Support: Small local Derna limestone female half-figure with polos, clad in himation (w: 0.15 × h: 0.22 × d: 0.036).

Layout: Lightly scratched on the polos (height 0.018; diameter 0.06).

Letters: Height 0.006; width 0.024; lunate epsilon, alpha with dropped bar, probably cursive lettering.

Date: Perhaps third century BC

Findspot: Found by A. Rowe in 1957 at Cyrene ➚, North Necropolis: courtyard of N81 Cassels, sarcophagus KK Rowe.

Place of origin: Findspot.

Last recorded location: Manchester Museum, M1185+M1333. Observed by S. Walker before 2005 in Manchester: Manchester Museum. Not seen by IGCyr team.

Text constituted from: Transcription from editor (CDL).

Apparatus

French translation

Déesse.

English translation

Goddess.

Italian translation

Dea.

Arabic translation

الآلهه.

Commentary

Although the archaeological context seems to suggest a rather earlier date (fifth to fourth century) and although nothing is known about the development of the cursive lettering in Cyrenaica, we prefer to ascribe the graffito to a date somewhat later than the statue itself. When discussing this problem, J.M. Reynolds, who stressed the fact that this is a graffito, did not suggest that it might have been added later on. However, it was easy to add the letters on the limestone statue that was standing in the open air.

This is the first written mention of the funerary goddess, whoever she was, featured in the Cyrenaican half statues. For another mention of a nameless goddess, who is evidently Demeter, see at IGCyr114800².

We don't agree with Tybout, who at SEG, 55.1867 thought that this was a dedication of «the deceased having been 'given' to the goddess». The nameless goddess was rather protecting the deceased.

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Deed Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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.

Maps