ISic000828: I.Sicily inscription 000828

Apparatus criticus

Text after Kaibel and IGPalermo;
1: Castelli 1762: ΣΙΟΣ
2: Castelli 1762: ΟΓΕΝΕ
3: Castelli 1762: ΡΙΣΤΩΝ
4: Castelli 1762: ΜΜΩΝΙΟ
5: Castelli 1762: ΡΙΔΑΣ ΣΤΡΟΒΙΛ
9: Castelli 1762: ΙΡΟΣ ΣΩΣΙΠΟ
10: Castelli 1762: ΟΝΤΟΝ
11: Castelli 1762: ΤΟΥ ΝΥΜΦΟΔ
14: Castelli 1762: ΥΜΦΙ

Physical description

Support

Description: Two joining fragments of a marble plaque (subsequently glued together), broken on all sides.
Object type: plaque
Material: marble
Object condition: fragments, contiguous
Dimensions: height: 15.5 cm, width: 18.5 cm, depth: 4 cm

Inscription

Layout: The text is laid out to present names in columns, separated off horizontally into separate sections for different magistrates or priests. There is a use of vacats both horizontally, between sections, and vertically seemingly separating names from patronyms.
Text condition: incomplete
Technique: chiselled
Pigment: No data
Lettering: Very neat, regular small letters of fairly square module. Omicon and omega of more or less equal size to other letters. Alpha with straight bar; epsilon with short middle bar; Omega circular and open. Pronounced terminal serifs visible on some letters, e.g. epsilon and tau.
Letter heights: Line 1-12: 5mm
Interlinear heights: Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin: Syracusae
Provenance found: First recorded in Torremuzza 1762, and there said to have been found in Siracusa; the doubts expressed by Manni Piraino seem misplaced.

Current location

Place: Palermo, Sicilia
Repository: Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonino Salinas , 8734
Autopsy: None
Map

Date

2nd century BCE (200 BC - 101 BC)

Evidence: lettering

Text type

list of magistrates

commentary

Manni Piraino suggested that provenance was uncertain, but only on the grounds that Castelli (Principe di Torremuzza) 1784 merely records its current location as Palermo (which was true at the time); this is not however in contradiction with the statement in Castelli 1762 that it was found in Siracusa and by 1762 in the collection of the Jesuits at Palermo, and there seems no reason to doubt the original attribution. Although both Torremuzza and Kaibel essentially agree on the letters that they read, neither presents an apograph that is exactly faithful to the layout on the stone (Kaibel exaggerates horizontal spacing between names; Torremuzza omits the blank lines). There seems to be little basis for Kaibel's speculation that more of the stone survived in Torremuzza's day, since he clearly could see no more letters than Kaibel. Lines 1-5 appear to be patronyms in the genitive, preceded by personal names, separated by a short vacat. Line 6 is likely to be ἐπὶ τῶν ἱερῶν, as Kaibel noted, followed by at least one name + patronym, again separated by a space, and perhaps a second, but with a line's vacat in between. -]οντων in line 10 will be another priesthood or magistracy, followed by at least two more names, with another name separated by a line's vacat before the fragment runs out. We therefore seem to have a series of colleges of priests or magistrates.

Bibliography

Digital editions

Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor

Jonathan Prag

Principal contributor