6. Funerary inscription for Kainis

Description

• Monument: plate; marble
• Dimensions: 0.35 × 0.48 × 0.19
• Text: surrounded by rectangular moulded frame
• Letters: 0.02 – 0.035
• Date: second or third century AD
• Found: Plovdiv (Philippopolis), Kyuchuk Parizh district, in a sepulchre near the road to Kuklen
• Now: Plovdiv, Archaeological museum.
• Text Category: private, funerary, verse

Publication

• Bibliography: G. Mihailov, Inscriptiones Graecae in Bulgaria repertae, vol. III, 1, Serdicae, 1961, no. 1022.
• Editorial: The text was encoded following the edition of Mihailov without any additional corrections.
• Publisher: Text by N. Sharankov.

Text

Πυνθάνῃ, ὦ παροδεῖτα, τί τοὔνομα{ι} ἢ τίς | ὁ φύσας; Μάνθανε πάντα κατ’ αἶσαν· ἐμοὶ γε|νέτης Μιθριδάτης καὶ μήτηρ Χρήστη, Καινὶς δ’ ἐγὼ | ἡ βαρυδαίμων· θνῄσκω δ’ εἰκοσέτης τοκετοῦ τέλος || ἐξανύσαντος, ἀρτιδαὴς βιότοιο. τί σοι πλέον ὦ ξέ|νε, εἴπω; 5 ταῦτ’ ἐστίν, παροδεῖτα. σὺ δ’, ὡς θέμις ἐστὶ | βροτοῖσιν, οἰκτείρας με λυγρὰν καὶ δάκρυσι τὴν ἐ|λεεινὴν τειμήσας ἀπὸ σῶ̣ν̣ κανθῶν παρό|δευε τὸ σῆμα.

Translation

O, passer-by, you ask what my name is or who my parent was? Learn everything properly: Mithridates was my father, Chreste – my mother, and I am the ill-fated Kainis. I die at the age of twenty years, after childbirth caused my death, When I had just met life. What more can I say, o, stranger? That is all, o, passer-by. But you – according to the custom of mortals – Deplore mournful me and honour me, the piteous, With tears from your eyes, and then pass by the tomb.

Пътниче, питаш за моето име и моя родител? Всичко узнай, тъй е редно: бе моят баща Митридатес, Хреста бе моята майка, Кенида злощастната аз съм. Двайсетгодишна, току-що познала живота, умирам, в раждане срещнах смъртта, друже. Още какво да ти кажа? Само това е... Но както заставя човек обичаят, щом ме оплачеш злочеста и щом със сълзи на очите, пътниче, клетата мен почетеш, отмини този надпис!

Apparatus

Ligatures: l. 1: ΝΗΩ; l. 2: ΝΕ, ΝΤ, ΝΕ; l. 3: ΝΕ, ΤΗΣ, ΤΗΣ, ΜΗ, ΤΗΡ, ΗΣ, ΤΗΚ, ΓΩ; l. 4: ΗΒ, ΜΩΝ, ΝΗΣ, ΚΩ, ΚΟ, ΗΣ, ΤΕ, ΟΣ; l. 5: ΝΤ, ΗΣ, ΝΩ; l. 6: ΝΕ, ΠΩ, ΑΥ, ΥΔΩΣ; l. 7: ΜΕ, ΛΥ, ΝΚ, ΤΗ, ΝΕ; l. 8: ΗΝ, ΜΗΣ, ΣΩΝΚ, ΝΠ; l. 9: ΗΜ.
Each verse starts with a larger letter; verses are also divided by separation marks. The letters on the last line are surrounded by two leafs.

Photographs

Commentary

The epitaph is composed in hexameters, with numerous poetical words and expressions.

You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML.