Praise of an Athlete

Θεαγένης
<:vacat> νεικητ(ής)


Translation: “Theagenes, victor!”
Findspot: Smyrna, Basilica (Agora.1)
Location metadata ➜
Language: Greek
Writing Style: charcoal
  • Graffito Height: 10
  • Graffito Length: 37
  • Min Letter Height: 3
  • Max Letter Height: 4
Apparatus Criticus: 1. Theagenes, the deified Thasian boxer and pankratiast, is the subject of Pausanias 6.11.2–9. The name is very common throughout the Greek world, but its use here suggests that it might have been adopted by a professional boxer or pankratiast in order to associate himself with the luster of his namesake.
Bibliography: Bagnall, R. S. et al., Graffiti from the Basilica in the Agora of Smyrna (2016): 154-155.
Bagnall, R., Everyday Writing in the Graeco-Roman East (2011): 16.
SEG 61.961.
Suggested Citation: AGP-SMYT00125, The Ancient Graffiti Project, <http://ancientgraffiti.org/Graffiti/graffito/AGP-SMYT00125> [accessed: 23 Apr 2024]
Contributions:

Editor: Roger S. Bagnall

Principal Contributor: Roger S. Bagnall

Last Revision: 2016-10-03