The bronze tablet discovered at Olympia preserves the text of a century-long treaty of symmachia between the city of Elis and the otherwise unknown community of Eua, probably a small village in the region of Elis. The treaty stipulated that the two communities were to provide mutual support, especially in times of war.
Particularly noteworthy is the treaty’s concluding clause (ll. 7–10), according to which anyone—whether a private citizen (Fétas), a magistrate (telestās), or the dāmos—who damaged the inscription was required to pay a fine to the temple of Olympian Zeus. It is, however, plausible to assume that the expression tà gráphea taì kadaleíoto, in addition to referring to material damage, may also encompass potential alterations to the provisions contained in the treaty. Indeed, it seems rather difficult to envisage the specific act of physically damaging the inscribed support being attributable to the dāmos as a whole: cf. IvO 16, l. 19; *Syll.*³ 38, ll. 35–40, where the act of damaging is always attributed to individuals; see also CID IV 2002, no. 51, ll. 6–9, where the dēmos is indeed mentioned alongside the private citizen and the magistrate, but in connection with the violation of the contents of a psēphisma. Such an interpretation is fully consistent with the ideology—particularly strong in the Archaic period—of the inviolability of the written norm, an ideology which, while not absolutely excluding the possibility of amending the law, subjected such change to rather rigid procedures (cf., for instance, IvO 7, ll. 3–4).
It follows that this symmachia treaty clearly articulates, already in the Archaic period, the three possible “declensions” of the individual—namely, as a private citizen, as a public officeholder, and as a member of the civic community (to be understood, in an institutional context, also as a deliberative assembly)—and implicitly offers an idea of the prerogatives that the individual enjoyed within the civic framework of Elis at this chronological juncture. The citizen (Fétas) could thus serve as a magistrate (telestās), participate in the assembly (dāmos), and, where possible and in well-defined contexts, modify or alter the content of laws and decrees.
Ἀ Fράτρα τοῖρ Fαλείοις : καὶ τοῖς Εὐ-
Fαοίοις ·: συνμαχία κ’ἔα ἐκατὸν Fέτεα,:
ἄρχοι δέ κα τοΐ. : Aἰ δέ τι δέοι, : αἴτε Fέπος αἴτε F-
άργον, : συνέαν κ’ἀλάλοις : τὰ τ’ἄλ<α> καὶ πα-
5 ρ πολέμō· αἰ δὲ μὰ συνέαν, : τάλαντον κ’
ἀργύρō : ἀποτίνοιαν : τοῖ Δὶ Ὀλυμπίοι : τοὶ κα-
δαλέμενοι : λατρειόμενον. : Αἰ δέ τιρ τὰ γ-
ράφεα : ταῒ καδαλέοιτο, : αἴτε Fέτας αἴτε τ-
ελεστὰ : αἴτε δᾶμος, : ἐν τἐπιάροι κ’ἐνέχ-
10 οιτο : τοῖ ’νταῦτ’ἐγραμένοι.
Decision for the citizens of Elis and for those of Eua. There shall be an alliance for one hundred years from this date. Whenever the need arises, whether in word or in deed, they shall assist one another, especially in time of war. Should they fail to give such assistance, the offenders shall pay a fine of one talent of silver, to be dedicated to Olympian Zeus. Should anyone—whether a private citizen (Fétas), a magistrate (telestās), or the dāmos as a whole—damage (or alter) this text, he shall incur the sacred penalty recorded herein.
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