Dedication by Lysanias and others and captions

Bibliography

Ghislanzoni, 1927 Ghislanzoni, E., 1927, Rilievo policromo di Bengasi, Africa italiana1, 101-115, and 249 - see in bibliography , with addendum p. 249 and Ferri, 1927 Ferri, S., 1927, Traccie del passaggio degli Argonauti a Bengasi, Historia, 1, 80-103 - see in bibliography and Oliverio, 1932-1933 Oliverio, G., 1932-1933, Documenti antichi dell'Africa Italiana, I, fasc. 1-2, Bergamo - see in bibliography , pp. 183-194 and fig. 70-71, whence SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden, then Amsterdam, 1923-1971, then 1979- - see in bibliography , 9.769; Stucchi, 1987 Stucchi, S., 1987, Il Naiskos «di Lysanias» riconsiderato, in Cirene e i Libyi: Atti del Simposio Internazionale, Roma-Urbino, 13-16 aprile 1981, Quaderni di Archeologia della Libya (QAL)12, 191-220 - see in bibliography , whence SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden, then Amsterdam, 1923-1971, then 1979- - see in bibliography , 37.1664. Cf. Chamoux, 1953 Chamoux, F., 1953, Cyrène sous la monarchie des Battiades, Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome177, Paris - see in bibliography , p. 279; Laronde, 1987 Laronde, A., 1987, Cyrène et la Libye hellénistique. Libykai historiai de l’époque républicaine au principat d’Auguste, Paris - see in bibliography , p. 411, footnote 101; CEG Hansen, P.A. (ed.), Carmina epigraphica Graeca, I-II, Berlin, 1983-1989 - see in bibliography II.851; Dobias-Lalou, 2000 Dobias-Lalou, C., 2000, Le dialecte des inscriptions grecques de Cyrène, Karthago25, Paris - see in bibliography , pp. 221-222.

Text

Apparatus

a.1 CEG Hansen, P.A. (ed.), Carmina epigraphica Graeca, I-II, Berlin, 1983-1989 - see in bibliography , Dobias-Lalou, 2000 Dobias-Lalou, C., 2000, Le dialecte des inscriptions grecques de Cyrène, Karthago25, Paris - see in bibliography  Εἰρήνηι καὶ Ἐν[υαλίωι] : Oliverio, 1932-1933 Oliverio, G., 1932-1933, Documenti antichi dell'Africa Italiana, I, fasc. 1-2, Bergamo - see in bibliography  εἰρήνηι κ 'α' ancient correction from: ι ὶ ἐν [πολέμωι?] : Ghislanzoni, 1927 Ghislanzoni, E., 1927, Rilievo policromo di Bengasi, Africa italiana1, 101-115, and 249 - see in bibliography  Εἰρήνηι καὶ Ἐν[δυμίωνι] : Ghislanzoni, 1927 Ghislanzoni, E., 1927, Rilievo policromo di Bengasi, Africa italiana1, 101-115, and 249 - see in bibliography  Εἰρήνηι καὶ Ἐν[υοῖ] : Ghislanzoni, 1927 Ghislanzoni, E., 1927, Rilievo policromo di Bengasi, Africa italiana1, 101-115, and 249 - see in bibliography  Εἰρήνηι καὶ Ἐν[νοίαι] : Ghislanzoni, 1927 Ghislanzoni, E., 1927, Rilievo policromo di Bengasi, Africa italiana1, 101-115, and 249 - see in bibliography  Εἰρήνηι καὶ Ἐν[οδίαι] : Ferri, 1927 Ferri, S., 1927, Traccie del passaggio degli Argonauti a Bengasi, Historia, 1, 80-103 - see in bibliography   Εἰρήνηι καὶ Ἐν[υοῖ] : Ferri, 1927 Ferri, S., 1927, Traccie del passaggio degli Argonauti a Bengasi, Historia, 1, 80-103 - see in bibliography  Εἰρήνηι καὶ Ἐν[υαλίωι] : Stucchi, 1987 Stucchi, S., 1987, Il Naiskos «di Lysanias» riconsiderato, in Cirene e i Libyi: Atti del Simposio Internazionale, Roma-Urbino, 13-16 aprile 1981, Quaderni di Archeologia della Libya (QAL)12, 191-220 - see in bibliography  [Ἐν] δὲ καὶ εἰρήνηι καὶ ἐν [πολέμωι ἥρωες καὶ ἡρῷσσαι ἐγγένεις ἐπηκόοι] || Ferri, 1927 Ferri, S., 1927, Traccie del passaggio degli Argonauti a Bengasi, Historia, 1, 80-103 - see in bibliography  [ἀνέθηκαν] : CEG Hansen, P.A. (ed.), Carmina epigraphica Graeca, I-II, Berlin, 1983-1989 - see in bibliography  [μ' ἀνέθηκαν?] : Ghislanzoni, 1927 Ghislanzoni, E., 1927, Rilievo policromo di Bengasi, Africa italiana1, 101-115, and 249 - see in bibliography , Oliverio, 1932-1933 Oliverio, G., 1932-1933, Documenti antichi dell'Africa Italiana, I, fasc. 1-2, Bergamo - see in bibliography  [---]  : Stucchi, 1987 Stucchi, S., 1987, Il Naiskos «di Lysanias» riconsiderato, in Cirene e i Libyi: Atti del Simposio Internazionale, Roma-Urbino, 13-16 aprile 1981, Quaderni di Archeologia della Libya (QAL)12, 191-220 - see in bibliography  [δεκάταν ἀνέθηκη (sic!)] || [---]  (all editors omit this gap)

