Inscriptions From The Athenian Agora

This is the last of five volumes presenting inscriptions discovered in the Athenian Agora between 1931 and 1967. Published here are inscriptions on monuments commemorating events or victories, on statues or other representations erected to honor individuals and deities, and on votive offerings to divinities. Most are dated to between the 4th century B.C. and the 2nd century A.D., but a few survive from the Archaic and Late Roman periods. A final section contains monuments that are potentially, but not certainly, dedicatory in character, and a small number of grave markers omitted from Agora XVII. Each of the 773 catalogue entries includes a description of the object inscribed, bibliography, a transcription of the Greek text, and commentary. There are photographs of each piece of which no adequate illustration has yet been published, including newly joined fragments. The volume concludes with concordances and six indexes.

This volume presents the funerary inscriptions found in the Athenian Agora between 1931 and 1968. In addition, all Agora fragments of the public casualty lists known in 1971 have been included, together with fragments associated with them but found elsewhere, although the latter are not discussed in full. Of the 1,099 inscriptions catalogued here, 238 are published for the first time. With the exception of 6 (previously published), all contain a sure name, ethnic, or demotic. In accordance with the established policy of the Excavations of the Athenian Agora, a photograph is included of every stone for which none has appeared previously. The catalogue is arranged alphabetically by demotics and ethnics; the indexes include names, tribes, geographical names, significant Greek words, and Latin words. The author's unparalleled familiarity with Attic funerary scripts enabled him to offer valuable chronological suggestions for otherwise undatable private monuments and his historical understanding gave new meaning to the public funerary monuments.

Using evidence from the Athenian Agora, the authors show how objects discovered during excavations provide a vivid picture of women's lives. The book is structured according to the social roles women played: as owners of property, companions (in and outside of marriage), participants in ritual, craftspeople, producers, and consumers. A final section moves from the ancient world to the modern, discussing the role of women as archaeologists in the early years of the Agora excavations.