CGRN 172

Small purity regulation concerning entrance to the sanctuary of Egyptian deities on Delos

Date :

2nd century BC

Justification: context, cf. Commentary.

Provenance

Delos . Found in Sarapieion A.

Support

Plaque of white marble.

  • Height: 27 cm
  • Width: 31 cm
  • Depth: 10 cm

Layout

Irregular lettering, badly cut.

Letters: 1.2 cm high.

Interlinear space: 1.3-1.5 cm high.

Between lines 8 and 9 there is an empty space of 6 cm.

Bibliography

Edition here based on Roussel - Launey ID 2180.

Other editions: Roussel 1913: 274-275; Roussel 1916: 95-96 no. 16.

Cf. also: Sokolowski LSS 56; Bricault RICIS 202/0199.

Further bibliography: Baslez 1977: 36-37; Brøns 2017: 332-335.

Text


Θεῶι Μεγάλωι
καὶ Διὶ Κασίωι καὶ Ταχνήψει,
Ὧρος Ὥρου Κασιώτης
ὑπὲρ Λευκίου Γρανίου
5τοῦ Ποπλίου Ῥωμαίου.
γυναῖκα μὴ προσάγειν
μηδὲ ἐν ἐρεοῖς ἄνδρα
κατὰ πρόσταγμα.

Translation

To Theos Megas and Zeus Kasios and Tachnepsis, Horos, son of Horos of Kasion, on behalf of Lucius Granius, (5) son of Poplius, Roman. A woman does not go in, and a man not in woollen clothes, according to a prescription (of the gods?).

Traduction

À Theos Megas et Zeus Kasios et Tachnepsis, Horus, fils d'Horus de Kasion, pour Lucius Granius, (5) fils de Poplius, Romain. Les femmes ne peuvent entrer, ni les hommes en vêtements de laine. Sur ordre (des dieux ?).

Commentary

Sarapieion A was the most ancient of the three sanctuaries of Egyptian deities, which held an important position on the island of Delos. It was a private sanctuary, as shown from a famous act of foundation engraved on a small column (IG XI.4 1299) inscribed in the course of the 3rd century, and found in situ, at the foot of the Inopos. After the construction of Sarapieion C, a larger, public sanctuary, in 166 BC, a worshipper demanded that the authorities in Rome confirm his right to celebrate the cult in Sarapieion A (ID 1510). Perhaps our inscription should be placed shortly after this event, as a further part of the attempt to boost the prestige of this older sanctuary (Bricault).

Sarapis was not the only deity who was worshipped in this sanctuary, as we know from the names of other gods engraved on the benches along the sanctuary walls. In this inscription, we find a dedication made by the priest Horos, son of Horos (whom we know to be priest shortly after 167 BC); this individual was originally from Mount Kasion in the Northern Sinai (cf. Trismegistos no. 1014 ). The dedication consisted of a cult-site consecrated on behalf the Roman Lucius Granius, son of Poplius (on which cf. also ID 2180, lines 4-5, and ID 2181, line 6-7) to Theos Megas—probably to be identified with Sarapis (cf. Baslez, p. 36)—, to Zeus Kasios (Zeus of Mount Kasion) and to Tachnepsis (an epithet of Isis perhaps specific to this area).

A small purity regulation follows the dedication. Against the normalcy of inclusion, the exclusion of women represents a more rare or exceptional case. For occasional instances, see here CGRN 33, Commentary. Herodotus explains that woollen clothes are forbidden for the Egyptians in their cultic practices (Hdt. 2.81 and cf. Plut. De Is. Os. 3 and 4 [352b-e]). Comments on the material of the dress of the worshippers occur elsewhere on Delos, for example, in IG XI.4 1253, an individual (a priest?) prides himself on being a σινδονοφόρος (a wearer fine linen clothes). In that inscription, the consecration is explicitly presented as a result of a divine command: κατὰ πρόσταγμα τοῦ θεοῦ. For further discussion and references, cf. Sokolowski. In our present text, it remains unclear whether this is also the case; the vague phrase κατὰ πρόσταγμα in line 8 might thus be a shorthand or, perhaps instead, be meant to designate another form of command (e.g. by an individual or an official). For other proscriptive clothing regulations in sanctuaries, see Brøns.

