IRCyr   Inscriptions of Roman Cyrenaica

C.416. Civic decree honouring priest of Augustus and veteran of Marmaric War

Description: Inscribed stone.
Text: No description.
Letters: No description.

Date: Early first century CE

Findspot: Cyrene: Findspot unrecorded, but possibly the Sanctuary of Apollo. Certainly copied at Cyrene and recorded in the files of M. Fourmont (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Supplément grec, n.855 a, fol. 299).
Original location: Unknown; possibly Sanctuary.
Last recorded location: Findspot c.1835

Interpretive

a
[ - - - - - - - - - - ]
[c. 6]ΝΚΘΑΥΤ[c. 7]
[---τὰν ἐ]πι̣μ̣[έ]λ̣ειαν ταύ̣[ταν καὶ]
[---ἀξία]ν κα[ὶ] τ̣ῶν προγ̣όνω̣[ν καὶ]
[τᾶς πα]τρίδος ποιησάμενο̣[ς ἱερ-]
5[ατε]ύσας τε δὶς Καίσαρος τῶ̣ [Σεβα-
στῶ?] ἐκτενῶς καὶ φιλοτείμως
[καὶ] πρεσβεύσας ἐν τῷ Μαρμα-
ρικῷ πολέμῳ ἐν χειμῶσι ἑαυ-
τὸν ἐς τὸς κινδύνος ἐπιδὸς
10καὶ τὰν ἐπικαιροτάταν συμμα-
[χ]ίαν καὶ πρὸς σωτηρίαν τ[ᾶ]ς πό-
[λ]εος ἀνηκοίσαν ἀγαγὼν πα̣ρ<α>λ̣α̣-
βών τε τὸν κτίστα τᾶς πόλιος ἁμῶν Ἀπόλλωνος σ{π}τέ-
φ̣ανον καὶ τὰ̣ πρὸς θεὸς ἐκτε-
15νῶς καὶ εὐσεβῶ{ι}ς ἐτέλ[ε]σεν κα̣ὶ̣
τὰ ποτὶ τὸς ἀνθρώπος μεγαλ[ο-]
ψύχ̣ως καὶ πλουσίως ὑπὲρ δύ̣-
ναμιν ( vac. 1) δεδόχθαι ποτὶ τα[ῖ]ς̣
προγεγονοίσαις αὐτῶι τειμ̣α[ῖ]ς̣
20ἐπαινέσαι τε αὐτὸν τὰν πόλ̣ι̣[ν]
δ̣α̣μ̣οσίαι καὶ πα̣ρ<α>καλέ[σαι c. 5]
[------]
b
[ - - - - - - - - - - ἀρ-]
χοντα ἀνθέμε[ν δὲ αὐτῶι ἐς]
ὃς καὶ δηλ[ῶ]νται δαμ[οσίαι τό-]
πος καὶ ἐς τὸ τῶ̣ Ἀ[πόλλωνος]
ἱαρὸν ἄγαλμα Πάριν̣[ον καὶ ὅ-]
5πλον ἐπίχρυσον ἔ[χοντα ἐπι-]
γρα[φά]ς Φάον Κλεά[ρχω τῶ Φι-]
λοπάτριδος ἀρετᾶς [καὶ τᾶς]
ποτὶ τὰ̣ν πόλιν εὐν[οίας ἕνε-]
κε̣ Κυραναίοι [---]

