## THE PERILS OF RHODIAN CHRONOLOGY: THE CAREER OF A NOTABLE RHODIAN FROM KAMIROS

By Stella Skaltsa

Summary: As a tribute to the long and prolific career of Vincent Gabrielsen, this paper makes a small contribution to the intricacies of Rhodian chronology. By taking into consideration recent developments and advances in the field of Rhodian chronology, it proposes to further refine the chronological and historical context of the long career of Philokrates son of Philostephanos, a notable Rhodian from the Kamirian deme of Plarioi. On account of the decree passed in his honour by Kamiros sometime in the first quarter of the 2nd c. BC, Philokrates is one of the best documented Rhodians. 1

Among the slim corpus of honorific decrees issued by the Kamirians, 2 the stele  bearing Philokrates'  decree ( TRI 21)  stands  out in many respects (Fig. 1).  The nearly intact stele, running 70 lines, outlines Philokrates' career and the exceptional services he rendered to Kamiros over his long political career. Before ascending to the top ranking office in Kamiros,

I am deeply indebted to Vincent Gabrielsen for his support, encouragement and the enthusiasm he instilled in me to work with Rhodian material. My thanks also extend to the editors for the invitation to participate in the volume. As always I benefitted from discussions with Mat Carbon on Rhodian chronology.

- 1 For the decree see now TRI 21 (= TC 110 + TC Suppl. p. 27). For a discussion of the decree and its date, see Badoud 2015: 104-5, 369-72, with further references; see also Meier 2012: 269-73 no. 25; Thomsen 2020: 31, 75-76. Thély includes the decree of Philokrates ( TRI 21) among the evidence for earthquakes in ancient Greece (Thély 2016: 156, Table 6, 173, Appendix no. 5).
- 2 There are six extant honorific decrees from Kamiros. The earliest is for two proxenoi from Cyrene ( TC 105, early 4th c. BC). Two decrees are explicitly for Kamirians ( TC 106 and TRI 21), while in three instances the identity of the honorand is unknown due to the poor preservation of the stele ( TC 107; 108; 111).

that of damiourgos, 3 Philokrates had already held four offices, that of hieropoios, agonothetes, secretary of the mastroi and epistates. 4 It was during his tenure as a secretary of the mastroi and as epistates that he excelled in dealing with regional affairs and internal Kamirian issues. 5 In particular, his decisive role in settling disputes over communal land contested between Kamiros and Lindos was masterfully analysed by Vincent Gabrielsen in his book The Naval Aristocracy of Hellenistic Rhodes . 6

The objective of this paper is not to recapitulate Philokrates' career and his deeds, but rather to elucidate the date of one inscription in particular, which pertains to Philokrates' career and more specifically to his tenure as epistates (i.e. TRI 41= TC 45) (Fig. 2). By anchoring Philokrates' office as an epistates to a fixed chronological framework, we can then gain a better understanding of some of the inner workings of Kamirian administration in the aftermath of the earthquake of 198 BC that afflicted Rhodes and Karia. 7 My proposal is to take a close look at internal evidence from the epigraphic corpus of Kamiros in order to better define the chronological framework of Philokrates' office. Needless to say, Rhodian chronology is a thorny and delicate subject on its own, since the evidence for secure and fixed chronological points is slim, and a wide and diverse  array  of  evidence  -  archaeology,  epigraphy,  amphora  stamps,

- 3 Philokrates is recorded as the 98th damiourgos in the list of damiourgoi, TRI 8.1 B l. 15.
- 4 The order of Philokrates' offices depends on TRI 21, ll. 6-7.
- 5 Badoud 2015: 104, rightly explains that  Philokrates' services to  Kamiros outlined from lines 9 to 40 in TRI 21 are not related to his office as damiourgos but rather to his tenure of the office of secretary of the mastroi and that of epistates. Philokrates reorganised the civic archives which had fallen into neglect for 77 years and helped solve problems in the territorial dispute with Lindos. The inscribing of the list of damiourgoi ( TRI 8.1-2) and the publication of records in Kamiros might be connected with Philokrates' tenure as a secretary of the mastroi (see Badoud 2015: 105-6).
- 6 Gabrielsen 1997: 134-36; Gabrielsen 2000: 195.
- 7 On the earthquake of 198 BC that hit Karia and Rhodes, see Habicht 2003: 556-57, with references to Justin 30.4 and I.Stratonikeia 4. These sources help date the earthquake to January/February 198 BC; for further discussion of earthquakes and their importance for Rhodian chronology, see Skaltsa forthcoming .  The Rhodian inscriptions that mention this earthquake are the following: TRI 21 ( TC 110 + TC Suppl. p. 27); IG XII 1, 9 ( Syll. 3 1116). Both inscriptions confirm that the earthquake took place under the priest of Halios Theuphanes, who must therefore fall in 199/8 BC.

etc. - ought to be brought into the discussion in an attempt to shed light into these complex issues.

Evidence  reveals  that  Philokrates  served  the  Kamirians  for  over twenty years. His career is fairly well defined: he first appears in the epigraphic record as an hieropoios in the year of the 77th damiourgos of Kamiros ( TRI 40 = TC 44). Twenty one years later, Philokrates himself held the office of damiourgos (98th damiourgos in TRI 8.1 B l. 15; cf. TRI 21 ll. 40-41); this is the last recorded office in connection with this individual. In the years between the 77th and 98th damiourgoi (as defined by TRI 8.1-2), Philokrates held three more offices, that of agonothetes ( TRI 21 l. 6), secretary of the mastroi ( TRI 21 ll. 6-7) and epistates ( TRI 21 l. 7; TRI 41 l. 35). 8 The date of these three offices is not fixed. Yet the earthquake of 198 BC is of crucial importance as it provides a terminus post quem for Philokates'  appointment as epistates (for all  of  the  dates  and  varying chronologies presented here, please see the outline provided in Table 1).

