Decree of Cyrene

IGCyr062810

Trismegistos ID: 6096

Source Description

Repository

Cyrene Museum, 84.

Support

Fragment of white marble stele broken on top, below and in the middle (0.17; 0.16;0.04), bearing also IGCyr062800, IGCyr062820, IGCyr062830, IGCyr062840 and IGCyr062850 .

Layout

Inscribed on one side below IGCyr062800, with IGCyr062850 on the right side of the same fragment.

Letters

0.01; slight serifs, close lettering, non-slanting sigma, calice-shaped upsilon, rho and phi with small loop.

Place of Origin

Cyrene .

Date

139-132 B.C. or 124-116 B.C. (reign)

Findspot

Found before 1956 at Cyrene : exact findspot unrecorded.

Last recorded Location

Shahat : Cyrene Museum .

Text constituted from

Transcription from stone (CDL).

Bibliography

Fraser, 1958 , pp. 101-104, n. 1, pl. XII, 1, whence SEG , 18.727; Dobias-Lalou, 2000 , n. I.A, whence SEG , 50.1639.A. Cf. Marquaille, 2003 , and Dobias-Lalou, Bulletin Épigraphique , 2005.620, whence SEG , 53.2028.

Text

- - - - - - [---] ΣΑ[c. 18]  [---]  τὰν πρ̣ο[c. 16]  [---]  + ἱαρῶσαι ΤΟ[c. 13]  [---]  [θῦ]σ̣αι κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν [καὶ ποίεσθαι] 5[εὐχὰς καὶ ---]  [ὑπὲρ τᾶς ὑγιείας καὶ σωτηρίας τῶ βα]σιλεῦς καὶ τᾶν βασιλ̣[ισσᾶν καὶ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς τεταγμέναις ἁμ]έ̣ραις καὶ ποίεσθαι σπονδὰς [---]  ἀνθέμεν δὲ καὶ στάλας περὶ [καρπῶ τιμάσιος, ἐλὲν? δὲ καὶ ταμίας? ἐπὶ? τῶν ἀ]γρῶν κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτόν, οἵτινες [ἐπιμελήσονται? τῶν? ἀναλωμάτων? τῶν? ἐπὶ? τὰς τ]ρ̣οφὰς ἅς κα ψαφιξώμεθα τοῖς 10 [---] των ἀναλίσκεν καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλ-[λοις ---]  [καὶ] ποίεσθαι ὅπως καὶ ἀπο̣[.....]  - - - - - -

Apparatus

1 Dobias-Lalou, 2000  [---] ΣΑ[c. 18]  : Fraser, 1958  [---] ΣΣ[.......................] 

2 Dobias-Lalou, 2000  τὰν πρ̣ο[c. 16]  : Fraser, 1958  τὰν πι̣ο̣[..................] 

3 ἱαρῶσαι ΤΟ[c. 13]  : Dobias-Lalou, 2000  ἱαρῶσαι τὸ[ς ἀγρὸς? ---]  : Fraser, 1958  [---]  [κα]ὶ ἱαρῶσαι το[ὺς ἀγροὺς? ---] 

4 καὶ ποίεσθαι : Dobias-Lalou, 2000  [καὶ ποιε̃σθαι] : Fraser, 1958  [καὶ εὐχὰς πο-]

5 Dobias-Lalou, 2000  [εὐχὰς] : Fraser, 1958  [ε̃σθαι ]

6 ποίεσθαι : Dobias-Lalou, 2000  ποιε̃σθαι : Fraser, 1958  ποε̃σθαι

8 Dobias-Lalou, 2000  [καρπῶ τιμάσιος?] : Fraser, 1958  [τούτω]

8 [ἐλὲν δὲ καὶ ταμίας ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγ]ρῶν : Dobias-Lalou, 2000  [ἐλε̄ν δὲ καὶ ταμίας ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγ]ρῶν : Fraser, 1958  [ἑλεῖν δὲ καὶ πέντε ἄνδρας ἐπὶ τῶν ἀ]γρῶν

9 Dobias-Lalou, 2000  [ἐπιμελήσονται τῶν ἀναλωμάτων τῶν ἐπὶ τὰς τ?]ρ̣οφὰς : Fraser, 1958  [ἐπιμελήσονται αὐτῶν?]  [c. 6 - 7 κατὰ τὰς ἀ]ποφάσ<ιες>

10 Dobias-Lalou, 2000  [---] των ἀναλίσκεν : Fraser, 1958  [---]  [χρημά]των ἀναλίσκειν

11 ποίεσθαι ὅπως καὶ ἀπο̣[.....]  : Dobias-Lalou, 2000  ποιε̃σθαι ὅπως καὶ ἀπο̣[.....]  : Fraser, 1958  ποε̃σθαι ὅπως καὶ ἀπ̣[......] 

French translation

[---] consacrer [---]  sacrifier chaque année [et faire des voeux et [---] , pour la santé et le salut du] roi et des reines [ainsi que de leurs enfants] aux jours [fixés] et faire des libations [---] ; consacrer aussi des stèles au sujet de [l'estimation de la récolte et choisir des intendants préposés aux?] terrains, chaque année, qui [veilleront aux dépenses touchant aux?] indemnités d'entretien que nous voterons en faveur des [---]  dépenser aussi à propos des autres [---]  et faire en sorte que [---] .

English translation

[---]  to dedicate [---]  to sacrifice each year [and to make vows and [---]  for the health and salvation of the] king and the queens [and also their children] at the [stated] dates and to make libations [---] ; to dedicate also steles about [the assessment of the crops and to choose treasurers in charge of?] the fields, each year, who [will provide to the expenses concerning the?] allowances that we shall vote on behalf of [---]  to spend also for the other [---]  and to see to it that [---] .

Italian translation

[---]  di consacrare [---]  di fare sacrifici ogni anno [e fare voti e [---] , per la salute e la salvezza del] re e delle regine [come pure dei loro figli] nei giorni [stabiliti] e di fare libagioni [---] ; di dedicare anche stele sulla [valutazione del raccolto e di scegliere tesorieri preposti ai?] campi, ogni anno, i quali [si occuperanno delle spese relative alle?] indennità di sostentamento che voteremo per [---]  di spendere anche per gli altri [---]  e di fare in modo che anche [---] .

Commentary

This document was a decree of the Cyrenaeans organizing the royal cult (like IGCyr011100) and the administration of fields that should be the 'royal fields' mentioned in the accounts of the damiergoi and later passed on to the Roman people. If so, IGCyr062820 and IGCyr062830 might be clues to an intervening state, when the Ptolemies left the administration in the hands of the Cyrenaeans.

The 'king and the queens' mentioned at l. 5 may only be Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, Cleopatra II and III, whence the date in either period of their triple reign.

The τροφαί (l. 9) are allowances given to priests or other religious servants, like in the accounts of damiergoi.

IGCyr097150 might belong to this text, but this cannot be pushed forward because we know it only from a photograph.

The inventory numbers show that at least some parts of the stone were already in the epigraphic collection at the time of the reorganization of the Cyrenaean antiquities after World War II care of Goodchild (from 1956 on) and before Fraser observed one of them. They were perhaps all found during the Italian period, like both fragments of IGCyr062830.

For the forms of infinitive ποίεσθαι and ἐλέν C. Dobias-Lalou now thinks that they have short vowels, whence the accentuation proposed here.

For a possible additional fragment, see IGCyr097150. However, we preferred not to join them.

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