The rock surface has a total height of 1.40 metres and a width of approximately 2.05 metres.
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.
Encoded following the latest EpiDoc guidelines
Taxonomies for ThERA controlled values
ThERA anthroponyms authority list
ThERA theonyms authority list
Julian Calendar
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.