HESPERIA 70 (200I)

Pages 99-I26
ATHENIAN FINANCE,
454-404 B . n C.
AB STRACT
This paper presen ts a survey of Athen ian fin an cial history from the tran sfer
of the Delian Treasury in , probably, 454 to the en d of the Pelopon n esian War
some fiftyyears later, in the hope that future research will profit from an over-
view of the achievemen ts of 20th-cen tury scholarship. '
From 431 on ward, sufficien t eviden ce survives for me to offer a chron o-
logical presen tation of the topic of 5th-cen tury Athen ian fin an ce, but be-
fore this date the situation is very differen t, an d readers may fin d it helpful
to have before them a summary of the main premises upon which my
recon struction is based. These are five in n umber:
1. At some date in the 440s, probably between the con clusion
of the Peace of Kallias an d the in ception of the Acropolis
buildin g program, the decision was taken to merge the fun ds
of the Delian League with the fun ds of Athen a.
2. Total cen tralized resources followin g this merger amoun ted to
the sum of 9,700T.
3. This 9,700Treserve became the main source of fun din g both
for the Periklean buildin g program an d for military an d
n aval expedition s.
4. Capital expen diture on the buildin g program was offset by
an n ual tran sfers of surplus imperial in come to a total of
3,000T.
5. These 3,OOOTformed part of the 6,OOOTreserve of 431.
Athen ian fin an ce is, however, a n otoriously problematic subject, an d
I must make it clear to n on specialist readers that the above premises are,
all five of them, con troversial, an d that altern ative recon struction s are equally
possible given a differen t set of assumption s. 2
1. Of the man y scholars whose pub-
lication s are drawn upon I have learn ed
most from the work of W. S. Ferguson ,
A. W. Gomme, an d the editors of the
Athen ian Tribute Lists.
2. I am extremely grateful to
George Huxley an d Robert Parker for
their commen ts on a prelimin ary draft
of this paper, an d to the two an on y-
mous readers for criticism an d helpful
suggestion s.
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IOO ALEC B LAMIRE

454-431
CAPITAL RESOURCES AND EXPENDITURE
THUC. 2. I3. 3
Accordin g to the man uscript text, Perikles, in the course of his review of
Athen ian resources in sprin g 431, remin ds his audien ce that there still
remain ed on the Acropolis 6,OOOTof coin ed silver, an d Thucydides, in an
editorial commen t, proceeds to explain that the whole amoun t had on ce
been as much as 9,700T, but had been reduced to its presen t level by ex-
pen diture on the Propylaia an d the other buildin gs an d by costs in curred
at Poteidaia. 9,700Tis a colossal sum of mon ey, but perhaps credible on
the assumption s that it represen ts the combin ed fun ds of Athen a an d the
Delian League3 an d that a special audit was held, an d the result made
public, when the decision was taken to merge these two collection s of
mon ey. The editors of TheAthen ian Tribute Lists, fin din g it impossible to
believe that Athen ian resources could ever have amoun ted to as much as
9,700T, prefer to adopt the varian t text preserved in a scholium to Ar. ,
Plut. 1193, accordin g to which Perikies reports that there was a regular
stan din g amoun t of 6,OOOTon the Acropolis, an d Thucydides provides
the addition al in formation that the curren t balan ce was in fact 300Tbe-
low this level because of extra disbursemen ts for the Propylaia an d the
other buildin gs an d for Poteidaia. 4 The on ly documen tary support for this
readin g is the fragmen tary Papyrus Decree (Strasbourg Papyrus Graeca
84) on the bold assumption that, despite its referen ce (lin e 5) to the year of
[Eu]thydemos, archon in 431/0, the decree in fact dates to 450/49, so that
"the talen ts stored up in the state treasury to a total of 5,000 [collected]
accordin g to the assessmen t of Aristeides" (lin es 6-8) represen ts the cur-
ren t balan ce of the league fun ds tran sferred from Delos some four years
earlier. 5 B oth the varian t text quoted by the scholiast, an d the above in ter-
pretation of the Papyrus Decree, should, in my view, be rejected.
THE FUNDING OF THE B UILDING PROGRAM
Apart from the chryselephan tin e statue of Athen a, which in volved an out-
lay of between 700T an d 1,OOOT(IG
13
460), the cost of the Periklean
3. Neither resource can be precisely
quan tified. For the tribute reserve we
have on ly the un reliable testimon y of
Diodorus Siculus, who gives varian t
figures of 8,000T(12. 38. 2) an d 10,OOOT
(12. 40. 1-2, 12. 54. 3, 13. 21. 3) for the
total sum accumulated in the league
treasury at the time of its tran sfer to
Athen s. This took place in , probably,
454, shortly before the publication in
453 of the first quota list audited by
the Logistai in Athen s (ATL list 1 =
IG 13 259), but see, in favor of an earlier
date, Pritchett 1969; Robertson 1980,
pp. 112-119. For the fun ds of Athen a,
which must certain ly have amoun ted to
a four-figure sum, see Ferguson 1932,
pp. 153-154; Pritchett 1974, pp. 101-
104.
4. See ATL III, pp. 118-132. The
editors presen t an impressive array of
argumen ts, but, with the n otable excep-
tion of Rhodes (1988, pp. 194-195), few
historian s are n ow prepared to en tertain
the scholiast's readin g. For objection s to
the scholium, see in particular Gomme
(1953-1954 an d in HCTII, pp. 26-33);
Huxley 1983, pp. 200-201; an d Kallet-
Marx 1993, pp. 101-103.
5. See Wade-Gery an d Meritt 1957.
Accordin g to their recon struction ,
Perikles, in the year of Euthyn os, 450/
49, moved a decree for the fun din g of
the buildin g program which in cluded
two main provision s: (a) the 5,OOOT
of accumulated tribute in the state
treasury were to be carried up to the
Acropolis an d given to Athen a, an d
(b) an addition al 3,OOOTwere subse-
quen tly to be carried up durin g the
course of the forthcomin g buildin g
operation s. This recon struction was
accepted, with some reservation s, by
Meiggs (1972, pp. 515-518), but the
objection s to it are formidable: see
Huxley 1983, pp. 201-202; Kallet-
Marx 1989a, pp. 254-256; an d Forn ara
an d Samon s 1991, pp. 93-96.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C. IOI
buildin g program can n ot be estimated from what survives of the pub-
lished accoun ts, but the man uscript text of Thuc. 2. 13. 3 would seem to
imply total expen diture of about 3,OOOT, allowin g some 700Tfor in itial
expen ses at Poteidaia,6 an d a sum of precisely 3,OOOTis recorded as voted
to, an d recen tly received by, Athen a in the first Kallias decree of, probably,
434/3 (IG I3 52A, lin es 3-4). B oth the date an d the in terpretation of this
text are con troversial,7 but on e possible explan ation of the large sum voted
is that the Ekklesia had earlier approved a budget of 3,OOOTfor the forth-
comin g buildin g program on con dition that the capital outlay was recov-
ered from the an n ual surpluses left un spen t by the Hellen otamiai. 8 If so,
the most likely con text for the in troduction of such a repaymen t scheme is
the exten ded debate on the fun din g an d poten tial cost of the Periklean
buildin g program (Plut. , Per. 12. 1-4,14. 1-2), which presumably dates to
the in terval between the con clusion of the Peace of Kallias in , perhaps,
449/8 (Diod. Sic. 12. 4),9 an d the in ception of the Parthen on in 447/6 (IG
13 436). Despite Plutarch's apparen t implication that a state of war with
Persia still existed at the time of this debate, the termin ation of hostilities
by mutual con sen t would seem to have con stituted a n ecessary precon di-
tion for the decision to draw upon the tribute reserve, an d it was probably
n ow that the accumulated fun ds of the Delian League were tran sferred
from the custody of the Hellen otamiai to the treasury of Athen a. 10 The fact
that Athen a's 3,OOOTare specifically recorded as paid en tirely in Attic
curren cy (IG 13 52A, lin e 4) could perhaps be taken to in dicate that the
decree for the allied adoption of Athen ian coin s, weights, an d measures
(IG 13 1453) was already in
force,"'
but both the date an d the con ten t of
the decree are the subject of con tin uin g con troversy. 12
THE FUNDING OF MILITARY AND NAVAL EXPEDITIONS
Our earliest survivin g record of military expen ses (IG 13 363) lists three
paymen ts, totalin g over 1,400T, made by the Treasurers of Athen a to the
6. See Gomme in HCTII, pp. 20-
23. Heliodoros, the author of a lost
work con cern in g the Athen ian
Acropolis, is reported to have quoted
a sum of 2,OOOTfor the cost of the
Propylaia alon e (FGrHist 373 F 1;
for the text, see Kean ey 1968). This
testimon y is perhaps credible on the
assumption s that the figure quoted
derives from an official record an d that
it represen ts the total sum spen t on the
Acropolis buildin g program as a whole:
see ATL III, p. 124, n ote 15; ML,
pp. 164-165. In this case, if buildin g
expen ses amoun ted to some 3,OOOTin
all, about 1 ,OOOTwere spen t on other
projects. For surveys of the Periklean
buildin g program, see B oersma 1970,
pp. 65-81; Kn ell 1979.
7. See below, n ote 23.
8. See ATL III, pp. 326-328; Lewis
in CAHV2, p. 125 with n ote 24.
Gomme (in HCTII, pp. 31-32) takes
these 3,OOOTto represen t a sin gle
credit tran sfer from the state treasury,
but it is difficult to believe that so large
a sum could have been accumulated
from surplus domestic reven ue.
9. For differin g views on the credi-
bility of this date, see B adian 1993,
pp. 48-49, 58-60; Pritchett 1995,
pp. 167-171.
10. See, briefly, Lewis in CAHV2,
pp. 125-127; an d, for a fuller discus-
sion , Samon s (1993), who rightly
argues, again st Gomme (in HCTII,
p. 26), that Athen a n ow became the
legal own er of this mon ey. It must
however be con ceded that there is n o
direct eviden ce for an y such merger.
The treasury of Athen a certain ly
con stituted the main source of fun din g
for the Acropolis buildin g program, but
it was by n o mean s the on ly source, an d
a case can be made for supposin g that
the Parthen on at least was paid for
without recourse to the tribute reserve:
see Kallet-Marx 1989a; Giovan n in i
1990.
11. See Starr (1970, pp. 64-72), who
believes that the measure was in tro-
duced soon after the Athen ian s had
completed the task of recoin in g the
large accumulation of n on -Attic silver
foun d in the league treasury after its
tran sfer from Delos.
12. For full discussion , see n ow
Figueira (1998, pp. 319-423, 431-465),
who argues, again st the con sen sus, that
the decree did n ot in fact prohibit allied
min tin g of silver, as section 12 had been
thought to establish, but merely stipu-
lated that an y city which did min t in
silver must at the same time accept
Attic coin as valid local ten der.
I02 ALEC B LAMIRE
gen erals en gaged in suppressin g the revolt of Samos durin g the two years
441/0 an d 440/39,13 an d the stipulated source of fun din g for these opera-
tion s would seem to con firm that the tribute reserve was n o lon ger in the
custody of the Hellen otamiai. 14 We have n o in formation about the fin an -
cial arran gemen ts for Phormion 's mission to Amphilochia ca. 438 (Thuc.
2. 68. 7-8)15 or for Perikles' expedition to the B lack Sea ca. 436 (Plut. , Per.
20. 1-2),16 but the gran ts of 26Tan d 50Tvoted to the two squadron s sen t
to Corcyra in 433 were fun ded, on ce again , by the Treasurers of Athen a
(IG 13 364). These two paymen ts, which should have been affordable from
curren t in come, would seem to in dicate that it was n ow official policy for
expedition s to be fun ded from reserve,17 an d it is a reason able in feren ce
that this practice dates from the tran sfer of the tribute reserve to the trea-
sury of Athen a. If so, expedition ary costs become a sign ifican t factor in
our fin an cial equation .
CONCLUSION
On their surren der in 439, the Samian s had agreed to repay the costs of
the war over a period of time (Thuc. 1. 117. 3). We have n o eviden ce as to
the precise terms n egotiated, but special paymen ts from Samos are men -
tion ed in a decree of 426 (IG P3 68, lin es 21-24) an d are subsequen tly
recorded as a source of fun din g in the treasurers' accoun ts for 423/2 (IG I3
369, lin es 42-43), 418/17 (IG 13 370, lin es 18-19), an d 414/13 (IG 13 371,
lin es 16-17). Sin ce these paymen ts represen t in come of Athen a, they are
probably to be iden tified as an n ual in stallmen ts of the war debt, an d their
len gthy duration perhaps suggests that the settlemen t of 439 had provided
for the in demn ity to be repaid at a fixed rate of 50Tper an n um over a
period of twen ty-six years,18 which would have left a sum of 1,OOOTstill
outstan din g in 431. 19 If this assumption is correct, an d if we allow a n o-
13. For the chron ology of these
three paymen ts, see Forn ara 1979;
Lewis in CAHV2, p. 502.
14. See Steven son 1924; ATL III,
p. 337. B ut the implication that the
fun ds of Athen a n ow con stituted the
on ly available reserve is by n o mean s
un iversally accepted: Gomme (1953-
1954, pp. 16-17; an d in HCTII,
pp. 31-32) argues for a substan tial
reserve in the state treasury; Kallet-
Marx (1989a, pp. 259-260) believes
that the tribute reserve in fact remain ed
in the han ds of the Hellen otamiai.
