![Trilingual inscription of Xerxes, Van, 1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Trilingual_inscription_of_Xerxes%2C_Van%2C_1973.JPG)
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as
writing
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...
; it is the science of identifying
grapheme
In linguistics, a grapheme is the smallest functional unit of a writing system.
The word ''grapheme'' is derived and the suffix ''-eme'' by analogy with ''phoneme'' and other names of emic units. The study of graphemes is called ''graphemics' ...
s, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the writing and the writers. Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a
document
A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" or ...
and the artistic value of a
literary
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...
composition. A person using the methods of epigraphy is called an ''epigrapher'' or ''epigraphist''. For example, the
Behistun inscription is an official
document
A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" or ...
of the
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
engraved on native rock at a location in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Epigraphists are responsible for reconstructing, translating, and dating the trilingual inscription and finding any relevant circumstances. It is the work of
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
s, however, to determine and interpret the events recorded by the inscription as document. Often, epigraphy and history are competences practised by the same person. Epigraphy is a primary tool of
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
when dealing with literate cultures. The
US Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library i ...
classifies epigraphy as one of the
auxiliary sciences of history
Auxiliary (or ancillary) sciences of history are scholarly disciplines which help evaluate and use historical sources and are seen as auxiliary for historical research. Many of these areas of study, classification and analysis were originally deve ...
. Epigraphy also helps identify a
forgery
Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...
: epigraphic evidence formed part of the discussion concerning the
James Ossuary
The James Ossuary is a 1st-century limestone box that was used for containing the bones of the dead. An Aramaic inscription meaning "James (Jacob), son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" is cut into one side of the box. The ossuary attracted scholarly at ...
.
An epigraph (not to be confused with epigram) is any sort of text, from a single grapheme (such as marks on a pot that abbreviate the name of the merchant who shipped commodities in the pot) to a lengthy document (such as a treatise, a work of literature, or a
hagiographic
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
inscription). Epigraphy overlaps other competences such as
numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
or
palaeography
Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") ...
. When compared to books, most inscriptions are short. The media and the forms of the graphemes are diverse:
engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...
s in stone or metal, scratches on rock, impressions in wax,
embossing on cast metal,
cameo or
intaglio on precious stones, painting on
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
or in
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
. Typically the material is durable, but the durability might be an accident of circumstance, such as the baking of a
clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian ) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age.
Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay tablet with a stylu ...
in a conflagration.
The character of the writing, the subject of epigraphy, is a matter quite separate from the nature of the text, which is studied in itself. Texts inscribed in stone are usually for public view and so they are essentially different from the written texts of each culture. Not all inscribed texts are public, however: in
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in ...
the deciphered texts of "
Linear B
Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
" were revealed to be largely used for economic and administrative record keeping. Informal inscribed texts are "
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
" in its original sense.
The study of
ideographic inscriptions, that is inscriptions representing an
idea
In common usage and in philosophy, ideas are the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being ...
or concept, may also be called ideography. The German equivalent ''Sinnbildforschung'' was a scientific discipline in the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, but was later dismissed as being highly ideological. Epigraphic research overlaps with the study of
petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s, which deals with specimens of
pictographic
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic ch ...
,
ideographic
An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarit ...
and
logographic
In a written language, a logogram, logograph, or lexigraph is a written character that represents a word or morpheme. Chinese characters (pronounced '' hanzi'' in Mandarin, ''kanji'' in Japanese, ''hanja'' in Korean) are generally logograms, a ...
writing. The study of ancient
handwriting
Handwriting is the writing done with a writing instrument, such as a pen or pencil, in the hand. Handwriting includes both printing and cursive styles and is separate from formal calligraphy or typeface
A typeface (or font family) is ...
, usually in ink, is a separate field,
palaeography
Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") ...
. Epigraphy also differs from
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
, as it confines itself to meaningful symbols containing messages, rather than dealing with images.
History
![Prüfeninger Weiheinschrift](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Pr%C3%BCfeninger_Weiheinschrift._Pic_01.jpg)
The science of epigraphy has been developing steadily since the 16th century. Principles of epigraphy vary culture by culture, and the infant science in European hands concentrated on Latin inscriptions at first. Individual contributions have been made by epigraphers such as
Georg Fabricius
Georg Fabricius (23 April 1516 – 17 July 1571), born Georg Goldschmidt, was a Protestant German poet, historian and archaeologist who wrote in Latin during the German Renaissance.
Life
Fabricius was born in Chemnitz in Saxony and educated at ...
(1516–1571);
Stefano Antonio Morcelli
Stefano Antonio Morcelli (17 January 1737 – 1 January 1822) was an Italian Jesuit scholar, known as an epigraphist. His work ''De stilo Latinarum inscriptionum libri III'', published in three volumes in 1781, which shows a rigorous method, a n ...
(1737–1822);
Luigi Gaetano Marini Luigi Gaetano Marini (18 December 1742 – 7 May 1815) was an Italian natural philosopher, jurist, historian, archaeologist and epigraphist.
Biography
Marini was born in Sant'Arcangelo (pagus Acerbotanus). Having received a comprehensive prepara ...
(1742–1815);
August Wilhelm Zumpt
August Wilhelm Zumpt (4 December 181522 April 1877 in Berlin) was a German classical scholar, known chiefly in connection with Latin epigraphy. He was a nephew of philologist Karl Gottlob Zumpt.
Born in Königsberg, Zumpt studied at the Universi ...
(1815–1877);
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...
(1817–1903);
Emil Hübner
Ernst Willibald Emil Hübner (7 July 183421 February 1901) was a German classical scholar.
He was born at Düsseldorf, the son of the historical painter Julius Hübner (1806–1882).
After studying at Berlin and Bonn, he traveled extensively wi ...
(1834–1901);
Franz Cumont
__NOTOC__
Franz-Valéry-Marie Cumont (3 January 1868 in Aalst, Belgium – 20 August 1947 in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre near Brussels) was a Belgian archaeologist and historian, a philologist and student of epigraphy, who brought these often isolated ...
(1868–1947);
Louis Robert (1904–1985).
The , begun by Mommsen and other scholars, has been published in Berlin since 1863, with wartime interruptions. It is the largest and most extensive collection of Latin inscriptions. New
fascicles are still produced as the recovery of inscriptions continues. The is arranged geographically: all inscriptions from Rome are contained in volume 6. This volume has the greatest number of inscriptions; volume 6, part 8, fascicle 3 was just recently published (2000). Specialists depend on such on-going series of volumes in which newly discovered inscriptions are published, often in Latin, not unlike the biologists' ''
Zoological Record
''The Zoological Record'' (''ZR'') is an electronic index of zoological literature that also serves as the unofficial register of scientific names in zoology.
It was started as a print publication in 1864 by the Zoological Society of London, a ...
'' – the raw material of history.
Greek epigraphy has unfolded in the hands of a different team, with different
corpora
Corpus is Latin for "body". It may refer to:
Linguistics
* Text corpus, in linguistics, a large and structured set of texts
* Speech corpus, in linguistics, a large set of speech audio files
* Corpus linguistics, a branch of linguistics
Music
* ...
. There are two. The first is of which four volumes came out, again at Berlin, 1825–1877. This marked a first attempt at a comprehensive publication of Greek inscriptions copied from all over the Greek-speaking world. Only advanced students still consult it, for better editions of the texts have superseded it. The second, modern corpus is arranged geographically under categories: decrees, catalogues, honorary titles, funeral inscriptions, various, all presented in Latin, to preserve the international neutrality of the field of
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
.
Other such series include the (Etruscan inscriptions), (Crusaders' inscriptions), (Celtic inscriptions), (Iranian inscriptions), "Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia" and "Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period" (Sumerian and Akkadian inscriptions) and so forth.
Egyptian hieroglyphs were solved using the
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...
, which was a multilingual stele in Classical Greek, Demotic Egyptian and Classical Egyptian hieroglyphs. The work was done by the French scholar,
Jean-François Champollion
Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 17904 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure in th ...
, and the British scientist
Thomas Young.
The interpretation of
Maya hieroglyphs
Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs, is historically the native writing system of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and is the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered. The earliest inscriptions found which ...
was lost as a result of the Spanish Conquest of Central America. However, recent work by Maya epigraphers and linguists has yielded a considerable amount of information on this complex writing system.
Form
Materials and technique
Materials
Inscriptions were commonly incised on stone, marble, metal,
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
, or wood (though this last material has hardly ever survived, except in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
). In Egypt and
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
hard stones were frequently used for the purpose, and the inscriptions are therefore well preserved and easy to read. In
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
the favourite material, especially in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, was white marble, which takes an admirably clear lettering, but is liable to weathering of the surface if exposed, and to wear if rebuilt into pavements or similar structures. Many other kinds of stone, both hard and soft, were often used, especially crystalline
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
s, which do not easily take a smooth surface, and which, therefore, are often difficult to decipher, owing to accidental marks or roughness of the material.
The metal most commonly used for inscriptions was
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
: flat tablets of this were often made for affixing to the walls of temples and other buildings. Occasionally such tablets were made of
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
or
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
; and inscriptions were often incised on vessels made of any of these metals. Inscriptions on metal were nearly always incised, not cast. An important class of inscriptions are the legends on coins; these were struck from the
die
Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life.
Die may also refer to:
Games
* Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers
Manufacturing
* Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...