In light of the fixed date of the earthquake of 198 BC and the more or less fixed chronological framework of the list of damiourgoi (years between the 77th and 98th damiourgoi), Philokrates's dossier could be considered as one of the best dated dossiers of Rhodian epigraphy of the late 3rd and the first decades of the 2nd c. BC. That being said, the absolute chronology of Philokrates' career is far from settled. The date of the dossier is closely tied to the list of the damiourgoi in Kamiros, which in turn is inextricably connected to the chronology of the priests of Halios.

Scholarly debate continues surrounding the details of this chronology. In recent years, Philokrates' dossier has been adduced twice with respect to the revision of Rhodian dates; more specifically, two different chronologies  for  the  list  of  damiourgoi  have  been  put  forth. 9 Nathan Badoud advocates for a high chronology, moving Benediktsson's dating of the list of damiourgoi four years backwards - to a starting point in 283/2 BC - albeit still within the five year margin of error allowed by Benediktsson himself. 10 Thibault Castelli, on the other hand, has recently lowered Badoud's chronology of the list of damiourgoi by nine years i.e. to 274/3 BC - and as a result, has reshuffled the chronology of the Rhodian eponyms (priests of Halios) for the amphora-stamp Periods IIbIII. 11

In the paper Philokrates' offices are listed in the order in which they are enumerated

8 in his honorific decree. See also note 4 above.

9 Within a period of a couple of years, the chronology of the list of damiourgoi has been revised twice, first by Badoud 2015: 92-96, 105-7 and then by Castelli 2017.

10  Badoud 2015: 102-7.

A key figure for establishing the chronology of the list of damiourgoi appears to be the priest of Halios, Xenophanes, who seems to provide a fixed chronological reference. 12 An honorific decree from Kamiros presents a double dating system, where the priest of Halios, Xenophanes son of Hieron, appears together with his son, the Kamirian damiourgos, Melanopos son of Xenophanes. 13 Unfortunately this document was unknown to Benediktsson in 1940, who proposed to date the starting point of the list of damiourgoi in 279/8 BC, allowing for a five year margin of error. 14 Melanopos appears as the 91st damiourgos in the list and his magistracy was traditionally dated in 189/8 BC. Accordingly, Xenophanes' priesthood was thought to date to the same year. 15

The date of Xenophanes' priesthood has recently become an issue of controversy, as it is closely intertwined to the complex nexus of Rhodian chronology: both a high (Badoud) and a low (Castelli) chronology of the list  of  damiourgoi  have been put forth. Advances in amphoric studies have shown that Xenophanes' priesthood is closely linked to the priesthood of Pratophanes, a Lindian himself. The priesthoods of Pratophanes and Xenophanes have been placed in close proximity to each other (in absolute as well as in relative chronology) on account of archaeological and amphoric evidence. More specifically, stamps of these two eponyms bear close stylistic resemblance. 16 Moreover, stamped amphoras of these

11  Castelli 2017: 11.

12  Badoud 2015: 177 A 50, 256.

13 TRI 20 (= TC 111). Sherk noticed that Melanopos is the son of Xenophanes, the priest of Halios, and this document presents one of the few occasions where father and son appear as eponyms of the text though in different capacities (Sherk 1990, 280).

14  Benediktsson 1940: 13: 'la limite d'erreur ne dépassera guère 5 ans'.

15  Finkielsztejn placed Xenophanes' priesthood around 189 BC (Finkielsztejn 2001: 186, 192), but Badoud has tried to show that this year was reserved for a Lindian priest (Badoud 2015: Table on p. 256).

- 16  Finkielsztejn 2001: 109, further illustrated the close chronological connection between these two eponyms by highlighting stylistic similarities in their stamps: head

two eponyms were found together in the Villanova deposit near Ialysos in Rhodes. On account of the amphora stamps the date of the deposit corresponds to Period IIIb of the amphoric chronology. 17 Yet,  as  both Badoud and Castelli have argued the absolute dates for individual eponyms can easily be shifted up or down the chronological ladder, once the date of an eponym in the complex nexus of Rhodian chronology has been revised. 18

Pratophanes is also the priest that dates the Rhodian arbitration between Samos and Priene over disputed lands. 19 The date of this inscription has been a matter of contest for decades; in this case too, a high (ca. 196-191 BC) 20 and low (ca. 186-181 BC) 21 chronology have been advocated by different scholars. In the high chronology, advocated by Badoud, Pratophanes' priesthood is placed in 195/4 BC, an embolic year and one reserved for the Lindian tribe in the triennial cycle of the priests of Halios, 22

of Halios as well as 'gothic' letterforms. It should be noted that in the sequence of eponyms proposed by John Lund on the basis of a statistical method, Xenophanes and Pratophanes appear as two successive eponyms (Lund 2011: 278 Fig. 4).

- 17  The  Villanova  deposit  contains  more  than  500  amphoras  found  near  Ialysos  in Rhodes; it consists of an assemblage of intact amphoras, placed upside down at a length of ca. 180m, and a group of amphora fragments (Maiuri 1921-1922). The assemblage of intact amphoras is homogeneous for it consists of stamps of eight eponyms and two fabricants respectively (Finkielsztejn 2001: 120-21, 176). According to Finkielsztejn (2001: 124 Table 6) the date of the stamps corresponds to Period IIIb of amphora stamps (189-182 BC).
- 18  The chronology of individual eponyms has been recently revised by Badoud 2015: 169 A25a, 177 A50, A53, 178-179 A60, 193 D19 and Castelli 2017: 5-12, respectively.
- 19  For the standard edition of the text of the Rhodian arbitration see now IK Priene 132.
- 20  Magnetto 2008: 75-80, revised the date of this event, maintaining an earlier suggestion that the arbitration took place between 196 and 191 BC; Blümel and Merkelbach, the editors of IK Priene ,  also  accept  a  high  date  for  the  arbitration  (2014:  321-23), against earlier view which placed the event sometime in the mid- or late 180s BC (see note 21 below).
- 21  A date in the mid- or late 180s BC was supported by Habicht 2003: 547-49; 2005, 13746, cf. SEG 55, 902); this has been vindicated more recently by Castelli 2017: 8-11.
- 22  Badoud 2015: 177 A 53, 256. Stamps bearing the intercalary month Panamos deuteros are attested for Pratophanes, see Badoud 2015: 151 no. 38.

