Tzifopoulos, Yannis. 2010. Paradise Earned: The Bacchic-Orphic Gold Lamellae of Crete. Hellenic Studies Series 23. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebook:CHS_TzifopoulosY.Paradise_Earned_The_Bacchic-Orphic_Gold_Lamellae.2010.
1: Edition
The Gold Epistomia of Crete
Nine Incised
Archaeological Context for nos. 1–7
The provenance of the seven published epistomia is unknown. Margarita Guarducci, guided by Federico Halbherr’s notes and drawings (IC II.xii [Eleutherna].31, p. 136) and by Domenico Comparetti’s edition (1910:37–41), included nos. 1–3 and 7 in the epigraphical dossier of Eleutherna. Guarducci, however, published epistomion no. 4 in the Loci Incerti, since we know nothing of its provenance, except that it came from Mylopótamos (see the section “Topography”; for the publication history of all the lamellae, see Graf and Johnston 2007:50–65; Graf forthcoming-1 and forthcoming-2; Edmonds forthcoming-1).
The seller of incised epistomia nos. 5 and 6 insisted that they were found “rolled up in small cylinders in graves near Eleutherna” (Verdelis 1953–1954:vol. II, 56), giving no other specific information.
The Inscriptions
Because of the difficulties they present, the epistomia have been photographed anew for the present study, and for each epistomion are published a black-and-white photograph and a drawing (drawings of nos. 1–3 and 7 by Federico Halbherr are quite accurate with only a few minor oversights; drawing of no. 4 by Margarita Guarducci, with minor inconsistencies; drawings of nos. 5–6 by Nikolaos Verdelis).
1 (B3; Figures 1a–b) Eleutherna, National Archaeological Museum, Συλλογὴ Ἀγγείων 632
The rectangular paper-thin gold lamella is preserved in excellent condition with few wrinkles. There are no creases to indicate any previous folding or rolling.
a.
b.
Figure 1a. Gold epistomion (no. 1), from Eleutherna. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Συλλογὴ Ἀγγείων 632. H.0.01, W.0.056, Th. less than 0.0001, LH.0.0006–0.0015. III–I centuries BCE. Figure 1b. Drawing of epistomion no. 1.
ΔΙΨΑΙΑΥΟΣΕΓΩΚΑΙΑΠΟΛΛΥΜΑΙΑΛΛΑΠΙΕΜΟΙ
ΚΡΑΝΑΣΑΙΕΙΡΟΩΕΠΙΔΕΞΙΑΤΗΚΥΦΑΡΙZΟΣ
ΤΙΣΔΕZΙΠΩΔΕZΙΓΑΣΥΙΟΣΗΜΙΚΑΙΩΡΑΝΩ
ΑΣΤΕΡΟΕΝΤΟΣ
δίψαι αὖος ἐγὼ καὶ ἀπόλλυμαι· ἀλλὰ πιε ̑<μ> μοι
κράνας αἰειρόω ἐπὶ δεξιά· τῆ, κυφάριζος.
3 τίς δ’ ἐζί; πῶ δ’ ἐζί; Γᾶς υἱός ἠμι καὶ Ὠρανῶ
ἀστερόεντος.
I am parched with thirst and I am perishing; but (give) me to drink
from the ever-flowing spring to the right; there! the cypress.
‘Who are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’ I am the son of Earth
and starry Sky.
Joubin 1893:121–124; Myres 1893:629; Comparetti 1910:37–40; Olivieri 1915:14–15 no. bA; IC II.xii [Eleutherna].31a (Guarducci); Zuntz 1971:362–364; Gallavotti 1978–79:356 notes 19–20; Colli 1981:4 [A 70a]; Cassio 1987:314–316; Cassio 1995:191–192; Riedweg 1998:397–398; Pugliese Carratelli 2001:78–79 no. IB1; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:265 no. 5a; Bernabé 2005:fr. 478; Graf and Johnston 2007:20–21 no. 10; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The letters are carefully incised; the engraver tries to cover the entire surface of the lamella, respects word-divisions, and indents the last word in line four, making the text approximately centered.
Characteristic letter-shapes include the following: the alpha with a horizontal crossbar or a crossbar which leans in either direction; the rather wide eta with verticals straight or curving; the mu with leaning and sometimes curving verticals; the xi with a smaller middle horizontal stroke; the pi with straight or outward-curving verticals and with the right vertical smaller than the left; the upsilon either without a vertical or with a very tiny vertical; and the open, quasi-symmetrical omega. The sigma is either open or closed and is either lunate (C) or angular (<); the middle bar of the lunate or angular epsilon may be incised at some distance and extend well beyond the letter space; the shape Σ with quasi-lunate middle bars is used for -σσ-, which in nos. 4–6 below is engraved with the shape Ζ (for the shape Σ/Ζ = σσ in Crete see: LSAG 308 and Verdelis 1953–1954:59–60).
Line 1: δίψαι δ᾽ αὖος Gallavotti trying to emend the hiatus, on account of the reading in no. 4 below. ΠΙΕΜΟΙ on the lamella; πιέμ μοι Comparetti; πιέ μοι Olivieri; πιε ̑ μοι Guarducci; πιε ̑μ μ᾽ ὀ̑(ν) (= οὖν) Gallavotti; πίε μοι Colli; πιέ<ν> μοι Cassio, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé, Graf and Johnston; πιέ<μ> μοι Zuntz, Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg on account of no. 3 below. In this period one should expect πιῆν or πιεῖν (Bile 1988:239–242); the verb δότε should be understood as governing the infinitive (Cassio 1987, 1995), and ἀλλά as introducing “a break-off in the thought” and an appeal/exhortation with an impatient tone (Denniston 1950:13–15).
Line 2: ἐπιδέξια Gallavotti. ΤΗΚΥΦΑΡΙΣΟΣ on the lamella; τῆ(ι) Comparetti; τῆ<ι> Olivieri, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé; τῇ Guarducci; τῆ Zuntz, Gallavotti, Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg; τῆ{ς}, Graf and Johnston. τῇ, the adverb of place, always with iota subscript in literary texts, may also be the old epic interjection τῆ (LSJ; I owe this idea to Kyriakos Tsantsanoglou).
Lines 2–3: κυφάριζος, ἐζί Gallavotti, Pugliese Carratelli; κυφάρισσος, ἐσί Comparetti (1910:38–39: for the sigma, the engraver used the shapes C and Σ interchangeably); κυφάρισος, ἐσί Olivieri, Guarducci (IC II.xii [Eleutherna].31a, p. 168: littera sigma modo C modo Σ est, but she later suggests that (p. 170), because in lamella no. 4 below the letter shape Ζ stands for -σσ-, perhaps we should understand the shape Σ as a relic of the archaic/classical tsade [sampi]); κυφάριΖος, ἐΖί Graf and Johnston; κυφάρισσος, ἐσσί Zuntz, Riedweg, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé.
2 (B4; Figures 2a–b) Eleutherna, National Archaeological Museum, Συλλογὴ Ἀγγείων 633
The rectangular, paper-thin gold lamella is preserved in excellent condition with minor wrinkles; at least two creases show that it was folded.
a.
b.
Figure 2a. Gold epistomion (no. 2), from Eleutherna. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Συλλογὴ Ἀγγείων 633. H.0.013, W.0.062, Th. less than 0.0001, LH.0.001–0.0015. III–I centuries BCE. Figure 2b. Drawing of epistomion no. 2.
ΔΙΨΑΙΑΥΟΣΕΓΩΚΑΙΑΠΟΛΛΥΜΑΜΑΙΑΛΛΑΠΙΕΜΟΙ
ΚΡΑΝΑΣΑΙΕΙΡΟΩΕΠΙΔΕΞΙΑΤΗΚΥΦΑΡΙΣΟΣ
ΤΙΣΔΕΣΙΠΩΔΕΣΙΓΑΣΥΙΟΣΗΜΙΚΑΙΩΡΑΝΩ
ΑΣΤΕΡΟΣΝΤΟΣ
δίψαι αὖος ἐγὼ καὶ ἀπόλλυμα{μα}ι· ἀλλὰ πιε ̑<μ> μοι
κράνας αἰειρόω ἐπὶ δεξιά· τῆ, κυφάριζος.
3 τίς δ’ ἐζί; πῶ δ’ ἐζί; Γᾶς υἱός ἠμι καὶ Ὠρανῶ
ἀστερό<ε>ντος.
I am parched with thirst and I am perishing; but (give) me to drink
from the ever-flowing spring to the right; there! the cypress.
‘Who are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’ I am the son of Earth
and starry Sky.
Myres 1893: 629; Comparetti 1910:37–40; Olivieri 1915:14–15 no. bB; IC II.xii [Eleutherna].31b (Guarducci); Zuntz 1971:362–364; Gallavotti 1978–79:356 notes 19–20; Colli 1981:4 [A 70b]; Cassio 1987:314–316; Cassio 1995:191–192; Riedweg 1998:397–398; Pugliese Carratelli 2001:80 no. IΒ2; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:266 no. 5b; Bernabé 2005:fr. 479; Graf and Johnston 2007:20–21 no. 11; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The letters are carefully incised; the engraver covers the surface of the lamella, respects word-divisions, and indents the last word in line four in order to center the text.
For the letter-shapes, follow no. 1 above, with the following exceptions: the epsilon and sigma are lunate throughout, the verticals of the pi are of equal length, and the right half of the open omega is smaller than the left.
The text is identical to no. 1 above and the readings and corrections of previous editors are also the same.
Line 1: ΑΠΟΛΛΥΜΑΜΑΙΑΛΛΑΠΙΕΜΟΙ on the lamella.
Line 2: ΤΗΚΥΦΑΡΙΣΟΣ on the lamella.
Line 4: ΑΣΤΕΡΟΣΝΤΟΣ on the lamella.
Line 2: ΤΗΚΥΦΑΡΙΣΟΣ on the lamella.
Line 4: ΑΣΤΕΡΟΣΝΤΟΣ on the lamella.
