Ephesos (Ionia, Asia Minor — Pleiades map), 128-129 CE
IEph 1488
= GIBM III 488
= PHI 247899
= AGRW ID# 8339
Piece of a broken slab of white marble with a fragmentary inscription found in the meeting-place of the civic Council (Odeion). Now in the British Museum, inv. 1868,0620.64. This letter involves an individual shipper (rather than an association) but is presented here due to its value for issues surrounding the social status of shippers. See also the full translation of IEph 1487 on this site (a similar letter involving Erastus).
Too fragmentary to translate (largely reconstructed based on IEph 1487).
Translation by: Harland[Αὐτοκράτωρ Καῖσαρ] θε[οῦ Τρ]αιανο[ῦ Π]αρθικοῦ | [υἱός,] θε[οῦ Νέρ]ου[α υἱω]ν̣ός, Τραιανὸς Ἁδριανὸς | [Σεβ]αστ[ός, ἀρχιερεὺς] μέγιστος, δημαρχικῆς ἐξου|[σία]ς τὸ ι[γʹ, ὕπατος] τὸ γʹ, πατὴρ πατρίδος Ἐφεσίων || [τοῖ]ς ἄρχο[υσι καὶ τῇ] βουλῇ χαίριν· | [Φιλ]οκύριος [καὶ πολεί]της ὑμῶν εἶναί φησιν καὶ πολ|[λὰ ἔ]τη πλ[εῦσαι τὴν θάλα]σσα̣ν̣, καὶ ὅσα ἀπὸ τούτου δυνα|[τὸ]ς ἦν χρή[σιμος γενέσ]θ[αι] τῇ πατρίδι, καὶ τοῦ ἔθνους | [τ]οὺς ἡγεμ[όνας ἀεὶ διακομ]ίζειν· ἐμοὶ δὲ δὶς ἤδη || σ̣υνέπλε[υσεν, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον εἰς Ῥόδον ἀπὸ τῆς | Ἐφέσου κ[ομιζομένῳ, νῦν] δὲ ἀπὸ Ἐλευσεῖνος | π̣ρ̣ὸς ὑμᾶ[ς ἀφικνουμένῳ· εὔ]χ̣εται δὲ β̣ουλευτὴς | [γ]ενέσθα[ι· κἀγὼ τὴν μὲν δοκιμα]σ̣ίαν ἐφ’ ὑμεῖν | π̣οιοῦμα[ι· εἰ δὲ μηδὲν ἐμποδὼν εἴη α]ὐτῷ, ἀλλ[ὰ] || [δ]όξαι τ[ῆς τειμῆς ἄξιος, τὸ ἀργύριον ὅσον δ]ιδό[ασιν] | [ο]ἱ βουλε[ύοντες τῆς ἀρχαιρεσίας ἕνεκα ἐγὼ δώσω·] |[εὐτυχεῖτε.]
GIBM III 488.
Used under a Creative Commons license. © The Trustees of the British Museum
Item added: December 20, 2012
Item modified: December 1, 2018
ID number: 8339
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http://www.philipharland.com/greco-roman-associations/?p=8339