while  Xenophanes'  priesthood  is  dated  to  193/2  BC. 23 Castelli  has  recently criticised the high date of the Rhodian arbitration between Samos and Priene, arguing in favour of a date in the 180s BC, as advocated in earlier scholarship. 24 In doing so, he re-dates Pratophanes' priesthood to 183/2 BC. 25 By retaining the close chronological proximity between Pratophanes and Xenophanes' priesthoods - a point of unanimous consensus among scholars - Castelli dates Xenophanes' priesthood in 184/3 BC, that is in a non-embolic year and a year reserved for the Kamirian tribe in Badoud's reconstructed Rhodian calendar. 26 In doing so, once again, he places the starting date of the list of the damiourgoi in 274/3 BC (contra Badoud, who places it in 283/2 BC). 27

A crucial point in Castelli's argumentation is the absence of stamped handles of these two eponyms, Pratophanes and Xenophanes, from the Gordion  assemblage.  According  to  Livy's  account,  Gordion  was  abandoned  in  189  BC  as  the  troops  of  Cn.  Manlius  Vulso  were  advancing against the Galatians. 28 Lawall, who studied the amphoric material from Gordion, acutely remarked that the amphora handles from Gordion constitute a homogeneous and discrete group, having reached Gordion for

- 23  Badoud 2015: 177 A 50, 256. The year of 193/2 BC year was reserved for a Kamirian priest, and Xenophanes has been identified as belonging to the political community of Kamiros. Furthermore, this was not an intercalary year, since no stamps with the intercalary month (Panamos deuteros ) are attested for Xenophanes.
- 24  Castelli 2017: 9-10. One of the Rhodian arbitrators, Hagesandros son of Eudamos, was appointed general in the war against Antiochos in the late 190s BC (for the sources on Hagesandros, see Castelli 2017: 10 n. 43).
- 25  Castelli 2017: 8, 10-11. It should be noted that Castelli follows the triennial tribal cycle  of  Badoud. He further  argues that  Pratophanes could not have been priest in 188/7 BC as originally suggested by Finkielsztejn 2001: 192) as this year was reserved for Ialysos in the triennial cycle, and Pratophanes was a Lindian.
- 26  Castelli 2017: 11, 24.
- 27  Melanopos, the 91st damiourgos, held his office the same year as Xenophanes. If 183/2 BC was the year that Xenophanes was priest of Halios and Melanopos the 91st damiourgos in Kamiros, then the list should start in 274/3 BC.
- 28  Cf. Lawall 2008: 113-14. In light of the short chronological horizon in which the eponymic  stamps  are  dated  (190s  BC),  Lawall  suggested  that  the  Rhodian  amphora stamped handles unearthed in Gordion provided wine to the Roman troops that stationed at the site in the winter of 189 BC, thus dismissing the idea that they should be considered as evidence for trade between Rhodes and Gordion.

the provision of the Roman army. In particular, stamps of a limited number of eponyms (6 names) and fabricants (11 names) are attested, who are traditionally dated to the 190s BC, thus neatly fitting in the period prior  to  the  year  of  the  abandonment  of  Gordion  in  189  BC. 29 As  the stamps of Pratophanes and Xenophanes are absent from the Gordion assemblage, though present in the Villanova deposit (Period IIIb in Finkielstejn's chronology), Castelli maintains the view that these eponyms should date after 189 BC.

Paul Iversen has also recently exposed some serious flaws in the reconstitution of the Rhodian calendar. Iversen has argued against the obsolete nine-year cycle of intercalation maintained by previous scholars, and convincingly demonstrated that Rhodes, like most of the Greek cities, should have followed a nineteen-year Metonic cycle in order to regulate its lunisolar calendar. 30 This finding bears serious consequences for the order of embolic years within a period of nineteen years. 31 Iversen's profound insights into the Rhodian calendar call for a revision of the sequence and chronology of the priests of Halios who are attested as having served in an embolic year (notably Pratophanes), as presented by Badoud and revised by Castelli (for Periods IIb-III). In other words, serious doubts can be raised about the sequence of the embolic years and consequently the order in which priests of Halios held office. This should be a reminder that Rhodian chronology is far from a settled affair and will continue to benefit from a systematic revision of all the evidence at hand and available in the future.

Regardless of the rather gloomy picture for absolute chronology in what I have just sketched, there is still room for refinement with regard to relative chronology. The crux of the problem with respect to Philokrates' dossier is the date of TRI 41. It is the inscription that has been used both by Badoud and Castelli to further substantiate their revised chronologies of the list of damiourgoi (high and low, respectively). In this inscription, Philokrates is recorded as one of the three epistatai together with other Kamirian officials (cf. Table 1). 32 But the name of the damiourgos in the dedication, TRI 41, is unfortunately missing, which would have otherwise solved the issue of the date for Philokrates' office. 33

29  See Lawall 2008: table on p. 113.

30  Iversen 2018-2019, 42-50, 94-96 contra the oktaeteris Gaertringen 1929 and Badoud 2015: 138-140.

cycle supported by Hiller von

31  For the frequency of the embolic years in the Metonic Cycle, see Iversen 2018-2019:

45.

