Votive Inscriptions Research Articles

The Bosporus and Sindike in the Era of Leukon I. New Epigraphic Publications

AbstractI. The author returns to the analysis (see Hyperboreus. 1998, 4/2, 286-301; cf. SEG, XLVIII, 1027) of an epigram of the Bosporan tyrant Leukon I from the Semibratnee site (Labrys) on the occasion of Yu. G. Vinogradov's posthumous publication (VDI, 2002, No 3). Although Vinogradov accepted the most important of the author's readings, some of the interpretations suggested by him were erroneous, as the author strives to prove (see also A. J. Graham's observations). The inscription is analyzed from the point of view of its language and style. As a historical source, the epigram is discussed in the second part of the article together with a new inscription from Nymphaion.II. As early as the end of the 5th c. BC (or even earlier) Bosporan tyrant Satyros I made Sindike Bosporus' vassal (Polyaen. VIII. 55). The Labrys epigram tells us about Leukon I, «archon of the Bosporus and Theodosia» helping Hekataios, king of the Sindoi, dethroned by his own son, obviously in order to take possession of Sindike de jure. A new votive inscription from Nymphaion published by O. Yu. Sokolova and N. A. Pavlichenko (Hyperboreus, 2002, 8/1, 99-121) sheds new light on the further history of the forming of the Bosporan state in the 1st half of the 4th century BC. Leukon is called here «archon of the Bosporus, Theodosia, all Sindike, Toretai, Dandarioi, Psessoi». The author believes that the epithet «all» is applied to Sindike for expressiveness and implies in fact the land which belonged to Hekataios. The author supposes that the neighboring barbarians were annexed by a treaty, and the power of their own kings was abolished, this fact explaining why Greek poleis and the barbarians were politically equal. No doubt, Leukon soon had to be disappointed in the possibility of governing barbarians in the same way as Greeks. According to the inscription CIRB 6a Sindoi were still under Leukon's rule as archon, but for the rest of the barbarians he was a king. However, in the later inscriptions CIRB 6, 8, 1037, 1038 the standard formula appears: «Leukon, archon of the Bosporus and Theodosia, king of Sindoi, Toretai, etc.» The change in the political status of the barbarians was probably connected with their efforts to get free from the power of the Bosporus. The Greek cities of the Bosporus and Theodosia preserved their formal autonomy and citizenship, but the barbarians were turned into dependent population.

Misunderstood Gestures: Iconatrophy and the Reception of Greek Sculpture in the Roman Imperial Period

Abstract Anthropologists have defined iconatrophy as a process by which oral traditions originate as explanations for objects that, through the passage of time, have ceased to make sense to their viewers. One form of iconatrophy involves the misinterpretation of statues' identities, iconography, or locations. Stories that ultimately derive from such misunderstandings of statues are Monument-Novellen, a term coined by Herodotean studies. Applying the concept of iconatrophy to Greek sculpture of the Archaic and Classical periods yields three possible examples in which statues standing in Greek sanctuaries may have inspired stories cited by authors of the Roman imperial period as explanations for the statues' identities, attributes, poses, or locations. The statues in question are the portrait of the athletic victor Milo of Croton at Olympia, a bronze lioness on the Athenian Acropolis identified as a memorial to the Athenian prostitute Leaina (“lioness”), and the Athena Hygieia near the Propylaia of Mnesikles.Inscriptions on the bases of Archaic and Classical statues in Greek sanctuaries typically named the dedicator, the recipient deity, and the sculptor, but did not include the subject represented or the historical occasion behind the dedication. These “gaps” left by votive inscriptions would only have encouraged the formation of iconatrophic oral traditions such as the examples examined in this article.

