IGII34 732 Dedication to Blaute or Asklepios (?) by Silon

Dedication to Blaute or Asklepios (?) by Silon

IG II³ 4 732 Date: ca. 350-300 BC

Relief Silon dedicated this.^[1] relief

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References:

IG II³ 4 732 (Translated text) (IG Online)

IG II² 4423 (PHI)

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Acropolis Museum - (1)
Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Pillar

Inscription type: Dedication (private, Blaute?), Dedication (private, Asklepios?)

Findspot: Athens, southeast of the Theatre of Dionysos (Acropolis Museum EAM 2565, formerly NM 2565)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is a tall narrow pillar which flares out slightly above the inscription. The relief above the inscription is the sole of a very large sandal, with the heel at top, upon which a bearded man (Silon?) is depicted, facing right with his right arm raised. There are holes in the sandal for the insertion of sandal straps made of metal, now lost. This strange design has been interpreted as an offering in hope of a safe journey, a request to heal some foot problem, or an indication of the god it was dedicated to (see below). The relief below the inscription, which is nearly two metres high, depicts a snake. On the reliefs, see N. Kaltsas, Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, 2002, p. 216. The dedicator is not otherwise attested.

The pillar was perhaps dedicated to Blaute, a heroine linked to Aphrodite, whose name means ‘slipper’ and who had a sanctuary on the west slope of the Acropolis (cf. IG II³ 4, 1844-1845; Paus. 1.22.3; cf. V. Pirenne, Studia Phoenicia V, 1987, 153-156) or to the Hero by Blaute, to whom it was customary to dedicate sandals (Pollux 7.87; E. Mitropoulou, Five Contributions to the Problems of Greek Reliefs, 1976, 61-64), but these cults are not otherwise attested until the Imperial period. Alternatively, it might have been dedicated to Asklepios in the Asklepieion on the south slope of the Acropolis (on which, see IG II³ 4, 665), since the snake was a symbol of Asklepios (Curbera in IG II³ 4).

Added: 15 May 2025
Updated: 18 May 2025
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ID: AIO_3355