Latin Inscription

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Latin Inscription

Postby Tiberius Dionysius Draco on Wed Jun 04, 2003 1:01 pm

Salvete Romani,

I recetly saw a picture of the following Latin inscription:

SALVTI CAESARIS AVGVST

GLABRIO PATRONVS COLONIA D D F C

I was wondering what this means, can somebody translate this?

Valete bene,

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Postby Horatius Piscinus on Wed Jun 04, 2003 2:36 pm

Salve Tiberi

DD F C means DECRETO DECURIONUM FECIT CIVI

By decree of the town councilors this statue was dedicated in the name of the citizens of colony Glabrio Patronis to the emperor's Health.

So what's the picture?

Vale
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Ostia

Postby Primus Aurelius Timavus on Wed Jun 04, 2003 2:43 pm

According to Lacus Curtius, this inscription appeared at Ostia, the Port of Rome. Here is a hotlink to the LC epigraphy page. Just search in the page under Glabrio to find it.
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Postby Primus Aurelius Timavus on Wed Jun 04, 2003 2:47 pm

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Postby Tiberius Dionysius Draco on Wed Jun 04, 2003 3:02 pm

Salve Piscine,

M Moravi Horati Piscine wrote:So what's the picture?


This picture appeared under a short interview with a popular stand-up comedian and I wondered what the inscription had to do with the interview.

Apparently, nothing. Although I first thought it was supposed to be something funny, it appears to be something completely different, very strange.

Anyway, thanks for your help Piscinus and Tergestus.

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Postby Anonymous on Wed Jun 04, 2003 6:20 pm

Gosh the Web is a wonderful place, or can be sometimes at any rate. I spotted a link from y'all coming across to my site no more than about an hour ago; I went and found my photo, scanned it, found the CIL number from Gnomon, wrote my little page, and FTP'd it to my site. You can now look at the statue base and its inscription here; or you can go back to the link given earlier, and now you'll notice that the ID number in the leftmost column there is a link, which'll take you to the new page.

I'd also translate it somewhat differently; FC at the end of an inscription -- and notice the spacing -- is almost always "faciendum curavit" ("arranged to have this made or done"): FECIT CIVI, at any rate, is not Latin (CIVI is not a whole word!) nor is *FECIT CIVIBUS or CIVITATI a normal phrase); and although I'll go along with Decreto Decurionum, I'm not completely sanguine about it, since I've never bumped into DDFC, and the FC is Glabrio doing it, while the DD would be the city doing it officially. DD... can mean so many things! Still, the general drift of the inscription is there: Glabrio, patron of the colony (of Ostia), wished good health to the emperor (or wished to have people believe so), and made arrangements, quite possibly with the decuriones, to have a statue and its inscription placed in some public place.
Last edited by Anonymous on Mon Jun 09, 2003 11:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Tiberius Dionysius Draco on Wed Jun 04, 2003 6:52 pm

Ave Bill,

the second picture of the link you've posted is identical to the one I was talking about so now Piscinus might have a better idea what the phot looked like.

Thanks

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Postby Anonymous on Wed Jun 04, 2003 6:59 pm

Ave Tiberi mi,

I hope it's not absolutely identical, else someone's been in my fiile cabinet! Not too surprising though that the 2d photo -- a mere detail of the first -- matches, since it's the same inscription: incredibile dictu, there is no other known inscription with exactly the same text anywhere in the Roman world.

(I'm still poking thru Cappelli and Keppie and so on trying to find a better DD....)

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Postby Horatius Piscinus on Mon Jun 09, 2003 11:35 pm

Salve Bill

Good to see you here (I've been a fan of Lacus Curtius for some years). I am glad, too, that someone other than the usual Latin Inquisition is correcting my poor efforts at translating Latin. Di immortales prohihibessint I should ever be asked to write in Latin again.

With great relief I shall soon give up my temporary stay as prorector here (before anyone else asks for a translation) and hand off to someone better qualified. :wink:

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