WAR IN THE HELLENISTIC WORLD

BETWEEN CIVIC DUTIES AND OLIGARCHIC ASPIRATIONS
of the elite were of great symbolic value. Their statues decorated public
places as eternal memorials of their services and as a point of reference for
their descendants. The benefactors themselves – or members of their families
– often covered the expenses as a further expression of their munificence
(Gauthier 2000a), but also because of the ideological value of honorary
statues. Attacks against the statues of prominent men by their adversaries
(e.g., Paus. 6.11.6–8; I.Mylasa 2) leave little doubt about the emblematic
importance of these monuments, their continual perception by the citizens,
and their ideological exploitation. The most interesting piece of evidence
concerns the bronze statue of the tyrannicide Philitos in Erythrai (I.Erythrai
503; Gauthier 1982: 215–21, early third century BC). The supporters of an
oligarchical regime removed the sword from the statue, “believing that his
posture/attitude was against them/threatening them.” After the collapse of
this regime the city decreed that the statue should be restored to its earlier
completeness. Measures were also taken to keep the statue clean and to crown
it on the first day of each month and on all festival days. It is clear that
statues stood for ideals and values; the statues of benefactors conveyed the
message that service for the community in war justified an elevated status.
The crown awarded to benefactors, and often proclaimed year after year,
was another means of commemoration of personal achievement. A particular
type of crown, the “crown of valor” (stephanos aristeios), was given
especially (but not exclusively) for military achievements (e.g., I.Perge 14
lines 48–9; I.Perge 23 line 18; Chaniotis 2004 b: no. 1). Finally, two other
honors, the seat of honor in theatrical performances and athletic contests,
and the free meal in the seat of the magistrates, symbolically placed the
honored individual above the “normal” citizens and put them on the same
level as the elected political leaders of the community. Thus communities
factually accepted the existence of a group of individuals who had an elevated
position in exchange for their services.
The thousands of honorary decrees of the Hellenistic period have a stereotypical
structure. One of the common elements is the hortatory formula,
in which the community explains why it honors a benefactor. The Pergean
decree for the statesman Stasias presents a characteristic example. He was
honored with a crown of gold and a bronze statue, “so that, when the
others see that the people give to the best men the appropriate honors, they
also make efforts to follow their example” (I.Perge 14). This practice had
two consequences, which should be briefly discussed.
On one level, this model worked. In Kos, for example, hundreds of
citizens participated in the subscriptions initiated around 200 BC for the
defense of the island. The citizens were invited to provide funds for the
construction and restoration of the fortification walls and the forts, but also
for the provision of troops (citizens, not mercenaries) engaged in war (Baker
1991; Migeotte 2000a). The names of the contributors were inscribed
on three stelae which were set up in the most prominent public places for
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