Support: Small marble altar with plain mouldings on top and bottom (w: 0.165 × h: 0.12 × d: 0.11).

Layout: Inscribed on front face, axial layout not respected at right (w: 0.235 × h: 0.075).

Letters: 0.003-0.008; serifs, alpha with dropped bar, little omicron, pi with projecting upper bar, non-slanting sigma; delta erroneously duplicated at line 2.

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

Findspot: Found in 2010 at Cyrene ➚: in the Southern Extra-Mural Sacred Zone, in an oikos between the the temple of Demeter and the Southern temple precinct (also called Apotropaion): room F1, sounding 18, SU 6.

Place of origin: Findspot.

Last recorded location: Not seen by IGCyr team. Seen by E. Rosamilia in 2010 in Shahat: Casa Parisi, Storeroom of the Italian missions.

Text constituted from: Transcription from photograph (SMM).

French translation

Damophilos fils de Damophilos (scil. a consacré ce monument) à Apollon, Zeus et Athèna, (scil. dieux) Apotropaioi.

English translation

Damophilos son of Damophilos (scil. dedicated this monument) to Apollo, Zeus and Athena, (scil. gods) Apotropaioi.

Italian translation

Damophilos figlio di Damophilos (scil. ha dedicato questo monumento) ad Apollo, Zeus e Atena, (scil. dèi) Apotropaioi.

Commentary

Rosamilia 2023, after study of the stone, explains that the stonecutter probably intended at a first stage to have all three divine names on line 2, began to cut Zeus' name by its firs letter, a delta, then changed his mind, left a space and cut only Zeus name at the end of the line. He was thus able to centre Athena's name at line 3.

This dedication gives a decisive clue for IGCyr016700², ll. 4-7: the mentioned gates are the Southern ones and the Apotropaion is located along the road to Western Cyrenaica, in view of the gates.

The Doric genitive ending in -ω is preserved, but Athena is written in koine. At the presumed date of the inscription, this feature might be due to the influence of the koine rather than be a reflex of a non-Doric origin of the dedicant (pace Antonini 2016, p. 46).

The worship of Apollo Apotropaios at Cyrene is documented in IGCyr016700², ll. 6-7 and IGCyr100200², ll. 3-4. No other mention of this epithet was hitherto known for the two other gods.

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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 igcyr114900 Dedication to the gods Apotropaioi

Maps