Diplomatic

a
[ - - - - - - - - - - ]
[······]ΝΚΘΑΥΤ[·······]
[---....]Π..[.].ΕΙΑΝΤΑ.[......]
[---....]ΝΚΑ[.].ΩΝΠΡΟ.ΟΝ.[....]
[.....]ΤΡΙΔΟΣΠΟΙΗΣΑΜΕΝ.[....-]
5[...]ΥΣΑΣΤΕΔΙΣΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣΤ.[.......]ΕΚΤΕΝΩΣΚΑΙΦΙΛΟΤΕΙΜΩΣ
[...]ΠΡΕΣΒΕΥΣΑΣΕΝΤΩΜΑΡΜΑ
ΡΙΚΩΠΟΛΕΜΩΕΝΧΕΙΜΩΣΙΕΑΥ
ΤΟΝΕΣΤΟΣΚΙΝΔΥΝΟΣΕΠΙΔΟΣ
10ΚΑΙΤΑΝΕΠΙΚΑΙΡΟΤΑΤΑΝΣΥΜΜΑ
[.]ΙΑΝΚΑΙΠΡΟΣΣΩΤΗΡΙΑΝΤ[.]ΣΠΟ
[.]ΕΟΣΑΝΗΚΟΙΣΑΝΑΓΑΓΩΝΠ.Ρ..
ΒΩΝΤΕΤΟΝΚΤΙΣΤΑΤΑΣΠΟΛΙΟΣΑΜΩΝΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣΣΠΤΕ
.ΑΝΟΝΚΑΙΤ.ΠΡΟΣΘΕΟΣΕΚΤΕ
15ΝΩΣΚΑΙΕΥΣΕΒΩΙΣΕΤΕΛ[.]ΣΕΝΚ..
ΤΑΠΟΤΙΤΟΣΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΣΜΕΓΑΛ[.-]
ΨΥ.ΩΣΚΑΙΠΛΟΥΣΙΩΣΥΠΕΡΔ.
ΝΑΜΙΝ  ΔΕΔΟΧΘΑΙΠΟΤΙΤΑ[.].
ΠΡΟΓΕΓΟΝΟΙΣΑΙΣΑΥΤΩΙΤΕΙ.Α[.].
20ΕΠΑΙΝΕΣΑΙΤΕΑΥΤΟΝΤΑΝΠΟ..[.]
...ΟΣΙΑΙΚΑΙΠ.ΡΚΑΛΕ[...·····]
[------]
b
[ - - - - - - - - - - ..-]
ΧΟΝΤΑΑΝΘΕΜΕ[..........]
ΟΣΚΑΙΔΗΛ[.]ΝΤΑΙΔΑΜ[.......-]
ΠΟΣΚΑΙΕΣΤΟΤ.Α[........]
ΙΑΡΟΝΑΓΑΛΜΑΠΑΡΙ.[......-]
5ΠΛΟΝΕΠΙΧΡΥΣΟΝΕ[........-]
ΓΡΑ[..]ΣΦΑΟΝΚΛΕΑ[.......-]
ΛΟΠΑΤΡΙΔΟΣΑΡΕΤΑΣ[......]
ΠΟΤΙΤ.ΝΠΟΛΙΝΕΥΝ[.......-]
Κ.ΚΥΡΑΝΑΙΟΙ[---]

a.1: On the left is a ms. note "plus de la moitié". Λ ..... ναθαυτ ....... IGRR
a.2: On the left is a ms. note "la moitié manque". ΠΤΑΙΑΕΙΑΝΤΑL; [τὰν ἐ]π[ιμελ]είαν τα[ύταν καὶ] IGRR
a.3: On the left is a ms. note "un tiers manque". [ἀξία]ν κα[ὶ τ]ῶν προ[γ]όν[ων τᾶς τε] IGRR
a.4: On the left is a ms. note "il manque 4 ou 5 lettres". [πα]τρίδος ποιησάμεν[ος . . . IGRR
a.5: On the left is a ms. note "effacées 3 lettres". .......]υσας IGRR
a.6,7: On the left is a ms. note "effacées 2 lettres".
a.10,11,12: On the left is a ms. note "effacée 1 lettre".
a.21: On the right is a ms. note "1 lettre effacée".
a.22: On the right is a ms. note "4 lettres de brisées".
b: Above the text there is a ms. note "2δε inscription que je crois être la suite ou la commencement de la première, mais beaucoup maltraité, n'ayant presque aucunes lignes d'entières."
b.4-5: The restoration is by Robert

French translation

Translation by: Hugues Berthelot

. . .] ayant manifesté cette sollicitude qui fut précisément digne de ses ancêtres et de sa patrie, ayant exercé à deux reprises la prêtrise du divin César avec empressement et zèle ; et envoyé en ambassade durant la guerre marmarique en plein hiver, s’étant livré lui-même aux dangers et ayant mené à bien une alliance très favorable et propre à assurer le salut de la cité ; et ayant reçu la couronne (i.e. du culte) d’Apollon, fondateur de notre cité, il accomplit ce qui concerne les dieux avec empressement et piété et ce qui concerne les hommes avec magnanimité et largesse au-delà de sa capacité.

