III 122. Chersonesos. Dedication of altar, late IV - 1st half of III century B.C.Е.

Monument

Type

Altar. 

Material

Marble. 

Dimensions (cm)

H. 38.0, W. 62.0, Th. 55.0.

Additional description

Rectangular altar with moulded base and cornice (badly damaged). The top surface is slightly inset. All vertical sides are adorned with relief rosettes, bucrania, and laurel garlands swathed with ribbons (partly missing). In secondary use, a bowl-like cutting with jagged edges (Diam. 45,5 cm, depth 19,5 cm) was made in the bottom surface. Three lines of text on the front, asymmetrically arranged (line 1 below the cornice, off-centre, to the right, line 2 between the two rosettes, line below the garland, off-centre, to the left). Subsequently (secondary use in Christian cult?), the inscription was deliberately defaced. 

Place of Origin

Chersonesos. 

Find place

Sevastopol (Chersonesos). 

Find context

Unknown. 

Find circumstances

Uknown; in 1926, the monument was already in the exhibition of the Chersonesos Museum. 

Modern location

Sevastopol. 

Institution and inventory

National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 4809. 

Autopsy

Non vidi. The monument is temporarily inaccessible in the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos. 

Epigraphic field

Position

On the front. 

Lettering

Alpha with straight crossbar, slightly curved hastae of some letters, slight flaring of the ends of letterstrokes. 

Letterheights (cm)

1.8

Text

Category

Dedicatory inscription. 

Date

Late IV - 1st half of III century B.C.Е. 

Dating criteria

Palaeography. 

Editions

НЭПХ II (Solomonik 1973) 125. 

Edition

Ἀρκ̣ε̣σ̣ὼ̣ Ἱπ[. c. 6.]ο̣ς
Σω̣π̣[ό]λιος̣ γυ̣ν̣ά
vac.
[...]Α̣Ι̣ Σ̣ω̣τ̣[ε]ί̣[ρ]α̣ι.

Diplomatic

ΑΡ....ΙΠ[······].Σ
Σ..[.]ΛΙΟ.Γ..Α
      
[···].....[.].[.].Ι

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
   <ab>
      	<lb n="1"/>Ἀρ<unclear>κεσὼ</unclear> 
         Ἱπ<gap reason="lost" quantity="6" unit="character" precision="low"/><unclear>ο</unclear>ς 
      	<lb n="2"/>Σ<unclear>ωπ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ό</supplied>λιο<unclear>ς</unclear> 
         γ<unclear>υν</unclear>ά
      	<lb n="0"/><space extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
      	<lb n="3"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="3" unit="character"/><orig><unclear>αι</unclear></orig> 
         <unclear>Σωτ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ε</supplied><unclear>ί</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ρ</supplied><unclear>α</unclear>ι.
   </ab>
   </div>
Commentaries

Vinogradov 1975, 172; Античная скульптура Херсонеса 1976, 167, № 532; Solomonik 1988, 64. 

 
Apparatus criticus

Leg. ed. pr. ; Ἱπ[- c.6 -]ος scripsi (cf. LGPN IV); Ιπ[....λ[ι]ος ed. pr.
2: ἱε[ρ]ᾶ[ι] ed. pr.; Ἥ[ρ]α[ι] ? Виноградов (на основании фото)

Translation

Arkeso, (daughter of) [- - -], wife of Sopolis, (dedicated to) [- - -] Soteira.

 

Commentary

Ed. pr. suggested that the appearance of a cult of a goddess characterised as Soteira could be linked to the increase in Scythian pressure on Chersonesos in the III century B.C.E.

On the female name Ἀρκεσώ and its variant Ἀρχεσώ, attested in Chersonesian epigraphy, see Masson 1957, 166; Bechtel, HPN, 84. See also commentary on III 225.

 

Images

 

(cc) © 2017 Igor Makarov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to the EpiDoc schema.)