. (cf.
numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
.) Clay was very extensively used for inscriptions in Mesopotamia and in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. In this case the symbols were incised or impressed on specially prepared tablets when the clay was soft, and it was subsequently hardened by fire. In Greece, many inscriptions on vases were painted before firing, in that case often having reference to the scenes represented, or incised after firing; potsherds (''
ostraka
An ostracon (Greek language, Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeology, archaeological or epigraphy, epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer ...
'') were often used as a cheap writing material. Inscriptions were also often impressed from a mould upon wet clay before firing, in the case of tiles,
amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
handles, etc., and in these cases often supply valuable information as to the buildings to which they belong or the place from which they took their origin.
The ''tools'' used for making inscriptions varied with the material; most of them were some kind of
chisel
A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...
, usually with a square blade; early inscriptions were sometimes made on hard rock by successive blows with a
punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
or pointed
hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
. Sometimes a circular punch was used for ''O'' or a letter of which ''O'' formed a part.
Styles of cutting
Early inscriptions, which are often amateur work, are frequently very irregular in their cutting. But in almost all examples of later work, the inscriptions are evidently cut by professionals, and there are definite styles and methods belonging to various places and periods. In Egypt, for instance, the
hieroglyphs
A hieroglyph (Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatonis ...
are carefully and delicately cut in early times, and in later periods become more careless and conventional. In Greece, the best work was done in the 5th and 4th centuries BC in Athens; the letters were all exact and regular in shape, with no adventitious ornaments, and were, especially in the 5th century, usually exactly aligned with the letters above and below, as well as those on each side. At that time all the strokes were made of equal thickness, but in the 4th century BC and later there came in the custom of holding the chisel obliquely to the surface, thus producing a wedge-shaped stroke. A similar custom in Mesopotamia gave rise to the so-called ''
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
'' system. On metal inscriptions in Greece this same effect appears earlier than stone or marble. In the 3rd century and later it becomes common to introduce ''
apices
The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to:
Arts and media Fictional entities
* Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe
* Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe
*Apex ...
'' or ornamental ends to the strokes, a custom which prevails to the present day in our ordinary capital letters. The custom of making different strokes and different parts of curves of varying thickness became common in
Roman inscriptions, which developed a monumental style of their own, varying from period to period. Inscriptions can often be approximately dated by the style of the cutting as well as by the shapes of the letters; skill in doing this can only be acquired by a careful and minute study of originals and facsimiles. (cf.
dating methodologies in archaeology
Chronological dating, or simply dating, is the process of attributing to an object or event a date in the past, allowing such object or event to be located in a previously established chronology. This usually requires what is commonly known as a "d ...
.)
Inscriptions vary greatly in size according to the position where they were intended to be read, their purpose, and the skill of the cutter. Some inscriptions are of great length, the longest, a statement of accounts of the temple at
Delos
The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...
, under Athenian administration, being nearly half as long as a book of
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
; and many other inscriptions approach this in length.
Symbols and forms of writing
Most of the forms of writing known to us originated in some system of picture-writing (cf. also
pictography
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and g ...
, which developed into a hieroglyphic system. Such systems appear to have originated independently in different parts of the world – in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
,
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, among the
Hittites
The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...
and in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The evidence for all of these is mainly to be found in inscriptions. The development from
Ideographs
An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiari ...
(or direct representation of an object or idea) to symbols of phonetic value, and so to
syllabaries
In the linguistic study of written languages, a syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent the syllables or (more frequently) moras which make up words.
A symbol in a syllabary, called a syllabogram, typically represents an (option ...
or alphabets, took place in many different systems to various degrees. But the first people to invent a completely alphabetic system of writing were the
Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...
, from whom the
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
borrowed (some scholars believe, but with no proving) it with certain modifications and improvements. From the Greeks was derived the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, and from the two all the alphabets of European peoples. It is still a matter of dispute whether the
Phoenician was derived from the
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
.
![Rökstenen 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/R%C3%B6kstenen_1.JPG)
The hieroglyphic symbols naturally tended to be conventionalised and simplified for convenience of cutting, in accordance with the materials and tools employed. In many cases they developed from a pictorial to a linear form. It is possible that some of these linear forms may not be derived from hieroglyphs, but from purely conventional geometrical forms, such as widely used at all periods and places as owners' or
masons' marks. The tendency of linear forms to become wedge-shaped is most conspicuous in
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
, but as has been noticed, the same tendency occurs in Greek inscriptions incised on bronze.
In the north of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
the
Ogham
Ogham (Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langua ...
inscriptions are alphabetic, and are apparently an independent invention on arbitrary lines, like the
Morse code
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
; but
Runes
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
, which were extensively used in the same region, are derived from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
or the
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...
s.
In most alphabetic systems there are also found in inscriptions certain symbols which are not strictly alphabetic or phonetic in character. The commonest of these are the various systems of numerals that are used in different times and places. It is impossible here to give any full description of these different systems; but a brief account may be given of the principles underlying them. Most of them are based upon a
decimal system, doubtless owing to the habit of counting on the fingers. In some cases the symbols are simple and obvious, as in the Cretan script, where circles (or ''rhombi''), dots and lines are used for hundreds, tens and units, each being repeated as often as necessary; and a similar system for the lower denominations is used at
Epidaurus
Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the ...
in the 4th century BC. In
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
the usual system was to indicate each denomination by its initial, M for (10,000), X for (1,000), H for (100), Δ for (10), π for (5) and I for units. The other Greek system followed that derived from the Phoenicians, using the letters of the alphabet in their conventional order from one to nine, 10 to 90 and 100 to 900; in this arrangement obsolete letters were retained in their original places so as to give the requisite number of 27 symbols. The
Roman system of numerals – M, D, C, L, X, V, I (for 1,000, 500, 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1) is generally supposed to have arisen from the adaptation of those symbols in the Greek alphabet which the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
did not want; an alternative theory is that it is simplified from a series of
ideograph
An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarit ...
s representing the spread hand, the fingers and so on.
![Crete - law of Gortyn - boustrophedon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Crete_-_law_of_Gortyn_-_boustrophedon.JPG)
Apart from numerals, the use of initials in the place of complete words was not common in early times. It became, however, very frequent in Roman inscriptions, which sometimes are made up almost entirely of such abbreviations and can only be understood by those familiar with the formulae. A list of the commonest of these will be found under
list of classical abbreviations
The following list contains a selection from the Latin abbreviations that occur in the writings and inscriptions of the Romans.
A
*A. – ''Absolvo, Actum, Aedilis, Aes, Aedilis, Ager, Ago, Aio, Amicus, Annus, Antiquo, Auctor, Auditor, Aug ...
.
Compendia
A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a s ...
or
monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...
s also occur in later Greek and Roman times, and become very common and very difficult to interpret in early
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
inscriptions.
Some kind of punctuation is often found in inscriptions of all kinds. In Greek inscriptions a vertical line or a dot, or dots, sometimes indicates the separation between sentences or words, but words are seldom separated by spaces as in modern printing, so that the text is continuous and no division of words exists. This is particularly the case with Greek inscriptions of the best period. In Roman inscriptions it was usual to separate the words by dots. In certain inscriptions a cross (
![Greek cross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Greek_cross.svg)
) was used to indicate the beginning of an inscription, especially when its direction was erratic. Christian inscriptions sometimes begin with a cross, which doubtless had a symbolic meaning; and a leaf or other device was often placed at the end.
The direction of the writing varies greatly in different places and times. The letters or symbols may be arranged vertically below one another, and read from top to bottom, or horizontally, either from right to left or from left to right; they may also be arranged in a kind of pattern – in which case their order may be indeterminate, or in a wandering or curved line, or left to right and right to left alternately (''
boustrophedon
Boustrophedon is a style of writing in which alternate lines of writing are reversed, with letters also written in reverse, mirror-style. This is in contrast to modern European languages, where lines always begin on the same side, usually the le ...
'', or as an
ox in
ploughing
A plough or plow (Differences between American and British spellings, US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are draw ...
). Most
Semitic alphabets
The history of the alphabet goes back to the conwriting system used for Semitic languages in the Levant in the 2nd millennium BCE. Most or nearly all alphabetic scripts used throughout the world today ultimately go back to this Semitic proto-alpha ...
, including Phoenician, read from right to left; and the earliest Greek inscriptions follow the same direction. But the direction from left to right became regular in Greece after the 6th century BC, and consequently is adopted by the Romans and in all European systems. The individual letters or symbols usually face in the same direction as the writing, as a whole.
Position or place
![Roman - Funeral Stele - Walters 2316 - Three Quarter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_-_Walters_2316_-_Three_Quarter.jpg)
The position or place of inscriptions depends greatly upon their purpose or intention. When they have a direct relation to the sculptures, reliefs or paintings with which they are associated, they often form a kind of pattern to fill the background or vacant spaces between the figures; but sometimes, especially in Mesopotamian statues or reliefs, they are cut right across the figures without any regard to the artistic effect. In late Greek or Roman work it is usual to cut any inscription relative to a statue or relief upon the basis on which this is mounted; but short inscriptions such as dedications or artists' signatures are often placed in some inconspicuous position upon the work itself. In the case of painted vases, the inscriptions relative to the subject represented are usually painted; but dedications and other inscriptions are often incised after the vase has been fired.
