The present book is the third volume of the Corpus of Greek and Latin Inscriptions of Thasos (CITh) and brings together public inscriptions dated between c. 400 and 30 bce. It is the result of a collaboration between the French School of Athens and the directors of the XVIII Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the XII Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities.
The completed corpus of inscriptions will consist of seven volumes: (i) lists of archons and theories; (ii) inscriptions from the archaic period and the fifth century bce; (iii) the present volume; (iv) inscriptions concerning cults and private inscriptions from the fourth century bce and the Hellenistic period; (v) public inscriptions from the Roman period; (vi) inscriptions concerning cults and private inscriptions from the Roman period; (vii) Christian and Byzantine inscriptions. H.'s objective is to produce a critical edition, commentary and illustration of all the inscriptions of Thasos, to bring out the scholarly interest of each inscription and to synthesise previous bibliography.
The book begins with a preface by M. Hatzopoulos, a foreword by the author and bibliographical references and abbreviations. In the introduction H. sketches the history of the editions of Thasian inscriptions and that of the history of Thasos from the fifth to the fourth centuries bce. He then presents the state of epigraphic documentation. This includes: (i) the inscriptions that are housed in the Louvre, Istanbul, Poznan, London and the Archaeological Museum of Thasos; (ii) the Thasian stampings that appear in the Inscriptiones Graecae of the Berlin Academy and those preserved in the archives of the French School of Athens, which have been augmented with the personal stampings of Georges Daux; (iii) the archives of J. Pouilloux, which include a personal collection of stampings, published in his Recherches I and II. These archives were bequeathed to the Maison de l'Orient Méditerranée (Lyon University). The introduction ends with the presentation of the editing principles and the principles of Thasian chronology.
The corpus comprises all the stone inscriptions, except those lost or misplaced and those preserved outside Thasos. These listings are edited and categorised according to their content as follows: (I) Regulations (nos 1–10); (II) Honorary decrees and acts concerning individuals (A. Citizenship and proxenia [11–18]; B. Titles of honorary decrees engraved on bronze [19–36]; C. Other documents relating to individuals [37–9]); (III) Leases and public contracts (40–6); (IV) Dedications by magistrates and lists of names (A. Collective dedications of magistrates [47–51]; B. Epistates, agoranomes and mnemones [52–64]; C. Apologoi [65–74]; D. Gyneconomes [75–9]; E. Polemarchs [80–1]; F. Theores [82–90]; G. Other magistrates [91–2]; H. Other dedications and lists [93–6]); (V) Dedications of buildings (97–101); (VI) Decrees of associations (102–5); (VII) Decrees of foreign cities (A. Decrees for Thasian benefactors [106–11]; B. Decrees for Thasian judges [112–25]; C. Incerta [126–7]). The structure of the lists of magistrates is presented as follows: Lists of archons: (i) Small list of archons (PLArch.); (ii) Great List of Archons (GLArch.); Lists of theories: (i) Small list of theories (PLTh.); (ii) Great list of theories (GLth.).
Each document is followed by an illustration, a new photo, a translation, except for the simple lists of names and the fragmentary documents, an apparatus criticus established in a generic way and chronologically listing the modifications made to the editio princeps as well as a commentary. This refers to the establishment of the text and includes explanations of the restitutions; interpretations or new hypotheses provided by H.; historical, institutional, topographical and prosopographical information provided by the document, such as the date of the inscription considering the comparison of historical, prosopographical, linguistic and palaeographical data.
The catalogue is followed by three appendices. Appendix I distinguishes and chronologically arranges 26 groups of inscriptions following the style of engraving and the shape of the letters. Appendix II contains an index of persons. Appendix III comprises a complete index of place and ethnic names, gods, festivals, months, Thasian institutions and institutions of other cities and Rome as well as Greek words. The volume ends with the concordance tables, a complete list of literary and epigraphic sources, a rich bibliography, the credits for the illustrations and the table of contents.
Throughout the volume H. demonstrates his profound knowledge of classical Greek archaeology and history as well as epigraphy. The volume, so rich in detail and precision, constitutes an excellent piece of scholarly work, which contributes to greater understanding of the structure of society and culture in Thasos. This volume of extraordinary quality is highly recommended for its usefulness: it highlights the historical and the epigraphic evidence of Thasian inscriptions as well as the use of these inscriptions for a particular interpretation of the past. This book deserves a wide readership among both historians and literary scholars.
