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Inscriptions: Epitaph of the slave Trophimus by his owner Marcus Marius Rusticus

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Identification

Reference as: MPL01088
Title Epitaph of the slave Trophimus by his owner Marcus Marius Rusticus
Trismegistos-No. 426259

Object

Provenance and Location

Find Place Mogontiacum
Find Context Parish of Zahlbach, between the remains of the Stahlberg fort and its cemetery, 1903.
Latitude 0.0
Longitude 0.0
Current Location Mainz, Landesmuseum Mainz
Inventory number S 79
Current Location Details Depot.
Vicinity

Object Details

Object Type stele
Material limestone
State of Preservation fragmentary (adjoining fragments)
Dimensions

width: 50.0 cm

height: 128.0 cm

depth: 14.0 cm

Letter Size in cm (min) 4.0
Letter Size in cm (max) 8.0
Execution Technique chiselled
Religion Pagan

Decoration

Decoration and Iconography Inscription within moulded frame, topped by moulded tympanum. Damaged pediment, perhaps previously decorated.
Decoration Tags
  • Architecture / Moulding
  • Architecture / Pediment
  • Architecture / Tympanum
  • Architecture / frame

Verse Layouts

  • Prose Verse PresencePraescriptum + carmen
    Prose Verse Distinction
    • Yes, by bigger lettering in prose
    • Yes, by different layout
    Layout Types (Prose)
    • Justified
    • Right aligned
    Layout Types (Verse)
    • Centered
    • Justified
    Scriptio Continua in verse partno
    Abbreviations in verse partno
    Verse Line CorrespondenceNo, just uses all available space
    Graphic Signs and Spaces for Easier Carmen Reading
    • To separate words - Interpunction

Text

Function funerary inscription
Language(s)
  • Latin
Verse Type(s)
  • Elegiac couplet
Rhythmisation Quantitative scheme

Inscription & Translations

TRO.HIMVS
MMARIRVST͡I
CI.[]ANXX
HSE

5AMISSVM[]RTRO
PHIMVMSI[]EFINEDO
LETOFATAL[]OCVITIV
MESTPARC[]TEPVE
RO
Trop̣himus,
M(arci) Mari Rust͡i-
ci ṣ[er](vus), an(norum) XX,
h(ic) s(itus) e(st).

5Amissum, ṃ[ate]r, Tro-
phimum si[n]e fine do-
leto. Fatal[e h]oc vitiu-
m est, parc[ere] te pue-
ro.
Trop̣himus, M(arci) Mari Rust͡ici ṣ[er](vus), an(norum) XX, h(ic) s(itus) e(st).

Amissum, ṃ[ate]r, Trophimum si[n]e fine doleto.
Fatal[e h]oc vitium est, parc[ere] te puero.
Apparatus

Text follows López Sánchez. Picture checked by Spalla 2025.
l. 8: Parc[e p]ie puero, Oxé.

Main Translation

Translation Trophimus, slave of Marcus Marius Rusticus, lies here at the age of twenty.

Cry endlessly for your lost Trophimus, mother! It is destiny's fault, to spare you rather than your son.
Citation Fabio Spalla

Other Translations

Prosopographical Information

  • NameTrophimus
    GenderMale
    Age RangeSubadult (13–20) [expression: Canonical, precision: high]
    Legal StatusSlave
    RoleDedicatee
  • NameMarcus Marius Rusticus
    GenderMale
    RoleDedicator

Further Information

Comment

Dating proposed by Knebusch. Boppert proposes a narrower dating to the first half of the 1st century AD, based on palaeography and type of monument. The dedicator of the monument could also have been Trophimus' mother.

Squeeze

Have Squeeze? no

Dating

Date (From) 1 AD
Date (To) 100 AD
Date (Criteria)
  • palaeography
  • names

Bibliography

Images

  • Epitaph of the slave Trophimus by his owner Marcus Marius Rusticus.

    Epitaph of the slave Trophimus by his owner Marcus Marius Rusticus.

    Source: Ubi Erat Lupa 16588 (c) Mainz - Landesmuseum. Photo: Ortolf Harl

Editing History

Created 2025-10-19, by Anna Pokorny
Work Status Complete
Import Notice Imported from Epigraphische Datenbank Heidelberg at 2024-07-11T12:27:58, ID there: HD075559
Revisions
  1. by Unknown
    at 2024-07-11 12:27
  2. by Anna Pokorny
    at 2024-07-25 08:53
  3. by Anna Pokorny
    at 2025-03-31 12:25
  4. by Fabio Spalla
    at 2025-09-15 11:14
  5. by Fabio Spalla
    at 2025-09-15 11:19
  6. by Chiara Cenati
    at 2025-10-19 12:52
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