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Greek Epigraphy
 

A component of the Greek Language and Linguistics Gateway


Updated Dec. 31, 2008

Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions, and more specifically, the deciphering of ancient inscriptions. Several resources related to the study of ancient Greek epigraphy are available on the web and can be reached through this page.

Table of Contents

Organizations

 

Several organizations have created websites providing information on their own epigraphical work or brief descriptions of work with inscriptions done by others. Some of these sites provide images of significant inscriptions.
Images

 

The list below provides direct access to a number of image collections. These collections are developed and maintained by some of the organizations listed above. By placing their images on the internet they have made them available to a worldwide network of scholars interested in ancient Greek epigraphy. They deserve our sincerest gratitude.

  • Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity

    • This site presents the electronic second edition of Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity: The Late Roman and Byzantine Inscriptions, by Charlotte Roueché, King's College London, expanded and revised from the version published by the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies in 1989. Several Greek inscriptions are included in this electronic edition.

  • David Gill's Art and Archaeology of Attica Site

    • David Gill's site provides photographic resources to explore some of the archaeological monuments of the city of Athens and the surrounding countryside of Attica. Several inscriptions are included among the photographs.

  • J.M.R. Cormack Macedonian Collection (Squeezes)

    • A large collection of inscriptions from Macedonia.

  • Images from the squeeze collection of Ohio State University

    • The Web site of the Center for Epigraphical and Paleographical Studies at Ohio State University contains a list of scanned images of dated Attic inscriptions. Each listing serves as a link to an image of the relevant squeeze and is accompanied by information listing publication(s) where a copy of the text can be found including the most recent publication from which a bibliography for the inscription can be obtained. Each image also serves as a link to a larger version of the same squeeze. A 2 cm scale has been scanned in with each squeeze (most are approximately twice actual size).

  • Imaging Projects of the Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents
  • Images from the Cox Archive

    • The Cox Archive is an archive of notebooks, photographs and squeezes from Sir Christopher Cox's two Phrygian expeditions in 1925 and 1926 that formed the basis for Barbara Levick's and Stephen Mitchell's publication of volumes IX and X of Monumenta Asia Minoris Antiqua in 1988 and 1993.

  • Images of inscriptions at the US Epigraphy Project

    • Images of several hundred inscriptions are now available for viewing and downloading at resolutions of 72 dpi and 150 dpi. The images are listed according to geographical region - except for Attic inscriptions, which have been further divided.

  • Inscriptions of Israel / Palestine

    • The Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine project seeks to collect and make accessible over the Web all of the previously published inscriptions (and their English translations) of Israel/Palestine from the Persian period through the Islamic conquest (ca. 500 BCE - 640 CE). There are about 15,000 of these inscriptions, written primarily in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin.

  • Mysteries at Eleusis: Images of Inscriptions

    • While this site is attractive and contains images of a good number of inscriptions, it requires the user to allow pop-up windows.

Discussion List


 

INSCRIPTIONES-L is a moderated scholarly discussion list devoted to the study of Classical Epigraphy. Its purpose is to provide a forum for all aspects of such study. While the primary focus of the list is the discussion of inscriptions from the Greek and Roman worlds, discussion of inscriptions from 'peripheral cultures' is also welcome.

Books on Greek Epigraphy


  While many books on epigraphy are available, the following three are current and influential and provide specific discussion of ancient Greek inscriptions. Any of them would make a good starting place for your study.
  • Bradley McLean, An Introduction to Greek Epigraphy of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods from Alexander the Great Down to the Reign of Constantine 323 B.C. - A.D. 337

    • B. H. McLean discusses the classification of inscriptions and analyzes particular classes of inscriptions, including decrees, honorary inscriptions, dedications, funerary inscriptions, and manumission inscriptions. The book also discusses special topics relevant to the interpretation of specific inscriptions, such as Greek and Roman administrative titles and functions.

  • John P. Bodel, Epigraphic Evidence: Ancient History From Inscriptions (History of Linguistics), Routledge, 2001

    • John P. Bodel provides a solid introduction to what inscriptions can reveal about ancient life in the Greco-Roman world. Epigraphic Evidence offers a useful, readable account of the vast diversity of inscriptional remains from this period as well as the difficulties faced by historians who must rely on such evidence.

  • The Study of Greek InscriptionsA. Geoffrey Woodhead, The Study of Greek Inscriptions 

    • This is considered by many to be the standard introduction to the field for readers in English. Besides a solid coverage of the major aspects of the discipline, this second edition provides a guide to the major corpora of published Greek inscriptions.

    Professor Woodhead passed away on November 6, 2008. He will be missed, and his contribution to the field long remembered.

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