Inscribed marble stele with an honorary decree for Paramonos Antigonou due to his benefactions and to the supply of olive oil for the Gymnasium of Thessaloniki.
The rectangular stele with inv. no MΘ 1834, is of a height of 0.69 m and an average width of 0.33 m. It was found in 1946 at a distance of a few meters NW from the northern entrance of the Christian Church of Hagios Demetrios, Thessaloniki, during the excavations for the restoration of the church. It is preserved in moderate condition, as it bears several breaks and its main surface is too worn. It does not bear any special configuration around the edges, while its back side is roughly worked. These elements lead to the assumption that the stele was attached to a built pedestal or to the wall of a public building.
On the upper part of the main face, the largest part of a laurel (or olive) wreath is preserved, the ends of which were tied with a wide tainia (band). The engraved inscription: OI NE-OI (the youngsters) crosses the wreath and characterizes the stele as an honorary resolution of the young men frequenting the Gymnasium of Thessaloniki. This is followed by a partlyillegible inscription in 28 rows, the text of which begins with the names of the young people who proposed to honor the Gymnasium magistrate (Gymnasiarchos). In defense of their proposal, they mention both Paramonos' willingness to sponsor the expenses of the gymnasium, as well as his commitment to honoring the gods and the Roman benefactors. They emphasize that Paramonos never failed to cover the particularly high cost of olive oil for the daily anointing of young athletes, exercising in the Gymnasium. And they reinforce their proposal, arguing that it is fair to give proper honors to those who have such a good will towards young people, so that other citizens follow their example.
The text goes on to say that the young men voted in favour of the proposal and decided to praise Paramonos and crown him with a wreath (like the one depicted on the column), to produce a bronze portrait (or statue) of him and to inscribe this petition on a stone stele to be erected in a prominent part of the Gymnasium. And judging by the great wear and tear of the stele, we can assume that the resolution remained in place for many years, to remind young people of the benefactions of Paramonos and to serve as an example for subsequent Gymnasiarchoi. After all, this office was one of the most expensive public offices in the Greek world.
At the end of the inscription we are also informed that the young men voted for this proposal on the 21st of Hyperveretaeos (which is the last month of the ancient Macedonian calendar and corresponds to September), in the year νγ' (i.e. 53, in the ancient Greek numeral system). Starting from the year of the final Roman conquest of Macedonia (i.e. 148 BC), the year 53 corresponds to the year 95 BC.
The way in which the date is stated, as well as the rest of the phraseology of the text, follows the typology of older resolutions of the free Greek cities. This tendency to imitate is observed in similar resolutions of “neoi” (i.e. young men) and members of associations and indicates the high degree of the local population’s attachment to older democratic procedures, even if they now functioned only at the level of local, collective organizations.
You can observe the stele in the permanent exhibition: "Thessaloniki, the Metropolis of Macedonia”, section: "Aspects of public and social life".
For the full text of the inscription: https://epigraphy.packhum.org/text/137185
