The Epigraphic Corpus of Georgia 2.0

11. The Decree of Vani

Description: Plaque with Greek Inscription

Object Description:

Object type:

Plaque

Material:

Bronze

Object size:

Width: 12cm

Height: 28cm

Inscription Surface Description:

Layout:

Dimensions:

Width: cm

Height: cm

Hand Description:

Letter Height:

0,7

Letter Width:

0,6-0,7

Origin:

Date:

III B.C.

Provinance:

Date:

1985

Observed:

ID:

Authority:

Ilia State University, Institute of linguistic Research

Number:

ECG28

Licence:

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

ὁ σώ φρων ? –ος ὠ

τῷ παντὶ ὅσι ια

ἅπτοντα

ν ὁ τάφος σ

ἀ πολειφθῆναι

πον ἔχειν α

ουσι τοὺς ἐκγόνους καὶ

ποι οῦντας τοὺς τὴν αὐτῶν

ους ἐν τοῖς γεγραμμέ νοις

χαραχθεῖσα καὶ τὴν στήλην

μηδὲ ... ανοις μηδὲ ἀνεπιχει ρήτοις

κωλύειν κατὰ δύνα μιν

ἀκ ολουθήσασι τοῖς γεγραμ μένοις

ς αὐτῶν τε καὶ γυναικῶν

καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν πάντων

ο]υς ὁ ἐν τάξει καὶ ὁ ποσεῖ

καὶ ἡ ἐν Σούρι καθημέ νη στήλη

ἡ Γῆ καὶ ὁ Ἥλιος καὶ ὁ Μείς

κ αὶ πᾶσαι ἵλεως εἴη

μηδὲ[τ]είνασι μηδὲ ποιήσασι

συμβουλεύσασι ποιῆσαι

οις πάντα τ(ἀ)ναν τία

θεοῖς τοῖς μεγίσ τοις

ς ἄλλο μηθὲν

τῶν τε προ

ἀσίτοις

ὁ σώ ? –ος ὠ

τῷ παντὶ ὅσι

ἅπτοντα

ν ὁ τάφος σ

πολειφθῆναι

πον ἔχειν α

ουσι τοὺς ἐκγόνους καὶ

οῦντας τοὺς τὴν αὐτῶν

ους ἐν τοῖς γεγραμμέ

χαραχθεῖσα καὶ τὴν στήλην

μηδὲ ανοις μηδὲ ρήτοις

κωλύειν κατὰ δύνα

ολουθήσασι τοῖς μένοις

ς αὐτῶν τε καὶ γυναικῶν

καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν πάντων

ο]υς ὁ ἐν τάξει καὶ ὁ ποσεῖ

καὶ ἡ ἐν Σούρι καθημέ στήλη

Γῆ καὶ ὁ Ἥλιος καὶ ὁ Μείς

αὶ πᾶσαι ἵλεως εἴη

μηδὲ είνασι μηδὲ ποιήσασι

συμβουλεύσασι ποιῆσαι

πάντα τ ναν

θεοῖς τοῖς μεγίσ

ς ἄλλο μηθὲν

τῶν τε προ

ἀσίτοις

            <ab xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0">   
                                    
                                    <lb n="1" /> <w lemma="ὁ">ὁ</w> <w lemma="σώφρων">σώ<supplied>φρων</supplied></w> ? –ος ὠ 
                                    <lb n="2" /> <w lemma="ὁ">τῷ</w> <w lemma="πᾶς">παντὶ</w> <w lemma="ὅσιος">ὅσι<supplied>ια</supplied></w> 
                                    <lb n="3" /> <w lemma="ἅπτω">ἅπτοντα</w> 
                                    <lb n="4" /> ν <w lemma="ὁ">ὁ</w> <w lemma="τάφος">τάφος</w> σ
                                    <lb n="5" /> <w lemma="ἀπολείπω"><supplied>ἀ</supplied>πολειφθῆναι</w> 
                                    <lb n="6" /> πον <w lemma="ἔχω">ἔχειν</w> α
                                    <lb n="7" /> <w>ουσι </w><w lemma="ὁ">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="ἔκγονος">ἐκγόνους</w> <w lemma="καί">καὶ</w> 
                                    <lb n="8" /> <w lemma="ποιέω"><supplied>ποι</supplied>οῦντας</w> <w lemma="ὁ">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="ὁ">τὴν</w> <w lemma="αὐτός">αὐτῶν</w> 
                                    <lb n="9" /> ους <w lemma="ἐν">ἐν</w> <w lemma="ὁ">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="γράφω">γεγραμμέ<supplied>νοις</supplied></w> 
                                    <lb n="10" /> <w lemma="χαράσσω">χαραχθεῖσα</w> <w lemma="καί">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ὁ">τὴν</w> <w lemma="στήλη">στήλην</w> 
                                    <lb n="11" /> <w lemma="μηδέ">μηδὲ</w> <w><supplied>...</supplied>ανοις</w> <w lemma="μηδέ">μηδὲ</w> <w lemma="ἀνεπιχείρητος"><supplied>ἀνεπιχει</supplied>ρήτοις</w> 
                                    <lb n="12" /> <w lemma="κωλύω">κωλύειν</w> <w lemma="κατά">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="δύναμις">δύνα<supplied>μιν</supplied></w> 
                                    <lb n="13" /> <w lemma="ἀκολουθέω"><supplied>ἀκ</supplied>ολουθήσασι</w> <w lemma="ὁ">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="γράφω"><supplied>γεγραμ</supplied>μένοις</w> 
                                    <lb n="14" /> ς <w lemma="αὐτός">αὐτῶν</w> <w lemma="τέ">τε</w> <w lemma="καί">καὶ</w> <w lemma="γυνή">γυναικῶν</w> 
                                    <lb n="15" /> <w lemma="καί">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ὁ">τῶν</w> <w lemma="λοιπός">λοιπῶν</w> <w lemma="πᾶς">πάντων</w> 
                                    <lb n="16" /> ο]υς <w lemma="ὁ">ὁ</w> <w lemma="ἐν">ἐν</w> <w lemma="τάξις">τάξει</w> <w lemma="καί">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ὁ">ὁ</w> <w lemma="πόσις">ποσεῖ</w> 
                                    <lb n="17" /> <w lemma="καί">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ὁ">ἡ</w> <w lemma="ἐν">ἐν</w> <placeName type="city"><w lemma="Σούρι">Σούρι</w></placeName> <w lemma="κάθημαι">καθημέ<supplied>νη</supplied></w> <w lemma="στήλη">στήλη</w> 
