8.25. Letter of Octavian to Plarasa/Aphrodisias
- Description:
- A tall narrow block, of which a fragment from the left side, lines 30-40 (W. 0.21 x H. 0.33 x D. 0.125) survives.
- Text:
- Inscribed on the face.
- Letters:
- Second to third centuries A.D.; 0.22. Ligatures: ΗΡ, l.21, PΕ l.36, ΤΕ l.37; apices in ll.33, 37; circular stop, l. 34
- Date:
- Inscription: Second to third centuries A.D. (lettering, context). Document : 39/38 B.C. (content).
- Findspot:
- Walls, West, south western stretch.
- Original Location:
- Theatre: Archive wall
- Last recorded location:
- Fragment, in Museum
- History of discovery:
- Recorded by Sherard in 1705 (10101, 38-39), with further corrections (S.2); fragment recorded by the NYU expedition in 1972 (72.487)
- Bibliography:
- Published, from Sherard, by Boeckh, CIG 2737.a. From this, Texier, As. Min. iii 52-53; Viereck, Sermo Graecus no. 5; OGIS 453-454; Täubler, Imperium Romanum 177-179; Abbott & Johnson, no. 29; Bruns, Fontes, no. 43; Riccobono, FIRA no. 38; BE 1950.32; Ehrenberg & Jones 2 no. 297.A-B; Sherk 28A; published by Reynolds, Aphrodisias & Rome, doc. 6, whence SEG 32, 1982.1097, BE 1983.368, AnnEpig 1984.860, McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 38 .
- Text constituted from:
- Transcription (Reynolds), notebooks, publications. This edition Reynolds (1982).
- 1[Αὐτοκράτωρ ?Καῖσαρ]
- 2[θεοῦ Ἰουλίου ?υἱόσ],
- 3[ὕπατος ἀποδεδει]-
- 4γμένος τὸ β´ καὶ [τὸ γ]´,
- 6 τριῶν ἀνδρῶν τῆ<ς>
- 7 τῶν δημοσίων πρα-
- 8γμάτων διατάξεως,
- 9 Πλαρασέων καὶ Ἀφρο-
- 10δεισιέων ἄρχουσιν
- 12 βουλῇ, δήμῳ χαίρειν
- 13 εἰ ἔρρωσθε εὖ ἂν ἔ-
- 14χοι, ὑγιαίνω δὲ καὶ
- 15 αὐτὸς μετὰ τοῦ στρα-
- 16τεύματος. Σόλων
- 18 Δημητρίου, <ὑ>μέτερος
- 19 πρεσβευτής, ἐπι-
- 20μελέστατα πεφρον-
- 21τ<ι>κὼς τῶν τῆς πό-
- 22λεως ὑμῶν πραγ-
- 23 μάτων, οὐ μόνον
- 25 ἠρκέσθη ἐπὶ τοῖς [γ]-
- 26εγονόσιν οἰκονο-
- 27[μή]μασιν ἀλλὰ καὶ [ἡ]-
- 28μᾶς παρεκάλε-
- 29[σ]εν εἰς τὸ τοῦ γεγο-
- 31νότος ὑμεῖν ἐπι-
- 32κρίματος καὶ δόγμα-
- 33τος καὶ ὁρκίου καὶ νό-
- 34μου ἀντιπεφωνημέ-
- 35 να ἐκ τῶν δημοσίων
- 37 δέλτων ἐξαποστεῖ-
- 38λαι ὑμεῖν τὰ ἀντί-
- 39γραφα stop · ἐφ' οἷς ἐπαινέ-
- 40σας τὸν Σόλωνα μᾶ[λ]-
- 41 λον ἀπεδεξάμην ἔσ-
- 43χον τε ἐν τοῖς ὑπ' ἐμοῦ
- 44 γεινωσκομένοις
- 45 ᾧ καὶ τὰ καθήκοντα
- 46 ἀπεμέρισα φιλάν -
- 47 θρωπα ἄξιον ἡγη-
- 49σάμενος τὸν ἄν-
- 50δρα τῆς ἡμ<ῶ>ν ΤΕΙ
- 51 τειμῆς, ὑμεῖν τε συ[ν]-
- 52ήδομαι ἐπὶ τ<ῷ> ἔχειν
- 53 τοιοῦτον πολείτην·
- 55 ἔστιν δὲ ἀντίγραφ[α]
- 56 τῶν γεγονότων ὑ-
- 57μεῖν φιλανθρώπων
- 58 τὰ ὑπογεγραμμένα
- 59 ἃ ὑμᾶς βούλομαι
- 61 ἐν τοῖς δημοσίοις
- 62 γράμμασιν ἐντάξα[ι].