These theories, if correct, would have
major implication s for our un derstan d-
in g of Athen ian fin an ce.
15. This episode is timeless in
Thucydides, an d the question of its
date remain s con troversial: see
Horn blower 1991, pp. 353-354.
16. The approximate date of this
expedition is n o lon ger in doubt: see
Stadter 1989, pp. 216-217; Lewis in
CAHV2, p. 146, n ote 113.
17. Durin g each of the three years
435/4, 434/3, an d 433/2 what appears
to be mon ey left un spen t by gen erals on
campaign was paid in to the Hellen o-
tamiai an d was tran sferred by them to
the Commission ers for the Propylaia
(IG 13 464, lin es 105-108; 465, lin es
128-130; 466, lin es 144-145). We have
however n o eviden ce to determin e the
origin al source of fun din g, an d the
sums tran sferred may in fact represen t
the tithes set aside for Athen a from the
sale of booty brought home by the
gen erals. For full discussion , see ATL
III, pp. 329-332; Thompson 1970a.
18. See ATL III, pp. 334-335. If, as
the editors of ATL assume, the pay-
men t of 414/13 represen ts the fin al
in stallmen t of the series, the mon eys
from Samos subsequen tly recorded as
paid by voucher in the treasurers'
accoun ts for 410/9 (IG P3 375, lin es 20-
21, 34-37) con stituted a differen t
category of reven ue, probably fun ds
collected at Samos for use in the field.
19. For a differen t view, see Gomme
(in HCTII, pp. 17-18, 33), who argues
from the silen ce of Thucydides at
2. 13. 3 that the in demn ity had been
paid in full by 431, an d in terprets the
later paymen ts from Samos as con tri-
bution s to the imperial budget in lieu of
tribute. This recon struction would
require the assumption that the
Athen ian s had in sisted on a substan tial
down paymen t in 439, as Plutarch (Per.
28. 1) perhaps implies; cf. the terms
imposed upon Thasos after her
surren der in 463/2 (Thuc. 1. 101. 3). For
further discussion , see Shipley 1987,
p. 118; Stadter 1989, p. 256, both skep-
tical of the n otion that the Samian s
were allowed as lon g as twen ty-six years
to discharge their debt.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C.
I03
tion al sum of 2,OOOTfor military an d n aval expedition s, an d for other
capital expen ses such as colon ization 20 an d shipbuildin g,21 then Thucydides'
figures are at least possible. 22
THE KALLIAS DECREES
In , probably, 434/3 the Ekklesia passed two importan t decrees con cern in g
the organ ization , man agemen t, an d use of sacred resources. 23 The first of
these (IG 13 52A) provides for the repaymen t of debts to the gods n ow that
the 3,OOOTvoted to Athen a have been brought up to the Acropolis (lin es
2-4). 24 The debts in question are to be repaid from the fun ds already ear-
marked for this purpose, n amely, the mon eys n ow with the Hellen otamiai,
other mon eys in the same fun d, an d the sum realized by the dekate when -
ever it is sold (lin es 4_7). 25 The precise sum owin g is to be calculated by
the thirty Logistai 26 after due search of the records (lin es 7-13), which
suggests that some of the loan s were by n o mean s recen t. We learn from
the secon d decree (IG 13 52B , lin es 21-23) that a sum of 200Thad appar-
en tly already been voted to cover the estimated cost of repaymen t, an d a
later clause in decree A (lin es 30-32) stipulates that an y mon ey left over is
to be spen t on the dockyard27 an d walls. Whereas the 3,OOOTvoted to
Athen a had been paid en tirely in Attic silver (lin es 3-4), the foreign coin s
listed in an in ven tory of 429/8 (IG I3 383, lin es 15-35) suggest that the
debt to the other gods may have been repaid in a variety of differen t cur-
ren cies. 28 The decree says n othin g about in terest, but the Logistai may have
20. See Jon es 1957, pp. 168-174;
B run t 1966.
21. See B lackman 1969, pp. 208-
212; Gabrielsen 1994, pp. 131-132.
22. Cf. the calculation s of Un z
(1985, pp. 26-27 with n ote 24), who
suggests a figure of at least 1,OOOT
for the combin ed cost of (a) military
campaign s un dertaken between 448/7
an d the Thirty Years' Peace of 446/5,
an d (b) Perikles' subsequen t expedition
to the B lack Sea.
23. Un til comparatively recen t times
there was a gen eral con sen sus amon g
historian s that these decrees should be
assign ed to 434/3: see ML, pp. 157-
161, an d Meiggs (1972, pp. 519-523,
601), who examin es, an d in my view
refutes, the case for datin g them as late
as 422/1 or 418/17. 434/3 still seems to
me the most probable date for Kallias
to have moved these decrees, but see
Kallet-Marx (1989b), who presen ts
stron g argumen ts for dissociatin g the
two texts an d for assign in g decree A to
summer 431, soon after Perikles had
presen ted his review of Athen ian
resources on the eve of war.
24. We have n o eviden ce to
determin e how recen tly, or for what
purpose, this mon ey had been voted
to Athen a. For the hypothesis, accepted
here, that the 3,OOOTwere voted some
time before the in ception of the Acro-
polis buildin g program an d were paid
in a series of an n ual in stallmen ts to
offset expen diture from reserve, see
ATL III, pp. 326-328; Lewis in CAH
V2, p. 125 with n ote 24. Propon en ts of
a later date for the decree explain these
3,OOOTas a sum recen tly voted for the
replen ishmen t of a reserve heavily
depleted by expen ditures in curred
durin g the course of the Archidamian
War: see Mattin gly 1968, pp. 460-465
(= 1996, pp. 227-232), an d 1975
(= 1996, pp. 353-360), arguin g for
422/1; Forn ara 1970, arguin g for 418/
17. That so large a sum could have been
raised by 418/17 is perhaps con ceivable,
but, on Mattin gly's datin g of the de-
cree, the source of these 3,OOOTbe-
comes a major difficulty, which he does
n ot, in my view, satisfactorily resolve: cf.
also Meiggs 1972, pp. 521-523.
25. In common with those of other
taxes, the con tract for the collection of
this otherwise un attested dekate was
presumably sold at auction to the
highest bidder (see Lan gdon 1994,
pp. 258-261), but we have n o mean s
of determin in g whether it con stituted
an imperial tax regularly admin istered
by the Hellen otamiai or a domestic tax,
the reven ue from which was, on this
particular occasion , to be earmarked for
the repaymen t of the debt to the gods.
The former is the view of the editors of
ATL (III, p. 326), who suppose that the
tithe was levied on the cargoes of
merchan t ships passin g through the
B osporos (cf. Cawkwell 1975, p. 54,
n ote 4), but Mattin gly (1968, pp. 471-
473 [= 1996, pp. 240-242]) presen ts a
stron g case for supposin g that the tax
was levied an d collected locally, an d
suggests the min in g in dustry as a
possible source.
26. A board of public auditors
first attested in 454/3 (ATL list 1 =
IG1 3 259, prescript): see Rhodes 1972,
p. 111.
27. Total outlay on the dockyards
was afterwards estimated at 1,OOOT
(Isok. 7. 66).
28. See Eddy 1973, p. 49.
I04 ALEC B LAMIRE
been expected to allow for this as a matter of course, an d we should n ot
n ecessarily assume that n on e was payable, despite the apparen t lack of
urgen cy in settlin g the debt.
The remain der of decree A is con cern ed with the establishmen t, on
the model of the Treasurers of Athen a, of a n ew fin an cial board, the Trea-
surers of the Other Gods, to assume respon sibility for the man agemen t of
fun ds curren tly housed in local san ctuaries, most, but n ot all, of which
were n ow to be con cen trated on the Acropolis. 29 These n ew treasurers are
to be selected by lot when ever the other magistracies are filled,30 an d they
are to keep in the Opisthodomos the sacred mon eys en trusted to them,3"
sharin g respon sibility for security (cf. Ath. Pol. 44. 1) with the Treasurers of
Athen a (lin es 13-18). On receipt of these temple properties from the vari-
ous local officials respon sible for their safekeepin g,32 the n ew board is to
coun t an d weigh them on the Acropolis in the presen ce of the B oule, an d is
then to prepare a comprehen sive in ven tory to be published on a sin gle
stele-with the property of each god separately listed, silver an d gold dis-
tin guished-an d a summation of total resources (lin es 18-24). In future
years, each successive board of treasurers is to publish an audited record of
capital balan ce, in come received, an d expen diture in curred durin g its term
of office from Pan athen aia to Pan athen aia (lin es 24-30), an d these in -
struction s are duly observed in the on ly survivin g documen t from the se-
ries, a combin ed in ven tory an d statemen t of in come an d expen diture for
the year 429/8 (IG 13 383). 33 The prescript con tain s a referen ce to the
previous year's board (lin es 9-10)34-the fourth to hold office, on the or-
thodox datin g of the first Kallias decree.
The secon d decree (IG 13 52B ), the text of which has sustain ed con -
siderable damage, in cludes the followin g provision s:
1. The Pro[pylaia], the golden Nikai, an d their marble [bases]
are to be completed (lin es 2-3). The n umber of Nikai un der
29. Some temples, in cludin g those
at Eleusis an d Rhamn ous, were totally
exempted from the forthcomin g move,
an d the rest apparen tly were permitted
to keep some fun ds on site (IG P3 383,
lin es 186-187), presumably to defray
local expen ses.
30. The decree says n othin g about
qualification for office, but the
Treasurers of Athen a were chosen
exclusively from the highest property-
class (Ath. Pol. 8. 1, 47. 1), an d the same
rule may have applied also to the n ew
board. We have n o con temporary
eviden ce to determin e precisely when
magistracies were filled at this time,
but, in the 4th cen tury at least, gen erals
an d other military officers were
n ormally elected in the seven th prytan y
(Ath. Pol. 44. 4). For a recen t discussion
see Cawkwell (1997, pp. 107-1 10), who
boldly assign s the decree to the in terval
between the debate on Corcyra's appeal
for help again st Corin th (Thuc. 1. 44)
an d the en d of the Pan athen aic year
434/3.
31. Probably to be iden tified as the
recon structed western chamber of the
Dorpfeld temple destroyed in 480/79:
see Din smoor 1947, pp. 127-140;
Harris 1995, pp. 1-5, 40-41.
32. Listed in lin es 18-19 as "the
presen t tamiai, epistatai, an d hieropoioi
in the temples, who n ow have charge of
the treasures," a formulation which,
quite clearly, implies that these
treasures had n ot yet been brought up
to the Acropolis at the time when the
decree was passed: see Kallet-Marx
1989b, pp. 105-108.
33. For discussion an d an alysis of
this complex documen t, see Ferguson
1932, p. 97, n ote 2; Thompson 1967,
pp. 231-234; an d Lin ders 1975, pp. 14-
38. Detailed accoun ts of in come an d
expen diture must also have been
prepared by the Treasurers of Athen a
for purposes of audit (cf. Ath. Pol. 54. 2),
but these were apparen tly n ever
published. The fin an cial records which
they did set up (IG P3 364-382) are,
techn ically, n ot accoun ts at all, but
statemen ts of loan s to the Athen ian
state, with each tran saction precisely
dated by the prytan y calen dar for
subsequen t calculation of in terest by
the Logistai: see Ferguson 1932, pp. 96-
100; Davies 1994, pp. 207-208.
34. This fact should be sufficien t to
establish that the decree was passed n o
later than summer 430, in advan ce of
the Pan athen aic year 430/29: see
Kallet-Marx 1989b, pp. 105-108.
Mattin gly (1968, pp. 458-460 [= 1996,
pp. 225-227]) argues, in my view
implausibly, that decree A did n ot in
fact in stitute the treasurers of IG I3 383,
but called in stead for the reorgan ization
of this board of officials.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C.
I05
commission is n ot specified, but at least two were subsequen tly
dedicated ca. 430 (IG I3 467), an d two more in 426/5 (IG I3
468). 35 Work on the Propylaia con tin ued through 433/2 (IG I3
466), but operation s were apparen tly then suspen ded to con -
serve resources for the impen din g war. 36
2. An an n ual budget of 10Tis to be allocated for what appears to be
supplemen tary buildin g work on the Acropolis, perhaps con -
cern ed primarily with security. The plan is to be prepared by the
architect of the Propylaia, an d operation s are to be supervised
by the Treasurers of Athen a an d the Commission ers for the
Propylaia (lin es 4-12).
3. Apart from this special fun d, n o sum in excess of 10,000 drach-
mas may be drawn from the treasury of Athen a without a
previous vote of in demn ity (lin es 12-19). 37 These restriction s
on capital expen diture perhaps explain why a rider to a decree
of ca. 432 con cern in g the public water supply (IG I3 49, lin es
14-16) proposes that an y work un dertaken should be charged
to the curren t year's tribute.
