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Small
Stoichedon only in lines 1-2; otherwise the lines are of variable length.
Letters:
Encoded for EpiDoc schema 8.17 on 01-07-2014 by S. Peels.
Edition here based on
Cf. also: Hoffmann
Under the prytany of Amphoteros, Daphnaios bought the priesthood. To the priest (5) are given the viscera placed on the knees (of the statue), and the tongues and a prerogative.
Sous la prytanie d'Amphoteros, Daphnaios a acheté la prêtrise. Au prêtre (5) sont octroyés les viscères placés sur les genoux (de la statue), ainsi que les langues et une part d'honneur.
Given the irregularities in writing (variable stoichedon) and the seemingly poor execution (occasionally oddly incised letters), the inscription was deemed by Plassart and Picard to be a copy of an earlier text from Chios and an archaising inscription, a judgement which was followed by Sokolowski. However, this supposition has recently and rightly come under question: Parker (also adducing the judgement of Matthaiou) sees no reason why the inscription cannot belong to the 5th century BC, which was already the judgement of Adolf Wilhelm (in Schwyzer) on the basis of its letterforms.
Indeed, many records and acts of sale of priesthoods are known from Chios during the Classical period: cf. here CGRN 37, CGRN 49, and CGRN 50; many other priestly contracts from the island are known. The inscription was apparently cut principally to record the privileges, namely the sacrificial perquisites of the priest (lines 5-8). This was done on a small stone to be erected directly into the ground, presumably at the sanctuary in question. The cult in which the priest served is left unspecified, and thus remains unknown: the context would probably have been obvious given the place in which the priestly contract was set up. For the dialectal forms, cf. Plassart - Picard, Hoffmann, and Schwyzer.
Line 1: As Plassart and Picard note, the name Amphoteros is known from another inscription on Chios,
Lines 5-6: For the specific portions of the viscera which were deposited "in the hands" and "on the knees", i.e. in the open hands and/or knees of seated statues at the center of the cult, see here e.g. CGRN 41, lines 12-13; these are common expressions apparently specific to Chios.
Line 7: For the priestly privilege of receiving the tongue of the sacrificial animal, commonly granted on Chios, cf. here CGRN 41, line 9. The generic plural γλάσσαι is presumably intended to make clear that the priest will receive the tongue of each and every sacrificial animal, whether one or many are offered.
Line 8: For the γέρας as a specific (but unclear) portion often granted as a separate item to priests on Chios, cf. here CGRN 36, line 3, with further discussion.