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Inscribed Stele Fragment (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)
Inscribed Stele Fragment: Confession Inscription? Dedicated to Men Artemidorou
- Date
- 2nd–3rd century AD?, Roman
- Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
- IN64.032
- Material
- Marble, Stone
- Object Type
- Stele, Inscription
- Inscription Type
- Religious Inscription
- Inscription language
- Greek
- Inscription Text
[? Μέγας Μεὶς] Ἀρτεμιδ[ώρου] [ κα]τέχων [ ] [ ]ου ἐπε[ ] 4 [ ] Φιλοξε[ν- ] [ ]ρου ὁρκο[ ] [ στηλ]ο̣γρα̣φη̣[σ- ] - - - - - (?) - - - -
- Inscription Translation
- “[? Great is Men] Artemid[orou - - -] possessing [- - -] Philoxe[n- - - -] oath [- - -] write down on a stele [- - -].”
- Inscription Comment
- Site
- Sardis
- Sector
- RT
- Trench
- Syn 64
- B-Grid Coordinates
- E128.5 / S6 *98.50
- Findspot
- Road Trench.
- Description
Fragment of a stele of white marble; broken on all sides. Above the inscription are the remains of a crescent.
- Dimensions
- H. 0.35, W. 0.16, Th. 0.05, H. of letters 0.018.
- Comments
1–3 Herrmann considers [? Μέγας Μεὶς] Ἀρτεμιδ[ώρου / Ἀξιοττα κα]τέχων (see the commentaries on Petzl, Beichtinschriften, nos. 54, 55, 68, and 79; Malay and Petzl, New Religious Texts, pp. 135–37) καὶ ἡ / δύναμις αὐτ]οῦ.
3 ἐπε[ ]: perhaps the beginning of a report ἐπε[ὶ, etc.] or a form like ἐπε[ζήτησεν] (see no. 453, 3–4; no. 479, 3; Petzl, Beichtinschriften, p. 155, Index s.vv.).
5 For the importance of oaths in confession inscriptions see Petzl, Beichtinschriften, no. 58 comm. An ὁρκομνήμων is mentioned in TAM V 3, 1551, 3–4.
6 The verb στηλ(λ)ογραφέω is typical for confession inscriptions; see Petzl, Beichtinschriften, p. 162, Index s.v.
It seems highly probable that the fragment belongs to a confession inscription.
- See Also
- Bibliography
- Unpublished. Herrmann, ms.
- Author
- GP