Segre and Pugliese Carratelli were the first to place TRI 41 in a better defined chronological horizon, though with some hesitation. 34 They followed Jacopi, who proposed that TRI 41 was generally contemporaneous with TC 46 (Fig. 3) - also a dedication headed by the 87th damiourgos since two officials appeared in both lists: the hypogrammateus or undersecretary (Xenokritos) and the hierokeryx or sacred herald (Eurydikos) (Table 1). 35 Accordingly, the Italian scholars put forth the idea that these two inscriptions were issued in two successive years, with TRI 41 preceding TC 46. 36 In other words, they attributed TRI 41 to the year of the 86th damiourgos and restored the missing name of the damiourgos accordingly: Theudoros son of Onasandros. The sequence of these two inscriptions ( TRI 41  and TC 46)  and  the  restoration of  the damiourgos' name were retained by Badoud but have been questioned by Castelli.

In terms of absolute chronology, Badoud dates Philokrates' tenure as epistates in 198/7 BC (Table 2), the Rhodian year following the earthquake of January/February 198 BC and the year of the 86th damiourgos in Kamiros (i.e. starting date of the list of damiourgoi in 283/2 BC). 37 Castelli, on the other hand, proposes to date Philokrates' tenure of the office in 195/4 BC (i.e. starting date of the list of damiourgoi in 274/3 BC) (Table 2). 38 By lowering the date of the list of damiourgoi, Castelli dates Philokrates' first recorded public office that of hieropoios in 198/7 BC (year of the 77th damiourgos). He then assumes that Philokrates held the offices of agonothetes, secretary of the mastroi and epistates in three consecutive  years,  immediately  after  he  was  appointed  hieropoios.  Thus,  he reaches the date of 195/4 (i.e.  80th  damiourgos)  as  the  year  in which Philokrates would have held the office of epistates.

32 TRI 41 l. 35.

33  The damiourgoi usually set up a dedication that contained the names of other religious and civic magistrates at the end of their term in office, cf. Veligianni-Terzi 1977, 133.

34  Segre and Pugliese Carratelli 1949-1951: 199: 'dubitanter supplevi'.

35 ClRh VI-VII, 1932: 416, 418.

36  Segre and Pugliese Carratelli 1949-1951: 199, followed by Badoud 2015: 106.

37  Badoud 2015: 107.

38  Castelli 2017: 12.

As Castelli has rightly pointed out, in Badoud's chronology, the period that elapsed between the earthquake (January/February 198 BC) and the restoration of the peripolion (198/7 BC) is too short to explain the conditions described in the inscription. 39 In Philokrates' decree ( TRI 21) it  is explicitly stated that over the course of a number of years (ll. 25-26, καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἑνιαυτόν ,  i.e. at least 2-3 years), the Kamirians collected sufficient amounts of money for the restoration of the towers and the walls which had collapsed due to the earthquake. Despite all these resources and efforts, the  restoration of  the peripolion was apparently delayed. 40 The  project  seems  to  have  suffered  from  mismanagement  and  poor scheduling (ll. 32-33, διὰ τὸ μὴ ποτιγράφε | σθαι χρόνον τοῖς ἔργοις ἐν ὧι συντελεσοῦντι ), although those responsible were in charge of an ample workforce, polycheiria (ll.  31  and  34-35). 41 In  other  words,  the  project lacked coordination and effective supervision, despite the available resources both in terms of funding and labour. Philokrates' role was essential in the way in which he handled the management of the restoration works: the works were farmed out to contractors ( τοῖς αἱρουμένοις ἐπὶ τᾶς πολυχειρί | ας ) who had to deliver them within strict deadlines (ll. 3436).

Although Castelli's new date works much better with regard to the sequence of events outlined in Philokrates' decree ( TRI 21), the absolute date  for  Philokrates'  office  as  an  epistates  lies  on  shaky  grounds.  No- where in TRI 21 is there any mention that Philokrates held all four preliminary  offices  in  four  consecutive  years  (from  the  year  of  the  77th damiourgos to the year of the 80th damiourgos), before being appointed damiourgos himself (98th damiourgos). While Castelli is right that some time ought to have passed between the earthquake of 198 BC and the restoration of the peripolion , the attribution of Philokrates' offices to four consecutive years, starting from the year he became hieropoios (in the year of the 77th damiourgos), can be questioned (Table 2). Castelli's arrangement would create an odd situation, whereby Philokrates would have been unprecedentedly active at the start of his political career and completely inactive before being appointed damiourgos 18 years later. Furthermore, by placing Philokrates' tenure as epistates in the year of the 80th damiourgos ( TRI 41),  there is the risk of overlooking internal evidence from Kamiros, namely the close affinity between TRI 41 and TC 46 (87th damiourgos). 42

39  See note 37 above.

40  The term peripolion is often attested in Rhodian epigraphy, not only in inscriptions from Rhodes but also within the broader Rhodian State (i.e. Karpathos). The peripolion features in inscriptions in connection to the restorations of walls (e.g. Kamiros: TRI 21 ll.  21-24) or in response to imminent danger of attack (Karpathos: IG XII.1, 1032-1033, Lindos II, p. 1007). Epigraphic evidence from the island of Kos ( IG XII.41.1, 98-99) corroborates the picture illustrated by Rhodian epigraphy. The term peripolion seems to have encompassed a range of physical entities, from fortified settlements to forts; for all the different interpretations, see Baker 2001: 193 n. 38 and Meier 2012: 272 n. 404. Furthermore, a military official ( ἐπιστάτης τοῦ περιπολίου ) seems to have been responsible for ensuring the security of the peripolion .