3 (B5; Figures 3a–b) Eleutherna, National Archaeological Museum, Συλλογὴ Ἀγγείων 634
The rectangular paper-thin gold lamella is preserved in excellent condition, except for wrinkles and minor tears on top and bottom. At least two creases show that it was folded.
a.
b.
Figure 3a. Gold epistomion (no. 3), from Eleutherna. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Συλλογὴ Ἀγγείων 634. H.0.0075, W.0.054, Th. less than 0.0001, LH.0.0007–0.001. III–I centuries BCE. Figure 3b. Drawing of epistomion no. 3.
ΔΙΨΑΙΑΥΟΣΑΑΥ̣ΟΣΕΓΩΚΑΙΑΠΟΛΛΥΜΑΙΑΛΛΑΠΙΕΜΜΟΥ̣
Κ̣ΡΑΝΑΣΛΙΕΝΑΩΕΠΙΔΕ[.]ΙΑΤΗΚΥΦΑΡΙΣΣΟΣ
ΤΙΣΔΕΣΙΠΩΔΕΣΙΓΑΣΥΙΟΣΗΜΚΑΙΩΡΑΝΩ
ΑΣΤΕΡΟΕΝΤ[.]Σ
δίψαι αὖος {ααυ̣οσ} ἐγὼ καὶ ἀπόλλυμαι· ἀλλὰ πιε ̑μ μου̣
κ̣ράνας <α>ἰενάω ἐπὶ δε[ξ]ιά· τῆ, κυφάρισζος.
3 τίς δ’ ἐζί; πῶ δ’ ἐζί; Γᾶς υἱός ἠμ<ι> καὶ Ὠρανῶ
ἀστερόεντ[ο]ς.
I am parched with thirst and I am perishing; but (give) me to drink
from the ever-flowing spring to the right; there! the cypress.
‘Who are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’ I am the son of Earth
and starry Sky.Myres 1893:629; Comparetti 1910:37–40; Olivieri 1915:14–15 no. bC; IC II.xii [Eleutherna].31c (Guarducci); Zuntz 1971:362–364; Gallavotti 1978–79:356 notes 19–20; Colli 1981:4 [A 70c]; Cassio 1987:314–316; Cassio 1995:191–192; Riedweg 1998:397–398; Pugliese Carratelli 2001:81 no. IB3; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:265–266 no. 5c; Bernabé 2005:fr. 480; Graf and Johnston 2007:22–23 no. 12; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The lettering is sloppy and the engraver has made a few mistakes or omissions. He tries to cover the surface of the lamella, respects word-divisions, and indents lines three and four by two-letter spaces.
For the letter-shapes, follow no. 1 above, with the following exceptions: the middle bar of the alpha (in addition to being either horizontal or leaning) is very small or leans to the left forming an angle; the mu’s verticals are asymmetrical; the pi’s horizontal sometimes slants downward; the open omega is half the height of the other letters.
The text is identical to no. 1 above and the readings and corrections of previous editors are also the same.
Line 1: ΑΥΟΣΑΑΥ̣ΟΣΕΓΩ on the lamella; of the upsilon the upper right slanting and the tip of the vertical are visible; αὖος ἅλ[ι]σς ἐγὼ Comparetti; αὖος [ἅλ.σσ] ἐγὼ Olivieri; {αὖος} δ̣’ αὖ̣ο̣ς ἐγὼ Guarducci; αὖος {ΛΑΥ̣ΣΣ} ἐγὼ Zuntz, Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé; αὖος {λα.ος} Graf and Johnston. ΠΙΕΜΜΟΥ̣ on the lamella; of the last upsilon the upper left slanting remains.
Line 2: Κ̣ΡΑΝΑΣΛΙΕΝΑΩ on the lamella; of the kappa the vertical and a trace of the beginning of its middle lunate strokes are visible; <κ>ράνας <α>ἰενάω Guarducci, Zuntz, Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé. ΕΠΙΔΕ[.]ΙΑ on the lamella; ἐπὶ δε<ξ>ιὰ Olivieri; ἐπὶ δε[ξ]ιὰ Guarducci, and all editors; ἐπιδέξια Gallavotti.
Line 3: ΗΜΚΑΙ on the lamella. Guarducci’s (p. 169) suggestion that a ligature of Ι and Κ may have been intended in Κ, is rather unlikely, given the mistakes and/or omissions in lines 1–2.
4 (B6; Figures 4a–b) Eleutherna (Mylopotamos), Herakleion Archaeological Museum, Χρυσά 639
The paper-thin gold lamella in the shape of the mouth is preserved in excellent condition, except for minor tears at the edges and wrinkles. At least two creases show that it was folded.
a.
b.
Figure 4a. Gold epistomion (no. 4), from Eleutherna/Mylopotamos. Herakleion, Archaeological Museum, Χρυσά 639. H.0.012, W.0.045, Th. less than 0.0001, LH.0.001–0.002. III–I centuries BCE. Figure 4b. Drawing of epistomion no. 4.
ΔΙΨΑΔΗΜΑΥΟΣΚΑΙΑΠΟΛΟΜΑΙΑΛΑ
ΠΙΕΝΜΟΙΚΡΑΝΑΣΑΙΓΙΔΔΩΕΠΙ
ΔΕΞΙΑΤΕΚΥΠΛΡΙΖΟΣΤΙΣΔΕΖΙΠ
ΩΔΕΖΙΓΑΣΗΜΙΓ̣ΥΑ̣ΤΗΡΚΑΙ
ΩΡΑΝΩΑΣΤΕΡΟΕΝΤΟΣ
δίψᾳ δ’ ἠμ’ αὖος καὶ ἀπόλ<λ>ομαι· ἀλ<λ>ὰ
πιε̑ν μοι κράνας ΑΙΓΙΔΔΩ ἐπὶ
3 δεξιά· τε̑, κυπ<ά>ριζος. τίς δ’ ἐζί; π-
ῶ δ’ ἐζί; Γᾶς ἠμι Γ̣ΥΑ̣ΤΗΡ καὶ
Ὠρανῶ ἀστερόεντος.
I am parched with thirst and I am perishing; but (give) me to drink
from the ΑΙΓΙΔΔΩ spring to the right; there! the cypress.
‘Who are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’ I am of Earth, Γ̣ΥΑ̣ΤΗΡ, and
starry Sky.IC II.xxx [Loci Incerti].4; Zuntz 1971:362–364; Gallavotti 1978–79:356 notes 19–20; Colli 1981:4 [A 70d]; Cassio 1987:314–316; Cassio 1995:191–192; Riedweg 1998:397–398; Pugliese Carratelli 2001:82–83 no. IB4; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:266 no. 5d; Bernabé 2005:fr. 481; Graf and Johnston 2007:26–27 no. 16; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The lettering is sloppy and careless; some of the letters’ strokes cross over or are joined to the next character, giving the impression of handwritten style. There are a few mistakes or omissions. The engraver is trying to cover the surface of the lamella and indents lines 3 and 5 by one letter-space, but he does not respect word divisions (lines 3–4 π|ῶ).
For the letter-shapes, follow no. 1 above, with the following exceptions: for -σσ-, instead of the shape Σ, the shape Ζ is employed with a vertical middle bar (see no. 1 above); of the alpha either one of the slanting strokes are overextended, and the crossbar may be horizontal, leaning to the left or to the right, or curvilinear; epsilons and sigmas are lunate throughout; the mu’s verticals are asymmetrical; the horizontal of the pi sometimes slants downward; the upsilon has a vertical throughout; and the open omega is very short with only a small curve for its right half.
The text is similar to no. 1 above and the readings and corrections of previous editors are also the same; see also no. 9 below, and the sections “The Cretan Texts in the Context of a Ritual and a Hieros Logos” and “The Cretan Context of the Cretan Epistomia.”
Line 1: δίψα<ι> Guarducci, Zuntz, Riedweg, Pugliese Carratelli, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé, Graf and Johnston. ΑΠΟΛΟΜΑΙΑΛΑ on the lamella, corrected by Guarducci; ἀπόλ<λ>υ̣μαι· ἀλ<λ>ὰ Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé.
Line 2: ΑΙΓΙΔΔΩ on the lamella; αἰ<ε>ι<ρό>ω Guarducci, Zuntz, Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal. Gallavotti (356 note 20): “non sarà αἰ<ε>ι<ρό>ω, ma piuttosto αἰ(ε)ιν̣ά̣ω, se la grafia non rispecchia addirittura un originario Ἀίδαο (in tal caso il verso sarebbe enh+reiz).” On account of the reading in no. 9 below and of the similarities between these two epistomia, I prefer not to emend the text, despite the engraver’s sloppiness; the letters on the lamella are clear and it is not unlikely that some other epithet for the spring, so far unknown, may have been intended; if emendation be mandatory, then αἰγί{δ}ρ̣ω is far more preferable (proposed by Verbruggen 1981:90–91).
Line 4: ΗΜΙΓ̣ΥΑ̣ΤΗΡ on the lamella (Guarducci’s drawing is not very accurate); of the dotted letters, the gamma could conceivably be a pi and the alpha could conceivably be an eta. The reading is a locus desperatus and a number of emendations have been proposed: ἠμι <θ>υ<γ>άτηρ Guarducci, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé, Graf and Johnston; ἠμι †τυμτηρ Zuntz; ἠμι γυήτηρ Gallavotti (356 note 20: “Sospetto uno scambio o un incrocio con *κυητήρ, nel senso di “concezione” (cf. κυήτωρ, κυητέριος); forse è un termine iniziatico, che nelle altre redazioni è stato saostittuto con υἱός oppure πάϊς)”; ἠμι γ<ενε>τὴρ (= γενέτης ‘figlio’?) Pugliese Carratelli; ἠμι ?γυητηρ? Riedweg. On the basis of the new text from Sfakaki, no. 9 below line 5 where: ἠμ{ο}ὶ μά̣τηρ (sic!) is clearly engraved on the epistomion, perhaps the reading: Γᾶς ἠμι, <μ>ά̣τηρ, καὶ Ὠρανῶ ἀστερόεντος, was intended, with <μ>ά̣τηρ understood as a vocative addressing Persephone who is asking the question (see further the sections “The Cretan Texts in the Context of a Ritual and a Hieros Logos” and “The Cretan Context of the Cretan Epistomia”).
