The rock surface has a total height of 1.40 metres and a width of approximately 2.05
metres.
Layout
Execution: chiselled.
Palaeography
Letters of the archaic alphabet of Thera: Alpha (ll. 1-2): left stroke divergent,
diagonal crossbar. Alpha (l. 3): right stroke divergent, diagonal crossbar. Gamma:
junction at 90°. Epsilon: oblique strokes, protruding vertical stroke. Eta (l. 2):
represented as a closed rectangular with orizontal crossbar. Kappa (l. 1): both diagonal
bars originate from the same point on the vertical stroke. Kappa (l. 2): the bars
attach at different points on the vertical stroke. Upsilon (l. 1): with a single bar
connected to the vertical stroke. Upsilon (l. 2): both bars symmetrically attached
to the vertical stroke. San: used for the sibilant sound.
Provenance and Discovery
Place:Archaía Thíra (36.36349, 25.47804)
Date:Beginning of the 7th century BCE. According to Jeffery, the graffito can be dated
to around the end of the 8th century BC; however, according to Inglese the date does
not appear to be later than the first half of the 7th century.
Findspot:Hiller; the editor autopsied the inscription again in 1899 and 1903
Coordinates:36.36169, 25.48150
Last recorded location: in situ; Last seen by A. Inglese in 2002 in situ; rubbing (due to the width of the inscription,
the rubbing had to be done in several segments).
line 1. Hiller, in IG XII,3,540: Λαϙυδίδας ἀγαθός. line 2. Hiller, in IG XII,3,540: Εὔμηλος ἄριστος ὀρκhε̄στά[ς] line 3. Hiller, in Suppl. 1413 to IG XII,3,540: Κρίμων πράτιστος ϙοσ[σ]άλωι ΝΙΝΤΑΝΕΑΝΗΤΟ line 4. Hiller, in IG XII,3,540: Αρκ[εσίλας] or [- - -][hαγέτας] or the like
Commentary
L. 3, despite the uncertainty of the text, would lead one to consider it as evidence
of an 'erotic' act performed by Krimon,
and Gallavotti recognises in the name of Krimon the same person as in the other two
inscriptions from the same area,
nos. 537 and 538.
Gallavotti (1975, pp. 185-191) also noted that the adjective πρᾶτιστος "cleverly imitates
a formula from civic language (such as "so-and-so did such-and-such a thing for the
first time")" [this author's translation from Italian].
Therefore, he argues that the verb, which is usually in the imperfect tense in these
graffiti related to Krimon, should be understood here as an aorist,
following the formulaic structure of commemorative speeches: ἰάνατο rather than ἰαίνετο.
Moreover, according to the scholar, a proper name Ϙονιαλο̄ι in the dative case should
be identified immediately after the adjective πρᾶτιστος;
it would function as an instrumental complement. However, these interpretations assume
an emendation of the text and remain uncertain given
the difficulty of reading the lines.
In addition, Gallavotti suggests that Κοννίαλος should be considered as a derivative
of κόννος (beard) or κῶνος (acorn).
In line 1, the anthroponym is followed by ἀγαθός, an adjective frequently found alongside
personal names in this area, as is πρᾶτιστος.
In line 2, it is followed by ἄριστος ὀρχε̄στάς, the latter term referring to the domain
of dance.
In line 3, it is followed by πρᾶτιστος. Graffiti nos. 536, 543, and probably 546 also
mention "dancers."
It is worth noting that in a fragment of Pindar, we read: ὀρχήστ’ ἀγλαίας ἀνάσσων,
εὐρυφάρετρ’ Ἄπολλον,
and Callimachus, in the Hymn to Apollo, mentions the Karneia in Cyrene, providing
information about a
"prototypical armed dance performed by the Theran founders of Cyrene" (Ceccarelli
1998, p. 107).
In an erotic context, the writers use the most common adjectives found alongside anthroponyms
in the Agora of the Gods.
Additionally, one of them declares himself a "dancer," whose lord ὀρχηστάς is Apollo.
This graffito, therefore, maintains an intrinsic coherence with the ritual context
of the area.
Funder: CHANGES - Theme 5. Humanities and Cultural Heritage as Laboratories of Innovation
and Creativity, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, Associazione Centro
di Eccellenza DTC
Alessandra Inglese: original data collection and edition
Valentina Mignosa: encoding, editing metadata and geo data, website content creation, HTML transformation,
website design and styling, interactive mapping implementation
Marika Griffo: rubbings digitisation
Simone Lucchetti: rubbings digitisation
Luigi Tessarolo: website construction, design and styling, interactive mapping implementation
Virgilio Costa: methodological and digital consultancy
