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Letters are "nicely cut but the stone is somewhat carelessly inscribed" (Lupu, p. 337). The letters are not of equal size. It seems that the cutter started out optimistically with large letters, then realised that the text would not fit, and thus continued with smaller letters. The spaces between lines are also unequal. For further description, see Lupu.
Letters:
Lines 1-2:
Lines 3-5:
Encoded for EpiDoc schema 8.17 on 06-06-2015 by S. Peels
Edition based on Lupu
Other editions:
Further bibliography:
Thymilos first set up this (statue of) Asclepius here. Tharsytas his son dedicated it to the god. Whoever wishes can sacrifice. There is no carrying away of meat. (5) The skin (is given) to the god.
Thymilos, le premier, érigea cette (statue) d'Asclépios ici. Tharsytas son fils la consacra au dieu. Quiconque le souhaite peut sacrifier. On n'emporte pas de viande. (5) La peau (revient) au dieu.
The inscription evidently belonged to the sanctuary of Asclepius at Lissos on Crete. Among the archaeological remains are a Doric temple with a mosaic floor, a basin with a drain, and a fountain house. Lupu mentions the existence of a source of water (with therapeutic qualities) in the area, perhaps related to these structures. The findings include many statues of Asclepius and Hygieia (but also of the god Plutus). Cf. Lupu, for a further description of the site, and Bultrighini, for a study of the cults of healing deities (Asclepius, Ilithyia and the Nymphs) on Crete—these were highly popular in the Hellenistic and Imperial periods—and the (abundant) evidence for Asklepieia on the island.
The base of a statue of Asclepius discussed here is inscribed with a dedication (lines 1-2, a hexameter and a pentameter respectively), as well as with two cult regulations (lines 3-5).The combination of a dedication and regulation is rare, and the precise context of their inscribing eludes us. What authority would an individual setting up and dedicating a statue to the god have to issue or codify rules? Perhaps Thymilos and his son Tharsytas held an inheritary priesthood, though they do not explicitly refer to themselves in this capacity (cf. Peek). The regulations may have been connected to an incubation ritual, but the sacrifices envisaged may also have been independent of any healing ritual.
Line 3: Cf. CGRN 36 (Chios), lines 7-11, CGRN 50 (Chios), lines 10-14, and CGRN 75 (Oropos), lines 27-28, for other cases in which worshippers are explicitly allowed to make a sacrifice themselves, without the supervision of a priest (if the priest is absent).
Line 4: The prescription against carrying away meat occurs regularly; cf. CGRN 32 (Thorikos), Commentary on lines 10-12.
Line 5: The skin may have been placed on a cult table and most probably ended up as a priestly perquisite. Alternatively, but more speculatively given the absence of any corroborative evidence here, the skin may have been consecrated to the god (or sold for his benefit) after its use during incubation: see CGRN 75, lines 29-36, for further discussion of this possibility at the Amphiaraion of Oropos.