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Three texts, all inscribed on a single
The texts of i and ii must have started on the blocks above, and most of i, with much of iii was inscribed on a block to the left. i and ii both contain twenty-six lines, but these are not completely aligned with one another; l.26 of i ends on the same line as the first line of iii, while l.26 of ii ends above it; this probably indicates that the three documents were not inscribed simultaneously (although the lettering shows no marked variations).
Letters standard second-/third-century forms,
iii:
i.
l. 5, ]ΝΕΙ W., M.
l. 6, ΠΑΣΙ, W.
l. 8, ]ΕΝΟΣ W., M.
l. 10, ΤΩΝ, W.
l. 12, ]ΗΣΘΑΙ W., M.
l.15· ]ΟΗ, W., ]
l. 17, ΔΕΙΜΕΙΑΝ, W., π]ολιτείαν M.
l. 19, ]ΑΙ W., ]
ii.
l. 1, ΤΗΤΕ M., ΤΗ W. While the second letter is uncertain, there are not more than two.
l. 7, ΛΟΝΓ W. ( in his notes), ΛΟΓΓ W. (in his copy), M., lapis. ΗΜΙΝ M., ΗΜΕΙΝ W., lapis.
l. 8, ΠΟΛΕΙΤΗΝ, W.
l. 9, ΠΟΛΙΤ, W.
l. 12, ΜΟΥ W., ΜΟ[Υ] M.
l. 13, ΣΚΑΙ W., corrected in his transcription.
l. 14, ΒΥΒΛ W., ΒΥΒΛΙ M.
l. 15, ΚΑΙΣ W., ΚΑΙ[Σ] M.
l. 17, ΣΥΝ W., ΣΥ[Ν] M.
l. 18, ΣΥΝΓ W., ΣΥΓΓ M.
l. 19, ΠΟΛΕΙ W., ΠΟΛΕ[Ι] M.
iii.
l. 2, ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟΥ lapis.
l. 3, ΤΕΧΝ[Ι] W., ΤΕΧΝΕ[Ι] M.
l. 4, ΤΗΝ W., ΤΩΝ M.; ΕΥΦΟΡΟΥ W., ΕΥΒΙΟΤΟΥ M.
l. 5, ]ΣΤΥΧ W., corrected to ΥΤΥΧ in transcription, ]ΤΥΧ M., ]
l. 7, ΣΙΑΝ W., ΞΙΑΝ M.; we cannot determine decisive traces - - ΕΙΑΝ is also possible.
l. 8, ΛΛΟΦ W., ΑΛΟΦ M.; at end, ΕΙΣ W., ΕΝ M.; very unclear, even on the squeeze.
l. 9, ΤΑΙ W., ΑΙ M., ΥΤΑΙ lapis; ΑΘΡΟΟΝ M., ΑΙΙΟΟΝ W. At end, ΤΗΣΠΕ W., ΤΗΣ
1.10: ΑΙ, W., M.
l. 11, ΟΠΩ W., M.; ΠΡΟΣΔΕΠΑ .. Σ ..... ΗΓΟ W., ΠΡΟΣΘΗ ... ΝΕΙΝΑΙ ... ΝΗΓΟΡ R.; the reading of M. seems closest to what can be determined; at end, ΛΙΣ W., ΤΗΣ M.
l. 12, ΡΧΗ W., ΟΧΗ M.; ΑΣΙΑΣ W, ΑΞΙΑΣ M.; at end ΟΜ W., ΘΗ M.
l. 13, ΑΠΕΙ W., ΑΤΕΙ M.; Υ ... ΓΚΑΛ W., [ΠΡΟ]ςΚΑΛ R., ΠΡΟςΚΑΛ M.; ΛΙΩΝ W., ΛΙΩ[Ν] M.
l. 14, ΩΝ ... ΛΛΟ W., ΩΝΟΣΛΑΟ M.; ΚΩΜ .. W., ΚΩΜΩ M.
l. 15, At beginning Ε W., Σ M.
l.16 does not appear in Waddington's copy, and was first read from the MAMA squeeze; it seems to have been largely obliterated when the protruding area below the text was chipped away to prepare the block for reuse in the wall. Our readings of the squeeze do not differ significantly from those of Cormack.
i. Summary: A decree in honour of Longianos (l.13) with a reference to public readings of his poetry (l.2) and to a copy of a decree in his honour sealed with a public seal (ll.25-6); perhaps the last is that mentioned in ii, which was almost certainly a decree of the people of Halicarnassus, in which case their name should perhaps be restored here (l.23). This might perhaps have been a covering document which accompanied ii; but the lack of alignment between the two texts suggests to me that they were probably not inscribed at the same time, and were therefore not so closely associated.
ii. [The Council and people ?of Halicarnassus honoured C. Julius Longianos since he had benefited them ...] and by the rest of his visit, and he also honoured and adorned us, and gave demonstrations of poems of every kind, by which he both delighted the older and improved the younger, and, pleased at all this, the People instructed that the appropriate honours be voted to him; it has been resolved that Gaius Julius Longianus function as a citizen among us without payment, being both a good man, and the best poet of our times, and be honoured with the other grants of citizenship and honours, the greatest that the laws permit, and with bronze statues which are to be put up both in the most notable places of the city and in the precinct of the Muses and in the gymnasium of the ephebes next to the ancient Herodotus; it has also been voted that there should be public presentation of his books in the libraries in our city, so that the young men may be educated in these also, in the same way as in the writings of the ancients; and, so that our goodwill and enthusiasm for their citizen should become clear to the People of our kinsfolk, the Aphrodisians, it has been resolved that a copy of this decree should be sent, by the hand of Julius himself, to the Aphrodisians, signed with the public seal, from which they too will learn both the way in which we regularly behave towards all educated men, and the honours with which we have honoured (Longianus) as someone quite outstanding.
iii. Decree of the sacred synod. [It was resolved by the sacred worldwide synod], under Dionysos and the emperor Traianus, [son] of the divine Caesar [Traianus Dacicus Parthicus], grandson of the [divine] Nerva, Hadrianus Caesar Augustus, new Dionysos, of performers [?crowned and sacred victors] and the associate-competitors; (resolution) introduced by Theophrastos Tryphon, son of Eubiotos, [comedian, of Laodicea, seconded by] Eutyches son of Eutyches, comedian, Asian victor, of Hierapolis. [Since Gaius Julius, ? son of Gaius, Longi]anos, a good and ?unrivalled tragic poet, a man [?worthy of] all regard and all [? - - ] not only adorning but also enhancing through his virtuous learning [?our association, - - ? his ] eloquence [?adorned with the] reputation of his natural genius, his unceasing goodwill and zeal [ - - ] so as to increase and enhance our synod, by which altogether [ - - ] and as an encouragement for future generations, honoured him with a painted likeness [ - to be put up in whatever] place in his homeland he himself may choose, and to be advocate, for his lifetime, of the [synod - ? e.g. since it is our wish] to reward men with the fitting honours; it was carried out [in the consulate of Marcus Gavius Squilla G]allicanus and Titus Atilius Rufus Titianus, six days before the calends of April; [?the president was Theophrastos] Tryphon [son of Eubiotos] also called Theophrastos Orion, of Laodicea, comedian; [ - - ] and gymnasiarch; the secretary was Aelius Claudius Diogenes [...the ...] was Apelles son of Chares, Aphrodisian, [...] End.
See bibliography.
Transcriptions (Reynolds, Roueché); MAMA squeeze; Publications
First recorded by Waddington, using a ladder, in 1850; by Gaudin (96). Copied, squeezed and measured by the MAMA team. Photographed and read with binoculars by the NYU expedition.
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