Re: [tied] Lemnos stele and dear Fuke... Wait a minute...

From: Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
Message: 5503
Date: 2001-01-14

On Sun, 14 Jan 2001 10:26:38 , "Glen Gordon"
<glengordon01@...> wrote:

[...]

I'm confused: who was the stele raised for? "Phoke"? That's
impossible, as his name isn't even mentioned on the front part. I
should have added that the front part of the stele features a drawing
of a man with shield and spear, with text A-I vertically between spear
and face, A-II horizontally above the head, A-III vertically behind
it. Next to his forehead, as if a caption, the word "$ivai".

Murina is a town in West Lemnos, not a region, as far as I know.

The stele is dated to the 6th c. BC, so any reference to "Rome" (then
a rather insignificant Tarquinian dependency in far-away Italy) would
seem to be very far-fetched indeed.

<$eronaith> is a locative in ..a-i-th (Etr. -aithi, -ethi), <$eronai>
and <morinai> might be locatives without the -th (Etr. -ai > -e).

The horizontal text above the head is in boustrophedon, so the final
line might also be. That would make the text go:

$ivai
evistho:$eronaith
sialchvei.$:avi.$
maras.$:mav
.i$ai$

(i.e. the last two lines would be: mara$-m avi$ ai$, cf. B: mara$-m
avi$ aomai).

So the crucial part of the inscription, repeated twice, is:

(A) $ivai evistho $eronaith sialchvei$ avi$ maras$m avi$ ai$
(B) $ivai avi$ sialchvi$ mara$m avi$ aomai

Sivai ["ruler" in Serona] at 60 years and 5(?) years died(?)

The rest are afterthoughts:

(A-right)
Holaie.$ naphoth (nephew/grandson of Kolaios)

(B-top)
Holaie$i:phokiasiale:$eronaith:evistho:toveronarom:haralio:$ivai:epte$io:arai:ti$:phoke
(For Kolaios of Phokia "ruler" in Serona ... Sivai ...)

(A-left)
va[n|m]alasial:$eronaimorinail:aker:tavar$io
(... in Serona in Morina ...)

<tavar$io> and <toveronarom [haralio]> might be connected to Etr.
<tevarath> "judge, referee", or Anatolian <tapar-> "to reign, govern",
maybe forms a a verb "to rule/to judge".

Note the total absence [not counting <phoke>] of -ce (-ke), the
Etruscan preterit suffix.

Upon closer inspection of (a drawing) of the stele, there are some
notes to make on interpunction:

A-1: I read (. = one dot, : = two dots, ; = three dots):

va.m.ala.sial;$eronaimorinail (I think it's <m> rather than <n>)
aker;tavar$io

A-2:

$ivai
evistho;$eronaith
sialchvei.$:avi:$
maras.$;mav
$ia$i: (or ":i$ai$")

A-3:

holaie;$;naphoth

Side B only has 2 and 3 dots:

$ivai:avi$:sialchvi$:mara$m:avi$:aomai

holaie$i:phokiasiale;$eronaith:evistho:toverona
rom:haralio:$ivai:epte$io:arai;ti$:phoke


=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv@...