8.99. Letter of Severus Alexander to Aphrodisias
- Description:
- Archive wall, column 5, on the third and fourth courses. The left-hand part is cut on one and a half blocks which are intact, the right-hand part shows increasing damage and the right end is almost wholly lost except for a few small fragments found fallen.
- Text:
- lnscribed area in situ, W. 1.56 x H. 0.145; line 1 outspaced.
- Letters:
- second to third centuries A.D.: l.1, 0.018, l.2, 0. 02, ll.3 ff., av. 0.018 ; ligatured ΜΕ in l.1, ΗΜ in 1.3, ΗΝ in 1.4, ΝΕ in l.5; diaeresis in l.5 ; bar above the figure in 1.2.
- Date:
- A.D. 224 (titulature, lettering).
- Findspot:
- Theatre: north parodos wall, and fragments found fallen
- Original Location:
- Theatre: north parodos wall
- Last recorded location:
- Findspot; fragments in Museum
- History of discovery:
- Recorded by the NYU expedition in 1967; a few small fragments found fallen (inv. nos. 67. 454, 67.457, 67.459 and unnumbered items).
- Bibliography:
- Published by Reynolds, A&R 19 whence SEG 32, 1982.1097, BE 1983.380; AnnEpig 1984, 873, McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 56 .
- Text constituted from:
- transcription (Reynolds)This edition: Reynolds (2007) This edition Reynolds (1982).
- 1 αὐτοκράτωρ Καῖσαρ θεοῦ Σεουήρου Εὐσεβοῦς ἔκγονος [θε]οῦ Ἀντωνείνου Εὐσεβοῦς μεγί[στου υἱό]ς̣ Μᾶρκος Αὐρή[λιος Σεου]ῆ̣ρ̣ο̣ς̣ [Ἀλέξανδ]ρος
- 2 Εὐσεβὴς Εὐτυχὴς Σεβαστός ἀρχιερεὺς μέγιστος δημαρχικῆς ἐξουσίας τὸ γ´ stop ὕπα[τος πατὴρ πα]τρίδ[ος Ἀφροδεισιέων τοῖς ?ἄρχουσι]
- 3 καὶ τῷ δήμῳ χαίρειν v. τὸ μὲν παρελέσθαι τι τῶν ὑπαρξάντων τῇ πόλει δικαίων ἀλλ[ότριόν ?ἐστι ?τῆς ἐν τῇ] ἀρχῇ [τῇ ἐμῇ περὶ ?πάντας]
- 4 κηδεμονίας τὸ δὲ κατὰ ταὐτὰ γενέσθαι τὴν περὶ τῆς παρούσης ἀξιώσεως [·· c. 21 ··]Ε̣Ε̣Ε̣[·· c. 14 ·· λό]-
- 5γον ἔχει τὸν προσήκοντα ἀκροάσεται δὴ ὑμῶν ἴσον καὶ κοινὸν ἑαυτὸν καθ[?ιστὰς ?κρι]τήν [?ἐπρέσβευεν ·· c. 13 ·· εὐτυχεῖτε]
- 1ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡΚΑΙΣΑΡΘΕΟΥΣΕΟΥΗΡΟΥΕΥΣΕΒΟΥΣΕΚΓΟΝΟΣ[··]ΟΥΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟΥΕΥΣΕΒΟΥΣΜΕΓΙ[·······]·ΜΑΡΚΟΣΑΥΡΗ[········]····[·······]ΡΟΣ
- 2ΕΥΣΕΒΗΣΕΥΤΥΧΗΣΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣΑΡΧΙΕΡΕΥΣΜΕΓΙΣΤΟΣΔΗΜΑΡΧΙΚΗΣΕΞΟΥΣΙΑΣΤΟΓ stop ΥΠΑ[··········]ΤΡΙΔ[·························]
- 3ΚΑΙΤΩΔΗΜΩΧΑΙΡΕΙΝ ΤΟΜΕΝΠΑΡΕΛΕΣΘΑΙΤΙΤΩΝΥΠΑΡΞΑΝΤΩΝΤΗΠΟΛΕΙΔΙΚΑΙΩΝΑΛΛ[·················]ΑΡΧΗ[···············]
- 4ΚΗΔΕΜΟΝΙΑΣΤΟΔΕΚΑΤΑΤΑΥΤΑΓΕΝΕΣΘΑΙΤΗΝΠΕΡΙΤΗΣΠΑΡΟΥΣΗΣΑΞΙΩΣΕΩΣ[·····················]···[················]
- 5ΓΟΝΕΧΕΙΤΟΝΠΡΟΣΗΚΟΝΤΑΑΚΡΟΑΣΕΤΑΙΔΗΥΜΩΝΙΣΟΝΚΑΙΚΟΙΝΟΝΕΑΥΤΟΝΚΑΘ[········]ΤΗΝ[·········· ······················]
Apparatus
l. 1. The letters ΡΟΣ are cut in an erased area.
1. 4. Only the upper horizontals survive for the letters printed Ε̣Ε̣Ε̣; each might also be Γ̣ Ζ̣, Ξ̣, Π̣, Σ̣, or Τ̣.
Translation:
Imperator Caesar M. Aure[lius Severus [Alexan]der, Pius, Felix, Augustus, [son] of divus Antoninus, Pius, Maximus, grandson of divus Severus, Pius, Pontifex Maximus, holding the tribunician power for the third time, consul, [father] of his country, [to the Magistrates] and People of the Aphrodisians, greetings.
To take away anything from the rights belonging to the city is foreign to the guardianship [extended to all in my] reign, but to bring under the same principle the [.. ? ..] in the matter of the present petition [.. ? ..] has the appropriate ?reputation (?value) ; he will listen, [offering] himself as your fair [?judge] and open to all. [.. ? .. was ambassador. Farewell].
Commentary:
See Aphrodisias and Rome, 129-131.
Photographs:
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (You may need the EpiDoc DTD v. 5 to validate this file.)