Sacred law (?)

IGCyr051900

Trismegistos ID: 738328

Source Description

Support

On the left outer wall of the entrance door of a rock-cut chamber inside which IGCyr051800 is inscribed.

Layout

Scratched graffito, whose condition has deteriorated since first recorded. Ferri recorded a rock-cut panel (0.83; 1.00;) and spoke of at least 32 lines, whereas his drawing shows 19 with gaps; one line amongst the others is written in larger characters and might not pertain to the same text (thus here presented as textpart b).

Letters

0.025 from Ferri, probably applying to textpart a; textpart b twice larger; slanting mu and sigma, calice-shaped upsilon, phi with large loop.

Place of Origin

Findspot.

Date

Perhaps mid-fourth to mid-third century B.C. (lettering)

Findspot

First copied by S. Ferri between 1919 and 1922 at Cyrene : Sanctuary of Budaraj .

Last recorded Location

J.M. Reynolds visited the spot and said the inscription was illegible.

Present Location

Sophie Marini in 2008 could not find the inscription.

Text constituted from

Transcription from previous editor (CDL).

Bibliography

Ferri, 1922 , pp. 98-99, n. 2, fig. 14, 14a, whence SEG , 9.728. Cf. Marini, 2013 , pp. 310-311.

Text

a
[τ]ῶ[ν] ἀνα[θ]η[μ]ά[των? ---]  [c. 5]  ΑΜ [.]  σταφὶς̣ ΔΙΑΣ  [c. 2 - 3] [---]  ΙΟ [---]  [c. 3]  ΕΥΛ [---]  5 [.]  Σ [---]  - - - - - -
b
[Ν]υμφῶ̣[ν]
a
[c. 3]  ΑΙΛ [c. 5]  Ν [---]  (vac. 2 lines) [c. 3] [τὸ]ν λοιπ̣ὸν [---]  Ο[.]  α [---]  ΛΚ ο [.....]  α ΛΙ + [c. 6]  Ν [.]  α [c. 3]  10 [c. 4]  ΙΓ [..]  Κ̣Α [c. 4]  Ε̣ΥΔΟ [.] Ο [c. 7]  Α [.]  λ αν [---] · [τὸ] δ’ἀνάλ[ωμα? ---]  ΔΕ [..]  [c. 4] ΠΑ [..] Τ [---]  γυνὰ γ [.] ΑΣΑ [---]  15 [c. 9]  ΟΛΣ [---]  [c. 8]  Σ[.]  ΛΛ [---]  [c. 7]  ΔΥΣ [---]  [τ]ὰ δὲ ἱαρῆ[ια ---]  [.] Ο[..] ΟΕ̣ [---] 

Apparatus

a.2 ΔΙΑΣ : SEG  διὰ σ[---] 

a.5a - - - - - - : (or) (vac.)

a.7 [τὸ]ν λοιπ̣ὸν : SEG  [---] ν λοΙΙ[.] ον

a.10 Κ̣Α : SEG  Υ̣Α

a.14 γυνὰ γ : SEG  ΓΥ κ ΙΑ

a.18 [τ]ὰ δὲ ἱαρῆ[ια] : Ferri, 1922  [.]  ἁ δὲ ἱάρε̣ι[α]

b.1 (This line was not considered differing from textpart a neither by Ferri nor by the editors of SEG)

French translation

a.  [---]  des offrandes  [---]  raisin sec  [---] 

b. Des Nymphes

a.  [---]  le reste  [---]  la dépense  [---]  femme  [---]  les victimes  [---] 

English translation

a.  [---]  of the offerings  [---]  raisin  [---] 

b. Of the Nymphs

a.  [---]  the rest  [---]  the expense  [---]  woman  [---]  the victims  [---] 

Italian translation

a.  [---]  delle offerte  [---]  uva passa  [---] 

b. Delle Ninfe

a.  [---]  il restante  [---]  la spesa  [---]  donna  [---]  le vittime  [---] 

Commentary

This inscription, already very lacunar in Ferri's times, has been interpreted by him in relation with the goddesses mentioned in IGCyr051800, the Nymphs in his mind, an identification now rejected by other scholars.

Two reasons lead us to consider textpart b apart from the other lines: besides the taller and probably later lettering, the spelling νυμφῶν is a form of koine, whereas the rest of the text seems to be spelled in the local dialect.

From the text very few words survive, just allowing to agree with Ferri in thinking of a decree or a sacred law, the latter being more plausible at such a place.

At a. 18, Ferri's drawing shows two vertical strokes that might pertain to an eta, thus ἱαρῆιον rather than Ferri's proposed ἱάρεια.

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All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain a link back to DOI: http://doi.org/10.6092/UNIBO/IGCYRGVCYR and the filename (IGCyr000000 or GVCyr000), as well as the year of consultation.

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