Statue base in honor of Aurelius Krates son of Ptolemaios from Lychnidos

Monument IDLychnidos1
Editor
Vera Bitrakova–Grozdanova, Fanula Papazoglu, Milena Milin
Type of monument
statue base
Material
limestone
Findspot
Plaošnik (Imaret), Ohrid
Observed in
Origin
Lychnidos
Dimensions
height 83 cm., width 74 cm., length 55 cm.
Hand description
Interlinear space 0.2 cm.
Letter size
height 3.5 cm.
Layout description
The lower part of the base is broken off, specifically the lower cymation.
Inscription field
height 60 cm., width 57 cm.
Decoration
Audio
Text
Category of inscription
Honorary inscription for private persons - prose
Date
3rd c. AD
Dating criteria
lettering, nomenclature
Images
copy_r_1 copy_r_2
txt

Рrose grc
ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ·
Δασσαρήτιοι Αὐρήλιον Κρά-
τητα Πτολεμαίου τὸν ἐν-
δοξότατον ἐπὶ παιδείᾳ ((hedera))
5 σχολαστικόν, πολείτην ἑ-
αυτῶν, οὗ καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι
ἀνδριάντα ἀνεστάκασιν
ἐν ἀκροπόλει ἐν τῷ Ἀσ ((hedera))-
κληπείῳ, πάσης ἀρετῆς ((hedera))
10 ἕνεκεν. ((hedera))

ΑΓΑΘΗΤΥΧΗ·
ΔΑΣΣΑΡΗΤΙΟΙΑΥΡΗΛΙΟΝΚΡΑ
ΤΗΤΑΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥΤΟΝΕΝ
ΔΟΞΟΤΑΤΟΝΕΠΙΠΑΙΔΕΙΑ
5ΣΧΟΛΑΣΤΙΚΟΝΠΟΛΕΙΤΗΝΕ
ΑΥΤΩΝΟΥΚΑΙΑΘΗΝΑΙΟΙ
ΑΝΔΡΙΑΝΤΑΑΝΕΣΤΑΚΑΣΙΝ
ΕΝΑΚΡΟΠΟΛΕΙΕΝΤΩΑΣ
ΚΛΗΠΕΙΩΠΑΣΗΣΑΡΕΤΗΣ
10ΕΝΕΚΕΝ
txt
With good fortune, the Dassaretii (honor) Aurelius Krates son of Ptolemaios as the most honorable for his education, learned citizen among them, to whom the Athenians have also erected a statue in the Asclepieion on the Acropolis, in recognition of all his virtues.
ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ· Δασσαρήτιοι Αὐρήλιον Κρά τητα Πτολεμαίου τὸν ἐν δοξότατον ἐπὶ παιδείᾳ σχολαστικόν, πολείτην ἑ αυτῶν, οὗ καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι ἀνδριάντα ἀνεστάκασιν ἐν ἀκροπόλει ἐν τῷ Ἀσ κληπείῳ, πάσης ἀρετῆς ἕνεκεν.

tag: ab
⤦ n: 1

tag: lb
ἀγαθῇ

lemma: ἀγαθός
tag: w
τύχῃ

lemma: τύχη
tag: w
·

tag: #text
⤦ n: 2

tag: lb
Δασσαρήτιοι

type: ethnic
tag: placeName
Αὐρήλιον Κρά τητα Πτολεμαίου

nymRef: Αὐρήλιος Κράτης Πτολεμαίου
type: attested
tag: persName
Αὐρήλιον

nymRef: Αὐρήλιος
tag: name
Κρά τητα

nymRef: Κράτης
tag: name
Κρά

tag: #text
⤦ n: 3

break: no
tag: lb
τητα

tag: #text
Πτολεμαίου

nymRef: Πτολεμαῖος
tag: name
τὸν

tag: w
ἐν δοξότατον

lemma: ἔνδοξος
tag: w
ἐν

tag: #text
⤦ n: 4

break: no
tag: lb
δοξότατον

tag: #text
ἐπὶ

tag: w
παιδείᾳ

lemma: παιδεία
tag: w

type: hedera
tag: g
⤦ n: 5

tag: lb
σχολαστικόν

lemma: σχολαστικός
tag: w
,

tag: #text
πολείτην

lemma: πολίτης
tag: w
ἑ αυτῶν

lemma: ἑαυτοῦ
tag: w

tag: #text
⤦ n: 6

break: no
tag: lb
αυτῶν

tag: #text
,

tag: #text
οὗ

lemma: ὅς
tag: w
καὶ

tag: w
Ἀθηναῖοι

type: ethnic
tag: placeName
⤦ n: 7

tag: lb
ἀνδριάντα

lemma: ἀνδριάς
tag: w
ἀνεστάκασιν

lemma: ἀνίστημι
tag: w
⤦ n: 8

tag: lb
ἐν

tag: #text
ἀκροπόλει

tag: placeName
ἐν

tag: w
τῷ

tag: w
Ἀσ κληπείῳ

tag: placeName
Ἀσ

tag: #text

type: hedera
tag: g
⤦ n: 9

break: no
tag: lb
κληπείῳ

tag: #text
,

tag: #text
πάσης

lemma: πᾶς
tag: w
ἀρετῆς

lemma: ἀρετή
tag: w

type: hedera
tag: g
⤦ n: 10

tag: lb
ἕνεκεν

lemma: ἕνεκα
tag: w
.

tag: #text

type: hedera
tag: g
Apparatus
Letters in ligature:

5 ) ΗΝ;

6 ) ΗΝ;

7 ) ΝΕ;

9 ) ΗΣ, ΤΗΣ;

Readings:

9 ) κλη‹ι›πείω‹ι› Bitrakova–Grozdanova.

Commentary

It was re-used in the foundations of the Polyconchal Church in 1960ies. Aurelius Krates, son of Ptolemaios, bears a mixed onomastic formula. His nomen Aurelius indicates that he acquired Roman citizenship through the Constitutio Antoniniana, which would date this inscription to after 212 AD. In addition to the Roman onomastic formula, he retained his father’s name (as part of the Macedonian onomastic formula).For his merits, he received an honor from the Athenians, as stated in the inscription. However, in his hometown of Lychnidos, besides this inscription, another statue base with an almost identical text was discovered in the Ancient theatre in 2000, erected by the Lychnidians (Bitrakova Grozdanova V., Lychnidos et Dassaretie, Skopje, 2017, pp. 421–447).These inscriptions, along with the coin issues of the Dassaretii and the Lychnidians, indicate that the Dassaretii were organized as a single administrative community, with Lychnidos as its center ‒ an autonomous city-state (πόλις). This type of organization of smaller settlements or villages in one community (κοινόν, ἔθνος) around some central urban center, is attested in several Upper Macedonian regions in Roman times – among the Lynkestai, Orestai, and Elimiotai. These were territories described in historical sources as “free” and their existence is confirmed by inscriptions. A similar situation can be observed in the relationship between Derriopos and the city of Stuberra.

Bibliography

Битракова-Грозданова Вера, Три епиграфски прилози од Охрид, Жива антика 20, 1970, стр. 160-161, бр. 1.

Inscriptiones Graecae X 2, 2, 371, T. LIII