Epigrams and Consolation

L'Antiquité Classique
Epigrams and consolation decrees for deceased youths

Author(s): Johan H.M. Strubbe
Source: L'Antiquité Classique, T. 67 (1998), pp. 45-75
Published by: L'Antiquité Classique
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41659698
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Epigrams and consolation decrees
for deceased youths
Xanthippos and Paralos, the two sons of Perikles, died within a

week of each other. Perikles, however, suffered the loss without
complaint. He showed no emotion but continued addressing the
Athenian people in the assembly, giving good political advice1. Not
every father in the Greek world possessed Perikles' apparent mental
strength. Many parents were overwhelmed by intense grief at the death
of a child, as is clear from numerous funerary epigrams. In the first part
of this article I will study Greek epigrams for deceased youths; I attempt
to explain the reasons why parents were afflicted at the death of a child
and to describe the comforting ideas in the epigrams that made it
possible for parents to overcome sorrow. In the second part of the
article I will examine a totally different kind of inscription for deceased
young people: consolation decrees issued by cities. This type of
inscription has only recently received attention from scholars. I analyse
the comforting ideas in these official texts and I compare them with the
ideas expressed in the private epigrams, looking for similarities and
differences in feelings, thoughts and attitudes. All these data will be
placed against the background of literary consolations2.
«Deceased youths» is a rather imprecise term. Epitaphs rarely
contain an exact indication of age. Some terms in the inscriptions
unambiguously refer to children, for example, vr|juoç (silly, small), but
other terms are not clear; naîç (child) and veavíaç (young man), for
instance, were used for children as well as for people in their twenties
and thirties. The words acopoç and npóixoipoç (untimely deceased) are
also inconclusive, because a person dead before his time did not
necessarily die young: the person may have passed away before
reaching the summit of life (30-40 years of age). A.-M. Verilhac, who
published a thorough study on funerary epigrams for deceased children,
takes as a limit of childhood the end of the ephebeia3. The ephebeia was
the secondary phase of education. A boy entered the ephebeia in the
Hellenistic-Roman period at the age of 14-15 years; it had a variable
1 Plutarch, Consolatio ad Apollonium, 33.

2 This article developed from a lecture given at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
in 1995. It has benefited from discussion with Mrs. Riet van Bremen (London), who also
corrected my English, for which I express warm thanks.
3 A.-M. VÉRILHAC, Paides aoroi. Poésie funéraire, I-II, Athènes, 1978-1982.
46 J.H.M. STRUBBE
length, but generally lasted on

usually ended then, and real lif
performance of city magistrac
the age of the deceased youth
loosely in this article. For e
persons who did not yet marr
career in their city.
1. The funerary epigrams
Funerary epigrams are foun

northern shore of the Black S
of about one thousand years, f
A.D. Unlike the literary sourc
upper class, the epigrams were
upper middle class and the mu
nearly two hundred Greek epig
children only appeared at the
late Classical and Hellenistic p
Almost no emotion was expr
period a transformation took
longer; repetitions, enumera
introduced. They got more varie
such as plays upon words. As
more emphatic and rhetorical;
qualities of the child. Many ne
among which was the intens
consolatory thoughts for mak
whether the change in the epi
the parents towards their chil
4 M. Kleijwegt, Ancient Youth.

Adolescence in Greco-Roman Society
Lampas , 14 (1981), p. 169-174.
3 A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi , op.
H.F.J. Horstmanshoff (ed.), Pijn en balsem, troost en smart. Pijnbeleving en
pijnbestrijding in de Oudheid , Rotterdam, 1994, p. 133-134.
6 A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 411. Despite the wide
geographical and chronological distribution of the texts, there are no differences due to
place or time.
7 A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi , op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 407-409. There seems to exist
only one letter written on papyrus which comforts the relatives; it dates from the Und cent.
A.D.: Pap. Oxyr.t I, 115, cf. R. KASSEL, Untersuchungen zur griechischen und römischen
Konsolationsliteratur , München, 1958, p. 4; J.G. Winter, Life and Letters in the Papyri ,
Ann Arbor, 1933, p. 134.
EPIGRAMS AND CONSOLATION DECREES FOR DECEASED YOUTHS 47
than before. This question can be answered only within the framewo
of a very broad sociological study, which cannot be undertaken her
In any case one should not think that absence of grief and comfort
Classical and Hellenistic epigrams implies that parents were not afflic
then and did not need to be consoled. It is possible that the expressi
of these feelings and thoughts was considered inappropriate. The ha
of carving specific information into stone in antiquity was influenced
mental and other movements, we do not fully understand nowadays
Concerning Classical Athens, M. Golden has shown that other source
than epigrams, such as tragedies, comedies and forensic speech
clearly indicate that parents felt deep affection for their children10.
For what reasons were parents afflicted at the death of a child ?
will limit myself to two important themes, frequently mentioned in
epigrams.
First of all, there is the well-known motif that the parents have
been deprived of the care that the child would have given them in their
old age and after death11. Children were a kind of social security for old
age. In gratitude for all the good things the child had received from his
parents (life, nutrition, education, schooling), he was expected to
support his parents when old (yripoxpo(pia), to bury his parents and to
perform the funerary cult. This is a utilitarian aspect of the parent-child
relationship, which is destroyed by death. The hope (èXitíç) which the
parents had put into the child is annihilated. An epigram from Daldis
(Lydia) from the 1st cent. A.D. gives a good illustration (Vérilhac, I, no.
95):
When I was just on the point of gathering the fruits of my past life
time, Moira snatched me, Poplios, away and did not allow me to
express noble gratitude towards my parents by taking care of them
in their old age (yripoxpóçouç /ápixaç). Indeed, after having fulfilled
the time of twelve years, I went untimely and unjustly to the hateful
dwellings of Persephone.
One reads in many epigrams the complaint that the natural order has
been inverted: the parents bury their child instead of the child his
8 Cf. J.H.M. Strubbe, in Kleio, 12 (1982), p. 68-73. For a more sceptical attitude
concerning the possibility of identifying and explaining long-term changes in ancient
society, see M. Golden, Children and Childhood in Classical Athens , Baltimore-London,
1990, p. 169-173.
y R. MacMullen, in AJPh, 103 (1982), p. 233-246.
10 M. Golden, op. cit. (n. 8), chapter 4; cf. J.H.M. Strubbe, in Lampas , 26 (1993),
p. 302-304.
11 A.-M. Vérilhac, P aides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 121-135; J.H.M. Strubbe,
loc. cit. (n. 10), p. 305-308, with further references.
48 J.H.M. STRUBBE
parents. Parents lament that

useless investment. Sometimes one finds the idea that it would have
been better if the child was not born, or one reads reproaches addressed
to the child that he has deceived his parents in their hopes (ètacíôeç). In
several texts these hopes do not specifically refer to the gerotrophia, but
more generally to expectations for the future12. The fact that a child is
considered by his parents from a utilitarian point of view, does not
imply a lack of affection. On the contrary perhaps, the more parents
needed their children, the more they took care of them and valued
them13.
The second cause of affliction has to do with affection: the loss of
a beloved person14. The parents are deprived of the child that gave them
joy and happiness, just as the child is deprived of his parents' affection.
Several epigrams mention the loss of the sweet presence of the child: his
laughter, his (or more frequently her) prattle, his gentle gestures. An
illustration is offered by an epigram from Mytilene on Lesbos from the
1st or Ilnd cent. A.D. for a one year-old girl (Vérilhac, I, no. 104):
Stranger, this tomb hides a dear little girl, sweet as honey, the
delicate flower of the three Graces, the little Tryphera, source of
never-ending tears. After having given much joy to her parents, she
has met the bitter daemon.
This loss may lead parents to despair. Some parents lament without
moderation and mourn endlessly; they shed abundant tears, beat their
breast, tear their clothes. In an epigram from Adada (Pisidia) from the
Und cent. A.D. a father even expresses his craving for death15. In a
single case grief was so intense that the father followed his child into
death and committed suicide16.
The analysis of A.-M. Vérilhac shows that many comforting

thoughts were presented in the epigrams to make grief tolerable and to
1 2 For example in A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), I, no. 165 from
Tsouka, Bulgaria, from the 1st cent. B.C.
1 3 M. Golden, op. cit. (n. 8), p. 92-94.
14 A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 138-146.
1 5 A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi , op. cit. (n. 3), I, no. 174a.
16 A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi , op. cit. (n. 3), I, no. 175 from Ephesos (beginning
of the Illrd cent. A.D.). Lukianos from Samosate (Und cent. A.D.) gives a satirical
description of excessive grief of parents in his work Ilepi névdovç (On Grief), 12-15. In 19,
he mentions the immoderate behaviour of mourning women (ri xœv yovcatcMv jtepì tòv
0pT'vov ànexpía). Plutarch too fulminates against such behaviour in his Consolatio ad
uxorem, 7 and Consolatio ad Apollonium, 22.
overcome sorrow17. Some of these themes are of a general hum

character; that means, they are suitable at the death of every person,
only at the death of young people, for example, the idea that death
inevitable and inexorable. Death belongs to the human condition
comes for all humans without distinction. Life is only a loan, which
to be repaid one day. Another general thought is the idea that t
deceased has been delivered from the evils of life, which is only
burden. This thought is well appropriate at the death of a child
especially if old age is considered a period of misery, pain a
disease18. Other themes can be used pre-eminently at the death
children. I will discuss three important themes that are intertwined.
First, there is the idea that the premature death of the child is
sign of divine election19. The child has been taken away from this wo
by the gods because of his qualities, intellectual, moral or physical,
just because of divine preference or love. The gods want the child to
with them: «He who is loved by the gods, dies young» (ov oi 0e
cpiA-oíjoiv, àjtoôvfiaicet véoç)20. In an epigram from Gytheion in Lako
from the 1st cent. B.C. one reads (Vérilhac, I, no. 62):
The cruel thread of the Moirai snatched you away, Attalos, at th