41  Cf. Meier 2012: 272-73 n. 409.

Both lists ( TRI 41 and TC 46) are unusual in recording officials who are usually not attested in the dedications made by hieropoioi and headed by damiourgoi. In particular, these two inscriptions record not only the office of the secretary of the mastroi but also of an under-secretary, which is  otherwise  highly  unusual.  In  addition,  both  inscriptions  explicitly mention the names of three epistatai (cf. Table 1), instead of one, as is usual in other texts. 43 The presence of a board of secretaries - responsible for logistics and administration - and a board of epistatai - responsible for overseeing works - in two inscriptions which on the basis of internal evidence date in a close chronological horizon, cannot be accidental. Rather, as I will seek to demonstrate, it can be inferred that these two inscriptions demonstrate the intensification of efforts on behalf of Kamirian officials to bring the post-earthquake building works to an end, in this case, the restoration works in the peripolion ,  for which Philokrates was later praised.

Besides the presence of two boards of secretaries and epistatai, these two  inscriptions  share  further  similarities,  on  account  of  the  officials mentioned in them: the chronological proximity of these two inscriptions has been primarily inferred from prosopographic evidence. While TRI 41 has been thought to precede TC 46, I will argue that the reverse order is probably correct. A key figure in determining the chronological order of these two inscriptions is Eurydikos, who appears as sacred herald in both of them. Eurydikos is also attested as a sacred herald in another dedication (i.e. TC 44), which is dated in the year of the 77th damiourgos, Onymarchidas son of Euaratos, that is ten years earlier than TC 46 (86th damiourgos) (cf. Table 1). 44 Segre and Pugliese Carratelli proposed that TRI 41 and TC 46 are contemporary because Eurydikos, by the time these two dedications were set up, had been adopted, while in TC 44 Eurydikos is only recorded with the name of his natural father. However, it  seems  to  have  escaped  attention  that  the  way  in  which  Eurydikos' name is recorded in TRI 41 and TC 46 is not identical. TRI 41 (year of an unknown damiourgos) presents an abridged version of Eurydikos' name: there, he is called Eurydikos son of Kallistratos (l. 43). Kallistratos was Eurydikos' adopted father, as is made explicit in TC 46 (II ll. 26-27, year of 87th damiourgos) (Table 1). Eurydikos' natural father was Timon ( TRI 40 l. 26, year of 77th damiourgos). In fact, TC 46 (year of 87th damiourgos) is the only of the three inscriptions that attests to Eurydikos' full name, in that both the name of his natural father (Timon) and the name of his adopted  father  (Kallistratos)  are  fully  recorded.  Despite  the communis opinio , it is hard to accept that TRI 41 (year of an unknown damiourgos), in which the familial situation of Eurydikos is not fully and clearly exposed, since we find the name of adopted father only, was set up for public display before TC 46 (year of 87th damiourgos). I would therefore be inclined to infer that an abridged version of Eurydikos' filiation seems more likely (name of the adopted father only in TRI 41), after a public inscription ( TC 46)  had  already exposed his familial situation in detail (name of natural father and name of adopted father). For this reason, it is reasonable to suggest that TC 46 (year of 87th damiourgos) should precede TRI 41 (year of an unknown damiourgos) (Table 1). In other words, TRI 41 should post-date the year of the 87th damiourgos. It follows that the restored name of the damiourgos in TRI 41 can no longer be conjectured  to  be  the  86th  damiourgos  (Theudoros  son  of  Onasandros  in Badoud's high chronology) 45 or the 80th damiourgos (Menekrates son of Nauphilos in Castelli's low chronology). TRI 41 should instead be dated in the year of the 88th damiourgos (Alexis son of Thrasymedes) or slightly later (Table 1).

42  Castelli does not take into account the close chronological sequence between TRI 41 and TC 46 (87th damiourgos).

43  Veligianni-Terzi 1977: Table 1 c. nos. 35 and 36. See also note 48 below.

44  The name of the 77th damiourgos is inscribed as Onomastidas in TRI 8.1 Ac l. 30, but see now Badoud 2015: 93, for the correction from Onomastidas to Onymarchidas in light of TRI 40 l. 1.

There is another feature that underlines the very close chronological proximity of TC 46 and TRI 41, with the latter slightly post-dating the former.  There  are  seven  damiourgoi  inscriptions  dated  in  a  timespan  of twenty years, between the years of 77th and 97th damiourgoi: three out of these seven inscriptions are firmly dated by the damiourgos' year (the 77th, 87th, and 97th), while four others are missing this dating element 46

(Table 1). In  these documents, there is a remarkable consistency observable in the tenure or re-appointment of the sacred heralds. On account of TRI 40 and TC 46 which are dated after the years of the 77th and 87th damiourgoi respectively, it becomes evident that the same individual could serve as a sacred herald even ten years after his first appointment. In other words, appointment to this office does not seem to have been regulated by an annual or successive order; instead, appointment seems to have been on a more occasional and random basis. 47

- 45  This restoration was suggested in light of TC 46, which, again, is dated after the 87th damiourgos (Chalkon son of Chalkon).
- 46  These  inscriptions,  however,  can  be  placed  anytime  after  the  87th  damiourgos, Chalkon son of Chalkon ( TC 46), and before the 97th damiourgos, Agetor son of Damostratos ( TC 50) (Table 1).
- 47  For example, the hierokeryx Ariston son of Epikrates held this appointment in the year of the 87th damiourgos ( TRI 41). Before the year of the 97th damiourgos, he held this office three more times ( TC 47, 48 and 49). Apparently, he could have held this office anytime in a ten-year period, not necessarily in three consecutive years after his first appointment. Likewise, it is attested that the hierokeryx Erasilas son of Sosikrates held this office four times, once in the year of the 97th damiourgos ( TC 50) and three more times jointly with Ariston. As Ariston's appointments as hierokeryx probably predate the year of the 97th damiourgos, Erasilas' three undated appointments should date prior to the year of the 97th damiourgos.

