Funerary Epigraphy

La formación del Imperio romano no solo supuso un control militar y político de los territorios conquistados, sino que también trajo consigo la difusión de valores y modelos sociales y culturales que se extendieron por todo su territorio. Uno de los procesos más significativos fue el surgimiento, expansión y éxito de la cultura epigráfica romana que significó la producción masiva de monumentos epigráficos en Italia y el resto de las provincias romanas. En esta obra se utiliza una parte de esa producción epigráfica para aproximarse históricamente al espacio definido por las fuentes romanas como el territorio de los autrigones.
La obra se estructura en dos partes: el corpus epigráfico de las inscripciones funerarias del territorio autrigón por un lado, y por otro, el estudio pormenorizado de este, que incluye una aproximación a su cronología, tipología y decoración, onomástica y, de manera más importante, la representación de los diferentes grupos sociales en la epigrafía, las relaciones familiares presentes en la conmemoración funeraria y lo que estos elementos nos indican sobre la sociedad que la practicaron.

http://editorial.csic.es/publicaciones/libros/13460/0/la-epigrafia-funeraria-de-epoca-romana-del-area-au.html

Il presente lavoro, incentrato sulla storia del lavoro e dei lavoratori nel mondo romano, si propone di ricostruire, attraverso l'epigrafia monumentale, l'identità e il profilo socio-economico di alcuni individui vissuti a Mutina o nel suo ager in età tardorepubblicana e altoimperiale. Si tratta di alcuni uomini e una donna le cui iscrizioni, di natura prevalentemente funeraria, ricordano diverse figure professionali: un aurifex, un copo,  un medicus, un negotians lanarius, un praeceptor, un tonsor, diversi vestiarii, un vicesimarius, un possibile unctor e una vilica. Nel testo si formulano inoltre alcune ipotesi in merito alle funzioni esercitate in ambito domestico dai cosiddetti "delicia" o "pueri delicati"; vengono infine analizzati i tre gentilizi di derivazione professionale finora attestati nel Modenese: Aerarius, Aurarius e Purpurarius. Quest'ultimo nome, in particolare, fino a oggi sembrerebbe attestato esclusivamente nella colonia di Mutina e nel suo ager.

Il patrimonio epigrafico lapidario modenese, che attualmente comprende circa 300 iscrizioni, ha restituito più di 160 menzioni relative a schiave, liberte e ingenuae vissute a Mutina e nell'ager Mutinensis tra la seconda metà del I secolo a.C. e la prima metà del IV secolo d.C. Le epigrafi esaminate mettono in luce alcuni interessanti aspetti relativi alla condizione femminile nella splendidissima colonia emiliana e, più in generale, nella società romana.

L’Afrique du Nord présente une densité d’épitaphes tardo-antiques élevée, uniquement comparable à celle de l’Italie. Cette contribution donne un bilan des problèmes et des progrès de la recherche funéraire tardive en Afrique pendant les dernières trois décades. A l’aide de quelques études de cas en Tunisie et en Algérie nous examinons les épitaphes dans leurs contextes originaux sur le plan spatial, rituel et social. Des nouvelles cartes de SIG (avec indications sur la chronologie, les types, et les métiers) visualisent les mutations de la culture épigraphique tardive en Afrique et les diversités régionales. Avec ces nouveaux moyens il est possible de fournir une synthèse actuelle du paysage funéraire tardo-antique de l’Afrique.

Greek funerary inscribed poetry is anonymous and shared
by a whole community of language and literature; its variety
of themes is impressive; the monumental con-text –
including the inscribed object, the layout of the inscribed
text, the form of its letters, the lectional signs – vehicles an
important part of the message, therefore it should be taken
into consideration when we translate this poetry. A few
examples are examined. The separation of the inscribed
text from its material context took place already in antiquity,
when verse inscriptions were transcribed from stone into
books and begun to circulate in this form.

The return of funerary stelai in Attica is often noted to coincide with the sack of Athens in 86 BCE, and subjection to Roman rule under the law of Clodius a few decades later. Stelai thus seem a likely strategy to remember the Greek past from before Roman times. However, when looking at Attic funerary monuments from the late 4th-1st century BCE, this seems doubtful.

Poster presentation at the international conference "Strategies of Remembrance in Greece under Rome", Athens 19-21 October 2016.

