Epigraphic Sources (Inscriptions)

In addition to literary and papyrological sources, evidence in the form of inscriptions has also been preserved. The (sub-)discipline concerned with these sources is known as Epigraphy. Epigraphy deals not only with inscriptions on stone, but also on metal, ceramics, bricks, glass, plaster, mosaics, wood, leather, and so forth. What is particularly fascinating about inscriptions, similarly to papyri, is that they are preserved in their ancient originals or in copies made in antiquity. Inscriptions are especially valuable for investigating socio-historical, prosopographical (the study of groups of individuals) and questions pertaining to legal history.

Since the 19th century, large-scale projects have been undertaken to record inscriptions systematically. Editions present the transcribed text using the Leiden Conventions, as is customary with papyri.

The principal editions are the Inscriptiones Graecae (IG) and the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL). The former presents inscriptions in Greek, the latter in Latin. The volumes are organised geographically, with individual inscriptions within each volume numbered consecutively according to the type of inscription. In the case of the CIL, however, not all volumes are organised geographically (cf. vols. I,1; I,2; XV; XVI; XVII; XVIII). Users must be aware that older volumes do not reflect the current state of research and do not include all inscriptions discovered to date. Neither IG nor CIL provide translations. In addition to IG and CIL, many other Corpora exist, such as the Tituli Asiae Minoris (TAM), Inschriften griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien (IK), Sylloge inscriptionum graecarum³ (Syll3), or Orientis graeci inscriptiones selectae (OGIS), among others.

An inscription should be cited as follows: [Corpus] [volume number] [Inscription number] ([date, if datable], [place of discovery]). For example, inscription no. 43 from IG vols. II/III² is cited as IG II/III² 43 (378/7 BCE, Athens). If the respective inscription is mentioned again in the immediate vicinity of the first reference, the date and place of discovery do not need to be repeated in the follow-up reference, i.e. IG II/III² 43.

Two important journals for researching inscriptions, translations, and scholarly articles are the Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum (SEG) and the Année Epigraphique  (AE). As these journals are published annually, they include newly discovered inscriptions and revised editions of previously published inscriptions, making SEG and AE valuable reference works.

Collected works that group similar inscriptions are also available. For instance, one may cite BENGTSON H., Die Staatsverträge des Altertums, Munich 1962–.

Several digital resources are available. For Latin inscriptions, recommended databases include:

• Clauss – Slaby (comprehensive compilation of Latin inscriptions, links to other databases, transcriptions of the inscriptions, references to publications and additional metadata),
• the Epigraphische Datenbank Heidelberg (EDH; inscriptions from the provinces of the Roman Empire; transcriptions, metadata, references to publications), or
• the Epigraphic Database Rome (EDR; inscriptions from Rome and the Italic islands, excluding Christian inscriptions; transcription, metadata, references to publications).

Greek inscriptions can be searched:

• in the digital edition of IG (including translations where available),
• online in SEG (transcription with metadata and occasional commentary),
• via Attic Inscriptions Online (English translation, metadata, literature references, commentary), or
• PHI Greek Inscriptions (transcription with metadata, no translation, simple search for Greek terms).

These databases also provide references to literature concerning the inscriptions, which may include further translations.

Recommended introductory works for Latin and Greek Epigraphy include:

• SCHMIDT MANFRED G., Lateinische Epigraphik, Eine Einführung, 3^rd revised edition, Darmstadt 2015.
• BRUUN CHRISTER/EDMONDSON JONATHAN (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Roman Epigraphy, Oxford 2015.
• COOLEY ALISON ELIZABETH, The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy, Cambridge 2012.
• KLAFFENBACH GÜNTHER, Griechische Epigraphik, Studienhefte zur Altertumswissenschaft 6, 2^nd ed., Göttingen 1966.
• MCLEAN BRADLEY H., An Introduction to Greek Epigraphy of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods from Alexander the Great to the Reign of Constantine (323 B.C.–A.D. 337), Ann Arbor 2002.
• PETZL GEORG, Epigraphik, in: Nesselrath Heinz-Günther, Einleitung in die griechische Philologie, Stuttgart 1997, p. 72–83.
• WOODHEAD ARTHUR G., The Study of Greek Inscriptions, 2^nd edition, Cambridge 1981.