CGRN 67

Fragment, probably from a sacrificial regulation, for Dionysus on Thasos

Date :

ca. 400-350 BC

Justification: lettering and style (Pouilloux).

Provenance

Thasos . Found near the Dionysion. Current location unknown (Museum of Thasos?).

Support

Marble block, broken on all sides except on the left where a large margin is preserved.

  • Height: 11.5 cm
  • Width: 25.5 cm
  • Depth: 28 cm

Layout

Somewhat irregular stoichedon, of uncertain length.

Letters: 15-17 mm high.

Bibliography

Edition here based on Pouilloux 1954: 342, with ph. pl. 37-2. We adopt some of the restorations suggested in Pouilloux's commentary and in Sokolowski.

Other edition: Hiller von Gaertringen IG XII.Suppl. 398

Cf. also: Sokolowski LSS 67.

Text


[......1 line......]
Διονύ[σωι ..?..]
βο̑ν ἢ αἶγ[α ..?..]
οἱ δὲ {ι} ἰδι[ῶται ὅ τι (?) ἂν]
θέλωσ[ιν ..?..]
[..?..]

Translation

[...] for Dionysus [...] a bovine or a goat [...] But the [private individuals (?) ... as (?)] they wish [...]

Traduction

[...] à Dionysos [...] un bovin ou un caprin [...] Mais les [particuliers (?) ... comme (?)] ils le souhaitent [...]

Commentary

This extremely badly preserved regulation was found near the sanctuary of Dionysus on Thasos (the Dionysion near the agora) and quite clearly mentions the god himself (line 1); for other inscriptions concerning the cult of Dionysus, found in this area, see e.g. IG XII.Suppl. 395-396 and 398.

In terms of the format and content of the regulation, Sokolowski thinks that it originally contained a distinction between prescribed options for sacrifices during civic rites (line 2) as opposed to a free choice of sacrificial animals for private individuals (lines 3-4, "[as] they wish"). This is a good possibility, since contrasts between private sacrifices and sacrifices of a group are often drawn, cp. here e.g. CGRN 38 (Chios), lines A2-7 and B4-9 (city vs. individual), CGRN 50 (Chios), lines 2-9 (genos vs. individual), and CGRN 175 (Priene), lines 3-15 (city vs. individual).

The choice between two or more different sacrificial animals is seldom explicitly found in ritual norms (especially with the conjunction ἤ). More usually, one is confronted with specific prescriptions or restrictions concerning the species of animal to be sacrificed. The option between a bovine and a goat may accordingly seem unusual, a sort of "high and low" contrast, at least in terms of cost, and so might be thought unlikely to refer to civic rites in honour of Dionysus (see above). For sacrificial "options" of this sort, usually found where private sacrifices or familial cult is concerned, cf. here esp. CGRN 96 (Kos), lines 25-32. However, such an interpretation need not be the case: it was often perfectly possible, even in a public cult, for individuals to choose between a variety of sacrifical animals to offer as a sacrifice, including oxen and much smaller animals (cf. e.g. CGRN 17, Thasos, where only a requirement concerning the gender of the animals offered seems to be expressed). This is perhaps most often clearly expressed by sacrificial tariffs concerning thesauroi and the like: cf. e.g. here CGRN 212 (Pergamon), line 27 (tariffs for an ox or sheep respectively) and CGRN 215; cf. also CGRN 176 (Priene), lines 11-12 (provisions of sacrificial complements for the case of an ox, sheep or suckling animal).

Publication

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike International License 4.0 .

All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain somewhere a link back to the DOI (https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN67), as well as the year of consultation (see “Home” for details on how to cite or click “Export Citation” to create a reference for this specific file).

Authors

  • Jan-Mathieu Carbon
  • Saskia Peels
  • Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge

How To Cite

Brief citation of the Greek text : CGRN 67, lines x-x.

Reference to the file as a critical study of the inscription : Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Saskia Peels et Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, "CGRN 67: Fragment, probably from a sacrificial regulation, for Dionysus on Thasos", in Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN), 2017-, consulted on April 18, 2024. URL: http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/file/67/; DOI: https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN67.

Full citation of the CGRN in a list of abbreviations or a bibliography is the following : Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Saskia Peels-Matthey, Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN), 2017-, consulted on April 18, 2024. URL: http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be; DOI: https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN0. 

