New perspectives on the relationship between decrees and civic oaths in reconciliation treaties

Scholars have variously argued that oaths in ancient Greek civic decrees are merely a ‘religious attachment’ to lawful measures. Actually, it can rightly be assumed that oaths also possess an inherent coercive force and have, to some extent, a normative nature. This is demonstrated by a careful analysis of some inscriptions, in a good state of preservation, which also include an oath. The analysis draws from the study of the recently published inscription SEG 57.576 coming from Dikaia in Chalkidike which, despite con¬taining elements of great interest, has so far received scarce attention from scholars. The inscription contains a reconciliation agreement draft¬ed probably in 362/1 BCE after a stasis and it consists of six decrees and a civic oath. The Macedonian king Perdikkas III forbids the prosecution of those responsible for any crime committed during civil war through the prescription μὴ μνησικακεῖν. Alongside this measure, the polis also concedes the possibility to judge homicide cases initiated before the outbreak of the stasis; the unjudged actions would be declared ἀπόκλε(ι)τα, meaning they would be annulled (third decree). One of the most relevant aspects is the fact that, like the other decrees, the civic oath has a binding value and does not merely represent an appendix to the decrees, but rather the starting point for the interpretation of the other provisions. Another example to be presented is IG II2 111 (= RO 39), an inscription found on the Acropolis in Athens bearing a decree of reconciliation between Ioulis (Keos) and Athens (363/2 BCE). The epigraph consists of a decree and three oaths, pronounced by different categories of people at the same time as the decree was ratified. Given the oath's abundance of provisions, it is reasonable to assume that it, too, has legal force, as do the clauses of the decree. The amnesty for past crimes (μὴ μνησικακεῖν), together with the provision to keep the alliance or not to impose death sentences or exiles, are to all intents and purposes the measures that most enable pacification in the context of internal turmoil in the city of Ioulis and they are all contained in the oath. The inscription IPArk 5 (= RO 101), dated 324/3 BCE, may also help to support this interpretation. The decree contains, among others, a provision regarding the transcription of Alexander's diagramma with appropriate corrections by the polis, followed by regulations by which paternal and maternal property is returned to the exiles and a provision regarding the adjudication of suits on the recovery of property. In all three cases, the oath contains very general promissory assertions, the effects of which are prolonged over time; in contrast, the decrees provide for measures that are almost immediately applicable and, therefore, run out shortly after their approval.