Hecatomnids

The Greek-Carian inscription from Kaunos (MAREK 2006, K1), preserving a proxeny decree honouring two Athenian citizens, should be dated between 334 and 331 B.C., during Alexander’s first incursion in Asia Minor. In support to this dating, two aspects should be considered: first, unlike the common practice of the official documents in fourth-century Hecatomnid Caria, Carian is the official language of this decree; second, the lack of references to both the satrap and the king in the prescript, replaced by the name of the demiurgos, Hipposthenes. Additionally, contrary to the prevalent view in modern scholarship, it is possible to identify economic reasons rather than political motivations behind this decree.

The excavations on the Tepecik settlement at Patara furnish important new evidence for the mushroom-rimmed amphorae in the 4th c. B.C. This evidence is based primarily on the ceramics recovered from a back-filled burnt soil layer in a deposit located on the Tepecik settlement. These finds include eight amphorae and two unguentaria. One of these amphorae is Lycian, and seven others belong to the mushroom-rimmed amphora type. Our analysis indicates that the mushroom-rimmed amphora reflects production and distribution of commodities generated under the aegis of the Hecatomnid dynasty in Karia and the mushroom rim could have been used as a geographical marker, a ›brand‹ by the Hekatomnids during the 4th c. B.C.