A little to the south of the church of Hypakoe I found five very well-preserved stelæ lying in the soil, one of which was covered with a deeply-cut inscription on both sides, relating to a civil action between the people of Calymnos and the heirs of a certain Cleomedes, who appear to have been citizens of Cos. This suit seems to have been referred to a tribunal at Cnidus.
On one side of the stele the mode of procedure in the trial is set forth, with the form of the oath to be administered to the Dikasts and the witnesses: on the other side is the sentence, which is decided by a court of Dikasts. The number of votes for the plaintiff were 78; for the defendant 120.
In case any of the witnesses residing either in Cos or Calymnos should be prevented from appearing in court, it is ordered that their depositions be taken in either island before the magistrates, called Prostatæ, copies of which, attested by the seal of the State as affidavits, are to be then transmitted to the adversary in the suit. The length of time for the pleadings is measured by the klepsydra, ποτὶ χόας: for the first pleading each party is allowed eighteen of the measures called χόες; for the second, ten. Such a trial was technically called δίκη πρὸς ὕδωρ.133
Beyond this field to the west, the groimd slopes down towards two wells. I thought it probable that, as the drainage from the temple must have been carried down this declivity, some small relics and votive offerings would be found in the soil here.