Publication

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike International License 4.0 .

All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain somewhere a link back to the DOI (https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN172), as well as the year of consultation (see “Home” for details on how to cite or click “Export Citation” to create a reference for this specific file).

Authors

  • Jan-Mathieu Carbon
  • Saskia Peels
  • Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge

How To Cite

Brief citation of the Greek text : CGRN 172, lines x-x.

Reference to the file as a critical study of the inscription : Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Saskia Peels et Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, "CGRN 172: Small purity regulation concerning entrance to the sanctuary of Egyptian deities on Delos", in Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN), 2017-, consulted on November 22, 2024. URL: http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/file/172/; DOI: https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN172.

Full citation of the CGRN in a list of abbreviations or a bibliography is the following : Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Saskia Peels-Matthey, Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN), 2017-, consulted on November 22, 2024. URL: http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be; DOI: https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN0.

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	    			<author>Jan-Mathieu Carbon</author>
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			<p>Irregular lettering, badly cut.</p>
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						<provenance><p><placeName key="Delos" n="Aegean_Islands"><ref target="http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/599588" type="external">Delos</ref></placeName>. Found in Sarapieion A.
	
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	    			<p>Edition here based on Roussel - Launey <bibl type="abbr" n="ID">ID</bibl> 2180.</p>
	    			
	    			<p> Other editions:  
	    				<bibl type="author_date" n="Roussel 1913">Roussel 1913</bibl>: 274-275;
	    				<bibl type="author_date" n="Roussel 1916">Roussel 1916</bibl>: 95-96 no. 16.</p>
	    			
	    			<p> Cf. also:
	    				Sokolowski <bibl type="abbr" n="LSCG">LSS</bibl> 56; Bricault <bibl type="abbr" n="RICIS">RICIS</bibl> 202/0199.</p>
	    			
	    			<p> Further bibliography: 
	    				<bibl type="author_date" n="Baslez 1977">Baslez 1977</bibl>: 36-37;
	    				<bibl type="author_date" n="Brøns 2017">Brøns 2017</bibl>: 332-335.</p>
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<lb xml:id="line_1" n="1"/><name type="deity" key="Theos"><w lemma="θεός">Θεῶι</w></name> <name type="epithet" key="Megas"><w lemma="μέγας">Μεγάλωι</w></name>
	    				
<lb xml:id="line_2" n="2"/> καὶ <name type="deity" key="Zeus"><w lemma="Ζεύς">Διὶ</w></name> <name type="epithet" key="Kasios"><w lemma="Κάσιος">Κασίωι</w></name> καὶ <name type="deity" key="Tachnepsis"><w lemma="Ταχνήψις">Ταχνήψει</w></name>,
	    				
<lb xml:id="line_3" n="3"/>Ὧρος Ὥρου <name type="ethnic" key="Kasion"><w lemma="Κασιώτης">Κασιώτης</w></name>
	    				
<lb xml:id="line_4" n="4"/><w lemma="ὑπέρ">ὑπὲρ</w> Λευκίου Γρανίου
	    				
<lb xml:id="line_5" n="5"/>τοῦ Ποπλίου Ῥωμαίου.
	    				