age of fifteen years; you, the pride of your very noble mother
Tyche; you, who practised wisdom and to all beautiful things ... (
you, Attalos, who have lived a happy life. Therefore, do not wee
too much (toiyàp uri Â/u7teîa9e À,íav) because every young chi
loved by the gods - so they say - meets an early death.
This thought brings with it that the death of a child is not a meaningless
event or a caprice of fate; it allows for death to acquire a sense and so
become acceptable.
The second thought, connected with the first, is that the child now
lives with the gods21. The child continues his life amidst the children
the gods or as a new Ganymede. The above mentioned epigram f
Attalos from Gytheion continues:
17 A.-M. Vérilhac, P aides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 220-247. Epitaphs rar
contain the explicit mention that a specific idea is to bring comfort, as does an epig
from Teos, W. Peek, Griechische Ver s -Inschriften. I, Berlin, 1955, no. 2006.
18 For these consolatory themes, see J.H.M. Strubbe, loc. cit. (n. 5), p. 133-145
For death as liberation from the evils of old age, see E. Griessmair, Das Motiv der M
Immatura in den griechischen metrischen Grabinschriften , Innsbruck, 1966, p. 97-98.
19 A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi , op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 225-227.
20 This is the well-known proverb of Menander (S. Jaekel, Menandri sententia
Leipzig, 1964, no. 583) which is repeated again and again in numerous epigrams; s
E. Griessmair, op. cit. (n. 18), p. 101-102.
21 A.-M. VÉRILHAC, Paides aoroi , op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 313-332.
50 J.H.M. STRUBBE
The fast Moira has carrie

handsome and good ephebe
(adult) life, lamented by his
had fixed for him.
In some epigrams the idea is added that the deceased child is now
heroised or even deified, that he has become a new god. In this quality
the deceased holds a certain power and is able to exert a protecting
influence on the family. A variation on the idea of deification is the idea
that the deceased has been transformed into a star. This katasterism is
part of the learned doctrine on astral immortality. The idea circulated in
the Imperial period, but is rarely expressed in grave inscriptions. One
finds it in the well-known epitaph for Eutychos from Albanum (Italy),
from the Illrd cent. A.D. (Vérilhac, I, no. 201). These thoughts bring
comfort because the new existence of the deceased child is better than
the earthly life: death is not a disaster. What is more, the contact with the
relatives is not entirely broken and death has become advantageous.
The third thought, often connected with the preceding ones, is the
suggestion that the child had already reached the summit of, for
example, intelligence, learning, poetic art, rhetoric, virtue. In short, the
child was perfect (téXeioç). This is a common theme in the epitaphs,
called the puer-senex motif. It implies that the child possessed the
wisdom and gravity of an old man, his intelligence and reason. The
child transcended his age and did not behave as an irrational child. An
illustration is presented by the following epigram from Sparta from the
1st or Und cent. A.D. (Vérilhac, I, no. 42):
Farewell, Titianos, from Cretan Olous; you were perfect in the realm
of the Charités (Xapkeooi xéêioç; that is beauty and grace or
poetical inspiration); you were praised by everybody, you were
loved by everyone. (Deceased) at the age of fourteen years.
The puer-senex motif is considered in recent literature as an indication of

a negative attitude towards childhood: the ideal child is not a weak child
or an immature adolescent but a small adult22. In my opinion this theory
does not sufficiently take into account the function of the motif as a
consolation theme. liti fact, when a young child has reached perfection in
22 M. Kleijwegt, op. cit. (n. 4), p. 123-131, who in my opinion does not take
sufficiently into account the context in which the idealised picture is presented, sc. death.
The praise of the dead is, by the way, an indispensable part of every funerary speech, see
D.J. OCHS, Consolatory Rhetoric. Grief, Symbol, and Ritual in the Greco-Roman Era ,
Columbia S. Carolina, 1993, p. 72-74. The idealised picture presents to the public a
model of behaviour; in this way standards of society are confirmed.
a certain field, he has reached the goal of life. Whoever has reached th
goal of life, did not die untimely. Whoever reached perfection, simpl
did not need to live on; he is taken away by the gods who want to enjo
his perfection23.
All these thoughts make the death of a child meaningful and the
grief of the relatives tolerable. In many epigrams the deceased child
summons his parents - so to say - to put an end to their grief, not to
weep eternally. In a small number of epigrams one finds advice to
temper the grief: three epigrams call for moderation, among which th
epigram for Attalos from Gytheion (see above). An epigram from
Perinthos from the 1st or Und cent. A.D. says: «weep for me in a rathe
moderate way» (ne Tcprcuxépcoç nevOâate; Vérilhac, I, no. 66). A third
epigram from the neighbourhood of Hadrianoutherai (Mysia) from th
Ilnd cent. A.D. says: «stop lamenting me excessively» (vo%' éjt'è|xo
Gpfjvov àeiKÉXiov; Vérilhac, I, no. 76)24. The reasons why grief has t
be moderated are the comforting thoughts explained above: the divin
election, the community of death for all.
It may be useful at this point to draw attention to the fact that not
only thoughts could offer comfort. The building of the grave for th
deceased child or the erection of a statue could also bring consolation, a
is recorded in some non-metrical grave inscriptions. For example, an
epitaph from Angea (Achaia Phthiotis) from the Imperial period, with
the relief of a child, says: «Eutychos (has erected this grave) for h
deceased son Eutychos for the sake of consolation (rapaio. -uGíaç
ëveicev)»25. Several inscriptions, dating from the Imperial period, were
engraved on the base of a statue of a deceased child, so, for instance, a
Thessalonika and at lasos. These statues were often erected in publi
places; permission was officially awarded by the city. The expense
were generally paid by the parents themselves, and this was done for th
consolation of the parents or (frequently) of the mother (ei
23 E. Griessmair, op. cit. (n. 18), p. 95-97.

24 The texts are collected by A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi , op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 241
But I am unable to see any call to moderate grief in the epigram for Eutychos from Albanu
(no. 201). The deceased boy says to his father: «don't weep any longer, keeping in you
hart a woeful everlasting grief» (jxrjÔ' ëxi A/urcoû, oÍKTpòv évi axépvoiç rcévGoç akaoTo
eycov).
25 IG , IX, 2, 227. Comparable is a metrical epitaph from Termessos, erected by th
father Kodratos for his untimely deceased son Kodratos: juvfijxcx cpíÀ,oi) rcaiôòç Ttax
rcapriYopía (TAM, III, 1, 550; Imperial period). The records are collected by O. Gottwal
in Commentationes Vindobonenses , 3 (1937), p. 6-8, for example a grave inscription
the island of Kasos for Eros, citizen of Ephesos, erected by his wife Epigeneia:
7cap(X|iD0í(xç ëvern Kai ^vr||LiTiç (/G, XII, 1, 1064; Imperial period). Several epitaph
mention rcapa|i'>0iov, for example G. Kaibel, Epigrammata Graeca, Berlin, 1878, no. 95
(Athens; Und cent. A.D.); RPh , 3e série, 8 (1934), p. 268-269, no. 1 (Athens); /G, XII,
552 (Thasos); MAMA , III, 8 (Seleukeia on the Kalykadnos; Illrd cent. A.D.).
52 J.H.M. STRUBBE
jcapanvOíav èa-uxriç)26. At
Claudius Valerius Menandro
deceased son out of his ow
apparently given permission
aware that she would only
jtapan/u0TiaonivT| xòv avôpa
2. Literary consolations
It is generally accepted th
epigrams from literature28.
consolatory themes in liter
comedy. Many of these thou
Menander, have been preserv
of Stobaios (beginning of
developed into a rhetorical a
the sophistic movement, par
àXwtíaç. In the Hellenistic pe
The founder was Krantor, he
latory letter, icepi jtévGouç (
Hippokles had died (shortly
period consolatory speeche
frequent. H.W. Pleket has exp
since about 150-100 B.C. mig
26 So in IG, X, 2, 207 from Th

accordance with a decree of the cou
Theodote: elç Tryv éauxfiç jiapaûG
children were already involved in
nvr|n.r|ç ëvEKEv k[<xì t]íí<; eiç
Kpíoei. Other records, also concerni
(1974), p. 217-219 (= Opera Minora
inscription from Kara Baulo (Pisidi
deceased husband and daughter and
towards them, and also for herself
Kai |iv[e]í[aç x®plm èkeívouç, iSíqt [5'] ext twv avnßa[v]tcov awifj
jtapanvGía): J.R.S. Sterrett, The Wolfe Expedition to Asia Minor, Boston, 1888, no.
400.
27 IG, XII, 5, 328; cf. the inscription for Tettia Kasta from Neapolis (S.-Italy), E.
Miranda, Iscrizioni greche d'Italia: Napoli, I, Roma, 1990, no. 85 (cf. P. Herrmann, in
Gnomon, 66 [19941, p. 25).
28 See e.g. A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 409.
29 Stobaios' work contains a special chapter on consolation (itapiyyopiicá): IV, 56 (O.
H ENS EN, Ioannis Stobaei anthologia libri duo posteriores, II, Berlin, 19582, p. 1 123-
1136).
30 A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 207-208; DJ. Ochs, op. cit.
(n. 22), p. 72-75, p. 111-113.
ned the cities, conferred benefits on their fellow citizens and maintain
diplomatic relations with Hellenistic and Roman rulers. A small numb
of elite families began to dominate the cities. This situation created
market for speeches, both funerary speeches for deceased notables
general and consolatory speeches for (untimely) deceased politicians an
their relatives31. During the Imperial period consolatory speeches w
exercised in the schools of rhetoric. A small number of funeral orations
with consolation themes have come to us, composed by Aelius
Aristeides and Dio from Prusa. Particularly interesting is Aristeides'
oration XXXI for his pupil Eteoneus from Kyzikos (c. 161 A.D.), who
presumably was a young man32. Also a manual on rhetorical technique
(xéxvri pr]Topiicr|), dating from the Illrd cent. A.D., is preserved; it goes
under the name of Dionysios of Halikarnassos. One chapter in this
manual is devoted to funeral speeches (§ 6: |ai0o5oç èimacpícov), in
which attention is given to the consolation of the relatives33. Menander
rhetor from Laodikeia on the Lykos (c. 270-275 A.D.) equally wrote a
manual on epideictic speeches (nepi èTciôeiKtiKÓiv). This work contains
not only a general chapter on funeral speech (rcepì èjmoKpiou), in which
the consolation of the family is treated, but also a separate chapter on
consolatory speech (rcepi jrapoc|iv>0r|TiKoi))34. Both authors give
instructions for the structure of such a speech, for its themes, with
citations and examples, and for its style.
Apart from these theorising manuals on rhetoric, two philoso-
phical consolatory letters have been preserved, both written by Plutarch
(c. 50-120 A.D.). The first, Consolatio ad uxorem, is addressed to his
wife on the occasion of the death of their two year-old daughter
Timoxena; it was composed c. 90 A.D. The second, Consolatio ad
Apollonium, is addressed to his friend Apollonios on the occasion of the
31 H.W. Pleket, in H.F.J. Horstmanshoff (ed.), op. cit. (n. 5), p. 147-156.
32 N. Ehrhardt, loe cit . (n. 43), p. 47. For a translation of Aristeides' oration, see
C.A. Behr, P. Aelius Aristides. The Complete Works, Translated into English , II, Leiden,
1981. Eteoneus died untimely (§ 12: acopia), he was unmarried (§ 9, 12), and apparently
had just performed his first magistracy in the city (§ 11).
33 H. Usener & L. Radermacher, Dionysii Halicarnasei opera , VI, Leipzig, 1929
[1985], p. 277-283. Translated by D.A. Russell & N.G. Wilson, Menander Rhetor ,
Oxford, 1981, p. 373-376.
34 L. Spengel, Rhetor es Graeci , III, Leipzig, 1856 [1966], p. 418-422 and p. 413-
414; J. Sofel, Die Regeln Menanders für die Leichenrede , Meisenheim am Glan, 1974,
p. 142-153 and p. 136-141 (with translation and commentary); D.A. Russell & N.G.
Wilson, op. cit. (n. 33), p. 170-179 and p. 160-165 (with translation). For consolation
motives in the works of Ps. -Dionysios and Menander, see R. Kassel, op. cit. (n. 7), p. 40-
48.
54 J.H.M. STRUBBE
death of the latter' s son A

