The Gerousia of Akmonia

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the information on the\ninstitution of the Gerousia provided by three inscriptions from Akmonia,\nmeticulously published by Ender Varinlioğlu in REA (108) 2006. The decree for\nDemades (64 AD) was introduced by the proegoros of the body and this post\ntestifies to the complex nature of the Gerousia's legal and financial affairs.\nMoreover, the award of the asymbolos status to a new member chosen exclusively\nby Demades (the freedman Karpos), is the first undisputed proof that the\nGerousia imposed regular contributions to its own members. Although we cannot\nbe sure whether this decree was passed by the Gerousia itself or by the Council\nand the Assembly in response to a Gerousia's initiative, the ratification of\nDemades' choice by vote illustrates a carefully articulated scheme which sought\nto integrate a prominent individual's supremacy into the exigencies of the\ncollective impersonal principles governing the function of Greek civic bodies\nand associations. A contemporary decree dated to 68 AD informs us that Demades\nson of Dionysogenes erected a group of three statues standing on the city gate\nwhich represented the Polis, the Demos and the Gerousia. The absence of the\nCouncil in this scheme suggests that, when it came to the symbolical\nrepresentation of Akmonia's political community, civic hierarchy was flexible\nenough to allow the Gerousia to occupy a more prominent place. The Gerousia's\npublic significance in Akmonia is further highlighted by the body's involvement\nin the pandemon decree for the Roman officer L. Egnatius Quartus dated to 2nd or\nthe 3rd century AD. The same man had been previously honoured\nsolely by the Council and the People but, when it was decided to award him the\nhighly esteemed titles of ktistes and euergetes, the participation of the\nGerousia was judged indispensable.