- 64 γράμματα Καίσαρος leaf .
- 1[················]
- 2[···············]
- 3[··············]
- 4ΓΜΕΝΟΣΤΟΒΚΑΙ[···]
- 6ΤΡΙΩΝΑΝΔΡΩΝΤΗ
- 7ΤΩΝΔΗΜΟΣΙΩΝΠΡΑ
- 8ΓΜΑΤΩΝΔΙΑΤΑΞΕΩΣ
- 9ΠΛΑΡΑΣΕΩΝΚΑΙΑΦΡΟ
- 10ΔΕΙΣΙΕΩΝΑΡΧΟΥΣΙΝ
- 12ΒΟΥΛΗΔΗΜΩΧΑΙΡΕΙΝ
- 13ΕΙΕΡΡΩΣΘΕΕΥΑΝΕ
- 14ΧΟΙΥΓΙΑΙΝΩΔΕΚΑΙ
- 15ΑΥΤΟΣΜΕΤΑΤΟΥΣΤΡΑ
- 16ΤΕΥΜΑΤΟΣΣΟΛΩΝ
- 18ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥΜΕΤΕΡΟΣ
- 19ΠΡΕΣΒΕΥΤΗΣΕΠΙ
- 20ΜΕΛΕΣΤΑΤΑΠΕΦΡΟΝ
- 21ΤΚΩΣΤΩΝΤΗΣΠΟ
- 22ΛΕΩΣΥΜΩΝΠΡΑΓ
- 23ΜΑΤΩΝΟΥΜΟΝΟΝ
- 25ΗΡΚΕΣΘΗΕΠΙΤΟΙΣ[·]
- 26ΕΓΟΝΟΣΙΝΟΙΚΟΝΟ
- 27[··]ΜΑΣΙΝΑΛΛΑΚΑΙ[·]
- 28ΜΑΣΠΑΡΕΚΑΛΕ
- 29[·]ΕΝΕΙΣΤΟΤΟΥΓΕΓΟ
- 31ΝΟΤΟΣΥΜΕΙΝΕΠΙ
- 32ΚΡΙΜΑΤΟΣΚΑΙΔΟΓΜΑ
- 33ΤΟΣΚΑΙΟΡΚΙΟΥΚΑΙΝΟ
- 34ΜΟΥΑΝΤΙΠΕΦΩΝΗΜΕ
- 35ΝΑΕΚΤΩΝΔΗΜΟΣΙΩΝ
- 37ΔΕΛΤΩΝΕΞΑΠΟΣΤΕΙ
- 38ΛΑΙΥΜΕΙΝΤΑΑΝΤΙ
- 39ΓΡΑΦΑ stop ΕΦ'ΟΙΣΕΠΑΙΝΕ
- 40ΣΑΣΤΟΝΣΟΛΩΝΑΜΑ[·]
- 41ΛΟΝΑΠΕΔΕΞΑΜΗΝΕΣ
- 43ΧΟΝΤΕΕΝΤΟΙΣΥΠ'ΕΜΟΥ
- 44ΓΕΙΝΩΣΚΟΜΕΝΟΙΣ
- 45ΩΚΑΙΤΑΚΑΘΗΚΟΝΤΑ
- 46ΑΠΕΜΕΡΙΣΑΦΙΛΑΝ
- 47ΘΡΩΠΑΑΞΙΟΝΗΓΗ
- 49ΣΑΜΕΝΟΣΤΟΝΑΝ
- 50ΔΡΑΤΗΣΗΜΝΤΕΙ
- 51ΤΕΙΜΗΣΥΜΕΙΝΤΕΣΥ[·]
- 52ΗΔΟΜΑΙΕΠΙΤΕΧΕΙΝ
- 53ΤΟΙΟΥΤΟΝΠΟΛΕΙΤΗΝ
- 55ΕΣΤΙΝΔΕΑΝΤΙΓΡΑΦ[·]
- 56ΤΩΝΓΕΓΟΝΟΤΩΝΥ
- 57ΜΕΙΝΦΙΛΑΝΘΡΩΠΩΝ
- 58ΤΑΥΠΟΓΕΓΡΑΜΜΕΝΑ
- 59ΑΥΜΑΣΒΟΥΛΟΜΑΙ
- 61ΕΝΤΟΙΣΔΗΜΟΣΙΟΙΣ
- 62ΓΡΑΜΜΑΣΙΝΕΝΤΑΞΑ[·]
- 64ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ leaf
Apparatus
Sherard seems to have had difficulty in reading at several points down the edges, which were presumably chipped, especially at the right. He may also have been confused in places by ligatures (which he does not always record, as the surviving fragment shows). He did not record apices.