4. [The mon ey owed to the gods (?)] is to be deposited with the
Treasurers of Athen a by the Hellen otamiai durin g the course of
the year,38 an d, on ce the debt has been repaid from the 200T
voted for this purpose, the admin istration of Athen a's treasury is
to be located on the right of the Opisthodomos, that of the
other gods on the left (lin es 19-25). 39
5. The Treasurers of Athen a curren tly in office are to complete the
weighin g an d coun tin g of the sacred treasures in their custody,
in cooperation with the four boards of treasurers who held
office durin g the previous Pan athen aic quadren n ium (lin es 26-
29). This in struction has been thought to an ticipate the publi-
cation of the three series of extan t Parthen on in ven tories (IG 13
292-362), which begin in 434/3,40 but is perhaps more plausibly
in terpreted as a referen ce to certain stocks of un weighed bullion
an d un coun ted mon ey curren tly held in the Opisthodomos. 41
35. See Thompson 1970c.
36. See B oersma 1970, pp. 70,200-
201.
37. No votes of in demn ity are in
fact recorded either in the treasurers'
accoun ts for 433/2 (IG I3 364) or in
what is preserved of their accoun ts for
succeedin g years prior to the secon d
prytan y of 418/17 (IG I3 370, lin e 15).
Mattin gly (1968, pp. 450-451 [= 1996,
pp. 215-216]) in cludes this n egative
eviden ce amon g his argumen ts for
datin g the decree to 422/1, but the
sporadic recordin g of the san ction is
probably to be explain ed as a peculiarity
of emphasis: see Ferguson 1932, p. 17,
n ote 2; Thompson 1967, pp. 221-223.
38. The restoration of this clause
(lin es 19-21) is problematic, an d a case
can be made for an altern ative text
whereby the Hellen otamiai are to
deposit either their receipts or their
surpluses with the Treasurers of
Athen a: see Ferguson 1932, pp. 157-
159; Gomme in HCTII, pp. 433-434.
39. On the solitary, an d apparen tly
superfluous, referen ce to the
Opisthodomos in the accoun ts of the
Logistai for the quadren n ium 426/5-
423/2 (IG 13 369, lin es 19-20), see
Samon s 1993, p. 130, n ote 10.
40. Although n ot in scribed in their
presen t form un til the begin n in g of the
Pan athen aic year 432/1, at earliest: see
Samon s 1997.
41. See Samon s 1996.
io6 ALEC B LAMIRE
PERIKLES' REVIEW OF RESOURCES IN 431
INCOME
"They had on average 600Tof tribute comin g in an n ually from their al-
lies, to say n othin g of their other reven ue" (Thuc. 2. 13. 3). The pre-war
quota lists imply receipts of un der 400T,42 but allowan ce can be made for
n on -tributary sources of overseas in come, such as Amphipolis (Thuc.
4. 108. 1), Samos (IG P3 68, lin es 21-24), an d sacred estates in allied terri-
tory (Hill B 96). 43 A con siderable part of the in comin g tribute for the year
was presumably reserved for recurren t expen ses, such as salaries of over-
seas magistrates (Ath. Pol. 24. 3: cf. IG P3 34, lin es 5-11); main ten an ce of
the fleet,44 dockyards, an d walls; an d the program of n aval train in g in tro-
duced by Perikles (Plut. , Per. 11. 4). 45
The "other reven ue," n ot quan tified by Perikles, comprised domestic
in come paid in to the treasury of the Kolakretai,46 which amoun ted to some
400Tper an n um if we accept the figure of 1,OOOTquoted by Xen ophon
(An . 7. 1. 27) for combin ed overseas an d domestic in come in 431. It was
derived from such sources as taxes, court fees, min in g con cession s, market
tolls, harbor dues, ren ts, fin es, an d con fiscation s (Ar. , Vesp. 658-659). Of
these the two most lucrative were probably the silver min es at Laureion ,
the reven ue from on e of which, the Hephaistikon , had helped to defray
the cost of the Acropolis buildin g program (IG P3 444, lin es 249-250; 465,
lin es 126-127), an d the con tract for the collection of the 2% customs duty
levied at the Peiraieus, which was sold for 30Tin 402/1 an d for 36Ta year
later (An dok. 1. 133-134). 47 The harbor dues payable by shipown ers an d
merchan ts at Soun ion (IG P3 8), Phaleron (IG P3 130), an d the Peiraieus
(IG P3 133) provided on goin g fin an cial support for local cults. 48
We kn ow n othin g about the mechan ics of 5th-cen tury domestic fi-
n an ce, but, sin ce the Kolakretai appear to have served for a term of on ly
on e prytan y (IG P3 73, lin es 25-29; cf IG P3 36, lin es 4-10),49 they must
have worked to a budgeted routin e of some kin d. Court fees, for example,
seem to have been reserved exclusively for the fun din g ofjurors' pay ([Xen . ],
Ath. Pol. 1. 16; Poll. 8. 38). 5? B ecause of the large n umber of civilian sti-
42. For the theory that in come from
tribute was sign ifican tly higher than
the figures implied by the quota lists,
see Gomme in HCTI, pp. 273-279;
Fren ch 1972; an d, especially, Un z
(1985), who argues that the lists record
on ly the quotas paid to Athen a on the
surplus of each year's tribute, n amely the
mon ey that was actually sen t to Athen s
an d n ot expen ded in the field.
43. See Gomme in HCTII, pp. 17-
19; Meiggs 1972, p. 258. Kallet-Marx
(1993, pp. 99-101), reluctan t to believe
that Perikles could have used the
techn ical term phoros to in clude reven ue
other than tribute, takes him to mean
that 600Tcame in an n ually from the
empire, the greater part of which
con sisted of tribute. For this in terpreta-
tion , which is perhaps better suited to
the word order, see also Huxley 1983,
p. 198.
44. For the fin an cial respon sibilities
of in dividual trierarchs in con n ection
with the commission in g an d upkeep of
ships, see Gabrielsen 1994, pp. 19-39,
105-125.
45. For a more detailed an alysis of
the Athen ian budget, coverin g both
imperial an d domestic expen ses, see
Podlecki 1998, pp. 165-168.
46. For these pre-Kleisthen ic
officials, an d their fun ction s un der the
5th-cen tury democracy, see ATL III,
pp. 359-366; Rhodes 1972, p. 102 with
n ote 5; an d Hardin g 1994, pp. 91-94,
134-138.
47. The 1% tax at the Peiraieus
men tion ed by [Xen ophon ],A4th. Pol.
1. 17, seems from the con text to have
been duty levied on the property of
disembarkin g passen gers.
48. See Parker 1996, p. 125.
49. See Wilhelm 1939.
50. See Harrison 1971, pp. 92-94;
Kallet-Marx 1994, pp. 246-248. For
the theory, n ot accepted here, that
tribute was used to fun d political pay in
Athen s, see Fin ley 1981, pp. 41-61;
Forn ara an d Samon s 1991, pp. 67-74.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C.
I07
pen ds an d other domestic expen ses (Ath. Pol. 24. 3), the reven ues admin is-
tered by the Kolakretai may have been regarded as un available for purposes
of war. 5"
COINED RESERVES
"There still remain ed, on the Acropolis, 6,OOOTof coin ed silver" (Thuc.
2. 13. 3). This total may represen t the combin ed fun ds of Athen a an d the
Other Gods n ow housed together in the Opisthodomos,52 but the subse-
quen t referen ce to "the con siderable sums of mon ey from the other temples"
(Thuc. 2. 13. 5) would seem to imply that Perikles is here thin kin g exclu-
sively of the fun ds of Athen a. 53 It follows, if so, that the reserve fun ds on
the Acropolis totalled well over 6,OOOTat the time of the review, sin ce
766Twere borrowed from the treasury of the Other Gods durin g the
seven years 433/2-427/6 (IG 13 369, lin es 102-105). 54 At least half of
Athen a's 6,OOOTreserve comprised Attic coin paid in prior to the first
Kallias decree (IG P3 52A, lin es 3-4). Non -Attic silver, gold, an d electrum
made up the remain der, but we have n o mean s of estimatin g the sum of
these holdin gs. 55
UNCOINED RESERVES
"They had in addition un coin ed gold an d silver in private an d public dedi-
cation s, sacred vessels used in procession s an d competition s, Persian spoils
an d other treasures of like n ature, worth n ot less than 500T" (Thuc. 2. 13. 4).
The figure quoted is man y times greater than the Parthen on in ven tories
lead us to expect, but is perhaps credible on the assumption that it en com-
passes dedication s an d other treasures n ot in cluded in these in ven tories,
an d also reserves of un wrought gold an d silver bullion . 56 The gold plate
weighin g 40Tor more on Pheidias' statue of Athen a is separately item-
ized (Thuc. 2. 13. 5).
51. So ATL III, p. 333, but Gomme
(in HCTII, p. 19) rightly objects that
we have n o real idea of the total an n ual
cost of these recurren t commitmen ts:
cf. also Jon es 1957, pp. 5-6; Podlecki
1998, pp. 166-167. The 150Tper an -
n um quoted for jurors' pay in the 420s
(Ar. , Vesp. 661-663) is certain ly an
in flated figure: see Sin clair 1988,
p. 225; Kallet-Marx 1994, p. 247, n ote
62.
52. So ATL III, p. 333; Gomme in
HCTII, pp. 23-24.
53. So Rhodes 1988, pp. 194-195;
Cawkwell 1997, pp. 107-108.
54. The loss of the total in terest
figure for the Other Gods in the
accoun ts of the Logistai (IG I3 369, lin e
120) makes it impossible to determin e
how early these loan s began , but
expen ses in curred before the outbreak
of war in 431 were perhaps fun ded
exclusively from the treasury of Athen a:
see Cawkwell 1997, p. 108.
55. See Mattin gly 1968, pp. 462-
463 (= 1996, pp. 229-230). Part of the
tribute received in 453 had been paid in
Kyziken e electrum staters (ATL list 1 =
IG I3 259, postscript, lin es 10-13), an d,
in the case of certain Hellespon tin e
cities, paymen ts in this curren cy
apparen tly con tin ued to be acceptable:
see Eddy 1973; Figueira 1998, pp. 274-
279. A supply of electrum was in fact
given to the first board of Parthen on
commission ers (IG I3 436, lin es 31-32),
but, for whatever reason , the coin s
remain ed un used an d the experimen t
was n ot repeated.
56. See Gomme in HCTII, p. 23;
Mattin gly 1968, pp. 456-459 (= 1996,
pp. 222-225); an d Harris 1990-1991.
io8 ALEC B LAMIRE
FUNDS OF THE OTHER GODS
The "con siderable sums of mon ey from the other temples" (Thuc. 2. 13. 5)
are, we have suggested, probably to be iden tified as the fun ds of the Other
Gods n ow housed in the Opisthodomos. The fact that these resources are
left un quan tified is, however, a matter for some surprise, given the com-
prehen sive yearly accoun ts to be drawn up an d published un der the terms
of the first Kallias decree (IG 13 52A, lin es 24-30), an d this omission could,
quite legitimately, be taken to imply that the fun ds in the local san ctuaries
had n ot yet been brought up to the Acropolis an d coun ted. 57
LOANS AND INTEREST
"These resources might be used for their safety on con dition that n o less
was replaced afterwards" (Thuc. 2. 13. 5). This proviso probably refers spe-
cifically to the state's obligation to replace an y dedication s removed for
meltin g,58 but we kn ow from the accoun ts of the Logistai (IG 13 369, lin es
98-111) that, with effect from the fin an cial year 433/2, paymen ts from
the sacred treasuries were also treated as loan s to the state. The Athen ian s
had, in addition , con tracted to charge themselves in terest on all such loan s,
at on e drachma a day for on e talen t down to the en d of the fin an cial year
427/6, an d on e drachma a day for five talen ts thereafter, which represen ts
a reduction from 6% to a purely n omin al 1. 2% per an n um. 59 If we are right
in supposin g that the 6,OOOTreserve of sprin g 431 does n ot in clude the
fun ds of the Other Gods, the total sum available for loan by the two boards
of sacred treasurers at the begin n in g of the fin an cial year 433/2 was prob-
ably of the order of 7,600T, allowin g some 6,700Tfor the fun ds of Athen a60
an d some 900Tfor the fun ds of the Other Gods.
Our records show some loan s made direct to gen erals, an d others to
the Hellen otamiai for tran sfer to the gen erals, an d there is eviden ce to sug-
gest that the term of office served by the Hellen otamiai may have been
chan ged from the civil to the Pan athen aic year so as to correspon d with
the term of office served by the two boards of sacred treasurers (cf. IG P3
369, lin es 25-29; ICG 3 377, lin es 23-25). 61 The chan ge of sacred treasurers
took place on 28 Hekatombaion , an d these texts have been thought to
establish that outgoin g boards of Hellen otamiai were still in office on Prytan y
1. 26 = (?)14 Hekatombaion 424, an d on Prytan y 1. 20 = 20 Hekatombaion
406. 62
57. See Mattin gly 1968, pp. 456-
458 (= 1996, pp. 222-224); Kallet-
Marx 1989b, pp. 109-110. The editors
of ATL (III, p. 333), who in clude the
cen tralized fun ds of the Other Gods
in the 6,OOOTreserve, assume that
Perikles is thin kin g of extra mon ey
poten tially available from sources
which had been exempted from the
provision s of the first Kallias decree.
