13.110. Funerary inscription for Marcus Aurelius Apollonios and his son
- Description:
- White marble sarcophagus, with lid, (length W. 2.10); for full description see Isik 116.
- Text:
- Inscribed on the lid, lines 1-3, on the upper rim, l. 4, on the tabella including its upper and lower mouldings (W. 0.58 x H. 0.56) lines 5-19, and on the base, lines 20 ff.
- Letters:
- Quite well-designed and cut in the second-to-fourth-century style, l.1, 0.025; ll. 2ff., 0.018-0.02. ll. 2, 3, are interrupted by the projections on the lid. Ligatured ΝΤ (l. 2), ΤΗΝ (l. 3), ΤΕ (l. 16), ΜΗΝ (l.22), ΠΠ (l. 22), ΤΕ (l. 22), ΝΗ (l. 22) Star for denarius; slanting strokes before and after the figures in l. 18, bars above the figures in l. 22.
- Date:
- Probably first half of the third century (lettering, nomenclature).
- Findspot:
- Necropolis, North-east in chamber tomb, with 13.111 (=410), 13.108 (=411), 13.109 (=412), 13.101 (=415).
- Original Location:
- Findspot
- Last recorded location:
- Museum (1994)
- History of discovery:
- Recorded by the NYU expedition (Sarcophagus catalogue 414)
- Bibliography:
- Published by Reynolds and Isik, no. 116
- Text constituted from:
- Transcription (Reynolds) This edition Reynolds (2007).
- 1 ἡ σορὸς καὶ αἱ ὑποκείμεναι [εἰ]σ̣ωσται εἰσιν Μάρκου Αὐρηλίου Ἀπολλωνίου υἱοῦ Τι-
- 2βερίου Κλαυδί projection ου Μενεσθέως κηδευθήσοντα[ι] δὲ εἴσω projection μὲν τὴν σορὸν ὁ
- 3 Ἀπολλώνιος κα projection ὶ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ Πρόκλος καὶ εἴ τινα ἕτερο projection ν βουληθῆ ἢ δ[ι]-
- 4ατάξηται αὐτός τε ὁ Ἀπολλώνιος καὶ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ Πρόκλος ὁμοίως καὶ εἰ̣[ς]
- 5 τὰς εἰσώστας οὓς ἂν αὐτοὶ
- 6 βουληθῶσιν καὶ
- 7 διατάξωνται οὐ-
- 8δεὶς δὲ ἕτερος
- 9 ἕξει ἐξουσίαν
- 10 κηδευθῆσαί τινα
- 11 παρ'οὓς ὁ Ἀπολλώ-
- 12νιος ἢ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ
- 13 Πρόκλος διατάξων-
- 14ται ἐπεὶ ὁ ἐπιχει-
- 15ρήσας τοιοῦτό τι
- 16 ποιῆσαι ἀποτείσει
- 17 ἱερὰ Ἀφροδείτῃ
- 18 (δηνάρια) ͵βφ´ ὧν τὸ τρίτον
- 19 ἔσται τοῦ ἐκδικήσαντος
- 20 τούτου ἀντίγραφον ἀπετέ-
- 21θη εἰς τὸ χρεοφυλάκιον ἐπί
- 22 στεφανηφόρου Ἑρμολάου γ´ τοῦ Ποσειδίππου μηνὸς γ´ scroll
- 1ΗΣΟΡΟΣΚΑΙΑΙΥΠΟΚΕΙΜΕΝΑΙ[··]·ΩΣΤΑΙΕΙΣΙΝΜΑΡΚΟΥΑΥΡΗΛΙΟΥΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙΟΥΥΙΟΥΤΙ
- 2ΒΕΡΙΟΥΚΛΑΥΔΙ projection ΟΥΜΕΝΕΣΘΕΩΣΚΗΔΕΥΘΗΣΟΝΤΑ[·]ΔΕΕΙΣΩ projection ΜΕΝΤΗΝΣΟΡΟΝΟ
- 3ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙΟΣΚΑ projection ΙΟΥΙΟΣΑΥΤΟΥΠΡΟΚΛΟΣΚΑΙΕΙΤΙΝΑΕΤΕΡΟ projection ΝΒΟΥΛΗΘΗΗΔ[·]
- 4ΑΤΑΞΗΤΑΙΑΥΤΟΣΤΕΟΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙΟΣΚΑΙΟΥΙΟΣΑΥΤΟΥΠΡΟΚΛΟΣΟΜΟΙΩΣΚΑΙΕ·[·]
- 5ΤΑΣΕΙΣΩΣΤΑΣΟΥΣΑΝΑΥΤΟΙ
- 6ΒΟΥΛΗΘΩΣΙΝΚΑΙ
- 7ΔΙΑΤΑΞΩΝΤΑΙΟΥ
- 8ΔΕΙΣΔΕΕΤΕΡΟΣ
- 9ΕΞΕΙΕΞΟΥΣΙΑΝ
