IGII34 1338 Dedication to Men by Dionysios and Babylia

Dedication to Men by Dionysios and Babylia

IG II³ 4 1338 Date: 3rd century BC

Dionysios and Babylia dedicated the sanctuary to Men.^[1]

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References:

IG II³ 4 1338 (Translated text) (IG Online)

IG II² 4685 (PHI)

Lane, CMRDM I.9

Translation by: Danielle Mackay

Monument type: Base

Inscription type: Dedication (private, Men)

Original location: Sanctuary of Men, Piraeus

Findspot: Piraeus (EM 10599)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This base is dedicated to the god Men. Epigraphical evidence indicates the presence of the Men’s cult in Greece from the 4^th century BC. Men seems to have been a syncretic deity, combining the lunar deity Men from Asia Minor with the Persian lunar god Mah (M. Shenkar, Intangible Spirits and Graven Images, 2014, 98, cf. Herodotus 1.131). He is depicted as a young man wearing a Phrygian cap with a crescent on his shoulders, and he is often associated with Pan and the Nymphs (cf. AIUK 4.5 (BM: Dedications) no. 12 ). Due to his origins in Asia Minor, he was considered close to the Mother Goddess, Cybele, and Agdistis (E.N. Lane, CMRDM, 1971, 81). He was also a fertility deity and could be represented as a river god (Lane, p.107).

This dedication made by a husband and wife could be related to this fertility aspect. The date is based on letter forms and orthography (S. G. Byrne in Μικρὸς Ἱερομνήμων Jameson, 2008, 128 n. 3 = SEG 57.203). There is an oval cutting at the top of the base for the insertion of a marble statue. For other inscriptions relating to Men from Athens, see IG II³ 4, 1339-1341, 1771, IG II² 1365-1366, and AIUK 4.5 (BM: Dedications), no. 12.

Added: 15 May 2025
Updated: 15 May 2025
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