Conceptions and Sources
ThissurveyoftheinscriptionsfromtheGraeco-Romanworldandtheiruses
tothehistoriancannotdojusticetothesheervolumeofthesurvivingex-
amplesortotheirinfinitevarietyoftypeandscale;probablythemostcom-
monsingletypeofinscriptionfromtheLatinWest,forinstance,isthebrief
tombinscriptionofaprivateindividualwhoheldnopublicoffice.Itis,of
course,thisgenrewhichhaslastedmostsuccessfullyintothemodernworld
and continues to have a place in contemporaryculture.The ancient tomb
inscription, for instance, like the modern,verycommonly mentioned the
person’sageatdeath.So,grantedtheenormousnumberofsuchinscriptions,
dowe foronce dispose of a valid bodyof statistical data, illuminating the
fundamentallyimportantquestionoftheexpectationof lifeintheancient
world?Theanswerappearstobeno,forthegraphsthusproducedareboth
impossibleintheiroverallpatternsandtendtoshowamarkedconcentra-
tiononagesofdeathwhicharemultiplesoffive.Inotherwords,whatthe
epitaphsrevealisnotanobjectivesampleofagesatdeathbutapatternpro-
ducedbychoicesastowhowascommemorated;theyalsocastlightonwider
socialissuessuchasthelevelofliteracy.^120
Butitistheformalmonumentalinscription—containingalaw,commu-
naldecision,letterfromasuperior,regulationofcultpractices,accountsof
atemple,orvoteofhonours—whichisthemostdistinctiveandhistorically
importantproductoftheroleinancientcultureoftheinscribingofwordson
stoneorbronze.Themotivesfortheinscriptionofparticulardocumentsare
quiteoftenmadeexplicitinthedocumentsthemselveswithoutourthereby
beingenabledtounderstandtheverymarkedprevalenceofthepublicin-
scriptioninancientsocietyasawhole,orwhatdeductionsweshoulddraw
fromthisevidenceabouttheextentofpopularliteracy.Allthatisclearisthat
eachandeverypublicinscriptionistheresultofadeliberatechoice,whether
motivatedbytheneedtoproclaimrulesorprivilegesinpermanentformor
togiveequallypermanentexpressiontothehighlycompetitivevaluesys-
temsofmostancientcommunities.Thisexplicitandformalcharacterisboth
the great strength and the limitation of the inscriptions as historical evi-
dence.Butwhatevercautionmustbeobservedindrawingconclusionsfrom
them,theever-growingmassofinscriptionsinGreekandLatin,andalsoin
otherlanguages,fromtheancientworldstillrepresentsamajorculturalphe-
ArmyandAdministration,’’ANRWII.(),;Die Primipilares. Entwicklung und Bedeu-
tung,Laufbahnen und Persönlichkeiten eines römischen Offiziersranges(Cologne,).
. See,e.g.,R.P.Duncan-Jones,‘‘Age-Rounding,IlliteracyandSocialDifferentiation
intheRomanEmpire,’’Chiron():.