- 10ΚΗΔΕΥΘΗΣΑΙΤΙΝΑ
- 11ΠΑΡ'ΟΥΣΟΑΠΟΛΛΩ
- 12ΝΙΟΣΗΟΥΙΟΣΑΥΤΟΥ
- 13ΠΡΟΚΛΟΣΔΙΑΤΑΞΩΝ
- 14ΤΑΙΕΠΕΙΟΕΠΙΧΕΙ
- 15ΡΗΣΑΣΤΟΙΟΥΤΟΤΙ
- 16ΠΟΙΗΣΑΙΑΠΟΤΕΙΣΕΙ
- 17ΙΕΡΑΑΦΡΟΔΕΙΤΗ
- 18 denarius ΒΦΩΝΤΟΤΡΙΤΟΝ
- 19ΕΣΤΑΙΤΟΥΕΚΔΙΚΗΣΑΝΤΟΣ
- 20ΤΟΥΤΟΥΑΝΤΙΓΡΑΦΟΝΑΠΕΤΕ
- 21ΘΗΕΙΣΤΟΧΡΕΟΦΥΛΑΚΙΟΝΕΠΙ
- 22ΣΤΕΦΑΝΗΦΟΡΟΥΕΡΜΟΛΑΟΥΓΤΟΥΠΟΣΕΙΔΙΠΠΟΥΜΗΝΟΣΓ scroll
Translation:
The sarcophagus and the burial places below it are (the property) of Marcus Aurelius Apollonios son of Tiberius Claudius Menestheus. Within the sarcophagus Apollonios will be buried and his son Proklos and anyone else whom Apollonios or his son Proklos wishes or specifies. No one else shall have the right to bury anyone (here), except those whom Apollonios or his son Proklos specifies, since whoever has undertaken to do such a thing shall pay to Aphrodite as sacred money 2500 denarii, of which one third shall belong to the prosecutor. A copy of this was deposited in the Property-archive in the stephanephorate of Hermolaos son of Poseidippos, in the third month
Commentary:
he sarcophagus was found in a chamber-tomb along with 13.111, 13.108, 13.109 and another (13.101) of a different type, all of which should be approximately contemporary. Their setting strongly suggests that their owners were of modest status (note the case for regarding the owner of 13.111 as a tradesman)
Note that while the family has Roman citizenship it has not fully adapted to the Roman onomastic system; so instead of the formula of filiation Apollonios gives his father's full citizen name after υἱοῦ: Aphrodisians liked to spell things out. The owning family seems to have acquired Roman citizenship originally from the emperor Claudius or from Nero, when it was very rare at Aphrodisias; nevertheless the owner refers to no ancestors except his father, which may suggest that he belonged to a subordinate branch, perhaps deriving from a freed slave. His own name suggests that like some others at Aphrodisias and elsewhere he was excited enough by the Edict of Caracalla to take Caracalla's M. Aurelius in preference to the Ti. Claudius of his father (which is perhaps another indication of modest social status); and it should also be observed that he gave his son a Latin name, which is not so common in the city. The tomb consisted of more than the sarcophagus; but the funerary fine is a little below average. This is the first occurrence of the stephanephorus Hermolaos son of Poseidippos, and it is probable that this is a post mortem tenure for him (since his name shoes no signs of the Edict of Caracalla).
Photographs:
- Sarcophagus (1994)
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- Sarcophagus (1994)
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