These in cluded the treasury of the two
goddesses at Eleusis, in which 90Tof
coin ed silver had accumulated by
the en d of the Archidamian War
(IG IF 385, lin es 5-6), an d that of
Nemesis of Rhamn ous, whose resources
in the 440s had amoun ted to over 9T
(IG I3 248, lin e 38).
58. See Gomme in HCTII, p. 26;
Horn blower 1991, p. 255.
59. See West 1930, pp. 234-235;
ATL III, pp. 342-343.
60. This estimate assumes
high in itial expen ses at Poteidaia:
cf. Gomme in HCTII, pp. 21-22;
Kallet-Marx 1993, p. 104.
61. See Meiggs 1972, p. 234.
62. So Meritt 1928, pp. 18-19;
1932, p. 126; an d 1964, p. 212, but see
the objection s of Pritchett (1977c), who
believes that the Hellen otamiai took up
office on Prytan y 1. 1, the first day of
the n ew fin an cial year.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C. I09
43 1-421
PERIKLE S
Durin g the three fin an cial years precedin g the death of Perikles in autumn
429, the Athen ian s borrowed over 3,800Tfrom the sacred treasuries: an
estimated 1,145Tin 432/1, 1,370Tin 431/0, an d an estimated 1,300Tin
430/29. 63 Capital on this en ormous scale was n eeded to fun d operation s at
Poteidaia, which fin ally surren dered in win ter 430/29 after a siege costin g
at least 2,OOOT(Thuc. 2. 70. 2; Isok. 15. 113), an d to pay for the expen sive
n aval expedition s moun ted again st the Pelopon n ese in 431 (Thuc. 2. 23. 2)
an d again in 430 (Thuc. 2. 56. 1-2). 64 Such levels of expen diture could n ot
be sustain ed in defin itely, an d Athen ian an xiety about the poten tial cost of
the war, should it prove to be protracted, is illustrated by the decision ,
taken as early as summer 431, to set aside an iron reserve of 1,OOOTfrom
the fun ds on the Acropolis, to be used on ly in the even t of an en emy fleet
attackin g Athen s (Thuc. 2. 24. 1). 65
Thucydides n owhere explain s the prin ciples of Athen ian war fin an ce,66
but, in the early years at least, as he perhaps implies at 2. 24. 1, it seems
likely that the reserves on the Acropolis were to con stitute the main source
of fun din g for the war,67 with an y surplus imperial reven ue perhaps tran s-
ferred to the sacred treasuries at the en d of each fin an cial year, thereby
reducin g the debt to Athen a an d the Other Gods. 68 The surpluses avail-
able for tran sfer were, however, very much smaller than in pre-war years,
sin ce 40Tof tribute had been lost in con sequen ce of the revolt of Poteidaia
an d her local allies in 432,69 an d 30Tmore after the expulsion of the popu-
lation of Aigin a in 431 (Thuc. 2. 27. 1). No attempt seems to have been
made to compen sate for these losses in the assessmen t of 430,70 but firm
action was n ow taken again st defaulters. In autumn 430 a squadron of six
ships was sen t out to collect mon ey in Karia an d Lykia (Thuc. 2. 69. 1),71
an d a fragmen tary decree (IG I3 60), n ow thought to date n o later than
430,72 provides for the mobilization of a much larger force of thirty ships
an d 1,200 hoplites to en sure that
bothphoros
an d epiphorai
7
are collected
63. See ML, p. 217.
64. Fourteen paymen ts-ten for
Macedon an d Poteidaia, an d four for
the Pelopon n ese-are recorded in
the treasurers' accoun ts for 432/1
(IG I3 365), but the totals, an d half
the in dividual figures, are missin g: see
Thompson 1968. B y con trast, the ac-
coun ts for 431/0 (IG I3 366) are lost
apart from the summation (lin es 9-15),
which records expen diture of over
1,267T, plus two supplemen tary gran ts,
on e of 50T, for n ew triremes: see ATL
III, p. 342; Gomme in HCTII,
pp. 144-145.
65. See Kallet-Marx 1993, pp. 110-
i11.
66. See Gomme in HCTI, p. 26,
excellen t on the whole question of
Thucydides' treatmen t of the fin an cial
aspect of the war, an d n ot, in my view,
in validated by the coun terargumen ts of
Kallet-Marx (1993). See also, for
pertin en t criticism of Thucydides,
Horn blower 1991, pp. 341-342; Lewis
in CAHV2, p. 385.
67. On the primacy of the reserve in
Periklean fin an cial strategy, see Kagan
1974, pp. 36-40; Kallet-Marx 1993,
pp. 196-198.
68. We have n o direct eviden ce for
an y such tran sfers, but the possibility
that some were made within this period
is n ot excluded by the accoun ts of the
Logistai (IG I3 369), which supply n o
details of fin an cial tran saction s effected
before 426/5: see Kallet-Marx 1989b,
pp. 102-103.
69. See Gomme in HCTI, pp. 210-
212; Meiggs 1972, pp. 309-310.
70. See Meiggs 1972, pp. 310-311,
531-532.
71. For the scale of default in this
part of the empire, see Meiggs 1972,
pp. 246-247, 306-307. The tribute
which was lost amoun ted to n o great
sum, but this was, perhaps, less
importan t than the example to be set:
see Rhodes 1988, p. 249.
72. See Meritt 1953.
73. Probably to be in terpreted as the
in terest charged on late paymen ts of
tribute: seeATL I, pp. 450-453;
Meiggs 1972, pp. 432-433.
IIO ALEC B LAMIRE
in full. The quota list for 431/0 is lost, but the scale of this expedition
seems to in dicate that there had been a sign ifican t shortfall in reven ue. 74
KLEON
I have suggested that the war had thus far been fun ded main ly, if n ot
exclusively, from capital, but the un expected revolt of Mytilen e in 428 seems
to have served as the catalyst for a reappraisal of fin an cial strategy. Faced
with the prospect of an other lon g an d expen sive siege, the Athen ian s, in
autumn 428, for the first time levied an eisphora, or property tax, which
raised 200T,7s an d they also imposed a special levy on their allies (Thuc.
3. 19. 1). 76 These emergen cy measures may well have been proposed by
Kleon , the most in fluen tial politician of the day (Thuc. 3. 36. 6), if 428/7
was the year in which he claimed credit for the amoun t of mon ey which he
had succeeded in raisin g as a member of the B oule (Ar. , Eq. 773-776). 77 In
addition , there is a stron g case for supposin g that the n ext assessmen t of
tribute, n ot due un til 426, was brought forward by two years to provide
addition al reven ue. 78 The overall level of in crease can n ot be in ferred from
the figures preserved in the fragmen tary quota list for 428/7 (ATL list 27
= IG P3 283), but the state is estimated to have borrowed n o more than
300Tfrom the sacred treasuries durin g the course of the two years 428/7
an d 427/6, compared with 600Tin 429/8. 79 Imperial in come had evi-
den tly n ow become the primary source of fun din g for the
war, with the
drain on the reserve limited to the amoun t n eeded to make up an y deficit.
No n ew assessmen t of tribute seems to have been made at the Great
Pan athen aia of 426,80 but a decree moved by Kleon ymos in the secon d
prytan y of 426/5 provided for the appoin tmen t of foreign n ation als to
assume person al respon sibility for the collection of tribute in cities through-
out the empire, with the aim of en surin g that the curren t assessmen t was
realized in full without further recourse to expen sive n aval expedition s (IG
P3 68: cf. An tiph. F 52 Thalheim). This measure may have improved the
machin ery of collection ,8" but the in creased level of borrowin g in 426/5,
six loan s totalin g 262T(IG P3 369, lin es 2-16), served to rein force the case
74. Mon ey-collectin g ships
were again sen t out in 428, to raise
extra fun ds for the siege of Mytilen e
(Thuc. 3. 19. 1), an d in 425/4 (Thuc.
4. 50. 1; 4. 75), probably in con n ection
with the n ew assessmen t of tribute
(IG I3 71): see gen erally Kallet-Marx
1993, pp. 160-164; Horn blower 1996,
p. 206.
75. The sign ifican ce of the eisphora
of 428 is disputed. Taken literally,
Thucydides appears to mean that it was
the first ever to be levied in Athen s, but
eisphorai are attested as an established
in stitution in the secon d Kallias decree
(IG I3 52B , lin es 17 an d 19). Historian s
who date this decree to 434/3 accord-
in gly suppose that the eisphora of 428
was either (a) the first of the war
(Gomme in HCTII, p. 278; Meiggs
1972, pp. 256-257, 519-520), or
(b) the first to raise as much as 200T
(Horn blower 1991, pp. 403-404).
Those who advocate a later date for the
decree con clude that the eisphora of 428
was in deed the first ever to be levied:
see Mattin gly 1968, pp. 451-456
(= 1996, pp. 216-222); Kallet-Marx
1993, pp. 134-136.
76. See Kallet-Marx 1993, pp. 136-
137.
77. See Gomme in HCTII,
pp. 278-279; Meiggs 1972, p. 318.
Kleon , or possibly Lysikles (cf. schol.
P1. , Men ex. 235e), should perhaps
also be credited with the establish-
men t of the Poristai, an emergen cy
fin an cial board first attested in 419
(An tiph. 6. 49), an d still officiatin g in
405 (Ar. , Ran . 1505): see An drewes in
HCTV, p. 111; Rhodes 1981, p. 356.
78. See ATL III, p. 70; Meiggs
1972, pp. 532-534.
79. These estimates assume that the
rate of in terest payable to Athen a an d
the Other Gods remain ed un chan ged
un til the en d of the fin an cial year 427/
6: see ML, p. 217.
80. See Meiggs 1972, pp. 322-323.
81. B ut perhaps n ot to the exten t
that Kleon ymos had an ticipated: see
Forn ara an d Samon s (1991, pp. 179-
181), who argue that the Klein ias
decree (IG I3 34) should be dated to the
420s an d in terpreted as an attempt to
rectify shortcomin gs in the procedure
in troduced by Kleon ymos.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C. III
for a n ew assessmen t, an d this was duly in troduced in autumn 425 through
an en ablin g decree moved byThoudippos (IGI3 71), who is probably to be
iden tified as a son -in -law of Kleon (cf. Isai. 9. 17-20). 82
The reassessmen t of 425 aimed to brin g in a gran d total of between
1,460Tan d 1,500T(IG I3 71, lin e 181). 13 We have n o documen tary evi-
den ce for the amoun t of tribute actually collected,84 but the return evi-
den tly proved in sufficien t to balan ce the Athen ian budget without further
recourse to the reserve, sin ce 130Thad to be borrowed in 425/4, 163Tin
424/3,85 an d as much as 253T, in cludin g loan s of 6Tfrom Athen a Nike
an d 55Tfrom the Other Gods, in 423/2 (IG 13
369, lin es 16-48 [loan s
from Athen a Polias], lin es 51-97 [loan s from Athen a Nike an d the Other
Gods]). 86 Risin g costs an d an upturn in public expen diture at home (cf.
Plut. , Arist. 24. 5) may help to explain why capital con tin ued to be with-
drawn from the sacred treasuries. Jurors' pay was certain ly in creased, from
two obols to three obols a day (Ar. , Eq. 797-800; schol. Vesp. 88, 300),
buildin g operation s con tin ued,87 an d the main ten an ce of war orphan s
(Thuc. 2. 46. 1; 1th. Pol. 24. 3) n ow represen ted an in creasin gly expen sive
commitmen t. 88 Sign ifican tly, the reassessmen t decree provides for the gen -
erals to submit an n ual estimates, an d, if the curren t year's tribute proves
in sufficien t to cover an ticipated expen ses, to apply for an extra levy (IG I3
71, lin es 46-50).
The decree also prescribes, in the stron gest possible terms, that there
must in future be a n ew assessmen t of tribute every four years, at the time
of the Great Pan athen aia (IG 13
71, lin es 26-33). An assessmen t was ac-
cordin gly due in summer 422, an d three fragmen ts survive of an assess-
men t list (IG I3 77) which is n ow thought to date to 422. On ly on e district
total, that of the Hellespon t, is preserved, a sum of [1]96T(IG 13 77, col.
IV, lin e 13), compared with 250+Tin the assessmen t of 425 (IG I3 71, col.
III, lin e 123). If this level of reduction is typical, the total sum levied may
have been scaled down from 1,460+Tin 425 to a more realistic figure of
about 1,000Tin 422, with the islan d district perhaps more favorably treated
than the rest of the empire. 89 Apart from featurin g a special clause con -
cern in g six Chalkidian states curren tly in revolt from Athen s (Thuc. 5. 18. 5),
82. B ut see, again st the con sen sus,
B ourriot 1982,
pp.
410-418.
83. For full discussion , see Gomme
in HCTIII, pp. 500-504; Meiggs 1972,
pp. 324-332.
84. The figure of 2,000Tquoted by
Aristophan es (Vesp. 656-660) for total
in come from all sources in 422
accurately reflects the scale of the n ew
assessmen t, but can be n o guide to the
precise sum realized: see Gomme in
HCTIII, pp. 503-504, con tra the view
expressed in ATL III, pp. 344-345.
On the silen ce of Thucydides an d its
possible implication s, see Kallet-Marx
1993, pp. 164-170; Horn blower 1996,
pp. 94-96.
