The graffito is placed horizontally on a rock in the area bounded by polygonal walls in the shape of a horseshoe (see IThera001). The name of the deity is quite close to the prominence of the eastern wall and runs from left to right. To the left of the samek there is a hole carved into the stone. Most of these holes are square and have the names of the gods written above, below and to the side; Guarducci considers them to be "sacred stones or hearths (eschàrai)", for another hypothesis see Inglese 2008, Chapter 2 and Part III.
Letters of the archaic alphabet of Thera: epsilon: downward slanting vertical stroke; san: sibilant; samek: for [dz], with a protruding vertical stroke; ypsilon: with a single slanting stroke attached to the vertical stroke.
Encoded following the latest EpiDoc guidelines
Taxonomies for ThERA controlled values
ThERA anthroponyms authority list
ThERA theonyms authority list
Julian Calendar
Zeus
The inscription is placed among other names of deity. Within this enclosed area, only three anthroponyms are likely present (see IThera001 and IThera086). The deity in Thera during the archaic period was also worshiped through the only epithets: hικέσιος is recorded in the now-lost graffito IG XII 3, 402 and 403, located, according to Hiller’s indications, beyond the gymnasium of the ephebes, near the farthest part of the promontory. Another occurrence is in the fragmentary inscription no. 404. Numerous other attestations of the deity, including just the epithets, are found in the city and are dated to a later period. Particularly noteworthy, because inscribed on a rock, are the dedications to Zeus Melichios in no. 406 and the dedication to Zeus in inscription no. 375, where the deity’s name is written as Ζηνό(ς) and followed by Π (Πολιέος or Πατρώιου according to Hiller). Also in this case the theonym is accompanied by a square hole.