juvenile work of Plutarch35.
It is quite possible that th
epigrams from literary consol
may have been inserted in col
during the Imperial period. It is
made use of models; this expl
sical authors (Homer, Eurip
poems36. H.W. Pleket, on th
certain ideas circulated in all l
philosophers like Plutarch, wh
system37. In this way, the tho
general philosophical ideas, s
necessity to moderate grief. S
nated among the inhabitants of
by the lectures that wandering
According to A.-M. Vérilhac

that are found in the epigrams
the literary consolations39. 1 w
important thoughts in the two c
In the Consolatio ad Apo
philosopher combines the idea
Orphism-Pythagoreanism. H
through Krantor, the idea o
feelings. This is based on the c
the middle: one shouldn't exag
35 The Consolatio ad uxorem is edit

Cambridge Mass., 1959 ( The Loeb Cl
Consolatio ad Apollonium by F. Cole
1962 (The Loeb Classical Library ), p
Consolation à Apollonios, Paris, 1972
of the authorship of the treatise). Plu
which are now lost: to Asklepiades and
36 J.H.M. Strubbe, loc. cit. (n. 5),
37 This may also have been the case
the beginning of the Imperial period a
in the Und cent. A.D., see P. Veyne, i
Paris, 1985, p. 54; J.H.M. Strubbe, i
H.W. Pleket, loc. cit. (n. 31), p. 1
A.-M. Vérilhac, Paides aoroi , op.
(n. 31), p. 151.
40 J. Hani, op. cit. (n. 35), p. 50-67
Stoics, of the Academics and neo-Py
32-39.
death (§ 3: xf|v §è nexpicmáGeiav oùk <xjio8oKi|iaaxéov). The Academic

doctrine of metriopatheia was subscribed to by the Middle Stoa. Th
latter had rejected the harsh idea of the Old Stoa on the òwcáGeia, th
complete insensibility, and had become much more humane, particularly
under the influence of Panaitios. According to the Stoics, grief was a
irrational and unnatural movement of the soul, the consequence of a
wrong judgement (§ 3: xò 8è rcépa xoû nixpov 7tapeK(pépea0ai Ka
cru voarei v xà rcévGri napà cpúaiv eivai <pt||xi Kai útcò xí'ç èv f|(iív <paúÀ,r
yiyveiai ôó^ç). The only method to heal it was to replace the wron
opinion by the correct one by means of the reason, the Xóyoq. As to
death, man has to consider the human condition; he must realise that
death is proper to human nature and therefore he must accept what is the
common fate of all humans (§ 1 : àvGpcojiivœç (pépeiv tò cn>|xßeßr|Kc><;; §
32: jiapa|j/u0o{>|j.£voi Kai neíGovxeç xà Koivà xoû ßio') <xun.Jtxá>naxa
Koivrôç (pépeiv Kaì xà àvGpámiva àvGpcojuvcoç). The Stoic doctrine la
further great emphasis on Fate (eljiapnévn, jteitpoo^évri, etc.): the divin
providence regulates everything for the better and in a rational way. Man
has to realise this and therefore accept Fate. Besides these ideas on
finds in Plutarch's letters Orphic-Pythagorean ideas, that the soul is
freed by death from the prison of the body and moves up to a more
divine life (§ 25: Geióxepóv xiva ßiov |A£xeíX.r|<pev); it returns to its place
of origin and to the islands of the blessed (§ 34-36). These basic ideas
in the Consolatio ad Apollonium are supported by many other thought
and arguments, which must prove that death, including premature death,
is not a disaster and that excessive grief is objectionable and in vain.
One finds, for example, the theme that death is inevitable, because it i
proper to human nature (§ 6), that death is the liberation of all pains o
life (§ 15). Concerning premature death, Plutarch emphasises amon
other things that the most beautiful life is not the longest but the best or
the richest one (§ 17; Apollonios was a perfect young man, óÀ,ÓKÀ,npo
riíGeoç, § 34), that premature death is a sign of divine election (§ 17:
GeocpiXéç; cf. § 34). He argues that the affliction of the parents based o
the feeling that they have been deprived of the joys, the services and the
care in their old day, is selfish (§ 19); that sorrow arising from the ide
that the child has not obtained his share of the good things of lif
among which the performance of city magistracies, is based on vain
hopes of the parents (§ 23). The deceased child dwells with the blessed
and excessive grief displeases him (§ 37). The exhortation not to weep
in an immoderate way is repeated again and again. What may help, is t
look at the grief of others, including historical figures; these exempl
will show that the own suffering is not as bad as thought (§ 8-9); one
can take an example from other fathers, who managed to bear their fat
in a noble and magnanimous way (§ 33: eùyevrôç Kai ixeyaXocppóvtoç).
56 J.H.M. STRUBBE
In the Consolatio ad wcor

ideas is found. Plutarch ex
amidst sorrow (§ 2: jiovov,
èjtì toi) KaõeaTÓÒToç). The m
2: xqj ôucípopeív wcepßaX
dwells in a place where affl
need the laments of her pa
Xvneiv n|iâç où ôeîxai). Sinc
girl has been in contact wit
soul is liberated and has ret
over to a better and more d
Kai Geioxépav |ioîpav a|xa K
gates here again moderation
the tranquillity of the soul
the importance of things. F
thing good, which was on
misfortune (§ 8), or to thin
accident (in case the death o
pure (ibidem). Grief is cons
short time after death,
inadmissible.
The words of Plutarch and his fellow philosophers may have
obtained a good hearing with the elite in the cities - a theme to which I
will return later -, because these words corresponded with aristocratic
ethics. According to Plutarch, the masses of the people are weak of
mind and fall short of education and mental training; therefore they will
never be able to attend metriopatheia by reason. The majority is carried
along by excessive grief. Firmness in grief on the contrary is a
distinguishing mark of the wise man (acíxppoov), of the noble (yevvaîoç).
The latter term is continuously used in the Consolatio ad Apollonium
(for example, § 4: Tcercaiôeuiiévœv yáp èaxi Kai aaxppóvcov àvôpœv -
npòç xàç àxi>%íaç yevvaítoç (pvXáâi xò jrpénov), while excessive grief
is frequently qualified by Plutarch as not noble (àyevvriç; § 22, 24).
The orators Pseudo-Dionysios and Menander do not call for
moderation of grief. On the contrary, Menander advises intensifying the
lamentation (aij^cov ôè Kai xòv öprjvov; p. 420). Further, while the
Stoic philosophers considered compassion and joining the relatives in
their lament (auÀAuTceîaGai) reprehensible, Menander urges the orator
to ask himself again and again in every part of the epitaphios logos :
«how shall I share the family's grief at what has befallen ?» (cò jtóàç
auvoôú pollai xâ> yévex xò náGoç; p. 419).
Pseudo-Dionysios bases the consolation on the circumstances and
the age at death. Concerning a young man, the orator can say:
The gods loved him, for they love such men (cm 0eo<piXr|ç- zovq ya
tokxóxodç (piÀovCTiv oi 0eoi); they snatched away many of the heroes
old, such as Ganymede, Tithonus, Achilles, wishing them not to b
involved in the troubles here on earth Blessed were they, for the
escaped the pains of life ((puyóvxeç ià àXyeivà toû ßiou) and the
sorrows that befall men, countless and infinite, especially diseas
(p. 282, § 265).
Pseudo-Dionysios finds it necessary to speak at the end about the

immortality of the soul and to say «it is reasonable to suppose that such
men (sc. the deceased) are better off, because they are among the gods»
(p. 283, § 266).
In his consolatory speech Menander brings forward four
thoughts, that do not refer to young people specifically (p. 413-414). It
is better to die than to live because the deceased is relieved from
troubles, greed, unjust fate, human cares, diseases, anxieties: he ha
escaped the pains of life (è^écpuyev xà àviapà xov ßiou). Death is th
end of life for all men (népaç èaxìv öbraatv àvOpámoiç xov ßiou
0ávaxoç) and even heroes and the children of gods did not escape from
it. If, however, life is a gain, the orator should say that the deceased ha
been conspicuous in literature or in public life (this is the idea that not
the longest life is the best one, implying that the short life of a child may
suffice, if it was excellent). The last comforting idea refers to life afte
death: perhaps the departed dwells in the Elysian Fields - or rather h
may now be living with the gods. Menander links up with the latter ide
the suggestion that the deceased is perhaps finding fault with those wh
lament him (Kai xá/a nov Kai |ji|¿(pexai xoîç Gprivovai), but he doe
not add any remark about the uselessness or the moderation of grief. H
ends with the exhortation: «let us sing his praises as a hero, or rather
bless him as a god, make paintings of him, placate him as a superhuma
being». In the epitaphios Menander believes firmly that the deceased
lives with the gods or dwells in the Elysian Fields; therefore, there is n
need to lament (p. 421: où ôeî 0pr)veîv rcoXixeúexai yàp |iexà xwv Oetòv
tÌ xò 'Hàakhov ë%ei neôíov).
The theme that the child had reached perfection is treated only
aside by the orators in the context of consolation. Menander discusses
elaborately in his epitaphios logos in the chapter that deals with the
praise of the deceased: «as regards education he was ahead of his
contemporaries» (p. 420: èpeîç ôè xf|v rcatôeíav, öxi éôeÍKvue Kai èrcì
xoúxtp 7ipoa%eîv xcòv t|Xíkcov). In his paramuthetikos logos Menande
also brings up the theme of lost expectations; in the chapter on praisin
the deceased, he writes: «he was young and died prematurely, not
one would pray, and has deprived his family, his parents and his nativ
58 J.H.M. STRUBBE
city of hope, for he was no or

