IRCyr   Inscriptions of Roman Cyrenaica

C.146. Fragmentary prayer for the safety of the Emperor

Description: Fragment from the right side of a white marble stele (w: 0.21 x h: 0.20 x d: 0.175).
Text: Inscribed on one face which has been badly and probably deliberately defaced, possibly during the Jewish revolt of 115 CE, or perhaps by Christians.
Letters: First century CE, 0.013.

Date: First century CE

Findspot: Cyrene: Agora; found before 1941, and lying in the north eastern corner of the squarein 1956.
Original location: Unknown.
Last recorded location: Cyrene Museum.

Interpretive

[---in ea uerba quae infra scripta sunt]
[Iupiter O(ptime) M(axime) si imperator --- que]ṃ nos sen-
[timus dicere uiuet domusque eius incolumis erit a(nte) d(iem) III non(as) Ian(uarias) quae proximae P(opulo) R(omano) Quiritibus reip(ublicae)] P̣(opuli) R(omani) Quiritium
[erunt fuerint eumque diem eosque saluos seruaueris ex periculis si qua sunt eruntue ante eum diem eue]ntumque bo[nu]m
5[ita uti nos sentimus dicere dederis eosque in eo statu quo nunc sunt aut eo meliore seruaue]ṛ[is] astu ẹa iṭa f̣axis
[tunc --- donum ? auri p(ondo) ? argenti p(ondo) ---]X̣V [t]ibi datum iri uouemu[s]
[Iuno Regina quae in uerba Ioui O(ptimo) M(aximo) boue aurato uouimus esse futurum] quod hodie uouimus
[astu ea ita faxis tunc tibi in eadem uerba boue aurato uouimus esse futurum] ( vac. 1)
[Minerua quae in uerba Ioui O(ptimo) M(aximo) boue aurato uouimus esse futurum] ( vac. 1)
10[astu ea ita faxis tunc tibi in eadem uerba boue aurata uouemus esse futurum] quod hodie uouimus ------

Diplomatic

[---.............................]
[....................---...].NOSSEN
[..................................................................................].RQUIRITIUM
[.....................................................................................]NTUMQUEBO[..]M
5[...........................................................................].[..]ASTU.AI.A.AXIS
[....---....................---].V[.]IBIDATUMIRIUOUEMU[.]
[.......................................................]QUODHODIEUOUIMUS
[..............................................................]  
[....................................................]  
10[..............................................................]QUODHODIEUOUIMUS------

Apparatus

The hypothetical restorations of this small fragment are taken from what we know of this kind of prayer: see further below.

English translation

Translation by: Editors

(Too fragmentary for a useful translation)

Commentary

From a set of prayers formulated in terms similar to those used by Arval Brothers for uota pro salute principis and especially for the annual vota on third January, see W. Henzen, Acta fratrum Arvalium, 89f. (available at Hathi Trust); cf. also P.97, P.204, P.339 at Ptolemais.

By comparison with the Arval Formulae - see Henzen, loc.cit. 100f. (at Hathi Trust) the text can be reconstructed as suggested.

Line 1: the gap was filled by the name of the emperor for whom the vow was offered.

Line 5: there may have been a definition of the community making the vow, as in the Arval prayer at this point: nomine collegi Fratrum Arvalium.

Iupiter may have been promised a bos auratus, 'gilded ox', as well as a donum. In the Arval Acta Iupiter is always promised an ox; and on two occasions, in 27 and in 38, when donum is also recorded a separate prayer was made for each offering, the full formula accompanying the offer of the ox, which was made first, and a condensed formula such as is used for Iuno Regina etc. accompanying the offer of the donum. It is probable that Iupiter was offered an ox here too, but since the full formula accompanies the offer of the donum either this was repeated twice, or the ox and donum were offered at the same time.

Apart from the texts at Ptolemais cited above above, the nearest provincial parallel to the text is the reference to the annual vota pro salute principis on the third January in the feriale Duranum text, found in a papyrus from Dura Europus, P.Dura 54, available at Papyri.info; but that is in a purely military context where the use of Latin and characteristically Roman ceremonial is natural and in any case does not include a verbatim account of the proceedings. It may be that the Cyrenaican docuements should be connected with the small Latin-speaking communities, presumably of Italian immigrants attested in Cyrene and Ptolemais in the first cent BCE and I cent CE.

Bibliography: Reynolds, 1962a, 1
Text constituted from: Transcription (Reynolds).

Images

   Fig. 1. Face (Joyce Reynolds)

   Fig. 2. Face

   Fig. 3. Face


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