Description of Monument

Archive wall, column five, first two courses. The upper right hand block is badly damaged, but partly reconstructed from fragments found fallen. The lower right hand block is almost completely lost. Loose fragment a (0.10 x 0.12 x 0.08)

Description of Text

Inscribed area surviving, 1.58 x 0.57. Outspacing for new paragraphs in ll.1, 6. Loose fragment a from the right side of the text, ll. 10-12.

Letters

second to third centuries A.D.; ave 0.02; ligatures: ΜΕ l.3; apices, ll.1, 2; Heightened initial epsilon at the beginning of l.6. Tall initial Υ in υἱωνός, l.1, perhaps to cover an erroneous iota.

Date

Inscription: second to third centuries A.D. (lettering, context). Document: A.D. 189 (titulature)

Edition αὐτοκράτωρ Καῖσαρ θεοῦ Μάρκου Ἀντωνείνου Εὐσεβοῦς Γερμανικοῦ Σαρματικοῦ υἱός θεοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς υἱωνός θεοῦ Ἁδριανοῦ ἔγγονος θεοῦ Τραϊανοῦ Παρθικοῦ καὶ θεοῦ Νέρουα ἀπόγονος Μᾶρκος Αὐρήλιος Κόμμοδος Ἀντωνεῖνος Εὐσεβὴς Εὐτυχὴς Σεβαστὸς Σαρματικός Γερμανικὸς μέγιστος Βρεταννικός ἀρχιερεὺς μέγιστος δημαρχικῆς ἐξουσίας τὸ ιδ αὐτοκράτωρ τὸ η ὕπατος τὸ ε πατὴρ πατρίδος Ἀφροδεισιέων τοῖς ἄρχουσι καὶ τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ χαίρειν ἐνέτυχον τῷ ψηφίσματι δι’ οὗ ἠξιοῦτε τὸν τῆς Ἀσίας ἀνθύπατον ἐπιδημεῖν ἐν τῇ πόλει τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ καὶ διατρεί βειν ἡμερῶν τινῶν ἐπισκοποῦντα καὶ ἐξετάζοντα τὰ δημόσια πράγματα ὡς πάνυ κατημελημένα καὶ δεόμενα μείζονος τῆς ἐπανορθώσεως ὑπὲρ τοῦ πάσας τὰς κρίσεις τοῦ λογιστοῦ βεβαίας δύνασθαι μένειν ὑμεῖς μὲν ταῦτα ὡς ὑπὲρ πόλεως βουλευόμενοι ἐψηφίσασθε ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀνανκαῖον ταύτην τὴν τάξιν τεταγμένῳ φυλάσ σειν τὰς πόλεις ἐπὶ τῶν ὁμοίων ἀξιωμάτων ουσ ἐπι δημίας ἡγεμόνος ἢ ἀνθυπάτου επΙομμε καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὰ τῆς ἐλευθερίας δίκαια σ Ἀφροδει πράγματα ἐπέστειλα τῷ φίλῳ μου Οὐλπίῳ Μαρκέλλῳ? διατρεῖψαι χρόνον αὐταρκῆ πρὸς τὴν τῶν κοινῶν εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο οὕτω γένοιτο τά τε δημόσια πράγματα ε ἐλευθερίας δίκαια εκει

Apparatus

l. 1, ΥΣΟΥ, lapis

Translation

Imperator Caesar M. Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, Pius, Felix, Augustes, Sarmaticus, Germanicus maximus, Britannicus, son of divus M. Antoninus, Pius, Germanicus, Sarmaticus, grandson of divus Pius, great-grandson of divus Hadrianus, descendant of divus Trajanus Parthicus and divus Nerva, Pontifex Maximus, holding the tribunician power for the fourteenth time, acclaimed victorious for the eighth time, consul for the fifth time, father of his country, sends greetings to the Magistrates, Council and People of the Aphrodisians.

I received the decree in which you asked that the proconsul of Asia should visit your [city] and spend some days looking into [and examining] your public affairs on the grounds that they are [quite neglected ?] and in need of a greater reconstruction [to enable ?] the decisions of the curator to stand confirmed. You of course [voted for these proposals ?] with the interests of the city in mind; on me, since I have been appointed to this station, falls the necessity of preserving the cities in the same [position of honour ? as my predecessors ? ....] visit(s) from an official ? or proconsul [.. ? ..] and meanwhile the rights of freedom [.. ?. .] matters, I have sent to my friend Ulpius Marcellus ? [.. ? ..] to spend a sufficient time with a view to [the reconstruction ?] of the common [.. ? ..] for if this were to happen in this way and the public affairs [.. ? ..] the rights of freedom [.. ? ..].

Commentary

See , 120-124.

Locations

Theatre: north parodos wall; fragments fallen in front of wall. Theatre: north parodos wall Findspot; fragments in Museum

Text Constituted From

transcription (Reynolds)

History of Recording

Recorded by the NYU expedition in 1967;fragments found over subsequent years (67.432, 67.453, 67.461, 67.462, 67.468, 67.472, 69.309, 69.428, 69.432, 69.462, 69.464, 76.196.3, 76.196.7; fragment a: 67.455).

Bibliography

Published by Reynolds, A&R 16 whence SEG 32, 1982.1097; BE 1983.377, AnnEpig 1984.870, McCabe 53 .

Photographs

Left end in situ, view above 8.36, 8.37, 8.99, 8.103 (1977)

Left end in situ, view above 8.36 (1977)

Left end block (1988)

Lines 1-4, right end (1980)

Lines 6- 9, right end (1980)

Lines 13-16, part, with 8.36 (1977)

Archive Wall view (1994)