User:Jirda5/sandbox

Ancient World
"Tithing was widely practiced in ancient cultures from Rome, to Middle East, to China."

Yemen
Sabaean inscriptions:

"ʾsʿd .... and his brother Smhyfʿ...dedicated to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, the statue in bronze, which was given to Him as tithe from the watered crops and the not watered crops which ʾlmqh granted them from their fields...and may ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, continue to grant His servants ʾsʿd and his brother Smhyfʿ"

"Sʿdʾwm ʾsʿd and his brother ʾḥmd... dedicated to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, the statue in bronze that he attributed to Him as a tithe from the crops grown by natural and by artificial irrigation that He granted to them in spring and summer and harvest season ...may ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, continue to grant them good healthy abundant crops and harvests in all their lands irrigated by canals and their valleys"

"Bhl ʾsʿd, of the family Grt and Bds...dedicated to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, the statue in bronze from the tithe they are accustomed to offer to ʾlmqhw Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, from the summer crop and the garden crop, as ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, ordered them in His oracle and for the safety of their lord Smr Yhrʿs King of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān and for the safety and the health of His servant Bhlʾsʿd"

"Nsʾkrb ʾwtr... dedicated to Tʾlb Rymm ...two statues from the tithe...and so that he should grant them favours and crops in their vineyards."

"descendant of Smyʿm dedicated to their patron Tʾlb Rymm ... this statue, as He had ordered him in His oracle, together with his stela, which he had donated to Him in the city of Mryb, when he sought a favour from Him through a tithe, for the well-being of the child his wife"

"Mʿdkrb and ʿmḏkr...dedicated to Ḥwkm the dedication of bronze from the tribute and the tithe they payed and gave to Ḥwkm from their properties, as Ḥwkm ordered them in His oracle, when Ḥwkm saved them against things that happened to them. Might Ḥwkm continue to save them against all evil and harm."

"Skrm and Mʿdkrb... dedicated...they paid as a tribute, they paid as a tithe to Ḥwkm from their resources and...Ḥwkm orders and an oracle that they have requested and accomplished...as they have asked Him; may Ḥwkm henceforth continue to protect...in war and in peace and in what they will ask to Him"

"which makes a covenant with ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ - each individual (is) for two years, from when he starts until he completes the two years...through the kabīr-official...let acquire and obtain(as a due share)the tithe of all the crops and yield and goods and harvest and all the exactions that the kabīr-official of Kḥd of Dtnt exacts....this legal document was constituted as a dedication toʿm ḏ-Lbḫ and His Priests for eternity"

"Dwmn Yʾzm, of the family of Ġymn, ...dedicated to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, a tithe because ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm, brought and protected the crops that are in their land ... may He continue to grant them good rains and abundant flash-floods and crops in all their land and their cultivated areas and their land growing summer crops and their artificially irrigated land and their eastern lands and their highlands. May He grant them the safety of their persons and their houses, the houses of ḏ-Ġymn, and their tribe Ġymn and may He grant them soundness of faculties and resources and may He deliver them from the maleficence, malice and slander of any enemy, the one they are aware of and the one they are not aware of, and from any evil and mischief"

 '"Yṯʿm, qyl of the tribe Bklm of Mrymtm... dedicated to Ḥwkm and to the gods of the temple Sbʿn the bronze statue from a tithe they paid to Ḥwkm in the land of Ḥaḍramwt ... And they entrusted to Ḥwkm their statue against everyone who may damage or may move (it) from its place."

Carthage
Justin (second century) wrote: "At this time Cartalo, the son of Malchus the exiled general, returning by his father’s camp from Tyre (whither he had been sent by the Carthaginians, to carry the tenth of the plunder of Sicily, which his father had taken, to Hercules), and being desired by his father to wait on him, replied that “he would discharge his religious duties to the public, before those of merely private obligation.”

Tertullian (early Christian author from Carthage,155–220 CE) wrote: "And such pieces only you vouchsafe your gods, which you bestow upon your dogs and slaves. Instead of offering Hercules the tenth of your goods, you hardly lay one third of it upon his altar; not that I blame you for this, for believe me, I take it for a great instance of your wisdom, to save some of that which otherwise would be all lost." "The Salii cannot sup without the advance of a loan, and upon the feast of tithes to Hercules the entertainment is so very costly that you are forced to have a bookkeeper on purpose for expenses."

