Decree of Delphi for the inhabitants of Chios

Abstract

The document bears testimony of the concession of προμαντεία privilege by Delphi to the Chiotes, inscribed on an altar built by the Chiotes themselves inside the temple of Apollo in Delphi. This concession was probably made in the early IV century BC but it was graved on the stone at the end of the same century. Indeed, the altar is to be dated around the end of the IV century BC, after the earthquake that damaged the first altar, probably also built by the Chiotes and cited by Herodotus in 2.135. Though the concession of this privilege by the inhabitants of Delphi is very common, the monumental dimensions and the function of the altar offered by the Chiotes makes it quite extraordinary. Nevertheless, we must spoke of a relative priority, since the inhabitants of Delphi remained the first ones to consult the oracle of Apollo.