... λέοντι ... δεσπόταις ... ἐκτίσθη Eὐπλουτίνου ... (Greek inscription from NW Turkey)

binselam2006

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Hi,

Summer of 2007, I was travelling on nort-western Turkey. On the side of one of the villages, I have come across a stone with Greek text on it. I am just curious to learn the translation of the text. I hope you guys can help me.
The picture of rock is in attached link.
Thanks.

Binselam
http://130.39.156.19/greek_trip.html
« Last Edit: 15 Apr, 2008, 19:50:19 by billberg23 »


vmelas

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Okay guys, I can read this ΕΛΕΟΝΤΙ ΔΕΣΠΟΤΑΙΣ ΕΚΤΙΣΘΗΚΕ ΠΛΟΥΤΙΝΟΥ and I presume the last line is the dating. Can you confirm this ? Translation would roughly be "By permission of the authorities it was built under Ploutinos in [date]" .. just a rough rendition not an exact translation. I would need confirmation that I did read it correctly :)




wings

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Val, I think there is an "Y" before "ΠΛΟΥΤΙΝΟΥ" and I think "ΥΠΟ ΠΛΟΥΤΙΝΟΥ" (= by Plutinos) would make more sense. And I also think it says "ΕΚΤΙΣΘΗ", which should be the proper past tense of the verb.

And then again I can hardly understand those two datives in the beginning of the phrase ("ΕΛΕΟΝΤΙ" (singular) & "ΔΕΣΠΟΤΑΙΣ" (plural)). Let's wait for Bill, too, to see if he can explain the whole phrase better.
Ο λόγος είναι μεγάλη ανάγκη της ψυχής. (Γιώργος Ιωάννου)


billberg23

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I hesitate to come to any firm conclusions about this inscription.  It's hard to tell how damaged it may be, and the red paint is probably not ancient.
At first glance, I'd say it looks like a Mithraic dedication.  Mithraism, the religion of the Persian savior-god Mithra, was very popular among Roman legionaries stationed in such far-flung places.  The (partial) name of Marcus Septimius (Μ/ΣΕΠΤ, last line) may indicate the person responsible for whatever was "built" (ΕΚΤΙΣΘΗ, third line) on that spot.
The two characters at the top may be Mithraic symbols (sun + musical instrument?).  The "lords" (ΔΕΣΠΟΤΑΙΣ) of the second line may or may not be minor deities.
The Lion was one of the grades of initiation in Mithraism;  this may be relevant to the "lion" (ΛΕΟΝΤΙ) of the first line, which seems to be preceded by a numeral.
The name Euploutinos in the genitive (ΕΥΠΛΟΥΤΙΝΟΥ) is hard to explain.  He may be the builder of the edifice which M. Septimius restored;  or it may belong to a personage whose statue, picture, or bust was "set up" (again, ΕΚΤΙΣΘΗ) there.
Sorry this all has to be so tentative, Binselam.  But thanks for provoking our curiosity!  It's an interesting inscription.



binselam2006

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