The inscription is places near the Gymnasium of the Ephebes, in the area where erotic graffiti are concentrated, on the same rock surface as inscription no. 540. Hiller noted the presence of a wall at the lower part of the rock, which evidently covered the left section of the inscription until it was exposed following the collapse of the wall.
The inscription is orthograde.
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Julian Calendar
Thus it was established: Zeus (is guarantor).
It is likely that the inscription represents a formula. The term should be interpreted as ἄραρη, a pluperfect form of ἀραρίσκω, corresponding to the Homeric ἠρήρει (with augment, Il. X.265) or ἀρήρει (without epsilon, Il. XII.265). Given that the perfect tense, particularly in Attic, often conveys the meaning of "is fixed," the formula in this case may have meant "thus it was fixed." Regarding Δας, one could hypothesize that it represents a form of Ζεύς, who would be the guarantor of the pact expressed by ἄραρη. However, this interpretation is problematic for several reasons: (1) the substitution of delta for zeta is attested (especially in Boeotia, Thessaly, and Laconia) but not in Thera; (2) even if we hypothesize the substitution delta/zeta the only known occurrence of Zas is in Pherecydes of Syros (fr. 1 D‑K); (3) in Thera we find only the forms Ζεύς, Ζηύς, and later Ζηνός—never with delta or alpha.