Treaty between Hierapytna and Priansos
The treaty between Hierapytna and Priansos was an early 2nd-century BCE legal agreement in which the Cretan cities of Hierapytna and Priansos established isopoliteia, or common citizenship, between their communities.
The text stipulates that any individual could bring charges against any other person accused of infringing upon the common law between the cities. If the prosecutor won their case—they would receive one-third of the fine imposed upon the defendant, while the remainder of the fine would be distributed to the cities. The text specifies that any individual was vulnerable to prosecution under this law, be they a private citizen or a "wikt:κόσμος", which the Hellenist Shiela Ager interprets as denoting a person who acted "in a public capacity." It is stated within the text that the legal proceedings are to occur within a "wikt:κοινόν", a legal body whose structure or powers remain unknown. The classicist Maurice Van Der Mijnsbrugge argues that the "dikastḗrion" may have only been responsible for determining the guilt—not deciding the penalty. Mijnsbrugge notes that the inscription tasks the plaintiff with establishing the fine to be imposed should the defendant be proven guilty. These fines may, according to Mijnsbrugge, connect to the fines mentioned in a "code of the Cretans" described in another treaty between the Cretan cities of Gortyn and Lato.
The term "dikastḗrion" is mentioned once more as the entity which—after having been chosen by both cities—would host legal proceedings to resolve preexisting disputes between the cities. These trials were to be established by the kósmoi serving with a certain "Enipas" and "Neon." Within a later passage, the inscription mentions another dikastḗrion that may have also been involved in the proceedings in some manner. The full phrase, "περὶ δέ τῶ δικαστερίω" is difficult to interpret and has various translations. Classical Archaeologists such as Henri van Effenterre and Shiela Ager argue that the text likely is trying to communicate that, should the initial arbitration fail, the dikastḗrion would assume control over the trial proceedings. Some scholars, such the archaeologist Margherita Guarducci, argue that the presence of the definite article "wikt:τῶ" may indicate that the specified dikastḗrion was identical with the previously mentioned body of the same name.
Future disputes were to be settled first by a "wikt:Πρόδικος", who may have functioned as some variety of arbiter, and was—according to the text—bound to settle disputes according to the "wikt:διάγραμμα". It is unclear exactly what defined the "diágramma," although it is often interpreted as some sort of overarching code of laws in effect throughout ancient Crete. Following this decree, the text includes mentions a third legal entity referred to as the "wikt:ἐπικριτήριον", which was set to be established within a city chosen by the kosmoi of the given year. Mijnsbrugge suggests that the "epikritḗrion" may have served as a type of arbitral court within which the "pródikos" functioned.
The law permits the residents of each city to freely utilize any nearby grazing land. However, if one individual were to damage the land in some manner, then they would be subject to the proper fine allotted by the city in which the crime occurred. Additionally, the text allows for citizens of either city to transport their goods—or the "produce" of their goods—to "safety" within the other city, where they were then free to export or sell the materials without paying customs. Angelos Chaniotis, a Greek classicist, argues that the primary beneficiaries of this law would likely have been shepherds and pirates. According to Chaniotis, shepherds—as they were often situated near the frontiers of settled area—were likely vulnerable to warfare, and thus may feel the need to transport their goods into the "safety" of another city. Likewise, this provision may have allowed for pirates to securely deposit or sell stolen items in these cities. Moreover, Chaniotis suggests that the "produce" of the goods could refer to the offspring of livestock or of individuals captured by pirates.