Dedication to the Eumenides or caption (?)

IGCyr133700

Trismegistos ID: 738884

Source Description

Support

Fine limestone stele, chipped off on the upper edge at right (0.56; 0.28;0.09-0.11), thicker at right, fitting exactly a rectangular hollow near which it was found, just to the left of the rock-cut altar bearing IGCyr133600.

Layout

Inscribed in one line just under the upper edge.

Letters

Average 0.03, carefully cut, with very small serifs; slightly slanting mu, probably dissymmetrical nu.

Place of Origin

Findspot.

Date

Probably first half of third century B.C. (lettering)

Findspot

Found between 2008 and 2012 by the Mission of Urbino at Cyrene : Southern Extra-Mural Sacred Zone , North-West of the Extra-Mural Temple of Demeter .

Last recorded Location

First studied in 2012 by E. Rosamilia in situ.

Text constituted from

Transcription from editor.

Bibliography

Gasparini-Rosamilia, 2016 , n. 5 (fig. 21).

Text

Εὐμεν̣ί̣ [c. 1 - 3] [---?] 

Apparatus

French translation

Euménide(s) [---?] .

English translation

Eumenide(s) [---?] .

Italian translation

Eumenide(/i) [---?] .

Commentary

This object is unique and the lack of the name end does not help to determine its function. Although standing at a fixed place amongst altars dedicated to the Eumenides (once at least one Eumenide IGCyr133800) it cannot support, like them, offerings. If considered nonetheless as a dedication, the formula should be completed as a dative. On the other hand, as E. Rosamilia puts it, it might also be a caption for an aniconic figure of the deity (or deities). C. Dobias-Lalou adds that it might also be a sort of sign-post for the whole area of altars. Be it what it is, the reason for the stele to be movable is not clear.

Creative Commons Attributions-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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.

Images