Epigraphy has multiple roles to play in an examination of cityscaping: it not only provides key evidence for individual acts of cityscaping, but is itself a significant material element within many cityscapes of this period. The epigraphic evidence for Hellenistic Sicily is steadily improving, as is the associated archaeology, which often permits the material contextualization of texts. It is increasingly clear that epigraphic culture – itself undergoing significant development and transformation in this period – played a major role in the development of the cityscapes of Hellenistic Sicily. The study of Sicilian epigraphy has long been hampered by the nature of existing publication. Utilizing a new digital corpus of Sicilian epigraphy (I.Sicily: http://sicily.classics.ox.ac.uk/), this paper will attempt an overview of the epigraphic evidence for the cityscapes of Hellenistic Sicily, seeking to elucidate patterns of practice, with particular emphasis on indications of regional variation and other trends over time and space.
Talk
Epigraphy in the cityscapes of Hellenistic Sicily
Dr. Jonathan Prag