Once again on the new 'confessional inscription' from Bithynia

Abstract

An altar dedicated to Zeus Brontôn was discovered and photographed in the village İlyasça, south of İznik (ancient Nikaia in the region of Bithynia); it is dated to the 2nd-3rd century AD. Apart from a bust of the god it bears a partly damaged inscription, only the upper portion of which is visible. The letters are hard to decipher due to the quality of the photograph (at present the only source) and the state of the stone. N. Eda Akyürek Şahin and Hüseyin Uzunoğlu have given a first edition in Gephyra 23 (2022), 119-120, no. 19. P. Hamon, BE 2023, 459 (p. 484), and J.-M. Carbon (Gephyra 26 [2023], 163-168) have advanced the reading and attributed the text to the category of the so-called ‘confession inscriptions’. In the present note I propose some new readings which lead to the following translation: “To good fortune! For Zeus Brontôn. Since my brother Antigenes addressed the god, neglecting (or: offending) the god’s power, and the god, enraged, made [- - -].”

Keywords

• Zeus Brontôn
• Bithynia
• “confession stelai”
• blasphemy
• divine wrath

Nochmals zur neuen ‘Beichtinschrift’ aus Bithynien

Abstract

An altar dedicated to Zeus Brontôn was discovered and photographed in the village İlyasça, south of İznik (ancient Nikaia in the region of Bithynia); it is dated to the 2nd-3rd century AD. Apart from a bust of the god it bears a partly damaged inscription, only the upper portion of which is visible. The letters are hard to decipher due to the quality of the photograph (at present the only source) and the state of the stone. N. Eda Akyürek Şahin and Hüseyin Uzunoğlu have given a first edition in Gephyra 23 (2022), 119-120, no. 19. P. Hamon, BE 2023, 459 (p. 484), and J.-M. Carbon (Gephyra 26 [2023], 163-168) have advanced the reading and attributed the text to the category of the so-called ‘confession inscriptions’. In the present note I propose some new readings which lead to the following translation: “To good fortune! For Zeus Brontôn. Since my brother Antigenes addressed the god, neglecting (or: offending) the god’s power, and the god, enraged, made [- - -].”

Keywords

• Zeus Brontôn
• Bithynia
• “confession stelai”
• blasphemy
• divine wrath

Bithynia'dan Yeni 'Günah Çıkarma Yazıtı' Üzerine Bir Kez Daha

Abstract

İznik'in (Bithynia bölgesindeki antik Nikaia) güneyindeki İlyasça köyünde Zeus Brontôn’a adanmış bir sunak keşfedilmiş ve fotoğraflanmıştır; sunak MS 2.-3. yüzyıllara tarihlenmektedir. Eser tanrının bir kabartma büstünün yanı sıra, sadece üst kısmı görülebilen kısmen tahrip olmuş bir yazıt taşımaktadır. Şu anda tek kaynak olan fotoğrafın kalitesi ve taşın durumu nedeniyle harflerin deşifre edilmesi zordur. N. Eda Akyürek Şahin ve Hüseyin Uzunoğlu, Gephyra 23 (2022), 119-120, no. 19’da yazıtın ilk okumasını vermiştir. P. Hamon, BE 2023, 459 (s. 484) ve J.-M. Carbon (Gephyra 26 [2023], 163-168) bu okumayı geliştirmiş ve metni “itiraf/kefaret yazıtları” olarak adlandırılan kategoriye dahil etmişlerdir. Bu notta, aşağıdaki çeviriye yol açan bazı yeni okumalar öneriyorum: “İyi talihe! Zeus Brontôn için. Kardeşim Antigenes, tanrının gücünü ihmal ederek (ya da: gücendirerek) tanrıya hitap ettiğinden ve tanrı öfkelenerek [- - -] yaptığından beri.”

Keywords

• Zeus Brontôn
• Bithynia
• “kefaret yazıtları”
• küfür
• ilahi gazap

References

1. Akyürek Şahin, N. E. – Uzunoğlu, H. 2022. “Neue Inschriften aus Bilecik 1.” Gephyra 23: 101-184.
2. Ast, R. 2021. “χμγ = Ῥαφαγήλ [chmg = Rhaphagēl] in an Apotropaic Amulet.” ZPE 217: 178.
3. Carbon, J.-M. 2023. “The Power of Zeus Bronton: Notes on a New Miracle Narrative.” Gephyra 26: 163-168.
4. Dettori, E. 2017. “Su ἐριγούνιον [erigounion]: ZPE 199, 2016, p. 112, ll. 5 e 12.” ZPE 204: 136-137.
5. Dieterich, K. 1898. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der griechischen Sprache. Leipzig: Teubner.
6. Franek, J. – Corral Varela, D. 2020. “Apotropaic Amulet from the Collection of Gustave Schlumberger with a Bilingual Inscription in Greek and Samaritan Hebrew.” ZPE 216: 156-166.
7. Petzl, G. 2021. “Epigraphische Randnotizen (III).” ZPE 220: 151-156.
8. Thonemann, P. 2022. The Lives of Ancient Villages: Rural Society in Roman Anatolia. Cambridge – New York: Cambridge University Press.