8th - 4th century BCE
Lycurgus (8th BCE) wrote: "I will not hold life dearer than freedom nor will I abandon my leaders whether they are alive or dead. I will bury all allies killed in the battle. If I conquer the barbarians in war I will not destroy any of the cities which have fought for Greece but I will consecrate a tenth of all those which sided with the barbarian. I will not rebuild a single one of the shrines which the barbarians have burnt and razed but will allow them to remain for future generations as a memorial of the barbarians' impiety.”

Herodotus (484–425 BCE) wrote: " Have men of your guard watch all the gates; let them take the spoil from those who are carrying it out, and say that it must be paid as a tithe to Zeus. " "In truth there is no need to ascribe to her very great riches, considering that the tithe of her wealth may still be seen even to this time by any one who desires it: For Rhodopis desired to leave a memorial of herself in Greece, by having something made which no one else had contrived and dedicated in a temple and presenting this at Delphi to preserve her memory; so she spent the tenth part of her substance on the making of a great number of iron ox-spits, as many as the tithe would pay for, and sent them to Delphi;" "The tenth part of the ransom also they dedicated for an offering, and made of it a four-horse chariot of bronze, which stands on the left hand as you enter the Propylaia in the Acropolis, and on it is the following inscription: "Athens’ bold Sons, what time in glorious Fight They quelled Boeotian and Chalcidian Might, In Chains and Darkness did its Pride enslave; As Ransom’s Tithe these Steeds to Pallas gave." "that the Phocians made themselves masters of four thousand dead, and their shields, whereof they dedicated half at Abae and the rest at Delphi; a tithe of what they won in that fight went to the making of the great statues that stand round the tripod before the shrine at Delphi, and there are others like them dedicated at Abae."  ''"Then having brought the things together, and having set apart a tithe for the god of Delphi, with which the offering was dedicated of the golden tripod which rests upon the three-headed serpent of bronze and stands close by the altar, and also for the god at Olympia, with which they dedicated the offering of a bronze statue of Zeus ten cubits high, and finally for the god at the Isthmus, with which was made a bronze statue of Poseidon seven cubits high,—having set apart these things, they divided the rest, and each took that which they ought to have, including the concubines of the Persians and the gold and the silver and the other things, and also the beasts of burden. " "And the people of Siphnos were then at their greatest height of prosperity and possessed wealth more than all the other islanders, since they had in their island mines of gold and silver, so that there is a treasury dedicated at Delphi with the tithe of the money which came in from these mines, and furnished in a manner equal to the wealthiest of these treasuries: and the people used to divide among themselves the money which came in from the mines every year." "And the Samians set apart six talents, the tenth part of their gains, and had a bronze vessel made like an Argolic mixing-bowl with round it heads of griffins projecting in a row; and this they dedicated as an offering in the temple of Hera, setting as supports under it three colossal statues of bronze seven cubits in height, resting upon their knees."''

Aristophanes (446-386 BCE) wrote: "These are my own special tricks. I will denounce you to the Prytanes as the owner of sacred tripe, that has not paid tithe."

Lysias (445-380 BCE) wrote: "And I escaped to Catana, I used that town as a base for depredations by which I harried the enemy, so that from the spoil more than thirty minae were apportioned as the tithe for the goddess and enough to deliver all the soldiers who were in the hands of the enemy."

Andocides (440-390 BCE) wrote: "If anyone shall suppress the democracy at Athens or hold public office after its suppression, he shall become a public enemy and be slain with impunity; his goods shall be confiscated and a tithe given to the Goddess."

