records and record-keeping, attitudes to
records and record-keeping, attitudes toGreeks and Romans kept records on stone or bronze, lead, wooden tablets (waxed or whitened), papyrus (see books, Greek and Roman), ostraca (potsherds), even precious metals. The different materials often bear certain associations and reflect ancient attitudes to records: e.g. bronze documents in Athens have religious associations, as do the bronze tablets of Roman laws. Stone inscriptions promised permanence and importance, publicly visible reminders of the decree (etc.) they record: in Athens, matters of particular concern to the gods went up on stone (e.g. the Athenian tribute lists). Athenian inscriptions are read and referred to, but they may also serve as memorials of the decision they record, so that their destruction signifies the end of that transaction (e.g. Demosthenes 16. 27); inscribed laws are often dedicated to a god. The relation of the...
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