Problems with Some Buildings in the Sanctuary of Epidauros: The “Stele of the Punishments”

ABSTRACT: This article discusses the inscription known as the “Stele of the Punishments” together with new archaeological findings in order to explain the case of the architect Perillos, who was sentenced twice for the consequences of inadequate planning of the position of the anterior columns in the one-storied stoa of the Abaton in the Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidauros. Dating to ca. 360 bce, this is the earliest surviving record of an architect’s liability in Classical Greece. A second legal case of ca. 355 bce, recorded on the same stele and concerning the ivory carver Pasiteles, is also given a thorough juridical and historical presentation. Methodologically, this approach brings together epigraphy, archaeology, and ancient legal history.