Fragment of marble, probably of a statue base cut for reuse. At the upper left edge are the remains of a molding.

2–3 Φλαού/[ιον] Herrmann.

In his detailed commentary Herrmann adduces Sardis VII 1, no. 22 (Οἱ τοῦ Διὸς θεραπευταὶ τῶν εἰ[ς] / τὸ ἄδυτον εἰσπορευομένων καθι/ερώσαντες ἐστεφάνωσαν / Σωκράτην Πολεμαίου Παρδαλᾶν, / τὸν πρῶτον τῆς πόλεως, διακεί/μενον ἐκ προγόνων πρὸς τὸ / θεῖον εὐσεβῶς; dated to 100 BC) and discusses, inter alia, the meaning of therapeutes and the problem of the location of the sanctuary of Zeus (Polieus).

See now M. F. Baslez, “Les Thérapeutes de Delos et d’ailleurs: l’apport de l’épigraphie délienne à l’histoire des communautés religieuses à l’époque hellénistique et romaine,” in Institutions, sociétés et cultes de la Méditerranée antique. Mélanges d’histoire ancienne rassemblés en l’honneur de Claude Vial, ed. C. Balandier and C. Chandezon (2014), pp. 109–31. After detailed study of the evidence, Baslez concludes that the θεραπευταί were people who were more actively engaged in the service of gods than other worshipers. Although they did not hold priestly offices, their services, which were very diverse in nature (assistance in sacrifices and other rites, upkeep of sacred buildings, decoration of divine images, etc.), approached that of the priest officiating in the cult. The θεραπευταί were not involved in mystic or ascetic practices; their numbers and organization varied. See also K. Rigsby, AncSoc 44 (2014), p. 11.