85. Comprisin g four paymen ts
recorded as made to the Hellen otamiai
of the previous year, D[-
- - an d
colleagues, an d to the n ew on es],
Charopides of Ska[mb]on idai an d
colleagues (IG I3 369, lin es 25-36).
This is usually taken to mean that the
Hellen otamiai of 425/4 had left office
after the first paymen t on Prytan y 1. 26,
but see Pritchett 1970, pp. 98-103, for
the suggestion that they were con tin ued
in office for a secon d year, servin g
join tly with the in comin g board.
86. The two supplemen tary loan s
from the Other Gods, 31Ton Prytan y
1. 25 an d 24Ton Prytan y X. 20, pro-
bably reflect the escalatin g cost of
operation s in the Thraceward district:
see Gomme in HCTIII, pp. 627-630.
87. See Miles 1989, pp. 221-235.
88. See Stroud 1971, pp. 288-290.
89. See ML, pp. 226-227; Meiggs
1972, pp. 340-343. For the islan ds, cf
the quota lists for 417/16 an d 416/15
(ATL lists 38-39 - IG I3 288-289).
The expression s "250+T," "1460+T,"
e. g. , are in ten ded to in dicate "an y sum
greater than 250T," "an y sum greater
than 1460T"; the expression s "27T+,"
"3T+," e. g. , which are used elsewhere
in this article, in dicate a sum between
the on e stated an d the n ext highest
in cremen t in n umbers of talen ts.
II2 ALEC B LAMIRE
the tribute assessmen t of 422 was n ot affected by the Peace of Nikias. 90
There could clearly be n o question of an y return to pre-war levels of as-
sessmen t un til the debt to the sacred treasuries had been repaid. As re-
gards imperial reven ue other than tribute, an estimated 70Thad been lost
when Amphipolis fell to B rasidas in win ter 424/3 (Thuc. 4. 108. 1),9' but
this may have been coun terbalan ced by a gain of 90Tif, as seems likely, the
ren t formerly payable to the 2,700 cleruchs on Lesbos (Thuc. 3. 50. 2) was
tran sferred to the state treasury when these settlers were subsequen tly with-
drawn , possibly in 425 or 424. 92
CAPITAL AND INCOME
Tribute was due for paymen t at the Dion ysia in time for the open in g of
the campaign in g season (schol. Ar. ,Ach. 504; cf. Isok. 8. 82), yet every sprin g
durin g the quadren n ium 426/5-423/2, at precisely the time of year when
this in comin g tribute should have been available for the war effort, a sum
of 100Twas disbursed by the Treasurers of Athen a (IG I3 369, lin es 12,22,
33, 44). These paymen ts eviden tly reflect an agreed procedure, whereby a
fixed sum was to be released from reserve at the begin n in g of each n ew
campaign in g season , an d their timin g has been thought to imply that in -
comin g tribute in excess of the budgeted requiremen ts of the Hellen otamiai
was n ow bein g ban ked with Athen a immediately after the Dion ysia, to be
borrowed back at in terest as required. 93 In this case, however, we should
have expected the prin cipal to be reduced each year by the amoun ts paid
in , yet n o such adjustmen ts appear in the accoun ts of the Logistai. The
simpler, an d more probable, view is that the war con tin ued to be fun ded
from a combin ation of capital an d disposable in come, with Athen a n ow
makin g a fixed con tribution of 100Tat the begin n in g of the campaign in g
season , followed by smaller paymen ts as n eed arose. 94
THE RESERVE IN 422
B y the en d of the fin an cial year 423/2, when the Logistai closed their ac-
coun ts for the quadren n ium, the debt to the sacred treasuries had reached
a figure of 5,600T, plus accumulated in terest of, perhaps, 1,400T(IG I3
369, lin es 112-123). On the assumption that the base figure in 433/2 had
been 7,600T, total remain in g reserves amoun ted to at least 2,000T,95 the
equivalen t of two years' reven ue from the empire, an d capital of this mag-
n itude will readily explain why fin an cial exhaustion is n ot in cluded amon g
the Athen ian motives for peace in 422/1 (Thuc. 5. 14. 1-2). 96
90. This is established by figures
preserved in ATL list 33 = IG I3 287,
n ow redated from 422/1 to 418/17:
see Meritt an d McGregor 1967;
Meiggs 1972, pp. 340-343. The editors
of ATL (III, pp. 347-353) had earlier
dated IG I3 77 to 421, an d argued for a
gen eral reduction in tribute levels after
the Peace of Nikias.
91. See ATL III, p. 339, n ote 58;
Kallet-Marx 1993, pp. 175-176.
92. See Kagan 1974, pp. 166-167.
93. See Gomme in HCTII,
pp.
433-435.
94. See ML, pp. 216-217.
95. Con siderably more, if we allow
for savin gs from curren t in come:
cf. Gomme in HCTIII, pp. 687-689.
Usin g differen t arithmetic, the editors
of ATL (III, pp. 341-345) arrive at the
much lower figure of 1,444T, which
would have left a disposable reserve of
un der 500T, sin ce the emergen cy fun d
of 1,OOOTset aside in 431 con tin ued
to be protected by special san ction s
(Thuc. 2. 24. 1, 8. 15. 1).
96. See Kagan 1974, pp. 336-337;
Kallet-Marx 1993, pp. 178-180.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C.
II3
421-410
AFTER THE PEACE OF NIKIAS
A n ew assessmen t of tribute was due at the Great Pan athen aia of 418, an d
five fragmen ts survive of what is n ow agreed to be the quota list for 418/17
(ATL list 33
=
IG I3 287). Extrapolation from the three preserved figures
in the Hellespon tin e pan el (col. II, lin es 9-11) seems to establish that the
level of tribute set in 422 had been broadly main tain ed after the Peace of
Nikias, so that a return of 1,200T a year (An dok. 3. 9) is by n o mean s
impossible if taken to refer to overseas in come as a whole. 97 No trace has
survived of the record of expen diture for the quadren n ium 422/1-419/18,
but in 418/17 the Treasurers of Athen a made four paymen ts totalin g 56T
for operation s in Thrace an d the Argolid (IG I3 370, lin es 1-23). Of these
the secon d in volved a previous vote of in demn ity, an d the fourth was fun ded
from curren t in come in the form of the mon ey from S[amos]. 98 Three
further paymen ts followed in 417/16 (IG
3
370, lin es 24-35), all in volvin g
the vote of in demn ity, but the figures are lost apart from a sum of 10T, the
first of two paymen ts for the Melian expedition . 99 The procedures govern -
in g withdrawal of capital prescribed by the secon d Kallias decree (IG I3
52B , lin es 12-19) were eviden tly n ow bein g strictly observed pen din g liq-
uidation of the debt to Athen a, an d it is sign ifican t that the fin an cial assis-
tan ce again st Sparta which was promised to Argos in the treaty of 416 was
to be fun ded from tribute (IG I3 86, lin es 11-12). For n o very obvious
reason , the fun ds for the Argolid voted in the secon d prytan y of 418/17
were paid, main ly if n ot en tirely, in Kyziken e electrum staters (IG I3 370,
lin es 11-15), the first recorded in stan ce of the use of this curren cy in Athe-
n ian war fin an ce.
A question raised by the treasurers' accoun ts for 418/17 an d 417/16 is
whether the seven paymen ts attested are to be un derstood as a record of
total military expen diture or as supplemen ts to a military budget fun ded
in the first in stan ce from imperial in come. The latter would seem the like-
lier in terpretation , sin ce the in itial paymen t of 10Tfor the Melian expedi-
tion is extremely small in relation to the size of the force mobilized (Thuc.
5. 84. 1). On e other fin an cial documen t survives from this period, a small
fragmen t of a coin age decree (IG I3 90) n ow thought to date ca. 416. It
seems to have been main ly con cern ed with the exchan ge of gold for silver,
but the text is too poorly preserved for us to assess its sign ifican ce. 100
Durin g these years of relative peace, surplus imperial reven ue was regu-
larly available for tran sfer to reserve, an d it is clear that by 415 substan tial
savin gs had been accumulated (Thuc. 6. 12. 1,26. 2). An dokides (3. 8) claimed
that the Peace of Nikias had in fact en abled the Athen ian s to deposit as
much as 7,000Ton the Acropolis. The historical errors in this speech are
so gross an d extraordin ary that on e hesitates to attach an y creden ce to the
figure quoted, but it could perhaps represen t the target set in a lost decree
of 421 which provided for the phased repaymen t, with in terest, of the
loan s made by the two boards of sacred treasurers from 433/2 to the en d of
the Archidamian War. 10' How far achievemen t matched aspiration is im-
possible to determin e, but if, say, 500Ta year had been saved sin ce 421,
97. See Meiggs 1972, pp. 340-343;
An drewes in CAHVW, p. 441.
98. Paymen ts con tin ue to be
precisely dated by the prytan y calen dar,
which implies that, techn ically at least,
they con stituted loan s at in terest: see
Thompson 1967, p. 227; ML, p. 234.
On the question of the 9T"advan ced"
to the athlothetai in the secon d prytan y
of 415/14 (IG
3
370, lin es 66-68), see
Davison 1958, pp. 31-32; Lewis 1959,
p. 246.
99. Two paymen ts to an occupation
force on Melos are partly preserved in
the accoun ts for 415/14 (IG I3 370,
lin es 69-72), but the record of
in terven in g expen ses is lost.
100. For full discussion , see Figueira
1998, pp. 424-430.
101. See ATL III, pp. 346-347,
353-356.
II4 ALEC B LAMIRE
total resources on the eve of the Sicilian Expedition would have amoun ted
to over 5,500T, in clusive of the 2,000+Tremain in g on han d at the en d of
the Archidamian War.
THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION
Hard figures for the cost of the great Sicilian Expedition of 415 were n ot
available to Thucydides (cf. 6. 31. 5), but a fragmen tary in scription (IG I3
93, lin es 47-49) may tell us that a sum of 3,OOOTwas even tually set aside
to fun d the en terprise, on ce the three gen erals had fin alized their require-
men ts un der the plen ary powers voted to them (Thuc. 6. 26. 1). 102 Such a
massive capital in vestmen t may have seemed justified at the time, sin ce it
was expected to yield a dividen d in the form of extra imperial reven ue
(Thuc. 6. 24. 3), but the Athen ian s were n ot to kn ow that their remain in g
reserves would subsequen tly be depleted by, perhaps, as much as 500T
through further paymen ts to the forces in Sicily: 300Tin sprin g 414 (Thuc.
6. 94. 4; IG13 370, lin es 73-74), 120Tin win ter 414/13 (Thuc. 7. 16. 2; IG13
371, lin es 6-8),103 an d a third paymen t, figures lost, in sprin g 413 (IG I3
371, lin es 12-13). 1o4 Part of this outlay may have been recouped from the
sales of con fiscated property recorded on the Attic Stelai (IG
3
421-430),1o5
but by summer 413 the Athen ian s, for the first time in the war, foun d
themselves in serious fin an cial difficulties (Thuc. 7. 28. 4, 8. 1. 2: cf 7. 27. 1-
2).
THE AFTERMATH OF SICILY
On ce it became clear that the Sicilian Expedition had en ded in total di-
saster, extra reven ue for the military budget n eeded to be gen erated as a
matter of urgen cy an d, probably in autumn 413, the decision was taken to
replace the an n ual tribute with an on goin g 5% levy on seaborn e trade
throughout the empire (Thuc. 7. 28. 4). 106 The in troduction of this harbor
tax was accompan ied by con stitution al chan ge an d cuts in public expen di-
ture at home (Thuc. 8. 1. 3: cf. 8. 4),107 but an y savin gs achieved were largely
n eutralized by the effects of the occupation of Dekeleia, which Sparta an d
her allies had seized an d fortified in sprin g 413 (Thuc. 7. 19. 1). Essen tial
supplies from Euboia n ow had to be tran sported by sea, an d the extra costs
102. The treasurers' accoun ts for
416/15 appear to have in cluded on ly
relatively small sums disbursed in
con n ection with costs in curred durin g
the mobilization of the fleet (IG I3 370,
lin es 49-58): see Ferguson (1932,
pp. 159-162), who in ferred that surplus
imperial reven ue accruin g after the
Peace of Nikias had been used to
create a separate imperial fun d on
deposit with the Treasurers of Athen a,
from which major expen ses could be
met without further recourse to the
fun ds of Athen a herself
103. For the figure, fully preserved
in on ly on e man uscript of Thucydides
an d restored in IG IP 371, see Dover in
HCTIV, p. 393.
104. See ATL III, pp. 356-357.
105. See Lewis 1966.
106. The in ception of this 5% levy
can n ot be precisely dated, but Thucy-
dides appears to imply that it was in tro-
duced, n ot in 414 when a regular as-
sessmen t of tribute was due, but some
time later than the Spartan occupation
of Dekeleia in sprin g 413: see Dover in
HCTIV, p. 402; Meiggs 1972, pp. 438-
439. Although Thucydides describes
the n ew tax as a substitute for tribute, it
may also have been payable by Aigin a
(cf. Ar. , Ran . 363) an d other Athen ian
settlemen ts abroad: see Meiggs 1972,
p. 369.
107. It may have been n ow that
n aval pay was reduced from on e
drachma to a more affordable three
obols a day (Thuc. 8. 45. 2: cf. 6. 31. 3):
see An drewes in HCTV, pp. 97-99,
con tra the view of Pritchett (1974,
pp. 14-29), who believes that the three-
obol rate was stan dard, an d the on e-
drachma rate exception al.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C.
