PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene Georg Petzl and Hasan Malay Reinhold Merkelbach septuagenario W E PUBLISH HERE a Greek inscription, probably of the second half of the second century or the first half of the third, pre­ served in the museum of Manisa. It is reported to come from "the region of Kula." The corpus of inscriptions from this area was published in 1981 by P. Herrmann. 1 Since then much new epi­ graphical evidence has been published,2 to which the following item is a further addition. The inscription is a dedication, and the detailed story it tells shows that it is to be classified with the confession or propitiatory inscrip­ tions. The great majority of these originate from the same area in which the new text is reported to have been found, Maeonia, the 'Katakekaumene'; other confession-texts have been found elsewhere, especially in the Phrygian sanctuary of Apollo Lairbenos (MAMA IV 279-90). Their chronological range extends from the early second century A.D. to the third quarter of the third. 3 Since there is great variety in the causes given for divine wrath, in how punishment came about, and in how the gods were placated, the following is only a rough outline of the usual pattern. A person is stricken with misfortune and somehow finds out, or is informed by the god or the god's messenger, that the cause is a sin, some offense 1 TAM V.l, "Tituli Lydiae ... regio septentrionalis ad orientem vergens." There is increasing evidence for the mixed Lydian, Phrygian, and Mysian character of the population in the northeastern area, covered by this corpus. We shall not address the appropriate nomenclature for this part of Asia Minor (northeast Lydia or southern Mysia Abbaitis); a bibliography on this problem is found in Herrmann, AnzWien 122 (1985) 249f. 2 See Herrmann (supra n.l) 250 n.4. Add G. Manganaro, ZPE 61 (1985) 199-203; H. Malay and G. Petzl, EpigrAnat 6 (1985) 55-68; N. Tanyeri, EpigrAnat 6 (1985) 79-81; G. Celgin and H. Malay, EpigrAnat 7 (1986) 103-05. 3 According to the dated documents: TAMV.l 317 (A.D. 114/5); L. Robert, ReB 107 (1983) 516 (SEG XXXIII 1013: year 348 of the Sullan era = 263/4, erroneously put one year earlier by the editors). 459 PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 460 A NEW CONFESSION INSCRIPTION which he or she has committed. To be released from his adversity, the sinner must do away with the offense against the god, must propitiate him; and the only way to do this is by erecting a stele inscribed with a confession of the wrongdoing. Many of these stelae conclude by calling on the reader to acknowledge the power of the god and not to slight him. A careful investigation of this category of inscriptions, with a con­ sideration of their place in the history of religion, was published by F. Steinleitner in 1913.4 Despite a remarkable increase of material and of scholarly discussion since then,5 Steinleitner's remains the basic study. An up-to-date revision or replacement is desirable, but would be premature before the appearance of some important texts still awaiting publication. The present paper is meant as a contribution towards that task. Stele of white marble, height 1.03 m., width 0.51 (top) to 0.54 (bot­ tom), thickness 0.065; letter height 0.015 to 0.017. At top center, representation of a crescent moon. Said to come from the area of Kula; now in the Archaeological Museum at Manisa (inv. 5414). PLATE 3. M"1VI. ' ApT€P.LOWpOV ' A,LOT"1VCiJ vacat of three lines ~, <3' " , L.VVTVX"1 - €oy€vov' €VPOVTOS av- ~ <3' ~,~, "6' , T"1S - €oy€VOV TOV avupos I\L apLOV va- '6 9 , ,,..,, ,..." 4 KLV LOV, UTa KUP.€VOV aVTOV €V TTl OLKL~ '~',,' '''6' ,?'" aVT"1S (Kl\a7r"1 TO I\L apLOV, KaL ':."1TOVcr"1s aVTijs Kal. {3acraVL(op.EV"1S E7r€V,aTO M "AC ~" ~ t' " "1VL .,;LOTT"1V,!> 7r€PL aVTOV Lva aVT"1V 8 ' , "'6 ' LKaV07rO"1crL, KaL €VP€ "1 KaTaK€Kavp.€VOV , 'A. ' ,~, '" KaL "1",avLcrp.€VOV, €Vu€P.€VOV €V I\LVOV- ~, " ~", 6" , uL'!> V7rO TOV KI\€7rTOV T€ €LP.€VOV €7rL " '" " '" ' " t' TOV T07rOV, OV €KUTO OI\OKI\"1POV' OVTWS 12 'A." 0" ~ , T€ €7rL",aVUS 0 €OS €V P.L~ KaL TpLaKocr- Tn T~V KAEo/acra( V) Kal. TOVTO 7rv~cracra( V) , A 7r{av rAVKWVOS o~crav 7rap6EVOv aLEP"1f.€· 7rfPLVpovcr1Js T( aVTfjs T~V ovvap.Lv TOV 16 OfOV OLa TO ~pwTijcr6aL V7rO TijS p."1TPOs 4 Die Beicht im Zusammenhange mit der sakralen Rechtspjlege in der Antike (Leip­ zig 1913). 