8.85. i: Building dedication to Aphrodite and emperors by T.Cl. Zelos. ii: Verse honours for Androkles, a benefactor

Description:: Eleven white marble cornice blocks which form the front of the present stage.
Text:: i: Inscribed along the upper fascia of the blocks, running in a single line from a point c. 1 m. to the right of the north end of the stage, to the south end.ii: Below i is a protruding moulding, and below that two fasciae, on the upper of which (H. 0.07 high) this text is cut. The letters are very lightly cut, with red paint still to be seen in some of them. Those that survive are below the centre of the stage, on the fifth, sixth and seventh blocks from the north end; since all the blocks are in place, it seems likely that the rest of the text, including the gaps in this fragment, was painted, and either not incised at all, or cut so shallowly that it can no longer be detected.
Letters:: i: 0.07; unusually shallow; leaf for stop. ii: 0.055-0.06; very simple.
Date:: i:A.D. 139-161 (reign). ii: Fourth century (lettering).
Findspot:: Theatre: in situ on the front of the stage
Original Location:: Findspot
Last recorded location:: Findspot (2001)
History of discovery:: Excavated by the NYU expedition in 1967 (67.536)
Bibliography:: i: Published by MacDonald, Greek and Roman Coins from Aphrodisias, p. 20, no. 1, whence BE 1977.459 (l. 1), SEG 1976.1220, McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 115, C. P. Jones, HSCP 85 (1981) ; by Reynolds, Aph.Papers 2, 15-28, no. B.1. ii: Published by •Roueché, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity no. 34, whence McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 715, Steinepigramme 02/09/94.
Text constituted from:: Transcription (Reynolds, Roueché). This edition Reynolds (1991).

i: 1 [[Θεᾶι Ἀφροδείτηι]] καὶ Αὐτο|κράτορι Καίσαρι Τ[[ίτῳ]] [[Αἰλίῳ]] [[Ἁδριανῷ]] Ἀ | ντωνείνῳ Σεβαστῷ Εὐσεβεῖ καὶ | Μάρκῳ Αὐρηλίῳ Οὐήρῳ Καίσαρι καὶ τ|ῷ σύμπαντι οἴκῳ τῶν Σεβαστῶν καὶ τῇ γλυκυτάτ|ῃ πατρίδι leaf Τι(βέριος) Κλ(αύδιος) Ζῆλος | ἀρχιερεὺς καὶ ἱερεὺς διὰ βίου θεᾶς [[Ἀφροδείτης]] τοὺς κ|είονας καὶ τὸν κατ' αὐτῶν κόσμον κ|αὶ τὴν σκούτλωσιν τοῦ τοίχου καὶ το|ῦ ἐδάφους ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων κατεσσκεύ|ασεν καὶ ἀνέθηκεν leaf
ii: 1[·· ? ··εὐ]εργεσίης [·· c. 4 ··] Ἀνδροκλέ[ο]υ[ς] Ν̣[·]ΕΙ[·· ? ··]

i: 1 [[ΘΕΑΙΑΦΡΟΔΕΙΤΗΙ]]ΚΑΙΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΙΚΑΙΣΑΡΙΤ[[ΙΤΩ]] [[ΑΙΛΙΩ]] [[ΑΔΡΙΑΝΩ]]ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΩΣΕΒΑΣΤΩΕΥΣΕΒΕΙΚΑΙΜΑΡΚΩΑΥΡΗΛΙΩΟΥΗΡΩΚΑΙΣΑΡΙΚΑΙΤΩΣΥΜΠΑΝΤΙΟΙΚΩΤΩΝΣΕΒΑΣΤΩΝΚΑΙΤΗΓΛΥΚΥΤΑΤΗΠΑΤΡΙΔΙ leaf ΤΙΚΛΖΗΛΟΣΑΡΧΙΕΡΕΥΣΚΑΙΙΕΡΕΥΣΔΙΑΒΙΟΥΘΕΑΣ[[ΑΦΡΟΔΕΙΤΗΣ]]ΤΟΥΣΚΕΙΟΝΑΣΚΑΙΤΟΝΚΑΤ'ΑΥΤΩΝΚΟΣΜΟΝΚΑΙΤΗΝΣΚΟΥΤΛΩΣΙΝΤΟΥΤΟΙΧΟΥΚΑΙΤΟΥΕΔΑΦΟΥΣΕΚΤΩΝΙΔΙΩΝΚΑΤΕΣΣΚΕΥΑΣΕΝΚΑΙΑΝΕΘΗΚΕΝ leaf
ii: 1[ - - - ··]ΕΡΓΕΣΙΗΣ[····]ΑΝΔΡΟΚΛΕ[·]Υ[·]·[·]ΕΙ[ - - - ]

<ab>

<del>

Θεᾶι

Ἀφροδείτηι

</del>

καὶ

Αὐτο

κράτορι

Καίσαρι

<del>

ίτῳ

</del>

<del>

Αἰλίῳ

</del>

<del>

Ἁδριανῷ

</del>

Ἀ

ντωνείνῳ

Σεβαστῷ

Εὐσεβεῖ

καὶ

Μάρκῳ

Αὐρηλίῳ

Οὐήρῳ

Καίσαρι

καὶ

ῷ

σύμπαντι

οἴκῳ

τῶν

Σεβαστῶν

καὶ

τῇ

γλυκυτάτ

ῃ

πατρίδι

<expan>

<abbr>

Τι

</abbr>

βέριος

</supplied>

</expan>

<expan>

<abbr>

Κλ

</abbr>

αύδιος

</supplied>

</expan>

Ζῆλος

ἀρχιερεὺς

καὶ

ἱερεὺς

διὰ

βίου

θεᾶς

<del>

Ἀφροδείτης

</del>

τοὺς

είονας

καὶ

τὸν

κατ'

αὐτῶν

κόσμον

αὶ

τὴν

σκούτλωσιν

τοῦ

τοίχου

καὶ

το

ῦ

ἐδάφους

ἐκ

τῶν

ἰδίων

κατεσσκεύ

ασεν

καὶ

ἀνέθηκεν

</ab>

</div>

<ab>

εὐ

</supplied>

εργεσίης

Ἀνδροκλέ

</supplied>

</supplied>

</unclear>

</orig>

ει

</orig>

</ab>

</div>

Translation:

i: For the goddess Aphrodite, for Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Verus Caesar and the whole household of the Augusti and his very dear country, Ti(berius) Cl(audius) Zelos, high priest and priest for life of the goddess Aphrodite, prepared and put up the columns and the entablature above them and the veneering of the wall and of the floor at his own expense.

ii: [·· ? ··] benefaction [·· c. 4 ··] (?of) ?Androkles [·]EI[·· ? ··]