IGII34 1403 Dedicatory inscription on the Arcuated Building in the Roman Agora

Dedicatory inscription on the Arcuated Building in the Roman Agora

IG II³ 4 1403 Date: Mid-1st century AD

. . . | to Athena Archegetis and the | gods Augusti | . . . | . . . | of Gargettos [and . . . ]|-es son of Hermogenes of Gargettos, but by birth | son of Demetrios of Mara|[thon ] . . . | . . . | . . . | dedicated (this).^[1]

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References:

IG II³ 4 1403 (Translated text) (IG Online)

IG II² 3180 (PHI)

IG II² 3183 (PHI)

IG II² 5922 (PHI)

SEG 21.846 (PHI)

SEG 44.161 (PHI)

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Epistyle

Inscription type: Building inscription

B - Findspot: Roman Agora or Church of Hagios Konstantinos (At findspot)
C - Findspot: Roman Agora (In situ)
D - Findspot: Roman Agora, west of the Tower of the Winds (At findspot)
G - Findspot: Acropolis (Athens Ephoria ΡΑ, formerly ΜΑ 13187)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is the inscription from the façade of the Arcuated Building, constructed in the mid-first century AD, just east of the east gate of the Roman Agora, and immediately south of the Tower of the Winds (on which, see SEG 33.199 with notes). It indicates that the building was dedicated to a deity whose name is lost, Athena Archegetis (‘the founder’), and the gods Augusti. Athena Archegetis was also the dedicatee of the west gate of the Roman Agora (see IG II³ 4, 12). The gods Augusti are the deified Roman emperors and empresses, who were worshipped at Athens as a collective from the reign of Claudius onwards (cf. IG II³ 4, 126). The dedicators were a man of the deme Gargettos whose name is lost (perhaps Hermogenes), another man who was the adoptive son of Hermogenes of Gargettos. The lost final portion of line 2 probably gave the archon date.

The inscription is carved on the epistyle of the façade. It should have originally consisted of seven blocks (A-G), but only four now survive (B, C, D, and G). B-D were apparently seen in situ on the Arcuated Building by Cyriacus of Ancona in the 15th century (IG II² 5922), but only C is still in place. Block B may have been seen in the Church of Hagios Konstantinos tou Saïta (east of the Tower of the Winds) some time before 1835 by the Greek epigrapher K.S. Pittakis (L’ancienne Athènes, 1835, 126), but has been in the Roman Agora since 1862 (E. Breton, Athènes decrite et desinée, 1862, 257). Block D is heavily worn from reuse as a threshold block in Turkish times. Block G was reused as building material for a post-antique structure on the Acropolis. The divisions between the blocks are indicated in the translation with vertical lines. The pry holes for attaching these blocks to the façade are still visible on the top of the lintel. Each block has two holes for dowel clamps at each end and a series of holes on top.

The three arches of the Arctuated building’s façade facing the Roman Agora and the monumental stairway in front of them remain largely intact (images of the structure on Commons). Archaeological investigation indicates the building extended to the west for at least 44 metres and was apparently built on top of the main road running east from the Roman Agora. It appears to have been roofless. Previously, this structure was identified as the Agoranomeion, the market inspectors’ office, on the basis of stylistic similarities with IG II² 3391, a façade block whose inscription identifies itself as the Agoranomeion. However, the different dimensions of the two blocks indicate that they belong to different structures. The function of the Arcuated Building is thus uncertain. For a detailed study of the structure, see M. C. Hoff, Archäologischer Anzeiger 1994, 93-117, who suggests that it might have been a shrine of the Imperial cult, but other interpretations are possible. H. J. Kienast, Der Turm der Winde in Athen (2014), 29-31 proposes that the holes on top of the blocks supported the channel of a small aqueduct to supply water to the hydraulic mechanisms inside the neighbouring Tower of the Winds, after the original underground channel had ceased to function.

Added: 6 Mar 2026
Updated: 6 Mar 2026
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ID: AIO_3661