Journal | Axon
Journal issue | 6 | 1 | 2022
Research Article | Perpetual Lease Contract from Olympia

Perpetual Lease Contract from Olympia

In the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, a bronze plate was found in early March 1879, which must have been affixed to a wall of the sanctuary, as the preserved corner holes show. The inscription is written in Elean dialect and can be dated on palaeographic grounds to the last quarter of the 5th century BC. It is a perpetual lease contract for a plot of land in Salmone. The interpretation of the document is problematic: the display of the bronze plate in Olympia and the perpetual duration of the lease are in fact a unicum in a contract that, in light of the linguistic data, is believed to have been concluded between two private individuals.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Feb. 8, 2022 | Accepted: April 11, 2022 | Published: June 20, 2022 | Language: it

Keywords Lease contract Olympia Alphioios Elis Plethron Perpetual Manasios Elean dialect Pisatis Salmone


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