3rd - 1st century BCE
Diodorus Siculus (1st century BCE– DOD unknown) wrote: "And as a tenth part of the booty won from the Boeotians they dedicated a bronze chariot on the Acropolis, inscribing upon it the following elegiac lines: Having conquered the tribes of Boeotia and those of Chalcis Midst the labours of war, sons of Athenians quenched Insolence high in dark bonds of iron; and taking the ransom's Tithe set up here these mares, vowed unto Pallas their god." ''"Now Heracles received with favour the good-will shown him by the dwellers on the Palatine and foretold to them that, after he had passed into the circle of the gods, it would come to pass that whatever men should make a vow to dedicate to Heracles a tithe of their goods would lead a more happy and prosperous life. And in fact this custom did arise in later times and has persisted to our own day...for many Romans, and not only those of moderate fortunes but some even of great wealth, who have taken a vow to dedicate a tenth to Heracles and have thereafter become happy and prosperous, have presented him with a tenth of their possessions, which came to four thousand talents. Lucullus, for instance, who was perhaps the wealthiest Roman of his day, had his estate appraised and then offered a full tenth of it to the god, thus providing continuous feastings and expensive ones withal. Furthermore, the Romans have built to this god a notable temple on the bank of the Tiber, with the purpose of performing in it the sacrifices from the proceeds of the tithe." "But the Greeks who were meeting in congress at the Isthmus voted to make the Greeks who voluntarily chose the cause of the Persians pay a tithe to the gods, when they should be successful in the war, and to send ambassadors to those Greeks who were neutral to urge them to join in the struggle for the common freedom." "After effecting this organization they defeated the Tyrrhenians in many sea-fights, and from their booty they often made notable dedications of a tenth part, which they sent to Delphi."''

Dionysius of Halicarnassus (60-7 BCE) wrote: "These people attained to a greater degree of prosperity than any others who dwelt on the Ionian Gulf; for they had the mastery at sea for a long time, and out of their revenues from the sea they used to send tithes to the god at Delphi, which were among the most magnificent sent by any people." "Says he himself saw engraved in ancient characters upon one of the tripods standing in the precinct of Zeus, was as follows: "Fare forth the Sicels' Saturnian land to seek, Aborigines' Cotylê, too, where floats an isle; With these men mingling, to Phoebus send a tithe, And heads to Cronus' son, and send to the sire a man." ''"The Pelasgians, after conquering a large and fertile region, taking over many towns and building others, made great and rapid progress, becoming populous, rich and in every way prosperous. Nevertheless, they did not long enjoy their prosperity, but at the moment when they seemed to all the world to be in the most flourishing condition they were visited by divine wrath, and some of them were destroyed by calamities inflicted by the hand of Heaven, others by their barbarian neighbours; but the greatest part of them were again dispersed through Greece and the country of the barbarians (concerning whom, if I attempted to give a particular account, it would make a very long story), though some few of them remained in Italy through the care of the Aborigines. The first cause of the desolation of their cities seemed to be a drought which laid waste the land, when neither any fruit remained on the trees till it was ripe, but dropped while still green, nor did such of the seed corn as sent up shoots and flowered stand for the usual period till the ear was ripe, nor did sufficient grass grow for the cattle; and of the waters some were no longer fit to drink, others shrank during the summer, and others were totally dried up. And like misfortunes attended the offspring both of cattle and of women. For they were either abortive or died at birth, some by their death destroying also those that bore them; and if any got safely past the danger of the delivery, they were either maimed or defective or, being injured by some other accident, were not fit to be reared. The rest of the people, also, particularly those in the prime of life, were afflicted with many unusual diseases and uncommon deaths. But when they asked the oracle what god or divinity they had offended to be thus afflicted and by what means they might hope for relief, the god replied that, although they had obtained what they desired, they had neglected to pay what they had promised, and that the things of greatest value were still due from them. For the Pelasgians in a time of general scarcity in the land had vowed to offer to Jupiter, Apollo and the Cabeiri tithes of all their future increase; but when their prayer had been answered, they set apart and offered to the gods the promised portion of all their fruits and cattle only, as if their vow had related to them alone...When they heard the oracle which was brought to them, they were at a loss to guess the meaning of the message. While they were in this perplexity, one of the elders, conjecturing the sense of the saying, told them they had quite missed its meaning it they thought the gods complained of them without reason. Of material things they had indeed rendered to the gods all the first-fruits in the right and proper manner, but of human offspring, a thing of all others the most precious in the sight of the gods, the promised portion still remained due; if, however, the gods received their just share of this also, the oracle would be satisfied. There were, indeed, some who thought that he spoke aright, but others felt that there was treachery behind his words. And when some one proposed to ask the god whether it was acceptable to him to receive tithes of human beings, they sent their messengers a second time, and the god ordered them so to do. Thereupon strife arose among them concerning the manner of choosing the tithes, and those who had the government of the cities first quarrelled among themselves and afterwards the rest of the people held their magistrates in suspicion. And there began to be disorderly emigrations, such as might well be expected from a people driven forth by a frenzy and madness inflicted by the hand of Heaven."  "And Hercules, admiring the hospitality of these men, entertained the common people with a feast, after sacrificing some of the cattle and setting apart the tithes of the rest of his booty... The altar on which Hercules offered up the tithes is called by the Romans the Greatest Altar. It stands near the place they call the Cattle Market and no other is held in greater veneration by the inhabitants; for upon this altar oaths are taken and agreements made by those who wish to transact any business unalterably and the tithes of things are frequently offered there pursuant to vows." "After Hercules had settled everything in Italy according to his desire and his naval force had arrived in safety from Spain, he sacrificed to the gods the tithes of his booty and built a small town named after himself in the place where his fleet lay at anchor."  Tarquinius, being now master of the city, put to death all he found in arms and permitted the soldiers to carry off the women and children and such others as allowed themselves to be made prisoners, together with a multitude of slaves not easy to be numbered; and he also gave them leave to carry away all the plunder of the city that they found both inside the walls and in the country. As to the silver and gold that was found there, he ordered it all to be brought to one place, and having reserved a tenth part of it to build a temple, he distributed the rest among the soldiers. The quantity of silver and gold taken upon this occasion was so considerable that every one of the soldiers received for his share five minae of silver, and the tenth part reserved for the gods amounted to no less than four hundred talents." "For the elder Tarquinius, while he was engaged in an action during his last war with the Sabines, had made a vow to build temples to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva if he should gain the victory… Tarquinius, therefore, proposing to erect this structure with the tenth part of the spoils taken at Suessa, set all the artisans at the work." "And having set apart the tithes of the spoils, he spent forty talents in performing games and sacrifices to the gods, and let contracts for the building of temples to Ceres, Liber and Libera, in fulfilment of a vow he had made."''

