Grave of Menophilos Referring to the Society (180 or 234 CE)

Magnesia by Sipylos (Lydia, Asia Minor — Pleiades map), 180 or 234 CE
Hasan Malay, Greek and Latin Inscriptions in the Manisa Museum (Ergänzungsbände zu den Tituli Asiae Minoris 19; Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1994) 108-109 (no. 354) = AGRW ID# 12313

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Slab of marble with pediment and tenon, now in the Manisa museum (103 x 49 x 6 cm). There is a relief of a man and a woman in a rectangular recess above the inscription. The provenance of the monument is not known. If the inscription date refers to the Sullan era, then this would come from 180/181 CE, if the Actian era, then 234/235 CE. The inscription opens with a reference to a founder or leader in the accusative followed by an unrecoverable word, perhaps a verb, so the meaning of the opening line remains unclear.

. . . a founder of societies (?) . . . Now, I, who first preserved zeal and trust for the society (thiasos), lie here. My name was Menophilos. For the sake of honor, men set up this monument. My mother honored me, as well as my brother, my children, and my wife. Year 265 on the 4th of the month of Panemos.

Translation by: Harland

τ̣ὸν θειάσων ἀρχηγὸν Ε | .ΕΝ τότε ἐνθάδε κεῖμαι | [ὃ]ς̣ προῖτος θειάσῳ σπουδὴν | [π]είστιν δ᾿ ἐφύλαξα· οὔνομ̣[α] || [Μ]ηνόφιλος, εἰς τεὶν τειμῆ̣[ς] | [χ]άριν ἄνδρες στήλην ΗΝΤΕ. | .ΗΝ ἐτίμησεν ἐμὲ μήτηρ [κὲ] | [ὁ ἀ]δελφὸς κὲ τὰ τέκνα κὲ ἡ σύνβ̣ι̣[ος]· | [ἔ]τους σξε᾿, μη(νὸς) Πανήμου δ᾿.

Item added: May 16, 2013
Item modified: December 26, 2015
ID number: 12313
Short link address:
http://www.philipharland.com/greco-roman-associations/?p=12313

Category: 3) Asia Minor, d) Lydia, f) 2nd century CE, Funerary text, g) 3rd century CE

Associations in the Greco-Roman World (AGRW)

An expanding collection of inscriptions, papyri, and other sources in translation (run by Philip A. Harland)

Grave of Menophilos Referring to the Society (180 or 234 CE) ║ Magnesia by Sipylos - Lydia

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