Epigraphy time(Life of Aristides),isifanythingincreasedbythefactthatthedecree
waspassedafterthedefeatoftheGreeksintheChremonideanWarandthe
garrisoningofAthensbytheforcesofAntigonusGonatas.Thepurposeof
quotingtheinscriptionhere,however,isnottoofferanydetailedcommen-
tary,butsimplytoillustratehowindividualinscriptionsofsufficientlyrich
content,evenoneswhich—likethis—arequiteshort,canprovideafocusof
studythroughwhichthenatureofawholesocietyorperiodcouldbeana-
lysed.Epigraphictextsofthissortcanbetaken(inasense)individuallyand
placedinawidercontextinthesamewayasliterarytextsmaybe.
.Thesenatus consultumof..fromAphrodisias.Thisdocumentof
longlinesrepresentsalmostthefullesttextofanysenatusconsultumsofarpub-
lished.Itisperhapsthemostimportantofthelargedossierof inscriptions
illustratingtherelationsoftheCariancityofAphrodisiaswithRomepub-
lishedbyJoyceReynolds.^43 Withoutrepeatingtheverydetailedcommentary
given by Miss Reynolds, it is enough to say that the document both pro-
videsdetailedevidenceabout,andraisesmanyproblemsinrelationto,ahost
of issues: the meeting places of the Senate, its procedures and theirdocu-
mentation,JuliusCaesarandhisattachmenttothecultofVenus/Aphrodite,
the role of theTriumvirs in relation to republican institutions, the nature
ofasylia(rightsofasylum)andtheprivilegesof ‘‘free’’cities.Butthemost
complexanddifficultquestionofallrelatestothecompositionofthedocu-
mentaswehaveit.Whatexactlyisitthattheinscriptionisarecordof?The
proceedingsoftheSenate?Theconsul’s(consuls’?)speech?Amotionpassed
onhis(their)proposal?Whyisthedocument,whosetextisbadlydamaged
inmanyplaces,markedbysomanyrepetitionsofthesamesubjectmatter,
whichnonethelessdonotexhibitexactverbalrepetitions?And,inanycase
istheGreektextacompletetranslationoftheLatinoriginalorasetofex-
tracts,orsomethingmorelikeasummary?Whatappearsatfirstsighttobe
adocumentaryrecordsoonturnsouttoshowconsiderableambiguities,not
lessened by the fact that the actual inscription as we have it was inscribed
morethantwocenturieslater.Somewherebehindtheactualphysicalobject,
theinscriptioncarvedinGreekintheearlythirdcentury..,liesasetof
proposalspassedinLatinbytheSenateinRomein..Howclosewecan
cometothelattermustdependinpartonadetailed‘‘textual’’andstructural
analysis,comparabletothatappliedtoliterarytexts.
.The‘‘LaudatioTuriae.’’Thisfamousinscription,containinganaddress
byanunknownRomantohisunnameddeceasedwife,recordingherdevo-
. JoyceReynolds,Aphrodisias and Rome(London,),doc..