Implying and

expressing motives

for dedicating in

Greek and Roman

votive inscriptionsThe Helsinki Research on the Ancient World

10.12.2018

Museo lapidario

Maffeiano, Verona.

An altar dedicated

to Juppiter Optimus

Maximus 2nd century

CE. Photo: L. Aho

Votive inscriptions?

• A person could make a promise or a vow to a god to give a gift if

the god showed him favour or helped him. This vow could be

made ex tempore in the face of adversities or it could’ve been

planned ahead

• Widely practised and an important part of Greco-Roman religion

• Dedications and votive offerings were put up in sanctuaries

• Offering could be almost anything

• Inscriptions could accompany a votive offering or a dedication

• The inscription gave information about the dedication or votive

offering: who, what, to whom, when, and why.

The problems with my research material:

• (Votive)inscriptions are often short, schematic, and

formulaic for the simple reason of their cost and the space

available for the text

• The circumstances in which votive inscriptions were

manufactured and compiled are unclear -> Who

formulated the text and designed the inscription? Ready-

made inscriptions? Model texts?

How to separate an impersonal formula from what

the dedicator actually wanted to say about

his/her specific circumstances?

The bottomline• Terms indicating that a votive promise was made

and fulfilled: votum solvere/reddere, vovere,

gratiam agere, ex voto, debitum, merito, eukhē,

kharistērion, aparkhē, dekatē, or euxamenos/-ē.

• Different combinations of words votum, solvere,

merito, libens, and/or animo can be found all over the Greco-Roman world, often abbreviated to a

single letter.

• The abbreviation VSLM can be found all over the

Roman empire, and it is by far the most popular

one. In Gallia, Germania, Noricum, and Pannonia

VSLLM is dominant, but almost non-existent in the

southern parts of the empire. VSLA again is

dominant in Hispania and North Africa, and much more infrequent in other parts of the empire.

CIL V, 3228

Museo Archeologico al

Teatro Romano, Verona.

C(aius) Vindius C(ai)

l(ibertus) / Priscus /

Herculi / v(otum) s(olvit)

l(ibens) m(erito). Photo: L.

Aho

CIL VI, 30805, Museo

nazionale romano

Terme di Diocleziano,

Rome, 141CE.

Silvano Au(gusto) /

sacrum / C(aius) Iulius /

Castrensis / ex voto.

Photo: L. Aho.

The God

• Dedications were made to such personifications as Bonus Eventus, Bona

Valetudo, Fortuna Redux, and Tutela.

CIL VI, 18, Rome.

Domino Aesculapio / et Hygiae ex permissu / eorum

negotiationis / fabariae gratias / agentes numini / et

aratis eorum / T(itus) Iulius Genesiacus et Caecilia /

Balbilla ceriolaria duo Satu/ri et Antiotes / libentes

donum / dederunt

Photo: http://manfredclauss.de

Epithets

• Sometimes god’s epithet can indicate the motive for a dedications as in

Fortuna Redux which was popular among the soldiers at the limes area.

There were also epithets that were used with different deities such as

conservator, salutaris, salutifer, polioukhos ja epēkoōs.

SEG 50:1086, Grosvenor Museum, Chester (Deva Victrix).

Πανυπείροχα/ς ἀνθρώπων / σωτῆρας ἐν ἀθα/νάτοισιν

❦ / Ἀσκληπιὸν ἠ/πιοχεῖρα (?) Ὑγεί/ην

Πανάκει/αν ❦ εἰητρὸς / [Ἀ]ντί[ο]χος(?) / [— — — —]

Photo: L. Aho

Giving the reason

• Expressis verbis the reason was usually given as concisely as possible.

• Prepositions like ex/ek, kata, hyper, ob, and pro were extremely popular.

On the other hand. post-/prepositions causa, propter, and gratia, or eneka,

kharin, and dia were rarely used.

• Ex/ek and kata were used when a divine theophany, a command, or a

dream was in question, as in ex visu, ex responso, ex monitu, ex iussu, and

ek khrēsmou, kat’onar, kat’epitagēn, kata prostagma.

• Pro, ob, and hyper were used when health or protection was in question as

in pro salute, pro incolumnitate, ob reditum, ob valetudinem, and hyper

hygieias. In addition in Greek participle clauses were often used as insōtheis/sōtheisa ek nosou.

• Also ablative and genitive absolute are sometimes used.

RIB 3, 3149, Grosvenor Museum,

Chester (Deva Victrix, amphitheatre).

Deae Nemesi / Sext(ius) Marci/anus

|(centurio) ex visu

Photo: L. Aho.

AE 1941, 78, Church of S. Prisca, Rome.

Deo Soli Invicto Mithr(a)e / quod saepe Numini eius /

ex audito gratias e[t vota]

Photo: L. Aho.

• In addition the reason for a dedication could be

expressed as a picture. The best know example of this

being the so called anatomical votives.

• The general rule seems to be that when there’s a

pictorial representation of the reason, it is not mentioned (again) in an inscription (if there is one).

Exception to the rule

CIL III, 7266 Epidauros.

Cutius has auris Gallus

tibi voverat olim /

Phoebigena et posuit

sanus ab auriculis

Photo: B. Forsén,

Griechische

Gliederweihungen

Text and picture

Anatomical votives,

National Archaeological

Museum, Athens.

Photo: L. Aho.

AE 1950, 51 Musei Capitolini,

Rome.

C(a)elesti trium/[f]ali Iovinus /

[v]otum suum / [r]estituit

Photo: L. Aho

Anatomical votives, Museo

Nazionale Etrusco di Villa

Giulia, Rome.

Photo: L. Aho

Epigr. tou Oropou 344

National Archaeological

Museum, Athens. Ἀρχῖνος Ἀμφιαράωι

ἀνέθηκεν

Photo: L. Aho.

The most common reasons and motives

• They can be roughly divided into two categories:

1. Crises like accidents and illness

2. General wishes of well-being, safety, and success

• The most common reason given is some sort of

theophany or communication with a god.

These theophanies are often connected with illness and

incubation, or a surprising accident or crisis where god’s

help or advice was needed. But they could also be

linked to e.g. getting back stolen or lost items.

Thank you!