The funerary field is particularly interesting and rich in stimuli allowing us knowledge of religious thought and art of ancient civilisations.
Pre-Islamic South Arabia (8th century BC - 6th century AD) produced a large amount of objects related to this field and, among them, the funerary stelae are the most important for their large number, the variety of subjects and decorations represented on them.
Starting from the rich British Museum collection, this study organizes and classifies material for the most part from the international antique trade. Often information regarding provenance and archaeological context is lacking here. However, the analysis of these stelae allows us to reconstruct a picture rich in regional styles, with reciprocal influences.
From the archaic and more traditional stylized expressions - typical of the Minaean region - to the more recent complex and figurative representations of the Sabaean area, this book shows the originality and specificity of South Arabian art, paying particular attention to the contacts with foreign cultures, especially with the Hellenistic and Roman world.
Such foreign influences are analysed in depth in the rich Appendix, edited by Fabio E. Betti, where specific topics in relation to the changes in ancient South Arabian art during the first centuries AD are studied. They were changes of 'fashion', evident especially in decorative motifs within the architecture and the daily life of the South Arabian élites, as shown by the clothes, hairstyles and jewellery of the women of that time.

Because it is a flexible genre, the epigram can be analyzed in groups or alone. It provides researchers with different possibilities of epigram grouping and methodological approaches. Studies on funerary epigram frequently analyze the poems according to related themes focusing on the dead: dead warriors, women dead in childbirth, dead in the sea among others. However, an approach to funerary epigrams which does not focus on the dead allows a broader investigation of other themes. Thus, the present thesis was based on the studies of Giuseppe Giangrande, Francis Cairns and Alexander Sens on funerary epigrams that use sympotic elements in order to analyze the function of such elements and to verify how the sympotic τόποι found in funerary epigrams continue being used of if they suffer modifications. In order to do so, we selected epigrams from Book VII of The Greek Anthology that display sympotic and funerary lexicon and, departing from the τόποι, three groups of epigrams were identified: 1) those dedicated to the poet Anacreon, 2) those dedicated to drunk women and 3) those dedicated to drunk men. In epigrams dedicated to Anacreon, sympotic elements recover his poetry and connect it to the epigrammatists by means of the transformation of the funeral space and the relationship between the passerby and the poet. In poems dedicated to drunken women, the consumption of wine and their burial near places of wine production emphasize the mobility of old women, their distancing from their relatives and the comic character of the dead women due to the characterization of their drunkenness. Finally, in the funerary epigrams dedicated to drunken men, moderation and immoderation are evident. In some, moderation is aligned with poetic composition. In others, the excess of wine causes accidents portrayed with a comic tone. These epigrams warn the passerby not to make the same mistakes as the dead they commemorate. Another group of epigrams uses sympotic references to create charades to the passerby. The last group, in turn, is composed by epitaphs for philosophers killed by drunkenness. Here we see the tension between moderation and philosophical teachings permeated by the anecdotal and comic tone. It is suggested, therefore, that the presence of sympotic elements acquires a different function according to the group of dead. Thus, it is observed that, although the epigrams were composed in different centuries, the τόποι portrayed gain different nuances, which allows us to conclude that funerary epigrams with sympotic elements also reflect the creative tension between tradition and innovation, as debated by Marco Fantuzzi and Richard Hunter.
Keywords: Hellenistic poetry; Greek epigram; Funerary epigram; The Greek Anthology; Symposium; Drunkenness.

In a big grave "a schiena" found at Cumas, in the Fondo Correale, from the 6th century BC., came into sight an inscription engraved. Its interpretation has been very controversial. Discussion is centred about elucidating the meaning of the word ληνός, for which different explanations have been proposed. Some scholars have interpreted it as the anthroponymo Ληνός; others have prefered to see in this term the designation as 'initiate' of a follower faithful of mystery cults, but the greatest part has translated it as 'sarcophagus'. In our opinion, these interpretations should be reconsidered from a double perspective: the religious environments at Cumas from the 6th BC  and the exhaustive analysis of the word ληνός in contemporary documents with the inscription.

