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‘He who of all mankind set up the most numerous trophies to Zeus’ The Inscribed Pillar of Xanthos reconsidered

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

Marc Domingo Gygax
Affiliation:
Princeton University
Werner Tietz
Affiliation:
University of Munich

Abstract

The Inscribed Pillar of Xanthos remains one of the most enigmatic monuments of ancient Lycia. This article addresses the problem of the monument's authorship, but tries also to shed some light on the relative chronology of its inscriptions (a Greek epigram, a long inscription in Lycian A and a short Lycian B inscription), the relationship between the decorative sculptures of the monument and the content of the inscriptions, the political intention of the Lycian A text, and the significance of the Greek epigram for our understanding of the process of Greek acculturation. We argue that the Pillar results from the interventions of different individuals at different times and its overall design, therefore, does not represent a single and unified concept. Viewed from this perspective, several aspects of the monument, while apparently inconsistent at first glance, reveal their own ‘consistency’, which allows us to resolve the contradictions of previous interpretations.

Özet

Xanthos'un ‘Yazıtlı Taşıma Ayağı’ antik Likya'nın en anlaşılmaz anıtlarından biri olma özelliğini sürdürmektedir. Bu makale abidenin kimliği konusunu sorgularken aynı zamanda yazıtlar ile (bir Yunan epigramı, Likya A ile yazılmış olan uzun bir yazıt ve kısa bir Likya B yazıtı) bağlantılı kronolojiyi, anıta bezeyen heykellerle yazıtların içeriği arasındaki ilişkiyi, Likya Ametninin siyasi amacını ve Yunan kültürünü özümseme sürecine açıklık getirmek açısından Yunan epigramının önemini aydınlatmaya çalışmaktadır. Burada söz konusu taşıma ayağının değişik dönemlerde farklı kişilerin müdahalelerinin bir sonucu olarak tüm tasarımın tek ve bütün bir kavramı temsil etmediğini tartışmaktayız. Bu görüş açısından bakıldığında, ilk bakışta biçok yönüyle tutarsız gibi gözüken anıtın kendi içindeki ‘tutarlılığı’ ortaya çıkmakta, bu da bize daha önceki yorumların çeliskisini çözümlemeye fırsat tanımaktadır.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 2005

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