A New Phrygian Inscription from Gordion: A Pergamene Contingent in Phrygia in the early Reign of Antiochus I

Abstract

This article contains the first publication of a newly discovered inscription from Gordion which is written in Phrygian and probably dates to early reign of Antiochus I. The inscribed slab appears to have formed part of a funerary monument which is associated with a man named Parsaparnas who probably was a member of the Persian nobility originating from the region of Pergamon in Mysia and commanded a Pergamene military contingent deployed by Antiochus in the region of Gordion. This is the first and, so far, the only inscription known to mention the city of Gordion by name. After an introduction sketching out the situation at Gordion in the Hellenistic period, the article presents in turn the article presents in turn a description of the stone (§1), a detailed commentary on the epigraphical features of the inscription (§§2- 4) and a concise philological discussion (§5), followed by a translation (§6), comments on the geographical and ethnocultural background of the text (§§7-8), the nature of the associated monument (§9), and finally, conclusions about its date and historical context (§10).