IG XII.6.1 18. Honorary Decree for Batichos of Cos (shortly after 322 BC)

The honorary decree for Batichos, a benefactor originally from Cos, is part of a substantial collection of inscriptions that commemorate the period of exile for the Samians (referred to as ‘φυγή-Urkunde’ in Hallof’s classification, IG XII.6.1 17-41). These documents outline the honours to be bestowed upon benefactors and reveal, through the lens of reciprocity, the connections and networks that the exiles could rely upon during their absence. The Samian diaspora, which led the exiled Samians to different places throughout the Greek world—from Ionia to Sicily—began in 366 BC when the Athenian strategos Timotheus conquered the island under the pretext of liberating Samos from a Persian garrison, subsequently driving out the population. By at least 361 BC, the island had become an Athenian cleruchy, essentially a piece of Athens outside of Attica. It was the Macedonian Perdiccas who ended the forced emigration of the Samians after the Lamian War, returning the island to them (D.S. 18.18.9) and effectively implementing the spirit of the Exiles Decree (324 BC).

Upon returning home after forty-three years of exile, the Samians faced significant challenges in reconstituting a unified civic body, especially in the initial years following the dismantling of the cleruchy (for similar difficulties, see the procedures used in the sympoliteia agreement between Mantinea and Helisson, IPArk 9, ll. 16 ff.). At least two generations of Samians had lived in exile, and, understandably, the ties between individual communities had weakened. More importantly, there was no common documentation to confirm the status of individuals returning to the island as descendants of those expelled by the Athenians. The primary concern was to define the civic body by preparing a new (?) list of citizens or, more likely, verifying and integrating the existing one. The dokimasia of the Samian civic lists is mentioned in the Rhodian arbitration between Samos and Priene, along with the census (apographe) of the island’s land and its periphery (Magnetto 2008, ll. 147-150), a detail that scholars relate to the exceptional context of the return of the Samian exiles.

The honorary decrees from the post-exilic period that provide for the naturalisation of foreign benefactors are useful, despite their rigidly formal character, to understand the administrative process that was in effect. First, the naturalisation clause (δεδόσθαι δὲ αὐτῶι καὶ πολιτείαν ἐφ’ ἵσηι καὶ ὁμοίηι καὶ αὐτῶι καὶ ἐκγόνοις, ll. 19-20) emphasises that the granting of citizenship occurs on an equal footing with those who are citizens by birth. To begin with, the phrase ἐφ’ ἵσηι καὶ ὁμοίηι is typical of Samos, where it is consistently used, but it also appears sporadically in Asia Minor—Magnesia on the Meander (I.Magn. 12), Colophon (I.Iasos 80; AJP 1935 n. VII), Seleucia Tralles (Milet I.3 143B), and Smyrna (I.Smyrn. 573II + II2 p. 376, sympoliteia decree)—in Aetolia (IG IX.I² 1 25: πολιτείαν ἐν Αἰτωλία̣ι ἴσ̣αν καὶ ὁ̣μοίαν) and in Arcadia (IPArk 9: ϝίσος καὶ ὑμοίος). Secondly, the registration clause (καὶ ἐπικληρῶσαι αὐτὸν ἐπὶ φυλὴν καὶ χιλιαστὺ<ν> καὶ ἑκατοστὺν καὶ γένος, ll. 21-23) provides for assignment by lot to civic sub-units (tribe, chiliastys, hekatostys, and genos), with a mention of the results of the procedure and the obligation to register with the genos based on the lot outcome (ll. 23-25). Thirdly, a commission is tasked with verifying (l. 26; cf. ἐπὶ τῆι ἀνακρίσει in IG II² 1237, l. 72) the honoured individuals and adding their names to the register (anagraphe, l. 25). This likely refers to a college of five magistrates, known from other inscriptions of the post-exilic period (IG XII.6.1 17; 42; 43; 44; 45, to which Hallof has added the decree for Batichos, incorporating ἡιρημένους) responsible for ‘interviewing’ the returnees to assess their eligibility for citizenship. Hallof argued that this board was established immediately after the exiles returned to facilitate the updating of civic lists and was intended to be temporary. Indeed, in the Samian decrees after 306, the task of registering citizens in the lists is entrusted to the secretary of the Council. Anna Magnetto convincingly suggests that the establishment of this commission should be related to the dokimasia mentioned in the Rhodian arbitration.

The Council and the people have resolved. Pamphilos, son of Kritodemos, made the proposal: since Batichos, son of Sonikos of Kos, has been helpful during the exile and has shown goodwill on every occasion towards the people of Samos, and has privately continued to provide assistance diligently to those who turned to him, and now has announced that he will do all that is good for the people of Samos, the Council and the Assembly have decided that Batichos, son of Sonikos, be praised for the kindness and zeal he has always shown towards the Samians, he be made a proxenos and benefactor of the people of Samos, he be granted the right to use the ports with immunity, without a formal treaty in both peace and war, and the right of privileged access before the Council and the people for any matters he may need, first after sacred and royal issues; that citizenship be granted to him and his descendants on a basis of perfect equality, and that he be assigned by lot to a tribe, a hekatostys, and a genos, and be registered in the genos he has drawn, as is done for other citizens; those chosen for the verification inquiry shall take care of the registration […]

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