Support: Limestone block, probably belonging to the same monument as IGCyr033700² and IGCyr084300²; chipped out on all sides and especially below; inscribed surface in bad condition; reused in Roman times (w: 1.17 × h: 0.28).

Layout: Inscribed in four lines centered along vertical axis.

Letters: 0.05; carefully cut, similar to IGCyr084300², especially alpha, pi, eta and phi.

Date: Between 168 and 164 BC (reign).

Findspot: Seen by all visitors since J.-R. Pacho (1825) at Ptolemais ➚, recut and reused in the rostra of the Square of the Cisterns, 5th file, 4th block from right.

Place of origin: Ptolemais ➚.

Last recorded location: Seen by C. Dobias-Lalou in 1979 at place of re-use in the Square of the Cisterns.

Text constituted from: Transcription from stone (CDL).

French translation

(scil. La statue) du roi Ptolémée, fils du roi Ptolémée et de la reine Cléopatre, le frère, Dieu Philomètôr, (scil. a été érigée par) la cité.

English translation

(scil. The statue of) king Ptolemy, son of king Ptolemy and of queen Cleopatra, the brother, God Philometor, (scil. has been dedicated by) the city.

Italian translation

(scil. La statua del) re Tolemeo, figlio del re Tolemeo e della regina Cleopatra, il fratello, Dio Filometore, (scil. è stata eretta dalla) città.

Arabic translation

(تمثال) الملك بتوليميوس (بطليموس)، ابن الملك بتوليميوس والملكة كليوباترا، شقيق المُؤله فيلوميتور، (كُرِس من قبل) المدينة.

Commentary

At Ptolemais there are three similar bases for members of the Lagid family (IGCyr033700², IGCyr033800² and IGCyr084300²), which were re-used in the same Roman monument that seems to lay upon the foundations of a Hellenistic monumental base to which they probably all belonged, perhaps along with a fourth one, now lost. The Roman monument is part of the so-called Square of the Cisterns, which may have been formerly either the gymnasium (Stucchi 1975, p. 128, footnote 3) or the agora (Laronde 1987, p. 398).

This base has long been thought to mention king Ptolemy VI Philometor; after the publication of IGCyr084300², it appears (Criscuolo 2001) that the latter was dedicated to him, while the present one honoured his younger brother, associated as king with him and their sister Cleopatra, whence the date.

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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 igcyr033800 Honours for Ptolemy VIII

Maps