13.507. Funerary verse for a girl, ?Thea[ . . .

Description:
A white marble masonry block (H. 0.30 × W. 0.52 × D. 0.64) chipped at upper and right edges, but otherwise complete. There is a rough protrusion on the underside, which presumably fitted into masonry below.
Text:
Inscribed on one face; the text must have continued on an adjacent block as part of a substantial monument. There are some gaps to avoid faults in the stone, which was not very carefully prepared to receive the inscription.
Letters:
0.01 (omicron) – 0.025; clear but irregular.
Date:
Fourth-sixth century (content,metre).
Findspot:
Necropolis, South-west: built into a field wall some way south of the south-west stretch of the city wall.
Original Location:
Unknown.
Last recorded location:
Museum (1977)
History of discovery:
Recorded by the NYU expedition in 1972 (72.157).
Bibliography:
Published by Roueché, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity no. 154 and plate xxxv, whence McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 738, Steinepigramme 02/09/92 (partial).
Text constituted from:
Transcription (Roueché). This edition Roueché (2007).
1ψ̣υ̣χὴ σῶμα λιποῦσα ΤΟ [·· ? ··]
2εὔλυτος ἐς μακάρων ἱερὸν ΓΕ [·· ? ··]
3ὀκτωκαιδεκάτῳ τετρατο[·· ? ··]
4παντάπαν ἧν ἀμενη(ν)ὴ Θεα[·· ? ··]
5Ῥώμης καὶ Φαρίης ξύνον γένο[ς ·· ? ··]
6καλήν, μιλιχίην, ἐρατήν, πινυ[τὴν ·· ? ··]
7ἕρμα σαοφροσύνης κούρην ΚΡ[·· ? ··]
8ψυχὴ ἀθαν(ά)τοισιν ὁμέστιος ΟΥ[·· ? ··]
9ἐδομένη φορέειν βρότεον v. [·· ? ··]
9a v.
1··ΧΗΣΩΜΑΛΙΠΟΥΣΑΤΟ[ - - - ]
2ΕΥΛΥΤΟΣΕΣΜΑΚΑΡΩΝΙΕΡΟΝΓΕ[ - - - ]
3ΟΚΤΩΚΑΙΔΕΚΑΤΩΤΕΤΡΑΤΟ[ - - - ]
4ΠΑΝΤΑΠΑΝΗΝΑΜΕΝΗΗΘΕΑ[ - - - ]
5ΡΩΜΗΣΚΑΙΦΑΡΙΗΣΞΥΝΟΝΓΕΝΟ[· - - - ]
6ΚΑΛΗΝΜΙΛΙΧΙΗΝΕΡΑΤΗΝΠΙΝΥ[··· - - - ]
7ΕΡΜΑΣΑΟΦΡΟΣΥΝΗΣΚΟΥΡΗΝΚΡ[ - - - ]
8ΨΥΧΗΑΘΑΝΤΟΙΣΙΝΟΜΕΣΤΙΟΣΟΥ[ - - - ]
9ΕΔΟΜΕΝΗΦΟΡΕΕΙΝΒΡΟΤΕΟΝ [ - - - ]
9a 
<ab>
<lb n="1" />
<unclear reason="damage" >
ψυ
</unclear>
χὴ
σῶμα
λιποῦσα
<orig n="unresolved" >
τ
<unclear reason="undefined" >
ο
</unclear>
</orig>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="2" />
εὔλυτος
ἐς
μακάρων
ἱερὸν
<orig n="unresolved" >
γε
</orig>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="3" />
ὀκτωκαιδεκάτῳ
τετρατο
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="4" />
παντάπαν
ἧν
<expan>
<abbr>
ἀμενη
</abbr>
<supplied reason="abbreviation" >
ν
</supplied>
<abbr>
ὴ
</abbr>
</expan>
Θεα
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="5" />
Ῥώμης
καὶ
Φαρίης
ξύνον
γένο
<supplied reason="lost" >
ς
</supplied>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="6" />
καλήν
,
μιλιχίην
,
ἐρατήν
,
πινυ
<supplied reason="lost" >
τὴν
</supplied>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="7" />
ἕρμα
σαοφροσύνης
κούρην
<orig n="unresolved" >
κρ
</orig>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="8" />
ψυχὴ
<expan>
<abbr>
ἀθαν
</abbr>
<supplied reason="abbreviation" >
ά
</supplied>
<abbr>
τοισιν
</abbr>
</expan>
ὁμέστιος
<orig n="unresolved" >
ου
</orig>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="9" />
ἐδομένη
φορέειν
βρότεον
<space extent="1" unit="character" dim="horizontal" />
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character" dim="right" />
<lb n="9a" />
<space extent="1" unit="character" dim="horizontal" />
</ab>

Apparatus

l. 1, For σῶμα λιπεῖν see e.g. Peek 1907, 1963, 1978.

l. 3, The girl was presumably in her eighteenth year: τετρατο- might refer to the month.

l. 4, The restoration ἀμενη(ν)ή is attractive; but ἀμενὴ ἡ θέα is also possible. Thea- is probably the first element of the girl's name.

l. 7, ἐδομένη for αἰδομένη: Feissel (1991) 376.

Translation:

(The) soul, leaving the body [·· ? ··has gone], released from care, to the holy (i.e. place (or) gathering) of the blessed ones [·· ? ··in the] eighteenth [?year and] fourth [?month ·· ? ··]. Entirely fleeting was ?Thea- (i.e. (or) the glimpse we had of her) [·· ? ··] (Her) descent was from both Rome and Alexandria [·· ? ··] Beautiful, gentle, loveable, discreet, [·· ? ··] a bastion of prudence (was) the girl whom [·· ? ··] (Her) soul is living with the immortals [·· ? ··] being ashamed to bear a mortal [body].

Commentary:

See discussion at ala2004 IX.19.

Photographs:

Face (1977)
 Face (1977)
Face (1977)
 Face (1977)

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