ForewordIntroductionEditorial ConventionsCatalogue
1. Ash Chest of Tiberius Dama
2. Grave Monument of Ti. Claudius [Iso]chrysus
3. Grave Monument of Sosus
4. Grave Monument of Primigenius
5. Grave Monument of Hesychus, C. Iulius Phileros, and C. Septumius Stephanus
6. Grave Monument of Plautia Prima
7. Grave Monument of Spendo and Tryphosa
8. Grave Monument of Q. Pactumeius Alexander and Volumnia Urbana
9. Grave Monument of C. Siminius Priscus
10. Grave Monument of Felicio
11. Grave Monument of Thelxis and Chelys
12. Grave Monument of L. Gellius Felix
13. Grave Monument of Aelia Iulia Artemidora and P. Aelius Porcianus
14. Grave Monument of Amphion
15. Grave Monument of Antonia Sophia
16. Grave Monument of Appuleia Gratilla
17. Grave Monument of C. Calpurnius Sabinus
18. Grave Monument of Several Cassii
19. Pine Cone Cippus of C. Fabius
20. Grave Monument of Flavia
21. Grave Monument of T. Flavius Ianuarius Mus
22. Grave Monument of T. Flavius Spendo
23. Grave Monument of Furia Eutychia
24. Grave Monument of Herennia Sabathis
25. Grave Monument of Irana
26. Grave Monument of Iulia Felicissima
27. Grave Monument of Martialis
28. Grave Monument of Mutia Chreste
29. Grave Monument of M. Octavius Diadumenus
30. Grave Monument of Cn. Papirius Isochrysus
31. Grave Monument of Paratio
32. Grave Monument of Pompeia Dionysia
33. Grave Monument of Pudens
34. Grave Monument of L. Salvius Daduchus
35. Grave Monument of Suavis
36. Grave Monument of L. Syllatius Fortunatus
37. Grave Monument of Sex. Terentius Nassus
38. Grave Monument of C. Terentius Vitalis and Flavia Faustina
39. Grave Monument of C. Titius Hermeros and C. Avillius Onesimus
40. Grave Monument of M. Ulpius Galaesus
41. Grave Monument of L. Volusenus Eumenes

English: The present article addresses the subject of funerary behaviours on the territory of present-day Switzerland from the end of the protohistoric period to the beginning of the Middle Ages. In order to explore this topic, a careful analysis of material remains, textual sources and funerary inscriptions was carried out. This approach primarily aimed at developing an up-to-date and multidisciplinary vision of the question of funerary behaviours in the defined chronological and geographical range. In this sense, gestures, rites, commemorative modalities, funerary recruitment, as well as legal and religious frameworks and the collective social understanding of death were closely studied. By doing so, this research endeavoured to include any contribution to the clarification of the topic under study provided by various disciplines such as funerary archaeology, biological anthropology, ancient history, geography, social anthropology, religious sciences, law, literature and philology, and ancient funerary epigraphy. Considering these different sources and insights for the case of 6 distinct places in Switzerland (Geneva – Genava, Nyon – Colonia Iulia Equestris, Augst / Kaiseraugst – Augusta Raurica, Valais – Vallis Poenina, Brugg / Gebenstorf / Windisch – Vindonissa and Avenches – Aventicum) enabled to draw – in a relatively precise manner – the outline of the funerary phenomenon in Switzerland during Antiquity. Thus, several different dynamics in the evolution of funerary behaviours, according to the places under study, were observed. This state of fact probably reflects the way in which the different communities which lived on the territory of present-day Switzerland during Antiquity interacted, made sense of, appropriated or ignored Roman funerary and/or cultural codes more globally speaking. In the same way, the partial hybridization of local ancestral customs and the diffusion of exogenous ideas throughout the complex geopolitical structure of the Roman provincial world – and more specifically Gaul – could also be highlighted thanks to this novel approach; at least in as much as Switzerland is concerned.

