3.8. i. Verse honours for Oikoumenios; ii. Invocation

Description:
A white marble statue, and a rectangular white marble statue base shaft with panels within moulded edges on three sides (H. 1.27 × W. 0.60 × D. 0.53).
Text:
i. 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. ii. Inscribed on the head of the statue, behind the front line of hair, to the left of centre.
Letters:
i. Irregular, 0.025-0.04; I. 6. apparently an apostrophe after τῆιδ I. 9, Ω for ω(ν)). ii. Neatly cut.
Date:
Later fourth century A.D. (style, language).
Findspot:
North Agora: standing against the north wall of the north stoa. .
Original Location:
Findspot.
Last recorded location:
Findspot (1994).
History of discovery:
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 •Ševcenko (1967), 286, whence BE 1968.508 ; republished by •Ševcenko (1968) 29, whence BE 1969.543 ; by •Roueché, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity, no. 31 and plate ix, whence McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 724 , Steinepigramme 02/09/17 . 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:
Transcription (Roueché); Publication. This edition Roueché (2007).
i
1τὸν σὲ νόμων πλή|θοντα, τὸν Ἰταλι|ώτιδα Μοῦσαν v. |
2 v. Ἀτθίδος ἡδυεπεῖ | (5) v. κιρνάμενον μέλιτι |
3 τῆιδ' Οἰκουμένιον | τὸν ἀοίδιμον ἡγεμο|νῆα v.
4στῆσε φίλη | βουλὴ τῶν Ἀφροδισιέων̣· |
5(10) τῶι γὰρ δὴ καθαρῶι φρέ|να καὶ χέρα, τί πλέον | εὑρεῖν v.
6μνημοσύ|νης ἀγαθῆς ἄλλο πά|ρεστι γέρας; leaf
ii
1 ΧΜΓ(—)
i
1ΤΟΝΣΕΝΟΜΩΝΠΛΗ
2ΘΟΝΤΑΤΟΝΙΤΑΛΙ
3ΩΤΙΔΑΜΟΥΣΑΝ 
4 ΑΤΘΙΔΟΣΗΔΥΕΠΕΙ
5 ΚΙΡΝΑΜΕΝΟΝΜΕΛΙΤΙ
6ΤΗΙΔ'ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΟΝ
7ΤΟΝΑΟΙΔΙΜΟΝΗΓΕΜΟ
8ΝΗΑ ΣΤΗΣΕΦΙΛΗ
9ΒΟΥΛΗΤΩΝΑΦΡΟΔΙΣΙΕΩ·
10ΤΩΙΓΑΡΔΗΚΑΘΑΡΩΙΦΡΕ
11ΝΑΚΑΙΧΕΡΑΤΙΠΛΕΟΝ
12ΕΥΡΕΙΝ ΜΝΗΜΟΣΥ
13ΝΗΣΑΓΑΘΗΣΑΛΛΟΠΑ
14ΡΕΣΤΙΓΕΡΑΣ leaf
ii
1ΧΜΓ
<div type="textpart_section" n="i" >
<lg>
<lb n="1" />
<l n="1" >
τὸν
σὲ
νόμων
πλή
<lb n="2" type="worddiv" />
θοντα
,
τὸν
Ἰταλι
<lb n="3" type="worddiv" />
ώτιδα
Μοῦσαν
<space extent="1" unit="character" dim="horizontal" />
</l>
<lb n="4" />
<l n="2" >
<space extent="1" unit="character" dim="horizontal" />
Ἀτθίδος
ἡδυεπεῖ
<lb n="5" />
<space extent="1" unit="character" dim="horizontal" />
κιρνάμενον
μέλιτι
</l>
<lb n="6" />
<l n="3" >
τῆιδ'
Οἰκουμένιον
<lb n="7" />
τὸν
ἀοίδιμον
ἡγεμο
<lb n="8" type="worddiv" />
νῆα
<space extent="1" unit="character" dim="horizontal" />
</l>
<l n="4" >
στῆσε
φίλη
<lb n="9" />
βουλὴ
τῶν
Ἀφροδισιέω
<unclear reason="damage" >
ν
</unclear>
·
</l>
<lb n="10" />
<l n="5" >
τῶι
γὰρ
δὴ
καθαρῶι
φρέ
<lb n="11" type="worddiv" />
να
καὶ
χέρα
,
τί
πλέον
<lb n="12" />
εὑρεῖν
<space extent="1" unit="character" dim="horizontal" />
</l>
<l n="6" >
μνημοσύ
<lb n="13" type="worddiv" />
νης
ἀγαθῆς
ἄλλο
πά
<lb n="14" type="worddiv" />
ρεστι
γέρας
;
<g type="leaf" />
</l>
</lg>
</div>
<div type="textpart_section" n="ii" >
<ab>
<lb n="1" />
<abbr>
ΧΜΓ
</abbr>
</ab>
</div>

Translation:

i: You who are full of (knowledge of) laws, who have blended the Italian Muse with the sweet-voiced honey of the Attic, Oikoumenios, 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?

ii: ?M(ary) b(ore) Ch(rist). God, help.

Commentary:

For i. see discussion at ala2004 III.33.

For ii., the inscription on the head, see discussion at ala2004 VIII.20, and compare 15.102

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

Photographs:

i. Face (1972)
 i. Face (1972)
i. Top of base (1994)
 i. Top of base (1994)
i. View (1994)
 i. View (1994)

Representations:

i. Squeeze
 i. Squeeze
ii. Inscription on head (drawing, 2001)
 ii. Inscription on head (drawing, 2001)
Statue and base: Drawing: K. Gorkay, from Smith (2002)
 Statue and base: Drawing: K. Gorkay, from Smith (2002)

(cc) You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (You may need the EpiDoc DTD v. 5 to validate this file.)