Dedication to the Dioscuri
IGCyr110100
Trismegistos ID: 738631
Source Description
Repository
Cyrene Museum (Storeroom of the Italian mission), CA06S3US3.
Support
Fragmentary Chiote chalice, broken off at left and bottom, keeping one handle and about one half of the belly with its upper edge (0.078; 0.08;0.003; diameter 0.127).
Layout
Scratched on the outer side of the belly, at 0.009 to 0.026 from the upper rim.
Letters
0.002 to 0.006; right-to-left, three-strokes iota, crossed theta, san for sibilant, trident-shaped khi.
Place of Origin
Findspot.
Date
End of seventh or beginning of sixth century B.C. (context, lettering)
Findspot
Found by M. Luni in 2006 at Cyrene pleiades; HGL : temple of the Dioscuri on the Acropolis ridge (once said 'tempio ipetrale').
Present Location
Not seen by IGCyr team.
Text constituted from
Transcription from photograph (SMM).
Bibliography
Marengo, 2008 Marengo, S.M., 2008, Dédicaces aux Dioscures et autres graffiti. Les fragments gravés, Comptes rendus des séances: Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres (CRAI)2008, 26-36 [=] - see in bibliography , pp. 26-33 (ph., dr.) (= Marengo, 2010 Marengo, S.M., 2010, Dédicaces aux Dioscures et autres graffiti. Les fragments gravés, in A. Laronde, J. Leclant (eds.), Journée d'hommage à François Chamoux, Paris 11 janvier 2008, Paris, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 120-130 [=] - see in bibliography , pp. 120-127) and Dobias-Lalou, Bulletin Épigraphique Dobias-Lalou, C.Bulletin Épigraphique in Études Grecques (REG)1987- - see in bibliography , 2010.631, whence SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden, then Amsterdam, 1923-1971, then 1979- - see in bibliography , 58.1838. Cf. Dobias-Lalou, 2015 Dobias-Lalou, C., 2015, Les débuts de l'écriture en Cyrénaïque, in A. Inglese, Epigrammata 3. Saper scrivere nel Mediterraneo antico. Esiti di scrittura fra VI e IV sec. a.C., in ricordo di Mario Luni. Atti del convegno di Roma, 7-8 Novembre 2014, Tivoli, 59-80, 315-321 - see in bibliography ; Dobias-Lalou, 2013-2014 Dobias-Lalou, C., 2013-2014, Une décennie de travaux épigraphiques en Cyrénaïque: bilan 2005-2014 et projets, Libya Antiqua (LibAnt)n.s. 7, 185-193 - see in bibliography , p. 185; Antonini, 2016 Antonini, R., 2016, Sulla dedica arcaica ai Dioscuri da Cirene, in V. Purcaro, O. Mei (eds.), Cirene greca e romana II, Monografie di archeologia libica, 44, Cirene Atene d'Africa9, 27-64 - see in bibliography ; Marengo, 2016 Marengo, S.M., 2016, Scoperte epigrafiche a Cirene, in Rizzo, M.A., Macerata e l'archeologia in Libia. 45 anni di ricerche dell'Ateneo maceratese. Atti del Convegno Macerata, 18 marzo 2014, Monografie di archeologia libica40, Roma, 161-170 - see in bibliography , p. 168-169.
Text
Apparatus
1 Μ also consonant with Σ [c. 1 - 2]σαρχος : Dobias-Lalou, Bulletin Épigraphique Dobias-Lalou, C.Bulletin Épigraphique in Études Grecques (REG)1987- - see in bibliography Μ̣[νά]σαρχος : Marengo, 2008 Marengo, S.M., 2008, Dédicaces aux Dioscures et autres graffiti. Les fragments gravés, Comptes rendus des séances: Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres (CRAI)2008, 26-36 [=] - see in bibliography [c. 2 - 3]σαρχος (perhaps Ἁγέσαρχος, Λύσαρχος or Σόσαρχος)
French translation
[---] sarkhos a consacré (cette coupe) aux Dioscures.
English translation
[---] sarchos dedicated (this cup) to the Dioscuri.
English translation
[---] sarchos ha dedicato (questa coppa) ai Dioscuri.
Commentary
The very short vertical stroke preserved at the beginning of the dedicant's name might be part of a mu or a san. So the very common Cyrenaean name Μνάσαρχος would be a favourite, but Σώσαρχος, suggested by Marengo, would also fit the gap perfectly.
This graffito has demonstrated the place of the Dioskoureion already mentioned by Pindar (Pyth. 5. 9-11).
The trident-shaped chi, along with other letters already attested in the archaic alphabet of Cyrene, was probably brought by Rhodian immigrants, whence a probable date around 580/570 B.C. Two other instances of that chi occur at IGCyr001920 and IGCyr000430 (see now Dobias-Lalou, 2015 Dobias-Lalou, C., 2015, Les débuts de l'écriture en Cyrénaïque, in A. Inglese, Epigrammata 3. Saper scrivere nel Mediterraneo antico. Esiti di scrittura fra VI e IV sec. a.C., in ricordo di Mario Luni. Atti del convegno di Roma, 7-8 Novembre 2014, Tivoli, 59-80, 315-321 - see in bibliography , pp. 69-70). Other views at Antonini, 2016 Antonini, R., 2016, Sulla dedica arcaica ai Dioscuri da Cirene, in V. Purcaro, O. Mei (eds.), Cirene greca e romana II, Monografie di archeologia libica, 44, Cirene Atene d'Africa9, 27-64 - see in bibliography .
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