5 See the references at Herrmann (supra n.l) 251 n.5; cf 258, "mir sind einschliess­ lich der unedierten (sc. einschlagigen Texte) fiber 80 Exemplare bekannt, wahrend Steinleitner ... fiber 21 verffigte." Manganaro (supra n.2) and Malay/Petzl (supra n.2) 60-64 nos. 4-5, provide three more. PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 PETZL AND MALAY PLATE 1 Confession-Inscription from Maeonia PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 GEORG PETZL AND HASAN MALAY ~ 8 f t.I I '~8\ ~ T1]S 7Tap EVOV, tva UELY1]Ut, Kat 0 EOS TOV- ')' (f"'C ,.,.. I TO EVEP.EUT/UE, OTt OVK E..,E't'aVTEV- , ~ \ (/.1. \ 8 \ • 'r' I ~ I UE OVuE V'f'WUE TOV EOV 1] LoVVTvxr/, utO- 20 " ,\, \ I • H "I T~ E7TOtT/UEV aVT1]v E7Tt TEKVOV paKI\EL- ~ '),... , I ') \, I .,,.., uOV ETWV ty VEP.Eutv E7Tt TOV T07TOV aVTOV ,.. tI ''''''8' ""'" ')' UTT/uat, OTt TO TWV ~~ pW7TWV p.aAI\OV E7TO- " "() " ~ "A ' T/UEV T/ TOV EOV. V Lo~~TVXT/ 7ToAAwVtov 24 8vyaTT/p Kal. MEAT{V1]S ~ ~poYEypacpov- \ I ua T1]V VEP.EUtV. 2-3: the stone has dots before 8£oy£vov in both lines and before £VpOVTO<;. 13: KAE'It A~A, nYH~A~A- lapis. 15: nEPIKIYPOY~H~ lapis. 19-20: the stone seems to have ~Io/n. Syntyche, (wife) of Theogenes, (made this dedication) to Men Ar­ temidorou Axiot(t)enos. After her husband Theogenes had found a hyacinth stone, then (later) while it was lying in her house the stone was stolen, and when she was searching for it and being interrogated she prayed to Men Axiottenos to help her to satisfaction in regard to it; and it was found burned and disfigured, wrapped in a linen shirt, put by the thief in the place where it was lying when (still) undamaged. And so the god, having appeared [i.e. shown his power] on the thirty-first day, destroyed Glycon's daughter Apphia, who was (still) a girl, who had committed the theft and done this. And because she [i.e. Syn­ tyche] slighted (?) the god's power, since she had been asked by the girl's mother to keep silent, the god also became angry at this, (namely) because Syntyche did not make known and exalt the god. Therefore he made her set up the (report of the) punishment at his place at the time when (her) child Heracleides was thirteen years old, because she acted in men's interest rather than in that of the god. It is Syntyche, the daughter of Apollonius and Meltine, who has brought to public knowledge the punishment. 461 The text consists of two main parts. The first (2-14) gives an ac­ count of how Men Axiottenos successfully brought about the solution of a case of theft; he was asked to do so by Syntyche, who found herself under suspicion of having stolen a precious stone. The god made the true thief, a girl, return the object and then probably put her to death as punishment. The second part (15-23) focusses on a religious wrong of which Syntyche made herself guilty: influenced by a request of the thiefs mother, she kept silent. The allusive description of events makes a full reconstruction impossible. The mother perhaps hoped that no one would notice the connection between Apphia's death and the theft and therefore asked Syntyche not to reveal that the daughter had suffered for a crime. At any rate, the god, feeling de­ prived of his deserved glorification, became angry with Syntyche; in PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 462 A NEW CONFESSION INSCRIPTION order to placate him she had to set up not only a report of his detection of the thief but also of his VEI'f(1'L~, that is, of how his wrath was stirred up. We are not told how this was manifested, but the unexpected mention of Syntyche's thirteen-year-old son might suggest that he was threatened. 1: The stele is dedicated to M~v (or M£{~)6 ' ApTEI',aOOpOV ' A,'OT(T)"1- vo~. Set apart from the rest of the text, the name of the god is given as a heading; it frames the representation of a crescent moon carved in relief in the middle of this line. The letters are smaller than in the following lines and less deeply cut; yet there seems to be no evidence of an attempted deletion. The testimonies for the worship of Men Axiottenos come from 'northeast Lydia', mainly the area around Golde (Collyda). Herrmann has demonstrated that the ethnic 'A"OTT"1VO~ derives from the topo­ nym 'A"oTTa; M~v 'A"OTT"1VO~ may have been the ruler and patron of this place.7 The addition 'ApT£I',aWpOV may suggest that Men's cult in Axiotta went back to a foundation made by a certain Artemidorus. This interpretation is not certain, however: most inscriptions offer simply Men Axiottenos, without 'ApT£I',aWpOV;8 moreover, M~v 'Ap­ T£I',aWpOV and M~v C ApTEI',aWpOv) 'A"OTT"1VO~ are also mentioned as holding other places than Axiotta.9 And we find Men Axiottenos fol­ lowed by £K and persons other than Artemidorus;lo like the latter, these persons may have been recognized as founders of local sanctu­ aries of Men or as initiators of cults maintained by families or associa­ tions. 11 6 For instances of the nominative M(f)l5' rather than M~II see J. Keil and A. von Premerstein, Bericht aber eine zweite Reise in Lydien (=DenkschrWien 54 [1911]) 103. In inscriptions containing only oblique cases one cannot say which nominative form is implied; for the sake of simplicity we shall use M~II in such instances. 