Ancient Greek Inscriptions

from Bulgaria

Klada Bg

Altar for Zeus

Monument Tlmn3_0007
Editor(s)
Nicolay Sharankov.
Type of monument
altar
Material
limestone
Find place
Found in 1988, during the excavations of the Late antique thermae inDeultum
Origin
Deultum
Observed in
Institution and inventory
Dimensions
height 55.5 cm, width 30 cm, depth 26 cm
Letter size
height 4 cm
Layout description
Altar, moulded above and below on all four sides. Width and depth at the upper moulding - 28 x 24 cm; at the body - 22.5 x 17.5 cm. Depression on top, 19 x 14 cm and 1.5 cm deep. Inscription on the front surface of the body which measures 21 x 22.5 cm. Incised guidelines for the text.
Decoration description
Text
Category of inscription
dedication
Date
II c. AD, probably the second half
Dating criteria
lettering
Images
Text

Διός.

ΔΙOΣ
(Altar) of Zeus.
⤦ n: 1

tag: lb
Διός

type: divine
ref: Zeus
tag: persName
.

tag: #text
Apparatus
Commentary

The inscription on the altar gives the name of the deity, to whom it was dedicated, in the genitive. The altar apparently stood in a public place and the inscription served to indicate its use. When the Roman colony of Deultum was founded in the early 70s AD, its language was Latin. However, in the course of the second century AD, Latin was gradually replaced by Greek, as evident in this dedication to the main Roman deity Jupiter/Zeus.

Bibliography
Sharankov, Nicolay. The inscriptions of the Roman colony of Deultum in Thrace. In: Archaeologia Bulgarica Vol. 21/3, 2017, p. 37-64, Vol.. 50, № B3, .

текуща версия 1 / 2024-08-01