Chorus-Leader, Liturgy, and Festival Inference in a Decree Formula
A candidate is commenting on a short Athenian decree-style sentence and wants to identify the institution behind it. The text is: ἔδοξεν τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ· τὴν μὲν θυσίαν ποιεῖσθαι τῇ Ἀθηνᾷ κατὰ τὰ πάτρια, χοροὺς δὲ ἀνδρῶν τρεῖς καὶ παίδων τρεῖς ἀγαγεῖν, τὸν δὲ χορηγὸν αἱρεῖσθαι ἐξ ἁπάντων Ἀθηναίων. The candidate writes: ‘The council and people voted to sacrifice to Athena according to ancestral custom, to bring three choruses of men and three of boys, and to choose the chorus-leader from all Athenians. This proves the festival was the City Dionysia and the chorus-leader paid for everything.’ You must decide which claims are supported, which are inferences, and which are unjustified.
1. What can be inferred about the χορηγός from this text alone, and what requires outside knowledge? Explain the selection phrase.
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From the text alone we can infer that the χορηγός is a named role connected with the choruses, and that the person is chosen (αἱρεῖσθαι) from the whole body of Athenians. The verb suggests appointment or election, not purely private volunteering. The singular τὸν χορηγόν may be generic or may refer to one organiser for the specified choruses; the text does not settle that. Outside knowledge is needed for the standard Athenian institution: a chorēgos was a wealthy citizen who financed, equipped, and trained a chorus as a liturgy. The text does not state that he paid for everything, nor that only the rich were eligible. ‘Paid for everything’ is an inference from Athenian practice, not a translation of this sentence.
2. Evaluate the claim that the mention of choruses proves the City Dionysia.
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The claim is unjustified. Choruses were a feature of several Athenian festivals, not only the City Dionysia. Here the sacrifice is explicitly to Athena and is performed κατὰ τὰ πάτρια, ‘according to ancestral custom’. That points toward a civic festival of Athena, possibly the Panathenaia, rather than to Dionysus. The text gives no festival name. The safe conclusion is that this is a public festival with ancestral sacrifice to Athena and with three men’s choruses and three boys’ choruses. Identifying it as the City Dionysia imports information the sentence does not contain.
3. What does the phrase τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ add to your understanding of the decree’s authority?
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The phrase is a standard Athenian public-decree formula: the decision belongs to the Council (βουλή) and the Assembly/People (δῆμος). It shows that the measure is a civic enactment, not a private dedication or a single magistrate’s order. It also explains why the provisions include public cult, choruses, and the appointment of a χορηγός. The text does not spell out the procedural steps, such as a probouleuma or a vote in the Assembly, so those details should not be asserted from this sentence alone.