7 See P. Herrmann, "Men, Herr von Axiotta," in Studien zur Religion und Kultur Kleinasiens I (=EPRO 66.1 [1978]) 415-23, TAM V.l 525 with commentary, 526 (instances of M~II/M'L5' • APTf/JoLOWPOV • A,LoTTa ICaT£XItlIl). For another possible mention of Men Artemidorou, without local specification, see P. Herrmann and E. Varinli­ ogIu, EpigrAnat 3 (1984) 16 n.60. 8 Also simply Axiottenos, cf TAM V.I p.283 s.v.; new instances have since been published. 9 TAM V.l 460.9f, M~lIa • APTf/JoLOWPOV • A,LOTT71l1bll KopfCTa ICaT£xoIITa; 461.1-5, M~T"'1[P Ta'71]I1~ ICat Mt5' Aa{jalla5' IC[at] MtS' • APTf/JoLOWPOV Aopov ICW/Jo7111 {jaCTLAfVOIITfS'. Without • APTf/JoLOWPOV: 159, MftS' • A,LOTT71I10S' TapCTL {jaCTLAfVItlIl; in an unpublished propitiatory inscription, M7J11L • A,LoTT'1IIC!> nEpICOII {jaCTLAfvolITa (sic; A.D. 238/9). 10 TAM V.I 253, M71I1L • A,LOTT71I1C!> f, • A"lTOAAltllllov; 344, M71I1L 'A,LETT71I1C!> fIC • E"lTL­ ICpaTov, cf 345; 343, [' A],LOT71I1ii> f' • E"lTLlCp[a]Tov. Cf 254, Mijlla f)' ALOOOTOV; cf G. Petzl, ZPE 30 (1978) 251 n.15 (the testimony for' Allanns- f)' M7]TPW quoted there as unpublished has since been edited by H. W. Pleket, Talanta 10-11 [1978/9] 88-90 no. 13 [SEG XXIX 1174]). 11 KeiVvon Premerstein (supra n.6) p.l04; see Herrmann (supra n.7) 421-23 for a PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 GEORG PETZL AND HASAN MALAY 463 The new inscription can perhaps help to answer the question about the relation between the appellations M~v ' Apn:p.tawpov ' AttOTT7JVOS and M~v ' A6oTT7JVOS. When Syntyche finds herself under suspicion of theft, she prays to M~v ' AfLOTT7JVOS (7) that he prove her innocence. In what follows (12, 15f, 17, 19,23) he is referred to as 0 {lEos, and it is said that he made Syntyche dedicate to him the present stele with the report of the punishment (20-22, c/ 17f, 24f). Since line 1 names M.qv , Apn:p.tawpov 'AttOT(T)7JVOS as recipient of the dedication, it is clear that M~v 'Apn:p.tawpov 'A6oT(T)7JVOS and M~v ' A6oTT7JVOS are desig­ nations for one and the same god, the latter being an abbreviated form. Therefore the shortened rendering of the god's title is a possi­ bility to be reckoned with in inscriptions giving only M~v ' AftOTT7JVOS or ' AftOTT7JVOS. But it would certainly be rash to take this for granted in every instance. 12 2-3: The usage LVVTVX7J E>£oy£vov, SC. yvv~ rather than 8vyaT7Jp, is the less common. i3 The names ofSyntyche's parents are given in lines 23f. E>£oy£vov: s-stem nouns in -7JS often follow the first instead of the third declension. 2-14, the report of the theft and recovery of a valuable stone (At8aptov vaKLv{hov): the thief-a girl-is convicted and punished by Men Axiottenos, to whom Syntyche had made appeal when suspected herself. A fair number of Maeonian propitiatory inscriptions attest to divine punishment for theft or illicit appropriation of property. In Tarsi, a place belonging to Saittai, the god M£ls 'AfLOTT7JVbS Tapijua, Ta!; llvvap.Et!;. In his commentary on the first edition P. Herrmann, Ergebnisse einer Reise in Nordostlydien (=Denksehr Wien 80 [1962]) 31, wrote: "der Gott befiehlt dem Kleiderdieb ll,' aV}'fAov, das KleidungsstOck zu verkaufen und-offenbar doch von dem dabei erzielten Erlos-die Stele mit der Darstellung der avvap.Et!; des Gottes zu errichten." One might, however, suggest that the god ordered his clergy to sell the shirt and thus finance the stele for his glory. It is even possible that it was the victim himself to whom the god's messenger gave the command. In TAM V.l 257 the wife of a certain Agathon from whom money had been stolen-and not the thief-dedicates a stele to Meter Aliane in return for its recovery. Usually, however, the sinner or his relatives see to the dedication. 17 This assumption is based on the smaller of the two reliefs: Herrmann (supra n.16) 30, "stehende Figur (Knabe?) mit erhobenen minden" (photograph pI. VIII.2), cf 31, "Sicher ist (der Tater) in dem kleineren Relief ... dargestellt, und man kann danach ann ehmen, dass er noch ein Knabe gewesen ist." The larger relief shows the god with his sceptre and the stolen Lp.anov (ef E. N. Lane, Corpus monumentorum religion is dei Menis I [=EPRO 19.1 (1971)] no. 69 with pI. XXIX; Robert [supra n.3] 519). 18 7rap8fVO!; (14, 17); ef TAM V.l 596, M7ITpolloopo!; rAVKooVO!; 7ra,ll{ov wv aKovu{oo!; KaTEa{a!; uT7IAAap'OV Tij!; 8EOl! E7rENT7IUE avauTa8ijva, lJ7rO aUTOl! llAAo (ef n.21 infra). 19 TAMV.l 257, dedication to Meter Aliane tJ7rf:p TOl! KAa7rfVTO!; aP}'vp{ov (a7lvap{oov) v'/3' ••. KaL EVPE8fVTO!; 7rapa Kp~uKEvn KTA. (ef in the present text 5 EKAa7r7l, 8 EVP(871); further instances at 440, 443, 510, 525. 