Epitaph of the gladiator Actius

Epitaph of the gladiator Actius

Reference CIL II2 / 7, 353 | Description | Lyrics | Location | Chronology | Epigraphic edition | Translation | Apparatus | Comentary | Type of verse | Text divided into verses and metric signs | Images | Bibliography | Link to DB | Author |

Epitaph of the gladiator Actius

Description

  • Idno filename 22/01/0044
  • Type of inscription: Sepulcralis
  • Material Description: Yellowish veined limestone tablet.
  • Conservation status: Composed of two contiguous fragments.
  • Dimensions height/width/depth (cm): 22/37.5/6
  • Epigraphic field:
    • Layout: Triangular interpunction (hederae in l.1), in unci formam redacta STYLOW. Only de suo (l. 3) and it ili (l. 5) in scriptio continua; in mihi (l. 5) o corrected to i.     
  • Preserved

Lyrics

  • Font:Capital cuadrada
  • Letter size:Decreasing letters, measuring 4-1.3 cm

Location

  • Place of discovery: Found in 1949 in the hypogea of the Camino Viejo de Almodóvar (Córdoba).
  • Geolocation
    •
  • Conservation location: M.A.P. of Córdoba, room III.
  • Inventory number: 10681
  • Location with Modern Nomenclature España / Córdoba
  • Location with Old Nomenclature Hispania / Baetica / Cordubensis / Corduba

Chronology

  • Inscription's dating: Between year 1 and year 99

Type of verse

  • Type of verse: Yámbico (senario)
  • Verse/line correspondence: No
  • Prose/verse distinction: No

Epigraphic edition

Actius ▴ mur(millo) ▴

vic(it) ▴ VI ▴ an(n)o(rum) ▴ XXI ▴ h(ic) ▴ s(itus) ▴ e(st) ▴ s(it) ▴ t(erra) ▴ l(evis)

uxor ▴ viro ▴ de suo ▴ quot (!) ▴

quisquis ▴ vestrum ▴ mortuo ▴

5       optarit ▴ mihi ▴ it (!) il(l)i ▴ di ▴ faciant ▴

semper ▴ vivo ▴ et▴ mortuo ▴

Text divided into verses and metric signs

Quot quisquis vestrum mortuo optarit mihi, ll|ll|l/l|wl|ll|w~

it illi di faciant semper vivo et mortuo.      wwl|lww|l/l|ll|ll|w~

Translation

“Actius, gladiator. Won six victories. Twenty-one years of age. He lies buried here. May the earth rest lightly on you. The wife to her husband. Whatever each of you wishes for me after death, may the gods always do that for you, in life and in death.”

Bibliography

Santos Gener 1950b, 211 n. 6 et 1955, 36 et 37 cum im. phot. (inde HAE 1–3, 1950–52, 25, 327); Mariner 1955/56, 33–37 n. III cum im. phot. (inde Zarker 1958, 10); García y Bellido 1960, 134–135 n. 8 cum im. del. et im. phot. (AE 1962, 52; [inde HAE 12–16, 1961–65, 7, n. 1833]; Vives, ILER 5684 cum im. phot. p. 879), cf. eund. 1962, 215 et 1967a, 199; Piernavieja 1968, 286–288 n. 14 et CIDER, 161–162 n. 65. 240 n. VIII cum im. phot.; Stylow, II2/7, 353, cum im. phot. in microchartula; Ceballos 2004, 99; Fernández Martínez – Carande, CLEB, CO2, cum im. phot. pluribus, quae in linguam Hispanicam verterunt; Cugusi 2010, 347–348; id. 2012, 22. – Cf. Marcos 1976, 44; Hernández Pérez 2001a, 238–239; Cugusi 2007, 55-56; id. 2010b, 552-553; id. 2010c, 347-348.

Apparatus

2 vic(toriarum) Mariner.

Comentary

Iambic senarii dedicated to a gladiator, preceded by a praescriptum in prose with the
name and profession of the deceased. In l. 5 there is iambic shortening of the initial vowel of illi,
as in archaic iambic-trochaic verse. In l. 2 an(n)o(rum) and l. 5 il(l)i, simplification of double
consonants. In l. 3 quot and l. 5 it for quod, id. In l.4, quisquis instead of quisque is a reversal of
the usual error. In l. 5, contracted form of optarit. The carmen contains the topos of the
protection of the tomb and curses anyone who profanes it (cf. CLE 129 and 130). On Actius, cf.
SOLIN 1996, 617 f. (inepte PIERNAVIEJA, etc.).

Images

Photo author: M. Fuentes Aguilar

Link to DB

Author

  • Author:R. Carande Herrero, C. Fernández Martínez
  • Last Update2024-01-31 16:48:36
  • Autopsy date:2001

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