IThera001 Alessandra Inglese Alessandra Inglese CHANGES - Theme 5. Humanities and Cultural Heritage as Laboratories of Innovation and Creativity, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, Associazione Centro di Eccellenza DTC Alessandra Inglese original data collection and edition Valentina Mignosa encoding, editing metadata and geo data, website content creation, HTML transformation, website design and styling, interactive mapping implementation Marika Griffo rubbings digitisation Simone Lucchetti rubbings digitisation Luigi Tessarolo website construction, design and styling, interactive mapping implementation Virgilio Costa methodological and digital consultancy ISicily EpiDoc encoding model and validation framework adapted from ISicily ThERA (Theran Epigraphic Rubbings Archive) project IThera001 10.5281/zenodo.17448895 9791298596405 Licensed under a Creative Commons-Attribution 4.0 licence. Greece Santorini Ancient Thera Archaeological site of Ancient Thera Ancient Greek

The inscription is located in the archaeological context called 'Agora of the Gods' by the first excavators. The text is on the rock floor, which forms the cobbled level, enclosed in the shape of a horseshoe by polygonal walls. This complex is located to the west of the temple of Apollo Carnaeus, from which it is separated by the main road.

stone rock face

The text is laid out on the horizontal plane of the cliff, in Hiller's reading it consists of five lines and some drawings irregularly arranged on the cliff.

chiselled

Letters of the archaic alphabet of Thera: Alpha: divaricated left stroke, oblique crossbar (graff. e); koppa: vertical stroke not extended within the bowl (graff. d); epsilon: vertical stroke slightly protruding at the bottom, oblique bars (graff. a-b); epsilon: vertical stroke not protruding at the bottom, middle and lower bars straight (graff. c); eta: represented as a closed rectangular with orizontal crossbar (graff. d); aspiration: represented as a closed rectangular with orizontal crossbar (graff. b); omicron: smaller than other letters; omicron: same size as other letters (graff. c-e); omicron: with internal dot (graff. d); rho: with rounded bowl (graff. d); san: for sibilant; samek: for [dz], with a protruding vertical stroke; theta: circle with cross-shaped bars inside (graff. e); theta: circle with internal dot (graff. c); hypsilon: oblique, divaricated bars.

Line 1-2 10-15 Interlineation line 1 to 2 Graffito of three footprints. Graffito of a man's head (?) or other representation of dokanon. This other dokanon can be identified only through the rubbing, in place of the drawing that Hiller considered to be a human head (which was not visible in the rubbing). Graffito of a symbol. Hiller suggested that the symbol might represent a small ladder, while Inglese hypothesized that it could be a dokanon, the oldest representation of the Dioscuri in Spartan territory (see also IThera010 , IThera030, and IThera046). One of the footprints may belong to a later phase, and the drawings, in general, are occasionally superimposed on the text. This suggests that the inscriptions and drawings were created during different chronological phases. Recess, rectangular. At line 5, to the left of the adjective ἀγαθός, the rock features a square recess. Archaía Thíra 36.36349, 25.47804 Late 8th - early 7th century B.C. (ll. a-b); sixth century BCE (ll. c-e); second half of the 7th century BCE (l. d). «Intra aedificium perantiquum, quod prope Apollinis Carnei templum meridiem fere versus situm est». Hiller, Suppl. p. 8636.36200, 25.48065 in situ Last seen by A. Inglese in 2003 in situ; rubbing in 2003

Encoded following the latest EpiDoc guidelines

Taxonomies for ThERA controlled values

ThERA anthroponyms authority list

ThERA theonyms authority list

Julian Calendar

 English Italian Ancient Greek Latin votive inscription Invocation, theonym Anthroponym Valentina Mignosa encoded inscription and added metadata Valentina Mignosa adapted the data to taxonomies list, as well as lists of anthroponyms and theonyms Valentina Mignosa added images of rubbings Face of inscribed stone Apograph of the entire inscribed surface (Inglese 2008, p. 455) Composite image created from separate rubbings of the same inscription (rubbings inv. nos. EpiLab-rtv-rub-022, EpiLab-rtv-rub-023, EpiLab-rtv-rub-024, EpiLab-rtv-rub-025; made in October 2003). © Greek Ministry of Culture / Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades. Reproduction authorized for this use only. Any further use requires permission
Ζεύς το σα Πhο̄́λε̄ς
Εὐέλθο̄ν ἀγαθός
Ϙο̄ρης
Hiller: Ζεύς τὸς με Hiller: Πhόλε̄ς
Hiller: Εὐέλθων Hiller: ἀγαθός
Hiller: ϙουρε̄́ς

The inscription is located on a rocky surface that forms part of a paved area enclosed by polygonal walls in a horseshoe shape. This complex lies to the west of the temple of Apollo Carneo, separated from the main road by the temple structure. Various graffiti, primarily containing the names of deities, were found on this level by Hiller, who suggested these might be some of the earliest epigraphic evidence on the island, potentially dating back to the late 8th century B.C. However, the walls enclosing the area likely postdate the inscriptions, based on their construction style. The precise function of this space remains debated, with theories ranging from a temple to a place for ritual banquets. This graffito, found on the horizontal plane of the rock, consists of five lines and a few designs, including a human head, footprints, and a small ladder-like symbol. The editor notes that the letters following the name “Zeus” remain unclear. Cook interpreted τὸς με- as Ζεὺς τοῦ Σμε(ρ)[δίου] or the like, while other interpretations suggest it may belong to a different inscription. The text shows a mix of well-preserved letters such as san and tau, and partially preserved symbols, which add to the complexity of understanding the full context of the graffito. Hiller’s reading further adds ambiguity with a semi-circular mark resembling an eye and a deteriorated human figure. This combination of elements suggests a connection to both Zeus and potentially the Dioscuri, symbolized by the small ladder-like design, which appears in various inscriptions of Spartan influence. The paleographic analysis reveals that the letter forms in the inscription are varied, with closed eta used for [e:] and san used for the sibilant sound. The koppa shows an elongated form with a vertical stroke. These details indicate multiple phases of writing, possibly reflecting different chronological layers within the same sacred area. The consistent use of the archaic form of epsilon with a central crossbar further suggests a late 8th to early 7th-century B.C. date. The overall inscription, however, remains challenging due to the eroded state of several letters and symbols, which Hiller attempted to reconstruct.

Inglese 2008 nr. 1 https://zenon.dainst.org/Record/000793447 1904 XII.3.350(a-e) https://zenon.dainst.org/Record/000863074 Cook 1914 142