Support: Limestone base with a plain moulding on three sides only on top (w: 0.785 × h: 0.35 × d: 0.334).

Layout: Inscribed on front face along one guideline, beginning at 0.21 from left edge and 0.256 from right edge (w: 0.665 × h: 0.185).

Letters: 0.045-0.055; much worn out and difficult to read; smaller dotted theta.

Date: Second half of second century BC (context, lettering).

Findspot: Found in 2005 at Cyrene ➚: Southern Extra-Mural Sacred Zone, in the naos of the Extra-Mural Temple of Demeter.

Place of origin: Findspot.

Last recorded location: Seen by G. Paci in 2008 in situ at Shahat, in the Extra-Mural Temple of Demeter. Not seen by IGCyr team.

Text constituted from: Transcription from photograph (SMM).

French translation

À la déesse.

English translation

To the goddess.

Italian translation

Alla dea.

Commentary

The most convincing parallels mentioned by Marengo of the use of the simple θεά are IGCyr002100² and IGCyr002300² from Taucheira, also for Demeter. The same name in IGCyr093200² is probably a different case.

The discovery of the base in the naos suggests that it is the cult statue; the statue of a single seated deity (Cellini 2010) rules out the reading as a nominative plural θεαί. It is likely that the main deity of a sanctuary may be simply called 'the goddess'.

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.

Images

Fig. 1. Face of igcyr114800 Dedication to thea

Fig. 2. Back of igcyr114800 Dedication to thea

Fig. 3. Drawing of igcyr114800 Dedication to thea

Maps