II5
in curred, combin ed with loss of in tern al reven ue, had already begun to
impose severe strain s on the domestic budget (Thuc. 7. 28. 1-4). More than
20,000 slaves deserted (Thuc. 7. 27. 5), an d, as pressure on the coun tryside
in ten sified, the silver min es at Laureion seem to have gon e out of produc-
tion (Xen . , Vect. 4. 25: cf. Thuc. 6. 91. 7). Electrum had occasion ally been
disbursed durin g the quadren n ium 418/17-415/14 (IG I3 370, lin es 13-
14, 57-58, 64-65), but in 413/12 the Treasurers of Athen a paid out the
en ormous sum of 61,697 [Kyziken e] staters (IG I3 372, lin e 4), the equiva-
len t of 250+Tan d a sure in dication that stocks of silver were n ow rapidly
run n in g out. 108 We do n ot kn ow how this mon ey was to be spen t, but
timber for shipbuildin g was probably the most urgen t priority after the
losses sustain ed in Sicily (Thuc. 8. 1. 3).
THE OLIGARCHIC REVOLUTION
Faced with the revolt of Chios, their most powerful ally, in summer 412,
the Athen ian s fin ally turn ed to the protected fun d of 1,OOOTwhich they
had set aside in the first year of the war, an d voted to make this mon ey
available for the immediate mobilization of n aval rein forcemen ts (Thuc.
8. 15. 1; Philoch. , FGrHist 328 F 138). The accoun ts for 412/11 are lost,
but the costs in curred durin g the first year of the Ion ian War were un -
doubtedly substan tial,'09 an d the oligarchic revolution was largely moti-
vated by the hope of attractin g Persian mon ey to Athen s through the in -
fluen ce of the exiled Alkibiades (Thuc. 8. 47-48. 3). Alkibiades, however,
proved un able to deliver (Thuc. 8. 56), an d, by the time the Four Hun dred
seized power on 22 Thargelion 411 (Ath. Pol. 32. 1), capital resources were
apparen tly close to exhaustion (cf. Thuc. 8. 76. 6). All available reven ue was
accordin gly n ow requisition ed for the military budget, an d civilian sti-
pen ds were duly abolished for the duration of the war except for those of
the n in e archon s an d the prytan eis (Ath. Pol. 29. 5), who were presumably
exempted as n omin al an d effective heads of state, respectively. "10 The par-
tially preserved accoun ts of the treasurers of the Four Hun dred (IG F3 373)
in clude a paymen t of 27T+ dated 21 or 22 Hekatombaion 411, the first of
the n ew civil year. This was eviden tly a military paymen t, probably con -
n ected with operation s close to home, but we have n o eviden ce to deter-
min e its precise purpose. "' The Five Thousan d, who succeeded the Four
Hun dred about the en d of Metageitn ion 411, ren ewed the ban on civilian
stipen ds (Thuc. 8. 97. 1; Ath. Pol. 33. 1) an d appoin ted n ew treasurers to
replace the board which had served un der the Four Hun dred,"12 but, apart
from a tin y fragmen t (IG I3 374), their accoun ts are lost. What little evi-
den ce we have suggests that the limited resources available to the Five
Thousan d were reserved for the military budget at home, leavin g the gen -
erals in the Hellespon tl" to fun d their operation s from emergen cy levies
(Xen . , Hell. 1. 1. 8, 12).
Durin g their brief regime, the Four Hun dred had published a "con sti-
tution for the future," un der which the sacred fun ds of Athen a an d the
Other Gods were to be man aged by a sin gle board of ten treasurers, an d
imperial an d all other secular fun ds by a sin gle board of twen ty Hellen otamiai
(Ath. Pol. 30. 2). The reforms en visaged in this documen t eviden tly en -
108. See Ferguson 1932,
p. 75,
n ote 3; An drewes in HCTV, p. 194.
Some Attic coin con tin ued to be
disbursed, but the figures are lost apart
from a sum of 13+T(IG I3 372, lin e 2),
the fin al paymen t of the year.
109. For ship n umbers, see
An drewes in HCTV, pp. 27-32.
110. So Rhodes 1981, p. 382.
Each of these officials was to receive
three obols a day, which may represen t
a reduced rate of pay: see Jon es 1957,
p. 136, n ote 5; Sin clair 1988, p. 66, n ote
84.
111. If, as seems likely, these
treasurers had taken up office on
1 Hekatombaion 411, at the same time
as the n ew archon , an y earlier expen di-
ture authorized by the Four Hun dred
would have been recorded in the lost
accoun ts for 412/11: see Ferguson
1932, pp. 145-146 with n ote 1;
An drewes in HCTV, pp. 193-195.
112. See An drewes in HCTV,
pp. 195-196.
113. See An drewes 1953.
II6 ALEC B LAMIRE
tailed (a) the mergin g of the two collection s of sacred fun ds in the
Opisthodomos, in con sequen ce ofwhich the Treasurers of the Other Gods
were to be abolished an d their duties tran sferred to the Treasurers of Athen a,
an d (b) the mergin g of the imperial an d domestic reven ues in the state
treasury,114 in con sequen ce of which the Kolakretai were to be abolished
an d their duties tran sferred to an en larged board of Hellen otamiai. What-
ever the thin kin g behin d this abstruse documen t, the idea that the two
cen tral treasuries of Athen s should each be man aged by a sin gle board of
officials seems emin en tly sen sible.
B oth reforms were in fact subsequen tly implemen ted, but n ot as the
package which we might have expected. The n ext survivin g accoun ts of
the Treasurers of Athen a (IG I3 375) establish that a board of twen ty
Hellen otamiai, probably taken two from each tribe,"5 was in place by 410/
9, the first full year of the restored democracy. A decree of 410/9 (IG I3
102, lin es 34-36) con firms that the Hellen otamiai n ow pay for the settin g
up of stelai, a duty previously discharged by the Kolakretai, who are last
attested, an d last attested in that role, in a decree of 418/17 (IG I3 84, lin es
26-28). 116 The sacred treasurers, on the other han d, con tin ued to fun ction
as two separate boards un til, probably, the begin n in g of the n ew Pan athen aic
quadren n ium on 28 Hekatombaion 406, when the Treasurers of Athen a
fin ally assumed respon sibility for the man agemen t of the fun ds of the Other
Gods, hen ceforth officiatin g either as "The Treasurers of the Sacred Prop-
erties of Athen a an d the Other Gods" (IG 112 1370, lin es 1-2) or as "The
Treasurers of Athen a an d the Other Gods" (An dok. 1. 77). "l An earlier
amalgamation had perhaps been ruled out by the con stitution al commis-
sion ers appoin ted after the deposition of the Four Hun dred (Thuc. 8. 97. 2).
FUNDS OF THE OTHER GODS
The Treasurers of the Other Gods had earlier fun ded the two cult statues
commission ed for the Hephaisteion in 421/0 (IG
13
472, lin es 1-20), an d,
un der the provision s of a decree of 418/17, were to receive the an n ual ren t
from the n ewly leased temen os of Kodros, Neleus, an d B asile (IG
13
84,
lin es 15-18). We have n o in formation about their con tribution to the mili-
tary budget after the Peace of Nikias, but all available reserves in the
Opisthodomos were presumably drawn upon in the later stages of the war,
an d some of the n on -Attic curren cy disbursed by the join t boards of 406/
5 an d succeedin g years may well have come from the treasury of the Other
Gods. "8
114. B oth types of reven ue were
n ow collected an d paid in by the
Apodektai (Poll. 8. 97), a board of public
receivers apparen tly attributed to
Kleisthen es by An drotion (FGrHist
324 F 5), but, apart from a dubious
restoration in the Stan dards Decree
(IG I3 1453, section 6), n ot attested
before 418/17 (IG I3 84, lin es 15-18):
see Hardin g 1994, pp. 90-94. We kn ow
n othin g about the admin istration of the
state treasury, but the two collection s of
mon ey had eviden tly been kept
separate, to be drawn upon by the
Hellen otamiai an d the Kolakretai,
respectively: see Rhodes 1972, p. 102
with n ote 7, con tra the view expressed
in ATL III, pp. 360-361.
115. So Meritt (1932, pp. 98-103;
1971, pp. 106-107), but see the objec-
tion s of Pritchett (1970, pp. 104-116;
1977c), who argues that the Hellen o-
tamiai were n ow elected irrespective of
tribe.
116. Some historian s accordin gly
in fer that the Kolakretai may already
have been abolished, an d the reform
implemen ted, before the oligarchic
revolution of 411: see Pritchett 1970,
p. 111; Hardin g 1994, pp. 91-94.
117. See Ferguson 1932, pp. 3-7,
104-109; Thompson 1970b, pp. 61-63.
118. See Woodward 1963, pp. 154-
155.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C.
II7
410/9-404/3
410/9
THE ACCOUNTS
All paymen ts in 410/9, the first full year of the restored democracy, are
fun ded from epeteia, the an n ual in come of Athen a Polias an d Athen a Nike
(IG I3 375, lin es 3-5). This is usually, an d quite reason ably, taken to imply
that the democrats had in herited an empty treasury,1"9 but n ot all of the
balan ce in han d at the en d of the fin an cial year 410/9 n eed n ecessarily
have been n ewly accumulated,120 an d it is possible that a formal decision
had been taken to fun d the curren t year's expen diture without recourse to
what was left of the reserve.
The paymen ts recorded in IG I 375 fall in to six main categories:
1. The Great Pan athen aia of 410: just over 6Tpaid in Prytan y II
(lin es 5-7). 121
2. Two military paymen ts: 6Tto Hermon , comman der at Pylos (lin e
10), an d 3,740 dr. to Eukleides, the gen eral from Eretria (lin es
17-18). The latter is en tered as a book-tran saction , presumably
represen tin g mon ey collected an d spen t in the field.
3. A record, again in the form of book-tran saction s, of mon eys
collected an d disbursed at Samos (lin es 20-21, 34-37): about
96Tin all. 122 Samos was at this time the main base for n aval
operation s in the Aegean , an d the bulk of this mon ey may have
been tran sferred to Thrasyllos, by previous arran gemen t with
the home authorities, when he visited the islan d at the begin -
n in g of his Ion ian expedition of summer 409 (Xen . , Hell. 1. 2. 1-
2). 123
4. Fodder for the cavalry: six paymen ts, amoun tin g to over
16T,
in
Prytan ies I, III, IV, an d VII. For whatever reason , these are the
on ly accoun ts in which sitos features as an item of expen diture,
an d the exten t to which these paymen ts reflect the size of the
Athen ian cavalry in 410/9 is disputed. 124
5. The diobelia, a dole in troduced by the in fluen tial Kleophon
119. See ML, p. 258; An drewes in
CAHV2, p. 485.
120. The balan ce in herited, an d
disbursed, by the treasurers of 409/8
comprised Attic, n on -Attic, an d
un coin ed silver (IG I3 376, lin es 66-85),
three electrum curren cies (lin es 95-
105), an d two types of gold bullion
(lin es 105-116), to a total value of some
350T: see Ferguson 1932, pp. 36-37.
121. It is common ly assumed that
paymen ts for the Pan athen aia were
made in advan ce of the festival to cover
its estimated cost: see Meritt 1928,
pp. 93-95; Dover in HCTIV, p. 266.
If this was the case in 410, then on e of
two con clusion s must foliow: either the
treasurers of 410/9 en tered upon office
before 28 Hekatombaion or their
record in cludes paymen ts made by the
outgoin g board. For a differen t view,
see Pritchett (1977c), who argues that
paymen ts for a festival were n ot n or-
mally made un til after the even t, to
en able the athlothetai to balan ce their
books in cases where in come had failed
to cover expen ses. This is a ten able
hypothesis, but, on balan ce, I prefer the
theory that it had become established
practice, when the year's accoun ts were
prepared for publication by the Logistai,
for paymen ts made between Prytan y 1. 1
an d 28 Hekatombaion to be attributed
to the in comin g board: see Meritt
1971, pp. 104-107,114-115.
122. See ATL III, pp. 365-366,
whose editors in fer that all imperial
reven ue, whether brought to Athen s or
spen t in the field, was n ow deemed to
con stitute in come of Athen a. This is
accepted by Thompson (1967, pp. 226-
231), but see the objection s of Pritchett
(1977a, pp. 33-38), who con cludes, in
my view rightly, that the imperial
reven ues remain ed at the disposal of
the Hellen otamiai.
123. See An drewes 1953, pp. 5-6.
124. See B ugh 1988, p. 60, n ote 86;
Spen ce 1993, pp. 100-101.
II8 ALEC B LAMIRE
(Ath. Pol. 28. 3): five paymen ts, again amoun tin g to over 16T, in
Prytan ies III, IV, V, an d VII. If, as seems likely, this dole was
restricted to citizen s n ot otherwise in receipt of mon ey from the
state,'25 civilian stipen ds must already have been rein stated,
fun ded as before from the domestic reven ue collected by the
Apodektai, but n ow paid by the Hellen otamiai.
