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having done so, they petitioned the same emperor Commodus, that by his divine command he should ratify to the public treasury the revenues which the aforementioned Sosibius had left to the city of the Antiochenes for the purpose of various shows and different games being held in the same city, and that the magistrates should not procure the revenues, but that the public treasury itself should provide for the Olympic games and certain other shows held in the same city of the Antiochenes for the delight of the city. And immediately the same emperor Commodus by his divine command ratified the revenues to the public treasury, decreeing that the Olympic games be held and setting aside from the public treasury that specified funds be provided for the expenses of those ministering at the sacred and secular festival of the Olympic games, legislating that they be held blamelessly every four years during the festivals of the offerings, that is, sacrifices, according to custom, that is in the month of Panemos or July and in the month of Lous which is called August for 45 days for the festival of Olympian Zeus, likewise setting aside also for the purpose of a horse-race held blamelessly on the day of the Sun, that is on a Sunday, another specified quantity of gold from them. Likewise also for the purpose of a nocturnal stage festival held every 3 years, of the so-called Orgies, which is my 285 steries of Dionysus and Aphrodite, that is, of the so-called Maioumas because the same festival was held in the month of Maios, also Artemision, he set aside a specified quantity of gold for the purpose of torches and lamps and the other things that contribute to the festival of the 30 days of delightful all-night celebrations. Concerning this nocturnal festival Vergil, the wisest poet of the Romans, makes mention in his fourth book, setting these things forth in the Roman tongue. Trieterika Bakcho orgia noktournous koue bokat klamore Kithairon; which is in the Greek tongue, in the third year, when Dionysus at night with his voice the festival of the orgies on Mount Cithaeron. The same emperor also set aside specified funds for the purpose of hunts that were to be held for 4 years, as follows: to be conducted for 32 months until the slaughter, and to be idle for the remaining 6 months for the collection of the wild beasts for a festival in honor of Ares and Artemis. And immediately then Artabanios, a magistrate, was named the first Syriarch, being proposed by the landowners and the entire populace. He also set aside the remaining funds for the purpose of mimes and dan 286 cers and the other delights held in the Pandemois. And from then on all the provisions for the aforementioned shows were provided blamelessly to the same city of the Antiochenes by the public treasury. And the Antiochenes erected a bronze statue to the emperor Commodus in the middle of their city. Therefore, in his reign, the Olympic games were first celebrated by the Syrian Antiochenes by his divine command, as has been said before, in the year 260 according to the same Syrian Antiochenes, in the Xystos built by him. And the Antiochenes bought the same Olympic games from the Pisans of Greece for ninety periods of the Olympic contest, being for 360 years, by an unwritten pact. And in Antioch itself the first man named Alytarch by the same divine command was Aphronios, an ex-prefect, a citizen of Antioch. who, wearing the costume of the alytarch, was honored during the days and venerated as Zeus himself, not going up into a house on the same days nor reclining on a couch, but sleeping in the open air on the ground upon stones and clean coverings and a rush mat. He wore a white robe interwoven with gold, like snow, and a crown of rubies and other precious stones, and he held a staff of ebony, wearing on his own feet white 287 sandals. And he slept on the same days in the open court of the so-called basilica, the Kaisarion, the