Qu’il plaise:

Qu’outre ses honneurs antérieurs, la cité lui décerne l’éloge à titre public et l’invite [ . . . ]. Qu’on érige des portraits peints dans le lieu, public ou sacré, qu’il voudra et, dans le sanctuaire d’Apollon, une statue de marbre ainsi qu’un bouclier plaqué or portant l’inscription "les Cyrénéens (scil. ont érigé une statue de)> Phaos fils de Kléarchos, lui-même fils de Philopatris (ou de Kléarchos le Patriote), en raison de son mérite et de son dévouement envers la cité".

Commentary

The man honoured, Phaos son of Klearchos the lover of his country, is also named in C.48.

a. line 5: presumably, priest of Augustus, althought the title is not recorded in the same terms as in other Cyrenaican texts. Dittenberg suggested that he was priest of Julius Caesar but for this office there is no other evidence.

a. line 8: presumably the Marmaric war in which Sulpicius Quirinus was involved. It is clear from this text and from C.737 which also refers to this war, that for the defence against the Marmaric raiders, Cyrene depended more than might have been expected on local initiative.

a. line 11: must refer to a provincial unit, hardly a Cyrenaean militia, since its collection involved Phaos in a dangerous embassy, but possibly a Cyrenaican one involving him in visit to the other cities of the province, or a cohort or ala on garrison duty elsewgere in the province.

a. line 14: This is the earliest recorded use of the title κτίστης for Apollo at Cyrene.

a. line 15: for στέφανος refering to a priesthood, cf. at Istros Sylloge 3.708. 21 τὸν ἐπώνυμον τῆς πόλεω[ς] Ἀπόλλωνος ἀναδεξά[μενος] στέφανον (at PHI 172720).

a. line 22: previous editors have proposed παρ(α)καλέ[σαι ἐς τὰν κοινάν ἑστιαν, as restored in C.276, line 2; but this is not the formula following παρακαλέσαι in the closely parallel C.737, lines 38/9, which is the only instance in a Cyrenaican decree in which the succeeding words survive.

b. line 1: No satisfactory proposal has et been offered for the restoration of these lines. We suggest that the wording ran something like ...ἀναγράψαι μὲν τόδε τὸ ψάφισμα ἐς στάλαν λιθίναν τὸν...? ἄρ]χοντα.

b. line 3: the wording we have proposed in ll 1-3 gives better sense than that of Fränkel: ἀνθεμἑ[ν τῶ ἄνδρος ὅπω]ς κα δηλ[ῶ]ται δαμ[οσιαι αὐτῷ ὁ τύ]πος and keeps closer to the recorded reading than that of Dittenberg: ἀνθέμε[ν εἰκόνας ἐς] ὅς κα δήληται δαμ[όσιος ἢ ἰέρος τό]πος παραστᾶσαι.

The reference to Cyrene in b. line 9, together with the fact that one text in the group, C.276, survives in the Sanctuary at Cyrene puts the place of origin beyond doubt; there is a strong possibility that this text too was seen in the Sanctuary. This is very probably the final line.

See J. Desanges, Un drame africain (1968), whence BullEp 1969.617.

Bibliography: Fränkel, 1903, 83-87, whence AE 1903.367, OGIS, 767; IGRR, I.1041, DGE, 237; Ehrenberg-Jones, 1949, 47, p. 63; mentioned Robert, 1938, 39, n.2, whence listed SEG 9.6 (with bibliography), Robert, Bulletin Épigraphique, 1939.560.
Text constituted from: Notebooks; publications (Reynolds)

Images

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