IEleus 511 Statue base for the hearth-initiate Praxagora

Statue base for the hearth-initiate Praxagora

I Eleusis 511 Date: Ca. 180-185 AD

O visitors (xeinoi), after the famous temple (anaktora)^[1] of Deo, behold also a parents’ famous daughter, Praxagora, whom Demostratos of Melite (5) and Philiste brought into this world, both being descended of dadouch parents;^[2] but a chorus of children decorates me too; in front of the other initiates (mustōn) at the ceremonies (teletais),^[3] (10) they have placed a wreath (stemma) on my hair.^[4]

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References:

I Eleusis 511 (Translated text) (PHI)

IG II² 4077 (PHI)

Translation by: Feyo Schuddeboom

Images: Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Base

Inscription type: Statue base, Metrical (elegaic couplets)

Findspot: Eleusis (Telesterion) (Eleusis Museum E 1005)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This statue base bears an inscription in elegaic couplets. Visitors would, of course, first see the Telesterion, the great hall of the Eleusinian initiation ceremony (anaktora refers to the whole Telesterion building, not to any particular part of it). After that, they might wish to see the other monuments. [2] The honorand Claudia Praxagora of Melite was the daughter of Claudius Demostratos and Aelia Philiste. For a stemma of this family, see Clinton, I Eleusis II, p. 398; Byrne, Roman Citizens, Stemma VIII. [3] Of the Mysteries. [4] The fact that Praxagora is being crowned by children "in front of the other initiates" indicates that she is a hearth-initiate, a child chosen to be initiated at public expense and to perform religious duties at the Mysteries. See I. Eleusis 621 with notes.

Added: 12 Sep 2015
Updated: 23 Mar 2025
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ID: AIO_937