c.1 [.] Α γ also consonant with π [.] ΝΑ : Ghislanzoni, 1927 Ghislanzoni, E., 1927, Rilievo policromo di Bengasi, Africa italiana1, 101-115, and 249 - see in bibliography , Ferri, 1927 Ferri, S., 1927, Traccie del passaggio degli Argonauti a Bengasi, Historia, 1, 80-103 - see in bibliography  ἀγ[ῶ]να : Oliverio, 1932-1933 Oliverio, G., 1932-1933, Documenti antichi dell'Africa Italiana, I, fasc. 1-2, Bergamo - see in bibliography  Ἄπ[οι?]να : Stucchi, 1987 Stucchi, S., 1987, Il Naiskos «di Lysanias» riconsiderato, in Cirene e i Libyi: Atti del Simposio Internazionale, Roma-Urbino, 13-16 aprile 1981, Quaderni di Archeologia della Libya (QAL)12, 191-220 - see in bibliography  Ἀγα̣νά

c.2 Oliverio, 1932-1933 Oliverio, G., 1932-1933, Documenti antichi dell'Africa Italiana, I, fasc. 1-2, Bergamo - see in bibliography  [Εὐρ]ύπυλ[ος] : Ghislanzoni, 1927 Ghislanzoni, E., 1927, Rilievo policromo di Bengasi, Africa italiana1, 101-115, and 249 - see in bibliography  [Εὐρ]υπύλ[ου] : Ferri, 1927 Ferri, S., 1927, Traccie del passaggio degli Argonauti a Bengasi, Historia, 1, 80-103 - see in bibliography  [Εὐρ]ύπυλ[ον]

French translation

Voici ceux qui à Eirènè et En[yalios ont consacré?]  [---] :

Lysanias fils d'Iasôn, [Untel fils d'Untel].

 [---] na; Eurypyle;  [---] ;  [---] ;  [---] .

English translation

Those to Eirene and En[yalios dedicated?]  [---] :

Lysanias son of Iason, [So-and-so son of So-and-so].

 [---] na; Eurypylos;  [---] ;  [---] ;  [---] .

Italian translation

Questi a Eirene e a En[yalios hanno dedicato?]  [---] :

Lysanias figlio di Iason, [il tale figlio del tale].

 [---] na; Eurypylos;  [---] ;  [---] ;  [---] .

Commentary

This unique relief, found not far from the site of Euesperides, was clearly related to that city. Both style of sculpture and lettering give clues to a date about the middle of the fourth century. When found, it was still painted in vivid colours that fainted quickly. Moved to Tripolitania during World War II, then brought to Cyrene and back to Benghazi, it has been exposed in the Museum of that city. The hazardous circumstances of that Museum do not allow to give clear indications about its present condition.

Only Ghislanzoni suspected verse here, but he tried to link all lines together, producing a very strange sentence. At a), the use of non-dialectal forms at line 1 shows that the text was verse. Furthermore, at the beginning of the text, the only possible restoration is οἵδε, a demonstrative plural. So we must assume that Lysanias was not the only dedicator and there is in fact enough space for at least one other name.

It is now admitted that the names in c) were all at the nominative, as captions with the name of each figure.

There has been overflowing discussion about the figures. The only clear name, Eurypylos, refers to the episod of the Argonautae at lake Triton (i.e. the sabkha As-Salmani near Euesperides). Saying that he was a son of Poseidon, he helped them out of the lake and predicted the foundation of Cyrene by a descendant of Euphemus. But no other character of that myth has been clearly identified. Other explanations suggest unidentified Libyan deities. What can be said from an epigraphical point of view is that the first name was a feminine; a first letter might have been lost before the first readable alpha. Stucchi's suggestion (forwarded by Chamoux's unpublished copy) of a feminine name Ἀγάνα, meaning 'Mild', is an interesting possibility, as there is one occurrence from Athens as a woman's name. However, no heroine of that name is known.

Metrical analysis of a): a dactylic hexameter was plausibly followed by a lost pentameter, for which there seems to be enough space in the lost part.

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