250 James Roy
tradition took over from the version of theHomeric Hymn, is unknown. In any case, a
claim to autochthony would have allowed the Delphians to distinguish themselves from
the other Phocians.
Autochthony in the Late Hellenistic
and Roman Periods
From the first centuryBCinto the Roman imperial period, there is much more evi-
dence, though no other source offers the intense concentration of material found in
classical Athens. Clearly, autochthony continued to be treated as it had been in the clas-
sical period, both in claims to autochthony by particular communities and as a theme of
historical–ethnographic research. Indeed, Diodorus Siculus (1.9.3) declares: “Regard-
ing the antiquity of the human race not only do Greeks make claims, but also many
barbarians, saying that they are autochthonous and were the first of all men to discover
the things of use in life.” Isaac cites much literary evidence on autochthony (Isaac 2004:
see “autochthony” in index). The ethnographic interest was also taken up by Roman
writers, using terms such asindigenae. These did not include Favorinus, who was excep-
tional in his outright condemnation of claims to autochthony, observing that mice and
other insignificant animals were also earth-born (Isaac 2004: 132–3). Peoples from a
wide geographical range were regarded as autochthonous. Diodorus said that there were
many peoples in India, all autochthonous (2.38.1), and also considered tribes in Britain
autochthonous, apparently because they preserved an ancient way of life (5.21.5). Caesar
(BG5.12.1) had already said that the interior of Britain was inhabited by those who had
originated there, unlike the coastal population. Tacitus (Germania1) regarded the Ger-
mans as autochthonous (indigenas), a passage that has notoriously attracted enormous
attention in modern times (Isaac 2004: 137–44). Examples could be multiplied, but the
pattern is clear.
Greek cities continued to claim autochthony. Athens’ claim, for instance, is recognized
by Plutarch (Theseus3.1.1), Pausanias (2.14.4), and Aelius Aristides (see the following
text). However, the Athenians cannot have been pleased when, according to Tacitus
Annals2.55, on a visit inAD18, Cn. Calpurnius Piso told them that the people of Athens
had been exterminated by disasters and that the current inhabitants were aconluvies, a vile
mixture; he thus simultaneously acknowledged the Athenian claim to autochthony and
declared it outdated. Pausanias also recognizes the autochthony of the Arkadians (5.1.1),
the Plataians (9.1.1), and, possibly, the Ozolian Lokrians (10.38.3). The fullest examina-
tion of any of these claims comes in thePanathenaicusof Aelius Aristides on Athens (see
Loraux 1993: 268–72; Oudot 2001, 2006). While autochthony is an important part of
his theme, his treatment is very different from that of the classical period: autochthonous
Athens, no longer praised for military achievements or for exclusiveness, is now the home
of culture for all mankind.
Epigraphy now also offers valuable evidence, from Greek cities of Asia Minor (see Heller
2006: 102–5). On a decree (Inschriften von Stratonikeia15.2), Stratonikeia describes
itself as “autochthonous and metropolis of Karia.” In a letter from Tlos to Sidyma in
Lycia (SEG50.1356), the citizens of Tlos speak of the unity and harmony that have
bound them to Sidyma from the time of “the gods and the autochthonous ancestors.”