A river port and emporion in Central Bulgaria: an interim report on the British project at Vetren

In 1999, fieldwork was resumed by the British team at Adzhiyska Vodenitsa, Vetren, the site of an inlandemporionwhich has been identified with ancient Pistiros (SEG43. 486, 46. 872*). Excavations were conducted on the terrace with architectural remains in two sectors, north and south of the main east-west road. In the northern sector, 22 pits were investigated. The faunal material from these pits reveals specific butchering methods and the re-articulation of complete body parts following butchery. Among the finds aregraffition pottery, including a votive inscription to Zeus. In the southern sector, there are traces of residential use. The report includes an account of geophysical prospection to determine the nature of land use beyond the terrace, with evidence suggesting that the settlement was directly adjacent to the River Maritsa (ancient Hebros).

<i>Lucus Feroniae Emeritensis</i>

The recently published fifty votive inscriptions of Sta. Lucia de Alcuescar (Caceres), of which fifteen are dedicated to Ataecina, allows us to propose the identification of the site with the lucus Feroniae quoted by the literary texts in territorium Emeritense , doubtless an interpretatio Romana of the local divinity temenos. Besides those altars dedicated to Ataecina there is an important number dedicated to an innominated divinity dea domina sancta and still others altars which are anepigraphics, possible testimonies of different cult formulations to the same divinity. The sanctuary, in the frontier between five different peoples and by the iter ab Emerita Asturicam , had to play an important role as an extraurban place of cult. Its captation by the Romans while the Emeritan deductio possibly implied the introduction of the divinity as adoptiva dea , whose representation can be recognised in the Emeritan coinage and in a sculpture of the Merida museum.

The Miṣpe Yamim Bronzes

Four bronze artifacts were found at Mispe Yamim, a sacred site on a mountain peak in the Upper Galilee. The find spot was close to a temple that was built in the Persian period and continued as an open air sanctuary in the Hellenistic period. The bronze pieces are a situla bearing Egyptian motifs and inscriptions and a Phoenician votive inscription to Astarte by ⊂akbor son of bod ⊃esmun; an Apis bull typical in stance and attributes except for unusual winged scarabs on its back ; a recumbent ram, almost certainly a weight and probably from the Persian period ; and a prancing lion cub that originally was an accessory, probably a handle, of a larger vessel, unusual in form and probably made locally. The bronzes were probably votive gifts to the temple in the Persian period but the find spot and the smashing of the Apis bull and of another figurine of an Egyptian deity found at the site suggest a connection to the final stage of the cultic center and probably to desecration by Hasmonean capturers of the site.

Sabaeans in Tihāma

Evidences of Sabaean presence in the Red Sea coastal area west of the Sarāt watershed are exceedingly scanty. In the first three centuries AD, rulers based on Marib or Sanaa made occasional military campaigns down into the coastal area, in order to prevent or punish raiders from the coastal tribes who sometimes made incursions into the highlands; but these campaigns were purely military and led to no permanent Sabaean settlement there. In the very late period, in the sixth century AD, despite the Himyarite kings of the Tabābiʿa dynasty claiming sovereignty over the Tihāma in their title, they were still obliged to undertake military policing activity against what was evidently a non‐Sabaean population. However, in the archaic period (first half of the first millennium BC), we have evidence of just one small Sabaean (or Sabaean influenced) settlement in the W. Sihām a little south of Bāǧil, where a small shrine has yielded a handful of early Sabaean votive inscriptions.

ビザンティン初期における「祈り」の概念

The author wishes here to analyze the concept of ευχη (prayer) in early Byzantium, namely 4th to 7th centuries. In the chapter 1, votive inscriptions containing the words ευχη and ενξαμενος are classified. Eυχη is a comprehensive word acting for many personal desires, which probably excludes soul's relief (σωτηρια), health (υγεια), longevity (μακροημερευσις), redemption (αφεσις αμαρτιων), etc..In the chapter 2, anonymous inscriptions which say “one whose name God knows” are treated. The Byzantines refer neither to the concrete contents of ευχη, nor to the proper noun of the donor. The cases gathered in the chapter 3 suggest that the word ευχη signifies the offering itself: architectural part, silver vessel, floor mosaic, etc.. In these circumstances, the votive offering with one's prayer is also the prayer.The chapter 4 presents that ευλογια is a pendant word of ευχη in double senses. Since the word ευλογια means not only an abstract “blessing”, but also a pilgrimage souvenir itself, two strata are realized between ευχη and ευλογια; one prays and Gob blesses in an abstract sense, and simultaneously, one offers something and in return he is given a pilgrimage souvenir.

