Translations of Hellenistic Inscriptions: 50

ARKESINE HONOURS TIMESSA

This inscription is unusual in several ways, as stressed in the helpful summary by Anne Bielman ( Bienfaitrices civiques ). It is worth repeating her three main points:

• Timessa did something very unusual for a Greek woman - she paid the ransom to rescue some of her fellow citizens who had been captured by pirates. It was not uncommon for rich citizens to pay ransoms on behalf of others, and about a hundred surviving decrees record public gratitude for such actions, but Timessa is the only woman to be honoured in one of these decrees.
• The decree calls Timessa a "female citizen", but surprisingly it does not record the name of her father; this seems to place her outside the normal patriarchal structure of a Greek city.
• The decree is distinctly earlier than other Greek decrees that honour women acting as public benefactors in any way; it was not until about a century later that such decrees began to appear more frequently.

It should be noted that Prof. Bielman attributes this decree to the city of Aigiale, but most other writers attribute it to Arkesine, another city on the island of Amorgos. The location of Amorgos put it at risk of attack from pirates based in Crete, who were extremely active in the years up to 190 B.C. Another inscription from Aigiale records a devastating pirate attack on the island in the 3rd century B.C. and the efforts to rescue the pirates' captives, including female citizens ( Syll_521 ).

It was resolved by the council and the people, as proposed by Epigonos son of Epigonos; Nikion son of Philokrates was president; since the citizens who have arrived have announced that Timessa, one of our female citizens, is well disposed towards our city and does whatever good she can for those citizens who meet her, and publicly she acts generously towards the city as much as she can; and when misfortune [befell our] city, she made every effort to rescue all those citizens who had been [taken away], as much as she could; therefore concerning these matters it is resolved by the council and the people to praise Timessa and to crown her with a wreath of olive branches for her good attitude towards our people; and she shall have privileged seating at the gathering of the Itonia and at all the other gatherings held by the city. The award of [her] crown shall be announced at the gathering [of the Itonia], at the same time as the other [awards of crowns] . . .  

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