IRCyr: C.306. Building inscription for the temple of Jason Magnus

Description: Three damaged architrave blocks of limestone (each originally w: 2.39 x h: 0.48 x d: 0.54).
Text: Inscribed on one face, which is now extremely worn.
Letters: Second century: line 1, 0.095; lines 2-4, 0.08.

Date: CE 176-180

Findspot: Cyrene: Temple of Jason Magnus, in the pronaos; found in 1922.
Original location: Unknown
Last recorded location: Temple of Jason Magnus: restored in situ (2008).

Interpretive

[ὑπὲρ τᾶς Αὐτοκρα]τόρων Καισάρων Μ(άρκωι) Αὐρηλίωι Ἀντ[ω] | νείν[ωι καὶ Λ(ουκίωι) Αὐρηλί]ωι Κομόδωι
[Σεβαστῶν νείκα]ς̣ Τι(βέριος) Κλαύδιος Ἰάσων Μάγ | νος ἱαρεὺς ἐπώνυμος τῶ κτίστα Ἀπόλλωνος [τ]ὸν ναὸν ἐκ
[θεμελίων c. 16ἐκ τᾶν τ]ῶ̣ Ἀ[πόλλωνος προσόδ] | ων κατεσκεύασεν ἀφιερώσαντος
[c. 45] | Ω̣Θ̣ΕΙΩ [c. 1 - 2]τω κ̣α̣ὶ πρεσβ[ευτὰ] ἐπ’ἀγαθῷ

Diplomatic

[..............]ΤΟΡΩΝΚΑΙΣΑΡΩΝΜΑΥΡΗΛΙΩΙΑΝΤ[.] | ΝΕΙΝ[.............]ΩΙΚΟΜΟΔΩΙ
[.............].ΤΙΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΣΙΑΣΩΝΜΑΓ | ΝΟΣΙΑΡΕΥΣΕΠΩΝΥΜΟΣΤΩΚΤΙΣΤΑΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ[.]ΟΝΝΑΟΝΕΚ
[........················......].Α[..............] | ΩΝΚΑΤΕΣΚΕΥΑΣΕΝΑΦΙΕΡΩΣΑΝΤΟΣ
[·············································] | ..ΕΙΩ[c. 1 - 2]ΤΩ..ΙΠΡΕΣΒ[....]ΕΠΑΓΑΘΩ

1: [Αὐτοκρα]τόρων Oliverio, 1928 at left end
2: [Σεβαστῶν] Τι(βέριος) Oliverio, 1928 at left end
3: [τῶν ἀρχιδίων ἐκ τᾶν τῶ Ἀπόλλωνος προσόδ]ων Oliverio, 1928
4: [τῶ ἱαρεῦς καλλιέτευς Τιβερίωι Κλαυδί]ω Θευ[φράσ]τωι καὶ πρεσβ[ευτᾶ] Ἐπαγάθω. Oliverio, 1928

Italian translation

Translation source: Vitali, 1932

Essendo imperatori Cesari Augusti M. Aurelio Antonino e Lucio Aurelio Commodo, Tiberio Claudio lasone Magno, sacerdote eponimo di Apollo Ctiste, fece costruire il tempio.... dedicandolo il sacerdote... Theofrasto e il legato Epagatilo.

English translation

Translation by: Charlotte Roueché

[For the victory] of the Emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, [Augusti]: Ti(berios) Klaudios (i.e. Ti(berius) Claudius) Iason Magnos (i.e. Magnus) eponymous priest of Apollo the Founder, constructed the temple from [the foundations out of the income of Apollo]; the consecration was made by [ . . . ?proconsul] and legate, for good fortune.

Commentary

Line 2: Joint emperors between 176 and 180; it is noteworthy that the name of Commodus has not been erased.

Line 2: Or [ὑγιεία]ς; but the successful fighting in Mauretania in 177 and on the Danube from 177 onwards makes a dedication for victory very likely; cf. the closely related C.661, line 1.

Line 2: For Jason Magnυs see on C.64

Line 3: This title, restored in C.661, line 2, is not otherwise attested at Cyrene but occurs at Teucheira in the late second century CE (T.13).

Line 4: This is the earliest dated appearαnce of Apollo as Ktistes in the formal title of an eponymus priest.

The first gap presumably contained a phrase like σὺν πάντι τοὶ κόσμοι, cf. C.661, line 3.

The second gap contained the name and the title of the proconsul followed by the name and beginning of the title of his assistant, see C.661, lines 3, 4. What remains of the title of the assistant does not quite conform to normal rules - a possible restoration would be to asume that the proconsul's legate was his uncle (since it was not unusual to use family members in such a role) and restore [...συναποδήμω τ]ῶ θείω [ὠ]τῶ καὶ πρεσβ[ευτὰ] or perhaps a name -]ω θείω [ὠ]τῶ καὶ πρεσβ[ευτὰ]; too much of the surface survives to allow [αὐ]τῶ but for [ὠ]τῶ cf. the nearly contemporary C.420, line 3.

Bibliography: Oliverio, 1928, 17, p.335, fig. 23, on which Ferri, 1929, 400, also mentioned Oliverio, 1929, 145; from these Boehringer, 1929 407, SEG 9.172, PHI 324023 whence Oliver, 1970, p. 101.a; see also Ferri, 1923, 8; and Oliverio, 1931, 61, and Oliverio, 1940, 403; Vitali, 1932, 95; mentioned Kenrick, 2013, 215.
Text constituted from: Transcription (Reynolds).