The Cup of Acesander (also Hakesandros or Hakesander) is a drinking cup from

ancient Methone Methone (Greek: ) may refer to: * Methone (butterfly), ''Methone'' (butterfly), a monotypic genus of metalmark butterflies * Methone (moon), a small moon of Saturn, discovered in 2004 * Methone (Greek myth), one of the Alkyonides, daughters of the ...

, a city in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

(corresponding to modern

Methoni, Pieria Methoni () is a village and a former municipality in Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pydna-Kolindros Pydna–Kolindros (, ''Pýdna-Kolindrós'') is a municipality in the Pieria ...

), that contains one of the earliest found inscriptions in the

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as wel ...

. Dated from the first half of the eighth century BC (–720), the pot was made for use at symposia and was discovered during the archaeological excavations of 2003–04. The inscription, written in the

Euboean alphabet Many local variants of the Greek alphabet were employed in ancient Greece during the archaic and early classical periods, until around 400 BC, when they were replaced by the classical 24-letter alphabet that is the standard today. All forms ...

, functions as an ownership tag and includes a short humorous curse in iambic verse that warns drinkers against stealing the cup. Along with similar inscriptions of the same period, the text is seen as an early indication of literacy and sympotic poetry in ancient Greece. The cup has been important for the study of the early Greek alphabet and

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

Artifact

The cup of Acesander, identified as a

skyphos A skyphos (; : skyphoi) is a two-handled deep wine-cup on a low flanged base or none. The handles may be horizontal ear-shaped thumbholds that project from the rim (in both Corinthian and Athenian shapes), or they may be loop handles at the rim ...

, was discovered along with several other inscribed drinking vessels in a sealed deposit in

. A contemporary of the earlier discovered and better preserved Nestor's Cup, the vessel is securely dated to the first half of the eighth century BC. Nelson (2023) writes that the discovery of Acesander's cup confirms that poetry was written by the mid-eighth century BC; Lopez-Ruiz (2022) dates the cup between 750 and 735 BC.

Janko Janko is a name that derives from a diminutive form of the name '' Jan'' (Slavic languages), '' Janez'' (Slovenian), ''János'' (Hungarian), and ''Yakov''/''Jacob'' (Ashkenazi Jewish). It also derives from the vernacular form of Latin ''Johannes'' ...

(2015) places Acesander's cup among the other early Greek alphabet writings in 730 BC or earlier, while Tzifopoulos, Bessios, and Kotsonas (2017) date it between and 720 BC. The existence of pottery with Euboean script in Methone from this particular date appears to support

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

's accounts that the city was founded by Eretrian settlers in the first half of the eighth century BC. This evidence from Methone is also in line with the theory that the Euboeans likely played an important role in the recording and diffusion of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

ic poetry.

Inscription

The inscription on Acesander's cup parallels that of several contemporary drinking vessels including the Nestor's Cup, both of which testify to an early poetic culture that accompanied the ritualized drinking of wine. The cup of Acesander showcases a carefully written inscription running around the vessel along a decorative band that was created by a skilled inscriber. This early epigraphic evidence points to the beginnings of

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

in ancient Greece, as the alphabet, epigraphic formulas, and techniques, not strictly confined to a bureaucratic environment, gradually begin to extend to aspects of everyday life, most notably in sympotic contexts, and are shared by individuals of different social and economic backgrounds. The inscription appears to follow an iambic rhythm (υ – υ – υ –). It consists of a short iambic

dimeter In poetry, a dimeter is a metrical line of verse with two feet. The particular foot The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In ...

trimeter In poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addi ...

, possibly the earliest recorded example of this kind, that follows the initial ownership tag in

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

. The language indicates that the text was composed in a playful tone and that the cup was meant to be used in a sympotic context. The cup follows the conventional formula of a witty ownership tag, here taking the form of a good-humored curse, which became a common epigraphic trope in ancient Greek pottery, particularly on vessels meant to be used in a friendly circle of symposiasts. Although preserved in fragments, the text has been approximately reconstructed following the language of similar vessels of the same period.; Comparative interpretation of sympotic inscriptions indicates that Acesander's cup is not an isolated example, but part of an epigraphic tradition with wide diffusion in space and time. The initial verb "I am" indicates that the cup uses the familiar formula of the speaking object i.e. "I belong to X". A probable restoration of the ownership tag includes "I am Hakesaner's up. The final verb, which is securely restored as ("will be deprived", the third singluar future form of ), is preceded by the word or , which is commonly reconstructed as "eyes" or "money". Subsequently, based on the vocabulary of vessels with similar inscriptions, the text can be approximately reconstructed as: According to the analysis and proposed reconstructions, a probable translation would be "I am Hakesandros' cup, no one shall steal me, because whoever steals me, will be deprived of his eyes/ money". A different proposal follows that, if Acesander happened to be a medic, as his name may suggest, the cup may have promised to relieve the drinker from his pains; . The script can be identified as Euboean and bears most common features with the

Eretria Eretria (; , , , , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th century BC, mentioned by many famous writers ...

n. These features include the letter Mu (Μ μ) which is written with five, instead of the standard four, strokes and the letter

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

(Δ δ) which is rounded above and has an angle below, both features also appearing on the Nestor's Cup from Pithekoussai. Rare in Euboean is the

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

that is rounded on the right side, although it does appear in Ereteria.

Footnotes

References

Sources

* * ** ** ** * * * * * ** * * {{refend Archaeological artifacts Earliest known manuscripts by language Greek language Individual ancient Greek vases Greek inscriptions Archaeological discoveries in Macedonia (Greece) Individual drinking vessels 2003 archaeological discoveries

Artifact

Inscription

See also

Footnotes

References

Sources