“To Destroy the Stele”, “To Remain Faithful to the Stele”: Epigraphic Text as Guarantee of Political Decision.

From an archaeological point of view, a stele can be described as a simple artefact, an object emerging from the ground with a surface naturally suited to writing. If we consider only public documents, we can, however, argue that the stele becomes one of the protagonists in the drama of politics. Given that the carrier of the writing is identifiable with the written text, the stele becomes the transposition on stone of the approved measures and of the directing political authority. The phrase καθαιρεῖν τὴν στήλην refers to the violent destruction of the stele, while its counterpart ἐμμένειν ἐν τῆι στήληι expresses the wish to be faithful to the stele. In both cases, the reference to the inscribed object rests on the same assumption, namely that the stele does not recall a political action, but is the political action. In conclusion, the stele is a guide for the political community and assumes a very powerful role in establishing and prescribing norms.