Published Lydian Marble Memorial Stele for Tyrannos

Culture: Greek/Lydia

Period: 28 May 42 A.D.

Material: Marble

Dimensions: 97 cm high

Price: 12 000 Euro

Ref: 2673

Provenance: German collection of the lawyer Ernst-Ulrich Walter (1919-2013), acquired between 1963 and 1986. Exhibited until 2013 at the „Schatzhaus in der Lausitz. Museum für Morgenlandfahrer“, Göda, Saxony.

Condition: A small section at the rear of the lower left corner has been reattached. Otherwise unrestored, with ancient chips as visible in the photo.

Description: Large marble stele with pediment and corner acroteria from northeastern Lydia, dating to the Roman period, on which a family commemorates their relative named Tyrannos. The rectangular slab bears a fourteen-line Greek inscription. Beneath the first three lines is a large laurel wreath with ribbons, signifying the deceased's high status. The translation of the inscription as follows: “In the year 126, on the 5th day of the month Panemos: Arkesilaos paid the (last) honours to his foster father Tyran(n)os, Kall(l)iste to her husband, Tyran(n)os to his father, Tyran(n)is and Horiche to their father, Artemas and Rhodon to their father-in-law, Philokalos to his brother and (all) the relatives.” The year 126 corresponds, according to the Sullan era, to 41/42 A.D., while the recorded day, according to the calendar of the Roman province of Asia, corresponds to 28 May 42 A.D. in the modern calendar. Particularly noteworthy is that the foster son Arkesilaos is mentioned first, even before the wife and the biological children. He was therefore most probably the direct dedicator of the stele. The object is published in: Georg Petzl „Neue Inschriften aus Lydien (V)“, in: Epigraphica Anatolica 38, Bonn 2005, p. 22-23. Mounted on a metal stand.