jt67iT(0KEV, o')x àç ctv evÇaitó
yovéaç Kai rcaxpíôa).
Aristeides makes use of the sa
Eteoneus (see above). First he
eminent in the city and in Asi
the wisdom of an old man (§
the city had the greatest hope
14-18) Aristeides states that
become an ageless hero. He fur
common boundary for all and
consumed in the best things th
frequently and emphatically
mourning and the need of th
consoled41.
The epigrams for deceased youths contain the same consolatory

themes as the works of the orators: death is the common fate of all men
and is inescapable, death is a liberation from the pains of life and espe-
cially of old age, death is a sign of divine election, the deceased has a
better life because he dwells among the gods. In fact all these thoughts
are loci communes, thoughts that circulated widely in society and can be
traced in Greek literature from the archaic period onwards42. The same
thoughts also turn up in the philosophical consolations of Plutarch.
There is no need to explain their occurrence in funerary epigrams by
rhetorical or philosophical influence. Only the theme of the attained
perfection seems to receive more emphasis in the epigrams than in the
literary writings. Plutarch added to the loci communes philosophical
ideas on virtue, the soul, reason; none of these appears to have
penetrated into the epigrams (nor were the orators inspired by these
philosophical-ethical ideas). The exhortation to moderate grief in a small
number of epigrams is not based on these ideas but on the loci
communes. It is styled in entirely different terms from those used in
philosophical advice.
41 An inscription from near Klaudioupolis in Bithynia seems to contain part of a

funeral oration («Trostrede»), spoken at the death of a student, Theodotos ( SEG , XXXIV,
1260; F. Becker-Bertau, Die Inschriften von Klaudiu Polis , Bonn, 1986, no. 70; 1st cent.
A.D.). The oration mentions grief, felt by all citizens (navxeq xov tccxGodç avvyeveîç).
42 J. Sofel, op. cit. (n. 34), p. 207, 210, 214-215, 220-221; R. Kassel op. cit. (n.
7), p. 49-98 passim.
3. Consolation decrees
Consolation decrees are official decrees, issued by the council

and/or the popular assembly of a city on the occasion of the (premature)
death of a citizen, male or female, young or old, with the aim to honour
the deceased and to console the relatives (jtapajiuGeîaGai) by means of
the decree itself ('|ft|<pian<x 7tapa|xt>0r|xiKÓv) or the thoughts brought
forward in the decree43.
Before examining the consolation decrees, it needs to be empha-
sised that cities could offer comfort to the relatives by other means than
by such decrees. Just as parents could find consolation in erecting a
statue of their deceased child (see above), so the city could console the
relatives by officially erecting a statue of the deceased boy or girl44. At
Minoa on Amorgos, Philagathos, son of Philagathos, died when still a
child, before reaching manhood (xòv nalòa, mpìv r' xfi xóòv àvô[pâ>v]
T)À,iKÍa jipoaeX,9eîv); boule and demos decided that the boule would
eréct a bronze statue of the deceased for the comfort of his most
honourable father Philagathos and as thanks for his beneficence (eïç xe
jcapaí[v]eaiv xoû àîoÀoycoxáxot» rcaxpòç aúxoú <řiÁ,ayá0ot> Kai eiç
a|ioißriv xtíç eímoiíaç)45. Other records exist for Thessalonika, Mylasa
and Rhodes46. Another form of consolation is met in Neapolis in
43 H.W. Pleket, loc. cit. (n. 31), p. 147-156; F. Quass, Die Honoratiorenschicht in
den Städten des griechischen Ostens , Stuttgart, 1993, p. 49; M. Kleijwegt op. cit. (n. 4),
p. 226-233 with references to Latin consolation decrees; N. Ehrhardt, Tod, Trost und
Trauer. Zur Funktion griechischer Trostbeschlüsse und Ehrendekrete post mortem , in
Laverna , 5 (1994), p. 38-55, with references to Latin texts on p. 44; R. van Bremen, The
Limits of Participation. Women and Civic Life in the Greek East in the Hellenistic and
Roman Periods , Amsterdam, 1996, p. 156-164. Older but indispensable studies on
consolation decrees are: K. Buresch, Die griechischen Trostbeschlüsse , in RhM , N.F. 49
(1894), p. 424-460; M. Galdi, Influssi letterarii sulla composizione degli 'j/r](píciiaxa
KapaßvdrfTiKa ?, 'm Mélanges Paul Thomas , Bruges, 1930, p. 312-326; O. Gottwald,
Zu den griechischen Trostbeschlüssen , in Commentationes Vindobonenses , 3 (1937),
p. 5-19; L. Robert, Hellenica , III, Paris, 1946, and XIII, Paris, 1965 (see below).
44 For the statuary habit , fully developed by the 1st cent. A.D., see R. van Bremen,
op. cit. (n. 43), p. 172, 183. For the sub-category of consolatory statues , see ibidem ,
p. 186.
45 /G, XII, 7, 240 (207 A.D.). In modern literature this type of document is ofte
called incorrectly a consolation decree.
46 At Thessalonika: a marble base with two small round holes cut in the upper surface
clearly intended to fix a (bronze) statue, and carrying an inscription by which the cit
honours Claudius Rufrius Ploteinos in order to console his father (eiç 7tapa|ru0íav to
7uaTpóç): /G, X, 2, 173 (c. 200-250 A.D.); a similar base with a decree of the people an
the council, by which the city honours Aélia Baebia Heliodora for the sake of the hono
and the consolation of her relatives (sc. her father and grandfather) (xeijuriç K
7capa|LiD0í(xç xfiç Tcepì a')TO')ç xápiv): /G, X, 2, 180 (c. 250-300 A.D.); at Mylasa an
inscription, erected by the demos for Tib. Claudius Melas, who died in his youth (è
60 J.H.M. STRUBBE
Southern Italy; there an of

deceased councillor Licinius
twenty litrai of incense for t
iß) v yovécov)47.
Consolation decrees were erec
The number of consolation d
persons, amounts only to t
lation decrees in which the
Together nearly half of the t
relate to young people (until
The certain decrees for you
1. T. Statilius Lamprias (c
(SylP, 796B; cf. SEG, XI, 40
SEG, XXXV, 305 erected b
Epidauros. Lamprias, a you
vecmyci). In IG, IV2, 86 his ag
2. Aurelia Mousike (after 212 A.D.): IG, XII, 7, 410 from
Aigiale on Amorgos, erected by the Milesians who dwell there; she is
described as a very young child (vrircia navieXcoç).
The following three cases are not certain but fairly probable. All
contain indications that the deceased were young: their parents are
consoled, they were not married (there is no mention of husband or
wife, nor of children), they have not performed municipal magistracies:
3. The brothers Zenon, Kallias and Eudemos (1st or Und cent.
A.D.): MAMA, VIII, 412, a, b, c from Aphrodisias. They are all called
«young man» (veavíaç), which is a vague term (see above).
4. Aristokles (before c. 200 A.D.): MAMA, VIII, 409 (cf. L.
Robert, Hellenica, XIII, p. 231) from Aphrodisias. Aristokles possibly
died prematurely (npo ©pa ç), but this part of the text is restored and
premature death does not imply necessarily young age (see above).
5. Menippos (Ilnd cent. A.D.): JHS, 20 (1900), p. 73-74 no. 1
from Aphrodisias; the young man is described as still in the bloom of
his life (exi [0]áAÁ.(o[v]).
vs0tt|ti), for the sake of the sympathy and the remembrance towards him, and also of the
honour and the consolation of his parents (oDurcaOíaç ëveicev Kai jLivr|(xr|ç Tfjç iç
a')TÓv, xeijifiç ôè Kai rcapa|j/u0íaç tcûv yovéov amov): I. Mylasa, 411 (c. 50-100
A.D.). It is possible that this text belonged with a statue. On Rhodes the people and the
council honoured with a statue Publius Aelius Agestratos because of his benevolence and
for the sake of the consolation of his parents (?) (eí>voí[aç] ëve[Ka Kai rca]pa|LU)0íaç
xâç eiç t[oo)ç yov ?]eíç amou): /G, XII, 1, 92 (Imperial period). Consolatory statues were
also erected for adult people, see note 53.
47 E. Miranda, op. cit. (n. 27), I, no. 82; c. 71 A.D. The deceased was apparently
unmarried.
The following four cases are probable:

6. The (anonymous) wife of Aur. Theodotos Anthos (Und or
Illrd cent. A.D.): IG, XII, 7, 51 from Arkesine on Amorgos: thi
woman, though married (but apparently [still] without children), i
described as still very young in age and standing in the glory of the
richest flowering (ëxi véa navxeX&q xfj fetida Kai èv trô (bpeercaTtp -rfjç
(XK|Afjç ccvOei KaGeoTÔca). For the age of marriage, see below.
7. An (anonymous man) man (Imperial period): IG, XII, 7, 52
from Arkesine on Amorgos: he apparently had not performed any
municipal magistracy and it looks as if only his parents were consoled
He died prematurely (d)KÚô[poç).
8. Octavius Kaprarios (c. 71 A.D.): E. Miranda, op. cit. (n. 27),
I, no. 83 from Neapolis. He had held the function of agoranomos
Since it was not unusual that young persons performed magistracies and
served as councillors when still in their teens48, Kaprarios may have
been a young man. He was apparently unmarried.
It is possible that the following four consolation decrees were
erected for young women; they were all married, but the inscriptions d
not mention children; nor are there indications concerning their
husbands pointing to more advanced age. The wives may have been
young, since girls often married early in their teens in the Imperial
period49.
9. An anonymous wife, daughter of Athanagoras (1st or Und cent.
A.D.): I. Knidos, I, 72. It is, however, not to be excluded that this
woman had children, but the mention of them is completely restored and
therefore not certain. The consolation decree had been brought to
Knidos by ambassadors from an unknown city, possibly from
Aphrodisias or Nysa or another town in Caria.
10. Apphias (probably Augustan age50): MAMA, VIII, 407, see
L. Robert, Hellenica, XIII, p. 229-230 from Aphrodisias. The
paramythetic character of the decree is doubtful since it is based on
restoration.
48 M. Kleijwegt, op. cit. (n. 4), p. 247-262, p. 311-333.

