<rs type="textType">Funerary</rs> inscription for Marcus Aurelius Zenon

Joyce M. Reynolds2007

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Originally published in Reynolds and Isik (2007).

 English French German Ancient Greek Transliterated Greek Modern Greek Italian Latin Spanish Turkish AsiaTurkeyAphrodisiasGeyre 2007-02-06Charlotte TupmanHand tidiedGBhand tidied 2005-12-13Elliott HallBatch converted Word2XML
Description of Monument

White marble sarcophagus 1.95 × 0.81 × 0.78 with a central tabella ansata, supported by putti. On either side, garlands, with a bust above. See further Isik, loc. cit.

Description of Text

a. Inscribed around the bust to the left, b. around the bust to the right, c. on the tabella; inscription c. must have begun on the lid.

Letters

Quite nicely designed in the second-to-fourth-century style, reasonably well cut, fairly well aligned, 0.02; ligatured ΗΝ (c. l.7), ΤΕ (c. l.3), ΤΗΝ (c. l.7); unconventional spelling in a, l.2.

Date

Probably middle third century A.D. (lettering, nomenclature).

Edition
ἡ σορ ὸς διαφέρι Μάρκῳ Αὐρηλίῳ Ζήνωνι βουλευτῇ
καὶ Μάρκῳ Αὐρη λίῳ Μεν ίππῳ ἀδ ελφῷ αὐτοῦ
ἐν ᾗ σορῷ κηδευθήσεται αὐτός τε καὶ ΑὐρήλιοςΠολυχρόνιος ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ Ἐπίκτητος ὁ θρεπτὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ οὓς ἂν αὐτὸς βουληθῇ εἰς δὲ τὴν εἰσώστην τὴν εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν φέρουσαν κηδευθήσονται Δροσὶς καὶ Διονύσιος
Apparatus

b. highlighted letters were read by Sherard, but not subsequently

c. l.1, τε omitted by Cormack

Translation

a. The sarcophagus belongs to Marcus Aurelius Zenon, city-councillor

b. and to Marcus Aurelius Menippos, his brother

c. [? in which sarcophagus] there shall be buried himself and Aur(elius) Polychronios his son and Epiktetos whom he fostered, and whomsoever he wishes; in the burial place which faces the road there shall be buried Drosis and Dionysios.

Commentary

Either something is missing here or there was some carelessness in drafting since a and b name two owners and c only one. The tomb was composite (l.6), which accords with the status of a city-councillor. Drosis and Dionysios were presumably dependents, perhaps slaves.

Locations

City, Village: ' In a house-yard' (MAMA) Unknown: necropolis Museum

Text Constituted From

Transcription (Reynolds); publications.

History of Recording

Copied in 1705 by Picenini (10102, 20v and, from Tisser, f. 68) whence Sherard (10101 31v -32); by K&R (KIII.39, Abklatsch 104); part recorded by Gaudin (148; photograph only); recorded by the MAMA expedition; by the NYU expedition (Sarcophagus catalogue 29)

Bibliography

Published from Sherard's papers, A. Boeckh, CIG 2828, 2838; from Gaudin's squeeze, T. Reinach, REG 19 (1906), 269-270, no. 164 (part); from the MAMA records, J.M.R. Cormack, MAMA VIII. 575, whence McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 463; Reynolds & Isik 110.

Photographs

Face (1973)

Representations

Kubitschek notebook III, 39