Support: Two adjacent fragments of a greyish marble altar with three compartments, of which the left one is broken off and lost (one further compartement might have existed originally); the altar is also broken off at rear (w: 0.99- × h: 0.24 × d: 0.28).

Layout: Inscribed on two lines, each name at line 1 corresponding to one compartment.

Letters: 0.25; smaller circular letters, slanting sigma, phi with flattened loop.

Date: Probably second half of third century BC (lettering).

Findspot: Found before 1923 at Cyrene ➚: Sanctuary of Apollo, under the Southern part of the Byzantine Baths.

Place of origin: Findspot.

Last recorded location: Seen by C. Dobias-Lalou in 1982 in a room to the east of the vestibule of the Byzantine Baths. Seen by E. Rosamilia in 2012 at the same place.

Text constituted from: Transcription from stone (CDL).

Apparatus

French translation

(scil. Autel de?) [---]; (scil. autel de) [---]; (scil. autel) d'Apollon; (scil. autel) d'Aphrodite.

[Untel] durant sa prêtrise a fait graver (scil. les mentions) sur les autels.

English translation

(scil. Altar of?) [---]; (scil. altar of) [---]; (scil. altar )of Apollo; (scil. altar) of Aphrodite.

[So and so], while priest, had (scil. the mentions) inscribed on the altars.

Italian translation

(scil. Altare di?) [---]; (scil. altare di) [---]; (scil. altare) di Apollo; (scil. altare) di Afrodite.

[Il tale] durante il suo sacerdozio ha fatto iscrivere (scil. i nomi) sugli altari.

Commentary

This one is more valuable that the others among the altars with compartments standing in that part of the sanctuary (so-called 'agorà degli dei'). It seems also somewhat later than the others and should have been erected at a time when the Strategeion was already standing nearby and the Greek Propylaeum was built with re-arrangement of the whole area.

The priest's name is lost. Owing to the space available, it would have been a short one and have stood alone, without the father's name. Rosamilia 2023 argues that a priest's mention should not lack his father's name and concludes that the altar was much wider and included four compartments dedicated to four deities. We follow now this interesting hypothesis. However, as the mention of a person responsible for the inscription is exceptional, we cannot be sure that the complete onomastic formula should necessarily stay here.

In his commentary about this altar in SECir, Pugliese Carratelli wrote that he had found in Oliverio's notebooks mention of another altar dedicated to three deities: Paian, Aphrodite and Apollo. This meagre piece of information evidently did not allow him to publish it, neither does it allow us.

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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.

Images

Fig. 1. Face of igcyr022100 Dedication to Apollo and Aphrodite

Fig. 2. Face of igcyr022100 Dedication to Apollo and Aphrodite

Maps