Of his corrections to his transcription, those written with a thick nib may have been made in the field, those with a thin nib were more probably added in the study. In the apparatus the latter are shown as S.2
1. 4, T, bar above the figure, S.
1. 5, ΤΗΔ . . S., C. τῆ[ς], other edd.
1. 15, ΗΜΕΤΕΡΟ, S.,< ὑ>μέτερος, edd.
1. 18, ΤΗΚΩΣ, S., τ<ι>κως, edd.
λλ. 21-2, Γ om. E. who shows E as the first letter of 1. 22, γεγονόσιν, edd.
l. 23, . ΜΤΑΣΙΝ, S., [ΜΗ]ΜΑΣΙΝ, edd.
ll. 22-3, Η om. S. who shows Μ as the first letter of l. 23, ἡμᾶς, edd.
ll. 24-5, Σ om. S. who shows . . ΕΝ at the beginning of 1. 25, παρεκάλεσ//εν, edd.
ll. 32-3, ΑΝΤΙ//ΓΡΑΦΑ, S. (cf. lapis) corr. from ΑΝΤΙΓΡΑ//ΦΑ, ἀντίγρα/φα, edd.; small circular stop, S. (cf. lapis).
l. 34, Λ om. S., μᾶλ, edd.
l. 42, ΗΜΟΝ, S., ΗΜΩΝ, S.2, ἡμῶν, cdd., ΤΕΙ, S. who shows the same letters also at the beginning of l. 43, τει/μῆς, edd.
ll. 43--4, Ν om. S. who shows Η as the first letter of l. 44, συ//νήδομαι, edd.
l. 44, ΤΟ, S., ΤΩ, S.2, τῷ, edd.
l. 46, ΑΝΤΙΓΡΑΦ., S., ΑΝΤΙΓΡΑΦΑ, S.2, ἀντίγραφα, edd.
l. 49, ΥΠΟΓΕΓΡΑΜΕΝΑ, S., ὑπογεγραμμένα, edd.
l. 50, ΒΟΥΛΟ ΜΑΙ , S., ΒΟΥΛΟ ΜΑΙ ΚΑΙ, S.2; βούλομαι, edd.
l. 52, unfilled space for two letters, S., ignored by edd., ΕΝΤΑΞΑ, S., ΕΝΤΑΞΑΙ, S.2; ἐντάξαι, edd.
l.54 aligned with rest, S., C., displaced to right, other edd., concluding leaf S., ignored, edd.
Translation:
[? lmperator Caesar, son of divus lulius, designated consul] for the second and [the third] time, (one) of the Tresviri Reipublicae Constituendae, to the Magistrates, Council and People of the Plarasans and Aphrodisians, greetings.
If you are well it would be good ; I too am in good health, together with the army. Solon, son of Demetrios, your ambassador, who has taken the greatest care over the business of your city, has not only been satisfied by the administrative arrangements that have been made but has also urged us to send you from the public records these copies of the edict, the senatus consultum, the treaty and the law that relate to you. For this I praised him, approved him the more, held him as one of my acquaintances and gave him the appropriate privileges, thinking him deserving of honour from us; and I congratulate you on the possession of such a citizen. The copies of the privileges that relate to you are these that are subjoined; I wish you to register them among your public records.
Commentary:
See Aphrodisias and Rome, 44-48 and bibliography below.
Photographs:
- Fragment, lines 30-38 (1973)
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