Who Were the Eteokarpathioi?
Carl A. Anderson, Michigan State University
T. Keith Dix, University of Georgia
The Eteokarpathioi, from the island of Karpathos in the Dodecanese, make two appearances on the stage of Greek history, and both times they are at the center of controversy. The Eteokarpathioi appear for the first time on the Athenian Tribute Lists in 434/3 (IG i3 278.VI.14), under the rubric poles autai phoron taxsamenai, a phrase that has been interpreted as "cities which took the initiative in getting themselves assessed" (see Lepper, JHS 82 [1962], 25-55). The "Eteokarpathian decree" (IG i3 1454) records that the Athenians honored "the koinon of the Eteokarpathioi" for sending a cypress from Apollo's precinct on Karpathos to the temple of Athena Athênôn medeousa at Athens. The title "Athena Athênôn medeousa" has been identified with Athena Polias at Athens, and its use here seemed to indicate that the decree was related to a group of inscriptions from Samos, Cos, and Colophon. The early-fourth century date once generally accepted for the decree, however, appeared to exclude it from this group of inscriptions, which were all dated to the mid-fifth century. Redating of the decree, on the basis of letter forms, to the period 445-30 has resolved this problem (see D. Lewis ad IG i3 1454).
This paper considers the identity of the Eteokarpathioi and the status of their koinon. The tradition of Minoan and Argive colonization (Diodorus Siculus 5.54.4) and the presence of Minoan and Mycenaean remains led to the suggestion that the Eteokarpathioi were the remnants of an early population. By analogy with the Eteokretoi, whom Strabo (10.4.6-7) identified as autochthonous to Crete, we may assume that the Eteokarpathioi regarded themselves as the "true and original inhabitants of Karpathos." One element in the formation of their identity may have been the appearance of Karpathos in the Catalogue of Ships (Iliad 2.676-80), in a process of ethnogenesis like that described by McInerney for the Phokians (The Folds of Parnassos, 120-7).
Eteokarpathian identity may also have owed something to Athenian intervention on the island. One of the first stipulations in the Eteokarpathian decree is confirmation of autonomia for the Eteokarpathioi (lines 11-12); the prominence of autonomia suggests that Athens intervened on behalf of the koinon against other cities on the island, either establishing the koinon or ensuring its continuation. This circumstance might explain why other communities on the island appear on the Athenian Tribute Lists from 450/49, but the Eteokarpathioi first appear in 434/3: the Eteokarpathioi might already have paid tribute, but their contributions would have been concealed under the assessments of the neighboring cities of Karpathos or Arkaseia.
The Eteokarpathioi provide a case study of Athenian relations with her subject allies. This paper shows that the relationship between Athens and the Eteokarpathioi was complex, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial. The Athenian empire may have been a tyranny, as Kleon said in the Mitylenian debate (Thuc. 3.37.2), but at least some of her peoples were willing to be ruled, and they advanced their own interests through prudent acts that strengthened the Athenian empire.
Carl A. Anderson, Michigan State University
T. Keith Dix, University of Georgia
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