A scholarly translation of an Athenian inscription of around 475 to 450 BC regulating the Eleusinian Mysteries, setting out the fixed obol payments an initiate owed the priestess of Demeter and the Eumolpidai and Kerykes priestly families.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Tier 1: a scholarly translation of a genuine primary source, an Athenian inscription dated to roughly 475 to 450 BC (also catalogued as IG I3 6), regulating the Eleusinian Mysteries themselves. Published as part of AIUK 4.2 (British Museum, Decrees of Council and Assembly, 2020) by Attic Inscriptions Online, a peer-reviewed translation project whose academic content is overseen by an editorial committee and, since 2021, administered by the British School at Athens. States on its own translated text that the priestess of Demeter took an obol from each initiate at both the Lesser and Greater Mysteries, and that the Eumolpidai and the Kerykes took five obols from a male initiate and three from a female one, with sixteen hundred drachmas of the collected obols set aside yearly for the sanctuary's expenses. The translation project is the scholarly custodian of this digital edition rather than the rights holder of the ancient inscription itself, which is public domain by its age; no custodian-standing claim is made for it here. Citation
AuthorStephen Lambert and Robin Osborne (translators)
PublisherAttic Inscriptions Online, overseen by the British School at Athens
Publication Year2020
URLhttps://www.atticinscriptions.com/inscription/IGI3/6
Source TypePrimary text in translation
Connections
Associated With
This source names Demeter directly: "an initiate owed the priestess of Demeter and the Eumolpidai and Kerykes priestly families."
Source Regulations Concerning the Eleusinian Mysteries (AIUK 4.2 no. 1, Attic Inscriptions Online)Stephen Lambert and Robin Osborne (translators)
Claims Backed By This Source (11 claims)
This source backs 11 claims across the atlas. As facts: 9 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 8 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 holds.
- Religions, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.
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