31. Verse honours for Oecumenius; 254. InvocationCharlotte M. Roueché2002-09-13
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Description of Monument
A white marble statue, and a rectangular white marble statue base with panels within moulded edges on three sides (1.27 × 0.60 × 0.53).
Description of Text
31: Inscribed on the central panel of the base; the surface is rough, either because it was badly prepared, or more probably because an earlier inscription had been erased.
254: Inscribed on the head of the statue, behind the front line of hair, to the left of centre.
Description of Letters
31: Irregular, 0.025-0.04; I. 6. apparently an apostrophe after τῆιδ I. 9, Ω for ων).
31: You who are full of knowledge of laws, who have blended the Italian Muse with the sweet-voiced honey of the Attic, Oecumenius, the famous governor, the friendly council of the Aphrodisians has set you up here; for what greater reward than that of being well remembered can the man find who is pure in mind and in hand?
254: ?Mary bore Christ. God, help.
Commentary
For Oecumenius see List of Governors Oecumenius. For 31, see discussion at III.33. For the statue and the monument as whole, see Smith 'The Statue Monument of Oecumenius: A New Portrait of a Late Antique Governor from Aphrodisias' (JRS, 2002), 134-156. For 254, the inscription on the head, see discussion at VIII.20, and compare 145
Found
North Agora: standing against the north wall of the north stoa. See plan 1.
Original Location
Findspot.
Last Recorded Location
Findspot.
History of Recording
The base and the body of the statue were excavated by the NYU expedition in 1965 (base: 65. 198); see K. T. Erim in Turk Ark. Derg. 15.1 (1966), 61. The head was excavated in 2000.
Bibliography
Published by Sevcenko (1967), 286, whence BE1968.508; republished by Sevcenko (1968) 29, whence BE1969.543; by Roueché, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity, no. 31 and plate ix, whence PHI724, Steinepigramme02/09/17.
Statue: K.T. Erim, 'Two new early Byzantine statues from Aphrodisias', DOP 21 (1967), 285-6, no. 2; Smith (2002) 134-156.
Text Constituted From
Publication; transcription (Roueché).
Photographs
31: Face (1972)
31: Top of base (1994)
31: View (1994)
Representations
31: Squeeze
254: Inscription on head (drawing, 2001)
Statue and base: Drawing: K.Gorkay, from Smith (2002)