20 TAM V.l 231, two orphan children victims of EVLooV av8pw7roov ••• apovToov £v}'pa- 4>a KaL fTEpa Et'a71 EK Tij!; OLKLa!; aVrwv Aa8paLoo!;. arpoo is used similarly in 362, a curse against TOV /3E/3A7IKOTa TO 7r[,]vaKLa,OV Kat ~pKOTa Kat UVUTopa (i.e. probably UVvLuTopa) Tii a7rOAEL~. Too little is preserved of the propitiatory inscription 180 to clarify the exact meaning of the words E7rE,a~ ap8[fv]TooV P.OV 07rAapLoo[v v]7rO ' AvllpoVELKOV E[LP7l]vapxov. See also n.29 infra. 21 TAM V.l 317. Here again (cf supra nn.17f) a child-even if only indirectly-is involved in a crime; probably he is identical with TO TfKVOV mentioned at the end of the inscription (line 21) as participating at the propitiation and eulogy of Anaitis. Cf J. Zingerle, Jahresheft 23 Beibl. (1926) 5-16 no. 1, with n.3. PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 GEORG PETZL AND HASAN MALAY 465 entrusted with the investigation. As Hermogenes and Apollonius per­ sist in their denial, the latter is put to death; finally his relatives arrange to placate the divinity. 3-4: The theft that occasioned the present affair had as object a AL­ OapLov va/{{vOLoV, probably a gem of hyacinth stone or else a small stone whose color was that of a hyacinth stone. According to Pliny this stone resembled the amethyst in some ways, though more watery in its violet color.22 Elsewhere its color is compared to the water of the sea as it appears near the coast in a shallow place.23 This is not what we now call the precious 'hyacinth'; it has been supposed rather that in antiquity the term designated a subspecies of amethyst24 or a bluish aquamarine25 or else a blue corundum (sapphire).26 The At8apLov of our text probably had this characteristic violet or bluish color, or was of the species of stone described by Pliny. The adjective va/{lvOLo~ in this context is not elsewhere attested; its mean­ ing here is 'consisting of /belonging to the hyacinth-stone'. 27 Appar­ ently the words A{OoL va/{{vOLvOL in a papyrus of the fifth century are to be understood in a similar way.28 22 HN 37.125: multum ab hac (sc. amethysto) distat hyacinthos, ab vicino tamen colore descendens. differentia haec est, quod ille emicans in amethysto julgor violaceus diluitur hyacintho; cf 37.122; Isid. Etym. 16.9.3, hic in Aethiopia invenitur, caeruleum eolorem habens. 23 Heliod. Aeth. 2.30, (valClv8ol) a7f(p.lp.oVVTO xpolav aICT* 8aAaTTLas 1m' aYX1fJa8(1. UlCo7fEA'!l fA.lICPOV V7fOt/>PITTOVUT/S lCal. TO V7fOIC(LP.(VOV ta(oVUT/s. 24 "Abart des Amethyst," H. Bhimner, Teehnologie und Terminologie der Gewerbe und Kunste III (Leipzig 1884) 252, with references to further testimonia. 2S A. Furtwangler, Die antiken Gemmen III (Leipzig/Berlin 1900) 393 with n.2, where he rejects the identification with the sapphire put forth by C. W. King, The Natural History (London 1865) 199. 26 D. E. Eichholz in the Loeb Pliny NH (X 266). On the magical effect of the A180s vClICIv80s worn in a ring see Socrates and Dionysius TI(P' A{8wv 27 (R. Halleux and J. Schamp, Les lapidaires grecs [Paris 1985] 166; we are indebted for this reference to E. Livrea, Florence), reporting that a ring-stone of this sort is usually engraved TIou(lowv (XWV oEAt/>'i:va Tii> OE~Iii> 7fOOl. lCal. TpLa,vav Til OE~I~ XElPl. For gems of hyacinth-stone cf Anth.Gr. 9.751; Dessau, /LS 4422; cf n.28 infra. 27 For the ending, expressing belonging or relation to, see E. Schwyzer, Gr. Gram. P (1959) 466. In our inscription vaIClv8LoS may well stand for an (unattested) vaICLv8ELOS; for this ending, indicating 'consisting of', see Schwyzer 467f. M. Leumann postulated a Greek VaICIV8ELos on the basis of Latin hyacintheus, attested in Venant. Fort. (Carm. 8.3.270, 8.4.20): see TLL VI 3126 s. v. 28 PSI III 183.5, with Preisigke, Berichtigungsliste I 392 ('hyazinthenfarbig', Prei­ sigke, Worterbuch s. v.). At Candace's court wine is offered to Alexander (V 7fOTTJPLOLS up.apal'0lvOLS lCal. vaICLv8LvOLS (Ps.-Callis. Hist.Alex.Magn. rec. A, ed. H. van Thiel [Bonn 1959] 63.21, cf 63.33; we owe this reference to an Ibycus word-search of the TLG records kindly made by David Packard). See also Aponius Comm. Cant. Cant. 8 (Bottino/Martini 159), animas . . . quas velut hyacinthinas gemmas Christus offert patri; Passio Thomae p.142.2 Bonnet, tota fabrica (sc. palatii caelestis) ex lapidibus zmaragdinis et iacintinis (iacinetis Q, iacinctinis R) ... instrueta est (ef TLL VI 3126.25-29). PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 466 A NEW CONFESSION INSCRIPTION 4-6: Syntyche's husband Theogenes had found the gem; later it was lying "in her house" and was stolen. She tried to recover it and found herself exposed to questioning. Although the verb fJauavi(w does not necessarily refer to torture, Syntyche's appeal to the god seems to point to painful trialS.29 The present participles (1JTOVU1Js and fJaua­ v,(op.EV1JS show that searching and interrogation occupied some length of time. Syntyche's house is mentioned explicitly (EV Tn ollCiC!