A Dedication to Βασιλεὺς Ὄσιρις from the Inner Troad
Abstract
This paper aims to examine a recently discovered small fragment of a dedicatory inscription engraved on a low pedestal that was found in the countryside of the Pazarköy village near the town of Ezine in the Çanakkale province. This inscription reveals that a statuette representing Aphrodite Ourania and Nephthys was dedicated to Osiris bearing the epithet βασιλεύς. The presence of Nephthys and Aphrodite Ourania, equated with Isis, in the same context suggests that the dedication could be connected to the Osiris myth. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that this dedication from a location in the inner Troad may have been dedicated during the festival Inventio Osiridis in order to commemorate the death and revival of Osiris. The translation of the inscription is as follows: “I dedicated Aphrodite Ourania [and] his own sister Nephthys to King Osiris.”
Keywords
References
- B. Breitenberger, Aphrodite and Eros. The Development of Erotic Mythology in Early Greek Poetry and Cult (Studies in Classics), New York-London 2007.
- J. M. Cook, The Troad. An Archaeological and Topographical Study, Oxford 1973.
- F. Dümmler, Aphrodite, in: RE I, 1894, 2729-2787.
- F. Dunand, Le culte d’Isis dans basin oriental de la Méditerranée. Le Culte d’Isis en Grèce (EPRO 26/2), Leiden 1973.
- F. Dunand, Le culte d’Isis dans basin oriental de la Méditerranée. Le Culte d’Isis en Asie Mineure (EPRO 26/3), Leiden 1973.
- L. R. Farnell, The Cults of the Greek States II, Oxford 1896.
- E. Graefe, Nephthys, in: LA IV, 1982, 457-460.
- J. G. Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et Osiride, Cambridge 1970.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Publication Date
May 15, 2018
Submission Date
July 4, 2017
Acceptance Date
-
Published in Issue
Year 2018 Volume: 15