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Inscriptions: Funerary inscription of the slave Onesimus by his parents and two conservi

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Identification

Reference as: MPL01274
Title Funerary inscription of the slave Onesimus by his parents and two conservi
Trismegistos-No. 282582

Object

Provenance and Location

Find Place Peltuinum (S. Pio delle Camere)
Find Context Modern village of S. Pio delle Camere (L'Aquila), along the Piano Navelli sheep track, 1978.
Latitude 0.0
Longitude 0.0
Current Location Chieti, Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Inventory number 23274
Current Location Details
Vicinity

Object Details

Object Type stele
Material local stone
State of Preservation incomplete
Dimensions

width: 39.0 cm

height: 120.0 cm

depth: 30.0 cm

Letter Size in cm (min) 1.7
Letter Size in cm (max) 2.5
Execution Technique chiselled
Religion Pagan

Decoration

Decoration and Iconography Stele surmounted by acroteria (only the left one surviving). Inscription divided into three sections: a first prose section above a relief with a professional scene, probably a portrait of the deceased Onesimus wearing a tunic and holding a tibicen, with another four tibicines on the left-hand side; a second prose section on the background of the scene; a third verse section below the scene.
Decoration Tags
  • Architecture / Acroterion
  • Object / Tunica
  • Person / Human figure
  • Person / man
  • Person / portrait

Verse Layouts

  • Prose Verse PresencePraescriptum + carmen
    Prose Verse Distinction
    • Yes, by bigger lettering in prose
    • Yes, by different layout
    Layout Types (Prose)
    • Right aligned
    Layout Types (Verse)
    • Justified
    Scriptio Continua in verse partyes
    Abbreviations in verse partno
    Verse Line CorrespondenceNo, just uses all available space

Text

Function funerary inscription
Language(s)
  • Latin
Verse Type(s)
  • Dactylic hexameter
Rhythmisation Quantitative scheme

Inscription & Translations

Above the scene:
ON͡ESI.[]
PCCORNEL
SERVOPARENTES
VAXXVIWithin the scene:
5FIDVSFIDVS
CONSERPIENOMI[]
Below the scene:

[]?SINON[]
CONSISTEVITORVIDQVAVA
[]HOMINVIXI
10[]VM[]
[]AVIDPERQVE
RQDVM[---]VCTVSEXIGASET[---]
[---]VNCTPOSVERE[---]
PAREN...
Above the scene:
On͡esiṃ[o],
P(ubli) <et> C(ai) Cornelị
servo, parentes p̣(osuerunt).
V(ixit) a(nnos) XXVI. Within the scene:
5Fidus, Fidus,
conser(vi) pienṭ(issimo) ḥomiṇ[i].
Below the scene:

[Quid] ṃọṛọṛ? Si non ịṇ[vitus],
consiste, viạtor, ẹṭ vidẹ quaṃ va-
[nu]ṃ hominụṃ ṣụp̣ẹṛ ạṇṇọṣ vixi.
10Ọṃịṇụṃ c̣ọṇ[spect]um [requi-]
[sisti] avidẹ ṣịg̣ṇịṣ ṣẹṃperque
rạṭạqụẹ dum [---] f̣ṛuctus exigas et [---]
[---] ḥunc tịṭụḷụṃ posuere [---]
parenṭẹṣ.
Above the scene: On͡esiṃ[o], P(ubli) <et> C(ai) Cornelị servo, parentes p̣(osuerunt). V(ixit) a(nnos) XXVI. Within the scene: Fidus, Fidus, conser(vi) pienṭ(issimo) ḥomiṇ[i]. -
Below the scene:

[Quid] ṃọṛọṛ? Si non ịṇ[vitus], consiste, viạtor,
ẹṭ vidẹ quaṃ va|[nu]ṃ hominụṃ ṣụp̣ẹṛ ạṇṇọṣ vixi.
Ọṃịṇụṃ c̣ọṇ[spect]um [requi-]|[sisti] avidẹ ṣịg̣ṇịṣ
ṣẹṃperque rạṭạqụẹ dum [---] f̣ṛuctus exigas et [---]
[---] ḥunc tịṭụḷụṃ posuere [---] parenṭẹṣ.
Apparatus

Text follows CIL 09. Picture checked by Spalla 2025.
l.5, "Fidus Fidus" initially hypothesised as the repeated cognomen of a single person according to M. Buonocore 1985. Then hypothesised as two homonymous "conservi" in AE 1985, followed by M. Buonocore in CIL 09.

Main Translation

Translation Above the scene:
To Onesimus, slave of Publius and Caius Cornelius, his parents made this monument.

Within the scene:
He lived twenty-six years.
Fidus and Fidus, his fellow slaves, made this for a most honest man.

Below the scene:
Why am I keeping you here? If you are not unwilling, stay, traveller, and learn how vainly I lived much longer than other men. You eagerly sought attention through the augural insignia, and you always received confirmation when... you found the results, and... His parents set up this monument.
Citation Fabio Spalla

Other Translations

Prosopographical Information

  • NameOnesimus
    GenderMale
    Age RangeAdult (21–60) [expression: Canonical, precision: high]
    OriginUnknown
    Legal StatusSlave
    RoleDedicatee
  • NameFidus
    GenderMale
    OriginUnknown
    Legal StatusSlave
    RoleDedicator
  • NameFidus
    GenderMale
    OriginUnknown
    Legal StatusSlave
    RoleDedicator

Further Information

Comment

Dating proposed by M. Buonocore in CIL 09.

Squeeze

Have Squeeze? no

Dating

Date (From) 201 AD
Date (To) 300 AD
Date (Criteria)
  • palaeography

Bibliography

Images

  • Funerary stele of Onesimus.

    Funerary stele of Onesimus.

    (c) D. A. I. Rom

  • Verse inscription on the funerary stele of Onesimus.

    Verse inscription on the funerary stele of Onesimus.

    (c) M. Buonocore 1985

Editing History

Created 2025-05-02, by Eric Andreas Kunz
Work Status Confirmed
Import Notice Imported from Epigraphic Database Roma at 2024-07-25T11:19:15, ID there: EDR079736
Revisions
  1. by Unknown
    at 2024-07-25 11:19
  2. by Eric Andreas Kunz
    at 2024-08-28 10:48
  3. by Eric Andreas Kunz
    at 2024-08-28 10:50
  4. by Eric Andreas Kunz
    at 2024-08-28 10:50
  5. by Anna Pokorny
    at 2025-01-29 16:22
  6. by Fabio Spalla
    at 2025-04-29 14:11
  7. by Fabio Spalla
    at 2025-04-29 14:56
  8. by Fabio Spalla
    at 2025-04-29 14:59
  9. by Chiara Cenati
    at 2025-05-02 09:51
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