Support: Two adjacent white marble panels recomposed from numerous fragments, the left one (a) nearly complete, (w: 0.705 × h: 0.30 × d: 0.065); the right one (b) having lost about one half at right (width 0.34).

Layout: Inscribed in two lines on front face.

Letters: 0.10; xi with vertical central stroke, slanting sigma, calice-shaped upsilon.

Date: Between ca. 325 BC (Laronde) and ca. 290 BC (Rosamilia). (prosopography).

Findspot: Found by G. Oliverio in 1932 at Cyrene ➚: Sanctuary of Apollo, Greek Propylaeum.

Place of origin: Findspot.

Last recorded location: Cyrene Museum, 342+359. Seen by Pugliese Carratelli in 1960 in Shahat: Cyrene Museum. Stones seen by C. Dobias-Lalou in 1976 in the Museum. A cast has been placed in the South architrave of the Greek Propylaeum.

Text constituted from: Transcription from stone (CDL).

Apparatus

French translation

Praxiadas fils d'Eukleidas a consacré (scil. ce monument), pendant sa prêtrise.

English translation

Praxiadas son of Eukleidas dedicated (scil. this monument) while being priest.

Italian translation

Praxiadas figlio di Eukleidas ha dedicato (scil. questo monumento) quando era sacerdote.

Commentary

At SECir, Pugliese Carratelli cited part of the then unpublished 'Report of excavations during summer 1933' in posession of the Antiquities Department of Cyrene with the following description: «Tempio di Apollo. Propilei preromani che il sacerdote Praxiade figlio di Eu--- offrì ad Apollo (…) Nel mezzo dell' architrave era incastrata la lastra di marmo iscritta, che ricorda Praxiade, rinvenuta in numerosi frammenti». In fact, before having identified the function of the building, Oliverio had already discovered the fragmentary inscription in 1932, as proven by the the recent publication of the ancient annual Reports (see Luni 2014, p. 135 for 1932 and p. 141 for 1933).

Laronde 1987, pp. 107, 191 has convincingly dated the inscription at the beginning of the fourth quarter of the fourth century BC, arguing that his proposed restoration of the father's name fitted exactly the space available at line 1, allowing to place this priest into a well-known family. This restoration has been generally endorsed (nothing at all survives of the first restored letter, a kappa).

A cast of the inscription has been inserted into the Propylaeum, restored in a status dated with archaeological arguments at the beginning of the third century. Rosamilia 2023 thus dates the priesthood between 300 and 290 BC.

Both opinions are not irreconciliable if we accept the idea that Praxiadas' benefaction did not happen at the ultimate stage of elaboration of the passage between the Upper Terrace and the Sanctuary proper, the more so that the restored placement of the dedication is too high to let it be easily readable.

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Images

Fig. 1. Face of igcyr098200 Dedication of the Propylaeum

Maps