49 Inscriptions from Asia Minor testify to the fact that girls sometimes married at th
age of twelve- thirteen: SEG, XXXIV, 1271 (now republished by C. Marek, Stadt, Ära u
Territorium in Pontus-Bithynia und Nord-Galatia , Tübingen, 1993, p. 197-198, no. 3
cf. also p. 145, no. 31) (Paphlagonia); E. Pfuhl & H. Möbius, Die ostgriechischen
Grabreliefs , II, Mainz, 1979, no. 1142 (Bithynia); Th. Corsten, Die Inschriften von Pru
ad Olympům , I, Bonn, 1991, nos. 54 and 165. The usual age at marriage was somewhe
between twelve and sixteen.
30 R. van Bremen, op. cit. (n. 43), p. 148, note 20.
62 J.H.M. STRUBBE
11. Zosime ( c . 153-54 A.D

Amorgos, erected by the M
prematurely (jtponoí[p(oç).
The following decrees are d
12. An (anonymous) man
(Imperial period): J. & L. Rob
no indication of age; presuma
only a conjecture.
13. Bryto (240 A.D.): IG, X
erected by the Samians who d
decree does not mention childr
of her years» (èv tío 0ck|j,ouot
cf. no. 6. Bryto' s husband
magistracies; he cannot have be
the decree that Bryto and h
compulsion of many high expe
Kaí xfjç JtatpíÔoç t||lió5v avtf
is characteristic of epitaphs fo
husband but also the parents a
14. Octavius (242 A.D.): IG, XII, 7, 53 from Arkesine on
Amorgos. He is called a man (<xvt|p) and was in the prime of his life
([<b]páÇG>v t[e tià.ik]ìoO; he was married and had three very young
children (vt|7ua), among which a suckling. His father and mother are
consoled. Octavius may have been in his early twenties.
The number of consolation decrees for young boys and girls is
nearly equal, respectively eight and six. The actual cause of their death
is never mentioned, but several texts state that death came suddenly
(aicpviôioç): nos. 6, 7, 11, 13. In the epigrams for deceased children
the cause of death is generally an accident.
The remaining consolation decrees that have come to us were
erected at the death of adult persons (older than c. 30 years). The fact
that sometimes the mother or the father of the deceased is consoled,
does not contradict this in my opinion. But sometimes there are
conflicting indications concerning the age, so that the line is not always
clearly drawable.
A: from Megalopolis (decree of the Achaians): IG, V, 2, 517, cf.
SEG, XI, 1159 (lind or Illrd cent. A.D.). Saon was married and had
been hierophantes, but it's .his parents who are consoled.
B: from Arkesine on Amorgos: IG, XII, 7, 54 (a decree erected
by the Naxians who dwell there; after 212 A.D.).
C-H: from Aigiale on Amorgos: IG, XII, 7, 393 (C) (after 212
A.D. ?), 394 (D) (Und or Illrd cent. A.D.), 396 (E) (153 A.D.), 399
(F) (Ilnd or Illrd cent. A.D.), 400 (G) (Imperial period ?), 40
(after 212 A.D.); E-H are decrees erected by the Milesians who liv
Aigiale. In E it is said of the deceased, Aristeas, on the one hand th
has performed all offices and liturgies in his city, on the other hand t
he was still in the prime of his life (âK|4a]Ç<n)crnç tfiç riXncíaç); ther
a corrupt passage on a child (of Aristeas ?) that was still very yo
(vT)7tiov navxzX&q).
J-L: from Aphrodisias (all of the Imperial period): MAMA, V
408 (J)51; BCH, 14 (1890), p. 604-605, no. 1 with new reading
JHS, 20 (1900), p. 74, no. 252 (K); CIG, 2837, cf. L. Rober
Hellenica, XIII, p. 164-165 (L); the paramythetic character of th
decree is doubtful since it is entirely based on a restoration.
M: from Herakleia on the Salbake: J. & L. Robert, La Carie
p. 163-164 (and p. 282-283), no. 40 (170 A.D.). The paramyt
character of the decree is not certain since it is based on a restoration53
There may be another decree at Kyzikos: SEG, XXVIII, 95
(from the second quarter of the 1st cent. A.D.) (N). At Antiocheia o
Maiandros an inscription has been discovered mentioning ho
bestowed on an anonymous deceased man (first half of the 1st
A.D.): the demos of Aphrodisias (and ?) Nysa and the dem
Antiocheia (and the gerousia of ?) Nysa awarded him a conso
decree ('|/r|(pia|j.a jtapa(ru0T|TiKÓv)54. The number of consol
decrees for adult men largely exceeds that for women, respectively
(or ten) and three.
51 R. van Bremen, op. cit. (n. 43), p. 161, note 66 argues that the dec
T. Antonius Lysimachos Grypos, was a young man, despite having held a whole s
offices, because his mother is consoled. But he is called a man (àvt|p) and the fa
only one parent is still alive may point to adult age.
52 Possibly from the village of Plarasa, see L. Robert, Hellenica , III, p. 16, n
Minor restorations were proposed by A. Wilhelm, in JÖAI , 17 (1914), p.
O. Gottwald, loc. cit. (n. 43), p. 11, note 11.
53 The decree from Olbia IosPE, I, 21 (Und cent. A.D. ?) is apparently not a dec
consolation of the relatives but it tries to alleviate the misfortune of the deceased
bestowal of honours (fi rcaxpiç - £V|/r|<píaaTO èrcaívoiç Kai xaîç Tcper
liaprupíaiç Tcapriyopfiaai to erc' ocòtcò a')î7CT[ö)]|Lia, iva Kai xeGvœç fi napà
Çcoaiv evieijioç). I consider the inscription from Kos, published by M. Segre, Isc
di Cos I. Testo , Rome, 1993, p. 173, no. EV 8 (1st cent. A.D.), which mentions
7iapa|ro0íav [ôè ttíç yuvaiKÒJç aúxoí», as belonging to a consolatory statue of an adult
deceased man. The restoration -] Tcapa|j,[a)0ia - in ibidem , p. 174, no. EV 9d, a dedication
in honour of G. Stertinius Xenophon or one of his relatives, is very uncertain. It is dubious
whether the exclamation of Aristeides in the oration for Eteoneus from Kyzikos (see
above, § 14), «How am I to answer the decrees ('j/Ti(p{a|AaTa) ?», refers to consolation
decrees, sent by cities; cf. N. Ehrhardt, loc. cit. (n. 43), p. 47 but see C.A. Behr, op. cit.
(n. 32), p. 393, note 13.
54 RhM , N.F. 49 (1894), p. 424.
64 J.H.M. STRUBBE
The list presented above s

issued in the entire Greek wor
(ten records, seven of which c
(thirteen records), an island o
grants from Miletos, Samos
period Caria and Amorgos bot
this area presents a concentra
unknown but it is striking th
frequently conferred in that r
the Imperial period, though t
from the Hellenistic period5
belong to local aristocratic fam
the deceased young people act
cities57. H.W. Pleket explain
decrees from the specific politic
Hellenistic and Roman periods.
nate political life and concentr
hands. They were active as ben
of their town. They frequently
after generation and introduce
the latter becoming office h
consolation decrees are a typic
fact, the decrees not only ai
honouring the prominent fam
tical achievements and the pre
55 For posthumous honours, see

Stadtbild und Bürgerbild im Hellenis
München, 1995 ( Vestigia , 47), p. 90-
of Greek and Latin Epigraphy, 1997
p. 163, note 71 suggests that there w
note 70).
56 Namely a decree, probably from
(1959), p. 217-220 (= Opera Minora S
260-250 B.C., in which the relatives (
57 For example the father of Aur.
T. Statilius Lamprias (nos. lb-c), in whom the highest nobility of entire Greece
converged: he was related to the Athenian genos of the Kerykes and to the Inachides of
Epidauros, he descended from noble (also mythical) ancestors from Argos and Sparta; cf. F.
Quass, op. cit. (n. 43), p. 71.
58 H.W. Pleket, loc cit. (n. 31), p. 154-156. For the increasing verticalization of
the relationship between citizens and elite from the late 1st cent. B.C. onwards, see R. van
Bremen, op. cit. (n. 43), p. 163.
59 For example the consolation decree for Apollonis from Kyzikos (N): the
hierokeryx has to announce «that the demos honours Apollonis, daughter of Prokles, with
this eternal crown because of the excellence of her ancestors and of her husband and
because of her own restraint» (the same text was engraved on her statues).
In this respect the consolation decrees do not differ from other honorific
decrees60. In a number of cases the people played an influent role in t
decision to award a consolation decree and other honours: the peo
loudly called for the deceased to be honoured, in some cases it ev
demanded this. In no. 9 one reads that the people called (e7ußeßor|K[ci
for the daughter of Athanagoras to be buried publicly, etc. In K the
people gathered and called unanimously for honours (avve[xX]eynévo
Kai toî> örmou, eneßoriaav ó|io[9u|j.a]ôc)v xeinfjoai)61. This course
events also took place at the awarding of honorific post morte
decrees62.
Honorary post mortem decrees are a type of decree, very close t