In Egypt, inscriptions were often inscribed or painted upon inner walls of tombs, whether they referred to religious belief or ritual, or to the honours and possessions of the deceased; they were intended for his benefit and convenience rather than for the information of others, so as to perpetuate his familiar surroundings, not to make him live in the memory of his successors. The information which we derive from such inscriptions is invaluable to us; but such was not the intention with which they were made. On the other hand, inscriptions which were intended to be seen by the public and to perpetuate a record of events, or to supply useful information, were usually placed in places of common resort, above all in temples and sacred precincts. Sometimes they were cut on convenient rock faces, sometimes upon the walls of temples or other buildings. Most frequently the slabs of marble (''
stelae
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
''), stone metal or other material upon which the inscriptions were incised were set up in convenient positions to be read, in any places of public resort. This was the method of publication of all laws, decrees and official notices, of treaties and contracts, of honours to officials or private citizens, of religious dedications and prescriptions of ritual. Inscribed
tombstones were set up over graves, which were usually placed along the chief roads leading out of a town, the most familiar example being the sacred way from Athens to
Eleusis
Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest ...
. Inscriptions commemorative of victories or other great events were only in exceptional cases erected upon the spot; more often such memorials were set up in some great religious centre such as
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
or
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
. But boundary stones were necessarily placed on the line which they defined.
Chief periods and nationalities
![Cypriot syllabic inscription 600-500BC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Cypriot_syllabic_inscription_600-500BC.jpg)
The study of inscriptions supplies an important contribution to the history of many lands and peoples. In some cases, as in Egypt and Mesopotamia, it forms almost the only source of information in the absence of literary records; in others, as in Greece and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, it offers a most valuable supplement and comment to what is otherwise recorded.
Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian inscriptions go back to an extremely early date; it is at present uncertain which is the earlier, but both show, before 3500 BC and possibly much earlier, a complete, organised system of writing which implies many centuries of development behind it. The Egyptian hieroglyphic system, as used in inscriptions, continued without any essential change of character until Roman times, though various systems of
hieratic
Hieratic (; grc, ἱερατικά, hieratiká, priestly) is the name given to a cursive writing system used for Ancient Egyptian and the principal script used to write that language from its development in the third millennium BC until the ris ...
modification were used at different times. On the famous
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...
, in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, which first gave the clue to the interpretation of Egyptian writing, hieroglyphic, hieratic and Greek versions of the same decree are given side by side. Its date is 195 BC. The Mesopotamian linear symbols developed mainly for technical reasons, into a wedge-shaped or cuneiform system, which was adopted in modified forms and applied to different languages through some thousands of years,
Sumerian,
Babylonian,
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, until it was superseded, after the conquests of
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
, by Greek. An independent hieroglyphic system, which also developed into various linear scripts, existed in Crete during the
Middle and
Late Minoan
The Minoan chronology dating system is a measure of the phases of the Minoan civilization. Initially established as a relative dating system by English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans between 1900 and 1903 based on his analysis of Minoan pottery du ...
periods, from about 3000, probably, to the fall of
Knossos
Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city.
Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...
, about 1500 BC. The Hittite hieroglyphs correspond to the period of the Hittite empire in northern
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
from about 2000 to 800 BC; from it, according to one theory, arose the
Cypriot syllabary
The Cypriot or Cypriote syllabary is a syllabic script used in Iron Age Cyprus, from about the 11th to the 4th centuries BCE, when it was replaced by the Greek alphabet. A pioneer of that change was King Evagoras of Salamis. It is descended fr ...
, which continued in use until the 4th century BC or later.
The earliest Phoenician inscriptions known date from about the 10th century BC, and the alphabet remained in use down to the 3rd century BC. Some believe this was modified and adopted by the Greeks at an uncertain date; the earliest Greek inscriptions are generally dated in the 7th century BC.
In early times each Greek State had its own alphabet; but in the year 403 BC (the
archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
ship of
Eucleides
Eucleides ( grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης) was archon of Athens towards the end of the fifth century BC. He contributed towards the re-establishment of democracy during his years in office (403–402 BC). He is also believed to have contributed to ...
) the
Ionian alphabet, which is the one used now for Greek capital letters, was officially adopted by
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, and soon became universal in Greece. From the various Greek alphabets the different local
Italian alphabet
Italian orthography (writing) uses a variant of the Latin alphabet consisting of 21 letters to write the Italian language. This article focuses on the writing of Standard Italian, based historically on the Florentine dialect.
Italian orthography ...
s, including the
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
, were derived with various modifications. The
Roman alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...
was among these, being based on the
alphabet
An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...
of
Caere
:
Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, to ...
, a
Chalcidian colony. There are a few very early Roman inscriptions; but they do not become common until the 3rd century BC; from that time the letters took much the same forms as they preserve to the present day.
The custom of putting inscriptions in Greek and in Latin on buildings and other monuments continued through
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
times, and is still customary, classical forms being frequently imitated. The latest dated inscription in the ''
Greek Corpus'' records the building of a bridge in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
in AD 1121. The series of Byzantine inscriptions continues practically without interruption to the present day; and Latin retains its use as a universal language in religious, public and private inscriptions.
Methods of dating
It is often possible to date an inscription approximately by the style of the lettering, or even by the alphabet used. Thus at Athens the
Ionic alphabet
The history of the Greek alphabet starts with the adoption of Phoenician letter forms in the 9th–8th centuries BC during early Archaic Greece and continues to the present day. The Greek alphabet was developed during the Iron Age centuries af ...
was adopted in place of the early
Attic alphabet in the archonship of
Eucleides
Eucleides ( grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης) was archon of Athens towards the end of the fifth century BC. He contributed towards the re-establishment of democracy during his years in office (403–402 BC). He is also believed to have contributed to ...
, 403 BC, according to a decree proposed by
Archinus
Archinus ( grc, Ἀρχῖνος) was an Athenian democratic politician who wielded substantial influence between the restoration of democracy in 403 BC and the beginning of the Corinthian War in 395 BC.
In the early days of the restored democrac ...
. But the change was already in process in private inscriptions, and even in official documents Ionic forms are sometimes found earlier. Inscriptions are dated in various ways, mostly by giving the name of a king, magistrate or priest. In the case of kings, they only give an approximate date, unless the year of his reign is given also. But in the case of most independent cities, the date is given by the name of an annual magistrate, and thus the year is precisely indicated. At Athens, the name used was that of the
Eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
Archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
, and as an almost complete list of these has been drawn up from inscriptions and other sources, this means of dating is quite satisfactory. The custom of dating by
Olympiads
An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not unti ...
, which is familiar to us from later Greek and Roman writers, was rarely used in early Greece, except in connection with athletic victories. Many inscriptions are dated from various local eras, often based upon historical events, such as the foundation of a town or festival, the organisation of a province, or even a visit of an
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
. The number of these eras in later times, especially in Asia Minor, becomes very bewildering. In Attic decrees, and some others, it was also usual to give the day of the month.
In Greek inscription of the Roman period the year of the emperor is defined by the number of his
consulate
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...
, or other indications or titles, as in the corresponding Latin inscriptions. In later times, the dating is commonly by "Indiction"; but as this only gives the number of the year within the 15-year period, but leaves that period undefined, such dating is very inconvenient except for merely temporary use. In the
Eastern Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
the date from the creation of the world (5509 BC) is sometimes given; but the date of the Christian era is hardly ever used.
Content
Purpose of inscriptions
Inscriptions may be roughly divided into two main classes: those in which the inscription was subservient to the use or purpose of the object on which it was inscribed, or at any rate had a direct relation to that object – for example, the name of the owner or the record of dedication to a god – and those in which the inscription existed independently for its own sake, or for the sake of the information which it recorded, and the object on which it was inscribed was either made for the purpose, as a slab of marble or plate of bronze, or was made use of, as in the case of a convenient wall or the surface of a rock, or even a
potsherd
In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well.
Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...
. The walls of buildings are often covered with such inscriptions, especially if they are in a conspicuous or convenient position, and so offer an obvious means of publicity.
For us, accustomed as we are to a vast mass of books, newspapers and other printed or digital documents, it is difficult to realise the extensive use and great convenience assigned to inscriptions in ancient times. Not only were public announcements of all sorts, such as we should make known by
advertisements
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
or
posters
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. ...
, thus placed before the public, but all kinds of records and enactments –
codes of law
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core are ...
and political decrees; regulations for all matters, civil and religious; accounts and contracts, public and private; treaties between states; records of public and private benefactions and dedications, and all matters of administration; honours to the living and to the memory of the dead. Many of these were intended to preserve for all time the records which they contained; but others must have been of only temporary interest. It seems, therefore, the more remarkable that they should have been incised on permanent material such as bronze, marble or stone – and incised in the first instance, with a care and perfection of technique which have led to their survival to the present day, so as to preserve for us invaluable evidence as to the life and institutions of the people who made them. Temporary and permanent value are therefore often combined in the same inscription. For instance, any Athenian citizen, visiting the
Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
or the
Agora
The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...
, could satisfy themselves at first hand as to treaties or decrees of the people, public accounts or state income and expenditure. And at the same time these documents preserved for all time much history, both social and political.
