[Text]
ἐπιμελ[εῖτα]ι δὲ καὶ τῆς εἰς Θαργήλια καὶ τῆς τῷ Διὶ τῷ Σωτῆρι. διοικεῖ δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα τῶ[ν Διο]νυσίων οὗτος καὶ τῶν Θαργηλίων. ἑορτῶν μὲν οὖν ἐπιμελεῖται τούτων.
[Translation]
And he also supervises the procession of Thargelia, and the one in honor of Zeus the Savior. This official also administers the competition of the Dionysia and of the Thargelia. These, then, are the festivals that he supervises. (trans. H. Rackham)
[Comment]
The second part of the Athenaion Politeia (chapters 42–69) describes the functioning of the Athenian constitution, with particular emphasis on the judicial system. Specifically, chapter 56 addresses the responsibilities assigned to the office of the archon (see the entry and commentary on Ath. Pol. 56.3). The text refers to the eponymous archon, who was charged with overseeing the competitions held during the Great Dionysia and the Thargelia, while the contests associated with other major public festivals were entrusted to the archon basileus. For a discussion of the rationale behind this division of duties, see the commentary on Antiphon, De choreuta 11–15.
[Reference Edition]
H. OPPERMANN, Aristotelis Ἀθηναίων Πολιτεία, Leipzig 1928 (repr. 1968).
[Essential Bibliography]
A. W. PICKARD – M. A. CAMBRIDGE, Le feste drammatiche di Atene (trad. it.), Firenze 1996 (Oxford 1968); C. A. VIANO, Politica e costituzione di Atene, a cura di C. A. Viano, Torino 1992; P. WILSON, The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia, Cambridge 2000.
[Keywords]
archon Dionysia, Thargelia.
[Maria Elena Della Bona]