Alliance Treaty Between Athens and Reggio

Abstract

This inscription provides evidence for the conclusion of a military alliance (symmachia) between Athens and Rhegium. The reference to the eponym archon Apseudes allows us to safely date the inscription to the year 433/2 BC. Nevertheless, the fact that the first eight lines of the stone had been erased and inscribed again gives rise to the question about the actual meaning of the inscription, i.e. whether it should be considered as a renewal of a previous treaty of alliance or not. The analysis of literary sources, together with some remarks of technical nature, supports the hypothesis that the inscription represents the original military alliance between Athens and Rhegium. It was signed for the first time in 433/2 as a result of the economical and political common will both of Athens and of its syngenes Rhegium to strengthen their presence in Magna Graecia and on the Strait of Messina.