i. <rs type="textType">Building dedication</rs> to Aphrodite and Demos; ii. <rs type="textType">Invocation</rs> to Ourania; iii. <rs type="textType">Acclamation</rs> for the City

Charlotte M. Roueché2007

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Originally published in Roueché (1993).

 English French German Ancient Greek Transliterated Greek Modern Greek Italian Latin Spanish Turkish AsiaTurkeyAphrodisiasGeyreImperialReligiousAgonistic GBhand tidied 2006-11-07Elliott HallBatch converted Word2XML2007-01-12Charlotte TupmantidiedGBhand tidied 2006-11-07Elliott HallBatch converted Word2XML2005-04-7Elliott HallBatch converted Word2XML
Description of Monument

Thirteen fragments or complete blocks making up ten blocks of a white marble combined architrave and frieze (normal blocks 1.95 × 0.58 × 0.50; block over central door 2.66 wide. Two blocks re-used with inscriptions and moulding on the rear.

Description of text

i. Inscribed in one line on the frieze. ii. Painted in red, on a white background. iii. inscribed on the face below the moulding.

Letters

i. 0.11. ii. Elegant, l. 1, 0.05; l. 2, 0.03; despite the difference in size, both lines seem to be in the same hand. iii. 0.01-0.02.

Date

i. 28 B.C. (prosopography); ii. & iii. First – sixth century A.D. (context).

Edition
Γάϊος Ἰούλιος Ζωΐλος θεοῦ Ἰουλίου υἱοῦ Καίσαρος ἀπελεύθερος στεφανοφορήσας τὸ δέκατον ἑξῆς τὸ λογήιον καὶ τὸ προσκήνιον σὺν τοῖς ἐν αὐτῶι προσκοσμήμασιν πᾶσιν Ἀφροδίτῃ καὶ τῶι Δήμωι
μ Οὐρανία ιρτιιλ βοηθι τῷ δουλῳ σου Νικηφόρῳ
Νικᾷ ἡ τύχη τῆς πόλεως
Text Constituted From

Transcription (Reynolds, Roueché); publications

Translation

i. Caius Julius Zoilos, freedman of the divine Iulius' son Caesar, after being stephanephorus for the tenth time in succession gave the stage and the proscenium with all the applied ornaments on it to Aphrodite and the People.

ii. [...] Ourania [...] Help [your] servant Nicephorus.

iii. The fortune of the city triumphs !

Commentary

i. See most recently Reynolds, Aphrodisias Papers 2, 15-16. The central (fifth) block was reinscribed after a repair (ibid 19). The same text is found on 8.5 (=A&R 36b).

ii. See PPA ad loc. There are traces of similar letters on the second block from the south (see illustration).

iii. For this common acclamation see 84 and 183, with 4.13.ii. Νικᾷ acclamations of various kinds are of course common in the auditoria, where the expression originated: ὁ δεῖνα νικᾷ was the formula in which the herald would announce the victor in a contest. See further PPA pp. 3-4.

Locations

In the area of the Theatre stage Entablature of the stage buildings of the Theatre, redeployed in a similar position in the second century Restored on the Theatre stage

History of Recording

Excavated by the NYU expedition (Block 8 71.164b; Block 10 71.172)

Bibliography

i. Mentioned, BE 1971.609; published by Reynolds, Aphrodisias & Rome, doc. 36a, whence Orth, EA 3, 1984, 63, SEG 32, 1982.1097, BE 1983.388, An.Ép. 1984.878, McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 92, Smith, Monument, T2. ii. Published by Roueché, PPA 2; iii. by Roueché, PPA 3

Photographs

i., left end (1973)
i. left end (1973)
i., centre and right (1973)
i., assembled (1973)
ii. face (1975)
ii. face in situ (2000)
ii, showing location at south end of skene (2004)
iii. face (1985)
iii. closeup (1985)