HISTORY ETHNOGRAPHY NATURE WINE-MAKING SITE MAP
Selected and rare materials, excerpts and observations from ancient, medieval and contemporary authors, travelers and researchers about Cyprus.
 
 
 
 
 
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SALAMIS

SALAMIS IN THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS.
BY ALEXANDER PALMA DI CESNOLÀ, F.S.A.,
page 60

or entablature. That in the centre is of a man of middle age; that on the right is of a female; the third on the left hand is of a man with a head-dress. All these are evidently iconic, and from the strong family likeness shown by the faces, the three persons must be referred to the same family. The execution of this interesting piece of sepulchral sculpture, although in some degree conventional, is spirited, and the expression is pleasing and animated.1 Of the stone which has been designated "Terra d'Umbra", a sacrificial tripod was found (fig. 113), which is inscribed with a Cypriote invocation of remarkable length. The height of this object is two inches, and diameter three inches and fifteen sixteenths.
Professor Sayce, to whom I submitted the inscriptions, writes:—"The inscription which runs in a circle round the edge or rim of the bowl commences at the dot, the lowest character on the accompanying woodcut (fig. 114), and reads along the right hand side up to the top, and then down the left side of the figure." Dr. Deecke2 has satisfactorily deciphered the greater portion of the inscription on this object. The inscription round the rim agrees in part with one published by M. Schmidt from General di Cesnola's collection, and when compared with the latter ought to read:—

1 See Plate ix, fig. 2.
2 Ζweiter Nachtrag, p. 1-18.

That is: -

The centre of the bowl is engraved with the character which answers to the syllable ne. From this, eight lines ofcharacters radiate out towards the rim in the symmetrical figure of a star of eight points. Here, again, by the help of conjectural emendations, Dr. Deecke has succeeded in making out the meaning of the text. According to him the star-like figure reads as follows:—

 

 

 

 

 


The inscription round the edge would therefore signify: " Timalkos, the son of Zoteas, took it ..." and dedicated it to Apollo;" while the inscription which is arranged like a star may be translated: "Hail ! Blepson, Hyvelthon and Ephodos have set up the bowl at a festival of the Idalians." On the underpart of the vessel is an ο which Dr. Deecke thinks may stand for ανάθημα, "anoffering",and on each of the three feet the characters u, ve and i occur, which may be the dative of "Υης", a title of Zeus and Dionysos.

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