Greek Epigraphy

P. FONTAINE & R. MARGOS, Un gobelet "épicurien" inédit au Musée du Verre de Charleroi, milieu du Ier siècle apr. J.-C. Etude de l'inscription

by Paul Fontaine

in D'Ennion au Val Saint-Lambert. Le verre soufflé-moulé. Actes des 23e Rencontres de l'Association française pour l'Archéologie du Verre (Bruxelles-Namur, 2008), Bruxelles, 2010 (Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique. Scientia Artis, 5), p. 79-83.

La perception des droits de passage à Chalcis (IG I3 40, 446 a.C.)

by Christophe PEBARTHE

in : Historia 54, 2005, 84-92.

De la drachme au denier: retour sur l'ὀκτώβολος εἰσφορά de Messène

by Charles Doyen

à paraître dans les Actes du Colloque “Το νόμισμα στην Πελοπόννησο”, Argos (25-29/05/2011)

L’ὀκτώβολος εἰσφορά de Messène (IG V 1, 1432-1433) est un impôt extraordinaire prélevé par les autorités romaines,... more L’ὀκτώβολος εἰσφορά de Messène (IG V 1, 1432-1433) est un impôt extraordinaire prélevé par les autorités romaines, probablement à l’époque du second triumvirat (43–31 av. J. C.). Le calcul de cet impôt conserve la plus ancienne attestation du denier romain dans une comptabilité qui repose encore, par ailleurs, sur les dénominations grecques traditionnelles (talent, mine, statère, drachme, obole et chalque). À ce titre, l’ὀκτώβολος εἰσφορά constitue un relais fondamental entre les systèmes métrologiques grec et romain, au tournant des époques hellénistique et impériale. Nous démontrons dans cette étude que le compte IG V 1, 1433 ne permet aucunement de postuler une assimilation du denier romain à la drachme attique au milieu du Ier s. av. J. C., mais atteste, tout au contraire, que l’étalon « dénarial » (δεινάριον) succède à l’étalon attique (ἀργύριον ἀττικόν) et le remplace définitivement, en s’inscrivant dans les usages métrologiques hellénistiques et en inaugurant les équivalences monétaires propres à l’époque impériale.

Le salaire de Dexios

by Charles Doyen

à paraître dans le Bulletin de Correspondance hellénique

Au printemps 336, l’Amphictionie pyléo-delphique décide d’émettre un monnayage de bon poids éginétique, que les... more Au printemps 336, l’Amphictionie pyléo-delphique décide d’émettre un monnayage de bon poids éginétique, que les comptes appellent le « nouvel amphictionique ». Un réexamen du devis de la frappe (CID II 75, col. I, l. 46-56) permet d’établir que le monnayeur engagé à cette occasion est payé à raison de 9 oboles amphictioniques à la mine livrée, et bénéficie d’une marge d’un soixantième (1,67 %) sur la masse d’argent à frapper, afin de couvrir les pertes à la fonte. Les deux dépenses s’ajoutent aux déficits pondéraux que présentent les lots de monnaies destinés à la fonte, et sont comptabilisés dans l’ἀπουσία globale du devis (l. 48-49). Ce calcul complexe est tout à fait conforme aux habitudes des orfèvres grecs. L’expérience du nouvel amphictionique sera interrompue brutalement au printemps 335, alors que ca 46 talents de métal restaient à frapper : cette masse d’argent brute, censée produire 44,31 talents de monnaies amphictioniques, est échangée contre 45,31 talents de monnaies attiques — soit une économie d’un peu plus d’un talent (CID II 76, col. III, l. 38-42).

In Spring 336 BCE, the Delphic Amphictyony decided to create a new full-weight Aeginetic coinage: the “new Amphictyonic”. A re-examination of the preliminary estimate of the minting (CID II 75, col. I, l. 46-56), allows us to establish that the minter was paid at a rate of 9 Amphictionic obols per delivered mina, and had a margin of a sixtieth (1.67%) of the total silver mass, in order to cover the losses in melting. An allowance for those two expenses, as well as the actual weight shortage of the different lots of coins intended for the melting pot, were entered in the account of the global ἀπουσία (l. 48-49). Such a complex calculation fits perfectly with the practices of Greek goldsmiths. In Spring 335 BCE, the experiment of the new Amphictyonic was brutally interrupted, while about 46 talents of metal were still to be struck. This raw silver mass, intended to produce 44.31 talents of Amphictyonic coins, was exchanged for 45.31 talents of Attic coins — which meant a saving of a little more than a talent (CID II 76, col. III, l. 38-42).

