IThera001

Findspot and Location

  • Country: Greece
  • Region: Santorini
  • Settlement: Ancient Thera
  • Repository: Archaeological site of Ancient Thera

Support

Material: stone.
Object type: rock face.

The inscription is located in the archaeological context called 'Agora of the Gods' by the first excavators. The text is on the rock floor, which forms the cobbled level, enclosed in the shape of a horseshoe by polygonal walls. This complex is located to the west of the temple of Apollo Carnaeus, from which it is separated by the main road.

Layout

The text is laid out on the horizontal plane of the cliff, in Hiller's reading it consists of five lines and some drawings irregularly arranged on the cliff.

Execution: chiselled.

Palaeography

Letters of the archaic alphabet of Thera: Alpha: divaricated left stroke, oblique crossbar (graff. e)

koppa: vertical stroke not extended within the bowl (graff. d)

epsilon: vertical stroke slightly protruding at the bottom, oblique bars (graff. a-b)

epsilon: vertical stroke not protruding at the bottom, middle and lower bars straight (graff. c)

eta: represented as a closed rectangular with orizontal crossbar (graff. d)

aspiration: represented as a closed rectangular with orizontal crossbar (graff. b)

omicron: smaller than other letters

omicron: same size as other letters (graff. c-e)

omicron: with internal dot (graff. d)

rho: with rounded bowl (graff. d)

san: for sibilant

samek: for [dz], with a protruding vertical stroke

theta: circle with cross-shaped bars inside (graff. e)

theta: circle with internal dot (graff. c)

hypsilon: oblique, divaricated bars.

Provenance and Discovery

Place:Archaía Thíra (36.36349, 25.47804)

Date:Late 8th - early 7th century B.C. (ll. a-b); sixth century BCE (ll. c-e); second half of the 7th century BCE (l. d).

Findspot:«Intra aedificium perantiquum, quod prope Apollinis Carnei templum meridiem fere versus situm est». Hiller, Suppl. p. 86

Coordinates:36.36200, 25.48065

Last recorded location: in situ; Last seen by A. Inglese in 2003 in situ; rubbing in 2003

Edition


a
1. Ζεύς το σ̣α̣[- - -]
2. Πhο̄́λ̣ε̣̣̄ς

b
1. Εὐέλθο̄ν
2. [ἀγ]αθός

c
Ϙο̄ρης

Apparatus


a
line 1.
Hiller: Ζεύς τὸς με[- - -]
line 2.
Hiller: Πhόλε̄ς

b
line 1.
Hiller: Ε[ὐ]έλθων
line 2.
Hiller: [ἀγ]αθός

c
Hiller: ϙο[υ]ρε̄́ς

Commentary

The inscription is located on a rocky surface that forms part of a paved area enclosed by polygonal walls in a horseshoe shape. This complex lies to the west of the temple of Apollo Carneo, separated from the main road by the temple structure. Various graffiti, primarily containing the names of deities, were found on this level by Hiller, who suggested these might be some of the earliest epigraphic evidence on the island, potentially dating back to the late 8th century B.C. However, the walls enclosing the area likely postdate the inscriptions, based on their construction style. The precise function of this space remains debated, with theories ranging from a temple to a place for ritual banquets. This graffito, found on the horizontal plane of the rock, consists of five lines and a few designs, including a human head, footprints, and a small ladder-like symbol. The editor notes that the letters following the name “Zeus” remain unclear. Cook interpreted τὸς με- as Ζεὺς τοῦ Σμε(ρ)[δίου] or the like, while other interpretations suggest it may belong to a different inscription. The text shows a mix of well-preserved letters such as san and tau, and partially preserved symbols, which add to the complexity of understanding the full context of the graffito. Hiller’s reading further adds ambiguity with a semi-circular mark resembling an eye and a deteriorated human figure. This combination of elements suggests a connection to both Zeus and potentially the Dioscuri, symbolized by the small ladder-like design, which appears in various inscriptions of Spartan influence. The paleographic analysis reveals that the letter forms in the inscription are varied, with closed eta used for [e:] and san used for the sibilant sound. The koppa shows an elongated form with a vertical stroke. These details indicate multiple phases of writing, possibly reflecting different chronological layers within the same sacred area. The consistent use of the archaic form of epsilon with a central crossbar further suggests a late 8th to early 7th-century B.C. date. The overall inscription, however, remains challenging due to the eroded state of several letters and symbols, which Hiller attempted to reconstruct.

Bibliography

To consult the full bibliography of the project, visit our Zotero library.

Images

Apograph of the entire inscribed surface (Inglese 2008, p. 455)

Composite image created from separate rubbings of the same inscription (rubbings inv. nos. EpiLab-rtv-rub-022, EpiLab-rtv-rub-023, EpiLab-rtv-rub-024, EpiLab-rtv-rub-025; made in October 2003). © Greek Ministry of Culture / Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades. Reproduction authorized for this use only. Any further use requires permission

Editorial Team

Editor: Alessandra Inglese

Principal Investigator: Alessandra Inglese

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

Publication Details

Authority: ThERA (Theran Epigraphic Rubbings Archive) project

Licence: Licensed under a Creative Commons-Attribution 4.0 licence

Encoding model / validation: EpiDoc encoding model and validation framework adapted from ISicily

Download

To consult the full TEI EpiDoc XML source of this inscription, click here.