Latin dedication (150-140 BCE): "Marcus Vertuleius and Publius Vertuleius, sons of Gaius. In payment of the vow which their father, disheartened, dishevelled, despairing in his smitten fortunes, vowed here, his children bestow willingly and most deservedly a gift upon Hercules, having set aside a tithe and having offered it at a sacred banquet. At the same time they pray that you may often doom them to fulfilment of vow." "O Hallowed one! O Conqueror, Lucius Munius fulfilled a vision that he saw in his mind, that by good old custom he should make thee this gift out of tithe in return for interest on money, asking thee by thy grace to make it easy for him to exact and pay debts. Make him afford thee a tithe in true account, and in token of this and other gifts grant worthy blessings to a deserving man." "To Hercules from Gaius Antestius, censor, son of Gnaeus, a second gift after dedicating a tithe." ''"This has been bestowed with pleasure by Lucius Aufidius, son of Decimus... as a further gift deservedly on Hercules, after dedicating a tithe...he begs thee. Thou art a holy god who thy...seeks thy goodwill...Render help!"''

1st - 2rd century CE
Plutarch (46-after 119 CE) wrote: "But the greatest and most apparent cause of their dislike against him arose from the tenths of the spoil; the multitude having here, if not a just, yet a plausible case against him.  For it seems, as he went to the siege of Veii, he had vowed to Apollo that if he took the city he would dedicate to him the tenth of the spoil." ''"The Senate decreed, not that the plunder should be given up, for that would have been scarcely possible to carry out, but that those who had taken any should be put on their oath, and contribute a tenth part of its value. This measure bore very hardly upon the soldiers, poor hard-working men, who were now compelled to repay so large a proportion of what they had earned and spent. Camillus was clamorously assailed by them, and, having no better excuse to put forward, made the extraordinary statement that he had forgotten his vow when the city was plundered. The people angrily said that he had vowed to offer up a tithe of the enemy's property, but that he really was taking a tithe from the citizens instead. However, all the contributions were made, and it was determined that with them a golden bowl should be made and sent to Apollo at Delphi." "Why was it the custom for many of the wealthy to give a tithe of their property to Hercules? Is it because he also sacrificed a tithe of Geryon's cattle in Rome? Or because he freed the Romans from paying a tithe to the Etruscans? Or have these tales no historical foundation worthy of credence, but the Romans were wont to sacrifice lavishly and abundantly to Hercules as to an insatiable eater and a good trencher-man?" "Caused himself to be carried to Delphi. Here the Pythian games were being celebrated, and Agesilaus not only took part in the procession in honour of the god, but also dedicated to him the tithe of the spoils of his Asiatic campaign, which amounted to one hundred talents." "Sulla made an offering of the tenth part of his substance to Hercules, and feasted the people magnificently: so much greater indeed was the preparation than what was required, that a great quantity of provisions was daily thrown into the river, and wine was drunk forty years old, and even older." "They allege, as the chief proof of his avarice, the mode in which he got his money and the amount of his property. Though he did not at first possess above three hundred talents, and during his first consulship he dedicated the tenth part of his property to Hercules" "But when we came into the treasury of the Acanthians and Brasidas, the director showed us the place where formerly stood the obelisks dedicated to the memory of the courtesan Rhodopis. Then Diogenianus in a kind of passion said:  It was no less ignominy for this city to allow Rhodopis a place wherein to deposit the tenth of her gains got by the prostitution of her body,  than to put Aesop her fellow-servant to death." "Archeptolemus son of Hippodamus, the Agrylian, and Antiphon son of Sophilus, the Ramnusian, being both present in court, are condemned of treason. And this was to be their punishment: that they should be delivered to the eleven executioners, their