ABSTRACT
The epigraphic habit, that is, the cultural impulse to record information on stone and other durable materials, is an important feature of the ancient Mediterranean world (MacMullen 1982). In Attica, this habit is particularly pronounced; inscriptions here were increasingly common from the seventh century BCE onwards and are found frequently until the third century CE, peaking in the fourth century (Stoddart and Whitley 1988: 764; Hedrick 1999: 392, Fig. 2). Epigraphic writing in Attica encompasses a wide range of activities: dedications, funerary inscriptions, laws, decrees, temple accounts, sacred calendars, various lists (of offi cials, war dead, debtors etc), commercial transactions and ownership marks all appear inscribed on stone at different frequencies throughout the centuries.
