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Translation Assistance => Other language pairs => Ancient Greek→English translation forum => Topic started by: Twthmoses on 13 Jul, 2006, 01:19:23

Title: Χαῖρε μαλ', Αἰγύπτων ἡ πόλις ποιμένη περ ἔουσα (?) ... (Ramesseum dedication)
Post by: Twthmoses on 13 Jul, 2006, 01:19:23

Hey my first post.

I have a rather lengthy proclamation I’d like help in understanding /reading. I don’t read Greek so I’m rather lost.
I found this in the Ramesseum, a temple on the opposite side of Luxor, in Egypt. Despite that I have visited the temple many times, I never noticed this graffiti. It’s located, unusually, rather high up (ca. 5m) on the left “port-wall” between the hypostyle hall and the Astro chamber.
I have not been able to find a translation anywhere, tho I presume it must exist somewhere.

I have made a trace-over the best I could.
Any help is highly appreciated.

Title: Re: Lengthy Greek proclamation from the Ramesseum, Egypt
Post by: billberg23 on 13 Jul, 2006, 07:22:05

Thanks to your photograph and careful transcription, I was able to ascertain that your "proclamation" is actually a dedication in seven elegiac couplets.  It imitates classical epic verse, though Judging by the letter forms and spelling clues, it can't be much earlier than the late Roman period.
As you might suspect, it is undoubtedly included in some catalogue of finds on the site, though no English translation may yet exist.  There are undoubtedly members of the Forum who are competent to provide you with a translation, but according to Forum Rule #1.5, any translation request over 12 words long must be arranged with a Forum professional for an appropriate fee.  You might try contacting Translatum Translation Services (through this site).  Good luck with your project!

Title: Re: Lengthy Greek proclamation from the Ramesseum, Egypt
Post by: Twthmoses on 14 Jul, 2006, 12:53:20

Thanks for the answer, any help is appreciated.

Sorry for intruding on the rule of this forum (caught red-handed in the cookie jay). I figured that if nobody were interested, they would simply just ignore my post.

Since I have no commercial gain nor is seeking one from the translation, I of course also am not willing to pay for a translation. It was purely to satisfy my own curiosity.

The 12-word rule seems awful strange to me. How would I as non-greek-speaker know how to even split this into words? - what seems to me like long one-word-lines. Even if I did, just randomly, like packs of 5-10 letters, would I not quickly be asked for context anyway? Thus having to provide all lines anyway?

I’m grateful for the information you provided, and as I can understand (based on your info) this is not one of the typical “I came on this and this day and saw this and that…” else often found, right?

Title: Re: Lengthy Greek proclamation from the Ramesseum, Egypt
Post by: wings on 14 Jul, 2006, 13:29:52

Hi there.

You can read the rules of this forum at: https://www.translatum.gr/forum/index.php?topic=35.0 (there is also a button on top of each page).

Translation of long texts requires a lot of time and effort. Ancient Greek is not our everyday language and translation of Ancient Greek texts require an expert. You can always ask about a word or a short phrase for free translation and explanation of its use but when it comes to a long text, it has to be assigned to an expert.

Sorry to disappoint you but just think about it... if one spends hours to translate a text like this, he/she will have to be paid for it. As Bill explained to you, no English translation of this text may yet exist. And, generally speaking, translations like this are not an easy thing to do even for experts.:-)