ISic003174: Fragment of a Greek inscription

Apparatus criticus

Text based on Cultrera's drawing;
1: Cultrera: [--- φυ]λ̣άρχων; Manganaro: [ἐπὶ γυμνασ]ιάρχων
2: Cultrera, Manganaro: [---τοῦ]
4: Manganaro: [οἱ ἀλειφόμε]νο[ι]

Physical description

Support

Description: Fragment of a marble plaque, intact on the right, broken on the other three sides.
Object type: plaque
Object condition: fragment
Dimensions: height: 10 cm, width: 11 cm, depth: 3 cm

Material

Description: marble

Inscription

Layout: Traces of four lines, showing signs of compression to the right margin on line 3
Text condition: incomplete
Technique: chiselled
Pigment: No data
Lettering: From the drawing, appear deeply cut letters without marked serifs, of a slightly irregular module. Alpha with straight bar; M with vertical outer strokes and all full length; omicron nearly full size; omega closed and rhomboid. Line 1 appears to be clearly bigger than lines 2-4. (measurements taken from the drawing)
Letter heights: Line 1: 20mm; Line 2-4: 12-15mm
Interlinear heights: Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin: Syracusae
Provenance found: From among the sporadic finds in the clearing of modern structures from the area of the Apollonion in Ortygia, undertaken between 1938 and 1948.

Current location

Neither Manganaro, nor the I.Sicily project have so far been able to locate the fragment in the museum stores, and so the only direct evidence is the drawing of Cultrera

Date

Later 2nd or 1st century BCE (150 BC - 1 BC)

Evidence: lettering

Text type

list

commentary

Robert observed in BE 1953.281 that Cultrera's proposal in line 1 of [φυ]λάρχων 'ne semble reposer sur rien', given that the visible trace before the alpha 'peut etre autre chose qu'un lambda'. Manganaro therefore read iota rather than lambda, and in turn proposed a typically ambitious reading, of [ἐπὶ γυμνασ]ιάρχων in line 1, and very speculatively [οἱ ἀλειφόμε]νο[ι] in line 4 (where the addition of a sigma or an upsilon in the missing letter space at the end would simply make this e.g. another personal name). While Robert is formally correct, Cultrera was specific in his report (col.810) and apograph that the visible stroke was an oblique one, and if he was correct, then the letter can only really be lambda or alpha, and only lambda makes sense in context, and that in turn leaves very few options other than φυλάρχων. Without the ability to control the stone, agnosticism seems preferable, and it seems impossible to be certain on more than the fact that an office of some description was referenced in line 1, followed by at least two personal names, of which the patronyms appear to be preserved. Assuming that the offices were given in the genitive, then it is not possible to be sure whether the definite article was in fact used for the patronym, or whether the -]του in line 3 is simply the end of the preceding name.

Bibliography

Digital editions

TM: 645504
EDR: -
EDH: -
EDCS: -
PHI: 329710
PHI: 336189

Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor

Jonathan Prag

Principal contributor