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A.P. Bekhter (Saint Petersburg) – Φιλισκοσ Ο Μαχιμοσ (to the Interpretation of the Graffito from Myrmecium)

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Abstract

The paper publishes an ostracon with a two-line graffito found during the excavations ar the Myrmecium, dating from the 2nd–1st centuries BC. The inscription on the shard Φιλίσκος ὁ μάχι|μος, which is most likely a private one (marking?), can be interpreted in two ways. In the first case, ὁ μάχιμος is interpreted in the broad meaning of “warrior, fighter”, representing a playful nickname of Philiskos, in the second – in a highly specialized one, used as a designation for foreign mercenaries in the Egyptian army of the Ptolemaic era. The involvement of documents fixing the presence of immigrants from the Bosporus in the Ptolemaic army allows us to consider the second reading option as quite possible. The graffito in question gives an occasion to turn once again to the interpretation of the lines 1–2 of CIRB 450 proposed by the author: Δολης ὁ [[Ἡ]]γοῦμεν|oς, which was seriously criticized by V.P. Yailenko. The analysis of the argument of an opponent reveals its inconsistency, and allows you to draw an interesting parallel between Δολης ὁ [[Ἡ]]γοῦμενος and Φιλίσκος ὁ μάχιμος in the first understanding of the graffito.

Keywords

Greek epigraphy, Myrmecium, graffi to, ostracon, Bosporan mercenaries in the Egyptian army, Bosporus and Egypt, CIRB 450, Δολης.

Anastasiya P. Bekhter

Saint Petersburg Institute of History Russian Academy of Science

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