goods confiscated, the tenth part of them being first consecrated to Minerva; their houses to be levelled with the ground, and in the places where they stood this subscription to be engraven on brass, '[The houses] of Archeptolemus and Antiphon, traitors." "Yet, though you see the God surrounded with the first-fruits and tenths of murders, wars, and plunder, and all full of spoils and pillage taken from the Greeks, these things never move your indignation; you never commiserate your countrymen, when you read engraved upon these gaudy donatives such doleful inscriptions as these, — Brasidas and the Acanthians dedicate these spoils taken from Athenians…"''

Pausanias (110–180 CE) wrote: "There is first a bronze Athena, tithe from the Persians who landed at Marathon. It is the work of Pheidias, but the reliefs upon the shield, including the fight between Centaurs and Lapithae, are said to be from the chisel of Mys, for whom they say Parrhasius the son of Evenor, designed this and the rest of his works. The point of the spear of this Athena and the crest of her helmet are visible to those sailing to Athens, as soon as Sunium is passed. Then there is a bronze chariot, tithe from the Boeotians and the Chalcidians in Euboea." "He reported the matter to the Corcyraeans, who, finding their labour lost in trying to catch the tunnies, sent envoys to Delphi. So they sacrificed the bull to Poseidon, and straightway after the sacrifice they caught the fish, and dedicated their offerings at Olympia and at Delphi with a tithe of their catch." ''"On the base below the wooden horse is an inscription which says that the statues were dedicated from a tithe of the spoils taken in the engagement at Marathon. They represent Athena, Apollo, and Miltiades, one of the generals. Of those called heroes there are Erechtheus, Cecrops, Pandion, Leos, Antiochus, son of Heracles by Meda, daughter of Phylas, as well as Aegeus and Acamas, one of the sons of Theseus. These heroes gave names, in obedience to a Delphic oracle,to tribes at Athens.Codrus however, the son of Melanthus,Theseus, and Neleus, these are not givers of names to tribes.The statues enumerated were made by Pheidias, and really are a tithe of the spoils of the battle." "The Siphnians too made a treasury, the reason being as follows. Their island contained gold mines, and the god ordered them to pay a tithe of the revenues to Delphi. So they built the treasury, and continued to pay the tithe until greed made them omit the tribute, when the sea flooded their mines and hid them from sight." "The Tarentines sent yet another tithe to Delphi from spoils taken from the Peucetii, a non-Greek people." "The Apollonians, after taking the land of Abantis, set up here. These images with heaven's help, tithe from Thronium." "The Cleitorians dedicated this image to the god, a tithe. From many cities that they had reduced by force. The sculptors were Aristo and Telestas, Own brothers and Laconians." "As you go from the Council Chamber to the great temple there stands on the left an image of Zeus, crowned as it were with flowers, and with a thunderbolt set in his right hand. It is the work of Ascarus of Thebes, a pupil of Canachus of Sicyon. The inscription on it says that it is a tithe from the war between Phocis and Thessaly." "The temple has a golden shield; from Tanagra. The Lacedaemonians and their allies dedicated it, A gift taken from the Argives, Athenians and Ionians,The tithe offered for victory in war." "The things worth seeing in Amyclae include a victor in the pentathlon, named Aenetus, on a slab. The story is that he won a victory at Olympia, but died while the crown was being placed on his head. So there is the statue of this man; there are also bronze tripods. The older ones are said to be a tithe of the Messenian war." "The Eleans call it the Corcyrean, because, they say, the Corcyreans landed in their country and carried off part of the booty, but they themselves took many times as much booty from the land of the Corcyreans, and built the portico from the tithe of the spoils." "The ancient temple of Apollo was of brick, but the emperor Hadrian afterwards built it of white marble. The Apollo called Pythian and the one called Decatephorus (Bringer of Tithes) are very like the Egyptian wooden images."''

