Deme accounts and the meaning of hosios money in fifth-century Athens

Abstract

Comparing the accounts of the deme Ikarion (IG I3 253) with those of Rhamnous (IG I3 247 bis and 253; IRhamnous 181 and 182) and Plotheia (IG I3 258), this article argues that the adjective hosios applied to a fund in Ikarion indicates that this money was dêmosios and to be used in a way pleasing to the gods. The longstanding view that hosios when applied to money means ‘free for secular use’ or ‘secular’ (e.g. LSJ s.v. ὅσιος) is shown to be unfounded, inviting a reassessment of the meanings of hosios. The use of public money for funding cults as attested in these deme accounts sheds new light on public finance in classical Athens.