[Oral] Troezenian Memories on the Greco-Persian Wars: Revisiting the Themistocles Decree through the Troezenian Perspective

The Fifth Euro-Japanese Colloquium on the Ancient Mediterranean World, Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece

 The Themistocles Decree has been a subject of prolonged debate regarding its authenticity and the period of its inscription, garnering scholarly attention since its initial publication by Michael Jameson in 1960 and 1962. Initially dated to the late fourth century BCE, its dating has been reconsidered notably in favour of Sterling Dow’s proposal in 1962. This re-dating, primarily based on letterforms and inscriptional styles, suggests a third-century BCE origin. Despite its discovery in Troezen rather than Athens, examinations of the motive behind its erection have predominantly focused on an Athenian perspective, with notable exceptions such as the papers by Harold Mattingly (1981) and Noel Robertson (1982). Both scholars, dating the inscription to the third century BCE, explored its purpose in the context of the Ptolemaic efforts to assert dominance over the Aegean Sea during the Chremonidean War.
 This paper seeks to reassess the circumstances surrounding the erection of the Themistocles Decree in Troezen during the third century BCE. By juxtaposing insights from Pausanias 2.31.7, which sheds light on Troezenian memories of the Greco-Persian Wars, with the site of its discovery, this study aims to offer a Troezenian perspective on the decree’s erection. Furthermore, the paper will examine the resurgence of recollections and reconstruction of collective memory concerning the Greco-Persian Wars during the third century BCE.

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