The  above  analysis  has  shown  that TRI 41  (unknown  damiourgos) should slightly postdate TC 46 (87th damiourgos). Thus, Philokrates' tenure of the office of epistates, which features in TRI 41, should date shortly thereafter, probably in the year of the 88th damiourgos or slightly later, not in the year of 80th damiourgos, as Castelli reasoned (Tables 1 and 2). That being said, Castelli's low chronology in general has a much better potential for illuminating the prevailing historical conditions. If we accept that TRI 41 dates after TC 46 (87th damiourgos) and if we follow Castelli's  revised  lower chronology for the list of damiourgoi (in absolute chronological terms), for the reasons explained above, then Philokrates' decree ( TRI 21) allow us to get some unique glimpses into the internal affairs of Kamiros. More than a decade after the collapse of the peripolion in the earthquake of 198 BC (76th damiourgos in Castelli's lower chronology),  the  Kamirians,  under  the  87th  damiourgos  ( TC 46),  appointed  a board of two secretaries and a board of three epistatai to deal with delays and mismanagement of building works. TC 46 and TRI 41 thus demonstrate the mobilization of the Kamirian community to put an end to the delays in the progress of the works by appointing for at least two years boards of officials responsible for these works, instead of single individuals.

In a corpus of 44 hieropoioi inscriptions from Kamiros, there are only three instances where a board of three epistatai is recorded. 48 TRI 41 and TC 46 have already been discussed. The other text is the earliest attestation: it dates in the year of the 57th damiourgos, and if we follow the low chronology suggested by Castelli; the 57th damiourgos was in office in 218 BC. 49 A few years earlier (223/2 BC) a devastating earthquake had hit Rhodes, including Kamiros. 50 In response to the damage caused by this earlier earthquake, the Kamirians opened subscriptions and embarked

- 48  Besides the hieropoioi dedications, the board of epistatai appear once in a dedication of the 3rd c. BC ( TC 54) and then twice in the 1st c. BC (honorific decree: TC 90 II ll. 24-27;  dedication: TRI 42). Blinkenberg (1941: 24-30) has collected all the evidence of epistatai attested in Rhodian inscriptions. He illustrates how the same term (epistates) can refer to different offices, ranging considerably in duties. For the epistatai in inscriptions from Kamiros, see Badoud 2015: 106 n. 112.
- 49 TC 38 ll. 20-23 dates in the year of the 57th damiourgos, Oulias son of Mnasitimos.
- 50  For a revised date of this earthquake - usually situated in ca. 227 BC - see Skaltsa forthcoming .

on an ambitious building project that would transform the local urban landscape. 51 In other words, at Kamiros, a board of epistatai, whose role was manifestly to oversee public projects, is explicitly recorded when major building works were under way.

Thanks to Philokrates' coordinated efforts and admirable determination in his capacity as one of three epistatai, the peripolion was finally fully restored, more than ten years after the earthquake of 198 BC. 52 The revised chronology proposed here for Philokrates' office as epistates, in the year of the 88th damiourgos or shortly after, certainly allows for his more than twenty-year political career to have developed more organically. Recall that Philokrates embarked on this political career when he assumed the office of hieropoios in Kamiros in the year of the 77th damiourgos ( TRI 40 l. 14, 198/7 BC); he was appointed damiourgos himself 21 years later (98th damiourgos, TRI 8.1 B l. 15, 177/6 BC). Around 10 years before becoming damiourgos and after being active for more than 10 years in Kamirian politics as agonothetes and secretary of the mastroi , Philokrates played a leading role in the completion of repair works on the peripolion , as one of the three epistatai (probably in the year of the 88th damiourgos) (Table 2).

Building projects are not only labour-intensive and financially taxing but  also  time-consuming.  Rhodian  epigraphy  illustrates  some  of  the problems to which building and repair projects were prone. Although appropriate action was taken to repair the peripolion in Kamiros, the logistics and management of this effort caused considerable delays in the completion  of  the  works.  The  case  of  Rhodes  also  offers  us  unique glimpses into how Hellenistic communities responded to natural disasters, 53 especially when it came to issues of security. Although the peripo-

- 51 TC 158; cf. Skaltsa 2021: 159. For the transformation of urban landscape in Kamiros in the last decades of the 3rd c. BC, see Caliò 2011.
- 52  Philokrates' name is recorded first among the three epistatai in TRI 41 ll. 35-37 and his role of leadership is meticulously illustrated in TRI 21, ll. 19-36.
- 53  Cf. Skaltsa 2021, where evidence pertaining to associations is also discussed. Appropriate actions could be taken immediately after a natural disaster. For example, action for the restoration of the funerary enclosure of an association in the necropolis

lion of Kamiros has not been archaeologically located, this local community needed to have its peripolion standing and in good condition. The issue of ἀσφάλεια preoccupied Kamirian society, a concern which can be traced  already  in  the  late  3rd  c.  BC  when  a  public  subscription  was opened for the construction of the stoa in the sanctuary of Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus in the Acropolis, just after the devastating earthquake of 223/2 BC. 54 As explicitly mentioned in the subscription, the stoa - a multipurpose building - would enhance not only the honours to the gods but also the security of the Kamirians. The community was clearly affected by the extensive damage the earthquake had caused in the capital of the island - especially the damage to the fortification and shipyards, both key elements for ensuring the safety of the population. 55 For the Kamirians, it was unacceptable that, a decade after the earthquake of 198 BC  and  despite  ample  financial  and  labour  resources,  the  necessary works were still ongoing. It was not a matter of money or labour but of management  and  logistics,  a  persistent  and  enduring  problem  with building projects across space and time. It was thanks to the decisive role of a civic official, Philokrates, that this issue was overcome and that the works were brought to completion.