3rd - 10th century
Eusebius (260/265-339 CE) wrote: "Now he too writes that Zeus and Apollo once demanded human sacrifices, but those of whom they were demanded offered to the gods their portion of all crops and cattle, but were beset by all kinds of misfortune, because they did not also sacrifice men.... For when a general dearth had fallen upon their land, the Pelasgi made a vow to Zeus and to Apollo and to the Cabeiri that they would offer in sacrifice tithes of all future produce: but when their prayer was fulfilled, they chose out the portion of all crops and cattle, and offered these in sacrifice to the gods, as though they had vowed these only." ''"And so great was the shamelessness and audacity of the high priests that they dared to send their servants to the threshing-floors to seize the tithes due to the priests; and thus those of the priests that were poor were seen to be perishing of want. In this way did the violence of the factions prevail over all justice."''

Diogenes Laertius (fl. 3rd century CE) wrote: "Every citizen pays a tithe of his property, not to me but to a fund for defraying the cost of the public sacrifices or any other charges on the State or the expenditure on any war which may come upon us."

Athenaeus (3 rd century CE) wrote:  "For sitting in the market they do think it A trifling thing to tithe our properties; But would take all at one fell swoop away." "The Lyttians pool their goods for the common mess in this way: every man contributes a tithe of his crops to his club, as well as the income from the state which the magistrates of the city divide among the households of all the citizens. But all slaves pay one Aiginetan stater per caput." ''"Diphilus, too, describes with some eloquence the very high price at which fish are sold; he says, in The Merchant: "I don't remember ever seeing fish dearer. Great Poseidon! If thou didst day by day receive a tithe of their cost, thou wouldst be richest of the gods by far!"''

Lactantius (260-317 CE) wrote: "At Lindus, which is a town of Rhodes, there are sacred rites in honour of Hercules, the observance of which differs widely from all other rites; for they are not celebrated with words of good omen (as the Greeks term it), but with revilings and cursing. And they consider it a violation of the sacred rites, if at any tithe during the celebration of the solemnities a good word shall have escaped from any one even inadvertently."