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ποιήσαντες ἐδεήθησαν τοῦ αὐτοῦ βασιλέως Κομμόδου, ἵνα ἀπὸ θείας αὐτοῦ κελεύσεως προσκυρώσῃ τῷ δημοσίῳ τὰς προσόδους ἃς εἴασε τῇ τῶν Ἀντιοχέων πόλει Σωσίβιος ὁ προειρημένος λόγῳ θεωριῶν πολυτρόπων καὶ διαφόρων ἀγώνων ἐπιτελουμένων τῇ αὐτῇ πόλει, καὶ ἵνα μὴ πορίζωνται τὰς προσόδους οἱ πολιτευόμενοι, ἀλλὰ τὸ δημόσιον καὶ αὐτὸ χορηγεῖ λόγῳ τῶν ἐπιτελουμένων πρὸς τέρψιν τῆς πόλεως Ὀλυμπίων καὶ ἄλλων τινῶν θεωριῶν ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ πόλει τῶν Ἀντιοχέων. καὶ εὐθέως ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς Κόμμοδος διὰ θείας αὐτοῦ κελεύσεως προσεκύρωσε τῷ δημοσίῳ τὰς προσόδους, θεσπίσας τὰ Ὀλύμπια ἐπιτελεῖσθαι καὶ ἀφορίσας ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου παρέχεσθαι εἰς λόγον ἀναλωμάτων τῶν ὑπουργούντων τῇ τῶν Ὀλυμπίων ἱερᾷ καὶ κοσμικῇ ἑορτῇ φανερὰ χρήματα, νομοθετήσας κατὰ τετραετῆ χρόνον ἐπιτελεῖσθαι ἀμέμπτως ἐν ταῖς ἑορταῖς τῶν ἀναθημάτων, ἤτοι θυσιῶν, τῶν ἐξ ἔθους, τοῦτ' ἐστὶ τῷ πανέμῳ ἤτοι ἰουλίῳ μηνὶ καὶ τῷ λώῳ τῷ λεγομένῳ αὐγούστῳ μηνὶ ἐπὶ ἡμέρας μεʹ εἰς ἑορτὴν τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου ∆ιός, ὡσαύτως ἀφορίσας καὶ εἰς λόγον ἱπποδρομίου ἀμέμπτως ἐπιτελουμένου κατὰ τὴν Ἡλίου ἡμέραν, τοῦτ' ἐστὶ κατὰ κυριακήν, ἄλλην ἐξ αὐτῶν φανερὰν χρυσίου ποσότητα. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ εἰς λόγον σκηνικῆς ἑορτῆς νυκτερινῆς ἐπιτελουμένης κατὰ ἔτη γʹ, τῶν λεγομένων Ὀργίων, ὅπερ ἐστὶ μυ 285 στηρίων ∆ιονύσου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης, τοῦτ' ἐστὶ τοῦ λεγομένου Μαϊουμᾶ διὰ τὸ ἐν τῷ μαΐῳ τῷ καὶ ἀρτεμισίῳ μηνὶ ἐπιτελεῖσθαι τὴν αὐτὴν ἑορτήν, ἀφώρισε φανερὰν χρυσίου ποσότητα λόγῳ λαμπάδων καὶ κανδήλων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν προχωρούντων ἐπὶ τὴν πανήγυριν τῶν λʹ ἡμερῶν τερπνῶν παννυχίδων. περὶ ἧς νυκτερινῆς ἑορτῆς μέμνηται Βεργίλλιος ὁ σοφώτατος Ῥωμαίων ποιητὴς ἐν τῷ δʹ αὐτοῦ λόγῳ, τῇ Ῥωμαϊκῇ γλώσσῃ ἐκθέμενος ταῦτα. Τριετηρικὰ Βάκχω ὄργια νοκτούρνους κουὲ βοκὰτ κλάμωρε Κιθαιρών· ὅ ἐστι τῇ Ἑλληνίδι γλώσσῃ τῷ τριετηρικῷ ἔτει, ὅτε ὁ ∆ιόνυσος ἐν νυκτὶ τῇ φωνῇ τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν ὀργίων ἐν τῷ Κιθαιρωνίῳ ὄρει. Ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς ἀφώρισε φανερὰ χρήματα καὶ εἰς λόγον κυνηγίων ὀφειλόντων ἐπιτελεῖσθαι ἐπὶ ἔτη δʹ οὕτως· ἄγεσθαι μὲν ἐπὶ μῆνας λβʹ ἕως τῆς ἀποσφαγῆς, ἀργεῖν δὲ τοὺς ὑπολοίπους μῆνας ςʹ εἰς τὴν συλλογὴν τῶν θηρίων εἰς ἑορτὴν θεραπείας Ἄρεως καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος. Καὶ εὐθέως τότε ὠνομάσθη Συριάρχης πρῶτος Ἀρταβάνιος πολιτευόμενος, προβληθεὶς ἀπὸ τῶν κτητόρων καὶ τοῦ δήμου παντός. Ἀφώρισε δὲ καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ χρήματα εἰς λόγον μίμων καὶ ὀρ 286 χηστικῶν καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τέρψεων τῶν ἐν Πανδήμοις ἐπιτελουμένων. καὶ ἔκτοτε παρεσχέθη τῇ αὐτῇ τῶν Ἀντιοχέων πόλει παρὰ τοῦ δημοσίου ἀμέμπτως τὰ χορηγούμενα λόγῳ τῶν προειρημένων θεωριῶν πάντα. καὶ ἀνέστησαν τῷ βασιλεῖ Κομμόδῳ οἱ Ἀντιοχεῖς στήλην χαλκῆν κατὰ μέσου τῆς πόλεως αὐτῶν. ἐπὶ οὖν τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας πρώτοις ἐπετελέσθη τὰ Ὀλύμπια τοῖς Ἀντιοχεῦσι Σύροις ἀπὸ θείας αὐτοῦ, ὡς προείρηται, κελεύσεως ἔτους σξʹ χρηματίζοντος κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς Ἀντιοχεῖς Σύρους ἐν τῷ παρ' αὐτοῦ κτισθέντι Ξυστῷ. ἠγόρασαν δὲ τὰ αὐτὰ Ὀλύμπια οἱ Ἀντιοχεῖς παρὰ τῶν Πισαίων τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐπ' ἐνενήκοντα περιόδους ἀγῶνος Ὀλυμπίων, ὡς εἶναι ἐπὶ ἔτη τξʹ, ἀγράφῳ πάκτῳ. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν αὐτῇ Ἀντιοχείᾳ ἀλυτάρχης ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ θείᾳ κελεύσει ὀνομασθεὶς πρῶτος Ἀφρόνιος ὁ ἀπὸ ἐπάρχων, πολίτης Ἀντιοχεύς. ὅστις φορέσας τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ ἀλυτάρχου τὰς μὲν ἡμέρας ἐτιμᾶτο καὶ προσεκυνεῖτο ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ Ζεύς, μὴ ἀνιὼν δὲ εἰς οἶκον τὰς αὐτὰς ἡμέρας μήτε εἰς κλίνην ἀναπίπτων, ἀλλ' εἰς ἐξάερον καθεύδων εἰς ἔδαφος ὑπεράνω λίθων καὶ καθαρῶν στρωμάτων καὶ θρυΐνης ψιάθου. ἐφόρει δὲ στολὴν διάχρυσον ἄσπρην ὡσεὶ χιὼν καὶ στέφανον ἀπὸ λυχνιτῶν καὶ ἄλλων τιμίων, καὶ κατεῖχε ῥάβδον ἐβελίνην, φορῶν εἰς τοὺς ἰδίους πόδας σανδάλια 287 ἄσπρα. ἐκάθευδε δὲ τὰς αὐτὰς ἡμέρας εἰς τὸ ἐξάερον τῆς λεγομένης βασιλικῆς τὸ Καισάριον, τὸ