5 (B7; Figures 5a–b) Eleutherna, National Archaeological Museum, Collection Hélène Stathatos 292
The rectangular paper-thin gold lamella is preserved in excellent condition, except for minor tears on top and bottom. Many creases indicate that it was rolled up.
a.
b.
Figure 5a. Gold epistomion (no. 5), from Eleutherna. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Collection Hélène Stathatos 292. H.0.012, W.0.048, Th. less than 0.0001, LH.0.001–0.002. III–I centuries BCE. Figure 5b. Drawing of epistomion no. 5.
ΔΙΨΑΙΑΥΟΣΕΓΩΚΑΙΑΠΟΛΛΥΜΑΙΑΛΑΠΙΕΜΕΜΟΙ
ΚΡΑΝΑΙΙΙΡΩΕΠΔΕΞΙΑΤΗΚΥΦΑΡΙΖΟΣ
ΤΙΣΔΕΔΕΖΠΩΔΕΖΙΓΑΣΥΙΟΣΗΜΙΚΑΡΑΝΩ
ΑΣΤΕΡΟΕΝΤΟΣ
δίψαι αὖος ἐγὼ καὶ ἀπόλλυμαι· ἀλ<λ>ὰ πιε ̑μ {ε} μοι
κράνα<ς α>ἰ<ε>ιρ<ό>ω ἐπ<ὶ> δεξιά· τῆ, κυφάριζος.
3 τίς δ᾽ ἐ{δε}ζ<ί>; πῶ δ’ ἐζί; Γᾶς υἱός ἠμι κα<ὶ Ὠ>ρανῶ
ἀστερόεντος.
I am parched with thirst and I am perishing; but (give) me to drink
from the ever-flowing spring to the right; there! the cypress.
‘Who are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’ I am the son of Earth
and starry Sky.
Verdelis 1953–1954:56–57 no. A, 59–60 (= Verdelis 1963:256–257 no. 173); Zuntz 1971:362–4; Gallavotti 1978–79:356 notes 19–20; Colli 1981: 4 [A 70e]; Cassio 1987:314–316; Cassio 1995:191–192; Riedweg 1998:397–398; Pugliese Carratelli 2001:84 no. IΒ5; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:266–267 no. 5e; Bernabé 2005:fr. 482; Graf and Johnston 2007:22–23 no. 13; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The lettering is careful and the text covers only the upper two-thirds of the lamella. The engraver has made a few mistakes or omissions and respects word-divisions.
For the letter-shapes, follow no. 1 above, with the following exceptions: Ζ is incised with the vertical slanting to the left, instead of the shape Σ for -σσ- (see nos. 1, 4 above and no. 6 below); alpha’s middle bar may also be curved, almost broken; the epsilon and sigma are lunate throughout; the verticals of the pi may also be of equal length; and the open omega is asymmetrical.
The text is identical to no. 1 above and the readings and corrections of previous editors are also the same.
Line 1: ΑΛΑΠΙΕΜΕΜΟΙ on the lamella; ἀλ<λ>ὰ πιε ̑μ {ε} μοι Verdelis; πιε ̑μ μ᾽ ὀ̑(ν) (= οὖν) Gallavotti; ἀλλὰ πιέμ μοι Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg; ἀλ<λ>ὰ πιέν̣ {ε} μοι Cassio, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé.
Line 2: ΚΡΑΝΑΙΙΙΡΩΕΠΔΕΞΙΑΤΗ on the lamella; κράνα<ς αἰει>ρ<ό>ω ἐπ<ὶ> δεξιὰ τῆ<ι> Verdelis; κράνα<ς α>ἰ<ε>ιρ<ό>ω ἐπ<ὶ> δεξιὰ τῆ Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg, Graf and Johnston; κράνας̣ <α>ἰ<ε>ιρ<ό>ω ἐπ<ὶ> δεξιὰ τῆ<ι> Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé.
Line 3: ΤΙΣΔΕΔΕΖΠΩ on the lamella; τίς <δέ> δ᾽ ἐζ(ί) Verdelis; τίς δ᾽ ἐζ<ί> Pugliese Carratelli; τίς δ᾽ {εδ} ἐσσ<ί> Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé, Graf and Johnston. ΚΑΡΑΝΩ on the lamella; κἀρανῶ Verdelis; κα<ὶ Ὠ>ρανῶ Zuntz (363 note 6: ΚΑΡΑΝΩ in S1 is hardly indicative of a krasis in pronouncing καὶ ὠρ-, which would spoil the dactylic rhythm; more likely the engraver skipped two letters), Pugliese Carratelli, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé; καὶ <Ὠ>ρανῶ Graf and Johnston.
6 (B8; Figures 6a–b) Eleutherna, National Archaeological Museum, Collection Hélène Stathatos 293
The rectangular paper-thin gold lamella is in two joining pieces and is preserved in excellent condition, except for minor tears and wrinkles. Many creases indicate that it was rolled-up.
a.
b.
Figure 6a. Gold epistomion (no. 6), from Eleutherna. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Collection Hélène Stathatos 293. H.0.012, W.0.048, Th. less than 0.0001, LH.0.001–0.002. III–I centuries BCE. Figure 6b. Drawing of epistomion no. 6.
ΛΑΠΕΜΜΟΚΡΑΝΑΣΑΙΕΝΑΩΕΠΙΔ
ΞΙΑΤΗΚΥΦΑΡΙΖΟΣΤΙΣΔΕΖΙΠΩ
ΔΖΙΓΑΣΥΙΟΣΙΜΙΚΑΙΩΡΑΝΩΑΣΤΕΡΟ
ΕΝΤΟΣΣ
δίψᾳ {α} αὖος ἐγὼ καὶ ἀπόλ<λ>υμαι· ἀλ-
λὰ π<ι>ε̑μ μο<ι> κράνας αἰενάω ἐπὶ δ-
3 <ε>ξιά· τῆ, κυφάριζος. τίς δ’ ἐζί; πῶ
δ’ <ἐ>ζί; Γᾶς υἱός ἰμι καὶ Ὠρανῶ ἀστερό-
εντος {σ}.
I am parched with thirst and I am perishing; but (give) me to drink
from the ever-flowing spring to the right; there! the cypress.
‘Who are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’ I am the son of Earth
and starry Sky.
Verdelis 1953–1954:58–60 no. B (= Verdelis 1963:257–258 no. 174); Zuntz 1971:362–4; Gallavotti 1978–79:356 notes 19–20; Colli 1981: 4 [A 70f]; Cassio 1987:314–316; Cassio 1995:191–192; Riedweg 1998:397–398; Pugliese Carratelli 2001:85 no. IB6; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:266–267 no. 5f; Bernabé 2005:fr. 483; Graf and Johnston 2007:24–25 no. 14; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The lettering is sloppy and the lines are not straight; some of the letters’ strokes cross over or are joined to the next character, giving the impression of handwritten style. There are a few mistakes or omissions. The engraver covers the surface of the lamella, but does not seem to respect word-divisions (line 2–3). In the beginning of lines 3 and 4, one letter space appears to have been left vacant.
For the letter-shapes follow no. 1 above, with the following exceptions: Ζ is incised with the vertical slanting to the left, instead of the shape Σ for -σσ- (see nos. 1, 4, and 5 above); the alpha may also be like a delta and its middle bar may be horizontal, lunate, broken, or leftward or rightward leaning (forming an angle); the epsilon and sigma are lunate throughout; the mu’s right half is considerably smaller; the pi’s horizontal is sometimes curved; the upsilon has a vertical throughout; and the open omega sometimes has a smaller right half.
The text is identical to no. 1 above and the readings and corrections of previous editors are also the same.
Line 1: ΔΙΨΑΑΑΥΟΣ on the lamella; δίψα<ι> δ᾽ αὖος Verdelis, Gallavotti; δίψα<ι> αὖος Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg; δίψα<ι> {α} αὖος Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé, Graf and Johnston. ΑΠΟΛΥΜΑΙ on the lamella; ἀπόλ<λ>υμαι Verdelis, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé, Graf and Johnston; ἀπόλλυμαι Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg.
Line 2: ΠΕΜΜΟΚΡΑΝΑΣΑΙΕΝΑΩΕΠΙΔ on the lamella; there is no space after the final delta, where most editors add the missing epsilon; but there seems to be one letter-space in the beginning of line 3 where the epsilon could have been incised, although this would violate word-division. π<ι>ε̑μ μο<ι> κράνας ἀενάω ἐπὶ δ<ε>|ξιὰ Verdelis; πιε ̑μ μ᾽ ὀ̑(ν) (= οὖν) κράνας ἀενάω ἐπιδέξια Gallavotti; π<ι>έμ μο<ι> κράνας αἰενάω ἐπὶ δ<ε>|ξιὰ Pugliese Carratelli, Riedweg, Graf and Johnston; π<ι>έν̣ μο<ι> κράνας αἰενάω ἐπὶ δ<ε>|ξιά Cassio, Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé.
Line 4: ΔΖΙΓΑΣΥΙΟΣΙΜΙ on the lamella; on Verdelis’ drawing, what appears as sigma after the alpha is only a crease; δ’ <ἐ>ζί; Γᾶς {σ} υἱός ἰμι Verdelis; δ’ <ἐ>ζί; Γᾶς υἱός <ἠ>μι Pugliese Carratelli, Graf and Johnston; δ’ <ἐ>σσί; Γᾶς υἱός ἠ̣μι Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé.
Line 5: ΕΝΤΟΣΣ on the lamella; -εντος {σ} Verdelis; -εντος Pugliese Carratelli, Graf and Johnston; -εντο{σ}ς Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, Bernabé.
7 (E2; Figures 7a–b) Eleutherna, National Archaeological Museum, Συλλογὴ Ἀγγείων 635
The left third of the rectangular paper-thin gold lamella is missing. The lamella is otherwise preserved in excellent condition, except for minor tears on top and bottom and wrinkles. There are no creases to indicate any previous folding or rolling.
a.
b.
Figure 7a. Gold epistomion (no. 7), from Eleutherna. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Συλλογὴ Ἀγγείων 635. H.0.011, W.0.04, Th. less than 0.0001, LH.0.0015–0.002. III–I centuries BCE. Figure 7b. Drawing of epistomion no. 7.
Τ Ω Ν Ι Κ Α Ι Φ
ΟΠΟΝΕΙΧΑΙΡΕΝ
[Πλού]τωνι καὶ Φ-
[ερσ]οπόνει χαίρεν.
Greetings to Plouton and Persephone.
Myres 1893:629; Comparetti 1910:40–41; Vogliano 1913:269; Olivieri 1915:17–18; IC II.xii [Eleutherna].31bis; Zuntz 1971:384; Gallavotti 1988:28–31; Riedweg 1998:391; Pugliese Carratelli 2001:121–122; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:278–279 no. 15; Riedweg 2002; Bernabé 2005:fr. 495; Graf and Johnston 2007:24–25 no. 15; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The lettering is very careful. The text is centered, as can be surmised from the right edge, where at least one letter-space is left vacant, and the engraver does not respect word-divisions.
For the symmetrical letter-shapes, follow no. 1 above, with the following exceptions: the alpha’s middle bar is horizontal or slanting downward from the right; the epsilon is lunate; the pi’s right vertical is smaller than the left and curves outwards.
The restoration is Guarducci’s, and it is based on the dedicatory inscription from Lappa (IC II.xvi.10, Figure 8): Μ̣εσσωμήδης | [Ἀ]ν̣τιόχω θεᾷ Φ|[ε]-ρ̣σοπόνῃ εὐχή̣[ν]. Comparetti reluctantly included the lamella in his corpus and suggested to restore two names ([Ἀρίσ]τωνι, [Κρί]τωνι, [Πλά]τωνι vel sim., and Φ[ιλ]οπόνης, Φ[ιλ]οκάλης vel sim.), who would have been ὁμόταφοι—a probable assumption. On the basis of the owner’s information that the lamella was found in the same grave as nos. 1–3 above, Comparetti also suggested that the verb χαίρεν is to be understood in the same way as it is on the lamella from Thourioi (A4 line 6: χαῖρ<ε>, χαῖρε· δεξιὰν ὁδοιπόρ<ει>), as a salutation to the mystai. Vogliano (1913:269) suspected the names Plouton and Persephone and made restorations accordingly: [παρὰ Πλού]τωνι καὶ Φ|[ερσεφόναι ἀπ]οπόνει χαίρεν. Olivieri included the text in his commentary on χαῖρε on the lamella from Thourioi.
Figure 8. Inscription from Lappa (Argyroupoli): vow to Persephone. Rethymno, Archaeological Museum Ἐ(πιγραφές) 63.
8 (E5; Figures 9a–b) Sfakaki, Rethymno Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 896, on display
Archaeological Context and Chronology by Irene Gavrilaki
The rescue excavations, undertaken by the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities from December 1988 to June 1989, revealed part of a Roman cemetery on the property of Markos Polioudakis in the Sfakaki region, approximately 8 km E of Rethymno and in close proximity to the better-known archaeological sites of Stavromenos and Chamalevri (Gavrilaki-Nikoloudaki 1988; Gavrilaki 1989 and 1991–1993, and the section “Topography”). The cemetery comprised twenty-six unlooted cist-graves and pit-graves and one pithos-burial, all of which were cut into a strip of land approximately 7 m wide in an E-W direction, only approximately 30 m from the shore. Cist-grave 1, which is well-preserved, was constructed out of rectangular slabs that had been used once before (as one of the covering slabs indicates). The skeleton was found in an extended supine position with the head to the E and leaning to the N towards the sea. Chryssoula Bourbou’s study of the remains has shown that the deceased was a young adult 25–35 years old, and probably male. In addition to the epistomion, the few other grave-goods, gathered in the W-SW part of Cist-grave 1, consisted of: a small clay prochous (Π[ήλινα] 5198), a small bronze prochous (Μ[ετάλλινα] 938), a clay unguentarium (Π[ήλινα] 6624) and an aryballos-shaped lekythion (Π[ήλινα] 22561), two glass phialae (Ὑ[άλινα] 120, 217), a bronze strigil (Μ[ετάλλινα] 919), an obsidian flake (Λ[ίθινα] 685), and a bronze coin found on the skeleton’s chest (Ν[ομίσματα] 665). The bronze coin, discovered on the skeleton’s chest and studied by Kleanthis Sidiropoulos, is a diobolon of Augustus issued by the Alexandria mint in 30–28 BCE. It is a rare issue, the numismatic epilogue of the Ptolemies, minted immediately after the formal incorporation of Egypt into the Roman Empire. The appearance of this coin in Crete is even more rare, and all the more remarkable. Its state of preservation indicates that it was used for a few decades before it was placed in this grave. Judging from this coin, the other grave-goods, and the typology of the cemetery’s graves, we can safely date Cist-grave 1 between the last quarter of the first century BCE and the first four decades of the first century CE.
The Inscription
The inscribed gold lamella, in the shape of the mouth, was discovered at the base of the skull. Perhaps its position on the lips of the deceased and its subsequent slide have caused the minor damages and the numerous wrinkles on the surface and at the edges of the lamella, especially at its left edge where the upper part is missing. This damage could also be due in part to earth falling inside the grave (drawing by Amanda Kelly).
a.
b.
Figure 9a. Gold epistomion (no. 8), from Sfakaki. Rethymno, Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 896. H.0.012 (left)–0.018 (center), W.0.075, Th. less than 0.0001, LH.0.002–0.004, Weight 0.4 g. 25 BCE–40 CE. Figure 9b. Drawing of epistomion no. 8.
ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝΙ …
ΦΕΡΣΕΦΟΝΗ
ΦΕΡΣΕΦΟΝΗ
Πλούτωνι …
Φερσεφόνῃ.
(Greetings) to Plouton and Persephone.
Gavrilaki and Tzifopoulos 1998:343–355; SEG 46.1318; SEG 48.1227; EBGR 1998.89; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:279–280 no. 16l; Riedweg 2002; Bernabé 2005:fr. 494; Graf and Johnston 2007:26–27 no. 17; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The letters are carefully engraved, although they appear pressed. The letters do not follow a straight line: in line 1 the pi and lambda lean to the left, and in line 2 the first two letters are cut considerably lower than the rest, which are aligned with the upper part of the rho. In both lines, there is a vacant area (the size of half a letter-space) between the second and third letters.
For the letter-shapes, follow no. 1 above, with the following exceptions: the epsilon is rectangular, the sigma has four bars, and the pi has verticals of equal length.
The names of the two deities appear to have been inscribed symmetrically in the middle part of the lamella (see no. 7 above). After the iota in line 1, it is very difficult to determine whether the traces are letter-strokes of the conjunction καί, or simply creases.
9 (B12; Figures 10a–b) Sfakaki, Rethymno Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 2891, on display
Archaeological Context and Chronology by Stella Kalogeraki and Niki Tsatsaki
From 1995 to 1996, a rescue excavation was carried out by the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities on the property of Michalis Pyrgaroussis, a plot to the east of and in close proximity to the property of Markos Polioudakis (no. 8 above). The excavation revealed one open burial and 29 cist- and tile-graves belonging to the same cemetery. The poorly-preserved Grave I is probably a tile-grave, as its construction is analogous to the other graves of this type. The grave-goods include: 32 clay unguentaria found in the middle and western parts of the grave; fragments of glass only in the western part; a bronze mirror in the eastern part; small bronze and gilt fragments, and the incised gold epistomion. The head of the deceased would normally lie in the eastern part of the grave as well, although no skeletal remains were recovered. The position inside the grave of these few grave-goods is, in all probability, not the original one, as the grave’s condition indicates that it was disturbed. The only guidance we have in dating Grave I are the types of the unguentaria, the latest of which were in use in the second and perhaps early first centuries BCE.
The Inscription
The oblong gold lamella is preserved intact except for minor wrinkles and creases, caused no doubt by the grave’s disturbance. No creases indicate that it had been folded or rolled up (drawing by Katerina Kaklamanou).
a.
b.
Figure 10a. Gold epistomion (no. 9), from Sfakaki. Rethymno, Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 2891. H.0.013, W.0.036, Th. less than 0.001, LH.0.001–0.002. II–early I centuries BCE. Figure 10b. Drawing of epistomion no. 9.
ΔΙΨΑΙΤΟΙΥΟΣΠΑΡΔΠΛΛΥΤΑΙ
ΑΛΛΛΠΑΙΕΝΜΟΙΚΡΑΝΑΣΑΥ
3 ΡΟΥΕΠΑΑΡΙΤΕΡΑΤΑΣΚΥΦ̣̣ΑΣ
ΡΙΖΩΤΗΣΔΕΙΗΠΩΔΕΙΓΑ
ΣΗΜΟΙΜΑΤΗΡΠΩΤΙΔ̣ΕΤ
6 .Λ̣ΙΥΡΑΝΩ̣ΣΤΕΤΙΣΔΙΨΑΙΤΟ
ΙΛ̣ΤΟΙΙΥΤΟΟΠΑΣΡΑΤΑΝΗΟ.
δίψαι τοι <α>ὖος. παρ<α>π<ό>λλυται.
ἀλλ<ὰ> π{α}ιε̑ν μοι κράνας <Σ?>αύ-
3 ρου ἐπ᾽ ἀ{α}ρι<σ>τερὰ τᾶς κυφ̣α{σ}-
ρίζω. τ<ί>ς δ᾽ εἶ ἢ πῶ δ᾽ εἶ; Γᾶ
ς ἠμ{ο}ί, μάτηρ· πῶ; τί; Δ̣ΕΤ
6 [κ]α̣ὶ <Ο>ὐρανῶ̣ <ἀ>στε<ρόεντος>. τίς; δίψαι το-
ι Λ̣ΤΟΙΙΥΤΟΟΠΑΣΡΑΤΑΝΗΟ.
Because of thirst you are (or surely he is/I am) parched. S/he is perishing.
But (give) me to drink from the spring of auros(?)
to the left of the cypress. ‘Who are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’
Of Earth I am, mother. From where? And what ...
And the (starry) Sky. Who (are you)? (Are) you thirsty?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Papadopoulou 2000–01:289 (brief preliminary report of the rescue excavations); Bernabé 2005:fr. 484a (preliminary text); Graf and Johnston 2007:28–29 no. 18 (preliminary text); Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The lettering is very sloppy and jumbled, similar to that of nos. 3, 4, and 6 above. The engraver covers the surface of the lamella, does not respect word-divisions in lines 4–5, and has made a few mistakes and omissions. The letters from the second half of line 3 onwards grow increasingly larger. In line 7, the lower parts of some of the letters give the impression that they have been cut, almost as if with scissors, in the wrong place.
For the letter-shapes, follow no. 1 above, with the following exceptions: the alpha’s crossbar is horizontal or slanting to the left and forming an angle (sometimes in the shape of delta); the vertical of the zeta slants to the left and its horizontals curve; the pi’s horizontal is also slanting to the right and the right vertical is smaller than or equal in length to the left; the open omega is tall and wide, either symmetrical or asymmetrical (with a narrower left or right half).
The text is similar to nos. 1–6 above, particularly no. 4 (see further the sections “The Cretan Texts in the Context of a Ritual” and “The Cretan Context of the Cretan Epistomia”).
Line 1: ΔΙΨΑΙΤΟΙΥΟΣΠΑΡΔΠΛΛΥΤΑΙ on the lamella. The first person pronoun is missing; instead of the conjunction καὶ and the verb in the first person singular, the verb is in the third person singular (παρ<α>π<ό>λυται). In no. 4 above, after δίψαι the particle δὲ is employed to eliminate the hiatus, and here τοι may be the particle: “let me tell you, look you, surely” (LSJ); I understand it, however, as the second person dative and punctuate after <α>ὖος, creating two sentences addressed to different audiences and perhaps uttered by different speakers.
Line 2–3: ΑΛΛΛΠΑΙΕΝΜΟΙΚΡΑΝΑΣΑΥ|ΡΟΥ on the lamella. For π{α}ιε̑ν see the readings in nos. 1–3 and 5–6 above, and in particular no. 4. Equally possible readings are: κράνας <Σ>αύρου or κράνας Αὔρου; in the other Cretan texts the spring’s epithets are ἀείροος/ἀέναος, but in no. 4 above ΑΙΓΙΔΔΩ (perhaps to be emended to αἰγί{δ}ρ̣ω). If the text should conform to the one in nos. 1–3 and 5–6, then we may correct ΑΥ|ΡΟΥ to ἀ<ει>|ρ<ό>ου, the upsilon being another example of itacism (as in lines 4 and 5; so Bernabé, and Graf and Johnston). The genitive ending in ΟΥ, however, is inexplicable (compare lines 3–4, the genitive ending in Ω: κυφαρίζω). For κράνας <Σ>αύρου see Theophrastos, Historia plantarum 3.3.4: ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ καὶ αἴγειροι κάρπιμοι πλείους εἰσί· μία μὲν ἐν τῷ στομίῳ τοῦ ἄντρου τοῦ ἐν τῇ Ἴδῃ, ἐν ᾧ τὰ ἀναθήματα ἀνάκειται, ἄλλη δὲ μικρὰ πλησίον· ἀπωτέρω δὲ μάλιστα δώδεκα σταδίους περί τινα κρήνην Σαύρου καλουμένην πολλαί. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ πλησίον ὄρει τῆς Ἴδης ἐν τῷ Κινδρίῳ καλουμένῳ καὶ περὶ Πραισίαν δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν (I owe this reference to Angelos Chaniotis). Sauros is attested in the Peloponnese as a name of a ridge at the borders between Elis and Arcadia, where, as the story is recorded by Pausanias, a local criminal Sauros was pestering travellers and locals until Herakles killed him and buried him there (6.21.3–4: διαβάντων [δὲ] ποταμὸν Ἐρύμανθον κατὰ τὴν Σαύρου καλουμένην δειράδα τοῦ Σαύρου τε μνῆμα καὶ ἱερόν ἐστιν Ἡρακλέους, ἐρείπια ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν· λέγουσι δὲ ὡς ὁδοιπόρους τε καὶ τοὺς προσοικοῦντας ὁ Σαῦρος ἐκακούργει, πρὶν ἢ παρὰ Ἡρακλέους τὴν δίκην ἔσχε. κατὰ ταύτην τὴν ἐπώνυμον τοῦ λῃστοῦ δειράδα … τεσσαράκοντα δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς Σαύρου δειράδος …; see also Frazer 1965:vol. 4, 92; and Papachatzis 1979:380–382). The name Σαωρέος, probably a translation from Shahur or Sahar, is attested in an inscription from Ghor Es-Safi, as the editors suggest (Meimaris and Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou 2005:325–326 no. 236 line 3). Bechtel (1917:396–397) classes names beginning with Σα(υ)- under: Σαfι-, Σαfο-, -σάfων, a stem from a present Σάfω, but Sauros is not attested. Saurias, Sauron, Sauris and Sauritas are attested (LGPN I; II; IIIA; IV). The reading κράνας <Σ>αύρου, if not a reference to some unknown local tale, should rather be associated with Eleutherna’s earlier name Σάτρα or Σάωρος attested in Stephanus, Ethnica s.v.: Σάτρα and Ἐλευθεραί (compare Herodianus s.vv. Ἐλευθεραί, Ἄωρος, and Ἀώρα; and Pape and Benseler 1959:188, 1340, 1354–55).
Line 3–4: ΕΠΑΑΡΙΤΕΡΑΤΑΣΚΥΦ̣ΑΣ|ΡΙΖΩ on the lamella; of the phi only the bottom tip of a vertical remains. The spring is at the left and not at the right, as in nos. 1–6. Instead of the interjection τῆ or adverb of place τῇ in nos. 1–6, the genitive is employed in its Doric form (Bile 1988: 89–90). For κυφ̣α{σ}|ρίζω see the readings in nos. 1–6 above.
Line 4: ΤΗΣΔΕΙ on the lamella, apparently a misspelling for the iota.
Line 5: ΣΗΜΟΙΜΑΤΗΡΠΩΤΙΔ̣ΕΤ on the lamella; the dotted delta may also be an alpha. ΗΜΟΙ is confused either for εἰμί (nos. 1–3, 5–6; so Bernabé, and Graf and Johnston), in which case μάτηρ should be understood as vocative; or for ἐμοί, in which case it may equally be read: Γᾶ| {σ} <ἐ>μοί μάτηρ· πῶ; τί; (“Earth is my mother; from where? what? …”). In the second half of the line the engraver is perhaps repeating by mistake the letters from the previous line 4 (ΠΩΔΕΙΓΑ), or this is another formula of the question-and-answer trial-scene. No. 4 line 4 above presents similar difficulties. (I am indebted to Christoph Riedweg, Alberto Bernabé, and Radcliffe Edmonds for suggestions on this and the following line.)
Line 6: .Λ̣ΙΥΡΑΝΩ̣ΣΤΕ or .Λ̣ΙΥΡΑΝΟ̣ΣΤΕ on the lamella. In the beginning of the line, there seems to be a vacant letter space; the dotted lambda-shape may equally be an alpha, lambda, or kappa: .Α̣Ι, .Λ̣Ι, .Κ̣Ι, or, if combined with the following vertical, a nu or eta: .Ν̣, .Η̣. The dotted omega (in ligature with the previous nu?) may also be an omicron, hence perhaps also: <κ>α̣ὶ <Ο>ὐρανός. Both readings are plausible and depend on what one reads in lines 4–5: the genitive Γᾶς (Bernabé, and Graf and Johnston), or the nominative Γᾶ.
Line 6–7: ΤΙΣΔΙΨΑΙΤΟ|.ΙΛ̣ΤΟΙΙΥΤΟΟΠΑΣΡΑΤΑΝΗΟ on the lamella. The first letters are engraved lower than the previous ΤΕ, as if it were a new beginning point. The string of letters appears to be a repetition of the beginning of the text by confusion or on purpose; the same text may have been incised several times on a large gold sheet which was then cut in the appropriate places: ΤΕ τίς; δίψαι το|ι is clear, and the remaining string of letters may have been an attempt for αὖος, παραπόλλυται, vel sim. This line, however, may also be a new formula of the question and answer process.
The Three Unincised
Archaeological Context and Chronology by Irene Gavrilaki
10 (G2; Figure 11) Sfakaki, Rethymno Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 2887, on display. 1–50 CE
On the property of Markos Polioudakis, where the incised gold epistomion no. 8 above was found, another three unincised gold epistomia were also unearthed (see no. 8 above and nos. 11–12 below). Cist-grave 9 in an E-W direction was constructed by rectangular slabs; the skeleton of what was likely a male was found in a supine position with the head to the E; the bones of the thorax and the right hand were brittle on account of the grave’s walls having caved in. The grave-goods were found around the feet from the knees down and consisted of: a clay prochous (Π[ήλινα] 5202), four glass cups (Ὑ[άλινα] 192, 215, 216, 217), a glass phiale (Ὑ[άλινα] 214), a bronze lekythion (Μ[ετάλλινα] 908), a bronze strigil (Μ[ετάλλινα] 918), and a silver coin (Ν[ομίσματα] 677). The glass phiale and the strigil suggest the first half of the first century CE as a date for Cist-grave 9. The epistomion (H.0.004–0.016, W.0.052, Th. 0.0001), rhomboid (in the shape of the mouth?) and similar to no. 8 above, only smaller, was found under the right part of the cranium and has suffered minor tears and wrinkles.
Figure 11. Gold epistomion (no. 10), from Sfakaki. Rethymno, Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 2887.
11 (G3; Figure 12) Sfakaki, Rethymno Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 897, on display. 50–100 CE
Another unincised epistomion was found in Cist-grave 4 (see also nos. 8 and 10 above and 12 below). The grave in an E-W direction was constructed by rectangular slabs and the skeleton of what was likely a female was found in a supine position with the head to the E. The grave-goods lay around the feet and consisted of: a clay kylix (Π[ήλινα] 5208), a clay prochous (Π[ήλινα] 6621), four clay unguentaria (Π[ήλινα] 6642, 6644, 6653 6654), a glass cup (Ὑ[άλινα] 149), a bronze mirror (Μ[ετάλλινα] 906), a lead pyxis (Μ[ετάλλινα] 914), and bronze nails (Μ[ετάλλινα] 913a, b, 947a, b). The kylix, the prochous, and the glass cup suggest the second half of the first century CE as a date for this grave. The epistomion (H.0.016–0.018, W.0.053, Th. 0.0001) was found on the upper mandible of a cranium damaged by the fallen earth and the caving-in of the grave’s northern wall. In excellent condition, the epistomion is oblong in shape with protruding corners and a net-like pattern covering the surface.
Figure 12. Gold epistomion (no. 11), from Sfakaki. Rethymno, Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 897.
12 (G4; Figure 13) Sfakaki, Rethymno Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 964, on display. 1–100 CE
A third unincised gold epistomion was found in Cist-grave 20 (see nos. 8, 10–11 above). The grave in an E-W direction was constructed by rectangular slabs and two skeletons were recovered in a supine position with the head to the W. They were placed successively, skeleton A buried later to the N, and skeleton B (an older burial, probably a female), to the S. The grave-goods were around the feet of the skeletons and consisted of: a clay prochous (Π[ήλινα] 5206), three aryballos-shaped lekythia (Π[ήλινα] 5207, 6628, one without an inventory number), a clay unguentarium (Π[ήλινα] 5216), a clay cup (Π[ήλινα] 5209), and a glass phiale (Ὑ[άλινα] 136). A bronze coin was found on Skeleton A (Ν[ομίσματα] 682). The clay prochous, the unguentarium, the clay cup, and the glass phiale date the grave to the first century CE. The oblong epistomion (H.0.015, W.0.037, Th. 0.0001) was found in the bones of the cervix of skeleton B (probably a female). Between the legs of this skeleton were also discovered bronze foils (Μ[ετάλλινα] 963) which probably had originally plated a wooden pyxis. The epistomion is preserved in excellent condition, except for minor wrinkles, and its surface is covered by thin lines forming a chess-like pattern.
Figure 13. Gold epistomion (no. 12), from Sfakaki. Rethymno, Archaeological Museum, Μ(ετάλλινα) 964.
Related Texts
Incised Coins and Epistomion from Pieria
13–14 (F8–F9; Figures 14–15) Pydna in Pieria (modern Alykes, Kitros), Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum, Πύ(δνα) 778
Archaeological Context by Matthaios Bessios
Between 1984 and 1992, the 16th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities undertook rescue excavations on the plot of K. Chryssochoidis at the site of Alykes, Kitros in Pieria. A total of eighty-two graves, which belong to the south cemetery of Pydna, were investigated. Two of the burials, nos. 8 and 29 (nos. 13 and 14 below respectively), contained gold coins of king Phillip II, which were found in the cranium area and were incised with the names of the deceased. In both cases the deceased were placed on wooden biers decorated with ivory, fragments of which were recovered. This similarity, and the fact that the two graves were very close to each other indicates that the deceased may have been members of the same family. Grave no. 8 (no. 13 below) is a pit-grave with red plaster covering the lower part of the pit, and yellow plaster the upper part. From the grave were recovered two bronze gilt wreaths and four clay vessels. Grave 29 (no. 14 below) is a cist-grave made of unburnt bricks covered with white plaster. The grave-goods comprise: a bronze ladle, a small bronze bell, a lead pyxis, and seven clay vessels.
13 The Inscription (F8; Figures 14a–b).
a. 
b. 
b. Figure 14. Gold coin (no. 13) incised with the name ‘Andron,’ from Pydna, Pieria. Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum, Πύ(δνα) 778. (a. obverse; b. reverse). Diameter: 0.01, LH.0.001–0.002. 348–328 BCE.
The surface of the coin has been slightly smoothed in order to accommodate the incision of the deceased’s name (in two lines) on both sides. The smoothness is visible in the upper half of the reverse, where the first four letters of the coin’s legend: Φιλί|ππου are still visible, on top of which the name of the deceased Andron was incised. The lettering is neat, especially in line 1. The strokes curve slightly outward and are overextended in the letters alpha, delta, and nu; the shape of the omega on both sides is open and wide with long horizontals, almost as a triangle.
| Obverse A | Ἄνδ- | Reverse B | Ἄνδ- | |
| ρων. | ρων. |
14 The Inscription (F9; Figures 15a–b)
a. 
b. 
b. Figure 15. Gold coin (no. 14) incised with the name ‘Xenariste,’ from Pydna, Pieria. Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum, Πύ(δνα) 778. (a. obverse; b. reverse). Diameter: 0.011, LH.0.0012–0.0028. 348–328 BCE.
The coin was smoothed so much that its obverse and reverse are barely visible; the name of the deceased is incised in two lines on the lower two thirds of the obverse; in line 2 the lower half of the right vertical of eta is missing due to lack of space; the lettering is similar to that of 13B above.
| Obverse | Ξενα- |
| ρίστη. |
Bessios 1992:247; SEG 45.803; Riedweg 1998:389–398, and 2002; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:279–280 no. L16e; Bernabé 2005:fr. 496e; Graf and Johnston 2007:30–31 no. 20; Edmonds forthcoming-2.
These two coins incised with the names of a male and female deceased (nos. 13 and 14) are an eighth of a stater or trihemiobol and are dated by Le Rider (1977:244 no. 90a, pl. 84 no. 90a; and 1996:61–68 and pl. 6 no. 31). For Andron in Macedonia see Kanatsoulis (1955:18) and Tataki (1988:107 no. 179, 313, 336, 339; and 1998, 85, 145, 243); an Andron from Teos is related to Macedonia, see Berve 1926:vol. 2, 40 (= Kalléris 1988:618 note 4); the name is not found in Bechtel 1917:47–49 (see also LGPN I, II, IIIA, IIIB, IV). Xenariste is not found in Bechtel 1917:339–340 (see also LGPN I, II, IIIA, IIIB, IV).
The two engraved coins present a unique case, for which see the section “Usage.” The incision of the names cannot technically be understood as a graffito on the coins (see e.g. Davesne and Le Rider 1989:304–316; BE 1992:126, 192); nor as an overstrike (see Le Rider 1975:27–56; Kraay 1976:12–13; Mørkholm 1991:13–14, 19–20; and Howgego 1995:89, 98).
15 (F3; Figure 16) Methone in Pieria, Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum, Πύ(δνα) 52
Archaeological Context by Matthaios Bessios
The construction of a water-reservoir at the site of Palaiokatachas, Methone in Pieria resulted in rescue excavations undertaken by the 16th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. A number of graves, dated to the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods, were unearthed. Among them, Cist-grave no. 2 (no. 15 below), made of unburnt mud-bricks, contained a female burial, as the name incised on the gold epistomion indicates. The deceased was placed on a bier whose front side was decorated with ivory depicting floral patterns at the borders and figures from the Dionysiac cycle at the center. The female deceased was carrying two gold earrings and two gold rings, while the incised lamella was placed on her body; the grave-goods also included: seven clay vessels, a bronze phiale, an iron scissor, and a bronze gilt wreath.
The Inscription
The lettering is careful and the letters are spread out to cover the surface of the epistomion; the strokes of the letters curve slightly outward and are overextended in the letters alpha, lambda, and mu; the middle bar of alpha does not cross the left stroke; the mu’s right vertical is half the size of the left; the omicron, half the size of the other letters, is incised in the middle of the line.
Figure 16. Gold epistomion (no. 15) incised with the name ‘Phylomaga,’ from Pydna, Pieria. Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum, Πύ(δνα) 52. H.0.006, W.0.042, Th. less than 0.001, LH.0.0015–0.003. 325–300 BCE.
Φυλομάγα.
Bessios 1986:142–143; SEG 40.541, 45.777; Riedweg 1998:389–398, and 2002; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal 2001:279–280 no. L16h; Bernabé 2005:fr. 496h; Graf and Johnston 2007:44–45 no. 35. Edmonds forthcoming-2.
The date is based on the grave-goods. The name Phylomaga/Phylomache is attested in Attica (Bechtel 1917:459; LGPN II, 467).
16 (Figures 17a–g) Hymn from the Diktaian Sanctuary in Palaikastro, Crete, Herakleion Archaeological Museum, Ἐ(πιγραφές) 102, on display
Four fragments of bluish limestone with white and yellowish veins were discovered in May 1904 during the excavations of the Diktaian sanctuary. Two of these fragments join and form the middle part of a large stele, at least 1.05 in height, according to Guarducci. She has also suggested that the hymn was first inscribed on side B, and, when the priests or magistrates discovered the numerous mistakes and the recklessness of the cutter, they had the hymn reinscribed on side A. That sides A and B are each the work of a different letter-cutter is evident, but the engraving process is not at all certain. The three fragments are inscribed on both sides, except for fr. c which is inscribed only on side B. The text printed below is that of Guarducci in IC III.ii [Dictaeum Fanum].2, which is a composite of both sides, with her corrections in Guarducci 1974b; as Perlman (1995:161), I print only the most probable restorations and modify accordingly the translation by Furley and Bremer (2001:vol. 1, 68–69).
a.
b.
c. 
d. 
d. 
e.
f.
g.
Figure 17. The Hymn from the Sanctuary of Dictaean Zeus (no. 16), in Palaikastro. Herakleion, Archaeological Museum, Ἐ(πιγραφές) 102. (a. Side A, full view; b. Side A, Fragment a; c. Side A, Fragment b; d. Side A, Fragment c; e. Side B, Fragment a; f. Side B, Fragment b; g. Side B, Fragment c). Late II–III century CE.
ἰὼ μέγιστε Κοῦρε, χαῖρέ μοι, Κρόνειε,ἐπωδός
πανκρατὲς γάνους, βέβακες δαιμόνων ἁγώμενος·
Δίκταν ἐς ἐνιαυτὸν ἕρπε καὶ γέγαθι μολπᾷ.
τάν τοι κρέκομεν πακτίσι μείξαντες ἅμ᾽ αὐλοῖσινστροφή α
5 καὶ στάντες ἀείδομεν τεὸν ἀμφὶ βωμὸν εὐερκῆ.
ἰὼ μέγι[στε] Κοῦρε, χαῖρέ μοι, Κρόνειε,ἐπωδός
πανκρα[τὲς γάνους, βέβακες] δαιμόνων ἁγώμενος·
Δίκταν ἐς ἐνι[αυτὸν ἕρπ]ε καὶ γέγαθι μολπᾷ.
ἔνθα γάρ σε παῖδ᾽ ἄμβροτον ἀσπιδ[ - - - -]στροφή β
10 πὰρ ῾Ρέας λαβόντες πόδα κ[ - - - - - -].
[ἰὼ μέγιστε Κοῦρε, χαῖρέ μοι, Κρόνειε],ἐπωδός
[πανκρατὲς γάνους, βέβακες δαιμόνων ἁγώμενος]·
[Δίκταν ἐς ἐνιαυτὸν ἕρπε καὶ γέγαθι μολπᾷ].
[- - - - - - - - - - - - - -]στροφή γ
15 [- - - - - - - - - - ]α̣ς καλᾶς Ἀο̑ς.
[ἰὼ μέγιστε Κοῦρε, χαῖρέ μοι, Κ]ρόνειε,ἐπωδός
[πανκρατὲς γάνους, βέβακες δαιμόνω]ν ἁγώμενος·
[Δίκταν ἐς ἐνιαυτὸν ἕρπε κα]ὶ γέγαθι μολπᾷ.
[- - - β]ρύον κατῆτος καὶ βροτὸς Δίκα κατῆχεστροφή δ
20 [- - - - -]η̣πε ζώ<ι>᾽ ἁ φίλολβος Εἰρήνα.
[ἰὼ μέγιστε Κοῦρε, χαῖρέ μοι, Κρόνειε],ἐπωδός
πανκρατὲς γάν[ους, βέβακες δαιμόνων ἁγώ]μενος·
Δίκταν ἐς ἐ[νιαυτὸν ἕρπε καὶ γέ]γαθι μολπᾷ.
ἁ[μῶν δὲ θόρ᾽ ἐς ποί]μνια καὶ θόρ᾽ εὔποκ᾽ ἐς [μῆλα]στροφή ε
25 [κἐς λάϊ]α καρπῶν θόρε κἐς τελεσ[φόρος οἴκος].
ἰὼ μέγιστε Κοῦρε, χαῖρέ μοι, Κρ[όνειε],ἐπωδός
πανκρατὲς γάνους, βέβακες [δαιμό]νων ἁγώμενος·
Δίκταν ἐς [ἐνιαυτὸν] ἕρπε καὶ γέ]γαθι μολπᾷ.
[θόρε κἐς] πόληας ἁμῶν, θόρε κἐς ποντο<π>όρος νᾶας,στροφή στ
30 θόρε κἐς ν[έος πο]λείτας, θόρε κἐς θέμιν κλ[ειτάν].
[ἰὼ μέγιστε] Κοῦρε, χαῖρέ μοι, Κρόνειε,ἐπωδός
πανκρατὲς γάνους, βέβακ[ες δαιμόνων ἁγώ]μενος·
Δίκταν ἐς ἐνι[αυτὸν ἕρπε καὶ γέγαθι] μολπᾷ.
Io! most mighty youth, I salute you, son of Kronos,
almighty splendour, who stand as leader of the company of gods!
Come to Dikta at this New Year’s Day and take delight in the music,
(I) which we weave for you with harps, adding the sound of oboes,
which we sing having taken our stand around your well-walled altar.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(II) For here it was that with their shield[s - - -]
received you, immortal babe out of Rhea’s hands, and [- - -]
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(III) [- - -] of the fair Dawn.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(IV) [- - -] plentiful each year, and Justice ruled over mortals;
[- - -] living beings [- - -] by Peace which goes with prosperity.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(V) [Come on, Lord! leap up for our he]rds and leap up for our fleecy [sheep];
leap up also [for the harvest] of corn, and for [our houses that there be] offspring.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(VI) [Leap up also] for our cities, leap up also for our seafaring ships;
leap up also for the y[oung ci]tizens, leap up also for famous themis.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
trans. Furley and Bremer 2001:vol. 1, 68–69
Bosanquet 1908–1909:339–356; Harrison 1908–1909; Murray 1908–1909:357–365; IC III.ii [Dictaeum Fanum].2; Guarducci 1974b:32–38; Perlman 1995:161; Furley and Bremer 2001:vol. 1, 65–76, vol. 2, 1–20 (with full bibliography and with extensive commentary); Morante Mediavilla 2006 (on the Hesychian gloss γάνος).
The inscription is dated by Guarducci to the third century CE on the basis of the letter forms, but the late second century CE cannot be excluded. The opinio communis agrees that the inscription is a copy of the hymn, which originally must have been composed in the late classical period, the fourth or the third century BCE. This is evidenced by the hymn’s metrical form and also by its linguistic and stylistic features, which are summarized by Furley and Bremer (2001:vol. 1, 69–70, vol. 2, 3–4).
17 (Figure 18) The Epigram of Magna Mater from Phaistos, Herakleion Archaeological Museum, Ἐ(πιγραφές) 43
The local poros-stone, found in Agios Ioannis, near Phaistos, is decorated around its three sides, except for the bottom, by a double frame in relief, and its inscribed surface measures: H.0.275, W.0.41. The letters are inscribed with the help of guidelines 0.02 in height; and the interlinear space only between lines 1 and 2 is 0.007, which in the following lines is kept to a minimum. Red paint is clearly visible in the letters’ strokes. The metrical units, five dactylic hexameters and a sixth pentameter, are indicated below by vertical lines.
Figure 18. The Epigram of Magna Mater (no. 17), from Phaistos, Crete. Herakleion, Archaeological Museum, Ἐ(πιγραφές) 43. Dimensions: H.0.37, W.0.52, Th.0.15 (top)–(bottom), LH.0.013–0.02. II century BCE.
θαῦμα μέγ᾽ ἀνθρώποις
πάντων Μάτηρ προδίκνυτι· |
τοῖς ὁσίοις κίνχρητι καὶ οἳ γον-
εὰν ὑπέχονται, | τοῖς δὲ π-
5 αρεσβαίνονσι θιῶν γέν-
ος ἀντία πράτει. v | πάντε-
ς δ᾽ εὐσεβίες τε καὶ εὔγλωθ-
{ι}οι πάριθ᾽ ἁγνοὶ v | ἔνθεον ἐς
Μεγάλας Ματρὸς ναόν,
10 ἔνθεα δ᾽ ἔργα | γνώσηθ̣᾽ ἀ-
θανάτας ἄξια τῶδε ν-
αῶ. vacat
A great marvel for humans
the Mother of all performs by example (in advance):
for the hosioi she divines and (for those)
who maintain (stay within) their race;
but for the transgressors of the race of gods
she does the opposite.
Every pious and eloquent (or sweet to the ear)
come pure to the holy
temple of the Great Mother,
and you will learn the divine works
of the immortal (Mother), worthy of this very temple.
IC I.xxiii [Phaistos].3; SEG 50.933bis; 44.731bis; Pugliese Carratelli 2001:86–87; Bernabé 2005:135–136 fr. 568 F; Martínez Fernández 2006b:155–164 no. 23.
The lettering is not very careful, except for the first two lines, and suggests, according to Guarducci, the second century BCE, but the later third or the early first centuries should not be excluded. Characteristic letter shapes include: the broken-bar alpha, the theta with a dot or a short horizontal, the mu, nu, pi, and upsilon with verticals which curve slightly outward, the four-bar sigma, and the open omega. According to Bile (1988:227 note 298), the dialectic forms in the epigram may be purposeful archaisms, appropriate for a religious text (see further the section “A Cretan Context”).
Line 2: ΠΡΔΙΚΝΥΤΙ on the stone; Guarducci read paene certe a small painted omicron between rho and delta, above them in the interlinear space, which I was unable to see; πρ<ο>δίκνυτι Pugliese Carratelli.
Line 3: ΤΟΙΟ corrected by the cutter to ΤΟΙΣ; ΚΙΝΧΡΗΤΙ on the stone, κίνχρητι Guarducci, κίν<κ>ρητι Pugliese Carratelli, Bernabé.
Line 6: πράτ<τ>ει Pugliese Carratelli; a space for a letter and a half separates the two sections of the epigram.
Line 7–8: ΕΥΓΛΩΘ|ΙΟΙ on the stone, εὔγλωθ|{ι}οι Guarducci, εὔγλωθ|<τ>οι Pugliese Carratelli, Bernabé, ευγλωθ|ιοι for εὔγλωτοι Bile (1988:84, 146–147 n295), Martínez Fernández.
Line 8: a space for a letter and a half separates the words ἁγνοὶ and ἔνθεον.
Line 9: ΝΕΟΝ corrected by the cutter to ΝΑΟΝ.
Line 10: of the theta a clear trace of the upper left and bottom right of a circular letter; γνωσῆθ᾽ Guarducci, Bernabé, Martínez Fernández, γνώση[θ]᾽ Pugliese Carratelli.
Epistomia in Byzantine Graves
18–19 (Figures 19, 20, 21a–b) Kastelli Pediados, site Kephali
Archaeological Context by Kalliopi Galanaki
Between April 12 and July 31, 2002, excavations were undertaken by the 23rd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the archaeologists Kalliope Galanaki, Deukalion Manidakis, and Yanna Triantaphylidi at the site of Kephali, a low hill to the SE of the village Kastelli Pediados. Around the top of the hill in an area of 24 m (N-S) by 21 m (E-W), 39 roughly-built cist-graves and eleven open burials were excavated, the majority of which had no grave- goods. Cist-grave 25, in the W edge of the cemetery on the hilltop, was dug into the natural rock in an E-W direction and was covered by six, uneven schist-slabs. Its dimensions are 1.23 by 0.22 in the west-end and 0.35 in the east-end. Inside the grave, two burials were uncovered and a few ostraca, three of which were glazed with greenish, gray-greenish, and yellowish color. In the W part of the grave a partly preserved skeleton (burial no. 39) was recovered in a supine but contracted position with the cranium and the legs bent towards the S; the hands were bent at the elbows and were touching the knees. In the E part of the grave bones of another skeleton (burial no. 40) were recovered that probably belonged to an earlier burial. The gender of both skeletons is not recoverable. In addition to the very few ostraca, a small iron ring near the legs of deceased no. 39 and the engraved pottery fragment (no. 18 below) were recovered from the grave’s interior. Outside the grave, near the SW stone, a small bronze lamella attached to a ring was found. The engraved fragment no. 19 below was recovered from the surface survey of the cemetery.
18 The Inscription (Figures 19–20), Kastelli Pediados, site Kephali, Herakleion Archaeological Museum, Π(ήλινα) 31847
The ostracon was found covering the mouth of the deceased in burial no. 39 (Figure 19), a findspot indicating that it was undoubtedly used as an epistomion. It is from the body of a medium sized clay vessel and the usual acclamatory text is incised with clumsy letters which are overlined, a sign of abbreviation (Figure 20).
Figure 19. Skull with ostracon covering the mouth (no. 18), from Burial 39, Kephali archaeological site, Kastelli Pediados. Herakleion, Archaeological Museum.
Figure 20. Engraved ostracon (no. 18), from Burial 39, Kephali. Herakleion, Archaeological Museum, Π(ήλινα) 31847. H.0.075, W.0.069, Th.0.009, LH.0.003–0.008. Late V–VII centuries CE.
Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς cross Χ(ριστό)ς
ν(ι)crossκ(ᾷ)
3 φ(ῶς) cross Χ(ριστοῦ)
φ(έγγε) cross π(ᾶσι)
θεω.
Jesus Christ
conquers.
Light of Christ
light for all
…Line 5: what is intended by θεω is not certain.
19 The Inscription (Figure 21a–b), Kastelli Pediados, site Kephali, = Herakleion Archaeological Museum, Π(ήλινα) 31846
A tile ostracon was recovered from the surface of burial no. 26 on top of a schist-plaque. Because it was not found inside a grave, it may not be classified as an epistomion, but it could have come from one of the cemetery’s graves, or it could even have been discarded as an item not good enough for use. On side A the usual acclamatory text, abbreviated, is inscribed with clumsy letters which are overlined; on side B, various scratches look like drawings.
a. 
b. 
b. Figure 21. Incised clay tile (no. 19), from Burial 26, Kephali archaeological site, Kastelli Pediados. Herakleion, Archaeologial Museum, Π(ήλινα) 31846. (a. obverse; b. reverse). H.0.105, W.0.10, Th.0.027, LH.0.008–0.015. Late V–VII centuries CE
Side A Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς cross Χ(ριστό)ς
ν(ι)crossκ(ᾷ).
Jesus Christ
conquers.
Side B drawings (possibly a fish and an ivy-leaf).20 (Figure 22) Kastelli Pediados, Herakleion Archaeological Museum, Π(ήλινα) 32069
Archaeological Context by Giorgos Rethemiotakis
On August 10, 1988, excavations were undertaken by the 23rd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities on the plot of the nursery in Kastelli Pediados. The inscribed ostracon was found in the surface layer of the processional dromos and the stepped altar or exedra of the ‘Minoan central building’ amidst pottery dating from Minoan to the late and post Byzantine period. This landfill was formed during the construction of the Venetian castle for which material from the site or from nearby sites was used. Scattered burials were found in the plot, two of which were ‘protected’ by the landfill in the NE corner-tower of the Venetian castle. The supine skeletons of unknown gender were laid in pits dug into the Minoan landfill with no grave-goods. This indicates that these burials must antedate the construction of the Venetian castle in the late Byzantine period and probably should be associated with the burials excavated in the site Kefali (nos. 18 and 19 above), whose graves may have provided the material needed for the construction of the Venetian tower. Although the findspot of the tile is not known, in all probability it too may have been employed either as an epistomion or as a grave-good in one of the burials in this site, as nos. 18 and 19 above.
The Inscription
The tile is broken all around and engraved with crosses: lines 1–4 feature three crosses per line, lines 5–7 have two, and lines 8–9 have one; in each pane of each cross, overlined letters are inscribed, an indication that they are Christian acclamations in abbreviated form.
1 Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς cross Χρ(ιστός)c 5 φ(ῶς) cross Χ(ριστοῦ) 9 κ() cross χ()
νιcrossκᾷ φ(έγγε) cross π(ᾶσι) .( ) cross .( )
Χ(ριστός)? cross Χ(ριστός)? ε( ) cross .( ) θ(εός)? cross θ(εός)?
4 Χ(ριστός)? cross Χ(ριστός)? 8 ε( ) cross ( ) 12 θ(εός)? cross θ(εός)?
13 σ(ωτήρ)? cross σ(ωτήρ)? 15 τ( ) cross .σ( )
14 σ(ωτήρ)? cross σ(ωτήρ)? 16 π( ) cross γ( )
17 σ( ) cross γ( )ς?
18 .( ) cross τ( ).
Jesus Christ Light of Christ …
conquers. light for all
Christ … god
Christ … god
Soter …
Soter …
…
Figure 22. Incised clay tile (no. 20), from an unknown burial, Kephali archaeological site, Kastelli Pediados. Herakleion, Archaeological Museum, Π(ήλινα) 32069. H.0.143, W.0.095, Th.0.018, LH.0.005–0.012. Late V–VII centuries CE.
The dates of nos. 18–20 above cannot be ascertained, but usually the Cretan inscriptions of the proto-Byzantine period are dated to the late fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries.
The inscriptions in all these cases (nos. 18–20) are acclamatory Christian prayers, some of which are attested in Crete for the first time. Not all of them are certain, hence the question marks. Similar texts are also found elsewhere in Crete (Bandy 1970:9–13; Diamantis 1998:314; and Tzifopoulos 2000:243–244 no. 2, 253–254 nos. 13–15); in the columns of the Parthenon (Orlandos and Vranousis 1973:83 no. 90, 92 no. 105, 121 no. 154); in Aphrodisias (Roueché 1989:180 no. 129ii, 182–3 no. 134vi, 185 no. 139ii); and in the island of Syros (Kiourtzian 2000:22, 148 no. 73, 154–155 no. 83, 160–161 no. 90).
21 Square of Cypriote Fighters (Governor’s Residency), Thessaloniki
Ioannis Kanonidis (1990:262–263) conducted a rescue excavation in the square of Cypriote Fighters (Governor’s Residency) in Thessaloniki, during which a number of Byzantine graves came to light, dated to the thirteenth century CE. In two graves the cranium of the deceased was found on a stone-cushion and in two other graves, the deceased’s faces were covered with tiles set on stones around their craniums.
22 Basilica of Glykys in Epiros
Dimitrios Pallas (1971:140–141) excavated the Basilica of Glykys in Epiros, dated to the fourteenth century CE. Equal care for covering the head of the deceased, noted in no. 21 above, is also attested in the tile-graves, the dominant type of the graves around this Basilica: the deceased in graves 8 and 9 had tile-covers only over their heads; in grave 8 the cranium was surrounded by clay ostraca; in grave 10 the female deceased was found with a tile sherd near the head and shoulder; in grave 11 only the deceased’s head and chest were covered by a tile (1971:plate 176γ right tile).
23 Episcopal Church and Residence in Kitros, Pieria
Efterpi Marki (1990) excavated the episcopal church and residence in Kitros, Pieria. Graves of the bishop(s) or the clergy have come to light beneath the floor of the thirteenth century CE basilica, which attest, as in nos. 21–22 above, the same care for covering the head with clay tiles.
Figure 23. Burial of Charalambos Tsigkos (no. 24), Mandamados, Lesbos.
Modern Greek Examples
24 (Figure 23) Funeral in Mandamados, Lesbos
Betty Psaropoulou (1986), who founded the Center for the Study of Modern Ceramics in Athens and its Museum, came across a number of customs in different parts of Greece during her research and study of ceramic workshops. On November 8, 1990, while on a research trip to study the ceramic workshops in Mandamados, Lesbos, she was told by Stelios Stamatis of the funeral of Charalambos Tzigkos and was allowed to take a photograph (see also Giannopoulou and Demesticha 1998:74–75). Just before inhumation, an ostracon from a clay pot of the house, broken and painted with a cross, was placed on the mouth. Stamatis also told her that the burial shroud for dressing the body was perforated with wax (compare English ‘cerecloth’) which was later formed into a cross and placed in the deceased’s mouth.
25 Philotheos Holy Monastery, Mount Athos
In Mount Athos the burial custom of covering the face of deceased monks with clay ostraca, incised or painted with a cross or the acclamation: Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς Χρ(ιστὸς) νικᾷ, is still practiced, as Efraim notes, Archimandrite and Abbot of the Philotheos Holy Monastery (1990:85 with photographs).