consolation decrees. These decrees honour prominent citizens, men a
women of any age, posthumously, without offering consolation to t
relatives. Post mortem decrees were already issued by cities in the lat
Hellenistic period, but became more frequent in the Imperial age. Th
number of honorary post mortem decrees for young persons, known
me, is rather small63. The decree for Philonides of Synnada is usual
dated to the Und cent. B.C.64. From the Imperial period come t
following decrees, which will be referred to hereafter: for Praxitel
from Aphrodisias (end of the 1st cent. A.D.), for Tatia Attalis fr
Aphrodisias (probably first quarter of the Und cent. A.D.), for Dado
from Olbia (lind or Illrd cent. A.D.), for Tatia from Laodikeia on the
Lykos, for Philagathos junior from Minoa on Amorgos (207 A.D.)
60 See for example I. lasos, I, 115, in which the council and the people honour th
deceased child Iatrokles for the sake of remembrance and for the honour towards his father
(jivriiiriç %áp'v Kai xrjç eiç xòv rcaxépa avxoí) xeijj,f'ç); the earlier-mentioned decree on
the erection of a statue (?) of Tib. Claudius Melas from Mylasa (see note 46); cf. also /G, X,
2, 180 (see note 46). Cf. M. Kleijwegt, op. cit . (n. 4), p. 227.
61 See also J: the people insisted (e7rrjvéx0r|), cf. F. Quass, op. cit. (n. 43), p. 412,
notes 295-296; N: the people gathered and ordered the archontes to honour Apollonis
(at)vôpa|Liòv [eiç - xò xr'ç] rcótacoç [7i]Xíi0oç Ttpoaéxaê [xoîç apxoDoiv).
62 At Olbia: the council and the people and the towns, whose citizens were staying as
resident foreigners in the city, required (àîcoaai) that Theokles be crowned: IosPE , I, 22;
end of the Und or beginning of the Illrd cent. A.D.; for examples from Knidos (/. Knidos , I,
71, cf. F. Quass, op. cit. [n. 43], p. 414, note 305; beginning of the Und cent. A.D.) and
Aphrodisias ( MAMA , VIII, 499a; Ilnd-IIIrd cent. A.D.), see my paper mentioned in note
55.
63 M. Kleijwegt, op. cit. (n. 4), p. 226-231 collected several honorary post mortem
decrees for young persons.
64 A. Wilhelm, Neue Beiträge zur griechischen Inschriftenkunde /, in Sitzungsber.
Akad. Wien, philos. -hist. Klasse , Bd. 166.1, Wien, 1910, p. 55-61 (= Id., Akademie-
schriften zur griechischen Inschriftenkunde [1895-1951], I, Leipzig, 1974, p. 73-79):
[exi ')mp]%co[v év miôòç] fondai. For the date, see, however, note 82.
65 Praxiteles: MAMA , VIII, 414 (veavíaç); Tatia Attalis: J. Reynolds & Ch.
Roueché, in Ktèma, 17 (1992) [1996], p. 153-160 (7ipo|Lioi[pco<;; presumably unmarried);
66 J.H.M. STRUBBE
The honorary post mortem de

together give a good impression
prominent young citizen. It ap
to relatives was a new phenom
contemporary with the emerg
and the erection of consolato
remain an open question wh
changes in the emotional experie
The consolation decrees and

young persons show that no
afflicted, but the entire city:
is said to have been snatched
from his mother city66. An e
for Aurelia Mousike (no. 2):
Since Aur(elia) Mousike - now has been snatched away by the

grave and truly merciless fate and has been abducted from among
the living; and (because she) has left no small sorrow for all her
relatives so that at the same time our city too is afflicted about this
(jiév0oç oÙK èXáxxcTTOv ò|ioí> jtâmv to(î)ç èauxfjç tcaxa^áXoiTiev, cbç
ÈJti Toúxcp Kai TTiv 7t[ó]À.iv f||i©v àviâaGai) - just as a youthful
blossom, not yet having attained the complete measure of growth, is
pruned; or a tree, marvellously grown up in the earth, is uprooted
by a malignant fate before someone could harvest its sweet fruits,
such is for certain the unexpected and terrible event (sc. her death)
-; (it has been decided) to exhort her very loving father Aur.
Aphrodisios and her very wise mother Aur. Euphrosyne and her
very honourable grandfathers Aur. Soterichos and Aur.
Euphrosynos and the rest of her relatives to bear the event with
moderation, knowing that nobody is able to implore fate, nor by the
prayer of words nor by the bid of goods, and to honour her - and
by the erection of statues - .
This consolation decree illustrates at the same time how close

some texts of this type are to the epigrams. One finds in this decree
several poetic images, which surprise in an official text: the young girl is
Dados: IosPE, I, 26 (= I2, 52) (jiaîScx); Tatia: L. Robert, in J. Des Gagniers, et al. (eds.),
Laodicée du Lycos. Le nymphée, campagnes 1961-1963 , Québec-Paris, 1969, p. 323-324
(véav rj panSa); Philagathos: IG, XII, 7, 240 (rcaîôa, rcpiv r' xp xcov àvô[p©v] relida
7tpoaeÀ,0eîv). Perhaps the anonymous honorand of IosPE , I, 27 from Olbia (Imperial
period) also was young.
66 So in the decree for Dados from Olbia (see note 65): he had been snatched away
from his parents and from his mother city without mercy (à(pTìp7iàyr| Kai xco v yovécov
Kai rnç Tiaxpíôoç àvTiÀ,ecûç).
compared to a flower-bud and to a young tree. The same images

found in funerary epigrams67. The Spartan consolation decree for T
Statilius Lamprias (no. lc) also mentions common sorrow (koivòv t<x
TtóXei KaT<xX.i7tò)v erť ocòxcò jtévôoç) and common grief for relatives a
city (koivoûç ixexpew Ajímaiç); the misfortune was considered comm
(à|j,còv - xóòv Kotvàv áyrmévcov xàv cri)|j.<popáv). In no. 6 it is said th
all (citizens) were distressed at the death and cried and considered t
misfortune almost a private injury (rcávxcov te km xoúxco [à]veico[|ié]v(o
Kai ôaKpucóvxcov Kal a%eôòv 'íôtov <xô[ÍKt|]na Tiyoupivoov)68. In th
honorary post mortem decrees one comes across the same collect
feelings69. In this respect the municipal decrees follow very closely t
advice of the orators, who recommend to join the lament of the relatives
they are far removed from the philosophers, who reject all compassi
It is not surprising to read that a city was afflicted at the death of
prominent citizen, young or old, as much as the relatives. On the on
hand, the demos and the polis were personified in inscriptions from t
Hellenistic period onwards and were depicted as having the sam
characteristics and sentiments as individuals. On the other hand, the i
of the city as a family developed since the Hellenistic period a
especially during the Imperial period. The latter phenomenon, t
«domestication» of public life, made all citizens children of the city
relatives of each other. Terms, conceptions and emotions borrow
from private and familial life were increasingly used in public decr
from the late 1st cent. B.C. onwards70.
One of the reasons the city was afflicted, is the fact that the city
was deprived of high expectations, hopes (èÀJtiôeç). As pointed out
above, this is emphasised by Menander rhetor. In the Athenian
consolation decree for the eighteen year-old T. Statilius Lamprias (no.
la) it is said that he has been snatched away by the daemon from the
highest expectations in the first phase of his life (tipnaaiiévoD imo xoî»
8aí|j.ovoç ànb (i[e]yíax(ov èAjúôcov èv xrji 7tpcoxr|i xoî» ßiou fiXiKÍai). In
67 A.-M. VÉRILHAC, Paides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), II, p. 340-351. In 14 too, the
deceased is compared to a tree: just as a lovely beautifully blossoming tree falls to the
ground, uprooted by the wind, so Octavius fell in accordance with his destiny, under the
fate that was meted out to him.
68 See also nos. 8 (otixcoç eôoêv- jièv rcotaixTi GDvá%0eo0ai ôeîv ènì xékvod
teXevxfii) and 9 (ó 8è ôfjiioç] fijLiœv èrcax0[ea0eiç xœ yeyovoxi).
69 Sc. the honorary decree for an anonymous (young ?) man from Olbia, see note 65:
œç à%0ea0fìvai nâaav xriv [rcóXiv èrcì x]oiot>xcp àvôpí. R. van Bremen, op. cit. (n.
43), p. 161 proposes to call the decrees, in which the emotions of the citizens (effuse
sorrow and distress, irrational behaviour, the need of being consoled) are given strong
emphasis commotion decrees . It is a sub-category of post mortem and consolation decrees.
The majority of the commotion decrees is reserved for women.
70 See especially R. van Bremen, op. cit. (n. 43), p. 163-164; cf. also my paper
mentioned in note 55.
68 J.H.M. STRUBBE
the consolation decree for B

mother city have been robbed
èÀTciôœv áyaGcòv Kai xfjç
àvavKaícoç). One finds the sa
decrees for Dados and for P
utilitarian motif that occurs
However, the hope of which t
same as the one of which the
phia. The expectations of the c
families were that one day
benefactors in the city, concer
of a new generation of benefa
explicitly: «(a child) expected
prestige of his family» (èÀ,7tx
aeiv icaxà xò à^ítojia xov yév
pated because parents, grandp
had been prominent magistrat
lation decrees never omit to h
the relatives of the deceas
continuous line of hereditary
Aurelia Mousike (no. 2) gives a
at a very young age, had of co
city, but she was honoured be
family. The post mortem decr
equally provide illustration. Th
were an extension of the gratitu
at the same time officially con
family in the city74.
In many consolation decrees
for young persons the dec
virtues in particular are extolle
71 Dados at Olbia (see note 65): a ch

àyaGrôv <xvTejc<S|ievov). Philagathos
for us immediately from his childh
ètatíôaç 'ÚJtocpaívovTa). For this th
F. Quass, op. cit. (n. 43), p. 49.
72 R. van Bremen, op. cit. (n. 43), p. 249, note 45 points out that civic expecta-
tions, sc. of future benefaction, are rarely expressed in decrees for girls.
73 Presumably also in the decree from Olbia for an anonymous (young ?) man (see
note 65): èA,7txÇóuev[oç 7táaaç tàç A-eixovpyiac eKtelÄ-eceiv tri naipíôi.
74 N. Ehrhardt, loc. cit. (n. 43), p. 51. But I question his view (p. 51, 53) that the
uniformity of the decrees aimed at stressing the equality in principle of all members of the
upper class.
modest conduct (kog|íióxt|ç), distinction (ae|ivóxr|ç)75. These are t

virtues of adult aristocratic citizens and benefactors. It is of course
inherent to all honorary decrees that the honorand is praised and that his
qualities are amplified; the eulogies of civic virtues certainly do not
reflect reality in all cases, but rather illustrate the ideals of society. They
are what M. Worrle has called ein gesellschaftliches Kunstprodukt, ein
politisch-moralisches Wunsch- und Glaubensbild16. The deceased
youths excelled in these qualities and were therefore held up as an
example for all others. In one decree it is said that the young man had
reached perfection, sc. in the Spartan consolation decree for the
Athenian T. Statilius Lamprias (no. lc):
Through his physical beauty and through the virtues of his soul he
transcended the measure of his age (kcxààxi -te gcóikxtoç Kai xaîç
xâç '|n)%âç àpexaîç •urcepßaAA.cov xò xâç àXiKÍaç |xéxpov). In his
eighteenth year he left to the city common grieving for him.
Concerning education, wisdom, cleverness, judgement and piety
towards his parents he gave perfect examples of his excellence in
everything (xéAeia Seíyiiaxa xâç èv amaiv ■üTtepßoX.ä«;). Therefore
the grief of his relatives over him cannot easily be consoled.
In the honorary decree for Dados from Olbia it is said that he

