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THE RELIEF AND TEXT OF IG II3 1 298: LEUKON AND HIS SONS IN ATHENS AND MYTILENE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2019

David Braund
David Braund*
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

This article examines an important document in the history of Athens’ relations with the rulers of the Bosporus, namely the stele on which we have the decree (IG II3 1 298) and its relief. The article argues that, in their different ways, both the decree and the relief stress the same theme – continuity. The relief portrays the two sons of Leukon, who have succeeded to the throne, on which they sit, holding a sceptre, while their father (deceased, of course) stands and gazes over them. This figure is not their brother (as scholars usually assert, as if fact). Therefore, in addition to the particular case of this stele, with all its importance for the relationship between Athens and the Bosporans, there is also a more general conclusion on the theme of the interaction of the two main features of the stele, namely the written decree and the relief which stands above it. That kind of interaction has been a matter of considerable discussion in recent years. In this instance, at any rate, we have – on the present argument – what is in essence the same emphasis in both written decree and relief. Their consistent stress on continuity in the relationship between Athens and the rulers of the Bosporus does leave some uncertainty (particularly in our understanding of the treatment of Apollonios, who is omitted from the relief and from the decree itself), but there seems to be nothing here to undermine or disrupt the shared emphasis on continuity in the decree and the relief. Finally, brief attention is paid to a small fragment of an inscription from Mytilene (IG XII 2 3) and its historical value for the study of Athenian relations with the Bosporus.

IG II3 1 298: ο Λεύκων και οι γιοι του στην Αθήνα και τη Μυτιλήνη

Αυτό το άρθρο εξετάζει ένα σημαντικό έγγραφο στην ιστορία της σχέσης της Αθήνας με τους άρχοντας του Bοσπόρου, δηλαδή τη στήλη, όπου βρίσκεται το ψήφισμα (IG II3 1 298) μαζί με το ανάγλυφο του. Tο άρθρο υποστηρίζει ότι, στους διαφορετικόυς τρόπους τους, και το ψήφισμα και το ανάγλυφο τονίζουν το ίδιο θέμα – συνέχεια. Tο ανάγλυφο απεικονίζει τους δυο υιούς, όποιοι έχουν επιτύχει στο θρόνο, στον οποίον κάθονται, κρατώντας ένα σκήπτρο, ενώ ο πατέρας τους (ο Λεύκων - νεκρός, βέβαια) στέκεται και κοιτάζει πάνω τους. Αυτός ο άνθρωπος δεν είναι ο αδελφός τους (όπως συνήθως δηλώνουν οι επιστήμονες ως γεγονός). Επομένως, εκτός από την ιδιαίτερη περίπτωση αυτής της στήλης, με όλη τη σημασία της για τη σχέση μεταξύ της Αθήνας και του Βοσπόρου, υπάρχει επίσης ένα γενικότερο συμπέρασμα με θέμα την αλληλεπίδραση των δύο κύριων χαρακτηριστικών της στήλης, δηλαδή το γραπτό ψήφισμα και το ανάγλυφο που βρίσκεται πάνω από αυτό. Αυτό το είδος αλληλεπίδρασης έχει αποτελέσει αντικείμενο σημαντικών συζητήσεων τα τελευταία χρόνια. Σε αυτή την περίπτωση, τουλάχιστον, έχουμε – σχετικά με το παρόν επιχείρημα – τι είναι στην ουσία η ίδια έμφαση τόσο στο γραπτό ψήφισμα όσο και στο ανάγλυφο. Η συνεπής πίεση για τη συνέχεια στη σχέση μεταξύ Αθήνας και ηγεμόνων του Βοσπόρου αφήνει κάποια αβεβαιότητα (ιδιαίτερα στην κατανόησή μας για τον Απολλώνιο, ο οποίος παραλείπεται από το ανάγλυφο και από το ίδιο το ψήφισμα), αλλά δεν φαίνεται να υπάρχει τίποτα εδώ για να υπονομεύσει ή να διαταράξει την κοινή έμφαση στη συνέχεια στο ψήφισμα και στο ανάγλυφο ακόμη και έτσι. Τέλος, δίνεται σύντομη προσοχή σ’ένα μικρό κομμάτι μιας επιγραφής από τη Μυτιλήνη (IG XII 2 3), και στην ιστορική αξία του για τη μελέτη της σχέσης της Αθήνας με τον Bόσπορο.

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Articles
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 114 , November 2019 , pp. 241 - 261
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2019 

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