Français: Le présent article aborde le sujet des comportements funéraires sur le territoire de la Suisse actuelle, entre la fin de la période protohistorique jusqu'au début du Moyen Âge. Afin d'explorer ce sujet, une analyse minutieuse des vestiges matériels, des sources textuelles et des inscriptions funéraires à notre disposition a été réalisée. Cette approche vise principalement à développer une vision à jour et multidisciplinaire de la question des comportements funéraires dans l'intervalle chronologique et géographique défini. En ce sens, les gestes, les rites, les modalités commémoratives, le recrutement funéraire, ainsi que les cadres juridiques et religieux et la compréhension sociale collective de la mort ont été étudiés. Ce faisant, cette recherche s'est efforcée d'inclure toute contribution à la clarification de ce sujet complexe prodiguée par diverses disciplines telles que l'archéologie funéraire, l'anthropologie biologique, l'histoire ancienne, la géographie, l'anthropologie sociale, les sciences religieuses, le droit, la littérature et la philologie, et l'épigraphie funéraire antique. La prise en compte de ces différentes sources et éclairages pour le cas de 6 lieux distincts en Suisse (Genève – Genava, Nyon – Colonia Iulia Equestris, Augst / Kaiseraugst – Augusta Raurica, Valais – Vallis Poenina, Brugg / Gebenstorf / Windisch – Vindonissa et Avenches – Aventicum) a permis d'esquisser – de manière relativement précise – les contours du phénomène funéraire en Suisse durant l'Antiquité. Ainsi, plusieurs dynamiques différentes dans l'évolution des comportements funéraires, selon les lieux étudiés, ont été observées. Cet état de fait reflète vraisemblablement la manière dont les différentes communautés qui vivaient sur le territoire de la Suisse actuelle durant l'Antiquité ont interagi, fait sens, se sont appropriées ou ont ignoré les codes funéraires et/ou culturels romains de manière plus globale. De même, l'hybridation partielle des coutumes ancestrales locales et la diffusion d'idées exogènes à travers la structure géopolitique complexe du monde provincial romain – et plus particulièrement de la Gaule – ont également pu être mises en évidence grâce à cette approche inédite ; du moins en ce qui concerne la Suisse.

L'epigramma III, 59 di Marziale offre lo spunto per riflettere sul ruolo delle categorie sociali subalterne nelle città romane, con particolare riferimento a Bononia e a Mutina, dove un ciabattino e un lavandaio, dice il poeta, offrirono spettacoli di gladiatori alle rispettive comunità. Marziale potrebbe avere citato due categorie professionali particolarmente umili (il sutor e il fullo) per evidenziare lo scandalo, tuttavia, è anche possibile che queste due citazioni nascondano precisi riferimenti all'economia e alla storia sociale delle due città emiliane.

La stele modenese del tonsor L. Rubrius Stabilio Primus si rivela una fonte preziosa per riflettere su varie problematiche legate alla considerazione del lavoro nel mondo antico. Molto interessante e complessa è anche la storia familiare di questo antico professionista.

This article consists of a series of comments, revisions, and new readings of three Greek inscriptions coming from different areas of the Roman Empire (Asia Minor, Thessaly, Gaul), and dating approximately from the third to the fifth century CE. I offer a restoration proposal and a new interpretation of inscription no. 1 – a votive dedication inscribed on an altar from Ankyra in Galatia – while my comments, revisions, and new readings of nos. 2 and 3 – two epitaphs, from Nea Anchialos in Thessaly and Augusta Treverorum in Gallia Belgica, respectively – concern primarily, though not exclusively, questions related to their date formulae.

Una lettura preliminare dell'epigrafe paleocristiana di Hepifania è stata pubblicata sul Bollettino della Soprintendenza ai BAPPSAE di Salerno e Avellino (Napoli 2007) sotto il titolo di "Un esempio inedito di tardo reimpiego nel monumento funerario di Diego Cavaniglia dal convento di San Francesco a Folloni in Montella (AV): l’epigrafe di Hepifania" (pp. 15-17).

Of all ancient poetic genres epigram is the only one that was from its very start – as early as the 8th cent. BC – conceived for readerly reception, not oral performance. In the Hellenistic Age, epigram underwent a major transformation, moving from stone to papyrus and turning from sub-literary poetry with a purely pragmatic function into a highly sophisticated and self-conscious literary genre. Book epigrams regularly play with epigraphic conventions, but also adopt erotic/sympotic themes from oral genres such as lyric, elegy and comedy. Such intersection of epigraphic conventions and new themes was the core of my investigation during my PhD. My results showed that when epigrammatists inserted sympotic themes into funerary epigram, the early topoi of lyric poetry about carpe diem and reflections on old age, sex and the meaning of life disappeared. Instead, the sympotic hues found in sepulchral epigrams focused on poetic affiliations, characterization of drunk women and drunkenness lack of moderation and its consequences. Some of the epigrams I analyzed in my PhD were in a dialogue form and these epigrams called my attention to what narrative strategies epigrammatists were using to build these literary dialogues.

