CGRN 72

Small sacrificial regulation for Apollo at Athens

Date :

end of 3rd century BC

Justification: lettering (Curbera).

Provenance

Athens . Found on the southern slope of the Acropolis. The stone has been connected to CGRN 133, found close to this inscription and seemingly bearing a similar or identical text.

Support

Rectangular altar of Pentelic marble, damaged on the upper side.

  • Height: 57 cm
  • Width: 65 cm
  • Depth: unknown

Layout

Letters: 0.13 cm high.

Bibliography

Edition here based on Kirchner IG II² 4987. See now Curbera IG II³ 4, 1748.

Other edition: IG II 1666.

Cf. also: Ziehen LGS II 22; Sokolowski LSCG 25a.

Further bibiography: Stengel 1910: 222-233; Kearns 2011.

Text


[Ἀπόλλωνος Πυθ]ίο.
vacat
[θύειν? τ]ρεῖς ἑβδόμους βοῦς.

Translation

(Altar) of [Apollo Pyth]ios. [Sacrifice] three crescent-shaped cakes.

Traduction

(Autel) d'[Apollon Pyth]ios. [Sacrifier] trois gâteaux en forme de croissant.

Commentary

This 4th- or 3rd-century altar is part of a group of mostly short inscriptions (cf. e.g. CGRN 53 and CGRN 54) found in Piraeus and in or near the city Asklepieion of Athens, prescribing the (preliminary) offering of cakes to various divinities. The name of the deity [Ἀπόλλωνος Πυθ]ίο may be restored on a comparative basis with the equally fragmentary CGRN 133, found close to this inscription and seemingly bearing a similar or identical text. An alternative solution is Ziehen's Ἡλίο.

Line 3: ἑβδόμους βοῦς. This was a cake shaped like the crescent of the new moon as well as the horns of an ox. Consult LSJ s.v. βοῦς ΙV, citing Hsch. s.v. (Clidemus fr. 16), Ziehen, p. 77 and Stengel. Suda s.v. suggests that cakes could be shaped in the form of animals such as oxen, but perhaps only the horns are meant. Such offerings were brought to Apollo, who was born on the 7th (cf. his cult epithet Ἑβδομαῖος at LSAM 26, Erythrai), as well as to Artemis, Hekate and Selene (Pollux 6.76). While the connection of this type of cake with Apollo and Selene seems clear, the link with Artemis and Hecate would require further explanation (cf. Kearns). Moreover, cp. CGRN 73 (Halimous) where the goddess honoured with such cakes is Hestia, and on Samos, Kourotrophos and Hermes (CGRN 87). The connection with 'lunar' goddesses may be variably present or absent because of the polyvalence of the crescent shape (moon and ox's horn). If the restoration is correct, perhaps the use of θύειν (by contrast to some of the mentioned parallel regulations, where no verb is used) implies that the cakes should be burnt in this case.

Publication

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike International License 4.0 .

All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain somewhere a link back to the DOI (https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN72), as well as the year of consultation (see “Home” for details on how to cite or click “Export Citation” to create a reference for this specific file).

Authors

  • Jan-Mathieu Carbon
  • Saskia Peels
  • Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge

How To Cite

Brief citation of the Greek text : CGRN 72, lines x-x.

Reference to the file as a critical study of the inscription : Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Saskia Peels et Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, "CGRN 72: Small sacrificial regulation for Apollo at Athens", in Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN), 2017-, consulted on April 25, 2024. URL: http://cgrn.philo.ulg.ac.be/file/72/; DOI: https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN72.

Full citation of the CGRN in a list of abbreviations or a bibliography is the following : Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Saskia Peels-Matthey, Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN), 2017-, consulted on April 25, 2024. URL: http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be; DOI: https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN0. 

