Une stèle en granit, portant une inscription grecque de 46 lignes, a été découverte dans la localité d'Asardere, près du village de Vetren, dans la région de Plovdiv. Le texte révèle les droits et les devoirs de l'emporion de Pistiros, emporion grec situé dans l'intérieur des terres, en milieu non grec. Il s'agit d'un document officiel, rédigé par la «chancellerie» d'un roi de Thrace, successeur de Kotys I. Cette inscription constitue le premier — et, à ce jour, le seul — (...) document connu provenant de la cour royale thrace. Elle jette un jour nouveau sur l'organisation intérieure du commerce, le système routier et les relations entre le souverain et les emporia établis sur son territoire. (shrink)

The ancient centre of Pistiros, where archaeological excavations have been taking place since 1988, was founded in the 5th century BC in the Marica valley. The article examines the epigraphical evidence from this site and suggests some changes and clarifications in the reading of the text of the Vetren inscription, published in BCH 118 (1994) by the late professor V. Velkov and the author of this article. An analysis of the epigraphical evidence (4 inscriptions on stone and over 140 (...) graffiti on fragments of pottery) shows that in the 5th-4th centuries BC, representatives of various Greek poleis involved in trade lived there alongside the Thracians. The inhabitants of Pistiros worshipped different gods and heroes (Apollo, Kore [Persephone], Demeter, Zeus, Hera, the Mother of Gods, Heracles, Maron) and above all Dionysus, the supreme god of the Thracians (mentioned in the Vetren inscription). They had strong links with the oracle of Dionysus in the Rhodope mountains and were dependencies of the Thracian kings. Judging from the epigraphic, onomastic and archaeological evidence, the varied population of Pistiros was educated and used Greek in both official documents and everyday life. (shrink)