- aVTfjs). Therefore Theogenes' precious find was kept either in a house owned by his wife, or we must assume that ollCia aVTfjs is equivalent to yv­ VaLKWV&TtS, Syntyche's own apartment. 30 6-8: In her distress Syntyche has recourse to Men Axiottenos and asks him to prove her innocence and to rehabilitate her: E7TfvcaTo ..• 7TfPl. aVTOl) (sc. TOl) AL8apiov) Yva 31 aVT~v LKavo7To~u, (i.e. -un). Some in­ scriptions of this sort mention the transfer of the investigation to the gods. So for instance in the "sombre histoire villageoise" 32 in which a certain Tatias, suspected by all of having given her son-in-law Iucun­ dus a fj>app.alCov that drove him out of his mind, set up a sceptre33 and deposited curses in the temple in order to clear herself:34 ~ aE TanaS' E7TEUT1JUfV UKfj7TTPOV Kal. apas l81JlCfV EV Tip vaip WS' LKavo7ToLovua 7TfPl. TOV 7Tfcp1Jp.lu8aL aVT~V. 35 One could also entrust the god with the investigation of a case by 'giving the 7TtTTaICLov' 36 or by ceding a claim to the god. 37 To call down a curse upon someone likewise meant to transfer him to the jurisdic- 29 This is the most common use of /3auavl(oo, to 'examine to find out the truth', e.g. Thuc. 7.86.4, 8.92.2; cf Preisigke s. v. In P.Oxy. VI 903 (c. IV) a man is accused by his wife of having tried by means of torture (p.aunyoVJ.l.fIlO') to learn from the slaves T[ ~PlCfll (sc. the wife) £IC Tfis oLlClas /Ao0V ... /3auall'(0J.l.fVO' or,v fl'lTall Hn OVaEV TWV uwv ~plCfV ICTA. 30 Cf Lys. 1.9, OLlCla,ov fun /Ao0' a''lTAOVV, rua fxoll Ta CJ.VOO TO'S lCaTOO lCaTa T1,1I yvva,- ICOOII,nv lCa, lCaTa T1,V avapOOv'nv. 31 For E'lTfVXfU8a, with tva instead of the infinitive see Blass/Debrunner 240 §392.Ic. 32 So Robert (supra n.3) 518. n See supra n.I4. 34 WS {lCaVO'lTO,ovua, rendered by Zingerle (supra n.2I) 17 "um ... sich Genugtuung zu verschaffen," adding (23) "mit vulgarer Genusvermengung das Aktivum statt des vom Sinne geforderten Mediums"; by LSJ Suppl. "defend oneself against an imputa­ tion"; see Herrmann ad TAM V.I 318.11. As in our inscription Men Axiottenos helps Syntyche, God occurs in a Christian context as {lCalloMTl1S: in his will the testator Fl. Phoebammon promises the person who is to care for his orphaned sons, lCavTos 0 {lCalloMTl1[S] 8EOS aVT' TWII 'lTOIlOOV [TOVTOOV] aJ.l.fl"'TJTa, aVTi!J 'lTAovul~ xnpl (P.Cair.Masp. II 67151.255, A.D. 570). An unpublished confession inscription contains: MTJvo4'lAa ~ 8 ~, t. ' , \ t 8~' , ... TO'S EO'S fVEv,,;aJ.l.fVTJ 'S TO nlCavo'lT0TJ l1va, aVTl1v. 3S TAM V.l 318; in this instance, Tatias happened to tum the divine wrath upon herself and her son. 36 'IT'TTalC'ov {iOOICEV, TAM V.I 25I.6f with Herrmann's commentary; cf Steinleitner (supra n.4) 100-05. 37 'lTapEXWPTJUEV Tn 8fi!J, TAM V.I 440.lOf with Herrmann's commentary. PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 GEORG PETZL AND HASAN MALAY 467 tion of the god.38 Thus Rhodia made a dedication to Meter Aliane because money stolen from her husband was recovered.39 She presum­ ably had acted just as Syntyche does here: she had handed over the investigation to the goddess, who proved successful and therefore received the stele. 8-11: The inscription goes on to report that the gem was found wrapped in a linen shirt,40 put back by the thief41 in the same place it had been before.42 Yet it proved to be no longer 'whole, undamaged' (oA6KA1JPOV, 11),43 but disfigured by fire. ~av~s seems to be attested also in a very fragmentary confession inscription from Ayazviran.48 Apphia seems to have atoned for the wrongdoing with her life: the god smashed her, OtEP7JtE. 49 Describing how Herac1es killed Busiris, Dio Chrysostom writes TDV Of BOVCTLPW .•. OtEPP7JtEV E7r' T~V yijv KaTa­ {3nAwv (8.32). The death penalty inflicted by the god is not at all extraordinary in the reports of the propitiatory inscriptions; it can strike the sinner himself, his relatives, or his livestock. so Strabo (12.8.9 [574fD tells the story of the 'gangster' Cleon, who a monthS1 after being ordained a priest at Comana in Pontus died of a disease; those who belonged to the sanctuary interpreted this as a punitive reaction of the goddess,s2 since Cleon had blatantly disregarded the taboo against pork. The remainder of the inscription focusses upon Syntyche, who apparently had become guilty, probably after the god's investigation of the theft, of a wrongdoing. 