This Roman-period Greek honorific inscription from the sanc…

By Anonymous · published 28 Oct 2026

AI interpretation, unverified

SUMMARY

This Roman-period Greek honorific inscription from the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi honors Marcus Aurelius Ulpius Asklepios Lucius, a prominent citizen of Nikopolis and Amphictyonic representative, for his dedication to the Great Pythian Games.

WRITING SYSTEM

Greek alphabet (Roman Imperial monumental capital script with serifs)

LANGUAGE

Ancient Greek (Koine)

TEXT

ΤΟΝ ΑΞΙΟΛΟΓΩΤΑΤΟΝ ΑΜΦΙΚΤΥΟΝΑ ΓΕΝΟΜΕΝΟΝ ΠΥΘΙΑΔΙ [..] Μ· ΑΥΡ· ΟΥΛΠΙΟΝ ΑΣΚΛΗΠΙΟΝ ΛΟΥΚΙΟΝ ΝΕΙΚΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΗΝ ΔΙΑ ΤΕ ΗΘΟΥΣ ΣΕ[ΜΝΟ]ΤΗΤΑ ΚΑΙ ΔΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΣΠΟΥΔΗΝ [Η]Ν ΕΝΕΔΕΙΞΑΤΟ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΗΣ ΣΕΜΝΟΤΗΤΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΩΝΟΣ ΤΩΝ ΜΕΓΑΛΩΝ ΠΥΘΙΩΝ ΠΡΟΙΚΑ ΠΡΕΣΒΕΥΣΑΝΤΑ ΟΙΚΕΙΟΙΣ ΤΕ [ΑΝΑΛΩΜ]ΑΣΙ ΧΡΗΣΑΜΕΝΟΝ [ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΑΝΔΡΙΑΝ]ΤΟΣ ΤΗΝ ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣ[ΙΝ]

TRANSLITERATION

Ton axiologōtaton amphiktyona genomenon Pythiadi [..] M(arkon) Aur(ēlion) Oulpion Asklēpion Loukion Neikopoleitēn dia te ēthous se[mno]tēta kai dia tēn spoudēn [h]ēn enedeixato hyper tēs semnotētos tou agōnos tōn Megalōn Pythiōn proika presbeusanta oikeiois te [analōm]asi chrēsamenon [kai tou andrian]tos tēn ana[stasin]

TRANSLATION

[The council/city honors] the most worthy Marcus Aurelius Ulpius Asklepios Lucius, citizen of Nikopolis, who served as Amphictyon for the [..] Pythiad, both because of his dignity of character and on account of the zeal he displayed for the majesty of the contest of the Great Pythian Games, having served as an ambassador without remuneration, bearing the expenses out of his own funds [and financing] the erection of the statue.

CONTEXT

This inscribed limestone statue base originates from the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi in Central Greece. The Amphictyonic Council and Delphic authorities frequently honored visiting delegates and benefactors during the Roman Empire for financing their own diplomatic missions and underwriting ceremonies connected to the Pythian Games. The nomenclature Marcus Aurelius Ulpius points to a prominent provincial aristocrat of the late 2nd or early 3rd century CE (c. 175–230 CE).

CONFIDENCE

High

CAVEATS

• The GPS coordinates (60.235, 24.603) point to Espoo, Finland, which is an erroneous camera metadata location; the archaeological monument is in Delphi, Greece. • Lines 11–13 suffer from fracturing at the bottom edge, but standard epigraphic formulae for statue funding at Delphi easily restore [ἀναλώμ]ασι and [τοῦ ἀνδριάν]τος τὴν ἀνά[στασιν].