expressed his opinion as no one older in age was able to (àrcoípaivó-
ixevóç xe] éauxoû xrçv yvcónriv œç où[8eiç npe]aPúxe[poç] rancia«;)77.
Praising and extolling the deceased could bring comfort, as argued
above. But of course the honorific decree itself and all the other honours
like the award of a crown, in some cases annually repeated and officially
proclaimed by a herald, the erection of statues and portraits in public
places, the public funeral with a cortège of the entire population and the
ephebes carrying the body in procession, the permission to erect a tomb
75 See for example no. lb: a young man, modest and tempered, and adorned with
every virtue (veaviav koc|iiov Kai aaxppova Kal 7iáar|i apexrii - K8Koa|nr||Liévov). At
Aphrodisias: no. 3a: he lived in a modest way (Çriaavxa koguícoç) and c: he lived in a
restrained way (Çriaavxa aaxppóvcoç), no. 4: he excelled by his character and by the
nobility of his way of life (rÔei Kai aeiivórnTi ßiou ')rce[pßeßXTiKCü<;). The honorary
decree for Philonides at Synnada: he aspired to the best things and he acquired virtue and
moderation as to his way of life, modesty and correct behaviour as to his character
(ÇriXcoxfiç Ôè yivófxevoç tcov àpíoicov auvcpKeíou xòv |nèv [xpojrcov àpexfì Kai
Goxppooúvri, to Ôè riöoc KoauiórnTi Kai eúaYfTiluooúvTi; see note 64).
76 M. WÖRRLE, in M. WÖRRLE & P. Zanker (eds.), op. cit . (n. 55), p. 248-250. For
the civic virtues, see C. Panagopoulos, in DHA , 3 (1977), p. 209-214; M. Kleijwegt,
op. cit. (n. 4), p. 261-262. The latter emphasises that the children were seen as small
adults.
77 See note 65. Cf. also the inscription for Tib. Claudius Melas from Mylasa: è v
v8Órr)Ti xàç xeêíaç àpexfiç àrcoôeíÊiç eíaevevKajiévoD, see note 46.
70 J.H.M. STRUBBE
in a public place within the cit

of the consolation decree itself
consolation, being at the same
the young man and the confirm
Almost all elements of the c
analysed above are also present
post mortem decrees for adult
the qualities80, the active inte
reached despite the age and th
absent from these texts.
A small number of consolati

decrees for young persons tell t
was very deep, for instance t
14 speaks of insupportable sor
KataXijrœv yoveîaiv aùxoû). In
young Philonides from Synn
citizens were heavily upset and
Kai xoùç noXíxa[ç] 8iaa[uvxt)9
In some decrees the grief is de
7 8 There are a few indications that

or near the tomb of the deceased: no
with note 3. The same goes for hon
Agreophon of Kaunos (see note 79) an
latter decree apparently was engrave
which contributed to the raising of
consequence one finds sometimes at
epitaphs, e.g. in K and in the decree f
La. uvriLiTK xfiç iç aí)TÒv (ëveicev),
79 For example in J: our demos w
fi|Liœv km tep yeyovÓTi à%0ea0eiç);
IosPE , I, 17 (I2, 34; Sylfi, 730) from
XXXVII, 670): (the demos) bore with d
and with distress because of the ro
íívevKev to rcévGoç aúxov ôià rrçv
àfiótrita; in the decree for Agreo
Atheniensia , 10 [1971], p. 36-39, fr
overwhelmed all in common and eve
EKaaxoD TT|v èrc' amcp Xvnr'v imoX
in note 55.
80 In the post mortem decree for Agreophon from Kaunos it is said that as an adult he
always asserted his disposition towards his mother city in a perfect and magnanimous way
(xeX-eiov Kal iieYataSxifUYOv), see note 79.
8 1 See above (J, K, N) and the inscriptions from Knidos and Aphrodisias, mentioned
in note 62.
82 For the inscription for Philonides, see note 64. The highly emotional tone of this
decree suggests to me a date in the Und cent. A.D. rather than B.C.
|it>0r|Toç), as in the decree for Lamprias83. This is in line with the

of the orators (see above), while Plutarch on the contrary argued
premature death can easily be consoled ( Consolatio ad Apolloni
16, 24: eí>jtapa|iv>0TiToç). One finds the same ideas in consol
decrees and honorary post mortem decrees for adults84. The conso
decrees frequently exhort the relatives to moderate grief. Some de
use to this purpose the same words as Plutarch uses in his consola
letters, sc. ávGpcojúvooç (in a human way, with human dignity
example is given by the consolation decree for Eudamos f
Aphrodisias (no. 3c):
The council and the people have decided to honour Eudamos,

of Kallias, - and to console his parents Kallias, son of Zenon,
grandson of Eudamos, and Apphia, daughter of Eudamos,
granddaughter of Metrodoros, with the exhortation to bear the
misfortunes that befell them concerning their children in a human
way («pépeiv àvGpcojuvcoç xàç cn)(ißeßr|ia)iai aùxçûç ou|i(popàç éjtì toîç
t£kvo[iç a'>xrô]v); and to offer them the decree, proposed by
Metrodoros, son of Metrodoros85.
The same expression also occurs in no. le (tpépeiv tò

au|jßeßaK0£ àvGpœjïivûx;), where the following advice is added: «that
they must not be afflicted more than human nature and necessity» (|xri
jiepaitépto xâç àvGpamívaç (púascoç Kai àváyKaç ùnepmOeîv). Varia-
tions of the expression are yevvaícoç <pépeiv (to bear in a noble way) in
no. 7 and 14 and |j.expícoç <pépeiv (to bear with moderation) in nos. 2,
12 and 1386; in the decree for Lamprias too (no. lc) there is an
exhortation to moderation (in the bearing) of the common fate of all (xàç
Ô£ Kovvàç àjcávTcov TÓ%aç - (lexpeiv).
83 No. lc: 8t>ojtap<x|iv>0T|Tov |ièv ou|ißaivex xò ère' cròton 7tév0oç toîç

jrpoaf|K[ou]axv; no. 13: jtévOoç SvaítapTiyópriTov toîç jtpo8r|À,ou|iévoiç Ttpooámoiç
KaToAi7ioi>aa; cf. also E. Miranda, op. cit. (n. 27), I, no. 85.
84 At Knidos the people were in an immoderate state of confusion at the death of a
relative of Theopompos (ó |iàv] 6â|xoç èv où (leipícx o')vxí>[aei yejvóiievoç; see note
62); at Kaunos confusion and distress spread at the death of Agreophon (cuvxúoei Kai
teatri tpeía èyévexo sic; see note 79); at Aigiale on Amorgos the entire city together with
her (?) small children was upset at the death of Eleutheris (ouvKéxDTaí të f) nâaa ■pucov
7tóÀ,iç ow Kai toîç vr|jtíoiç): IG, XII, 7, 395 (mid to late Und cent. A.D.). Note that these
three persons were young adults !
85 Also in no. 3a: <p[é]peiv àySpmjtívcoç [t]tiv av>vßeßT|Kuiav auvcpopàv g 7ti xw
T£KV(p wütoü; in no. 3b: (pépeiv àvOpamívtoç tò cruvpePr|KÒç áTÚ^riiia; in no. 9:
«pépeiv] (XV 0 p ci) [ ji í v coç tò a'>|xBeBriKÒç axii/rma.
86 No. 7: yevvaícoç (pépiv tò ox>vpepri[KÓç; no. 2: (ieTpícoç (pépeiv tò
owvPePriKÓç; no. 12: jieTpí[a>ç è]vevKeí[v tò a')]vPePriK[óç]; no. 13: (xeTpícoç (pépeiv
tò ouvpepT)KÓç.
72 J.H.M. STRUBBE
The consolatory ideas, expo

young persons in order to br
following. In no. 2 it is said:
fate, either by the prayer o
(xévouç öxi oìke Xóytov Seâe
fiévriv jiapaiTt|aaa8ai ôuvf|a
a similar thought: «knowing
ÔÓK[pt)aiv -). In no. 11 one
resist against fate that is im
àpivou Jipòç XT|v énì [jtávxíú
13 the idea is: «knowing that
men» (eíôóxaç öxi jcâciv fi ocù
14: «knowing that a human b
nor by supplication nor by
(eíôóxaç öxi oíne xpr||j.áxô
ôáKpv[atv] a[v]0pco[7ioç
ôvvr|0f|oexaí noxe). In two te
the fact that grief is shared.
fate of all by common sorrow
«by the community of grief»
would like to point in this co
made of feelings of compass
the demos of Mylasa erecte
Melas because of the rememb
(<xu|j.7ta0iaç ëveicev Kai |a,vr
decided to honour the de
(aupta0oûaa). In lasos the de
for the sake of her parents a
rcpòç aùxîiY [a]uv7cá0iav)88.
of sympathy or compassio
phenomenon is of course r
decrees in the same period.
prescriptions of the Stoic ph
87 Restoration of W.R. Paton in J

before in BCH, 14 (1890), p. 605
Mmtiç (by means of the public conso
88 Several texts are collected by
Minora Selecta , VI, Amsterdam, 19
(see note 46); E. Miranda, op. cit. (
found in Neapolis: E. Miranda,
a')|i7ca0oùv]xei;); in Hypaipa: OGIS,
V, 1, 1524 (iva to ODVJtaÔeç [ -); in
Elaia near Pergamon, from his coll
cit., p. 406-417 (xii v xrâv owiepov
The prevailing consolatory thoughts were thus on the one hand th

