Monday, October 10, 2022
An Inscription from Termessos
Reinhold Merkelbach and Josef Stauber, edd., Steinepigramme aus dem griechischen Osten, Bd. 4: Die Südküste Kleinasiens, Syrien und Palaestina (München: K.G. Säur, 2002), p. 94, no. 18/01/14 (click once or twice to enlarge):
Transcription of the Greek (I can't get the circumflex accents to sit squarely atop the omicrons in the first line):
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δικέο͂ς, ἴσο͂ς, καλο͂ς πρᾶσσε.My rough translation:
τέλος ὅραμα τύμβου βίου.
ταῦτα.
Αὐρ(ηλίου) Μαμα Γαμικοῦ ἐσορᾷς αἰώνιον οἶκον
Ἐλπιδότ[η]ς τε γαμετῆς Γαμικῆς τε συναίμονος αὐτοῦ·
οὐδενὶ δ' ἐξέσται ἑτέρω ἐν μνήματι τούτῳ ἄλλον ἐπενθάψαι,
μοῦν<ον> δὲ οὗ τέκνα, ἐπ(ε)ὶ ἐκτείσσει Διὶ Σολυμεῖ (δηνάρια) αφ′ καὶ τῶ δήμω (δηνάρια) φ′
καὶ οὐδὲν ἧσσον σχεθήσεται ἐνκλήματι τυμβωρυχίας.
εὐτυχεῖται.
ὅσας ἂν σεαυτὸν εὐφράνῃς ἡμέρας,
ταύτας βίον νόμιζε, τὰς δ' ἄλλας χρόνον.
Act justly, fairly, nobly.εὐτυχεῖται = εὐτυχεῖτε?
The end of life is the view of the tomb.
That's all.
You're looking at the eternal home of Aurelios Mamas Gamikos
and Elpidote his wife and Gamike his kindred.
No one will be allowed to bury another in this monument,
only his (i.e. Aurelios') children, since he will pay Zeus Solymeus 1500 denarii and the people 500 denarii
and besides he will be liable for an accusation of grave-robbery.
Be happy.
The days when you enjoy yourself,
regard these as life; the others as time.