Greetings

ἐλάινος
ὁ πᾶσι φί =
λητος
ἐλάινε
χαίροις
πολλὰ̣
ἀγαθώτατε


Findspot: Smyrna, Basilica (Agora.1)
Language: Greek
Writing Style: Graffito/incised
  • Graffito Height: 13
  • Graffito Length: 7
  • Min Letter Height: 1
  • Max Letter Height: 1
Apparatus Criticus: The first three lines may be rendered “Olive tree, dear to all,” while the last three lines can be taken as “Fare well for a long time, good sir.” But to find ἐλάινε in the vocative in line 4 is surprising. That suggests a personal name; such a name is listed by LGPN 3A.139 from CIL 4.597 (Pompeii) and 5B.132 from Miletos and Perge. It seems likely that a word-play on the identity is intended; if so, one could render the entire graffito as “The olive tree is dear to all; Mr. Olive, fare well for a long time, good sir.”
Bibliography: Bagnall, R. S. et al., Graffiti from the Basilica in the Agora of Smyrna (2016): 417.
Suggested Citation: AGP-SMYTP0962, The Ancient Graffiti Project, <https://ancientgraffiti.org/Graffiti/graffito/AGP-SMYTP0962> [accessed: 24 Nov 2024]
Contributions:

Editor: Roger S. Bagnall

Principal Contributor: Roger S. Bagnall

Last Revision: 2016-10-03