Relative inscriptions
![Periander Pio-Clementino Inv276](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Periander_Pio-Clementino_Inv276.jpg)
Inscriptions having a direct relation to the object, or representation, on which they are inscribed, vary greatly in their contents. Those relating to
picture
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
or
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
chronicles of the victories or exploits of kings, as in Egypt and Mesopotamia, serve as a record of the events, and help to interpret the scenes. Such inscriptions are not common in Greek or Roman work; but frequently, especially in early Greek times, and on vases, the names of persons and even of objects are written beside them for the purpose of identification, and sometimes a speech issues from the mouth of the figure. On the carved wooden chest of
Cypselus
Cypselus ( grc-gre, Κύψελος, ''Kypselos'') was the first tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century BC.
With increased wealth and more complicated trade relations and social structures, Greek city-states tended to overthrow their traditional her ...
, of about 600 BC
hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...
verses were written, curving about among figures, and giving a description of each scene. The bases of statues and reliefs often had inscriptions cut upon them for identification and record. This was particularly the case with honorary statues and tombstones. In other cases, where there is an evident relation between the artistic representation and the inscription, the figures are subordinate and seem merely to illustrate the text, as when a treaty between Athens and
Samos
Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...
has a relief at its head representing the
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
and
Hera
In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
clasping hands, as representatives of their respective cities. In other cases, the arms or device of a city is carved on an inscription, almost like a seal on a document. In all these cases the figures and the inscription are part of a common design, whether carried out by the same hand or not. But in the case of owners' marks or names cut on vases or other objects, or of the dedication of such objects, the inscription is not necessarily contemporary; it may indeed be misleading, as in the case, mentioned with disapproval by
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
, of using again old Greek statues and placing new dedicatory inscriptions on them in Roman times, a sort of "recycling": for instance, one of the statues of Athenian knights of the 5th century BC placed at the entrance of the Acropolis, had a later inscription cut on its base to make it serve as an equestrian statue of
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the Patric ...
, probably in 18 AD when he visited Athens. In Egypt and Mesopotamia also it is not unusual to find the name of a later king of official cut upon an earlier work.
Independent inscriptions
The majority of inscriptions are of independent value and interest, the object on which they are cut being either provided for the purpose or utilised as convenient and suitable. Such inscriptions may be classified as ''Religious'' and ''Political and Social''. The distinction between the two is not always easy to draw; for in almost all ancient civilisations religion was a part of the established service of the State, and was under public control, or at least was closely bound up with political administration. It follows that many inscriptions relating to religious matters take the form of political decrees or state documents, and therefore might, especially as far as form is concerned, be included in either category; but it is usually possible to classify them according to their contents and intention.
Greek inscriptions
Religious
Temples, their foundation and administration
A
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
was often a kind of religious corporation under the control of the State; and its accounts and details of administration were made public at frequent intervals, usually annually, by means of inscriptions, exhibited to public view in its precinct. Many such inscriptions have been found, and supply a great deal of information that can be obtained from no other source. Some great temples, such as that of
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
on the island of
Delos
The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...
, held great amounts of property, both real and portable, the latter taking the form either of more or less precious offerings dedicated in the temple and its surrounding buildings, or of coined money. The inscriptions accordingly record gifts and acquisitions of landed property, leases and assignments, payments of rent and fines for default, loans and interest and many other business transactions suitable to a great landed proprietor or to a bank. They therefore throw much light upon the social and economic conditions of ancient life, such as are nowhere else recorded. Again, the lists of offerings dedicated in the temple and other buildings enable us to realise almost visually the appearance of their contents. These are described as being on the floor, on the walls, on shelves or in cases; they consisted of vases and other objects suitable for use in the temple service; ornaments and jewels; statuettes, mostly in gold and silver; weapons and tools; coined money; and
bullion
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...
, mostly melted down from old offerings. The detailed care that was taken in this last case, to ensure that the full weight of these objects was preserved, whether made into a new vessel or not, is recorded in other inscriptions. These elaborate inventories were checked and revised by each successive board of administrators, and gave the best possible security against any robbery or
peculation
Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
. In addition to such general lists, there are also innumerable records of various gifts and acquisitions, whether of land and houses, or of movable property of all sorts. Buildings and repairs are also recorded, sometimes by the State, sometimes by individuals, whose piety and generosity are suitably honoured. In form, these are often hardly to be distinguished from public works of a secular character, which must be mentioned later.
The inscriptions on or belonging to special dedications are often of great historical interest – there need only be quoted the inscription on the famous
Serpent Column
The Serpent Column ( grc, Τρικάρηνος Ὄφις ''Τrikarenos Οphis'' "Three-headed Serpent";, i.e. "the bronze three-headed serpent"; see
See also , . tr, Yılanlı Sütun "Serpentine Column"), also known as the Serpentine Column, ...
, once at
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
and now in the
Hippodrome of Constantinople
Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...
, with the list of the Greek States which took part in the
Persian War; and that relating to the Roman arms dedicated by
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he becam ...
at
Dodona
Dodona (; Doric Greek: Δωδώνα, ''Dōdṓnā'', Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη, ''Dōdṓnē'') in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BCE according to Herodotus. Th ...
after his victories. Most of the great temples being of immemorial sanctity, it is hardly to be expected that any records of their foundation should be found in inscriptions. But on the other hand we have many accounts of the dedication of new temples, either by states or communities or by private individuals. In almost all such cases it was necessary to obtain sanction for the foundation from the State; thus the inscription often takes the form of a decree of the people authorising the foundation of the temple and often giving some privileges to the founder or founders.
Priests and other officials
![KaranisSouthTempleGreekInscr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/KaranisSouthTempleGreekInscr.jpg)
Inscriptions give much information as to priests and other religious officials. There are in the first place lists of priests, some of them covering long periods and even going back to mythical times; there are also lists of treasures and administrators, who were usually lay officials appointed for the purpose, either by election or by lot. The duties and privileges of priests are recorded in many inscriptions, and vary considerably from place to place. It is recorded, for instance, what portions of a victim at any sacrifice were to be received by the priest. In any important temple this must evidently have been far more than the priest or his family could consume, and accordingly it must have been sold, and so constituted a considerable source of income. Consequently, a
priesthood was an office well paid and much sought after; and we actually find in later Greek times, especially in Asia Minor, that priesthoods were frequently sold, under proper guarantees and with due sureties as to the duties being carried out. Sometimes a fee to the priest had to be paid in cash; in some cases a priest or priestess was allowed to take up a collection on certain days. On the other hand, the duties of a priest are often recorded; he had to see to the cleaning and care of the temple and its contents, to provide flowers and garlands for decorations and to supply the regular daily service. Sacrifices on great occasions were usually provided by the State, as also were important repairs; but in some cases a priest undertook these on his own account, and was honoured accordingly – for instance, by being allowed to inscribe his name in the restored temple.
Besides priests, we find many other officials of various ranks attached to temples and recorded in inscriptions. Some of these, especially those who were concerned with buildings or constructions, or with the inventories of temple treasures and the accounts of administration, were lay officials appointed by the State, as in the case of political officers. But many others had specialised sacerdotal functions; for instance, in many places there were ''
manteis
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...
'' or prophets, often of special families with hereditary skills in
divination
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...
; at
Eleusis
Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest ...
we find records of the
hierophant
A hierophant ( grc, ἱεροφάντης) is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed ''holy''. As such, a hierophant is an interpreter of sacred mysteries and wikt:arcane, arcane principles.
The word ...
, the torch-bearer, and others who took part in the celebration of the mysteries. At Olympia, in later Greek times, we find a remarkable list of officials, that is: three priests, three libation pourers, two prophets, three custodians (of keys), a flute-player, an interpreter, a priest for the daily sacrifice, a secretary, a wine-pourer, three dancers at libations, a woodman (to supply wood for the sacrifices), and a steward and cook – the last no sinecure, in view of the numerous sacrificial feasts.
There were also many more menial offices in the service of temples which were carried out by slaves. Such slaves were often presented to the temple or acquired in some other way. There is a whole class of inscriptions, found on many sites, in which the sale of slaves to a temple or to the god of a temple is recorded. It is often difficult to know whether such slaves were intended for the service of a temple, or, on the other hand, such service was either purely formal or was not required at all, the sale to the temple being intended as fictitious, so as to enable a slave to acquire his own freedom and at the same time to secure the protection of the god in his free status.
Ritual
![Votive relief Asklepios BM809](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Votive_relief_Asklepios_BM809.jpg)
The ritual appropriate to different divinities and temples varied greatly from place to place; and it was, therefore, necessary or desirable to set up notices in all public places of worship for the information and guidance of worshippers. The commonest and most essential act of worship was sacrifice; an example of the simplest form of prescription is to be seen in the inscription on the relief from
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area.
The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate re ...
in the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
: "To the
Nymphs
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...
and to Apollo the leader of the Nymphs, the worshipper may, if he so choose, sacrifice a male and a female victim. It is not permissible to offer a sheep or a pig. No
paean
A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice (monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...
is sung. To the
Graces
In Greek mythology, the Charites ( ), singular ''Charis'', or Graces, were three or more goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, goodwill, and fertility. Hesiod names three – Aglaea ("Shining"), Euphrosyne ("Joy"), and Thalia ...
it is not permissible to offer a goat or a pig."
It is to be noticed that this order of service contains a prohibition as well as a prescription. Such prohibitions are frequent, and often relate to the need of ceremonial purity in all worshippers entering a sacred precinct. They must for a certain time have abstained from certain prescribed means of pollution, varying from place to place. The officials are sometimes ordered to erect notices giving information on this point; for instance, at the precinct of
Alectrona
In Greek mythology, Electryone (Ancient Greek: Ἠλεκτρυώνην) or Alectrona (Doric form) was a daughter of Helios and Rhodos, and sister to the Heliadae. She died a virgin and was worshipped as a heroine on the island of Rhodes.
She was p ...
at
Ialysus Ialysus or Ialysos ( gr, Ἰάλυσος), also Ialyssus or Ialyssos (Ἰάλυσσος), or Ielyssus or Ielyssos (Ἰήλυσσος), was a city of ancient Rhodes. It was one of the three ancient Doric cities in the island, and one of the six towns ...
, it was prescribed that "no horse, ass, mule, nor any other animal with a bushy tail should enter, and that nobody should bring such animals in or wear shoes or any article produced from pigs. There is also a fine for driving in sheep." Other precincts were protected in a more general manner from any invasion or violation. It was prohibited to cut wood or to remove earth and stones, or to drive any beasts into some precincts; the right of erecting booths was either restricted or denied altogether. Sometimes more detailed prescriptions are given for the whole organisation of a festival; thus, at
Andania
Andania ( el, Ανδανία) is a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oichalia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 88.694&n ...
, in
Messenia
Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...
, the arrangements for the celebration of the local
Eleusinia
The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are the ...
, the dress of the participants, the officials and policing, are very fully described. Similarly, in the Hall of the Iobacchi, at Athens, the order of proceedings, the officers and the characters in the sacred play, and various administrative details are ordered.
[Cf]
''An Introduction to Greek Epigraphy''
Cambridge University Press – (undated, no author cited) Googlebook; see als
''Ancient Athens''
Haskell House Publ., 1902 (no author cited) Googlebook
When there is any doubt about any ritual or procedure, divination is often resorted to, and the results of such divination are recorded in inscriptions as a guidance for the future; it was also a common practice to consult Delphi or some other
oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
in doubtful or difficult cases; there the exact method of procedure is sometimes recorded, as well as the response of the oracle. Forms of worship are often prescribed or recorded, especially hymns, which are sometimes inscribed together with their musical notation. The performance of songs or hymns and dances are also matters of constant reference, especially in connection with lyrical or musical contests; the victorious band or performer often dedicated the prize in honour of the god. A special form of contest was that in dramatic performances, of which many records have survived, both from Athens and from many other parts of the Greek world. The regulation of athletic festivals, and the records of victors in their contests, also form a numerous class of inscriptions. As regards mysteries, though there are numerous regulations affecting the arrangement of celebrations and the conduct of those participating, there is, as was to be expected, very little concerning the actual performances.
Another interesting phase of Greek religion known to us mainly from inscriptions is offered by the shrines of healing. The most notable of these is the precinct of
Asclepius
Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of ...
at
Epidaurus
Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the ...
. Here have been found, on large slabs of inscription, compiled, in all probability, from earlier documents, lists of the cures effected by Apollo and Asclepius. The cures are of the most varied kinds, from painful diseases or surgical cases to a lost boy and a broken cup. The formula is in almost all cases the same: the consultant come to Epidaurus, sleeps in the ''
abaton'', has dreams or sees visions, and comes out whole. In later times, when such faith-healing had probably become less efficacious, elaborate prescriptions of diet and hygiene are recorded.
A special form of prayer consists of curses, which were often buried in the ground, probably with the intent to reach the infernal gods. Such curses often give the reason for their being made, usually some injury done to the author of the curse; sometimes they devote the offender to the infernal gods.
Private associations for religious purposes
Another elements in Greek religion which is known to us almost exclusively by means of inscriptions, is to be found in the religious associations that existed in many Greek cities, apart from the organisation of state religion, though sometimes recognised by it. These associations had each its own regulations, which were duly recorded in inscriptions; they varied greatly both in purpose and in character. Many of them had a definitely religious purpose, in the worship of certain gods; sometimes an alien community was given special permission to worship its own god or gods in its own way. Other associations were more social in character and served as clubs, or as burial societies. A remarkable feature about such associations is that the lists of members of many of them include the names of women and of slaves, thus contrasting with the civic basis of established religion in Greece, and anticipating a religion in which "there can be neither
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
nor
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female."
Political and social
Codes of law and regulations
Ancient writers state that the earliest laws of Athens were inscribed upon tablets of wood, put together in a pyramidal shape. These, owing to their material, have perished; but we have some very early
codes of law
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core are ...
preserved on stone, notably at
Gortyna
Gortyna ( grc, Γόρτυνα; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of ...
in Crete. Here an inscription of great length is incised on the slabs of a theatre-shaped structure in 12 columns of 50 lines each; it is mainly concerned with the law of inheritance, adoption, etc. Doubtless similar inscriptions were set up in many places in Greece. An interesting series of inscriptions deals with the conditions under which colonists were sent out from various cities, and the measures that were taken to secure their rights as citizens. A bronze tablet records in some detail the arrangements of this sort made when
Locrians The Locrians ( el, Λοκροί, ''Locri'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. They spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, and were closely related to their neighbour ...
established a colony in
Naupactus
Nafpaktos ( el, Ναύπακτος) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos.
It is named for Naupaktos (, Latinize ...
; another inscription relates to the Athenian colonisation of
Salamis, in the 6th century BC.
Decrees of people and rulers, later of kings and emperors
A very large number of inscriptions are in the form of decrees of various cities and peoples, even when their subject matter suggests that they should be classified under other headings. Almost all legislative and many administrative measures take this form; often a decree prescribes how and where the inscription should be set up. The formulae and preambles of such decrees vary considerably from place to place, and from period to period. Those of Athens are by far the most exactly known, owing to the immense number that have been discovered; and they are so strictly stereotyped that can be classified with the precision of algebraic formulae, and often dated to within a few years by this test alone. Very full lists for this purpose have been drawn up by epigraphist Wilhelm Larfeld, in his work on the subject. It is usual to record the year (by the name of the eponymous archon), the day of the month and of the
prytany
The ''prytaneis'' (πρυτάνεις; sing.: πρύτανις ''prytanis'') were the executives of the '' boule'' of ancient Athens.
Origins and organization
The term (like ''basileus'' or ''tyrannos'') is probably of Pre-Greek etymology (poss ...
(or presiding commission according to tribes), various secretaries, the presiding officials and the proposer of the decree. It is also stated whether the resolution is passed by the senate (
Boule) or the assembly of the people (
Ecclesia), or both. The circumstances or the reason of the resolution are then given, and finally the decision itself. Some other cities followed Athens in the form of their decrees, with such local variations as were required; others were more independent in their development, and different magistracies or forms of government had various results. In the
Hellenistic Age
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 ...
, and later, the forms of independent government were, to a great extent, kept up, though little real power remained with the people. On the other hand, it is common thing to find letters from kings, and later from
Roman emperors, inscribed and set up in public places.
Public accounts, treasure lists, building inscriptions
It was customary to inscribe on stone all records of the receipt, custody and expenditure of public money or treasure, so that citizens could verify for themselves the safety and due control of the State in all financial matters. As in the case of temple accounts, it was usual for each temporary board of officials to render to their successors an account of their stewardship, and of the resources and treasures which they handed over. In all cases of public works, the expenditure was ordered by the State, and detailed reports were drawn up and inscribed on stone at intervals while the work was being carried out. In many cases there is a detailed specification of building work which makes it possible, not only to realise all the technical details and processes employed, but also the whole plan and structure of a building. A notable instance is the
arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
of
Philon
Philon ( el, Φίλων), Athenian architect of the 4th century BC, is known as the planner of two important works: the portico of twelve Doric columns to the great Hall of the Mysteries at Eleusis (work commissioned by Demetrius Phalereus ab ...
at the
Peiraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
which has been completely reconstructed on paper by architects from the building specification.
[Built under the administration of ]Lycurgus
Lycurgus or Lykourgos () may refer to:
People
* Lycurgus (king of Sparta) (third century BC)
* Lycurgus (lawgiver) (eighth century BC), creator of constitution of Sparta
* Lycurgus of Athens (fourth century BC), one of the 'ten notable orators' ...
, . E. A. Gardner, ''op.cit.'' p. 557, observes that it "is perhaps known to us more in detail than any other lost monument of antiquity." It was to hold the rigging of the galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
s; and was so contrived that all its contents were visible from a central hall, and so liable to the inspection of the Athenian democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
. Philon's arsenal was destroyed by the forces of Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had t ...
in the Roman conquest of Athens in 86 BC. In the case of the
Erechtheum
The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple-telesterion on the north side of the Acropolis ...
, we have not only a detailed report on the unfinished state of the building in 409 BC, but also accounts of the expenditure and payments to the workmen employed in finishing it. Similar accounts have been preserved of the building of the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
, spread over 15 years; in the case of both the Parthenon and the Erechtheum, there are included the payments made to those who made the sculptures.
Naval and military expenditure is also fully accounted for; among other information there are records of the
galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
-slips at the different harbours of the Piraeus, and of the ships of the Athenian navy, with their names and condition. In short, there is no department of state economy and financial administration that is not abundantly illustrated by the record of inscriptions.
A set of records of high historical value are the ''"tribute lists"'', recording the quota paid to Athens by her
subject allies during the 5th century BC. These throw much light on her relations with them at various periods.(Cf.
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...
).
Ephebic inscriptions
An institution as to which our knowledge is mainly derived from inscriptions is the
ephebic system at Athens. There are not only records of lists of
ephebi
''Ephebos'' (ἔφηβος) (often in the plural ''epheboi''), also anglicised as ''ephebe'' (plural: ''ephebes'') or archaically ''ephebus'' (plural: ''ephebi''), is a Greek term for a male adolescent, or for a social status reserved for that ...
and of their guardians and instructors, but also decrees in honour of their services, especially in taking their due part in religious and other ceremonies, and resolutions of the ephebi themselves in honour of their officials. It is possible to trace in the inscriptions, which range over several centuries, how what was originally a system of physical and military training for Athenian youths from age of 18 to 20, with outpost and police duties, was gradually transformed. In later times there were added to the instructors in military exercises others who gave lectures on what we should now call arts and science subjects; so that in the Hellenistic and Roman times, when youths from all parts of the civilised world flocked to Athens as an intellectual centre, the ephebic system became a kind of cosmopolitan university.
Treaties and political and commercial agreements; arbitration, etc.
In addition to inscriptions which are concerned with the internal affairs of various cities, there are many others recording treaties or other agreements of an international character between various cities and states. These were incised on bronze or stone, and set up in places of public resort in the cities concerned, or in common religious centres such as Olympia and Delphi. The simplest form of treaty is merely an alliance for a certain term of years, usually with some penalty for any breach of the conditions. Often an oath was prescribed, to be taken by representatives on each side; it was also not unusual to appeal to the god in whose temple the treaty was exhibited. In other cases a list of gods by whom the two parties must swear is prescribed. Commercial clauses were sometimes added to treaties of alliance, and commercial treaties are also found, agreeing as to the export and import of merchandise and other things. In later days, especially in the time of the Hellenistic kings, treaties tend to become more complicated and detailed in their provisions.
Another series of records of great historical interest is concerned with arbitration between various states on various questions, mainly concerned with frontiers. In cases of dispute it was not uncommon for the two disputants to appoint a third party as arbitrator. Sometimes this third party was another State, sometimes a specified number of individuals. Thus, in a frontier dispute between Corinth and
Epidaurus
Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the ...
, 151 citizens of
Megara
Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, befo ...
were appointed by name to arbitrate, and when the decision was disputed, 31 from among them revised and confirmed it. In all such cases it was the custom for a full record to be preserved on stone and set up in the places concerned. In this case the initiative in referring the matter to arbitration came from the
Achaean League
The Achaean League (Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern Pel ...
.
Proxenia decrees
A very large class of inscriptions deals with the institution of ''
proxenia
Proxeny or ( grc-gre, προξενία) in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. The citizen was called (; plural: o ...
''. According to this a citizen of any State might be appointed ''proxenos'' of another State; his duties would then be to offer help and hospitality to any citizen of that other State who might be visiting his city, and to assist him in any dispute or in securing his legal rights. The office has been compared to the modern appointment of
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
s, with the essential difference that the ''proxenos'' is always a citizen of the state in which he resides, not of that whose citizens and interests he assists. The decrees upon this matter frequently record the appointment of a ''proxenos'', and the conferring on him of certain benefits and privileges in return for his services; they also contain resolutions of thanks from the city served by the ''proxenos'', and record honours consequently conferred upon him.
Honours and privileges given to individuals
This class of inscription is in form not unlike the last, except that honours recorded are given for all sorts of services, private and public, to the State and to individuals. A frequent addition is an invitation to dine in the
Prytaneum at Athens. Some are inscribed on the bases of statues set up to the recipient. In early times these inscriptions are usually brief and simple. The bust of
Pericles
Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
on the Acropolis held nothing but the names of Pericles himself and of the sculptor
Kresilas
Kresilas ( gr, Κρησίλας ''Krēsílas''; c. 480 – c. 410 BC) was a Greek sculptor in the Classical period (5th century BC), from Kydonia. He was trained in Argos and then worked in Athens at the time of the Peloponnesian War, as a follow ...
. Later it became usual to give, in some detail, the reasons for the honours awarded; and in Hellenistic and Roman times, these became more and more detailed and fulsome in laudatory detail.
Signatures of artists
![Sophilos me grafsen inscription Lebes BM 1971](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Sophilos_me_grafsen_inscription_Lebes_BM_1971.11-1.1.jpg)
These inscriptions are of special interest as throwing much light upon the history of art. The artist's name was usually, especially in earlier times, carved upon the base of the pedestal of a statue, and consequently was easily separated from it if the statue was carried off or destroyed. A case where both statue and pedestal are preserved is offered by the ''
Victory
The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...
'', signed on its pedestal by
Paeonius at Olympia. Occasionally, and more frequently in later times, the artist's signature was carved upon some portion of the statue itself. But in later copies of well-known works, it has to be considered whether the name is that of the original artist or of the copyist who reproduced his work. (see for example,
the statue of Hercules/Heracles below)
A special class of artists' signatures is offered by the names signed by
Attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
and other vase painters upon their vases. These have been made the basis of a minute
historical and stylistic study of the work of these painters, and unsigned vases also have been grouped with the signed ones, so as to make an exact and detailed record of this branch of Greek artistic production.
Historical records
The great majority of these fall into one of the classes already referred to. But there are some instances in which an inscription is set up merely as a record. For instance, a victor in athletic or other contests may set up a list of his victories. The most famous historical record is the
autobiographical account of the deeds and administration of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, which was reproduced and set up in many places; it is generally known as the
Monumentum Ancyranum
Temple of Augustus and Rome is an augusteum located in Altındağ district of Ankara. It is thought to have been built around 25–20 AD. Besides being one of the most important Roman period ruins in the city, it is also known for ''Monumentum A ...
, because the most complete copy of it was found at
Ancyra
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the list of national capitals, capital of Turkey. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center ...
. The
Marmor Parium
The Parian Chronicle or Parian Marble ( la, Marmor Parium, Mar. Par.) is a Greek chronology, covering the years from 1582 BC to 299 BC, inscribed on a stele. Found on the island of Paros in two sections, and sold in Smyrna in the early 17 ...
at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, found in
Paros
Paros (; el, Πάρος; Venetian: ''Paro'') is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of ...
, is a chronological record of Greek history, probably made for educational purposes, and valuable as giving the traditional dates of events from the earliest time down.
Tombs and epitaphs
This is by far the most numerous class of inscriptions, both Greek and Latin. In early times there is often no record beyond the name of the deceased in Athens, often with the name of his father and his
deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...
. Sometimes a word or two of conventional praise is added, such as "a good and wise man". Occasionally the circumstances of death are alluded to, especially if it took place in battle or at sea. Such
epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
s were frequently in
metrical form
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pre ...
, usually either
hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...
or
elegiacs The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...
. Many of them have been collected, and they form an interesting addition to the Greek anthology. In later times it becomes usual to give more elaborate praise of the deceased; but this is hardly ever so detailed and fulsome as on more modern tombstones. The age and other facts about the deceased are occasionally given, but not nearly so often as on Latin tombstones, which offer valuable statistical information in this respect.
Latin inscriptions
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
inscriptions may be classified on much the same lines as Greek; but certain broad distinctions may be drawn at the outset. They are generally more standardised as to form and as to content, not only in Rome and Italy, but also throughout the
provinces of the Roman Empire
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled ...
. One of the chief difficulties in deciphering
Latin Inscriptions
The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...
lies in the very extensive use of
initials and abbreviations. These are of great number and variety, and while some of them can be easily interpreted as belonging to well-known formulae, others offer considerable difficulty, especially to the inexperienced student. Often the same initial may have many different meanings according to the context. Some common formulae such as (), or () offer little difficulty, but there are many which are not so obvious and leave room for conjecture. Often the only way to determine the meaning is to search through a list of initials, such as those given by modern Latin epigraphists, until a formula is found which fits the context.
Most of what has been said about Greek inscriptions applies to Roman also. The commonest materials in this case also are stone, marble and bronze; but a more extensive use is made of stamped bricks and tiles, which are often of historical value as identifying and dating a building or other construction. The same applies to leaden water pipes which frequently bear dates and names of officials. Terracotta lamps also frequently have their makers' names and other information stamped upon them. Arms, and especially shields, sometimes bear the name and corps of their owners. Leaden discs were also used to serve the same purpose as modern identification discs. Inscriptions are also found on sling bullets – Roman as well as Greek; there are also numerous classes of ''
tesserae
A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus.
Historical tesserae
The oldest known tesserae ...
'' or tickets of admission to theatres or other shows.
As regards the contents of inscriptions, there must evidently be a considerable difference between records of a number of independent city states and an empire including almost all the civilised world; but municipalities maintained much of their independent traditions in Roman times, and consequently their inscriptions often follow the old formulas.
The classification of Roman inscriptions may, therefore, follow the same lines as the Greek, except that certain categories are absent, and that some others, not found in Greek, are of considerable importance.
Religious
Dedications and foundations of temples, etc.
![RMW - Weiheplakette Victoria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/RMW_-_Weiheplakette_Victoria.jpg)
These are very numerous; and the custom of placing the name of the dedicator in a conspicuous place on the building was prevalent, especially in the case of dedications by emperors or officials, or by public bodies. Restoration or repair was often recorded in the same manner. In the case of small objects the dedication is usually simple in form; it usually contains the name of the god or other recipient and of the donor, and a common formula is () often with additions such as (). Such dedications are often the result of a vow, and () is therefore often added. Bequests made under the wills of rich citizens are frequently recorded by inscriptions; these might either be for religious or for social purposes.
Priests and officials
A priesthood was frequently a political office and consequently is mentioned along with political honours in the list of a man's distinctions. The priesthoods that a man had held are usually mentioned first in inscriptions before his civil offices and distinctions. Religious offices, as well as civil, were restricted to certain classes, the highest to those of senatorial rank, the next to those of
equestrian status; many minor offices, both in Rome and in the provinces, are enumerated in their due order.
Regulations as to religion and cult
Among the most interesting of these is the ancient song and accompanying dance performed by the priests known as the
Arval Brothers
In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren ( la, Fratres Arvales, "Brothers of the Fields") or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide eviden ...
. This is, however, not in the form of a ritual prescription, but a detailed record of the due performance of the rite. An important class of documents is the series of calendars that have been found in Rome and in the various Italian towns. These give notice of religious festivals and anniversaries, and also of the days available for various purposes.
Colleges
The various colleges for religious purposes were very numerous. Many of them, both in Rome and Italy, and in provincial municipalities, were of the nature of priesthoods. Some were regarded as offices of high distinction and were open only to men of senatorial rank; among these were the
Augurs
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...
, the
Fetiales
A fetial (; la, fētiālis , . la, fētiālēs, label=none) was a type of priest in ancient Rome. They formed a ''collegium'' devoted to Jupiter as the patron of good faith.
The duties of the fetials included advising the Senate on foreign affa ...
, the
Salii
In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, the Salii ( , ) were the "leaping priests" (from the verb ''saliō'' "leap, jump") of Mars (mythology), Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve Patrician ...
; also the in imperial times. The records of these colleges sometimes give no information beyond the names of members, but these are often of considerable interest.
Haruspices
In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (''haruspicina''), the inspection of the entrails ('' exta''—hence also extispicy ...
and
Luperci were of equestrian rank.
Political and social
Codes of law and regulations
Our information as to these is not mainly drawn from inscriptions and, therefore, they need not here be considered. On the other hand, the word (law) is usually applied to all decrees of the senate or other bodies, whether of legislative or of administrative character. It is therefore, best to consider all together under the heading of public decrees.
Laws and plebiscites, senatus consulta, decrees of magistrates or later of emperors
A certain number of these dating from republican times are of considerable interest. One of the earliest relates to the prohibition of
bacchanalian orgies in Italy; it takes the form of a message from the magistrates, stating the authority on which they acted. Laws all follow a fixed formula, according to the body which has passed them. First there is a statement that the legislative body was consulted by the appropriate magistrate in due form; then follows the text of the law; and finally the sanction, the statement that the law was passed. In decrees of the senate the formula differs somewhat. They begin with a preamble giving the names of the consulting magistrates, the place and conditions of the meeting; then comes the subject submitted for decision, ending with the formula (); then comes the decision of the senate, opening with (). C. is added at the end, to indicate that the decree was passed. In imperial times, the emperor sometimes addressed a speech to the senate, advising them to pass certain resolutions, or else, especially in later times, gave orders or instructions directly, either on his own initiative or in response to questions or references. The number and variety of such orders is such that no classification of them can be given here. One of the most famous is the edict of
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
,
fixing the prices of all commodities. Copies of this in Greek as well as in Latin have been found in various parts of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
.
Records of buildings, etc.
![Hans lutz Pfk bozen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Hans_lutz_Pfk_bozen.jpg)
A very large number of inscriptions record the construction or repair of public buildings by private individuals, by magistrates, Roman or provincial, and by emperors. In addition to the dedication of temples, we find inscriptions recording the construction of
aqueducts, roads, especially on
milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...
s, baths,
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
s,
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
s and many other works of public utility. In inscriptions of early period often nothing is given but the name of the person who built or restored the edifice and a statement that he had done so. But later it was usual to give more detail as to the motive of the building, the name of the emperor or a magistrate giving the date, the authority for the building and the names and distinctions of the builders; then follows a description of the building, the source of the expenditure (e.g., , ) and finally the appropriate verb for the work done, whether building, restoring, enlarging or otherwise improving. Other details are sometimes added, such as the name of the man under whose direction the work was done.
Military documents
![AMG - Ziegel Cohors III](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/AMG_-_Ziegel_Cohors_III.jpg)
These vary greatly in content, and are among the most important documents concerning the administration of the Roman Empire. "They are numerous and of all sorts – tombstones of every degree, lists of soldiers' burial clubs, certificates of discharge from service, schedules of time-expired men, dedications of altars, records of building or of engineering works accomplished. The facts directly commemorated are rarely important."
[, "Roman Authority" in , ''et al''. ''Authority and Archaeology, Sacred and Profane: Essays on the Relation of Monuments to Biblical and Classical Literature'', Ulan Press (repr. 2012), p. 314.] But when the information from hundreds of such inscriptions is collected together, "you can trace the whole policy of the Imperial Government in the matter of recruiting, to what extent and till what date legionaries were raised in Italy; what contingents for various branches of the service were drawn from the provinces, and which provinces provided most; how far provincials garrisoned their own countries, and which of them, like the British recruits, were sent as a measure of precaution to serve elsewhere; or, finally, at what epoch the empire grew weak enough to require the enlistment of barbarians from beyond its frontiers."
Treaties and agreements
There were many treaties between Rome and other states in
republican times; but we do not, as a rule, owe our knowledge of these to inscriptions, which are very rare in this earlier period. In imperial times, to which most Latin inscriptions belong, international relations were subject to the universal domination of Rome, and consequently the documents relating to them are concerned with reference to the central authority, and often take the form of orders from the emperor.
Proxeny
This custom belonged to Greece. What most nearly corresponded to it in Roman times was the adoption of some distinguished Roman as its ''
patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
'', by a city or state. The relation was then recorded, usually on a bronze tablet placed in some conspicuous position in the town concerned. The patron probably also kept a copy in his house, or had a portable tablet which would ensure his recognition and reception.
Honorary
Honorary inscriptions are extremely common in all parts of the Roman world. Sometimes they are placed on the bases of statues, sometimes in documents set up to record some particular benefaction or the construction of some public work. The offices held by the person commemorated, and the distinctions conferred upon him are enumerated in a regularly established order (), either beginning with the lower and proceeding step by step to the higher, or in reverse order with the highest first. Religious and priestly offices are usually mentioned before civil and political ones. These might be exercised either in Rome itself, or in the various municipalities of the empire. There was also a distinction drawn between offices that might be held only by persons of senatorial rank, those that were assigned to persons of equestrian rank, and those of a less distinguished kind. It follows that when only a portion of an inscription has been found, it is often possible to restore the whole in accordance with the accepted order.
Signatures of artists
When these are attached to statues, it is sometimes doubtful whether the name is that of the man who actually made the statue, or of the master whose work it reproduces. Thus there are two well-known copies of a statue of
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
by
Lysippus
Lysippos (; grc-gre, Λύσιππος) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenistic pe ...
, of which one is said to be the work of Lysippus, and the other states that it was
made by Glycon (see images). Another kind of artist's or artificer's signature that is commoner in Roman times is to be found in the signatures of potters upon lamps and various kinds of vessels; they are usually impressed on the mould and stand out in relief on the terracotta or other material. These are of interest as giving much information as to the commercial spread of various kinds of handicrafts, and also as to the conditions under which they were manufactured.
Historical records
Many of these inscriptions might well be assigned to one of the categories already considered. But there are some which were expressly made to commemorate an important event, or to preserve a record. Among the most interesting is the inscription of the in Rome, which records the great naval victory of
Gaius Duilius
Gaius Duilius ( 260–231 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. As consul in 260 BC, during the First Punic War, he won Rome's first ever victory at sea by defeating the Carthaginians at the Battle of Mylae. He later served as censor in 258, an ...
over the
Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
; this, however, is not the original, but a later and somewhat modified version. A document of high importance is a summary of the life and achievements of Augustus, already mentioned, and known as the
Monumentum Ancyranum
Temple of Augustus and Rome is an augusteum located in Altındağ district of Ankara. It is thought to have been built around 25–20 AD. Besides being one of the most important Roman period ruins in the city, it is also known for ''Monumentum A ...
. The various sets of
Fasti
In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...
constituted a record of the names of consuls, and other magistrates or high officials, and also of the triumphs accorded to conquering generals.
Inscriptions on tombs
These are probably the most numerous of all classes of inscriptions; and though many of them are of no great individual interest, they convey, when taken collectively, much valuable information as to the distribution and transference of population, as to trades and professions, as to health and longevity, and as to many other conditions of ancient life. The most interesting early series is that on the tombs of the
Scipios at Rome, recording, mostly in
Saturnian Metre
Saturnian meter or verse is an old Latin and Italic poetic form, of which the principles of versification have become obscure. Only 132 complete uncontroversial verses survive. 95 literary verses and partial fragments have been preserved as quo ...
, the exploits and distinctions of the various members of that family.