<lb xml:id="line_6" n="6"/><name type="person"><w lemma="γυνή">γυναῖκα</w></name> <w lemma="μή">μὴ</w> <w lemma="προσάγω">προσάγειν</w>
	    				
<lb xml:id="line_7" n="7"/><w lemma="μηδέ">μηδὲ</w> <w lemma="ἐν">ἐν</w> <name type="clothing"><w lemma="ἐρεοῦς">ἐρεοῖς</w></name> <name type="person"><w lemma="ἀνήρ">ἄνδρα</w></name>
	    				
<lb xml:id="line_8" n="8"/> <name type="authority"><w lemma="κατά">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="πρόσταγμα">πρόσταγμα</w></name>.	    
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					<head>Translation</head>
					
<p>To Theos Megas and Zeus Kasios and Tachnepsis, Horos, son of Horos of Kasion, on behalf of Lucius Granius, (5) son of Poplius, Roman. A woman does not go in, and a man not in woollen clothes, according to a prescription (of the gods?).</p>
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					<head>Traduction</head>
					
<p>À Theos Megas et Zeus Kasios et Tachnepsis, Horus, fils d'Horus de Kasion, pour Lucius Granius, (5) fils de Poplius, Romain. Les femmes ne peuvent entrer, ni les hommes en vêtements de laine. Sur ordre (des dieux ?).</p>
				</div>
					
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						<head>Commentary</head>    
							
<p>Sarapieion A was the most ancient of the three sanctuaries of Egyptian deities, which held an important position on the island of Delos. It was a private sanctuary, as shown from a famous act of foundation engraved on a small column (<bibl type="abbr" n="IG XI">IG XI</bibl>.4 1299) inscribed in the course of the 3rd century, and found <foreign>in situ</foreign>, at the foot of the Inopos. After the construction of Sarapieion C, a larger, public sanctuary, in 166 BC, a worshipper demanded that the authorities in Rome confirm his right to celebrate the cult in Sarapieion A (<bibl type="abbr" n="ID">ID</bibl> 1510). Perhaps our inscription should be placed shortly after this event, as a further part of the attempt to boost the prestige of this older sanctuary (Bricault).</p>
	
<p>Sarapis was not the only deity who was worshipped in this sanctuary, as we know from the names of other gods engraved on the benches along the sanctuary walls. In this inscription, we find a dedication made by the priest Horos, son of Horos (whom we know to be priest shortly after 167 BC); this individual was originally from Mount Kasion in the Northern Sinai (cf. <ref target="http://www.trismegistos.org/geo/detail.php?tm=1014" type="external">Trismegistos no. 1014</ref>). The dedication consisted of a cult-site consecrated on behalf the Roman Lucius Granius, son of Poplius (on which cf. also <bibl type="abbr" n="ID">ID</bibl> 2180, lines 4-5, and <bibl type="abbr" n="ID">ID</bibl> 2181, line 6-7) to Theos Megas—probably to be identified with Sarapis (cf. Baslez, p. 36)—, to Zeus Kasios (Zeus of Mount Kasion) and to Tachnepsis (an epithet of Isis perhaps specific to this area).</p>

<p>A small purity regulation follows the dedication. Against the normalcy of inclusion, the exclusion of women represents a more rare or exceptional case. For occasional instances, see here <ref target="http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/CGRN_33/">CGRN 33</ref>, Commentary. Herodotus explains that woollen clothes are forbidden for the Egyptians in their cultic practices (Hdt. 2.81 and cf. Plut. <title>De Is. Os.</title> 3 and 4 [352b-e]). Comments on the material of the dress of the worshippers occur elsewhere on Delos, for example, in <bibl type="abbr" n="IG XI">IG XI</bibl>.4 1253, an individual (a priest?) prides himself on being a σινδονοφόρος (a wearer fine linen clothes). In that inscription, the consecration is explicitly presented as a result of a divine command: κατὰ πρόσταγμα τοῦ θεοῦ. For further discussion and references, cf. Sokolowski. In our present text, it remains unclear whether this is also the case; the vague phrase κατὰ πρόσταγμα in line 8 might thus be a shorthand or, perhaps instead, be meant to designate another form of command (e.g. by an individual or an official). For other proscriptive clothing regulations in sanctuaries, see Brøns.</p>

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