Journal | Axon
Journal issue | 4 | 1 | 2020
Research Article | Epitaph for Deinias
Epitaph for Deinias
Abstract
The funerary epigram, engraved on a base of white limestone that was found by E. Kirsten in Palairos in 1939, is the oldest from Hellenistic Akarnania. The text, composed of two elegiac couplets, commemorates the warrior Deinias, son of Learchos, who died young fighting against the Aetolians. The palaeographic characteristics of the letters of the inscription allow us to place it at the end of the 4th century BC: this dating seems to be confirmed by elements inside the text and by some historical sources (in particular Diodorus Siculus). The epitaph is an important testimony to local epigrammatic poetry: in fact, although it was made by an anonymous versifier, it appears remarkable both from a poetic (given the presence of formulas and topoi well attested in literature, such as the mourning for the immature mors of the warrior) as well as a linguistic point of view (in fact, forms taken from the Ionic dialect and from the epic can be found).
Submitted: March 1, 2020 | Accepted: March 25, 2020 | Published June 22, 2020 | Language: it
Keywords Etolia • Età ellenistica • Caduti in guerra • Acarnania • Epigramma ellenistico • Mors ante diem
Copyright © 2020 Marta Marucci. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Axon/2532-6848/2020/01/007