15-16: She acted in a way that was interpreted by the god as show­ ing disrespect to his power. So too the sinner Stratonicus, at the end of his confession inscription, urges the reader "not to slight the god's 47 L. Robert, Anatolia 3 (1958) 112 (=Op.Min.Sel. I 411; TAM V.l 186): "l'epithete marquant la puissance et Ie secours, d"Epiphane', appliquee Ii qui se manifeste de fa~on sensible dans des apparitions" (113=412). 48 TAM V.1 463; the supplement [E'lTL.pa]vEl was proposed by the first editors KeiV von Premerstein (supra n.6) 106 no. 206 (Steinleitner [supra n.4] 15-21 no. 2 with commentary). [}.t]~'Y.4~'!l ~~iA [E'lTL.pav]El occurs in a dedication from Asarcik, Naour (supra n.14) 112 no. 4:1 [SEG XXXIII 1001]. Steinleitner discusses the testimonies for E'lTL.pavELalE'lTL.pav~~IE'lTL.paV€CTTaTo~. Cf F. Pfister, RE Suppl. 4 (1924) s. v. "Epipha­ nie," esp. 298-301; A. Deissmann, Licht vom Osten 4 (Tiibingen 1923) 320; C. M. Danoff, ARW 33 (1936) 168 n.3 (on IGBulg II 670); J. and L. Robert, Hellenica VI (Paris 1948) 51 with n.6; K. Garbrah, "On the 8Eo.paVELa in Chios and the Epiphany of Gods in War," ZPE 65 (1986) 207-10. 49 For the single rho cf Gignac (supra n.46) II 246. 50The sinner(s): TAM V.l 231.15 (0 6EO~ ... ad.p6ELpE), 317 (TEAEvT~CTavTo~; cf supra 465), 326 (a'lTETEA€CTETO, for which see infra), 440 (KoAaCT8€vTOs ••• Z~ 8avaTov Aoi'0v), cf 492.5, 527.8, HerrmanniVarinliogiu (supra n.7) 9. The sinner and her son: supra n.35. Relatives: Herrmann (supra n.1) 255-58 no. 2, a'lTETEA€CTETO aVTov EZ06ALOV TOV vIov Kat MapKlav T~V (Ki'0VOV ahov ("brachte der Gott seinen Sohn lulius und seine Enkelin Marcia zu Tode"). A relative and livestock: TAM V.l 464. 1 Off, (7JfLlas ahcp h07JCTEV a'lTOKTlvas aVTcp TGt KT~V7J f30vv K£ l)vov' a'lTL60vVTOS O£ TOV 'EPfL0i'€VOV a'lT€KTLVEV aVTov T~V 6Vi'aT€pav. 51 EVTOS fL7JVLaiov xpovov: cf here 12f, EV fLL~ Kat TpLaKoCTTfj. 52 W~ (.paCTav 01 'lTEpt TO IEPOV, KaTa fLfjVLV Tfj~ 6EOV; cf Zingerle (supra n.21) 45f. PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 GEORG PETZL AND HASAN MALAY 469 power."53 A number of texts of this category show how sensitive the gods were about persons who did not believe in their might or were even contemptuous of it. In principle, any deliberate transgression of divine order is a sign of contempt of the divinity; but sometimes the inscriptions stress explicitly that the god has not been respected. 54 If we correct the meaningless I1EPIKIYPOYLHL to 7T£PLVPOV(F'l1S, Syntyche "ridiculed" the power of the god. In the Odyssey (17.21 7ff) the goatherd Melantheus addresses mocking and provocative words to Eumaeus and Odysseus; in his commentary, Eustathius (1816.46) points out that Odysseus' anger is stirred up OLa TO TOV '\oYOV .•. • ,. \ \ ~ , I \ ~ I .,. I \ I .,,0Y£POV KaL 7T£PLUVPOV' £7T£L TOL T7]V KWIJ-~ULaV .,,0YOV KaL 7T£pL(J'vpIJ-a Wpl(OVTO OL 7Ta.\awl. 55 16-19: The consequence of Syntyche's fault is divine punishment: "the god also was wroth at this." 56 Although the preceding genitive absolute gave the reason for the god's nemesis, it is explained again in a following on-clause, "because Syntyche did not show the god (sc. in his eminence) or praise him." £KcpavT£vw is not attested elsewhere; Ps.­ Dionysius has £KcpavT£la,57 and other formations on £KcpavT- show that its meaning here is 'reveal, make known'.58 It is perhaps relevant to 53 TAM V.l 179b.ll f [SEG XXVIII 914]: aVTov (sc. TOV ~LOS TOV Ey ~LlJVJJ.WV ~pvwv) Tas ovvaJJ.ts JJ.~ Tis 7TOn: Kan:vn:A~ut (i.e. Kan:vn:Aiu'!I); Kan:vn:Aiuaua M#va J\a~ava is said to have been the sin of one Elpis, see Herrmann (supra n.l) 251 no. 1.2f, with 253 and n.9 on the verb. 54 Cf Malay/Petzl (supra n.2) 60 no. 4.2-5, JJ.EyaAop7]JJ.ov~uas M#va 'A'IETT7]VOV (Kalburcu, A.D. 159/160); cf the preceding note, and the urging at TAMV.l 179a.l1- 13 [SEG XXVIII 913], ()Tt ou oit KaTa4JpovELv TO[V 8E]OV (similarly the Phrygian in­ scriptions MAMA IV 279, 280, 282-285). Disbelief or disobedience is also taken as a punishable sin: TAM V.l 464.11 a7Tt8oVVTOS, Herrmann (supra n.l) 255 no. 2.5 €7T(E)1 .q7Ti87]UEV, Robert (supra n.3) 520 [SEG XXXIII 1012.2f] JJ.~ 7TIUTEVOVavT7Js mentioned in a Smyrnaean inscription. 59 The epexegetic iJ'/1OOUE makes clear how the god expected Syntyche to 'reveal' him: by praise. The eulogy of the god's dynamis is a central theme in confession inscriptions.60 The present text is the first of this category to express this exaltation or praise with the verb .0'/1000.61 In the Septuagint .0'/1000 is often nearly synonymous with .op.vooo and ao,a{oo, whereas in non-biblical contexts it occurs only rarely and in late texts.62 It is tempting to take .o'/1ow in the Maeonian inscription as testimony for the influence of Jewish vocabulary. Of EVAOYEoo/EiJAoyla, whose meaning is close to that of .0'/1000, it has already been suggested that they were chosen under such influence.63 Syntyche made herself guilty of slighting (WEpLuvpnv) the god's power by failing to reveal him with an act of praise. The text indicates the reason: the mother of the thief asked her to keep silent (16f). 