The inscription is located on the surface of a rock within the horseshoe-shaped enclosed
area.
Layout
Execution: chiselled.
Palaeography
Letters of the archaic alphabet of Thera: Alpha: with regular oblique strokes and
a crossbar. kappa: with oblique strokes that do not connect. iota: with three strokes.
omicron: smaller than the other letters.
Provenance and Discovery
Place:Archaía Thíra (36.36349, 25.47804)
Date:6th century BCE
Findspot:«Intra aedificium perantiquum, quod prope Apollinis Carnei templum meridiem fere versus
situm est». Hiller, Suppl. p. 86
Coordinates:36.36202, 25.48060
Last recorded location: in situ; Last seen by A. Inglese in 2003 in situ
Edition
Λοκαία Δαμία
Apparatus
Hiller: Λοκ(h)αία Δαμία
Commentary
The inscription is placed on a sloping surface of a rock inside the perimeter area
enclosed by a horseshoe-shaped wall. It is inscribed in retrograde (except for iota),
approximately 70 cm from the perimeter wall.
The letter sizes are inconsistent (tau and epsilon 7 cm, omicron 4 cm). Hiller notes
that the inscription appears to follow a curvilinear path, with the letters deeply
engraved into the rock, and suggests it likely dates
to the 6th century BCE.
There is no aspiration mark after kappa, consistent with other archaic inscriptions
(no. 1312). Nonetheless, the incision style (narrow V‑shaped groove, about 2 mm wide,
produced with a pointed tool, see IThera015 and IThera035) and paleographic details
indicate that this graffito likely belongs to a later phase, around the 6th century
BCE.
Regarding the identity of the deity, Hiller references Wilamowitz’s theory, identifying
the name Damia in this inscription, along with Auxesia. These two deities, often associated
with fertility rites and childbirth, were worshipped together,
particularly in places like Aegina and Thera. Both are connected to rituals involving
fertility and the protection of young people. The association between Damia and Auxesia
has literary references in Herodotus and Pausanias, who mention
their importance in fertility rites and civil unrest between Aegina and Athens. These
deities were also linked to Demeter and Kore, reinforcing their connection to fertility.
The interpretation of Lokhaia as an epithet of Damia suggests a link between the deity
and the act of childbirth, as Lokhaia was traditionally associated with Artemis, the
protector of childbirth.
The combination of Damia and Auxesia could reflect the presence of specific rituals
related to fertility, especially in Thera, where several inscriptions reflect the
worship of these deities.
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