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	    			<author>Jan-Mathieu Carbon</author>
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					<head>Bibliography</head>
	<p>Edition here based on <bibl type="author_date" n="Pouilloux 1954">Pouilloux 1954</bibl>: 342, with ph. pl. 37-2. We adopt some of the restorations suggested in Pouilloux's commentary and in Sokolowski.</p>
					
	<p>Other edition: Hiller von Gaertringen <bibl type="abbr" n="IG XII.Suppl.">IG XII.Suppl.</bibl> 398</p>
					
	<p>Cf. also: Sokolowski <bibl type="abbr" n="LSS">LSS</bibl> 67.</p>
				
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<lb/><gap atLeast="1" unit="line" reason="lost"/>		

<lb xml:id="line_1" n="1"/><name type="deity" key="Dionysus"><w lemma="Διόνυσος">Διονύ<supplied reason="lost">σωι</supplied></w></name> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
	    					
<lb xml:id="line_2" n="2"/><name type="animal" key="ox"><w lemma="βοῦς">βο̑ν</w></name> ἢ <name type="animal" key="goat"><w lemma="αἴξ">αἶγ<supplied reason="lost">α</supplied></w></name> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
	    					
<lb xml:id="line_3" n="3"/>οἱ δὲ <surplus>ι</surplus> <name type="person"><w lemma="ἰδιώτης">ἰδι<supplied reason="lost">ῶται</supplied></w></name> <supplied reason="lost">ὅ <w lemma="τις">τι</w> (?) ἂν</supplied>	    			   					
<lb xml:id="line_4" n="4"/><w lemma="ἐθέλω">θέλωσ<supplied reason="lost">ιν</supplied></w> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
	    						
<lb/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
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					<head>Translation</head>
<p>[...] for Dionysus [...] a bovine or a goat [...] But the [private individuals (?) ... as (?)] they wish [...]</p>
				</div>
				<div type="translation" xml:lang="fre">
					<head>Traduction</head>
<p>[...] à Dionysos [...] un bovin ou un caprin [...] Mais les [particuliers (?) ... comme (?)] ils le souhaitent [...] </p>
				</div>
	    		
					<div type="commentary">    
						<head>Commentary</head>    
						
<p>This extremely badly preserved regulation was found near the sanctuary of Dionysus on Thasos (the Dionysion near the agora) and quite clearly mentions the god himself (line 1); for other inscriptions concerning the cult of Dionysus, found in this area, see e.g. <bibl type="abbr" n="IG XII.Suppl.">IG XII.Suppl.</bibl> 395-396 and 398.</p> 
						
<p>In terms of the format and content of the regulation, Sokolowski thinks that it originally contained a distinction between prescribed options for sacrifices during civic rites (line 2) as opposed to a free choice of sacrificial animals for private individuals (lines 3-4, "[as] they wish"). This is a good possibility, since contrasts between private sacrifices and sacrifices of a group are often drawn, cp. here e.g. <ref target="CGRN_38">CGRN 38</ref> (Chios), lines A2-7 and B4-9 (city vs. individual), <ref target="CGRN_50">CGRN 50</ref> (Chios), lines 2-9 (<foreign>genos</foreign> vs. individual), and <ref target="CGRN_175">CGRN 175</ref> (Priene), lines 3-15 (city vs. individual).</p>
						
<p>The choice between two or more different sacrificial animals is seldom explicitly found in ritual norms (especially with the conjunction ἤ). More usually, one is confronted with specific prescriptions or restrictions concerning the species of animal to be sacrificed. The option between a bovine and a goat may accordingly seem unusual, a sort of "high and low" contrast, at least in terms of cost, and so might be thought unlikely to refer to civic rites in honour of Dionysus (see above). For sacrificial "options" of this sort, usually found where private sacrifices or familial cult is concerned, cf. here esp. <ref target="CGRN_96">CGRN 96</ref> (Kos), lines 25-32. However, such an interpretation need not be the case: it was often perfectly possible, even in a public cult, for individuals to choose between a variety of sacrifical animals to offer as a sacrifice, including oxen and much smaller animals (cf. e.g. <ref target="CGRN_17">CGRN 17</ref>, Thasos, where only a requirement concerning the gender of the animals offered seems to be expressed). This is perhaps most often clearly expressed by sacrificial tariffs concerning <foreign>thesauroi</foreign> and the like: cf. e.g. here <ref target="CGRN_212">CGRN 212</ref> (Pergamon), line 27 (tariffs for an ox or sheep respectively) and <ref target="CGRN_215">CGRN 215</ref>; cf. also <ref target="CGRN_176">CGRN 176</ref> (Priene), lines 11-12 (provisions of sacrificial complements for the case of an ox, sheep or suckling animal).</p>
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