64 The description is too elliptical to reconstruct the events with certainty. Probably after the theft was resolved and Syntyche was obliged to reward the god for his resourcefulness, Apphia's mother undertook to keep the affair concealed. Presumably she was concerned for the reputation of her dead daughter; perhaps no one would have known S9 Petzl, I.Smyrna 728.1 with commentary. 60 fb>"oYOVP.fV 1T'T71>">"oypatj>.qlTav'TU 'TlxS' avvap.LS' 'TWV 8fWV (TAM V.l 318.32-34), and similarly many other instances; for fb>..oyliv/fv>..oyla as supposedly reflecting Jewish influence see infra; (to Meter Anaitis) p.ap'TVpovP.fV !Cal fV>"OyoVP.fV (TAM V.l 317.23f); p.ap'TVpovv'TfS' 'TlxS' a[vva]p.LS' 'TWV 8fWV (319.5f); aVflT'T71lTf 'TO p.ap'TVpLOV (179a [SEG XXVIII 913]); 8fO'S' 'TO,S' fV nfpfVa'!l p.ap'Tvpnv (presumably = p.ap'TVpLOV; Herrmann! Varinlioglu [supra n.7] 6f no. 3.lf with n.19); aVfypa"'a 'TT,V apf'T.qv (TAM V.l 264); fVfypa"'op.fv 'TlxS' avvap.LS' 'TOV 8fOV !Co., a'ITo VVV fb>"oYOVP.fV (464); cLJlfypa"'a 'Tlxs avvap.Ls 'TOV 8fOV (Robert [supra n.3] 516 [SEG XXXIII 10l3.7fl). 61 Steinleitner (supra n.4) 112f n.2 compares Babylonian usage, in which the sinner at the end of his expiation praises and extolls the divinity. 62 Exod. 15.2, aofalTw ('TO V 8EOV) ••• !Co., V"'WITW ab'Tov; 2 Esdr. 19.5, fb>"oy.qITOVITLV ovop.a Mf71S' ITOV, !Cat V"'WITOVITLV f'ITt 'lTaITY fV>"OY'1!- !Cat alvflTn; Ps. 144.1, V"'WITW ITf, /) 8fOS' p.ov ..• !Cat EV>"Oy.qITW 'TO ovop.a ITOV; Dan. 3.51, faofa(ov !Cat fb>..oyovv !Cat ffv"'ovv 'TOV 8fOV; cf G. Bertram, RAC 6 (1966) 22-43 s.v. "ErMhung," and G. Kittel, Theol. Worterh.z.Neu. Test. 8 (1969) 604-11 s. v. v"'ow, V'lTfPV"'OW, with further refer­ ences (esp. 605.1-3); G. H. R. Horsley, New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity (North Ryde 1987) no. 89. 63 L. Robert, CRAI 1978, 249 n.47: "Quant aux nombreux exemples de la Meonie ... je n'exclus pas ... une influence du vocabulaire juif, tant les Juifs ont ete nombreux et influents en Asie Mineure Ii l'epoque imperiale." H. W. Pleket, in Faith. Hope and Worship (Leiden 1981) 184-89, on the other hand assumes that Eb>"0YfW/ fb>..oyla in Maeonia had no direct connection with Jewish usage; rather the LXX and the Maeonians chose EV>"OY- independently because "it was the non-secularized Greek word for 'praise' and, moreover, a term which had been used in situations of great awe and respect for the god" (187). For the borrowing of terms in western Anatolian cults from Hellenistic Jewish communities of the area see also A. R. R. Sheppard, "Pagan Cults of Angels in Roman Asia," Talanta 11-12 (1980/1) 77-101. 64 For the tva construction see Blass-Debrunner §392.1c. PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 GEORG PETZL AND HASAN MALAY 471 about the connection between the reappearance of the gem and Ap­ phia's death if Syntyche did not reveal it in an ex-voto. This was what the mother tried to prevent, and Syntyche yielded to the request, acting "in men's interest rather than the god's" (22f). The diction here becomes solemn,65 and one might deduce that these words are quoted from the temple authorities' characterization of Syntyche's wrongdo­ ing. The human sphere is strongly contrasted with the divine by the op­ position rh rrov av8pw7Toovlrov 8€OV.66 A fragmentary propitiatory text from Philadelphia reflects the idea of the powerless inferiority of human beings: a woman set up a declaration, presumably of the salvation brought about by the god, "after she had been severely punished (by the god) and given up by mankind" (KoAau8€LUa [7T ]OV7J­ pros [K ]al. acp€A 7TLu80vua tJ7TO av8pw7TooV).67 19-22: "Therefore68 he made her set up the (report of his) anger." As in many similar inscriptions, we read that the god forced69 the sinner to erect a stele narrating the whole affair, V£JJ.€ULS (c/ line 25) here meaning the report itself. We are not told, however, exactly what the punishment consisted of. In the only other instance found of V£JJ.€ULS in confession inscriptions, the word means the report of sin, divine punishment, and relief from it.70 A precise statement is made concerning when the V£JJ.