The old Akkadian Royal Inscriptions: Notes on a New Edition

The Freiburg Assyriologist Burkhart Kienast has provided, as a companion volume to H. Steible's edition of the Sumerian building and votive inscriptions, a new edition of the Mesopotamian royal inscriptions in Akkadian from the third millennium B.C. Kienast was able to draw on extensive transliterations and notes of the late I. J. Gelb, who is listed on the title page as a joint author; the volume was finished by Kienast. This review article was prepared as part of the reviewer's work on a new edition of the Old Akkadian royal inscriptions for the Toronto-based Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia project.

‘Erigir una estatua’ en las antiguas dedicaciones arameas

El análisis de las frases principales de las dedicaciones de estatuas en el arameo antiguo nos hace ver que ya en el s. IX a. C. Existían unos esquemas propios arameos frente a los asirios, como demuestra una comparación de los textos asirio y arameo de la estatua de Hadyiṯ‛i de Tell Fekherye. Dentro de estos esquemas arameos resalta el uso de šm [śym] qdm y šm l-, seguidos del nombre divino o de persona, y que deben de indicar dos situaciones diferentes en cuanto a la dedicación de una estatua dentro o no de un templo. Por otro lado, tenemos atestiguados como verbos principales, que crean esquemas paralelos de dedicación, los verbos šym, kwn, yhb, qwm, siendo el verbo šym el usado casi exclusivamente, en tanto que qwm sólo se encuentra atestiguado una sola vez, situación que contrasta sorprendentemente con el empleo casi exclusivo de qwm en dedicaciones de estatuas en el arameo posterior: el bíblico y el de Hatra y Palmira, donde no encontramos nunca šym.

Remarks on Two East Aramaic Inscriptions

The Dura-Europos Bilingual Inscription In 1938 R. du Mesnil du Buisson published a bilingual (Aramaic-Greek) votive inscription found at Dura-Europos.' The Aramaic version is written in the Hatran script-type2 and dialect. At that time very few Hatran inscriptions were known; the bulk have been published since 1951.3 It is therefore natural that the editio princeps is not free of error. Nevertheless, scholars who have studied this DuraEuropos inscription since 1951 have not improved its readings and some have misinterpreted it. The transliteration and translation of Du Mesnil du Buisson follows:

Two Kassite Votive Inscriptions

The first of the two inscriptions published here was inscribed, in Sumerian, on the back of a terra-cotta dog 1 by one Ninurta-resiiu, gatammU 2 of the E-u-gal under King Nazi-MaruttaA. The second was inscribed, in Akkadian, by the same gentleman at a later stage in his career-he was then ne-s'akkcu 3 of Enlil-, on a clay quadrangular prism.4 The dog, dedicated to Gula, is poorly preserved but enough to show it to be of the same type as the clay dog from Sippar published by Scheil, Une saison de fouilles a Sippar p. 91 fig. 15. It may indeed come from Sippar too: Ninurta-resudiu's other inscription, the clay prism, belongs to a collection registered as coming from Abil Habba. The prism is dedicated to Adad whose three-pronged thunderbolt is represented on the top and twice on one side (A). On side D, in the blank space between lines 29 and 30, there is a deep depression apparently made by a thumb. In the prism inscription, the author gives only his name and title and the name of his father, uD-Delebat.6 In the dog inscription, however, the father's title is given as neaksacu of Enlil, the son being only satammu of the E-u-gal. Also named are an ancestor, Enlil-ban1, rabdnum (i. e., ' mayor ')7 of KUR. TI; 8 and an even remoter ancestor, Amilatum, sandabakku 9 of Nippur. Enlil-bmn! is undoubtedly the same official who is mentioned on a clay lcudurru 10 as the nisakkcu of Enlil under Kuri-Galzu I. As such, he was certainly also s'andabakku of Nippur in the early part of the latter's reign, as aptly suggested by K. Balkan.1 That in addition (or before) he was rabdnum of KUR.TI, as Dfir-Kuri-Galzu was known before its 'foundation' by Kuri-Galzu I,12 is chronologically consistent. Enlil-binl's successor, both as sandabakku of Nippur and nesakku of Enlil, Ninurta-nddin-abJh, was still in office under Burna-BuryaA II.18 It is quite likely that he was Enlil-bdnl's son or at least a member of the family. He was succeeded by his son, Enlil-kidinni, whose tenure covered the three following reigns.14 Under Nazi-Marutta?, however, the situation was obviously different: the offices of s'andabakku and nerSaakku were held by different persons, the former by Nazi-Enlil,15 the latter by UD-Delebat whose son, Ninurta-reisuu, seems also to have been only a neasakku. The sandabakkcu Ninurta-apla-iddina 16 may well have been his contemporary.17

