IRCyr   Inscriptions of Roman Cyrenaica

C.201. Imperial honours for Antoninus Pius

Description: Fragment of a marble panel (w: 0.58 x h: 0.40 x d: 0.07)
Text: Inscribed on one face.
Letters: Second century: line 1, 0.07; lines 2,3, 0.05; line 4, 0.04.

Date: 138-161 CE

Findspot: Cyrene: Valley Street, north side, near modern Post Office and Antonine Arch, in the same area as C.202; found in 1959.
Original location: Unknown.
Last recorded location: Cyrene Museum.

Interpretive

[Imp(erator) Caesar diui Hadriani] fil(ius) [diui Traiani]
[Parthici nep(os) diui Ner]uae pron[ep(os) T(itus) Aelius]
[Antoninus Pius Aug(ustus) pont(ifex) m]ax(imus) trib(unicia) p[ot](estate) [. .] [imp(erator)? II?]
[--- ( vac. 1) per Q(uintum) ---Iuliu?]m Potitu[m proco(n)s(ulem)]

Diplomatic

[......................]FIL[...........]
[...................]UAEPRON[..........]
[.......................]AXTRIBP[..........]
[---......---.....]MPOTITU[........]

English translation

Translation by: Editors

[Emperor Caesar] son [of deified Hadrian, grandson of deified Trajan, victor in Parthia,] great grandson of [deified] Nerva, [Titus Aelius Antoninus Pius Augustus, Chief Priest], holding tribunician p[ower for the ? time, acclaimed imperator ? . . . by ?Quintus Iuliu]s Potitus proconsul

Commentary

In this restoration, the use of the accusative case for the name of the proconsul strongly suggests that the text records a gift made by the emperor through the agency of the proconsul; hence the restoration of the nominative case for the emperor's name.

Line 4: Probably Q. Iulius Potitus (PIR2 I 0484a ) who is mentioned also in C.110. But he is not otherwise known.

Line 4: At the beginning of this line there may have been a description of the object given, or a reference to the recipients, but there is hardly room for the normal ciuitate Cyrenensium.

Bibliography:
Text constituted from: Transcription (Reynolds).

Images

   Fig. 1. Face (Reynolds VI.3)

   Fig. 2. View (1961, Joyce Reynolds, II.73)