AIUK47 no. 1 Funerary Epigram

Funerary Epigram

AIUK 4.7 (BM, Miscellaneous) no. 1 Date: 4th cent. BC

I was allotted the fate of a good death and I advise everyone . . . delightful . . . so that they die . . . ^[1]

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Greek text

References:

AIUK 4.7 (BM, Miscellaneous) no. 1 (Translated text) (AIO)

Translation by: Peter Liddel, Polly Low

AIO Images:

Monument type: Fragment

Inscription type: Funerary

Sligo collection - Findspot: Unknown (BM 1959,0414.3)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This inscription was acquired by the British Museum at a Christie’s sale on 9th December 1958 and accessioned in 1959. It had previously been in the possession of Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (1788-1845). He travelled to Athens in 1810, excavated a number of sites, and accumulated more than 1000 vases and 100 marbles which were kept at Westport House, Co. Mayo, Republic of Ireland. On this collection, see discussion in AIUK 15 (Miscellaneous), pp. 41-42. Two other Athenian inscriptions are identified as deriving from Sligo's collection: part of the decree for Euagoras of Salamis (AIUK 4.2 (BM, Decrees of the Council and Assembly) no. 7); the stele for Soteris of Sicily (AIUK 4.6 (BM, Funerary) no. 38.

While the origin of this inscription is not documented, its lettering and style suggest that it is probably Attic, and dates to the 4th century BC. The inscription is an elegiac couplet, of which only the first verse (a hexameter) can be partially reconstructed. The very incomplete state of preservation of the text makes it hard to draw any conclusions about the person it commemorated, but its reference to the theme of the "good death" might suggest a connection with the death of a young man in combat; an alternative possibility, however, is that this was a death which came at the end of a long and successful life. For more detailed discussion of this inscription see AIUK 4.7 (BM, Miscellaneous), no. 1. For more detailed discussion of funerary monuments, see AIUK 4.6 (BM, Funerary).

Added: 23 Jun 2026
Updated: 23 Jun 2026
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ID: AIO_3696