Re-thinking Jewish ethnicity through social network analysis

by Anna Collar

to be published in 2013 in Network Analysis in Archaeology, (OUP) edited by C J Knappett.

As a response to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the subsequent cataclysms in Judaea and elsewhere in... more As a response to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the subsequent cataclysms in Judaea and elsewhere in the Jewish Diaspora, Judaism itself underwent a series of reforms. This paper argues that these reforms (Rabbinic halakhah, standardised laws of moral behaviour) spread through the renewed strong-tie ethnic network of the Diaspora and can be seen epigraphically in the use of Hebrew names, references to the laws, and in the use of the Hebrew language itself. Visualising this process through the use of networks allows us to consider possible routes and mechanisms of information transmission.

WHAT WAS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE EPHEBEIA: To become a citizen, a rite of manhood or a preparation for warfare?

by Jonathan Recaldin

Penultimate draft of MA dissertation

The premise of this study was to ascertain the exact purpose of the ephebeia, through three key aspects, spanning from... more The premise of this study was to ascertain the exact purpose of the ephebeia, through three key aspects, spanning from its Classical roots in the 4th century BC, through the Hellenistic era and into the Imperial Roman period, eventually ending sometime in the 4th century AD. My title is:

What was the main purpose of the ephebeia: to become a citizen, a rite of manhood or a preparation for warfare?

To explore this question, I examined the institution of the ephebeia, principally the well-known Athenian ephebeia but also other Hellenic examples, with three aspects in mind and in chronological order. First, I studied the institution from a military viewpoint, looking at how the ephebes trained and how important polis defence was to them, all the while seeing how this changed over time.  I also explored how the ephebeia prepared boys for citizenship, how they worked together, and what their concept of polis and chora was, as well as looking at symbolic representations of citizenship. My last chapter investigates how the ephebeia prepared boys from manhood, and what their ideals of manhood were.

I approached the subject by researching both ancient and modern sources, using them to make my own interpretations and to cast new light on the subject. I believe my findings indicate that we should move on from outdated, structuralist scholarship, which previously viewed the ephebeia as an essentially unchanged ritual, towards seeing the ephebeia as something that was constantly adapting over time and provided a combination of training for creating an adult, a citizen and a soldier – these terms are virtually synonymous in Ancient Greece.

Un inedito contenitore di lykion da Pompei

by Giulio Vallarino

in "Archeologia Classica" 54, 2003

« Inscriptions inédites de Macédoine et de Thrace », ZPE 168, 2009, p. 187-195

by Dan Dana

La transaction du plomb de Pech-Maho

by Christophe PEBARTHE

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 126, 1999, 155-161

La liste des archontes athéniens (IG I3, 1031). Réflexions sur la datation d'une inscription

by Christophe PEBARTHE

Publié dans Revue des Études Anciennes 107, 2005, 11-28.

Le fragment c de la liste des archontes (IG I3, 1031) donne l'occasion d'une réflexion sur la datation d'une... more Le fragment c de la liste des archontes (IG I3, 1031) donne l'occasion d'une réflexion sur la datation d'une inscription. Les critères internes sont d'abord étudiés et permettent de définir un intervalle, 450-403. Il apparaît ensuite, qu'au cours de cette période, la dernière décennie du Vème siècle fournit un contexte pour la mise sur pierre de cette liste. La date de 410 est proposée, peu après la restauration de la démocratie et le début de la révision des lois.

8.2 La comunicazione scritta

by Giulio Vallarino

in E. Lippolis, G. Rocco, Archeologia Greca, Milano 2011

Epigrafia pagana e cristiana in Sicilia

by Antonio, Enrico Felle

Falsification of the inscriptions in the Caucasus (in Russian)

by Denis Kashtanov

О фальсификациях надписей на Кавказе // Новейшие открытия в археологии Севеного Кавказа: исследования и интерпретации. XXVII Крупновские чтения. Материалы международной научной конференции. Махачкала, 23—28 апреля 2012 года. Махачкала, 2012. С. 335—336.

