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1.Spartantreatiesofthearchaicperiod:ananalysisofthesources
AitoloithanfortheinscriptionsdatedtotheperiodofthePeloponnesianWaras
wellasthelongest(andthusconstitutingtherichestcomparativematerial)early
Lakonianinscription,theso-calledCinscriptionofDamonon)(IGV.1213=LSAG
Laconia52).TelatterisusuallydatedtoCca.450-431)onaccountofthenamesof
ephorswhichoccurtherein,butareabsentfromthelistofeponymousephorsof
theyears431-404,recordedbyXenophon(Hell.2.3.10).
Inhisattempttoanchorthetreatymorepreciselyinchronology,Peekfound
anumberofsimilaritiesbetweenthetreatyandagroupofinscriptionsdatedat
theturnofthesixthandfifhcenturies.Someofthemsupposedlyresembledthe
treatyowingtosuchfeaturesasanepsilonwithaprolongedverticalhasta,acrook-
edpi,azigzagsigma(=writteninfiveormorestrokes),andanacute-angled
rho.Teappearanceinca.475BCEoffour-barsigmaandofepsilonwithashort
verticalhastalimitedbytransversalhastaswouldconstituteaterminusantequem
forthetreaty.
8
Telattersetofargumentsisparticularlyquestionable,onaccountofboth
povertyofthecomparativematerialanditsverycharacter.Analmostcomplete
lackofpublicinscriptions,
9
togetherwiththenotoriousSpartanilliteracy,callsfor
refrainingfromcategoricaljudgements.Itisinfactcharacteristicthat,whenever
wearedealingwithwell-datedSpartaninscriptionsoftheclassicalperiod,weare
constantlysurprisedbyarchaic(orrather:archaising)forms.AsPeekhimselfhas
noted-althoughwithoutdrawingrelevantconclusionsfromtheobservation-
theSpartanprivilegeofasyliagrantedtoDelosbetween403and399(IDélos87
=LSAGLaconia62=RO3)andthetombstoneofSpartansfallenatPiraeusin
403fromtheAthenianKerameikos(IGII
2
11678=LSAGLaconia61)comprise
athetawithacross,andanarchaic,Cred)chi.TeprivilegeofasyliaforDeloshas
alsoanarchaisingepsilonwithanelongatedverticalhasta.
10
8
AccordingtoPeek,theinscriptionsmoreorlesscontemporarywiththetreatyare:
IGV.1919=LSAGLaconia24(ca.525),IGV.1238=LSAGLaconia48(ca.500-475),IGV.1457
=LSAGLaconia29(510-500?),SEG11.653=LSAGLaconia30(510-500?),IvO252=LSAG
Laconia49(490?).Teinscriptionsshowingnewfeatures:AM51(1926)41-43=LSAGLaconia
51(475?),IGV.1721=LSAGLaconia50(ante475).Letusnoticethatinseveralcasesthedatesof
theinscriptionswerechangedtomorerecentduringthetimethathaspassedsincethepublica-
tionofLSAGin1961.Tus,forexample,LSAGLaconia49isnowconnectedbymanyscholars
withtheuprisingoftheMesseniansaferthegreatearthquakeinSpartaanddatedtoca.460(see
CEGI367).SeealsothemaintextbelowfortheCinscriptionofDamonon)
.
9
LSAGp.186,Boring(1979)6-8,IACPp.591.Forsomereservationcompare
Millender(2001).
10
LSAGp.183.Seeibidem,p.187:CLakonianinscriptionsarethusparticularlydimcultto
datebytheirletter-formsalone,presentingastheydoadeceptivemixtureofformsnormally