## Concluding Remarks

The refinement of both the relative and absolute chronology has allowed us to better understand the timeframe of this project and to illuminate in a more balanced way the career of a notable Kamirian. At the same time, this short article has provided a small contribution to the ongoing

of the city of Rhodes was taken within a few months after the earthquake of 198 BC ( Syll. 3 1116). The earthquake occurred in January/February 198 BC and the association convened in the month of Hyakinthios (May/June 198 BC). For the seasons of the Rhodian months, see Iversen 2018-2019: 79 Table V.

- 54  In the public subscription for the construction of the stoa in the Acropolis the concept of security ( ἀσφάλεια ) is explicitly mentioned ( TC 158 ll. 5-8): [ π ] ροαιρούμενοι τάς τε τι [ μὰς ] |[ τ ] ῶν θεῶν καὶ τὰ ποτ ' ἀσφ [ ά ]|[ λ ] ειαν Καμιρεῦσι συγκατα |[ σ ] κευάζειν .
- 55  Plb. 5.88-90. See now Bresson 2021 with earlier bibliography. For the date, see note 50 above.

debate about the chronology of Rhodian inscriptions. This is a thorny issue as an abundance of evidence, often from different fields (amphora studies, epigraphy, archaeology, literature, etc.) and different areas (e.g. Rhodes, Gordion), should be taken into account in order to weave a balanced and complete picture. Indeed, Rhodian chronology is like an intricate tapestry whose threads overlap inextricably with one another. Moving the date of one inscription inevitably results in the displacement of others. All dates and types of evidence should be carefully examined together. With such a holistic approach, there is still the potential to further illuminate the date of inscriptions published long ago, both in terms of absolute and relative chronology, and to paint a more nuanced picture of the historical record.

## ABBREVIATIONS

- ClRh VI-VII = Jacopi, G. 1932. C lara Rhodos VI-VII. Esplorazione Archeologica di Camiro II . Rhodes.
- IK Priene = Blümel, W. & R. Merkelbach (eds.) 2014. Die Inschriften von Priene (IGSK 69). Bonn.
- Lindos II  =  Blinkenberg, C.  1941. Lindos, fouilles  de l'Acropole,  1902-1914.  II, Inscriptions publiées en grande partie d'après les copies de K.F. Kinch, avec un appendice contenant diverses autres inscriptions rhodiennes . Berlin.
- TC =  Segre,  M.  &  G.  Pugliese  Carratelli  1949-1951  'Tituli  Camirenses' ASAtene 27-29 (n.s. 13-15) 141-318.
- TC Suppl. = Pugliese Carratelli, G. 1952-1954. 'Tituli Camirenses Supplementum' ASAtene 30-32 (n.s. 14-16) 210-46.
- TRI = Badoud, N. 2015. Le temps de Rhodes. Une chronologie des inscriptions de la cité fondée sur l'étude de ses institutions (Vestigia 63). Munich.

## BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Badoud, N. 2015. Le temps de Rhodes. Une chronologie des inscriptions de la cité fondée sur l'étude de ses institutions (Vestigia 63). Munich.
- Baker, P. 2001. 'Remarques sur la défence à Cos à l'époque hellénistique' REA 103, 183-95.

- Benediktsson, J. 1940. Chronologie de deux listes de prêtres Kamiréens . Copenhagen.
- Blinkenberg, C. 1941. Lindos, fouilles de l'Acropole, 1902-1914. II, Inscriptions publiées en grande partie d'après les copies de K.F. Kinch, avec un appendice contenant diverses autres inscriptions rhodiennes . Berlin.
- Bresson, A. 2021. 'Rhodes circa 227 B.C. Destruction and Recovery' in S. Fachard & E.M. Harris (eds.) The Destruction of Cities in the Ancient Greek World. Integrating  the  Archaeological  and Literary  Evidence .  Cambridge, 189-227.
- Caliò, L.M. 2011. 'The Agora of Kamiros. A hypothesis' in A. Giannikouri (ed.) The Agora in the Mediterranean from Homeric to Roman times, International Conference Kos, 14-17 April 2011 . Athens, 343-55.
- Castelli, T. 2017. 'La chronologie des éponymes rhodiens de la fin du IIIe s. et du premier tiers du IIe s. Nouvelles hypothèses' REA 119, 3-24.
- Finkielsztejn, G. 2001. Chronologie détaillée et révisée des éponymes amphoriques rhodiens, de 270 à 180 av. J.-C. environ . Oxford.
- Gabrielsen, V. 1997. The Naval Aristocracy of Hellenistic Rhodes (Studies in Hellenistic Civilisation 6). Aarhus.
- Gabrielsen, V. 2000. 'The Synoikized Polis of Rhodes' in P. Flensted-Jensen, P. Nielsen, T.H. Nielsen & L. Rubinstein (eds.) Polis & Politics. Studies in Ancient Greek History. Presented to Mogens Herman Hansen on his Sixtieth Birthday, August 20 . Copenhagen, 177-205.
- Habicht, C. 2003. 'Rhodian Amphora Stamps and Rhodian Eponyms' REA 105, 541-78.
- Habicht, Chr. 2005. 'Datum und Umstände der rhodischen Schlichtung zwischen Samos und Priene' Chiron 35, 137-46.
- Hiller  von  Gaertringen,  F.  1929.  'Rhodische  Priesterlisten  und  Festen' ARW 27, 349-54.
- Iversen, P. 2018-2019. 'Lunisolar Calendars, the Antikythera Mechanism, the Halieia of Rhodes and some thoughts on the Calendars of Rhodes and Kos' Eulimene 19-20, 39-122.
- Jacopi,  G.  1932-1933.  'Esplorazione  archeologica  di  Camiro  II.  Epigraphica' ClRh VI-VII. Rhodes, 367-439.
- Konstantinopoulos, G. 1966. ' Ροδιακά Ι ' ADelt 21 A, 56-61.

