Interstate Relations in Ancient Greece : Epigraphic and Iconographical Studies

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This study is the continuing study of my last project titled 'Study of the Epigraphic Culture in Ancient Greece' (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (2) 2004-2006 : Project Number 16520450). This study aimed at contributing to understanding the Athenian epigraphic habit from a fresh view. The focus was on the Athenian epigraphic habit of the fifth century BC. Through the reexamination of some important inscriptions such as 'the Miletus decree' and 'the Erythrai decrees', and through the careful reevaluation of old studies (particularly those published in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century) on the Athenian inscriptions concerning foreign matters, It was found that the lower dates were preferable in most cases. I proposed the date of 'the Miletus decree' to 426/5 BC and that of 'the Erythrai decree' to the mid-430s BC. The Athenian epigraphic habit, particularly their habit of erecting public decrees on the Acropolis, is thought to have developed after the 430s, that is to say, after the completion of the Parthenon. Before its completion, the number of inscriptions on the Acropolis was extremely limited. Looking around Attica, the inscriptions erected before the mid-fifth century were all concerning the religious matters. Considering these results synthetically, the followings are suggested. The habit of erecting public inscriptions concerning foreign matters (more restrictively, concerning subject allies) emerged rather late comparing to the other Athenian policy and/or rituals concerning the Delian League. Hence, it is fruitless to seek a turning point of the Delian League 'from the confederacy to the Athenian Empire' through the inscriptions. The contexts for erecting and displaying public decrees on the Acropolis should be sought from the historical circumstances of the Acropolis as well as the development of the Athenian display culture as a whole.