11.104. Honours for an emperor, Augustus Germanicus

Description:: Four fragments perhaps from a white marble panel. Text i fragment b (b W. 0.40 × H. 0.42 × D. 0.11); text ii fragments a, b and c; text ii fragment d, broken on all sides, (W. 0.21 × H. 0.42 × D. 0.12).
Text:: Inscribed on the face in at least two, probably three, columns.
Letters:: l.1, 0.035; ll.2-3, 0.04
Date:: Flavian (titulature, lettering)
Findspot:: City, North-east: three (a.-c.) seen built into a garden wall on the way to the cemetery, by P&H. They describe this as west of the city, but this must be a slip; seen, with d, by K&R near 12.304 (on E.wall); fragment b. was found in 1975 on the east wall, near 12.320 (=MAMA 556b) (catalogue no 75.13).
Original Location:: Shrine of Zeus Nineudios
Last recorded location:: b. in the Museum (1977)
History of discovery:: a-c copied by Paris and Holleaux; a-c seen and d copied by K&R (K iii.30a, Abklatsch 67); one fragment (b) found by the NYU expedition (excavation inventory number 75.13).
Bibliography:: a-c published by Paris and Holleaux, no. 10, whence McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 177, 178, cited by P. Veyne, Latomus 21 (1962), 94; d published, from K&R, by Cormack, ABSA no 13a, whence McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 189.
Text constituted from:: Preliminary transcription (Reynolds); K&R notebooks; publications. This edition Roueché and Bodard (2007).

i: (a-c); 1[?Διονύσιος Παπύλου] τ̣οῦ; 2[Παπύλου Διονυσ]ι̣ου ἱερεὺς; 3[Διὸς] Νινευδίου καθὼς; 4[ὑπ]έσχετο vacat; 5[·· c. 7 ··]Υ̣
ii: 0·· ? ··]; 1 Σ[εβα]στὸν Γερμα[νικὸν]; 2 ἀν̣ί̣κητον θεὸν leaf Διο[νύσιος]; 3 Πα[π]ύλου τοῦ Παπύλου Διονυ-; 4σίο[υ ἱερεὺς Δίος Νινευδίου συν-; 5καθιέρωσεν τὸν θεὸν τῷ θε-; 6ῷ καθὼς ὑπέσχετο [·· c. 6 ··]Ν; 7[·· c. 17 ··]ΤΟΥΛ̣; 8[·· c. 17 ··]ΟΣ καθ-; 9[ vac. ὼς ὑπέσχε]το
iii: (d); 0[·· ? ··] vacat [·· ? ··]; 1[·· ? ·· ?θ]εὸ[ν ·· ? ··]; 2[·· ? ·· ?Σεβαστ]ὸν Κα̣[ίσαρα ·· ? ··]; 3[·· ? ··καθι]έρω[σεν ·· ? ··]; 4[·· ? ·· Δι]ο̣νυσ̣[ι·· ? ··]; 5[·· ? ··] Πα[πυλ·· ? ··]; 6[·· ? ··]Ο[·· ? ··]; 6a[·· ? ··

i: (a-c); 1[················]·ΟΥ; 2[·············]·ΟΥΙΕΡΕΥΣ; 3[····]ΝΙΝΕΥΔΙΟΥΚΑΘΩΣ; 4[··]ΕΣΧΕΤΟ; 5[·······]·
ii: 0·· ? ··]; 1Σ[···]ΣΤΟΝΓΕΡΜΑ[·····]; 2Α··ΚΗΤΟΝΘΕΟΝ leaf ΔΙΟ[······]; 3ΠΑ[·]ΥΛΟΥΤΟΥΠΑΠΥΛΟΥΔΙΟΝΥ; 4ΣΙΟ[·ΙΕΡΕΥΣΔΙΟΣΝΙΝΕΥΔΙΟΥΣΥΝ; 5ΚΑΘΙΕΡΩΣΕΝΤΟΝΘΕΟΝΤΩΘΕ; 6ΩΚΑΘΩΣΥΠΕΣΧΕΤΟ[······]Ν; 7[·················]ΤΟΥ·; 8[·················]ΟΣΚΑΘ; 9[·············]ΤΟ
iii: (d); 0[ - - - ] vacat [ - - - ]; 1[ - - - ·]ΕΟ[· - - - ]; 2[ - - - ······]ΟΝΚ·[····· - - - ]; 3[ - - - ····]ΕΡΩ[··· - - - ]; 4[ - - - ··]·ΝΥ·[· - - - ]; 5[ - - - ]ΠΑ[··· - - - ]; 6[ - - - ]Ο[ - - - ]; 6a[·· ? ··

