<rs type="textType">Dedication</rs> to Athena and possibly Ares Inscriptions of Greek Cyrenaica Università di Bologna IGCyr062600 738330 igcyr062600 https://igcyr.unibo.it/igcyr062600

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 Apollonia Museum inv. number unknown

Two fragments of a large limestone altar (fragment a broken off at right and back: 0.49 0.335 0.28 ; fragment b broken at left and back: 0.315 0.335 0.39 ); the upper side has a shallow depression, leaving on all preserved sides a margin 0.05 wide.

Inscribed just under the upper edge: the letters on fragment b run across the angle on the next side to its right; the same is possible, but not sure for fragment a. 0.1-0.11; very low bar of alpha, asymetric nu, slanting sigma, very short tail of upsilon. Findspot. Second half of fifth century B.C.

Found on April 22nd, 1955 by Montet's Mission in the Port of Cyrene, later Apollonia: reused in Roman Baths, in the Eastern stylobatus.

Seen by C. Dobias-Lalou in 1976 and later on at Sūsah: Apollonia Museum.

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Digital or digitized photographs Digitized other representations Arabic English French German Ancient Greek Transliterated Greek Modern Greek Hebrew Italian Latin Cyrenaica Libya Sūsah Transcription from stone (CDL). checked checked, updated and in case corrected completed lemma, apparatus and commentary checked, updated and in case corrected physDesc, history, and textClass lemma, text edited, apparatus, commentary moved text-constituted-from to profileDesc/creation mailmerged from IGCYR catalogo unificato
Bibliography

, pp. 581-584, figs. 4-6, whence SEG, 17.816 ; , 1960.439 , whence SEG, 18.757 ; , n. 39 , whence SEG, 27.1125bis .

Text
Ἀθαναίας
Ἄρευς
Apparatus

Ἄρευς or Ἡρακλεῦς ευς

Autel d'Athéna.

Autel d'Arès ou d'Hèraklès.

Altar of Athena.

Altar of Ares or of Heracles.

Altare di Atena.

Altare di Ares o di Eracle.

Commentary

The arrangement of the two fragments is not clear, although on the photograph taken during the excavation they might seem to be nearly adjacent, so that one might imagine that the break occurred during the phase of re-use. Chamoux was very clear about the fact that they were not adjacent. Side i of b might thus belong either to the right of side a or to its opposite side.

At Cyrene we have another altar (IGCyr103310 and IGCyr103315) bearing the names of two deities inscribed on two different sides. However in that case, one inscription was later than the first one. On the contrary, the present altar seems to have been erected at once for both divinities.

The god whose name stood at b is not quite clear. Chamoux restored Ares' name on behalf of his being worshipped under name Enyalios in GVCyr022. The latter was found in a late building of the Eastern part of the town. However, as both stones were re-used, it is quite possible that they once stood nearer to one another, in a cultic area that would be common with Athena. On the other hand, Chamoux also mentioned the possibility that the god's name on the altar was Heracles and J. Reynolds found it a good option, so that she left the question open. In fact, Heracles was worshipped at Cyrene on an altar common with Hekate, Hygieia and Panakeia, for his curative virtues (IGCyr022300). Moreover, in the harbour (Apollonia), a votive club was found during the Montet excavations in 1954 but never published. It might attest Heracles' cult also on the spot. So we should remain cautious about Chamoux's final choice.