• Teos to Rhaukos, 203-201 BC (preigeutas, gr. πρειγευτάς, en. envoy)

This anonymous envoy, together with other colleagues, spoke in the assembly at Rhaukos in favour of the Teians and their call for asylia, after the Teian envoys and the envoy dispatched by Antiochus III. Although Cishull (followed e.g. by Rigsby 1996, 300) believed that these ambassadors still corresponded to the two envoys of Teos, what Le bas read is correct. At this point in the text (LBW 63, l. 10) ‘our’ envoys, i.e. from Rhaukos itself, are certainly mentioned.
This intervention in the assembly, however, seems strange or at least needs an explanation. Holleaux (), following Waddington, thought that some envoys from Rhaukos stopped by Teos at an earlier time, on a mission probably addressed to Seleucid power. And in fact we know today that Antiochus III was physically present near Teos for a certain time in 204 (). Rigsby found implausible this reconstruction, because apparently Rhaukos would be too “little” for such a mission and there would be no parallels in the other decrees about Teain asylia.

I find it implausible for another reason: in the Hellenistic period, envoys are neither permanent nor fixed. It would be bizarre if Rhaukos recalled a previous embassy without any contextualisation. But this is the case: so it is likely that such contextualisation was not necessary, because these envoys were still in office, i.e. they had just returned from some other mission, during which they had been able to test the moral qualities of the Teians.

This explanation can easily fit into the broader framework of the Cretan war, where we know that royal envoys were working precisely for a peace. It is indeed not difficult to think that the various warring poleis were sending their delegations to allies and enemies to participate in negotiations. It is therefore possible that the envoys of Rhaukos met the envoys of Teos and perhaps also the royal agent Agesandros in another city, e.g. Eleutherna or Lappa, and based their intervention on this earlier meeting.

I thank C. Crowther for providing a photograph of this text.