Several inscriptions of the Hellenistic period commemorate women who were rich enough in their own right to become important benefactors of their local city; see Anne Bielman in "A Companion to Women in the Ancient World", pp. 239-240 ( Google Books ). The long inscription in honour of Archippe was originally dated to the end of the 2nd century B.C.; but R. Van Bremen has argued for a date in the 160s or 150s B.C. If this new date is correct, it is a relatively early example of such profuse honours being awarded to a woman.
A French translation of the entire inscription is available on the Chaeréphon website. In its eagerness to display all the honours awarded to Archippe, the inscription has included both the draft and the final version of two decrees (B&C, D&E).
[A] . . . [having this inscription: 'The people honours Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes] on account of her virtue [and] her goodwill towards the people;' and to place next to her statue on the same base a colossal bronze statue of the People, crowning her; and to place on the same base a bronze statue of her father Dikaiogenes, having this inscription: 'The people honours Dikaiogenes son of Lakrates.' The agonothete shall crown Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes in the boys' contest at the next Dionysia, on account of her virtue and her goodwill towards the people, and she shall be invited to privileged seating; the announcement of the aforesaid honours shall be made by the present agonothete 10 and by the agonothetes on each future occasion, just as they do for other benefactors. When Archippe dies, the prytanis in office at the time shall crown her with a golden crown, making the announcement as written above; and she shall be given a burial plot in the same place as the other benefactors. In order that the statues and the plinth may be completed as quickly as possible, her brother Olympios son of Dikaiogenes shall be invited to procure the money without any refund and to arrange the aforesaid honours in whatever way Archippe chooses. This decree shall be regarded as for the safety of both the city and the citizens; 20 in the year of Metrophanes, in the month of Terpheios.
[B] A decree about sacrifices for the tribes. It was resolved by the council, as recommended by the generals and the phylarchs and the councillors {synedroi}: since Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes, in keeping with her nobleness and the goodwill that she continually has towards her fatherland and her honourable conduct, misses no opportunity for actions that show her generosity and zeal, for which she receives recognition and gratitude both in public from the people 30 and in private from each of the citizens, as she is honoured with splendid and glorious honours, worthy of the virtue and nobleness of her ancestors and of her own zeal towards the people, through which she has rendered her fatherland finer and more splendid; and her name has been inscribed on the council house that was completed in accordance with what was previously decreed; and now she has announced that she is making a gift that shows her generosity, 40 and she has given fifty staters to the council of the whole people for a sacrifice and a banquet, and seventy drachmas of Attic silver for the bull that will be offered at the sacrifice and fifty jugs {prochous} of vintage wine both for each of the tribes and an equal amount for the foreign residents, and that she will provide sweet treats in the council house that has been completed by her both to the citizens and to the other residents of the city; 50 therefore it is resolved by the people to praise Archippe for these matters and to acknowledge with all goodwill her good attitude and her zeal and benevolence towards her fatherland. This was given on the twelfth day of the month of Terpheios, in the year of Apollodoros son of Dio...nos.
[C] A decree about sacrifices for the tribes; concerning what Archippe gave, and the sweet treats. It was resolved by the council, as recommended by the generals and the phylarchs and the councillors {synedroi}: 60 since Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes, in keeping with her nobleness and the goodwill that she continually has towards her fatherland and her honourable conduct, misses no opportunity for actions that show her generosity and zeal, for which she receives recognition and gratitude both in public from the people and in private from each of the citizens, as she is honoured with splendid and glorious honours, worthy of the virtue and nobleness of her ancestors and of her own zeal towards the people, through which she has rendered her fatherland finer and more splendid; and now, after the statues that were voted by the people - Archippe being crowned by a colossal statue of the People, 70 and her father Dikaiogenes - have been made and placed in front of the council house which was erected by Archippe, she has announced that she is making a gift that shows her generosity, and she has given fifty staters to the council of the whole people for a sacrifice and a banquet, and sixty staters to each of the tribes and fifty staters to the foreign residents and the freedmen, and she has provided sweet treats both to the citizens and to the others who dwell in the city; therefore it is resolved by the city to praise Archippe for these matters too, and to acknowledge with all goodwill her good attitude and her zeal and benevolence towards her fatherland. Proposed by all the generals, in the month of Terpheios, in the year of Kallippos.
[D] 80 Decree about a sacrifice on behalf of Archippe. It was resolved by the council, as recommended by the generals and the phylarchs and the councillors: since, when Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes suffered from a difficult and dangerous illness, the people was distressed on account of its zealous attachment to her, seeing that she was decent and well mannered, and worthy of both her own and ancestors' noble demeanour, and she has given many great demonstrations of her goodwill and generosity towards her fatherland; 90 and now that with the favour of the gods she is in better health, the people, being mightily pleased at her recovery, considers that it would be right and in accordance with its goodwill towards Archippe to offer the appropriate thanksgiving to the gods for these matters; therefore with good fortune it is resolved by the people that the generals shall perform a sacrifice to the gods on behalf of the recovery and health of Archippe; in the month of Dios, in the year of Athenaios son of Xenon.
