Conceptions and Sources
relativelyrichstockofinscriptionscanbeplacedinanarchaeologicalsetting
ofwhollyexceptionalcharacter.^61 IntheGreekEastevenasinglesanctuary
canproduceamajorseriesofinscriptions,allowinghistoricalstudiesatvari-
ouslevels:so,forinstance,theAsclepieionatPergamum,^62 thegreattemple
ofApolloatDidymanearMiletus,^63 orthesanctuaryofZeusatLabraundain
Caria.^64 Anincomparablymoreextensivemassof inscriptionscomesfrom
thesanctuaryofApolloatDelphi.^65 TheseveralhundredinscriptionsofDel-
phi,stretchingfromtheclassicaltotheimperialperiod(forwhichthereis
an extensive series of Imperial letters concerned with the sanctuary) serve
tocreateanotuncommonsituation:thatwhilewenormallycomplainofa
dearthofevidenceforthehistoryoftheancientworld,herewefindour-
selveswithtooheavyaconcentrationofdocumentsofveryspecialisedtypes
(accounts,dedications,letters)which,togetherwiththevastarchaeological
remains,makea‘‘history’’ofDelphiintheancientworldanalmostunimag-
inabletask.WehavesuchahistoryforpartoftheHellenisticperiod;^66 but,
forinstance,noonehasyetpublishedahistoricalanalysisoftheroleofDel-
phi in the Graeco-Roman world of the Empire. Much the same could be
saidof Delos,^67 wherethepatternoftheinscriptionsiscomplicatedbythe
island’s special relationship to Athens and by its brief but very important
roleasamajorinternationaltradingcentrebetween..andtheMith-
ridaticwars.Itis,onceagain,asyetimpossibletoimagineserioushistorical
work,usingtheepigraphicandarchaeologicalevidence,whichisnotstrictly
. ForOstiathereistheclassicstudyof R.Meiggs,Roman Ostia^2 (Oxford,);for
Pompeii,seenowP.Zanker,Pompeii: Stadtbild und Wohngeschmack(Mainz,),translated
asPompeii: Public and Private Life(Cambridge,Mass.,).Forworkbasedoninscriptions
andgraffiti,notetheworkofGigante(n.)andVäänänen(n.).SeealsoH.Castrén,
Ordo Populusque Pompeianus: Polity and Society in Roman Pompeii(Rome,).Thegraffiti
fromPompeiiarecollectedinCILIVandSupplements.
. Chr.Habicht,Altertümer von PergamonVIII.:die Inschriften des Asklepieions(Berlin,
),withanexemplaryhistoricalintroduction.
. A.Rehm,DidymaII:die Inschriften(Berlin,).
. J.Crampa,Labraunda: Swedish Excavations and ResearchesIII.–,andThe Greek In-
scriptions(Lund,–).
. VolumesofinscriptionsappearamongthereportsoftheFrenchexcavations,Fouilles
de DelphesIII,inaseriesofseparatefasciculesdividedbythearchitecturalsettingofthe
inscriptionsandpublishedatintervalssince.
. R.Flacelière,LesAitoliensàDelphes(Paris,);G.Daux,Delphes au IIme et du Ier
siècles(Paris,).
. TheinscriptionsareagainpublishedinthereportsoftheFrenchexcavations,Inscrip-
tions de Délos,andsofarrunto,items.NotethereforeG.Durrbach,Choix d’inscriptions
de DélosI.–(Paris,–).