€ULS, i. e. the present stele, was set up: when Syntyche's son Heracleides was thir­ teen years old. This way of specifying the date is strange; the r£Kvov Heracleides had not been mentioned before. That the deadline for 65 Some of the propitiatory inscriptions tend to a somewhat hieratic, elevated style. So for instance TAM V.l 318.14-23, 01 6Eot aVT~v £7Tol"luav tV KOAaUEI, 1jv OV adcpVYEV' (,p.olws Kal ... (, vias aVT~s 7TapclYwv T~V ia-oaov ... ap€7TaVOV KpaTWV ap.7TEAOT()P.OV, EK T~S XElPOS £7TEUEV aVTfi! £7TI TOV 7TOaav, Kal OtiTWS P.OV"IP.Ep~ KOAauEI a7T"IAAclY"I (cj Zingerle [supra n.21] 21, "geschraubte Wendungen und Worte"); 440.11-13, KOAau6EvTo~ ... V7TO TWV 8EWV IS 8avaTov AOyOV. These words on the base of a statue of Men have the air of quoting a divine answer (Manganaro [supra n.2]): ' Ap.vvTav 7TE7TouxoTa ... KE­ xaplup.€VOV ELvai M'lV1 ' AfiTT'llV~ Ka8luE (probablY=Ka8lual: Kcl81UE, "ha innalzato," ed.) acplapvup.a (A.D. 118/9). Unpublished inscriptions supply further instances of this tendency. 66 One is reminded of Ev.Luk. 20.25, a'7TOaOTE Ta Kaluapos Kaluapi Kal Ta TOV 8EOV T~ 6Ew. 67 A.-E. Kontoleon, REG 12 (1899) 385 no. 8 (Steinleitner [supra nA] 46 no. 19); cf IGUrbRom I 148.8, 11, , IovAlavfi! aCP"lA7TluP.EV'!! V7TO '7TaVTOS aV6pC:mov Exp"Iup.aTlUEV 0 8EOS (Asclepius) KTA. (early III A.D.). 68 For this meaning of ai' ()TI see Schwyzer, Gr. Gram. IP (1950) 661, '''weshalb', auch mit 'relat. Anschluss' ... 'deshalb.''' 69 With £7Tol"lUEV here compare the text quote supra n.16, E'7T07JUE KTA. 70 TAM V.l 460: E7T(E)t Tpocplp."I ... KA"I6Elua V7TO TOV 6Eov IS" V7T"IPEulaS" xaPIv p.1J fjovA7J60vua TaX€OS '7TpoUEA8EIV, EKOAclUETO aVT~V Kat p.av~val E'7Tol7JUEV' ~pOOT7JUE ollv M"ITEpa Tapu"Iv~v Kat' A7TOAAwva TapuiOV Kal M7Jva ' ApTEP.laWpOV ' A{IOTT"IVOV KopEua KaTEXOVTa, Kat EKEAEVUEV uT"IAAoypacp67Jvai VEP.EUIV Kat KaTaypa."'ai £p.aVT~V IS" {J7T"IPEulav TOIS 6Eols. For VEP.EUclW see supra n.15. PETZL, GEORG, A New Confession-Inscription from the Katakekaumene , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:4 (1987:Winter) p.459 472 A NEW CONFESSION INSCRIPTION completing the expiation is defined by his age may suggest that he was somehow involved in the events, perhaps affected in some way by Men's VEfJ.f.CTLS. It is natural that when a god ordained the erection of a stele, he wanted it executed as quickly as possible; delay roused his anger.71 Yet for the indication of an exact date by which the work was to be completed, the only parallel seems to be in an unpublished text from Selendi, where apparently the god says: EYAEoS EtfJ.aL avaO"Tavo­ fJ.EV7JS TfjS o"T~AA7JV (for -A7JS) fJ.OV n ~fJ.Ep~ ~pLO"a. 72 Presumably all confession stelae were set up in the sanctuaries of the respective gods; it is a peculiarity of this text that it specifies that the VEfJ.EO"LS must be erected "at his (surely the god's) place."73 23-25: The closing remark states that it was Syntyche who "set forth as a public notice"74 the record of the divine punishment. Her name stands in a worn part of the stone; but it is sufficiently legible and shows no sign of intentional deletion. Lines 24 and 25 are writ­ ten-probably by a different hand-in larger and less elaborate let­ ters. Here her parents are named, but it seems that the persons mentioned in this affair, whose names have little or nothing to dis­ tinguish them, cannot be securely identified with homonyms occur­ ring in other texts; TAM V.I 656 is an undated tombstone from Daldis erected by a Meltine for her husband Apollonius. 75 THE CENTER FOR HELLENIC STUDIES, WASHINGTON IZMIR August, 1987 71 In the inscription from Kalburcu (supra n.54), the god demands a relief or sculp­ ture of Men Tiamou and Anaitis, and postponement caused punishment (see Herrmann's commentary on lines 8f). n Compare TAM V.l 536 (Maeonia, A.D. 17112): KaTa T~V TWV 8(wv (1TlTay~v '(POS aOVf'OS (VX~V ~ll MalT4>aAaT1w!iJ Kal M1]vl Tlaf'OV Kal M1]vl TvpavvC!> (K(A(VIT(V T1]pE'i1T8al (l7rO ~f'EPWV 8' ("votum intra nundinum solvendum esse" J. Keil, quoted by Herrmann ad loc.)· E' ns a E: TOVTtJ)V a1TEl8~lTl, avayvWITETal Tas avval-us TOV ~U)s. 73 Cf TAM V.I 465.2f, [aV(ITT1]ITEV] T~V ITT~A1]V IS TOV 8E&V. The god's place pre­ sumably corresponds to what is elsewhere called 0 xop&s (TAM V.I 238.3f); cf the XWPLOV in the confession inscriptions of the sanctuary of Apollo Lairbenos in Phrygia, MAMA IV 279-289. 74 Cf LSJ s. v. 1Tpoypa4>w II; for -ovlTa rather than -v'ia in a perfect participle see Dieterich (supra n.40) 207. 75 We should like to express our deep gratitude to Zeph Stewart (Center for Hel­ lenic Studies, Washington), who both helped improve our English and also aided our understanding of the inscription in several points. We also wish to thank several institutions. G. Petzl had the pleasure to work on this article in the Center for Hellenic Studies and use its excellent facilities as well as those of Dumbarton Oaks. Financial support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Bonn) enabled H. Malay and Petzl to work together in the Manisa museum in 1983.