Aphrodite as Guardian of Greek Magistrates

Among the votive inscriptions of magistrates in Greek cities there exist a number of dedications to the goddess Aphrodite. J. and L. Robert in Rev. ét. gr. 72 (1959), 229–230, draw attention to these singular pieces of evidence and explain them in reference to a characteristic of Aphrodite as a patroness of friendship and of harmony. The devotion of magistrates to the goddess of love, apart from all that we know about her in the life of antiquity, displays such an astonishing singularity that a further approach and investigation seem to be expedient.

Et kongebud til Ikaros

Et kongebud til Ikaros

Votive Inscriptions from Ras Shamra

Chinese, Siamese and Lao -ais represented in 0. B., Bu., and L. by what is written here as -a-: 92) 0. B. dzag robbery, M dz'ak robber (949); 93) 0. B. dah meadow, Lao dah plain, the country; 94) 0. B. dhahs (pf.), pres. dhah-ba be out of breath; to fear, to be terrified, S. iah to be benumbed, stupefied, astonished, iAM immoveable, numbed; 95) 0 B. btab (pf.), idebs-pa (pres.) strike, S. top, Lao top; 96) 0. B. tam-pa complete, full, L. tam much, many, S. N'm several, abundant; 97) V ltudn short, deficient (1015), S. tw9n off, amputated, truncated, Lao tw9n cut off, amputated, shortened; 98) I ckcimc metal, gold' (386), S., Lao gaih (S. kim borrowed from Ch.); 99) M tang' stool, bench (982), S. tah, Lao tah chair, seat; 100) C CxiUqTn smoke (174),1 S., Lao gwdn (cf. Ka. and Luhupa 1ut); cf. also 101) Rawang a-1cah permission, Ka. a-1cah, ' kPng be willing, consent, permit (314). What few correspondences there are between Ch. and S. and Lao do not show any correlations between -ain Ch. and the same vowel in S. and Lao but indicate rather that the shift from -ato -aor -aoccurred independently in each linguistic group. The only direct correspondence of Ch. -awith Daic -aso far found is one of Wulff's comparisons: 102) a cpuan strenuous, energetic (709), S. pwan without rest, with persistence. In the above tables and comment not all the medial vowels and diphthongs to be found in Lusei, Chinese and Siamese and Lao have been considered due to lack of comparative material in which such vowels and diphthongs were found. The same applies to *-r, *-I, and *-s, which will be considered at a later date. But enough material has been given to show that phonetic equations for Sino-Tibetan languages are possible, contrary to the opinion of Wulff and others. For the ability to make these equations I have often been much indebted to the work of Wulff and others. Much, it must be admitted, yet remains to be done on the vocalism of Sino-Tibetan-the determination of the total number of vowel gradations, questions of whether a certain vowel was original Sino-Tibetan or due to vowel gradation in individual groups, the cause for vowel gradation, the question of whether long vowels were original in Sino-Tibetan, etc. Many of these questions will probably have to be determined statistically, due to conflicting evidence, after most of the possible comparisons have been made. 1 Mikir i-hon is given only by Stewart.