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                        <p><placeName type="ancientFindspot" key="Athens" n="Attica"><ref target="http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/579885" type="external">Athens</ref></placeName>. Found on the southern slope of the Acropolis. The stone has been connected to <ref target="http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/CGRN_133">CGRN 133</ref>, found close to this inscription and seemingly bearing a similar or identical text.</p>
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                <p> Edition here based on Kirchner <bibl type="abbr" n="IG II²">IG II²</bibl> 4987. See now Curbera <bibl type="abbr" n="IG  II³">IG II³</bibl> 4, 1748.</p>
                <p> Other edition:
                    <bibl type="abbr" n="IG II">IG II</bibl> 1666.</p>
                <p> Cf. also:
                    Ziehen <bibl type="abbr" n="LGS II">LGS II</bibl> 22; 
                    Sokolowski <bibl type="abbr" n="LSCG">LSCG</bibl> 25a.
                </p>
                <p> Further bibiography:  <bibl type="author_date" n="Stengel 1910">Stengel 1910</bibl>: 222-233; <bibl type="author_date" n="Kearns 2011">Kearns 2011</bibl>.
               
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                    <lb xml:id="line_1" n="1"/> <name type="deity" key="Apollo"><w lemma="Ἀπόλλων"><supplied reason="lost">Ἀπόλλωνος</supplied></w></name> <name type="epithet" key="Pythios"><w lemma="Πύθιος"><supplied reason="lost">Πυθ</supplied>ίο</w></name>.
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                    <lb xml:id="line_3" n="3"/> <name type="sacrifice"><w lemma="θύω"><supplied reason="lost">θύειν?</supplied></w></name> <w lemma="τρεῖς"><supplied reason="lost">τ</supplied>ρεῖς</w> <name type="bakery"><w lemma="ἕβδομος">ἑβδόμους</w> <w lemma="βοῦς">βοῦς</w></name>.
                    
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                <p>
                    (Altar) of [Apollo Pyth]ios. [Sacrifice] three crescent-shaped cakes.
                </p>
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                <p>
                    (Autel) d'[Apollon Pyth]ios. [Sacrifier] trois gâteaux en forme de croissant.
                </p>
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<p>This 4th- or 3rd-century altar is part of a group of mostly short inscriptions (cf. e.g. <ref target="http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/CGRN_53">CGRN 53</ref> and <ref target="http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/CGRN_54">CGRN 54</ref>) found in Piraeus and in or near the city Asklepieion of Athens, prescribing the (preliminary) offering of cakes to various divinities. The name of the deity [Ἀπόλλωνος Πυθ]ίο may be restored on a comparative basis with the equally fragmentary <ref target="http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/CGRN_133">CGRN 133</ref>, found close to this inscription and seemingly bearing a similar or identical text. An alternative solution is Ziehen's Ἡλίο.</p>   
                
<p> Line 3: ἑβδόμους βοῦς. This was a cake shaped like the crescent of the new moon as well as the horns of an ox. Consult <bibl type="abbr" n="LSJ">LSJ</bibl> s.v. βοῦς ΙV, citing Hsch. s.v. (Clidemus fr. 16), Ziehen, p. 77 and Stengel. <title>Suda</title> s.v. suggests that cakes could be shaped in the form of animals such as oxen, but perhaps only the horns are meant. Such offerings were brought to Apollo, who was born on the 7th (cf. his cult epithet Ἑβδομαῖος at <bibl type="abbr" n="LSAM">LSAM</bibl> 26, Erythrai), as well as to Artemis, Hekate and Selene (Pollux 6.76). While the connection of this type of cake with Apollo and Selene seems clear, the link with Artemis and Hecate would require further explanation (cf. Kearns). Moreover, cp. <ref target="http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/CGRN_73">CGRN 73</ref> (Halimous) where the goddess honoured with such cakes is Hestia, and on Samos, Kourotrophos and Hermes (<ref target="http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/CGRN_87">CGRN 87</ref>). The connection with 'lunar' goddesses may be variably present or absent because of the polyvalence of the crescent shape (moon and ox's horn). If the restoration is correct, perhaps the use of θύειν (by contrast to some of the mentioned parallel regulations, where no verb is used) implies that the cakes should be burnt in this case.
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