerals to record the amount loaned in drachmas (5600) before writing out the equivalent number of minas (ὀγδoήκοντα μνᾶς) in the second half of the inscription. Tod’s re-evaluation of Epidaurian numerals (Tod [1936/7] 238–243) in light of the publication of the building inscriptions by Hiller von Gaertringen allows us to trace the development and canonisation of the Epidaurian acrophonic system. While the acrophonic notation used in IG IV2 I.42 is consistent with that used in both fourth and early third century inscriptions,4 there is an increased level of consistency by the end of the fourth-century with signs used in IG IV2 I.42 taking precedence over formerly competing notations which have dropped away (for instance, the use of the closed eta rather than the open eta to indicate the value of 100 drachmas). Although this does not provide any specific dating help, the decision to write out the sum in minas in the second half of the inscription is more in accordance with IG IV2 I.109 from the late fourth or early third century and it seems likely that our inscription dates from this period towards the end of the period of time when Halieis existed as a πόλις. What would a proposed late-fourth/early-third century B.C.E. date do for our knowledge of the Helisphasians, the group who provided the loan? The Helisphasians were an Arcadian community whom Polybius mentions lived in territory separated from Mantinea by a mountain range (Plb. 11.11.6) and seem to be the same people as mentioned in an inscription commemorating a συμπολιτεία between the Ἑλισϝάσιοι and the Mantineans dated to the early 4th century,5 occupying the site which was known as Hellison (Ἑλισσών) by the imperial period (Paus. 8.3.3, 27.3, 27.7, 30.1). Based on the sympolity inscription and Pausanias’ account of the Arcadian League, we know that the Helisphasians were incorporated into Mantinea early in the fourth-century before the Spartan dissolution of the city in 385 B.C.E. while Pausanias states that Hellison was one of the communities incorporated into Megalopolis by Epaminondas (Paus. 8.27.3). The site seems to have been abandoned by Pausanias’ day (Paus 8.27.7) although it must have still been occupied at the time of Polybius since he makes no mention of its desertion. Yet one might justifiably wonder why a community which, for the majority of the potential date of the inscription, was part of the larger city of Megalopolis was also acting as a loan-giving body? Two inter-linked options present themselves: firstly, that the Helisphasians provided the loan in the period in between the dissolution of Mantinea and the formation of Megalopolis (i.e. roughly 385–368 B.C.E. depending on the precise date of the latter), meaning that the inscription was extremely early and right at the very beginning of the sanctuary of Epidauros’ period of prosperity and influence.6 The second possibility meanwhile is that the Helisphasians continued to enjoy a degree of religious freedom after their incorporation into Megalopolis. Indeed the inscription commemorating their earlier συμπολιτεία with Mantinea affords specific rights to continue making sacrifices in Helisson and to receive θεωρία according to their customs.7 Furthermore, Jost notes that several other Arcadian communities affiliated with Megalopolis seemed to enjoy religious autonomy during the fourth-century.8 In light of the extensive building programs at Epidauros in the fourth century, we appear to have a situation where, due to a degree 3 E.g. the activities of Isyllos who composed a paean in honour of Asclepius in the late fourth or early third-century and set up an accompanying inscription which celebrates the salvation of Sparta from the Macedonians by Asclepius. 4 E.g. IG IV2 I.102 for the temple of Asclepius in the first half of the fourth century and IG IV2 I.109 for the accounts τὰ ἐπὶ Κυνὸς σκανάματα. 5 SEG 37.340. See Dubois (1988), 288–290 on the replacement of the disappearing digamma with a φ in West Greek. Hansen–Nielsen (2004), 512–513 no. 273 provide an overview of Helisson’s various names and history. 6 Tomlinson (1983), 26–29 discusses the various dates of Epidaurian building projects and argues that the main collection of funds for the building of the new temple took place between 387 and 378 B.C.E. 7 SEG 37.340, lines 9–10: τὰς θυσίας θύεσθαι τὰς ἰν Ἑλισόντι καὶ τὰς θεαρίας δέκεσθαι κὰ τὰ πάτρια. 8 Jost (1986), 153–154 using the example of Arcadian Gortyn which employs Scopas to make a cult statue of Asklepius (Paus. 8.28.1).
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of religious autonomy, the Helisphasians were able to function as a loan-giving body even while under Megalopolitan political control. The inscribed record at Epidauros of the successful repayment of the loan serves two functions, firstly as a highly visible record of continuing Helisphasian autonomy and secondly as proof, with individuals from several major cities as witnesses, that Epidauros could and would repay larger loans associated with the building project. When combined with the evidence surrounding the numerical notation, a date in the late-fourth century B.C.E. seems most likely. To conclude, the original dating of the inscription, based on a complex series of arguments arising from the political history of the Achaean League, can not stand due to the presence of a citizen of Halieis amongst the witnesses. Instead, a date of the late-fourth century B.C.E. is proposed. This is due, firstly, to the consistency of the numerical notation with other Epidaurian inscriptions from the late-Classical and early-Hellenistic period and, secondly, due to evidence from elsewhere in Arcadia of the religious autonomy afforded to communities like Hellison during this time. The proposed date would fit the loan into the period of time when Epidauros needed funds to finance building projects at the Asklepieion and offers new insight into how individual communities within a federation negotiated their own independence and identity.
Bibliography N. J. Breitenstein – W. Schwabacher (1982), Sylloge nummorum Graecorum: The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, West Milford NJ. L. Dubois (1988), À propos d’une nouvelle inscription arcadienne, BCH 112.1, 279–290. M. H. Hansen – T. H. Nielsen (2004), An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis, Oxford. B. V. Head (1967), Historia Numorum: A Manual of Greek Numismatics, Chicago. F. Hiller von Gaertringen (1929), Inscriptiones Epidauri (IG IV2.I), Berlin. M. H. Jameson (1969), Excavations at Porto Cheli and Vicinity, Preliminary Report, I: Halieis, 1962–1968, Hesperia 38.3, 311–342 M. H. Jameson – C. N. Runnels – T. H. van Andel (1994), A Greek Countryside: The Southern Argolid from Prehistory to the Present Day, Stanford. M. Jost (1986), Villages de l’Arcadie Antique, Ktema 11, 145–158. L. Migeotte (1984), L’emprunt public dans les cités grecques: recueil des documents et analyse critique, Paris. M. N. Tod (1936/1937), The Greek Acrophonic Numerals, ABSA 37, 236–258. R. A. Tomlinson (1983), Epidauros, London.
Alan Sheppard, Stanford University
[email protected]