6. Purpose un specified: sixteen paymen ts, amoun tin g to about 38T,
in Prytan ies VI-X. With the exception of the sum of 3T+
disbursed on Prytan y VIII. 12 (lin es 27-28), which is recorded
in an other text as paid to the gen eral Oin obios (IG P3 101, lin e
47),126 the destin ation of these paymen ts is impossible to
determin e, but distribution of the diobelia must have con tin ued
at regular in tervals, an d this duty may have been specifically
assign ed to the Hellen otamiai Dion ysios an d Thrason . If this
assumption is correct, the total cost of the dole in its first year of
operation amoun ted to over 34T. 127
Total expen diture adds up to about 180T-approximately 84Tfrom
epeteia, an d some 96Tfrom the Samian collection s-but, for whatever
reason , these accoun ts do n ot in clude the mon ey collected an d spen t by
the gen erals in the Hellespon t. 128 Previously depen den t on emergen cy lev-
ies (Xen . , Hell. 1. 1. 8, 12), Alkibiades an d his colleagues had n ow provided
themselves with a regular source of in come by establishin g a fortified cus-
toms station at the southern en tran ce to the B osporos, where they pro-
ceeded to collect a 10% duty on the cargoes carried by Pon tic shippin g
(Xen . , Hell. 1. 1. 22).
THE PROPOSED RECONSTRUCTION OF THE RESERVE
In the third prytan y of 410/9 a decree was passed which en dorsed a pro-
posal, submitted by a board of syn grapheis, that as much capital as possible
should hen ceforth be accumulated on the Acropolis for the repaymen t of
the debt to Athen a (IG F3 99). 129 We have n o in formation about the spe-
cific measures adopted, but this decree provides an acceptable con text for
the first of the two eisphorai levied by the restored democracy (Lys. 21. 3),
an d there is eviden ce to suggest that the decision may n ow have been
taken to abolish the 5% harbor tax in troduced in 413 an d to reimpose
tribute. Five fragmen ts survive of a late assessmen t list (IG F3 100), which
perhaps dates to 410,130 an d in 409/8 the gen erals in the Hellespon t n ego-
tiated an agreemen t with the satrap Pharn abazos, whereby Kalchedon was
to pay her regular tribute plus the arrears which had accumulated sin ce her
defection (Xen . , Hell. 1. 3. 9). '3' A recen t revival of the tribute system, with
the prospect of a sign ifican t in crease in imperial reven ue, perhaps explain s
the decision to rein troduce loan s at in terest with effect from Prytan y VI. 1,
the midpoin t of the fin an cial year. '32
409/8
The accoun ts for 409/8 (IG 3 376) appear from the con cludin g en try (lin es
63-64) to have been con cern ed exclusively with the war effort, an d each
125. See B uchan an 1962, pp. 35-48;
Rhodes 1981, pp. 355-357.
126. Probably in con n ection with
operation s in the Thraceward district:
see An drewes 1953, pp. 7-8.
127. So An drewes 1953, pp. 5-6,
but see the reservation s of Pritchett
(1977a, p. 41).
128. For possible explan ation s, see
An drewes 1953, pp. 5-6; Thompson
1967, pp. 229-231.
129. See Ferguson 1932, p. 34;
ATL III, pp. 363-366.
130. See ATL III, pp. 91-92;
Meiggs 1972, pp. 369-370, 438-439.
131. B ut see Mattin gly (1967,
pp. 13-14 [= 1996, pp. 205-208]),
who argues again st this supposed
revival of the tribute system. In his
view, IG I' 100 should be dated to 418,
an d the paymen ts from Kalchedon
treated as a special case.
132. This follows from the fact that
the prytan y, but n ot the day, is given in
the record of paymen ts for the first half
of the year (IG I3 375, lin es 1-14),
whereas the exact date, which was
n ecessary for the calculation of in terest
on loan s, is quoted for all paymen ts
made in the secon d half of the year
(lin es 14-40): see Thompson (1967,
pp. 226-231), who in fers that paymen t
of in terest had been suspen ded by the
Five Thousan d.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C. II9
item of expen diture is this year charged either to the epeteia collected by
the treasurers curren tly in office, or to the capital balan ce in herited from
the previous year's board, or to a combin ation of both. The text is too
poorly preserved for us to iden tify the precise destin ation of an y of these
paymen ts, but the package of fun ds for the Pelopon n ese put together early
in the year (lin es 3-11) is probably to be con n ected with An ytos' abortive
expedition to relieve Pylos (Diod. Sic. 13. 64. 5-7; Ath. Pol. 27. 5). 133 Out-
side the military budget represen ted by these accoun ts, the diobelia con tin -
ued to be a recurren t commitmen t (cf. Ath. Pol. 28. 3), presumably fun ded
by the Hellen otamiai from their own resources; approval was given for the
resumption of work on the Erechtheion (IG F3 474); an d two more Nikai
appear to have been commission ed at about this time (IG F3 469, lin es 26-
37), perhaps as a than ks-offerin g for the great victory at Kyzikos in sprin g
410.
Disappoin tin gly few figures are preserved in the record of paymen ts,
but the summation establishes the surprisin g fact that the total sum of
mon ey passin g through the accoun ts of 409/8 was well in excess of 400T. 134
B etween 50Tan d 100Tof silver were disbursed from epeteia (lin es 85-
91), an d the overall total for silver, in clusive of expen diture from capital
accoun t (lin es 66-85), adds up to a sum of [3]60T (lin es 91-94). Three
electrum curren cies (lin es 95-105, 122-125)"'1 an d two types of gold bul-
lion (lin es 105-122)136 were also disbursed, to a total value of, perhaps,
80T. Some of this bullion is recorded as sold by the Hellen otamiai (lin es
110-116), an d the rest was presumably exchan ged for silver curren cy with
other fin an cial boards. In addition , silverware of some kin d was removed
from the Parthen on (lin es 14-15), the earliest recorded in stan ce of the
appropriation of temple property by the state. Expen diture on the scale
in dicated by these accoun ts is difficult to recon cile with the plan approved
in the third prytan y of 410/9, whereby a n ew reserve was to be established
on the Acropolis, but fin an cial strategy had perhaps been overridden by
fin an cial n ecessity.
408/7
The accoun ts for 408/7 are lost, but the exten t to which the state had
depleted its curren cy reserves is illustrated by a decree of 408/7 which
required the Eleusin ian epistatai to han d over from the treasury of the two
goddesses to the Treasurers of Athen a a sum of 3T2,000 dr. in exchan ge
for a stated quan tity of gold bullion deposited in the Opisthodomos as a
pledge (IGI3386,lin es 173-183). '3 The lOOTwhichAlkibiades collected
in Karia an d brought home with him in summer 407 (Xen . , Hell. 1. 4. 8-
12) were presumably put to reserve, but the bulk of this mon ey may have
been set aside to fun d the armamen t which he proceeded to assemble some
two mon ths later, comprisin g 1,500 hoplites, 150 cavalry, an d 100 ships
(Xen . , Hell. 1. 4. 21). There is certain ly n o in dication that the treasurers of
407/6 in herited an y part of this win dfall.
407/6
Our n ext survivin g set of accoun ts, the n otoriously problematic IG F3 377,
is in terpreted by most historian s as an in verted record of fun ds disbursed
133. See Ferguson 1932, pp. 43-45;
Thompson 1971, p. 586, n ote 35.
134. See Ferguson 1932, pp. 36-37,
estimatin g capital expen diture at 350T
an d expen diture from epeteia at 89T,
which is extremely close to the
correspon din g figure for 410/9.
135. See Woodward 1914, pp. 278-
280; B ogaert 1963, pp. 105-107; an d
Thompson 1971.
136. See Wade-Gery 1930;
Thompson 1964, pp. 105-111.
137. See Thompson 1964, pp. 104-
105. The 90Tof coin ed silver which
the two goddesses had on ce possessed
(IG IP 385, lin es 5-6) had eviden tly
lon g sin ce disappeared.
I20 ALEC B LAMIRE
durin g the secon d, eighth, n in th, an d ten th prytan ies of 407/6 an d the
first two prytan ies of 406/5, the fin al paymen t on Prytan y 11. 1 = 8 Meta-
geitn ion (lin es 26-27) havin g been appen ded in error, sin ce it dates to the
Pan athen aic year 406/5. On this readin g, the lower text (lin es 28-52) records
paymen ts made between Prytan y 11. 13 an d Prytan y 11. 36, 407/6; the up-
per text (lin es 1-27) paymen ts made between Prytan y VIII. 23, 407/6, an d
Prytan y 11. 1, 406/5. 138
The sums disbursed by the treasurers are small, particularly in the
secon d prytan y of 407/6, when twelve separate paymen ts for the diobelia,
all apparen tly fun ded from in comin g epeteia, add up to less than 2,500
dr. '39 This already suggests fin an cial con strain t, an d, whatever the expla-
n ation of the in terven in g hiatus, it is clear from the record of expen diture
in the last three prytan ies of 407/6 (lin es 1-23) that shortage of fun ds had
become a factor of critical sign ifican ce. The Logistai, for the on ly time on
record, are n ow actively in volved in the paymen t process, an d, with effect
from Prytan y IX. 7, the dole seems to have been reduced to a sin gle obol
(lin es 9-11). 140 In the first prytan y of 406/5 we fin d the two-obol rate
restored (lin es 23-25), possibly through the in fluen ce of Archedemos the
B lear-eyed, chief admin istrator of the diobelia in 406/5 an d a leadin g poli-
tician (Xen . , Hell. 1. 7. 2),141 but n o trace survives of an y gran t for the Great
Pan athen aia of 406. Total expen diture on the diobelia, up to an d in cludin g
the paymen t made on Prytan y 1. 20, may have amoun ted to 171/4T(lin e
26),142 exactly half the figure in ferred for 410/9, but fodder for the cavalry,
138. The main argumen ts in favor
of this readin g are the irregular layout
of the text an d the order of tribes in
prytan y: see Ferguson 1932, pp. 26-
32; Meritt 1932, pp. 116-127; 1964,
pp. 200-212; an d 1974. Again st it are
the facts that it leaves the en try in lin es
26-27 un accoun ted for an d that it fails
to explain why the first of the two
mason s who cut this in scription should
have begun in the middle of the ston e
an d then con tin ued at the top. For a
differen t readin g, see Pritchett (1970,
pp. 22-38; 1977b), who in terprets this
documen t as a con secutive record of
paymen ts made durin g the last three
prytan ies of the fin an cial year 408/7
an d the first two prytan ies of the
fin an cial year 407/6, discoun tin g the
theory of Ferguson (1932, p. 27, n ote 1)
that in 408/7 the prytan ies were filled
in reverse tribal order. Pritchett's read-
in g does at least explain the in clusion of
a paymen t of 1Tmade after the Pan -
athen aia on Prytan y 11. 1 = 8 Meta-
geitn ion (lin es 26-27), an d derives
addition al support from the fact that
the same tribe is in prytan y, an d
officiatin g durin g the same mon th,
both above an d below the vacan t space
which separates the upper an d lower
texts. On the other han d, this in ter-
pretation would en tail the con clusion
that the Hellen otamiai Lysitheos an d
Protarchos served for a secon d term
of office. We kn ow n othin g about the
regulation s govern in g the appoin tmen t
of Hellen otamiai, but such iteration
seems un likely in the case of fin an cial
officials: see Develin 1989, p. 175.
Pritchett presen ts a cogen t case, but,
on balan ce, I am in clin ed to accept
Meritt's in terpretation of this docu-
men t, though n ot without con siderable
misgivin gs.
139. Three differen t Hellen o-
tamiai are n amed as recipien ts of these
paymen ts: Lysitheos ofThymaitadai,
Thrasylochos ofThorikos, an d
Protarchos of Probalin thos. The pur-
pose of the later paymen ts recorded in
the upper text is n ot always specified,
but gran ts for the diobelia, or for the
sin gle-obol allowan ce which tempo-
rarily replaced it, were certain ly paid to
at least four members of the board:
Lysitheos, Protarchos, Athen odoros of
Melite, an d [Kephali]on of Kopros.
The in volvemen t of so man y officers,
an d the fact that Protarchos also
received a gran t for the garrison at
Thorikos (lin es 19-20), are difficult to
recon cile with the theory of An drewes
(1953, p. 5 with n ote 16) that the
prin ciple of differen tiation by fun ction
con tin ued to apply.
140. So Meritt 1974, pp. 260-263,
but Pritchett (1977a, pp. 45-46) prefers
to
iden tify
the obolos as the daily
allowan ce to war orphan s quoted in a
decree of 403 (SEG XXVIII 46, lin es
9-10).
141. Meritt (1974, pp. 263-264)
makes Archedemos a Logistes with
special respon sibility for the diobelia,
but Pritchett (1977a, p. 42) iden tifies
him, in my view more plausibly, as the
chairman of a board of epimeletai.
Kallikrates of Paian ia, who subse-
quen tly abolished the diobelia, after
first promisin g to in crease the gran t to
three obols (Ath. Pol. 28. 3), presumably
served in the same capacity.
