Dedication to Enyalios by Eupolemos
created: Transcription from stone (CDL).
source date: Between 283 and 260 BC
language: ar; en; fr; de; grc; grc-Latn; el; he
availability: 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. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

[...], pp. 572-581, whence [...], 17.817; [...], n. 4; [...] 022. Cf. [...], p. 100; [...], n. 2; [...], n. T 9, whence [...], 47.2357; [...], whence [...], 49.2352; [...], pp. 70-71; [...], whence [...], 53.2028; [...], p. 329, whence [...], 64.2009; [...], p. 199-200; 201, whence [...] 68.1745; [...], p. 386, number 115 (text).

Ἀσπὶς Ἐνυαλίωι πρέπον ἄνθεμα καὶ φάλαρα ἵππων
ποικίλα· τὰν Νίκαν δὲ ἀνθέμεν Εὐπόλεμος
φατὶ Μάγαι βασιλῆϊ καλὸν γέρας, ὄφρα ὑπὸ τᾶιδε
σκῆπτρά τε καὶ λαοὺς καὶ πτολίεθρα σαοῖ.

Ἀσπὶς[^a1]

[^a1: Ἀσπὶς | Αἰγὶς]

Un bouclier est pour Enyalios une consécration convenable, avec des plaques de harnais

scintillantes; quant à la Victoire, Eupolémos proclame

qu'il l'a consacrée au roi Magas comme un beau privilège, afin que sous son patronage

il sauvegarde ses sceptres, ses peuples et ses cités.

[trad. Fr. Chamoux]

A shield is for Enyalios a fitting offering, with glittering

cheek-pieces; as to the Victory, Eupolemos declares

that he dedicated her to king Magas as a fine gift, so that, with her help,

he will be able to save his sceptres, his peoples and his cities.

Uno scudo per Enyalios è offerta conveniente, e falere scintillanti

di cavalli; la Vittoria, Eupolemos proclama

che l'ha dedicata al re Magas come speciale privilegio, in modo che, con la sua protezione,

i suoi scettri, i suoi popoli, le sue città egli salvi.

[درع] لأجل إنياليوس، الهدية المناسبة ، مع أَلجِمَةٌ لامعةً لفكتوري (آلهة النصر). إفبيليموس صرح بأنه كان قد أهداها (تمثال فكتوري) إلى الملك ماجاس كأفضل هدية، أملاً في أن الملك ربما يستطيع بمساعدتها أن يحفظ صوَالجة (أي عُروشه) و شعبه ومدنه.

The epigram dates from the royal period of Magas in Cyrene. C. Marquaille in her thesis suggests more precisely a date around 275 BC (cf. [...], pp. 70-71).

There is no reason to supply the word for 'aegis' (cuirass), as proposed by Peek, instead of 'shield', which is an actual piece of the outfit of a soldier, as well as the metal discs decorating the harness of his horse. There are many examples of such dedications for Enyalios or Ares. For the cult of Ares in the Port of Cyrene, there is no sure parallel, his name being only possible in IGCyr062600.

A small statue of winged Nike ('Victory') was presumably attached on the top of the base and this offering was especially for king Magas, who was worshipped like the other kings of the Ptolemaic dynasty (see IGCyr020000). As he became king of Cyrenaica in 283 and died in 250 (Chamoux, Laronde) or rather 260 (Rosamili), this dedication may be dated inside a short span of time.

Chamoux emphasized the careful composition of this poem and thought that it might be a work of Callimachus or a poet in his circle. Anyhow, there are subtle arguments relying Magas' with Philadelphos' own kingship, probably echoing their rivalry. So the verb 'to save' might allude to the former Ptolemy's epithet 'Soter'. As the last word of the epigram, it might be its point (pace [...], p. 100).

At line 4, the plural for 'sceptres, peoples and cities' may be explained by a poetic amplification. However, λαοί may also have a precise meaning, referring to the semi-hellenised Libyan tribes (for which see [...], n. T 9).

Metrical analysis: two quite regular elegiac couplets.