In free Delos these duties were entrusted to Delian officials called hieropoioi (ἱεροποιοί), "ministers of public worship." Like the "amphictyones," these guardians held office for one year only, at the end of which they rendered a minute account of their stewardship. The inventories or accounts relating to the temples form the most numerous class of Delian inscriptions. They give us a curious insight into the sacred administration at the period when the Delian sanctuary was most prosperous. The outgoing "hieropoioi" handed over the charge to their successors in presence of the Delian Senate. On doing so, they presented an inventory in two parts. The first part enumerates all the objects which they had received from their predecessors,—beginning with the temple of Apollo, and going on to the other Delian temples, of which (like the Athenian ταμίαι τῆς θεοῦ) they had the general charge. The formula is—τάδε παρελάβομεν ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, κ.τ.λ. The second part enumerates the objects acquired during their year of office. Articles of gold, silver, bronze, iron, marble, wood, glass, ivory, tortoise-shell, are successively recorded. Some of these are kept in coffers (κιβώτια); others, on stands of which the shelves or drawers (ῥυμοί) are numbered and catalogued; in other instances the place is indicated by a phrase: "on the right," or "left," "as you enter"; "near the corner of the picture"; "near the sun-dial"; "hanging against the wall." The objects themselves are of every kind: bowls (φιάλαι—of which Apollo's temple alone