Первые шаги ольвийской эпиграфики: неизвестная рукопись Егора Келера в Берлине, в: Eukharisterion. Антиковедческо-историографический сборник памяти Ярослава Витальевича Доманского (1928-2004). Ред. И.В. Тункина и др. СПб., 2007, 182-213

by Askold Ivantchik

The Forgotten Art of Isopsephy and the Magic Number KZ

by Dimitris Psychoyos

This paper discusses the relation between letters and numbers in the case of ancient Greek and other writing systems... more This paper discusses the relation between letters and numbers in the case of ancient Greek and other writing systems and supports that the use of letters of the alphabet (and so the writing of the language) was constrained by the necessities of mathematics. In the case of Ancient Greece the “24 letters of the alphabet” plus “3 additional signs” were used to notate the numbers. These 27 signs formed the three enneads of the Greek (Milesian) Numeral System, which was in use in Eastern Mediterranean and parts of Europe for almost 2.000 years  (700 BC till 1200 AD). So, the 24 letter-signs were also digit-signs. The arithmetic use of letters is considered by epigraphologists and Hellenists a later development, occurring two or three centuries after the invention of the Greek alphabet. This paper supports that, from the very beginning, the alphabet should have had 27 signs in order to meet the needs of mathematics, that is to meet the necessity of using the enneads of the Egyptian numeral system, which probably was transferred to Greeks via the Semitic writing system. This hypothesis is based on the contradictions which arise between the choice of signs and their use (as can be seen from the statistical analysis of ancient texts), from ancient Greek “Logistikē” (mathematical calculations), from archaeological finds and from the examples of other writing systems, which were also created (or adapted accordingly) so as to serve the needs of mathematics – namely Hebrew, Arabic, Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, and other alphabets.

Греческая надпись из раскопок Патрея в 1986 г., ВДИ, 1988, № 2, 119-122, совместно с Б.Г. Петерсом

by Askold Ivantchik

совместно с Б.Г. Петерсом

"Alphabet or Abracadabra? - Reverse Engineering The Western Alphabet"

by Wim Borsboom

Did the Western alphabet sequence, in spite of it looking quite disorderly at first glance, follow a pattern invented more than 3200 years ago…a Pre-Sanskrit, early Brāhmī alphabet from India?

The attached file is a partial version of the study I wrote detailing this discovery.

Forcing the Western-Late Roman Alphabet character sequence (the ABC or 'abecedary') into a tabular format by starting... more Forcing the Western-Late Roman Alphabet character sequence (the ABC or 'abecedary') into a tabular format by starting out to line up the vowels in one column followed by fitting the consonants sequentially into three adjacent columns, a somewhat orderly and surprising result was obtained.

By comparing the resultant character grid with an early simpler phase of the Sanskrit Devanāgarī character grid, it became possible to discover clear links between Western alphabets and an early form of the Sanskrit Devanāgarī abugida (alpha-syllabary).

This dependent linkage between the Western Late-Roman and the Devanāgarī abugida is evidenced by their similar if not almost identical ordering of characters in grids of comparable phoneme classifications.

In this study, the origin of the dissimilarities - or, in fact, irregularities - has been traced back to two errors made by an ancient Near Eastern linguist after his study-visit to ancient India.

As the Western-Late Roman Alphabet in this study's tabular arrangement appeared to be irregular in certain places, especially when compared to the highly organized and well ordered Devanāgarī abugida grid, this study demonstrates how, why and approximately when (before 1200 BCE) those irregularities came about.

When the two sequential formats are superficially compared to each other - before the tracing of errors and before the tabular reconstruction - a percentage of similarity of only 20 % (4 out of 20 characters) was calculated.

However, after the error identifications (described in detail) and while taking into account the varying but close pronunciations of a number of comparable characters in side-by-side alphabet and abugida grids, and while focusing on the placement of nearly all Western-Late Roman characters in their appropriate vowel, labial, guttural and dental columns (illustrated in detail) an 85.00 % match between them was arrived at.

This study also demonstrates how the Ugarit abecedary from Syria (1400 -1200 BCE) is evidence that even before it was inscribed in cuneiform, that a 'West-of-India' style irregular alphabetic sequence was already in use, which, as demonstrated in this study, was based on a very early form of a Pre-Sanskrit Brāhmī abugida.

“Тысячелетний Рейх” на Боспоре, ВДИ, 2011, № 4, 277-279

by Askold Ivantchik

Новые греческие надписи из Тахти-Сангина и проблема возникновения бактрийской письменности, ВДИ, 2011, № 4, 110-131

by Askold Ivantchik

Legal Theories and Ancient Practices in John Selden's Marmora Arundelliana

by Joseph Wallace

published in the "Journal of the History of Ideas," vol. 72 (July 2011): 393-412.

This article examines John Selden’s 1628 edition of a set of Greek inscriptions in the context of his developing legal... more This article examines John Selden’s 1628 edition of a set of Greek inscriptions in the context of his developing legal theories and his classical scholarship. While the edition has often been studied as an exercise in specialized scholarship, this essay relates it to several of Selden’s other works as well as a broad range of ancient and early modern legal thought. I argue that the edition provides a way to understand Selden’s thinking about the intersection between political and religious obligation, methods for changing existing laws, and the distribution of goods and honors in a religious society.