Excavations at Sparta, 1924–1928: II.—Votive Inscriptions from the Acropolis

Among the votive inscriptions discovered during the excavations of 1924–27 by far the most numerous are those on vase-fragments, which number upwards of one hundred and twenty, in contrast to the modest total of thirty-four yielded by the previous campaigns on the Acropolis in 1907–08. The latter have been already published, and no further reference need be made to them here, except occasionally for purposes of comparison. As the illustrations shew, as far as possible, the form of the sherd as well as the exact nature of the lettering, detailed descriptions are superfluous, and brief comments will suffice. The items are arranged to some extent according to the types of vases dedicated, but no chronological order is attempted; where, however, a group of vases of more than one shape is found to bear the same dedicator's name, they have been placed together, as on Fig. 2, 1–7.

An Inscription of Eliba'al, King of Byblos

THE DISCOVERY of a third Phoenician inscription of earlier date than either the Moabite Stone or the Kalamu monument is especially welcome just now. By good fortune, the new find also comes from Byblos, thus giving us a better foothold for our study of Phoenician palaeography. We now have from this ancient city three royal inscriptions containing the same peculiar alphabetic forms: the epitaph of Ah-ira-m, of the 13th century; the votive inscription of Abiba'al, of the middle of the 10th century; 1 and the monument here discussed. The new inscribed object is a small statue of the Egyptian king Osorkon I (924-895 B. c.), the son and successor of Sesonk IS which was placed as a votive offering in the sanctuary of Ba'alath Gebal at Byblos by Ellba'al, king of that city. The monument is described, and the inscription deciphered and discussed, by Dussaud in Syria, VI (1925), 101-117. The monument was found by Wiedemann at Naples in 1881, and its hieroglyphic inscription was copied and published by him at that time. The Phoenician inscription was neglected, doubtless because it was not thought to be genuine. This statue, together with the fragment of another similar statue from the same sanctuary, was sold in Paris in 1910; and this time also the Phoenician inscription seems to have been regarded as a forgery, presumably because of the peculiar form of a few of the characters. It will be remembered that the Abiba'al inscription, although it had been known for a quarter of a century previous to its decipherment, was suspected, or misread, until the discovery of the Ahirdm sarcophagus furnished the key. The inscription reads as follows: 2

Inscriptions from Beroea in Macedonia

The following inscriptions were copied by Mr. A. J. B. Wace at Verria (Beroea) in the course of his travels in Macedonia in 1911 and 1912. Thirty-four seem hitherto unknown, and are here published, followed by ten which have been published with varying degrees of accuracy, mostly in the comprehensive collection of Macedonian inscriptions, and archaeological and topographical notes of Demitsas. References to this work are numerous in the following pages, for it is the only publication which approximates to a Corpus of Macedonian Inscriptions. Of the newly published stones twenty-three are grave-stones, and of the remainder two (Nos. 10, 11) are so fragmentary that it is impossible to class them; four are statue-bases of the Imperial Age (Nos. 5–8); No. 1 is a copy of three letters written by Demetrios II while acting as regent for his father Antigonos Gonatas; and the remainder (Nos. 2, 3, 4, 9) are votive inscriptions of various sorts. No. 2 is a dedication of a manumitted female slave, accompanied by a commendatory letter from the brothers of the dedicatrix; No. 3 records the dedication in the 2nd century B.C. to the Healing Divinities of a stone-built dormitory and exedra, no doubt in connexion with the custom of incubation; No. 4 is the base of a votive statue to Hermes erected by the board of ἀγορανόμοι, and almost contemporary with No. 3; and No. 9 is a mutilated dedication accompanied by reliefs of the soles of two human feet, which it is natural to interpret in connexion with the cult of the Healing Divinities.

Discoveries by the American School at Plataia in 1890. VI. Votive Inscription

Previous articleNext article FreeDiscoveries by the American School at Plataia in 1890. VI. Votive InscriptionRufus B. RichardsonRufus B. Richardson Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 7, Number 4December 1891 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/496468 Views: 5 Journal History This article was published in The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts (1885-1896), which is continued by American Journal of Archaeology (1897-present). Copyright © 1891 by the Archaeological Institute of America. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.