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Royal Correspondence: 4


SECOND LETTER OF ANTIGONOS TO TEOS

Greek text:   Teos_59   ( Syll_344 )
Date:     c. 303 B.C.
Tags:     synoecism

In this second letter, Antigonos modified some of the terms stated in his previous letter ( RC_3 ).


King Antigonos to the council and the people of Teos, greeting.   When we [ before studied ] how the synoecism might be completed most quickly, 110 we did not see from what source the [necessary] money would come [for you] to be able [to give immediately] to the Lebedians the value of their houses, because the amount available from the revenues comes in over a [rather long] period of time. [When we received] your envoys and those from the Lebedians and asked [them if they had any] expedient to suggest, and they said they had none except taxation, examining [their proposals] we find that your richest citizens only have always advanced the property taxes. [It seems good to us, then], that your list of "rich" citizens include six hundred names, that [these men] advance money in proportion to their property so that there may be [for the Lebedians] one-fourth of the compensation available at once, and that repayment be made to these men first after an interval [of a year] from the revenues [of the city], all of them being appropriated for this purpose.

It seems to us that the men who are going to conduct from Kos the appraisers of the houses and the] men who are going to copy the laws 120 should be chosen as soon as the abrogation (?) takes place and be sent out in five days from the time they are chosen, and that those who are [sent] for the laws should bring them from Kos and report them in the period which we specified in the answer {i.e., the previous letter}.

[Those] who are sent [for the] appraisers should bring them back as quickly as possible. [We think best] that the houses in your city which must be given to the Lebedians for [temporary residence] be counted [within] fifteen [days] from the reading of this answer, and that those who are to count [the houses and] assign them to the temporary occupants be elected by each [tribe] at the next assembly.

letter 5


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