idea that fate is inexorable and inevitable, on the other hand that death is
common for all men. These thoughts are sometimes prepared in
consolation decrees by the description of the passing away of the you
the merciless and inexorable fate snatched him or her away. In no. 2
«she has been snatched away by the grave and truly merciless fa
(úrtò xfjç ßapeiaq Kai <xâ.ti0còç àvr|A.eoî>ç eí|xap|iévr|ç è^riprcaaxai); i
no. 6: «she has been snatched away suddenly by the merciless a
inexorable fate» (vnò xfjç àvriXeoûç Kai àrcapaixr|xou ei|Aap|oiv[r
aùpviSiov àvíípjiacreai); in no. 11: «the grave and truly merciless fat
suddenly snatched her away» (auvriprcaKev aùpviSitoç [fi ßapeia K
àA,r|0â>ç àvriÀe]riç ei|i.apnévr|)89.
The consolation decrees for adult people likewise call fo
moderation of grief. One finds the same exhortation to bear the event
a human way: àvGptojtivœç (pépeiv (C, D). One comes across the sam
variations yevvaícoç <pépeiv (in B, F ?, G, K), |j.expícoç (or cruviaixpcoç or
(ie(ieTpr||iév(oç) (pépeiv (in C, E, H) and in addition the variation eùGa
aâç (pépeiv (to bear courageously; in J)90. The consolatory ideas are t
following: in C: «knowing that the decisions of the Moirai cannot be
cancelled and revoked» (èrtiaxa|iévoi)[ç] xà xrôv Moi prav év öbtaa
àvÉKÀuxa Kai à(xexáxpo7ta 8óy(xaxa; cf. G); in E: «knowing that fate
which has been fixed for all men, is inexorable» (eiôóxaç öx
àjiapaíxr|TÓç èaxiv r| èrti rcávxcov ávQptóncov ¿»pio|iévr| ôîpa; cf. F);
H: «knowing that neither by the prayer of words nor by -» (eiôóxaç
oìSxe Xóy(ov ôet|ae]i crine -). Just as in the consolation decrees f
young persons, the idea that death comes for all men and that death
inexorable is sometimes prepared by the description of the death of
honorand: the hostile and inexorable fate, or the fate that has be
destined for all humans snatched him or her away (B: eiuaxaaa
à]rca[pé]xT|xoç ei|xap|jivT|; E: xò èrti rtávxco[v] <xv0pci>no)v einapxóv).
In summary, there is no difference in grief and its moderation
consolation and consolatory ideas between the consolation decrees fo
young and adult people91. Regardless of the age of the deceased,
89 Restoration of L. Robert, loc. cit. (n. 88), p. 419, note 2 (= Opera Minor
Selecta , VI, Amsterdam, 1989, p. 95, note 2). In IG the text was restored as: |/n
àTcapaíxriTOç Kai àvri^£]iiç.
90 C: |i£|H£Tpr||iévœç Kai àv[0pcû]7uvcoç (pépeiv to aDvßeßr|K0<;; D :
àv0p(co)7uvcûç (to) auvße<ßri)K0£ [<p]épiv; B: [yejvvecûç cpépeiv to cruvßav;F:
yevvaíjcoç (pépeiv to a'>vßeßriK0<;; G: yevvfaícoç (pépeiv Ta i>nò M]oi[p]œv
è7ciKeK^coa|Liéva; K: (pépeiv yevvaícoç ttìv Tiepì tòv ßiov ei|iapîévriv ; E: (pépiv
a')V|jÍTpcoç toc Trjç ^{)7cr|ç; H: |x]eTpí(Dç (pé[peiv to a')|xßeßr|K0(;; J: e')0apacòç tò
avvßeßriKoq vnò to') Ôaí|iovoç èvev[Ke]ív.
91 Likewise no difference can be seen between men and women, and there are no
important local particularities. Cf. the fact that in the location of honorary statues in the
74 J.H.M. STRUBBE
movers of the decrees alway

consolatory ideas. I suggest as
that the consolation decrees w
deceased young people only fr
(potential) magistrates and be
link in a chain of notable anc
the peculiarities of childhood
that the specific consolatory
deceased children, are absent
the divine election and of th
single decree92. The idea of t
an aside in the part of the decr
To what degree are the off
philosophical thought ? Th
based on general wide-sprea
philosophical ideas on reaso
respect the consolation decre
Further, the compassion of the
console are certainly not bor
rather concord with rhetoric
kable that the call to bear gri
and very emphatically broug
This call is styled in the sa
lations, àvGpcojtívcoç, (lexpícoç
exhortation to bear the grie
municipal elite because it co
possible that there is influence
cities. However, it is not to
accidental, because one finds
phrased in identical words, à
writer Menander composed
accidents in a human way,
tpépeiv, Çéve) and «it is prop
way» (àvôpòç xà jtpocntúcx
mentioned Florilegium of Jo
works of (among others) E
cities no male/female division can

190.
92 N. Ehrhardt, loc. cit. (n. 43), p. 49 argues that the city had to be cautious in
expressing metaphysical Jenseitshoffnungen at this official occasion.
93 Th. KOCK, Comicorum Atticorum fragmenta , III, Leipzig, 1888, p. 221, no. 816
and p. 215, no. 771 (= J.M. Edmonds, The Fragments of Attic Comedy , III B, Leiden,
1961, p. 852, no. 816 and p. 844, no. 771). Cf. R. Kassel, op. cit. (n. 7), p. 54-56.
which call for moderate grief (ixexpícoç)94. One could argue therefore
these ideas circulated very generally in the Greek world. But since
ideas are so frequently brought forward in the consolation decrees
they are almost absent from funerary epigrams, it looks more pro
that they have to be ascribed to the influence of philosophers95. An
argument is the fact that in very many consolation decrees fate is
eì|xap|iévr|96. This is a typical Stoic term and idea: the unbreakable
of causes. In the epigrams for deceased children this term is met
once; the epigrams usually speak of Moira or Tyche97. Plutarch, w
wrote a treatise «On Fate» (Ilepì Ei|a.ap|iévr|ç), also uses the t
einapnévri in his consolatory letters98. It looks therefore probable
the members of the city elite, who drafted the official conso
decrees, on the one hand made use of general consolatory ideas, w
also occur in epigrams, manuals of rhetoric and philosophical
tings99, and that on the other hand they borrowed some concrete but
very deep thoughts from the doctrine and lectures of the philosop
They highlighted those aspects that coincided with their aristocr
ethos, but had no special sentiments about the youth of their de
fellow-citizens.
Leiden University, Department of History Johan H.M. STRUBBE
94 Stobaios, IV, 56, 27 (O. Hensf.n, op. cit. [n. 29], p. 1129): jtevôetv 8è ixetpítoç
towç TtpooriKovcaç <píta>v>ç (Antiphanes); IV, 56, 7 ( ibidem , p. 1125): yíyvtoaKe
xàvGptojteia |ít|8' i)rtep|iéipo)ç aXyei (Euripides). Cf. R. Kassel, op. cit. (n. 7), p. 57,
93.
95 I disagree with N. Ehrhardt, loc. cit. (n. 43), p. 49, who argues that these ideas
are formal phrases, developed in rhetorical theory and practice. In my view Ehrhardt
underestimates the importance and the consoling power of these ideas and he over-
emphasizes the aspect of honour as the core of the consolation decrees and the consolation
itself (p. 50-54).
In nos. 2, 6, 11, 14, B, E, G, H ?, K. Also in the honorary post mortem decree
for Dados from Olbia, see note 65.
97 A.-M. VÉRILHAC, Paides aoroi, op. cit. (n. 3), I, no. 105 from Hermoupolis Magna
(Ilnd cent. A.D.), cf. ibidem, II, p. 353; see also R. Lattimore, Themes in Greek and Latin
Epitaphs, Urbana 111., 1942, p. 149-151.
98 Consolatio ad Apollonium, 18, 25, 34. The word àíiapaíxiiioç (inexorable),
which frequently occurs in consolation decrees but is absent from epigrams for deceased
young persons, is regularly used by Plutarch.
Cf. the poetical images in some consolation decrees, see above. For funeral
speeches as model for consolation decrees, see O. Gottwald, loc. cit. (n. 43), p. 18;
N. Ehrhardt, loc. cit. (n. 43), p. 44-48.

Epigrams and Consolation

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Epigrams and Consolation

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L'Antiquité Classique

Epigrams and consolation decrees for deceased youths

Xanthippos and Paralos, the two sons of Perikles, died within a

1 Plutarch, Consolatio ad Apollonium, 33.

length, but generally lasted on

1. The funerary epigrams

Funerary epigrams are foun

4 M. Kleijwegt, Ancient Youth.

parents. Parents lament that

The analysis of A.-M. Vérilhac shows that many comforting

overcome sorrow17. Some of these themes are of a general hum

The cruel thread of the Moirai snatched you away, Attalos, at th

The fast Moira has carrie

The puer-senex motif is considered in recent literature as an indication of

23 E. Griessmair, op. cit. (n. 18), p. 95-97.

26 So in IG, X, 2, 207 from Th

death of the latter' s son A

According to A.-M. Vérilhac

35 The Consolatio ad uxorem is edit

death (§ 3: xf|v §è nexpicmáGeiav oùk <xjio8oKi|iaaxéov). The Academic

In the Consolatio ad wcor

Pseudo-Dionysios finds it necessary to speak at the end about the

city of hope, for he was no or

The epigrams for deceased youths contain the same consolatory

41 An inscription from near Klaudioupolis in Bithynia seems to contain part of a

Consolation decrees are official decrees, issued by the council

Southern Italy; there an of

The following four cases are probable:

48 M. Kleijwegt, op. cit. (n. 4), p. 247-262, p. 311-333.

11. Zosime ( c . 153-54 A.D

The list presented above s

55 For posthumous honours, see

Honorary post mortem decrees are a type of decree, very close t

The honorary post mortem de

The consolation decrees and

Since Aur(elia) Mousike - now has been snatched away by the

This consolation decree illustrates at the same time how close

compared to a flower-bud and to a young tree. The same images

the consolation decree for B

71 Dados at Olbia (see note 65): a ch

modest conduct (kog|íióxt|ç), distinction (ae|ivóxr|ç)75. These are t

In the honorary decree for Dados from Olbia it is said that he

in a public place within the cit

A small number of consolati

7 8 There are a few indications that

|it>0r|Toç), as in the decree for Lamprias83. This is in line with the

The council and the people have decided to honour Eudamos,

The same expression also occurs in no. le (tpépeiv tò

83 No. lc: 8t>ojtap<x|iv>0T|Tov |ièv ou|ißaivex xò ère' cròton 7tév0oç toîç

The consolatory ideas, expo

87 Restoration of W.R. Paton in J

The prevailing consolatory thoughts were thus on the one hand th

movers of the decrees alway

cities no male/female division can

Leiden University, Department of History Johan H.M. STRUBBE

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