                                    <lb n="18" /> <w lemma="ὁ"><supplied>ἡ</supplied></w> <w lemma="Γῆ">Γῆ</w> <w lemma="καί">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ὁ">ὁ</w> <w lemma="Ἥλιος">Ἥλιος</w> <w lemma="καί">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ὁ">ὁ</w> <w lemma="Μείς">Μείς</w> 
                                    <lb n="19" /> <w lemma="καί"><supplied>κ</supplied>αὶ</w> <w lemma="πᾶς">πᾶσαι</w> <w lemma="ἵλεως">ἵλεως</w> <w lemma="εἰμί">εἴη</w> 
                                    <lb n="20" /> <w lemma="μηδέ">μηδὲ</w> <w lemma="τείνω"><supplied reason="lost">τ</supplied>είνασι</w> <w lemma="μηδέ">μηδὲ</w> <w lemma="ποιέω">ποιήσασι</w> 
                                    <lb n="21" /> <w lemma="συμβουλεύω">συμβουλεύσασι</w> <w lemma="ποιέω">ποιῆσαι</w> 
                                    <lb n="22" /> <w><supplied>οις</supplied></w> <w lemma="πᾶς">πάντα</w> <w lemma="ἐναντίος"><expan>τ<ex>ἀ</ex>ναν<supplied>τία</supplied></expan></w> 
                                    <lb n="23" /> <w lemma="θεός">θεοῖς</w> <w lemma="ὁ">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="μέγας">μεγίσ<supplied>τοις</supplied></w> 
                                    <lb n="24" /> ς <w lemma="ἄλλος">ἄλλο</w> <w lemma="μηθέν">μηθὲν</w> 
                                    <lb n="25" /> <w lemma="ὁ">τῶν</w> <w lemma="τέ">τε</w> προ 
                                    <lb n="26" /> <w lemma="ἄσιτος">ἀσίτοις</w> 
                                     </ab>

        

Translation:

Translation by Tinatin Khaukhchishvili: “Sensible, or moderate... Completely pure, clean... laid one’s hand on... started (some kind of job)... grave, tomb... backwards... To their successors... And of those who made it (some stela of a female gender?) in a written document (possibly a formal complaint)... cut out (written) and stela... Neither some people, nor the invincible (or the ones who cannot be negotiated with) should be impeded... They had better follow the written (rule)... Both from them and from women… and all the others who will add and who will count…. And the stela erected in Suri…. The Earth and the Sun and the Moon… and may all (female gender) be merciful... Neither those who had it in mind and those who take action... All the opposite was done against the negotiators... The great gods … Yet, nothing (only particles)… to the hungry (or all of them)

Critical Aparatus:

σώφρων σώφρος
ἄσιτος πᾶσι τοῖς

Comments:

A comment by Tinatin Kaukhchishvili: The Archaeological Museum in Vani preserves a fragment of a Bronze plaque dated by 1985. The right part of the plaque has no edges. The plaque had not obviously been plain, as is evidenced by the presence of a fragment of a frame shaped like a semi-column. It is possible to distinguish 26 lines from which the 11th-26th lines present no doubt. The first 10, however, are damaged by fire so that it is hard to figure out what it really says. According to the bits and pieces available, the text seems to be an ecclesiastical legal document, which poses certain conditions: the one who intends to start a job (any job) should be fully pure. They should be purified even before touching a grave and this applies to them as well as to their offspring. This statement is engraved on a stela and is addressed against those who, by the way, cannot be dealt with without this prohibition. The inscription calls parishioners, men (?) as well as women (they obviously belong to the same circle) and all the others (these “others” must represent a different class by their context) should follow this ordinance. There is an additional point in the ordinance about the manner of adding and monitoring. The stela with the aforementioned ordinance is erected in Suri. They call the gods: earth, the Sun and the moon; They ask one of the gods to be merciful. This mercy does not apply to those who intended or committed evil (an act forbidden by this document). The counselors agreed that whomsoever do the contrary, the great gods will not help them and they will go through all kinds of tribulations. It is noteworthy that the inscription mentiones the geographic name “Suri” (the same as the written sources call “Surion/Surium”) that is the Hellenistic name for Vani, also the Triad of the great gods (Earth, the Sun and the Moon) that were worshipped in Suri. Date: According to the outlines of letters (Ω, Σ, Μ, Β, Ρ, Ε, Γ ...) and the lingual norms (μηθέν, ἀνεπιχείρητος) the inscription refers to the 3rd century B.C. Archaeologically the fragment was found in the layer dated back by the late Hellenistic period.

Bibliography:

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