ISic001132: Dedication to Aphrodite by the city magistrates

I.Sicily with the permission of the Assessorato Regionale dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana - Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana; photo J. Prag 2018-07-10
ID
ISic001132
Language
Ancient Greek
Text type
dedication
Object type
block
Status
No data
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Apparatus criticus

  • Text from autopsy;
  • 1: Mauceri: Λυσ[ανιου]
  • 2: Fiorelli: ΝΥΜ[-; Mauceri: Νυμφ[οδώρου]
  • 3: Fiorelli: ΑΓΟΡΑΝΟΜΗΖΑΝ
  • 5: Fiorelli: .Τ.ΟΥ.; Mauceri: ΕΧΤΟΥC CZ...; Brugnone: ἐκ τοῦ δήμου; Bechtel (SGDI): [ἐκ] τοῦ δήμου Kaibel omits the line without comment.
  • 6: Fiorelli: [Γ]ΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΥΣ; Mauceri: [ΓΡ]ΑΜΜΑΤΕΥΣ; Kaibel, Bechtel: Γ[Ρ]ΑΜΜΑΤΕΥΣ
  • 7: Fiorelli, Mauceri, Kaibel: ΑΠΟ[Λ]ΛΟΔΩΡΟΣ

Physical description

Support

Description
A large square block of a compact grey stone. Intact on all sides, but cut away in concave shape at the top and the top of the first line is lost. The upper surface is pecked nd has a single small rectangular hole in the centre. The Sides are well but roughly finished. The front is lightly pecked with a chisel. The upper right corner is lost from the front face, as is a small part of the lower left face. The fifth line has been chiselled away, probably in antiquity. Some traces of plaster/mortar can be seen on the front, and also traces of red pigment in some of the letters (noted already by Mauceri 1877).
Object type
block
Material
limestone
Condition
damaged
Dimensions
height: 31 cm, width: 64 cm, depth: 49.7 cm

Inscription

Layout
The text is approximately centred, but with a notable bias to the left; only the final line fills the entire width of the face. The spacing between lines is somewhat irregular.
Text condition
deteriorated
Lettering

Letter heights
Line 1: incompletemm
Line 2: 21-35mm
Line 3: 21-32mm
Line 4: 21-45mm
Line 5: 21-28mm
Line 6: 23-28mm
Line 7: 17-35mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: 20mm
Interlineation line 2 to 3: 10-18mm
Interlineation line 3 to 4: 12-22mm
Interlineation line 4 to 5: 12-24mm
Interlineation line 5 to 6: 20mm
Interlineation line 6 to 7: 5-10mm

Provenance

Place of origin
Thermae Himeraeae
Provenance found
Found in excavations for the construction of a house in the level area between the cathedral and the castle on 4 September 1877 together with fragments of marble and columns
Map

Current location

Place
Termini Imerese, Italy
Repository
Museo Civico Baldassare Romano , 139
Autopsy
Prag 2018-07-10, on display in the Museo Civico
Map

Date

mid-third to mid-second century BCE on the basis of the lettering. (275 BC – 150 BC)
Evidence
lettering

Text type

dedication

commentary

The gap at the end of line 1 can accommodate an absolute maximum of 6 characters after the sigma; Mauceri's suggestion of Lysanias is occasionally attested in Sicily, but is far from the only possibility. The gap at the end of line 2 cannot accommodate more than 4 characters, and so Mauceri's suggestion of Nymphodoros cannot stand; Kaibel and Brugnone's suggestion of Nymphon, while not the only possibility is certainly the most likely, as being the only other form in 'Nymph-' regularly attested on the island (following LGPN). The fifth line appears to have been deliberately erased, but is mostly legible. Brugnone dates the inscription narrowly to the first quarter of the third century BCE, but it is difficult to see on what basis - palaeography alone certainly does not allow of such a narrow date (and would suggest a slightly later date, c.250-150?). Perhaps the assumption was that such a dedication should pre-date the Punic wars and the Roman conquest? A later date seems much more likely.

Bibliography

Digital editions
Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
10/3/2024