8.1. i. Building dedication to Aphrodite and Demos; ii. Invocation to Ourania; iii. Acclamation for the City

Description:: Thirteen fragments or complete blocks making up ten blocks of a white marble combined architrave and frieze (normal blocks W. 1.95 × H. 0.58 × D. 0.50; block over central door W. c. 2.66 wide. Two blocks re-used with inscriptions and moulding on the rear.
Text:: i. Inscribed in one line on the frieze. ii. Painted in red, on a white background. iii. inscribed on the face below the moulding.
Letters:: i. 0.11. ii. Elegant, l. 1, 0.05; l. 2, 0.03; despite the difference in size, both lines seem to be in the same hand. iii. 0.01-0.02.
Date:: i. 28 B.C. (prosopography); ii. & iii. First – sixth century A.D. (context).
Findspot:: In the area of the Theatre stage
Original Location:: Entablature of the stage buildings of the Theatre, redeployed in a similar position in the second century
Last recorded location:: Restored on the Theatre stage
History of discovery:: Excavated by the NYU expedition (Block 8 71.164b; Block 10 71.172)
Bibliography:: i. Mentioned, BE 1971.609; published by Reynolds, Aphrodisias & Rome, doc. 36a, whence Orth, EA 3, 1984, 63, SEG 32, 1982.1097, BE 1983.388, An.Ép. 1984.878, McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 92, Smith, Monument, T2. ii. Published by Roueché, PPA 2; iii. by Roueché, PPA 3
Text constituted from:: Transcription (Reynolds, Roueché); publications This edition Roueché (2007).

i: 1 Γάϊος Ἰούλιος Ζωΐ̣ | λος θεοῦ Ἰουλίου υ[ἱ]|οῦ Καίσαρος ἀπελε|ύθερος στεφανοφο|ρήσας τὸ δέκατον ἑξῆς | τὸ λογήιον καὶ τὸ προ|σκήνιον σὺν τοῖς ἐν αὐ|τῶι προσκοσμήμ̣ασιν | πᾶσιν Ἀφρ̣[οδίτῃ] καὶ τῶι Δήμωι v.
ii: 1[··] Μ̣ Οὐρανία Ι̣[·· c. 5 ··]Ρ̣Τ̣Ι̣Ι̣Λ̣[·· ? ··]; 2[··] βοηθι τῷ δουλῳ σ̣[ου] Ν̣ικηφ̣ό̣ρ̣ῳ [·· ? ··]
iii: 1 Νικᾷ ἡ τύχη; 2 τῆς πόλεως

i: 1ΓΑΙΟΣΙΟΥΛΙΟΣΖΩ·ΛΟΣΘΕΟΥΙΟΥΛΙΟΥΥ[·]ΟΥΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣΑΠΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΣΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΦΟΡΗΣΑΣΤΟΔΕΚΑΤΟΝΕΞΗΣΤΟΛΟΓΗΙΟΝΚΑΙΤΟΠΡΟΣΚΗΝΙΟΝΣΥΝΤΟΙΣΕΝΑΥΤΩΙΠΡΟΣΚΟΣΜΗ·ΑΣΙΝΠΑΣΙΝΑΦ·[·····]ΚΑΙΤΩΙΔΗΜΩΙ
ii: 1[··]·ΟΥΡΑΝΙΑ·[·····]·····[ - - - ]; 2[··]ΒΟΗΘΙΤΩΔΟΥΛΩ·[··]·ΙΚΗ···Ω[ - - - ]
iii: 1ΝΙΚΑΗΤΥΧΗ; 2ΤΗΣΠΟΛΕΩΣ

<ab>

Γάϊος

Ἰούλιος

Ζω

ΐ

</unclear>

λος

θεοῦ

Ἰουλίου

ἱ

</supplied>

οῦ

Καίσαρος

ἀπελε

ύθερος

στεφανοφο

ρήσας

τὸ

δέκατον

ἑξῆς

τὸ

λογήιον

καὶ

τὸ

προ

σκήνιον

σὺν

τοῖς

ἐν

αὐ

τῶι

προσκοσμή

</unclear>

ασιν

πᾶσιν

Ἀφ

</unclear>

οδίτῃ

</supplied>

καὶ

τῶι

Δήμωι

</ab>

</div>

<ab>

</unclear>

</orig>

Οὐρανία

</unclear>

</orig>

ρτιιλ

</unclear>

</orig>

βοηθι

τῷ

δουλῳ

</unclear>

ου

</supplied>

</unclear>

ικη

φόρ

</unclear>

ῳ

</ab>

</div>

<ab>

Νικᾷ

ἡ

τύχη

τῆς

πόλεως

</ab>

</div>

Translation:

i. Caius Julius Zoilos, freedman of the divine Iulius' son Caesar, after being stephanephorus for the tenth time in succession (gave) the stage and the proscenium with all the applied ornaments on it to Aphrodite and the People.

ii. [...] Ourania [...] Help [your] servant Nicephorus.

iii. The fortune of the city triumphs !

Commentary:

i. See most recently Reynolds, Aphrodisias Papers 2, 15-16. The central (fifth) block was reinscribed after a repair (ibid 19). The same text is found on 8.5 (=A&R 36b).

ii. See PPA ad loc. There are traces of similar letters on the second block from the south (see illustration).

iii. For this common acclamation see (unpublished) and (unpublished), with 4.13.ii. Νικᾷ acclamations of various kinds are of course common in the auditoria, where the expression originated: ὁ δεῖνα νικᾷ was the formula in which the herald would announce the victor in a contest. See further PPA pp. 3-4.