[Cf. ]
About the end of the republic and the beginning of the empire, it became customary to head a tombstone with the letters or (), thus consecrating the tomb to the deceased as having become members of the
body of ghosts or spirits of the dead. These are followed by the name of the deceased, usually with his father's name and his tribe, by his honours and distinctions, sometimes by a record of his age. The inscription often concludes with (), or some similar formula, and also, frequently, with a statement of boundaries and a prohibition of violation or further use – for instance, (, this monument is not to pass to the heir). The person who has erected the monument and his relation to the deceased are often stated; or if a man has prepared the tomb in his lifetime, this also may be stated, (). But there is an immense variety in the information that either a man himself or his friend may wish to record.
Milestones and boundaries
Milestones () have already been referred to, and may be regarded as records of the building of roads. Boundary stones () are frequently found, both of public and private property. A well-known instance is offered by those set up by the commissioners called () in the time of the
Gracchi
The Gracchi brothers were two Roman brothers, sons of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who was consul in 177 BC. Tiberius, the elder brother, was tribune of the plebs in 133 BC and Gaius, the younger brother, was tribune a decade later in ...
.
[Cf. Arthur E. Gordon]
''Latin Epigraphy''
University of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
, 1983, Introd., pp. 3–6.
See also
Related fields of study
*
EpiDoc
EpiDoc is an international community that produces guidelines and tools for encoding in TEI XML scholarly and educational editions of ancient documents, especially inscriptions and papyri.
The EpiDoc Guidelines were originally proposed as a rec ...
*
Leiden Conventions
The Leiden Conventions or Leiden system is an established set of rules, symbols, and brackets used to indicate the condition of an epigraphic or papyrological text in a modern edition. In previous centuries of classical scholarship, scholars who ...
*
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
*
Palaeography
Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") ...
, the study of ancient writing
*
Orthography
An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation.
Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mos ...
*
Papyrology
Papyrology is the study of manuscripts of ancient literature, correspondence, legal archives, etc., preserved on portable media from antiquity, the most common form of which is papyrus, the principal writing material in the ancient civilizations ...
*
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...
*
Writing system
A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable form ...
Types of inscription
*
Abecedarium
An abecedarium (also known as an abecedary or ABCs or simply an ABC) is an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecedaria (or abecedaries) are practice exercises.
Non-Latin alphabe ...
*
Chronogram
A chronogram is a sentence or inscription in which specific letters, interpreted as numerals (such as Roman numerals), stand for a particular date when rearranged. The word, meaning "time writing", derives from the Greek words ''chronos'' (χ ...
* ''
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...
''
*
Copper plate inscriptions
*
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
*
Ex libris
Ex Libris may refer to:
*An Ex Libris (bookplate), a label affixed to a book to indicate ownership
*Ex Libris (band), a Dutch metal band
*Ex Libris (bookshop), a Swiss retail company
* "Ex Libris" (''Charmed''), a 2000 episode of the television ser ...
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Early Indian epigraphy
The earliest undisputed deciphered epigraphy found in the Indian subcontinent are the Edicts of Ashoka of the 3rd century BCE, in the Brahmi script.
If epigraphy of proto-writing is included, undeciphered markings with symbol systems tha ...
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Epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
on a
headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...
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Graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
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Hero stone
A hero stone (Vīragallu in Kannada, Naṭukal in Tamil) is a memorial commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle. Erected between the second half of the first millennium BC and the 18th century AD, hero stones are found all over India ...
and
Paliya
The Paliya or Khambhi is a type of a memorial found in the western regions of the India subcontinent, especially Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat and also in Sindh region of Pakistan. They mostly commemorates the death of a person. These ...
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History of Latin
Latin is a member of the broad family of Italic languages. Its alphabet, the Latin alphabet, emerged from the Old Italic alphabets, which in turn were derived from the Etruscan, Greek and Phoenician scripts. Historical Latin came from the p ...
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Inscriptiones Graecae
The ''Inscriptiones Graecae'' (IG), Latin for ''Greek inscriptions'', is an academic project originally begun by the Prussian Academy of Science, and today continued by its successor organisation, the . Its aim is to collect and publish all known ...
'' and ''
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum
''Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum'' (''SEG'') (Latin for ''Greek Epigraphical Supplement'') is an annual survey (published by J. C. Gieben, Amsterdam, Netherlands until his death in 2006, now published by Brill) collecting the content of and stu ...
''
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Maya script
Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs, is historically the native writing system of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and is the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered. The earliest inscriptions found which ...
, also known as "Maya glyphs" or "Maya hieroglyphics"
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Memento mori
''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'
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Petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
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Pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions
It is thought that the Arabic alphabet is a derivative of the Nabataean alphabet, Nabataean variation of the Aramaic alphabet, which descended from the Phoenician alphabet, which among others also gave rise to the Hebrew alphabet and the Greek a ...
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Roman lead pipe inscription
A Roman lead pipe inscription is a Latin inscription on a Roman water pipe made of lead which provides brief information on its manufacturer and owner, often the reigning emperor himself as the supreme authority. The identification marks were c ...
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Runestone
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...
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Stoichedon
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Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi, also known as Tamizhi or Damili, was a variant of the Brahmi script in southern India. It was used to write inscriptions in the early form of Old Tamil.Richard Salomon (1998) ''Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscription ...
Notable inscriptions
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Behistun Inscription
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Bitola inscription
The Bitola inscription is a stone inscription from the First Bulgarian Empire written in the Old Church Slavonic language in the Cyrillic alphabet. Currently, it is located at the Institute and Museum of Bitola, North Macedonia among the permanent ...
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Bryggen inscriptions
The Bryggen inscriptions are a find of some 670 medieval runic inscriptions on wood (mostly pine) and bone found from 1955 and forth at ''Bryggen'' (and its surroundings) in Bergen, Norway. It has been called the most important runic find in the t ...
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Decree of Themistocles
The Decree of Themistocles or Troezen Inscription is an ancient Greek inscription, found at Troezen, discussing Greek strategy in the Greco-Persian Wars, purported to have been issued by the Athenian assembly under the guidance of Themistocles. Si ...
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Dipylon inscription
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Duenos Inscription
The Duenos inscription is one of the earliest known Old Latin texts, variously dated from the 7th to the 5th century BC. It is inscribed on the sides of a '' kernos'', in this case a trio of small globular vases adjoined by three clay struts. It ...
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Edicts of Ashoka
The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who reigned from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expres ...
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Inscription of Abercius
The inscription of Abercius is the Greek epitaph of Abercius, Bishop of Hieropolis (died ca. 167), in Phrygia. It is an important example of early Christian epigraphy.
Archeology and context
About the middle of the 2nd century, Abercius left h ...
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Kedukan Bukit
The Kedukan Bukit inscription is an inscription discovered by the Dutchman C.J. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), on the banks of Tatang River, a tributary of Musi River. It is th ...
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Laguna Copperplate Inscription
The Laguna copperplate inscription ( tl, Inskripsyon sa binatbat na tanso ng Laguna, literal translation: ''Inscription on flattened copper of Laguna'') is an official acquittance inscribed onto a copper plate in the Shaka year 822 (Gregorian A ...
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La Mojarra Stela 1
La Mojarra Stela 1 is a Mesoamerican carved monument (stela) dating from 156 CE (2nd century CE). It was discovered in 1986, pulled from the Acula River near La Mojarra, Veracruz, Mexico, not far from the Tres Zapotes archaeological site. The by ...
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Malia altar stone The Malia altar stone is a stone slab bearing an inscription in Cretan hieroglyphs. It was found by a farmer near Malia, Crete. Chapouthier describes the find from an archeologist point of view.
Olivier and Godard (1996) present several photograp ...
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Phaistos Disc
The Phaistos Disc (also spelled Phaistos Disk, Phaestos Disc) is a disk of fired clay from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the island of Crete, possibly dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age (second millennium BC). The disk is about ...
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Res Gestae Divi Augusti
''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'' (Eng. ''The Deeds of the Divine Augustus'') is a monumental inscription composed by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The ''Res Gestae'' is especially sig ...
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Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...
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Shugborough inscription
The Shugborough Inscription is a sequence of letters – O U O S V A V V, between the letters D M on a lower plane – carved on the 18th-century Shepherd's Monument in the grounds of Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England, below a mirror im ...
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Priene Inscription
The Priene Inscription is a dedicatory inscription by Alexander the Great, which was discovered at the Temple of Athena Polias in Priene (modern Turkey), in the nineteenth century. It now forms an important part of the British Museum's Ancient Gree ...
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Punic-Libyan Inscription
The Punic-Libyan bilingual inscriptions are two important ancient bilingual inscriptions dated to the 2nd century BC.
The first known, the Cenotaph Inscription, was discovered in 1852, played a significant role in deciphering the Libyco-Berber scr ...
* The
Antikythera mechanism
The Antikythera mechanism ( ) is an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, described as the oldest example of an analogue computer used to predict astronomy, astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance. It could also be ...
is notable for the novel techniques used in reading the inscriptions.
References
External links
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Poinikastas: Epigraphic Sources For Early Greek Writing Oxford University
Current Epigraphya journal of news and short reports on inscriptions
The Epigraphic SocietyFormed in 1974 by Professor Barry Fell of Harvard University and Professor Norman Totten of Bentley College, its journal, the Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers (ESOP), is shelved by numerous universities and research institutions worldwide.
a Virtual Exhibition on Epigraphy, presenting several aspects of it with examples.
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{{Authority control
Textual scholarship
Inscriptions