Even as epigrams are intimately tied to the medium of writing, they imitate oral speech acts. We encounter ‘talking objects’ early on in votive and sepulchral contexts, with the tomb or dedicatory object serving as narrator. The presence of a first person in those texts was soon followed by a second person, which led to the emergence of so-called dialogue epigrams. It is this poetic form, in both its inscriptional and literary manifestation, that stands at the center of my postdoctoral project. By investigating the evolution of different voices and the narrative techniques employed in epigrammatic dialogues, my study aims at illuminating the interaction between written text, writer and reader in a genre that spans all of Antiquity.

In this presentation, I will discuss some aspects of my current and still ongoing research. I will discuss some Greek literary and inscribed dialogue epigrams in order to show similarities and differences in the narrative strategies adopted and the types of dialogue we find.

Il saggio è dedicato ad alcune figure professionali del mondo romano legate alla lavorazione e alla vendita dell'oro e di manufatti realizzati con questo metallo prezioso. Nel testo si analizzano in particolare le testimonianze epigrafiche di Roma e quelle di Mutina nel cui territorio, secondo un'antica tradizione popolare, sarebbe stato possibile estrarre masse aurifere.

Neste artigo, analisaremos um epigrama de autoria anônima, dedicado ao cônsul iberoromano Júlio Urso Serviano (C. Julius Ursus Servianus, 45-136 d.C.). O epigrama CLE 29 é comumente classificado como honorífico, embora também se discuta a possibilidade de ser uma inscrição funerária ou póstuma. Além disso, também fica em questionamento se teria sido verdadeira uma dedicatória tão dignificante ou se, ao contrário, teria sido escrita para satirizar Júlio Serviano. Isso por duas principais razões: primeiro, como pretendemos mostrar, o retrato que se faz de Serviano compartilha muitas das características de Trimalquião, célebre personagem do Satíricon, de Petrônio, que, orgulhoso de suas conquistas, se gaba, exageradamente, durante todo o banquete. O segundo motivo resvala por questões políticas: apesar de não mencionar o homenageado, a inscrição nomeia o possível remetente, Marco Ânio Vero (M. Annius Verus 50-138 d.C.), cônsul antecessor e rival político de Júlio Serviano. Diante de tantas possibilidades, propomos uma tradução poética deste CLE, inédita em língua vernácula, além de comentários a respeito do seu cunho político e da intertextualidade literária existente.

In this article, we will analyze an epigram of anonymous authorship, dedicated to the Ibero-Roman consul Lucius Iulius Ursus Servianus (45 - 136 A.D.). The epigram CLE 29 is commonly classified as honorary, although it is also discussed the possibility of it being a funerary or a posthumous inscription. In addition, it is also questioned whether such a dignified dedicatory would have been real or whether, on the contrary, if it would have been written to satirize Iulius Servianus. Due to two main reasons: first, as we intend to show, the portrayal of Servianus shares many of the characteristics of Trimalchio, the famous character of Satyricon, by Petronius, who, proud of his achievements, boasts, exaggeratedly, throughout the banquet. The second reason is due to political issues: despite not mentioning the honoree, the inscription names the possible sender, Marcus Annius Verus (50 - AD 138), predecessor consul and political rival of Iulius Servianus. Faced with so many possibilities, we propose a poetic translation of this CLE, unprecedented in vernacular, in addition to comments regarding its political nature and the existing literary intertextuality.

En el siguiente trabajo damos a conocer diez inscripciones de época romana conservadas en
la iglesia de la Asunción de San Vicente del Valle (Burgos). A pesar de su mal estado de conservación y
de la fragmentación de varias de ellas, todo ello derivado de su reutilización como material constructivo,
su  análisis  nos  permite  identificar  el  carácter  funerario  de  la  mayoría.  Su  lectura  e  interpretación
muestra, además, el uso de onomástica latina, así como de estructuras textuales y fórmulas funerarias
propias del hábito epigráfico romano.

This article consists of a series of comments, revisions, and new readings of five Latin epigraphic documents dating approximately from the third to the sixth century CE. Four inscriptions come from various areas of Italy (Rome, Ascoli Piceno, and Folloni di Montella, near Avellino), while the fifth inscription comes from Spain (Villadecanes, region of Léon). The common denominator between these assorted inscriptions (one votive inscription and four epitaphs) is the presence of a more or less articulated dating formula within their texts, on which my comments, revisions, and new readings primarily –although not exclusively– focus.