The inscription is located in the archaeological context called 'Agora of the Gods' by the first excavators. The gaffito is located on a narrow vertical face of a small cliff on the western edge of the pavement level within the enclosed area. This complex is located to the west of the temple of Apollo Carnaeus, from which it is separated by the main road.
The graffito is orthograde (to be read from bottom to top).
Letters of the archaic alphabet of Thera: epsilon: vertical line pointing downwards, oblique bars; koppa: with extension of the vertical stroke within the bowl; omicron: smaller than the other letters; rho: rounded bowl; san: for sibilants.
Encoded following the latest EpiDoc guidelines
Taxonomies for ThERA controlled values
ThERA anthroponyms authority list
ThERA theonyms authority list
Julian Calendar
Hiller, along with other scholars, believed that the inscription referenced Δεύτερος, meaning "second," and possibly connected it with the Idaean Dactyls, a group associated with divine craftsmanship. Other interpretations (Cook) have considered this to mean "reborn" and to be an epithet related to Koures, "the youthful Zeus," reflecting a younger aspect of the god. These interpretations rely on the assumption that the writer made a mistake, writing Δεϙτερος instead of Δεύτερος. However, if we assume the inscription is correct, an alternative interpretation could be Δεκτῆρος, the genitive of Δεκτήρ. Inglese (2008, p. 156) hypothesizes that this term could refer to a generic epithet or one associated with Hades. These interpretations remain speculative and open to debate due to the fragmentary nature of the inscription.