This inscription from Delphi consists of a decree from the Aetolian confederation (A1) and a letter sent by the kosmoi of the Cretan city of (V)Axos to the authorities of the koinon (B1). The letter, a diplomatic tool used by Cretan poleis to acknowledge honours granted to benefactors (cf. Sickinger), predates the decree but is included on the stele to complete the deliberation. The exchange of information between the koinon and the Cretan magistrates concerns the status of one Epikles, originally from (V)Axos, a Cretan centre located on the northern slopes of Mount Ida, but residing in Amphissa, a Lokrian polis that was part of the Aetolian koinon at the time. Epikles was the son of a Cretan migrant who had served as a mercenary in Cyprus (for aspects of migration related to war, see Chaniotis). At the time of our inscription (late 3rd century BC), Epikles lived as a resident foreigner in Amphissa, but his status was likely contentious due to his past. Captured along with his family after his father’s death, he was sold into slavery in Amphissa but managed to buy back his freedom. However, being an apeleutheros, he found himself in a difficult situation, presumably due to his inability to access justice (cf. Gauthier, who argues that individual isopoliteia within the koina primarily involves the ability to seek legal recourse with federal authorities). It is likely at his initiative that the authorities of (V)Axos sent the letter to the koinon, affirming that Epikles was one of their citizens and requesting that he and his children be allowed to benefit from the privileges granted to (V)Axos citizens under the existing isopoliteia agreements with the Aetolian koinon. We do not know how the city magistrates became aware of citizens like Epikles; news of births and deaths of fellow citizens abroad may have reached relatives remaining in the homeland, from whom the magistrates or civic divisions would learn of changes to be made to the citizen lists (Thomsen).
The isopoliteia agreements between (V)Axos and the Aetolian koinon are confirmed by a fragmentary inscription (IC II, 5, 18A = StV III 585 = Saba 2020, 45), dated by Funke to the years of the ‘Cretan War’ (206-204 BC). This inscription recognises the terms syngeneia (“kinship,” l. 1, referring to their shared Dorian origin due to the agreement) and isopoliteia (l. 4, partially reconstructed); the commitment to military assistance, likely reciprocal (ll. 7-8), and the payment of soldiers (opsonia, ll. 10-11) suggest a military context for the agreement. Thus, the kosmoi translated the isopoliteia agreements using the term koinopoliteia, possibly a neologism to indicate federal citizenship. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the Cretan magistrates address not a city of the koinon—Amphissa is never mentioned in the inscription—but the federal magistrates (synedroi, strategos, hipparch).
It is debated whether to accept Bousquet’s proposal to recognise, in FD III 3, 117, a fragmentary inscription dated between the late 3rd and early 2nd centuries BC, the favorable response of the koinon to the letter from the kosmoi. Furthermore, it has been suggested to consider this inscription, which grants citizenship and judicial protection to certain individuals whose names and ethnics are not preserved, as the act of naturalisation for Epikles and his family by the city of Amphissa (Müller).
A.1 [στραταγέοντος τῶν Αἰτωλῶν τοῦ δεῖνος ethnicum, γραμμα]-
[τεύοντος δ]ὲ βουλᾶς ․α․δ[․c.6․․, τῶν δὲ Αἰτωλῶν γραμ]-
[μ]ατεύοντος Φίλωνος τοῦ Ἀπ̣[—c.7— ethnicum ․․․· ἔδοξε]
[τ]οῖς Αἰτωλοῖς· τ[ὰ]ν ἐ[πισ]τολ[ὰν παρὰ τῶν κόσμων καὶ τᾶς]
5. [π]όλιος τῶν Ὀαξίων ποτὶ τὸ κοινὸν [τῶν Αἰτωλῶν, περὶ Ἐπικλέ]-
ο̣ς̣, ὃς ἔστι μὲν Ὀάξιος, κατ[ο]ικεῖ δὲ [ἐν Ἀμφίσσαι, ἀναθέμεν]
ἔν τε Δελφοῖς καὶ ἐν Θέρμωι τ̣ὸ̣ν̣ [γρ]α[μματέα Φίλωνα, καὶ]
τὰν ἀναγραφὰν δόμεν Ἐπικλεῖ· [τὰν δὲ ἐπιμέλειαν τ]ὰ̣ν
περὶ τᾶς ἀναγραφᾶς ποιήσασθαι ἐν νο[μίμωι ἐκκλησί]α̣ι̣.
B.1 Ϝ̣αξίων οἱ κόσμοι καὶ ἁ πόλις Αἰτωλῶ[ν συνέδροις] καὶ τῶι στρα-
ταγῶι καὶ τῶι ἱππάρχαι χαίρειν. γινώ[σκε]τε Ἐράτωνα πολί-
ταν ἁμὸν ἰόντα, ἐκπλεύσαντα δὲ ἐπὶ στ[ρ]ατ[ε]ίαν εἰς Κύπρον
καὶ λαβόντα γυναῖκα τεκνοποιήσασθαι υ[ἱ]οὺς δύο, Ἐπικλῆν
5 καὶ Εὐαγόραν. συνέβα δὲ ἀποθανόντος τῶ̣ Ἐράτωνος ἐν τ̣ᾶι
Κύπρωι, αἰχμαλώτως γενέσθαι τὸνς πε[ρ]ὶ τὸν Ἐπικλῆν καὶ
τὰμ ματέρα αὐτῶν καὶ πραθῆμεν τὸν Ἐπικλῆν εἰς Ἄμφισσαν·
καταβαλὼν δὲ τὰ λύτρα ὁ Ἐπικλῆς οἰκε[ῖ π]αρ’ ὑμὲ ἐν Ἀμφίσσαι,
πολίτας ἰὼν ἁμὸς αὐτός τε κα[ὶ τ]ὰ τέκ[να αὐ]τῶ Ἐρασ[ιφῶ]ν [καὶ]
10 Τιμῶναξ καὶ θυγάτηρ Μελίτα. [καλῶς οὖν π]οιη<σ>εῖτε φροντίδ-
δοντες ὅπαι εἴ τίς κα ἀδικῇ α[ὐτώς, κω]λύηται ὑφ’ ὑμίων [καὶ κοι]-
νᾶι καὶ ἰδίαι, ἁ δὲ κοινοπολι[τείας] ἀϊδ̣ία ὑπάρχῃ ἀν[αγραφά].
A1. When [?] was the strategus of the Aetolians and [?] was the secretary of the council, Philon, son of Ap[?], served as secretary. The Aetolians resolved that the letter sent by the kosmoi and the city of (V)Axos to the koinon of the Aetolians regarding Epikles, a native of (V)Axos who lives in Amphissa, should be displayed under the care of secretary Philon at Delphi and Thermos, and a copy should be provided to Epikles. The assembly of the people, gathered in regular session, should oversee the distribution of this copy.
B1. The kosmoi of (V)Axos and the city greet the synedroi, the strategos, and the hipparch of the Aetolians. Be informed that Eraton, our citizen, went on an expedition to Cyprus, where he married and had two sons, Epikles and Evagoras. After Eraton’s death in Cyprus, Epikles and his mother were captured, and Epikles was sold into slavery in Amphissa. After paying his ransom, Epikles now lives with you in Amphissa, along with his sons, Erasiphon and Timonax, and his daughter, Melita. It would be wise for you to ensure that no one harms them, both collectively and individually, and that the inscription of the koinopoliteia remains in effect permanently.
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