Support: Fragment of a white marble block broken off on all sides (preserved dimensions w: 0.06 × h: 0.175 × d: 0.06).

Layout: Inscribed on the face.

Letters: Careful letters not pressed together (0.01) with light serifs; narrow alpha with straight bar, non-slanting sigma, often taller than the average size, phi with regular oval loop, psi with stiff oblique arms, horse-shoe omega rather classical in shape.

Date: Probably last quarter of second or first quarter of first century BC (lettering).

Findspot: Found presumably before World War II at Cyrene ➚: exact findspot not registered.

Place of origin: Findspot.

Last recorded location: Cyrene Museum, 46. Seen in 1979 by Dobias-Lalou in Shahat: Cyrene Museum.

Text constituted from: Transcription from stone (CDL).

French translation

[---] ses actes [---] plaise aux gerontes et au conseil [---] décret [---] inscrivent [--- fournissent] l'argent [---]

English translation

[---] his deeds [---] it was decided by the gerontes and the council [---] decree [---] inscribe [--- provide] the money [---]

Italian translation

[---] i suoi atti [---] decidano i gerontes e il consiglio [---] decreto [---] iscrivano [--- forniscano] il denaro [---]

Commentary

In spite of its very lacunar condition, this inscription is clearly part of a public decree: the word itself is preserved at line 8 and it is possible to restore at line 7 the local formulation of decisions, better preserved at Taucheira in IGCyr066900², ll. 62-63. The verb 'to inscribe' is therefore a plausible restoration at line 10, whereas at line 11 the mention of 'money' might be compared with the provisions attested in the same decree, where the ephors were in charge of erecting the statue and the base while the treasurers would provide the necessary money. However, it seems hazardous to complete so long a lacuna. In the preceding part of the text, the good deeds of the honoured person were reminded. The few letters at line 3 seem to belong to a personal name in -μναστος; however, other restitutions are possible.

The language is the local dialect, as shown by ψάφισμα. Consequently, at line 9 the preserved segment cannot belong to the Attic word for 'victory'. It might perhaps belong to the verb 'to be victorious' in the subjunctive, but the context is too unclear to allow any conclusion. Therefore we did not translate that line.

Very few decrees of the city of Cyrene are known to us. This one, dated from the lettering, seems to belong to the end of the Hellenistic period. We have a handful of them in the Roman period.

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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. View of igcyr136500 Fragmentary decree of honours

Fig. 2. Squeeze of igcyr136500 Fragmentary decree of honours

Maps