11.52. Funerary inscription of Pereitas and Melition
- Description:
- White marble sarcophagus, broken in two; a garland decoration has been hacked away, but traces of two winged figures at the corners remain; for full description see Isik 187.
- Text:
- ll.1-12 cut on the tabella, whose mouldings have been erased, ll.13 ff on a prepared panel below.
- Letters:
- Reasonably well-designed, cut and aligned, in the second-to-fourth-century style. Ligatured ΚΕ (l.3), ΜΕ (l.4), ΜΗ (ll.8, 9, 10), ΤΗ (ll.3, 4 twice, 10), ΤΗΝ (ll.3, 4). Unconventional spelling in l.3.
- Date:
- Late second to early third centuries (lettering)
- Findspot:
- City, Village: standing by the main village well, next to 11.30 (=MAMA 522)
- Original Location:
- Unknown: necropolis
- Last recorded location:
- Museum (1980)
- History of discovery:
- Recorded by the NYU expedition (Village 4 )
- Bibliography:
- Reynolds and Isik 187.
- Text constituted from:
- Transcription (Reynolds). This edition Reynolds (2007).
- 0 [·· ? ··?ἐξέσται δὲ]
- 1[μηδέ]νι ἔχειν ἐ̣-
- 2[ξ]ουσίαν μετὰ
- 3 τ̣ὴν Περείτου κὲ
- 4 τὴν τῆς Μελ̣ιτίου
- 5 ἀποθεώσιν stop ὑπό
- 6 τινος τῶν
- 7 κληρονόμων
- 8 αὐτοῦ ἐ̣πὶ̣ ἐξαλ-
- 9λωτριώσει μητὲ
- 10 τῆς σοροῦ μητὲ̣
- 11 τῶν εἰσώστω̣ν
- 12[τι]νός ἢ [ποιή]-
- 13σαι τι ἐπὶ ἐξαλλοτριωσε[ι]
- 14 κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον [·· ? ··]
- 0[ - - - ·········]
- 1[····]ΝΙΕΧΕΙΝ·
- 2[·]ΟΥΣΙΑΝΜΕΤΑ
- 3·ΗΝΠΕΡΕΙΤΟΥΚΕ
- 4ΤΗΝΤΗΣΜΕ·ΙΤΙΟΥ
- 5ΑΠΟΘΕΩΣΙΝ stop ΥΠΟ
- 6ΤΙΝΟΣΤΩΝ
- 7ΚΛΗΡΟΝΟΜΩΝ
- 8ΑΥΤΟΥ·Π·ΕΞΑΛ
- 9ΛΩΤΡΙΩΣΕΙΜΗΤΕ
- 10ΤΗΣΣΟΡΟΥΜΗΤ·
- 11ΤΩΝΕΙΣΩΣΤ·Ν
- 12[··]ΝΟΣΗ[····]
- 13ΣΑΙΤΙΕΠΙΕΞΑΛΛΟΤΡΙΩΣΕ[·]
- 14ΚΑΤΑΜΗΔΕΝΑΤΡΟΠΟΝ[ - - - ]
Translation:
- - - ?it shall not be possible for] anyone to have the power, after the apotheosis of Pereitas and that of Melition [? to take action] ?by the agency of any of his heirs with a view to alienation of the sarcophagus or of any one of the other burial places, or to [do] anything at all with a view to alienation in any way.
Commentary:
The sentence structure is not immediately obvious because an infinitive to balance one (?ποιῆσαι) in ll. 12-13 is lost - it may have stood in the earlier part of the text (an extensive area is undoubtedly lost at the beginning) or, perhaps, was omitted by error along with μηδέ in l. 5 (note that in ll. 5-6 there is another anomaly in the use of τινός where μηδένος might be expected).We may suppose that the owner had already made the standard provisions against deposit of unauthorised bodies or removal of authorised ones; but only know that he was emphatic as well as unusually explicit in his comparatively rare ban on formal alienation of the tomb (see Introduction and nos. 12.1108, 12.1107, (=MAMA VIII.545, 554) for other examples), arousing suspicion that he did not trust his heirs.
It may be that there had been some recent case in Aphrodisias or a neighbouring city to arouse this fear; but his concern may be personal and perhaps related to a funerary cult (see below).The tomb was a complex one, consisting of more than the sarcophagus (see ll. 11-12). The owner was undoubtedly Pereitas (l. 3) and since it is only his heirs who are mentioned (ll. 7-8) he was presumably the sole owner, although he shared use of the sarcophagus with Melition, surely his wife. His anticipation of apotheosis for both of them is another unusual feature of this text: but see e.g. 12.1108( = MAMA VIII.545), where there is also an explicit ban on alienation). It may be that by apotheosis he meant little more than death itself, but it could indicate the establishment of a quite formal cult at the tomb (see Introduction), to which the issue of alienation would be relevant.
Pereitas is a name used by members of the Aphrodisian élite families although also by others. The concern to prevent alienation of this tomb and the possibility of a formal cult there suggest a family of some standing as well as substance.
Photographs:
- Complete (1973)
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- Left part (1980)
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- Detail (1978)
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