[E] Decree about a sacrifice on behalf of Archippe. 100 It was resolved by the council, as recommended by the generals and the phylarchs and the councillors: since, when Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes suffered from a difficult and dangerous illness, the people was distressed on account of its zealous attachment to her, seeing that she was decent and well mannered, and worthy of both her own and ancestors' noble demeanour, and she has given many great demonstrations of her goodwill and generosity towards her fatherland; and now that with the favour of the gods she is in better health, the people, being mightily pleased at her recovery, considers that it would be right and in accordance with its goodwill towards Archippe to offer the appropriate thanksgiving to the gods for these matters; therefore with good fortune it is resolved by the people 110 that the generals shall perform a sacrifice to the gods on behalf of the recovery and health of Archippe. Proposed by all the generals, on the 25th day of the month of Terpheios, in the year of Athenaios.
[F] . . . with prosecution [in accordance with] the decisions above against those who do wrong or remove anything from the decisions above or oppose the honours described in the decree; and the overseers {epistatai} should take care to provide a marble [(?) altar] in front of the temple in the area reserved for dedications; and that the citizens consent to [what] Archippe requests, that her [(?) steward] Helikon of Daphne near Antioch, who is the son of Apollonios, be made a citizen [of our city]; and take care that she is granted fitting [honours], and give her freedom from liturgies, as she requests on account of her current situation; 10 and the people, considering the numerous outlays that she has made and the ongoing benefactions of Archippe, acknowledges both her virtue and her munificence; it considers her worthy of respect on account of her decent conduct and her noble birth, and worthy of praise on account of her honourable conduct towards her fatherland, seeing that the people has received very great kindnesses from her, and has both deemed her worthy of and eagerly seeks that she should receive the most glorious honours; and the people intends to reward her with the goodwill that her virtue deserves, and considers it right also to reward her with a gold statue; therefore with good fortune and for the safety of the city, it is resolved by the people that Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes shall be praised for the decency and righteousness that she displays, and for her good attitude towards her fatherland, 20 and because, acting in keeping with the noble demeanour that she has inherited from her ancestors, she has devoted herself to the matters described above, and has employed her honourable conduct for the finest causes, which lead to glory and an everlasting reputation; for this reason it happens that the members of her household are honoured in a manner worthy of the zeal and affection that Archippe holds towards them, and the city has been adorned and become more splendid; and in order that the extent of her virtue may be clear to future generations, and they may be aware of the gratitude of the people towards noble persons, it is resolved to crown her with a golden crown and with a golden statue on account of her virtue and the goodwill that she continually has towards her fatherland; and to place the golden statue on a marble column 30 in the enclosure of the council house that Archippe dedicated, with this inscription: 'The people honours Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes on account of her virtue and her goodwill towards the people.' The agonothete of the Dionysia shall make the announcement of the award of the crown and the statue at the next boys' contest, and in the future Archippe shall always be crowned with the golden crown by the agonothete in office, and she shall be summoned to privileged seating at all the games that the city holds; and the agonothetes of the great Soteria and the Romaia shall make the proclamation and the crowning in a similar way, whenever they perform sacrifices in the theatre on the thirteenth day; in order that the golden statues and the column may be completed, Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes shall be invited 40 to take on this expense too, just as she has generously joined in contributing to those other things; the announcement of her offering, and the privileges granted to her and the other honours listed above, shall all be implemented, with the arrangement and management of each matter being just as was previously described in the decree; freedom from liturgies shall also be granted by the people to Archippe, and the honour that whenever Archippe dies, the generals in office at the time shall crown her in her funeral procession, and announce that 'the people crown Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes with a golden crown on account of her virtue and her goodwill towards the people;' the generals shall provide money for the expense of the crown from the funds of the city, and Archippe shall be given a burial plot 50 where the other benefactors of the city are buried; the gymnasiarch shall join in carrying the body of Archippe along with the ephebes. Archippe shall pay the thousand staters of bronze in the month of Terpheios in the year after Athenaios is prytanis, to the men who are in charge of the repayment of loans; those who receive the sum shall make use of it along with the rest of the money that comes to them; the treasurer of the administration who is in office each year, whenever the thousand staters are handed over by Archippe, shall be obliged to pay ten staters of bronze to the generals and forty staters of bronze to the council of the whole people in the month of Thaxios, and to pay an equivalent amount of money to the same recipients in the month of Terpheios; those who receive the money 60 shall perform sacrifices on the altar that has been constructed in the council house on the twelfth day of each month, and shall send a portion of honour from the sacrifice to Archippe, for as long as she lives; the men appointed to be in charge of the repayment of public debts in each year shall pay the surplus from this money to the treasurer of the administration, into the funds for the administration of the city; if these men are no longer appointed, the managers {cheiristai} who are in office for each year shall perform the duties that are assigned to the men in this decree, or