ISic001288: Epitaph of husband and wife

I.Sicily with the permission of the Assessorato Regionale dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana - Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana
ID
ISic001288
Language
Ancient Greek
Text type
funerary
Object type
plaque
Status
No data
Links
View in current site

Edition

Loading...

Apparatus criticus

  • Text based on photographs;
  • Franz joined frA and frB;
  • lines.1-2: Franz: [Αὐρήλ]ιος Φιλ[ώ|τ]ας; Kaibel: ---ιος Φιλο--- | ---ας; Korhonen ---ιος Φιλο---ζ · ας
  • line.3: Franz, Korhonen: Κλωδία ἡ; Kaibel: Κλωδια[ν]ὴ
  • line.8: Franz: κοιτῶνα[ς]; Kaibel, Korhonen: κοιτῶνα
  • lines.8-9: Franz: ἑαυτο[ῖς καὶ τοῖ]|ς; Kaibel: ἑαυτο[ῖς καὶ | τοῖ]ς; Korhonen: ἑαυτοῆ[ς καὶ | τοῖς]
  • line.9: Franz: κληρονόμοι[ς ἡμῶν]; Kaibel, Korhonen: κληρονόμοι[ς, καὶ]
  • line.10: Amico: ΡΑΝΓΕΛΛΟΜΕΝ; Torremuzza: ΡΑΝΤΕΛΛΟΜΕΝ; Kaibel: [πα]ρανγέλλομεν; Korhonen: [εἰ]σανγέλλομεν
  • line.11: Kaibel: ἐνθάδε; Korhonen: φθάσῃ(?) ἐνθάδε
  • line.12: Amico, Torremuzza: ΕΟΝΙ; Korhonen Ε ΟΝ . .

Physical description

Support

Description
Three joining fragments of marble plaque, damaged in the upper left corner and below, set separately in plaster in modern times. Fr.A1 and fr.A2 were joined at the time of Amico and Torremuzza.
Object type
plaque
Material
marble
Condition
No data
Dimensions

Inscription

Layout
No data
Text condition
No data
Lettering

Letter heights
Lines 1-12: 13-22mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: not recordedmm

Provenance

Place of origin
Catina
Provenance found
No data

Current location

Place
Catania, Italy
Repository
Museo Civico di Catania ,
Autopsy
No data
Map

Date

3rd century CE or beginning 4th century CE (Korhonen) (AD 201 – AD 350)
Evidence
No data

Text type

funerary

commentary

This funerary inscription consists of three fragments, the first two still joined at the time of Amico and Torremuzza. Franz was the first to understand that the fragments belonged to the same inscription. The name of the first deceased is not preserved: Φιλῶ[τας of Franz is to be rejected due to the Ο at l. 1 (Φιλότας is attested only in the Hellenistic Epirus), although an exchange of spellings between ο and ω can be also taken into consideration since there is another case of spelling inaccuracy in this inscription (cf. ἑαυτοῆ[ς] for ἑαυτοῖς at l. 8). Korhonen suggests Φιλοδᾶς, which is attested in Boeotia in 5th-6th cent. CΕ. There was probably an ivy leaf between the nomen and the cognomen of the deceased not only at l. 1 but also at l. 3, as testified by Amico’s drawing, which reproduces a leaf between Αὐρηλία and Κλωδία.

Husband and wife used verbs in the first person plural to describe the construction of the tomb, which is quite unusual in ancient funerary inscriptions (Korhonen 2004: 77-78). Peculiar vocabularies to indicate a land not occupied by other corpses and the tomb are χῶραν καθαράν and κοιτῶνα at ll. 5-6 and at l. 8 respectively, whereas the verb θεμελιόω is more frequent in inscriptions to indicate the laying of foundations (cf. IGLSyr 13,1 no. 9126). The mention of the heirs’ right to be buried in the tomb, though less frequent than that of their responsibility in the construction and preservation of it, is well attested (see e.g. IGUR II no. 1058, IGUR II no. 936, for the exclusion of heirs, see e.g. Blaundos 340,33A, 341,33B).

The last part of the inscription could have included curses against tomb violators, frequent in Christian funerary inscriptions (even if it is not possible to identify the religious background of this inscription). Korhonen interprets φθάσῃ at l. 11 in the meaning of “arrive somewhere” and translates “annunciamo che se qualcuno arriva in questo luogo”, but it is also possible to assume a participle linked to the verb in the lacuna and the adverbial meaning of the verb, “previously”.

Bibliography

Digital editions
Printed editions
Discussion

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
11/15/2021