<note>

a-c

</note>

<ab>

Διονύσιος

</supplied>

Παπύλου

</supplied>

</unclear>

οῦ

Παπύλου

</supplied>

Διονυσ

</supplied>

</unclear>

ου

ἱερεὺς

Διὸς

</supplied>

Νινευδίου

κα

θὼς

ὑπ

</supplied>

έσχετο

</unclear>

</orig>

</ab>

</div>

<ab>

εβα

</supplied>

στὸν

Γερμα

νικὸν

</supplied>

ἀ

</unclear>

ί

</unclear>

κητον

θεὸν

Διο

νύσιος

</supplied>

</supplied>

ύλου

τοῦ

Παπύλου

Διονυ

σίο

</supplied>

ἱερεὺς

Δίος

Νινευδίου

συν

καθιέρωσεν

τὸν

θεὸν

τῷ

θε

ῷ

καθὼς

ὑπέσχετο

</orig>

του

</unclear>

</orig>

οσ

</orig>

καθ

</supplied>

ὼς

</supplied>

ὑπέσχε

</supplied>

το

</ab>

</div>

<note>

</note>

<ab>

</supplied>

εὸ

</supplied>

Σεβαστ

</supplied>

ὸν

</unclear>

ίσαρα

</supplied>

καθι

</supplied>

έρω

σεν

</supplied>

Δι

</supplied>

</unclear>

νυ

</unclear>

</supplied>

Πα

πυλ

</supplied>

</orig>

</ab>

</div>

Apparatus

The highlighted letters are all that has been seen by us.

Translation:

i. [·· ? ··Dionysios son of Papylos] son of [Papylos Dionys]ios, priest of [Zeus] Nineudios, in accordance with his promise [·· ? ··]

ii. [?statue of ·· ? ··] Augustus Germanicus the unconquered god. Dionysios son of Papylos the son of Papylos Dionysios, priest of Zeus Nineudios, jointly dedicated the god to the god in accordance with his promise [·· ? ··] in accordance with his [promise]

iii. [·· ? ·· the] god [·· ? ·· August]us Ca[esar ·· ? ··] dedicated [·· ? ··] Dionysios [·· ? ··] Pa[pylos ·· ? ··]

Commentary:

It is not easy to accommodate iii in either i or ii; we therefore probably have a block with three columns of inscription, perhaps accompanying three statues. For this layout compare 12.1002 (=Reinach 35).

Given the likely date, the emperor whose statue was dedicated in ii might be Gaius, Claudius, Nero or Domitian, the first three having inherited the title Germanicus and the fourth acquiring it for a victory early in A.D. 84. Trajan also acquired this title in A.D. 97, but this seems rather late for the lettering (although not to be rejected out of hand). For ἀνείκητος see 6.2 and discussion there. The appellation 'unconquered God' is well-attested for Domitian but not inconceivable for the others.

For Domitian: αὐτοκράτορα Δο̣μ̣ι|[τια]νὸ[ν] Καίσαρα Σε|βαστὸν Γερμανικὸν |θεὸν ἀνίκητον (IPriene 229)

For Trajan: Αὐτοκράτορα Καίσαρα Νερούαν Τραια|νὸν Σεβαστὸν Γερμανικὸν Δακικὸν θε|ὸν θεοῦ υἱὸν ἀνείκητον (IG II.3, 3284, so in Laconia IG V.1.380)

The imperial figures honoured in column i - and perhaps in column iii - are likely to have been significant members of the family - a wife, or for Gaius, a sister. The stress on the divinity of the emperor might make Gaius or Domitian particularly likely.

The dedicator in i was thought by Paris and Holleaux to have been probably the son of the dedicator of column ii - so that they restored Διονύσιος Διονυσίου Παπύλου τοῦ Παπύλου. This may be right; but in both columns the dedicator is priest of Zeus Nineudios, and one might wonder how many such priests would co-exist. We have suggested that the dedicator is in fact the same man in both cases; and he might also be the dedicator in iii. But the second dedication of which traces survive at the end of column ii appears to require a different name.