else whoever has the authority at the time shall perform the duties; and whenever the talent is given by the heir of Archippe, which is intended to provide money from its interest for the purchase of the slaves 70 and the repair of the council house, the people, at the proposal of the generals and the councillors who are in office at the time, shall compose a decree to confirm about the receipt of the money and putting it out for interest and about the overseer to appointed each year to be in charge of the repair of the council house and the purchase of the slaves and the feeding and clothing and payment of the slaves; and that if any of the slaves suffers something {dies}, the overseer in office at the time shall buy another slave, so that there are never less than four slaves. The monthly general who is in office shall allot Helikon son of Apollonios to a tribe and a phratry, and accordingly he shall hand over a document to the secretary of the nomophylakes and the archive office, and he shall share in all the rights that the other citizens have. 80 Nobody shall be allowed to burn wood either in the temple or in the front of the temple {pronaos} or in the stoas that have been dedicated by Archippe, nor shall anyone be allowed to hang pictures or any other ornaments from the beams there; if anyone acts in contravention of this, the hieronomoi and agoranomoi shall prevent him from doing such a thing, by whatever means they can, and they shall impose a fine of up to five staters, themselves being immune from prosecution, and they shall exact the fine in whatever way they can, and this money shall be used for the upkeep of the temple; if they are unable to exact the fine, they shall register it, and nevertheless anyone else who so wishes may prevent him from doing such a thing, with immunity from any penalty. If anyone does not do some of the things recorded in this decree or harms the city or wrongs it in any way, the one who acts contrary to the decree may be reported for prosecution 90 under the provisions about those who oppress or do wrong against the people. Archippe and the people have formally stated through this decree that the dedication and the announcement of the gift of a talent and the other things that are described in the decree will be carried out, when they have been approved. This decree shall be regarded as for the safety of both the city and the citizens. Proposed by all the generals, in the year of Athenaios, on the 25th day of Terpheios.
[G] It was proposed by the council, as recommended by the generals and the phylarchs and the councillors: since Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes intends to repair the woodwork of the roof of the council house, and to replace the roof tiles, which she considers will be helpful for safety and for ease of use, and she has informed the body of the citizens about this through the magistrates; and the architects have made a proposal after conducting an inquiry with models, 10 and as the expense required is rather large, she has taken on this expense too, always aiming for what is advantageous to her fatherland; and as she is ready to carry out the building work, she has asked for agreement that the place may be handed over to her; therefore it is resolved by the people to praise Archippe for her noble conduct and for the zeal which she always has for what is advantageous to fatherland, because her actions are worthy of the glory of her ancestors, and in keeping with her own virtuous munificence; and she shall be given a place 20 for the aforesaid building work, so that she is able to complete each of the tasks according to her own good faith and inclination; as for the gathering of stones and wood and the other materials that are necessary, she shall be able to place them on public land without hindrance by anyone; and Archippe shall be permitted, if she so wishes, to engrave some of the decrees granted to her on the marble surfaces of the council house. This decree shall be regarded as for the benefit of the city; 30 it was given in the year of Sopatros, in the month of Maimakter.
[H] It was proposed by the council, as recommended by the generals and the phylarchs and the councillors {synedroi}: since Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes has announced to the people that, from the fields which she possesses in the region of Achaion, she will give to the people the so-called field of Chemion and Skytheinos and the so-called field of Aristodemos, and she cedes the ownership of these fields to belong to the people after her death, for the purpose of building votive structures in the agora - a temple of Homonoia {"Concord"} and an altar and stoas and workshops - and in keeping with the honourable attitude that she has, 10 she wishes to complete the votive structures and she is handing over to the people, from the fields that have been announced, the so-called field of Chemion and Skythinos, so that by selling the field, there may be money to complete the first part of the work on the votive structures; therefore it is resolved to praise Archippe daughter of Dikaiogenes for her decent mode of life and her zeal towards her fatherland. When this decree has been approved, the people shall appoint two men without hindrance, whoever is decided by Archippe; upon their appointment, 20 these men shall complete the rest of the tasks about the votive structures, in accordance with the decree that has been approved; and they shall sell the field of Chemion and Skythinos, except for the produce and the income from the grapes for this year; whoever buys the field shall pay a third of the price within sixty days, and he shall pay the rest of the price within four years, paying the proportion of the
sum each year along with ten per cent interest on the money paid, calculated from the date of the sale; these men shall also act as overseers for the construction of the votive structures, until they are completed, 30 and for the sale of the remaining field. When Archippe dies, these men shall manage all the remaining tasks, along with all the others who have been instructed to assist with the completion of the votive structures, in accordance with the decree that has been approved about these matters. Proposed by all the generals, in the year of Sopatros. These men were appointed: Zoïlos, by birth the son of Hermogenes son of Zoïlos, of the Aristarchis phratry, who was adopted by Alexandros son of Zoïlos, of the Aristarchis [phratry]; and Helikon son of Apollonios.
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