Support: Three non-adjacent fragments of a white marble panel of which the left part is lost; at back, a margin with lesser depth was probably intended for inserting the panel into a wall or monument; fragment a (inv. 180), broken off above, below and at left (w: 0.215 × h: 0.175 × d: 0.04-0.05); fragment b (inv. 1001) broken off on all four sides (w: 0.14 × h: 0.125 × d: 0.05); fragment c (inv. 190) broken off above, at left and right, but keeping a very small part of the lower right angle (w: 0.13 × h: 0.16 × d: 0.05).

Layout: Inscribed on the face with at least 20 to 24 lines of verse (one line per verse, leaving larger spaces at the end of the pentameters and also a space between the two hemistichs of the same); ending with 1 line of text.

Letters: Verse: 0.08; last line 0.01; very carefully cut, with large serifs; alpha rather narrow with straight bar, beta with larger lower loop, spool-shaped zeta, theta wit central short bar, xi with three independent bars, slightly smaller round letters, non-slanting sigma, phi with flattened loop.

Date: First century BC, preferably Augustan (lettering).

Findspot: Fragment a was found in 1916 by E. Ghislanzoni at Cyrene ➚: on the North side of the Acropolis, in the Iseum. The two other fragments were plausibly found in the same area in 1935.

Place of origin: Findspot.

Last recorded location: Cyrene Museum, 180+1001+190. Seen by C. Dobias-Lalou in 1977 (fragment b) and 1979 (fragments a and c) in Shahat: Cyrene Museum.

Text constituted from: Transcription from stones (CDL).

Apparatus

French translation

(Fragment a) [---] (3) [---]soumis par les lances (4) [---] l'esclavage (5) [---] (6) [---] partageant le même trône, mena vers la lumière (7) [---] conduisant les enfants (8) [---] en bas, vers les prairies de l'Achéron (9) [---] aux ports de Perséphone (9) [---] vers l'éther le mortel qui fabriqua (10) [---] il fit.

(Fragment b) [---] (2) [---] notre cité [---] (3) [---] et inextinguible [---] (4) [---] les seuls sceptres [---] (5) [---] tes implusions [---] (6) [---] [] [] (7) [---] doux [---].

(Fragment c) [---] (2) [---] les pierres (3) [---] toutes les eaux (4) [---] la lumière [---].

[Un tel fils de ---]ès a consacré.

English translation

(Fragment a) [---] (3) [---]submitted with the spears (4) [---] slavery (5) [---] (6) [---] sharing the same throne brought into light (7) [---] conveying the children (8) [---] down to the meadow-land of Acheron (9) [---] to Persephone's harbours (9) [---] to the ether the mortal who produced (10) [---] he made.

(Fragment b) [---] (2) [---] our city [---] (3) [---] and unextinguishable [---] (4) [---] the only sceptres [---] (5) [---] your impulses [---] (6) [---] [] [] (7) [---] sweet [---].

(Fragment c) [---] (2) [---] the stones (3) [---] all waters (4) [---] the light [---].

[So-and-so son of ---]es dedicated.

Italian translation

(Fragment a) [---] (3) [---]sottomesso dalle lance (4) [---] schiavitù (5) [---] (6) [---] condividendo lo stesso trono, condusse verso la luce (7) [---] conducendo i bambini (8) [---] giù verso le terre fertili dell'Acheronte (9) [---] ai porti di Persefone (9) [---] all'etere il mortale che costruisce (10) [---] egli fece.

(Fragment b) [---] (2) [---] nostra città [---] (3) [---] e inestinguibile [---] (4) [---] i soli scettri [---] (5) [---] i tuoi impulsi [---] (6) [---] [] [] (7) [---] dolce [---].

(Fragment c) [---] (2) [---] le pietre (3) [---] tutte le acque (4) [---] la luce [---].

[Il tale figlio di ---]es ha dedicato.

Commentary

That the three fragments belong together was seen independently both by J.M. Reynolds and C. Dobias-Lalou. The publication of the main fragment (a) occurred in 1927. As the two other fragments were numbered and kept in the epigraphical storeroom as displayed after the moving of World War II, they are plausibly part of those mentioned in Oliverio's Report on the excavations of 1935 (now available in Luni 2014, p. 152) as «numerosi frammenti di sculture e di iscrizioni, sfuggiti ai primi scavatori». Whereas fragment (c) clearly belongs to the bottom of the panel, the relative placement of fragments (a) and (b) cannot be established, as there is no match to link them together. The order given here is thus arbitrary and (a) is placed first only because it is more complete.

Fragment (c) shows that the inscription was primarily a dedication. This rules out Oliverio's interpretation as a hymn, clearly related to his publishing it together with GVCyr041², and already questioned by others. Ferri took the poem as the expression of gratitude by an initiate for his salvation from enslavement to the ills of humanity; the argument of initiation might be confirmed by the archeological excavations of S. Ensoli (Ensoli 2007). Hiller von Graetringen was nearer to a dedicatory epigram when restoring what might have been the memorial produced by the son of a dead father who had been awarded to stay in ether instead of going down to hell. He was followed by Peek, who furthermore, emphasizing δουλοσύνας, imagined that the dead had saved his city from enslavement by enemies. The new elements in the two additional fragments, praising Isis' universal powers, rather suggest the sort of salvation provided by the goddess and make clearer why the dedication was found in her sanctuary. However tantalizing some of Hiller's restorations do seem, we preferred to record them in the apparatus and produce a more cautious edition.

Among the two verse-inscriptions found in the sanctuary of Isis on the acropolis, which are both dedications, this one has less to do with a hymn than GVCyr041², even if both praise the powers of the goddess.

Generally speaking, this epigram offers many dialectal features. The use of contrasted forms φῶς at a.5 and φάος at c.4 is a poetic licence allowing to adapt the phrase to the required rhythm.

At b.7, το might be either the article or a verbal middle ending and γλυκυ may stay by itself or be part of a compound adjective.

Metrical analysis: the very regular elegiac couplets deserve few commentary. At b.5, σαί should be shortend by a following initial vowel. At b.6 θα seems to be at a place were it should belong to a long syllable, either because the vowel was long or because the syllable was closed.

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All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain a link back to DOI: https://doi.org/10.60760/unibo/igcyrgvcyr2 and the filename (IGCyr000000 or GVCyr000), as well as the year of consultation.

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