HELLENISTIC FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS IN THE EPIGRAPHICAL RECORD

This article reviews the epigraphical evidence for furniture and furnishings from Late Classical and Hellenistic Greece, with particular attention to the furniture recorded in the treasure lists of Greek sanctuaries, and in the inscrip tions recording loans, mortgages, and other commercial transactions involving property, between the late 4th and 1st centuries b.c. The principal goals of the study are to collect the types of furniture and furnishings mentioned in the inscriptions; to examine the vocabulary used to describe them and, where possible, to determine their value; and to discuss the purpose and significance of the furniture found in ancient Greek sanctuaries, whether used for display, storage, or as mobilier du culte. The present study is a supplement to my survey of the archaeological evidence for furniture and furnishings in Late Classical and Hellenistic Greece, published earlier in this volume o? Hesperia} That article, which focused on the remains of furniture recovered in excavations, showed that a great deal can be learned from a careful examination of the archaeologi cal evidence, but it also revealed that the quantity of excavated material is relatively small, and that the majority of it comes from Macedonian funerary contexts. The epigraphical evidence, which forms the basis for the pres ent study, helps to fill out this picture and provides valuable information about furniture and furnishings unattested in the archaeological record. The two studies work together to fill a gap in our current understanding of the multiple functions of furniture in the ancient Greek world, from domestic accoutrements to sacred dedications.