Dedication to Zeus
IGCyr062100
Trismegistos ID: 6067
Source Description
Repository
Cyrene Museum, 19+355.
Support
At least seven fragments of a white marble stele with the lower front side protruding m. 0.05 ahead of the upper side, which has the form of an aediculum; moulded cornices on top and below of the inscribed face; in the aediculum, a relief of which survives only the lower part of two figures, one seated, the other standing; all fragments had been provisionally pasted together before being photographed for editio princeps; later on, some of the fragments were detached, one of which was registered again with a different inventory number; amongst the four inscribed fragments, three, being adjacent, are here named together a (inv. number 19), which keeps the right original edge, but has lost four lines below since 1951 (as measured in 1976 0.25; 0.30;0.28); another loose fragment (inv. number 355), here named b, belonged to the left lower part (0.18; 0.11;0.15); dimensions of the whole monument as measured for publication 0.42; 0.82;0.32.
Layout
Inscribed on the lower part of the face (preserved height 0.36).
Letters
0.02 at ll. 1-5; 0.017 at ll. 7-11.
Place of Origin
Findspot.
Date
Probably third quarter of fourth century B.C. (lettering)
Findspot
Found between 1939 and 1942 by G. Pesce in excavations at Cyrene pleiades; HGL : Temple of Zeus .
Last recorded Location
Both fragments seen by C. Dobias-Lalou in 1979 in Shahat : Cyrene Museum .
Text constituted from
Transcription from stone (CDL).
Bibliography
Pesce, 1951 Pesce, G., 1951, La documentazione epigrafica e la suppellettile votiva del 'Gran Tempio' in Cirene, Bulletin de la société royale d'archéologie d'Alexandrie (BSAA)39, 83-129 - see in bibliography , pp. 84-86, n. 1, fig. 1, whence SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden, then Amsterdam, 1923-1971, then 1979- - see in bibliography , 17.796; Robert, Bulletin Épigraphique Robert, J. and L., Bulletin Épigraphique in Revue des Études Grecques (REG)1938-1984 - see in bibliography , 1953.251; Morelli, SECir Oliverio, G., Pugliese-Carratelli, G., Morelli, D., 1961-1962, Supplemento Epigrafico Cirenaico, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente (ASAA)39-40 (= n.s. 23-24), 219-375 - see in bibliography , 244 (only fragment b, as unpublished). Cf. Marengo, 1985 Marengo, S.M., 1985, Note di epigrafia cirenaica: edizioni ripetute, Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Macerata (AFLM)18, 145-162 - see in bibliography , whence SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden, then Amsterdam, 1923-1971, then 1979- - see in bibliography , 36.1461.
Text
Apparatus
1 [Ζηνὶ Λυκα?]ί̣ω[ι] : Pesce, 1951
Pesce, G., 1951, La documentazione epigrafica e la suppellettile votiva del 'Gran Tempio' in Cirene, Bulletin de la société royale d'archéologie d'Alexandrie (BSAA)39, 83-129 - see in bibliography
[Διὶ Ὀλυμπί]ωι : SECir
Oliverio, G., Pugliese-Carratelli, G., Morelli, D., 1961-1962, Supplemento Epigrafico Cirenaico, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente (ASAA)39-40 (= n.s. 23-24), 219-375 - see in bibliography
[---] Υ̣Ω[---]
3-4
Pesce, 1951
Pesce, G., 1951, La documentazione epigrafica e la suppellettile votiva del 'Gran Tempio' in Cirene, Bulletin de la société royale d'archéologie d'Alexandrie (BSAA)39, 83-129 - see in bibliography
ἐπ̣έθηκ|αν (more consistent with the stone) : Pesce, 1951
Pesce, G., 1951, La documentazione epigrafica e la suppellettile votiva del 'Gran Tempio' in Cirene, Bulletin de la société royale d'archéologie d'Alexandrie (BSAA)39, 83-129 - see in bibliography
ἐν̣έθηκ|αν
4-5
Robert, Bulletin Épigraphique
Robert, J. and L., Bulletin Épigraphique in Revue des Études Grecques (REG)1938-1984 - see in bibliography
τοὶ να|[κόροι?] : Pesce, 1951
Pesce, G., 1951, La documentazione epigrafica e la suppellettile votiva del 'Gran Tempio' in Cirene, Bulletin de la société royale d'archéologie d'Alexandrie (BSAA)39, 83-129 - see in bibliography