Eugippius (460-circa 535) wrote: ''"Likewise the citizens of the town of Lauriacum, in spite of many warning exhortations from Saint Severinus, had delayed offering to the poor the tithes of their crops. They were pinched with hunger, and the yellow of the ripening harvest showed that relief was at hand. But when a destructive rust unexpectedly appeared, and was on the point of damaging the crops, they immediately came and cast themselves down before Saint Severinus, and acknowledged the punishment of their stubbornness. But the soldier of Christ comforted the feeble ones with spiritual words, saying, "Had ye offered tithes for the poor, not only would ye enjoy an everlasting reward, but ye would also be able to abound in present comforts. But since ye rebuke your sin by your own confession, I promise you, by the goodness of the Lord, that this mighty rust shall cause no damage whatever; only let not your faith waver any more." This promise rendered the citizens from that time on more ready to pay the tithes. Then, as was his wont, he urged that a fast be proclaimed. When this had ended, a gentle rain relieved from danger the harvest of which they had despaired." "How he ministered unto the poor with anxious care; or, That the Norici also were wont to send tithes to him for distribution; and that when these were brought to him according to custom, he foretold that danger threatened those who had delayed to send." "When they saw his pious largess to the poor, great numbers, although they were straitened with hunger under the harsh sway of the barbarians, faithfully gave the poor the tithes of their crops. Though this commandment is familiar to all from the law, yet these observed it with grateful devotion, as though they were hearing it given by the lips of an angel present among them."''

Suda Encyclopedia (10th century) wrote: "A Lydian; [a man] who carried out many fine deeds and [sc. especially], when relieving Meles of his tyrannical rule, ordered the Lydians to return a tenth, in accordance with what he had vowed, to the gods. They obeyed and, counting up their possessions, chose a tenth of everything and sacrificed it. As a result of this a great drought seized Lydia." "And [there is] a proverb: "even spasms get you a tax-break" [It arose] because Pisistratus the tyrant required the Athenians to give him a tithe of their farm-produce. Passing by once and seeing an old man working the rocks and rocky fields he asked the old man what produce he got from his place. He answered, "Pains and spasms, and Pisistratus takes a tenth of them." Pisistratus, amazed at his free-speaking, gave him a remission of the tithe. And since then the Athenians use the proverb." "Mnaseas recounts that when the Aigians of Achaea conquered the Aetolians in a sea-battle and captured a fifty-oared ship of theirs, they dedicated a tenth of the spoils at Pytho." "The Gephyraeans on whom the Athenians had imposed a tithe for Delphi." ''"Ἡ Συρακουσῶν δεκάτη: the Syracusans' tithe: [sc. A proverbial phrase] in reference to the extremely rich." "As Agaklytos under the 80th Olympiad [460 BCE] says as follows: "the old temple of Hera, a dedication by the people of Skillous, who are of the Eleians. And in it there is a golden colossus, a dedication by Kypselos the Corinthian; for they say that Kypselos vowed that if he should become tyrant of the Corinthians he would make all their property sacred up to the tenth year, and that he called in the tithes of their properties and prepared the sculpted colossus." "Siphnians: These men were the richest, not only of the islanders but also of the most affluent mainlainders. So while they were paying the tithe to Delphi in an orderly fashion and obeying the oracle which had stipulated this, the products of their wealth, after the discovery of the silver mines, gave them a contribution. But when they discontinued the payment of the first-fruits, the sea rose up and flooded and obliterated the basis of their wealth, and they were reduced to the poverty of [sc. other!] islanders and terrible destitution."''

Mesopotamia
The esretu – "ešretū" the Ugarit and Babylonian one-tenth tax. Listed below are some specific instances of the Mesopotamian tithe.
 * [Referring to a ten percent tax levied on garments by the local ruler:]
 * "the palace has taken eight garments as your tithe (on 85 garments)"
 * "...eleven garments as tithe (on 112 garments)"..
 * "...(the sun-god) Shamash demands the tithe..."
 * "four minas of silver, the tithe of [the gods] Bel, Nabu, and Nergal..."
 * "...he has paid, in addition to the tithe for Ninurta, the tax of the gardiner"
 * "...the tithe of the chief accountant, he has delivered it to [the sun-god] Shamash"
 * "...why do you not pay the tithe to the Lady-of-Uruk?"
 * "...(a man) owes barley and dates as balance of the tithe of the **years three and four"
 * "...the tithe of the king on barley of the town..."
 * "...with regard to the elders of the city whom (the king) has **summoned to (pay) tithe..."
 * "...the collector of the tithe of the country Sumundar..."
 * "...(the official Ebabbar in Sippar) who is in charge of the tithe..."