- Lawall, M.L. 2008. 'Rhodian amphora stamps from Gordion, 189 BC' in A. Avram et al. (eds.) ΦΙΛΙΑΣ ΧΑΡΙΝ . Mélanges à la Mémoire de Niculae Conovici (Cultur ă ş i Civiliza ț ie la Dun ă rea de Jos 25). C ă l ă ra ş i, 111-20.
- Lund, J. 2011. 'A new sequence of the eponyms named on Rhodian amphora stamps in the first half of the second century BC as established through seriation' Acta Archaeologica 82, 271-90.
- Maiuri, A. 1921-1922. 'Una fabbrica di anfore rodie' ASAtene 4-5, 249-69.
- Magnetto, A. 2008. L'arbitrato di Rodi fra Samo e Priene . Pisa.
- Meier, L. 2012. Die Finanzierung öffentlicher Bauten in der hellenistischen Polis . Mainz am Rhein.
- Pugliese  Carratelli,  G.  1952-1954.  'Tituli  Camirenses  Supplementum' ASAtene 30-32 (n.s. 14-16), 210-46.
- Segre, M. & G. Pugliese Carratelli 1949-1951. 'Tituli Camirenses' ASAtene 27-29 (n.s. 11-13), 141-318.
- Sherk,  R.  1990.  'The  Eponymous  Officials  of  Greek  Cities  II.  Mainland Greece and the Adjacent Islands' ZPE 84, 231-95.
- Skaltsa, S. 2021. 'Building projects in the Rhodian State: local dynamics and interrelations' in B. Poulsen, J. Lund & P. Pedersen (eds.) Karia and the Dodekanese. Cultural interrelations in the southeast Aegean. Early Hellenistic to early Byzantine , vol. 2. Oxford, 155-73.
- Skaltsa, S. forthcoming. 'The highs and lows of earthquakes and Rhodian chronology'.
- Thély, L. 2016. Les Grecs face aux catastrophes naturelles: Savoirs, histoire, mémoire . Athens.
- Thomsen, C.A. 2020. The Politics of Association in Hellenistic Rhodes .  Edinburgh.
- Veligianni-Terzi,  C.  1977. Damiurgen.  Zur  Entwicklung  einer  Magistratur . Heidelberg.

TC 50

178/7 BC

187 BC

8.1 B 1. 15

TC 49

Name missing

TRI 21 II. 40-41; TRI Damiourgos

damiourgoi (186/5-179/8 BC)|

98th damiourgos

between 89th and 96th

177/6 BC

98th damiourgos

177 BC

(1) Apiotov Expáteus

(2) Epaolas Sootto

98th damiourgos

? (stele broken)

186 BC

TC 48

TRI 21 II. 6-7

TC 47

Name missing TRI 211.7; TRI 41I. Epistates Name missing

damiourgoi (186/5-181/0 BC)|

damiourgoi (186/5-181/0 BC)|

between 89th and 94th

after

Sin damiourgos or shortly thereafter 187/6 BC orshaly

80th damiourgos Secretary of the mastroi after 77th and before 870h damiourgos between 89th and 94th and 95th damiourgoi)

195 BC

(1) Apiotov Enzouteus

198 BC and before 87th damiourgos)

86th damiourgos (after the earthquake of

198 BC

79th damiourgos

197-191 BC (between 87th

(1) Apiotov Expáteus TRI 211.6

TRI 41

(TC 45)|

Agonothetes

## TABLES

Source

Magistracies

TRI 40 1. 14; TRI 21

Hieropoios

| 80th damiourgos:                                                                                                                 | 188/7 BC                             |                                                           |                                | Table 1: Date of hieropoioi dedications headed by damiourgoi (discussed in the text)                |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| after 77th and before 87th damiourgos 88th damiourgos: Aléğis Opacuufdeus or one of his successors (187/6 BC or slightly later ) | Damiourgos' year 77th damiourgos     | Skaltsa 198/7 BC                                          |                                | Date (Skaltsa)                                                                                      |
| (195/4 BC) Ovaodvopov (198 BC)                                                                                                   | 198/7 BC 197 BC                      | Absolute chronology                                       | 207 BC                         | Table 2: Relative and absolute chronology of Philokrates magistracies Date (Castelli) Date (Badoud) |
| 78th damiourgos 86th damiourgos: Grúdopos | (1) Eupúdıxos Кайлотртог (2) Baolov Tágyou                                      | 77th damiourgos 198 BC бі Калотойтої | Damiourgos' year Absolute chronology (1) Apiotov ExpúteUs | Castelli (1) Eugúdixos Típovos |                                                                                                     |
|                                                                                                                                  |                                      |                                                           |                                | Hierokeryx                                                                                          |
|                                                                                                                                  | 77th damiourgos                      | Damiourgos' year                                          | Badoud                         | Under-secretary                                                                                     |
| Eevoufootos Роділлов (2) Тістрато, аробло (3) ScoTOatos BOvLaxpaTEus                                                             | 207 BC (1) Феохрат; ФотЕфО»          | Absolute chronology (1) Euxins Eusheitou                  |                                | Epistatai                                                                                           |

Name missing

11. 6,7

TC 46

87th damiourgos: Xaxxov Xaxxovos TR/ 40

(TC 44)|

77th damiourgos: Ovuuagxidas Source Damiourgos (cf. TR/ 8.1-2)

## Figures

Fig. 1 Honorific decree for Philokrates ( TRI 41) (after Segre & Pugliese Carratelli 1949-1951, 240 Fig. 84 / @ Ephorate of Antiquities of the Dodecanese)

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Fig. 2 Dedication of the hieropoioi ( TRI 41 = TC 45) (after Pugliese Carratelli 1952-1954, 241 Fig. 59 / @ Ephorate of Antiquities of the Dodecanese)

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Fig. 3 Dedication of the hieropoioi ( TC 46) (after Pugliese Carratelli 19521954, 241 Fig. 60 / @ Ephorate of Antiquities of the Dodecanese)

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