Epitaph of Mario’s son

Description

Idno filename 22/01/0077
Type of inscription: Sepulcralis
Support: Tablet
Material: Marble Material Description: Yellowish marble with blueish veining.
Conservation status: Fragment roughly corresponding to the right half of a tablet.
Dimensions height/width/depth (cm): 27.3/15/3
Epigraphic field:
- Layout: The verse boundary is respected although the layout is poor; hence in ll. 3 and 5 <IT> and <NT> have been added above the line respectively, and in l. 7 the final <R> of uiator is missing. Triangular interpunction separating most words, hedera at the end of the praescriptum (l. 2) and two uirgulae at the end of l. 1 and l. 7.
Corpus: CIL II2/7,737
Preserved

Lyrics

Font:Libraria
Letter size:2,7/3 cm

Location

Place of discovery: Found in Córdoba, in the estate of Malpartida, three km from the town of Guadalcázar (Carbula).
Geolocation

Conservation location: M.A.P. in Córdoba, room III.
Inventory number: 29521
Location with Modern Nomenclature España / Córdoba / Almodóvar del Río
Location with Old Nomenclature Hispania / Baetica / Cordubensis / Carbula

Chronology

Inscription's dating: Between year 160 and year 199
Dating explanation: End of the 2nd c. AD from the paleography.

Type of verse

Type of verse: Dactílico (dístico elegíaco)
Verse/line correspondence: Si
Prose/verse distinction: Si

Epigraphic edition

[‑ ‑ ‑] us ▴ Marì ▴

[‑ ‑ ‑] mens(ibus) ▴ IIII ▴

[-17?-]e ▴ vìvo et genitore ▴ recess⁽it⁾

[qui posset patrios i]am ▴ bene ▴ nosse Lares

5 [-17?-]s ▴ potius ▴ dare ▴ vota ▴ fueru⁽nt⁾

[-14?-n]on ▴ data ▴ sorte gravi

[tu qui perlegis hun]c ▴ titulum ▴ studiose ▴ viato<r>

[dicas praeteriens] sit ▴ tibi ▴ terra ▴ levis ▴

Text divided into verses and metric signs

[- – -]e vivo et genitore recessit, [ln|ln]|x/l|l/kk|lkk|l~

[qui posset patrios i]am bene nosse Lares. [ll|lkk|l]||lkk|lkk|~

[- – -]s potius dare vota fuerunt, [ln|ln]|l/kk|l/kk|lkk|l~

[- – – n]on data sorte gravi. [ln|ln|l]Ulkk|lkk|~

5 [tu qui perlegis hun]c titulum, studiose viator, [ll|lkk|l]/kk|l/kk|lkk|l~

[dicas praeteriens:] ‘sit tibi terra levis’. [ll|lkk|l]||lkk|lkk|~

Translation

"... son of Marius,... four months.... ...leaving his father behind in life took his rest,... to know his country well.... Rather they were... to make offerings, which cruel fate did not allow. ...You, wayfarer who... attentively... epitaph,... 'may the earth rest lightly on you'."

Bibliography

Stylow, II2/7, 737, cum im. phot. in micr.; Fernández Martínez – Carande, CLEB, CO10, cum phot.; Cugusi 2012, 34. – Cf. Hernández Pérez 2001a, 1, 2, 9–11, 187, 250, 290.

Apparatus

4 [qui posset patrios i]am suppl. Schmidt exempli causa apud II2/7, 737 in appar. – 5 totius Stylow, Fernández Martínez – Carande. – 7 [tu qui perlegis hun]c suppl. Schmidt exempli causa, necnon 8 [dicas praeteriens] apud II2/7, 737 in appar.

Comentary

Fragment of an epitaph in elegiac distichs, restitution suggested by Schmidt exempli causa and added CIL II²fits well with the metric.

Of the name of the deceased there only remain the final letters us and what is probably the genitive of filiation Mari. Ll. 3 to 6 emphasise the prematurity of death, which prevented the young man from knowing his country well (perhaps nostros/patrios Lares) and fulfilling his aims (cf. CLE 1369,6). He was survived by his father, who almost certainly was the dedicant; on mors immatura, cf. Lier 1903, 456-460; Galletier 1922, 135-139; Lattimore 1962, 187-191.

Images

Photo author: M. Fuentes Aguilar.

Link to DB

Author

Author:R. Carande Herrero, C. Fernández Martínez
Last Update2024-01-31 17:09:31
Autopsy date:2001

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