142. This seems the likeliest
in terpretation , sin ce 171/4Tis too small
for a gran d total, an d, on the eviden ce
of other preserved figures, too high for
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C. I2I
the other main item of expen diture in 410/9, does n ot feature in these
accoun ts, an d the omission perhaps suggests that the hippeis, like the
trieropoioi (IG F3 117, lin es 4-9), were n ow given a fixed allocation for
which reven ue in the state treasury had been earmarked in advan ce. Kon on
presumably received a gran t from some source when he assumed com-
man d of the Aegean fleet in sprin g 406 (Xen . , Hell. 1. 5. 18), but the on ly
item of military expen diture which can be iden tified in these accoun ts is a
paymen t of 1Tto the garrison atThorikos (lin e 20), a defen sive outpost of
Laureion which had been fortified in 409 (Xen . , Hell. 1. 2. 1).
Toward the en d of the period covered by these accoun ts, a relief force
of 110 ships had to be commission ed at short n otice to sail to the rescue of
Kon on , trapped with his fleet in the harbor at Mytilen e (Xen . , Hell. 1. 6. 15-
24). Extra resources were n eeded to meet the cost an d, late in the year of
An tigen es, 407/6, the Ekklesia approved proposals to begin meltin g down
the eight golden Nikai (Hellan ikos, FGrHist 323a F 26; Philoch. , FGrHist
328 F 141),'43 together with the dedication s housed in the three chambers
of the Parthen on , to provide both an emergen cy gold curren cy an d addi-
tion al supplies of silver. '44 The first repository to be raided was, apparen tly,
the Pron aos, stripped of its silverware durin g the open in g mon th of the
year of Kallias, 406/5 (IG F3 316), shortly before the amalgamation of the
two boards of sacred treasurers, which, we have suggested, probably took
place at the time of the Great Pan athen aia of 406. '45
406/5
In the first mon th or so of 406/5 the Ekklesia agreed to the in troduction of
a secon d emergen cy curren cy in the form of bron ze coin s plated with sil-
ver (Ar. , Ran . 725-726 with schol. ; Ar. , Eccl. 815-816). 146This token mon ey
was eviden tly design ed to facilitate domestic retail tran saction s, for which
the n ew gold coin s were un suitable because of their high value,147 an d we
may assume (cf. Ar. , Ran . 718-726) that civilian stipen ds an d the dole
were n ow paid, main ly if n ot exclusively, in bron ze, with silver an d gold
reserved for foreign exchan ge an d the war effort. 148 We have n o eviden ce
to determin e what was don e about mon ey curren tly in circulation , but a
decree may have been passed requirin g small silver to be exchan ged for
a sin gle paymen t, but this lin e of argu-
men t would have to be aban don ed if
Pritchett (1977a) is correct in readin g
figures of 11/2Tan d 1O+Tfor the
paymen ts made on Prytan y VIII. 23
(lin es 3-4) an d Prytan y X. 23 (lin es 20-
22): see his table of loan s (p. 34), with
his commen ts (p. 33, n ote 2). Three
paymen ts of more than lOTeach in
the closin g mon ths of the year are, in
his view, scarcely compatible with the
fin an cial crisis of summer 406, an d
provide addition al con firmation that
these are the accoun ts of the previous
year.
143. The Nikai, made to a stan dard
design an d each of them weighin g
approximately 2T, were collectively
worth about 192Ton a gold to silver
ratio of 12:1: see Thompson 1970c;
Harris 1995, pp. 272-275. On ly on e
of the origin al eight (Harris 1995,
pp. 131-132, n o. 91) survived these
meltin g operation s, which con tin ued
in to 404/3 (IG I3 380, lin es 23-28):
see gen erally Harris 1990-1991.
144. For the theory that the decree
for the con version of these properties
was n ot in fact moved un til early in the
year of Kallias, 406/5, see Ferguson
1932, pp. 8-15, 85-95.
145. This in feren ce is based on the
assumption , probable though n ot
certain , that the six treasurers n amed as
han din g over the silverware of the
Pron aos belon ged to the board which
left office on 28 Hekatombaion 406:
see Treheux 1965, pp. 5-38; Thompson
1965. For the amalgamation of the two
boards of sacred treasurers, see above,
p. 116.
146. See gen erally Figueira 1998,
pp. 497-511.
147. The smallest den omin ation , the
hemiobol, bein g the equivalen t of on e
silver drachma on a min t ratio of 12:1:
see Thompson 1964, pp. 111-112.
148. See Thompson 1966.
I22 ALEC B LAMIRE
bron ze within a specified period, on the firm un derstan din g that these
token s would be redeemed by the state as soon as it was in a position to do
so. '49 Such a measure would have brought in substan tial extra reven ue to
supplemen t whatever had so far been raised from the appropriation of
temple properties, an d the fragmen tary accoun ts for 406/5 (IG F3 378) do
in fact reveal that the reserve of electrum an d silver in the Opisthodomos
was n ot drawn upon un til 27 Moun ychion 405 (lin es 19-25). 15o Some
degree of fin an cial recovery would seem to be in dicated, an d what survives
of the record of expen diture from epeteia poin ts in the same direction . A
large paymen t of 30Twas made late in the fin an cial year (lin e 14), an d the
athlothetai also received a gran t for the Lesser Pan athen aia of 405 (lin es
14-15). We have n o idea of the scale on which silver an d other curren cies
were bein g privately hoarded at this time, but the orator Lysias claimed to
have had three talen ts of silver, four hun dred Kyziken e staters, on e hun -
dred Persian darics, an d four silver cups secreted in a stron gbox at home
(12. 10-11). 151
405/4
The treasurers of 405/4 published two complemen tary accoun ts (IG F3
379) in scribed back to back on the same stele. The obverse (lin es 1-79)
carries a record of gold an d silver dedication s han ded over for meltin g, an d
of paymen ts made in curren cies which in cluded Attic gold staters an d
Persian darics. The reverse (lin es 80-116) is a record of quan tities of barley
an d wheat distributed on specified days over a period of at least three
prytan ies. '52 These distribution s eviden tly coin cided with the siege of Ath-
en s in win ter 405/4, when the threat of starvation hun g over the city for
three mon ths or more (Xen . , Hell. 2. 2. 10-11, 16,21), an d we may assume
that the emergen cy measures approved by the Ekklesia in an ticipation of
this siege (Xen . , Hell. 2. 2. 4) had in cluded the tran sfer of all available stocks
of grain to the custody of the sacred treasurers for subsequen t distribution
to the people. Some silver con tin ued to be disbursed (lin es 103-104), but,
in the case of jurors at least, grain was n ow bein g allocated in lieu of cash
paymen ts (lin es 100-101), an d it was probably n ow that the diobelia was
formally abolished by Kallikrates (Ath. Pol. 28. 3), to be replaced, like ju-
rors' stipen ds, by paymen ts in kin d. '53 At the same time, un der the terms
of an amn esty decree proposed by Patrokleides, citizen rights were re-
stored to all who had lost them, in cludin g those registered as state debtors
(An dok. 1. 73, 77-79; Xen . , Hell. 2. 2. 11). Earlier, after the decisive Athe-
n ian defeat at Aigospotamoi in the late summer of 405, all of Athen s'
remain in g allies had deserted her with the exception of the Samian s (Xen . ,
Hell. 2. 2. 6), an d a decree rewardin g the Samian s for their loyalty provides
our last extan t record of the activities of the Hellen otamiai (IG F3 127, lin es
38-40) prior to the abolition of the office in , probably, 404. 154
404/3
The sacred treasurers con tin ued to make paymen ts for public purposes
un der the oligarchic regimes of 404/3, an d, just as the previous year's board,
used both sides of a stele to post their accoun ts (IG I3 380). 'IQ The obverse
149. See Giovan n in i 1975, p. 190;
Kroll 1976, pp. 336-337.
150. See Ferguson 1932, pp. 75-77.
151. See Millett 1991, pp. 169-170;
Figueira 1998, pp. 100-101.
152. For discussion an d an alysis of
these fragmen tary accoun ts, see
Ferguson 1932, pp. 77-84; Woodward
1956, pp. 109-121.
153. See Ferguson 1932, pp. 82-84;
Rhodes 1981, pp. 355-357.
154. The Hellen otamiai are
men tion ed in a decree of 403 (SEG
XXVIII 46, lin e 18), but this was,
almost certain ly, an allusion to the fact
that they had previously admin istered
the fun d for war orphan s: see Stroud
1971, pp. 292-295.
155. See gen erally Woodward 1963,
pp. 144-155; Kren tz 1979.
ATHENIAN FINANCE, 454-404 B . C.
I23
(lin es 1-22) carries a dated record of paymen ts, all perhaps fun ded from
epeteia, with a total en tered for each prytan y. The reverse con tain s particu-
lars of at least on e Nike removed for meltin g by decree of the B oule (lin es
23-28), possibly to pay for the upkeep of the Spartan garrison on the
Acropolis (Xen . , Hell. 2. 3. 13-14; Atb. Pol. 37. 2),156 an d also what appears
to be either a summation of total expen diture for the year or a record of
disbursemen ts from reserve (lin es 30-35), in cludin g paymen ts in the sil-
ver staters of Aigin a an d Corin th an d in the electrum curren cy of Phokaia.
No disbursemen ts of an y kin d are recorded as havin g been made durin g
the first four prytan ies of the year (lin es 1-5), durin g which time public
expen diture must have been fun ded exclusively from state in come, but three
or more paymen ts amoun tin g to just un der 4Tare recorded in Prytan y V
(lin es 5-10), an d upwards of ten , on e in excess of 2T, in Prytan y X (lin es
16-22). 157 The frequen cy of these later paymen ts suggests that a regular
allowan ce of some kin d was n ow bein g distributed, possibly the daily gran t
to war orphan s cited in a decree of 403 (SEG XXVIII 46, lin es 9-10), or
even the diobelia, temporarily revived to relieve public hardship. '58 Pay-
men ts are made to officials who appear to have served for a term of on ly
on e prytan y (lin e 11), but their precise n umber is un certain . They are some-
times iden tified as the last Hellen otamiai to hold office,'59 but this board
should have been redun dan t after loss of empire, an d service for a sin gle
prytan y perhaps suggests that the fin an cial in termediaries of this docu-
men t are in fact Kolakretai, revived by the Thirty to replace the Hellen ota-
miai. '60 If so, the reform proved short-lived, sin ce in 403/2 the sacred trea-
surers themselves provided fun ds for such domestic purposes as the award
of crown s an d the publication of decrees (Tod 97, lin es 18-20,26-28).
EPILOGUE
Un der the secon d restored democracy of 403/2 the treasures removed from
the Parthen on were gradually replaced,'61 but the cash debt to Athen a was
written off, an d, although the Opisthodomos remain ed in use (Dem.
24. 136), the sacred treasurers ceased to play an y major role in public fi-
n an ce. '62 In stead, it became the respon sibility of the Apodektai to distrib-
ute in comin g reven ue amon g the various spen din g departmen ts accordin g
to a fixed schedule of allocation s, an d two con secutive days were set aside
for this purpose each prytan y (Ath. Pol. 48. 1-2). 163 The evolution of this
system can n ot be traced, but it was certain ly in place by 386 (Tod 116,
lin es 18-22), an d may have been in troduced soon after 403/2 un der the
revision of the legal code prescribed by the decree ofTeisamen os (An dok.
1. 83-84). Mean while, as we have seen , fun ds con tin ued to be disbursed by
the sacred treasurers, an d they apparen tly published at least on e more set
of accoun ts (IG I3 382). This in cludes a paymen t in Attic gold staters (lin es
7-8), which is con sisten t with the fact that at least on e Nike had been
melted down for curren cy in 404/3 (IG I3 380, lin es 23-28). Whatever
system was in operation durin g the 390s, fin an cial recovery seems to have
been rapid, sin ce the state was n ow able to budget both for the in troduc-
tion of Assembly pay (Ath. Pol. 41. 3) an d for the demon etization of the
bron ze curren cy in troduced in 406 (Ar. , Eccl. 821-822). 164
156. See Thompson 1966, pp. 338-
339; Kren tz 1979, pp. 61-63.
157. No figures are preserved in
what survives of the in terven in g record
of paymen ts (lin es 10-16).
158. Woodward (1963, p. 150)
boldly restored lin e 11 to show the
diobelia bein g distributed as early as
Prytan y VI, midwin ter 404/3, but see
the objection s of Kren tz (1979, p. 60).
159. So Woodward (1963, p. 150
with n ote 10), followed by Develin
(1989, p. 186). B oth rely on the fact
that two of these officials come from
the same tribe, an d assume a system
of rotation whereby a section of the
an n ual board, probably four in n umber,
was selected to service treasury gran ts
each prytan y.
160. For the theory that the
Kolakretai had been revived as early as
410, in con n ection with the rein troduc-
tion of jurors' pay, see ATL III, p. 364.
161. See Harris 1995, pp. 29-32.
162. See Ferguson 1932, pp. 128-
140.
163. See Jon es 1957, pp. 102-103.
164. Neither in itiative can be
precisely dated. For Assembly pay,
which had risen from on e obol to three
obols by 392 (Ar. , Eccl. 289-310), see
Han sen 1989, pp. 147-151; Gauthier
1993. On the demise of the bron ze
curren cy, which had ceased to be legal
ten der by 392 (Ar. , Eccl. 821-822), see
Giovan n in i 1975, p. 190 with n ote 19;
Kroll 1976, pp. 338-341; an d
Figueira
1998, pp. 510-511.
I24 ALEC B LAMIRE
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Alec B lamire
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