CIG 864b (Addenda, p. 918): Sepulchral Stele
Modern Publication(s): CIG 864b (Addenda, p. 918) (Editio princeps); Koumanoudes 1942; CIA iii. 2550; Hicks 5; EAD XXX 336bis
Brief description: Funerary stele.
Attributes
Inscription Type: Dedication
Object Type: Gravestone
Material: White marble
Original Location: Rheneia or Athens. A location of Rhenia is based on the use of a saluation (χρηστὲ χαῖρε) with name in the vocative (the usual form for epitaphs from Rheneia) (Hicks). The style and general shape of the monument also point to Rheneia (Hicks, on the advice of Conze). “The ‘friend’ who sent a copy of this stele from England to Böckh informed him that it came from Athens, and so the editors have described it.” (Hicks)
Provenance: Rheneia or Athens (see above).
Date: c.100 BC
Dimensions: H: 0.737 m; W: 0.368 m (Leeds).
Layout: Two salutations of a similar date, side-by-side on one stone. [A] Four lines of text; [B] Five lines of text.
Writing: Inscribed.
Condition: Good preservation. All the letters can be clearly made out, except perhaps the last two of [B] 2. (Hicks)
Decoration: “Surmounted by a plain pediment with an akroterion. The main surface of the stele is bordered on either side by a column, and the two columns support a circular arch. Within the space thus enclosed is a group worked in rather high relief, comprising three figures. On the left a male figure is seated on a rock facing to the right: he extends his right hand to another male figure in full face, who stands in front of him. Both are wearing chiton and himation. Behind the standing figure stands a female figure, also wearing an upper and under garment, facing to left.” (Hicks)
Collection
Location: Leeds City Museum.
Collector(s): Part of a collection purchased by Mr Benjamin Gott and Mr Rawson when travelling from Smyrna through the islands to Athens in 1815. Gott died of a fever at Piraeus, and the marbles then passed to Mr Rawson. They were kept at Rawson’s house in Halifax for several years, during which time six of the inscriptions were copied and sent to Böckh for inclusion in CIG. On Rawson’s death in 1845 or 1846, Mr Rawson’s brother, Mr S. Rawson, sold the marbles to Mr William Gott (brother of B. Gott). W. Gott then passed the marbles to his son, Rev. Dr. John Gott, who presented them with a few exceptions (Nos. 1-6, Hicks) to the Museum at Leeds (Hicks).
Date collected: Collected by Rawson in 1815.
Accession or catalogue number: LEEDM.D.1967.1235
Bibliography
M.-T. Couilloud, Les Monuments funéraires de Rhénée (Paris, 1974), no. 336bis. (= EAD XXX)
E. L. Hicks, 'The Collection of Ancient Marbles at Leeds,' JHS 11 (1890), 255-270, no. 5.
S. Koumanoudes, Ἐπιγραφαὶ Ἐπιτύμβιοι (Athens, 1871), no. 1942.
The 44th Report of the Council of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, 44 (1864), 11-12, 28.