ΤΟΙΝΑ | [---]
6 [᾿Επὶ] Θ̣ρ̣ά[σ]ωνος : Pesce, 1951
Pesce, G., 1951, La documentazione epigrafica e la suppellettile votiva del 'Gran Tempio' in Cirene, Bulletin de la société royale d'archéologie d'Alexandrie (BSAA)39, 83-129 - see in bibliography
[᾿Επὶ ...] ΟΙΑ[.] ωνος : SEG
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden, then Amsterdam, 1923-1971, then 1979- - see in bibliography
[...] ΟΙΑ[.] ωνος
8
Pesce, 1951
Pesce, G., 1951, La documentazione epigrafica e la suppellettile votiva del 'Gran Tempio' in Cirene, Bulletin de la société royale d'archéologie d'Alexandrie (BSAA)39, 83-129 - see in bibliography
[᾿Επὶ Σ]τρατ[ο]μάχω : SEG
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden, then Amsterdam, 1923-1971, then 1979- - see in bibliography
[Σ]τρατ[ο]μάχω
French translation
[A Zeus Lykaios les? ---] ont fait creuser et ont placé au-dessus [---] et les [néocores?] ont mis à exécution. (vac. 1 line) [Sous] Thrasôn, (vac. 4) Damôn fils d'Epigénès. [Sous] Stratomakhos, Iasôn fils d'Ankhistratos, Kallis fils d'Aristagoras, [---] .
English translation
[To Zeus Lykaios the? ---] dug and set upon [---] and the [neokoroi?] made. (vac. 1 line) [Under] Thrason, (vac. 4) Damon son of Epigenes. [Under] Stratomachos, Iason son of Anchistratos, Kallis son of Aristagoras, [---] .
Italian translation
[A Zeus Lykaios i? ---] scavarono e vi collocarono [---] e i [neokoroi?] fecero. (vac. 1 line) [Sotto] Thrason, (vac. 4) Damon figlio di Epigenes. [Sotto] Stratomachos, Iason figlio di Anchistratos, Kallis figlio di Aristagoras, [---] .
Commentary
Our fragment b bears the same inventory number as IGCyr122800. This should be a mistake. The stone was already recomposed from several fragments when published. Due to the movings of the stones from one storeroom to the other, the fragments were dissociated.
The lettering strikingly resembles that of IGCyr084000, whence the date proposed here; Pesce said third or second century, which seems impossible.
Pesce proposed to restore the name of Zeus Olympios, an epithet known in the same temple only in the second century A.D. (IRCyr C.423); the epithet Lykaios, mentioned by Herodotus (4.203) about this very place, would fit the lacuna and seems more probable for that time.
This inscription seems to be a dedication mentioning some building works made on behalf of a group of benefactors, perhaps while on office, if νακόροι should be restored at ll. 4-5.
Lines 6-10, for which Pesce only gave a general commentary, without clear restorations, passed on without interpretation in SEG, whence the idea that Stratomachos at line 8 was a grand-father's name (so Marengo, 1991 Marengo, S.M., 1991, Lessico delle iscrizioni greche della Cirenaica, Studi pubblicati dall’Istituto italiano per la Storia antica49, Roma - see in bibliography , pp. 409, 500), in spite of the space left between lines 7 and 8. Pesce was certainly right in thinking that lines 6 and 8 mentioned an eponymous priest, the first one followed by one benefactor's full name, the second one by at least two of them. A better examination of the surviving fragment b allows to improve the reading of line 6 and to get a name already attested in Cyrenaica: Θάρσων and Θράσων are two variants of a same name, both in use in the region. For the latter, we have one occurrence as father's name of a military officer by the time of our inscription (IGCyr091000, a.7).
Pesce thought that the two figures on the relief, the male one seated, the feminine one standing, might be Zeus and Hera. The latter was indeed worshipped later in Zeus' temple. It should just be stressed that there is no room at line 1 for a second divine name and the preserved ending pertains to a masculine epithet, so that the dedication should be intended for Zeus only.
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