A Dedication to Βασιλεὺς Ὄσιρις from the Inner Troad

Abstract

This paper aims to examine a recently discovered small fragment of a dedicatory inscription engraved on a low pe­destal that was found in the countryside of the Pazarköy village near the town of Ezine in the Çanakkale province. This inscription reveals that a statuette representing Aphrodite Ourania and Nephthys was dedicated to Osiris bearing the epithet βασιλεύς. The presence of Nephthys and Aphrodite Ourania, equated with Isis, in the same context suggests that the dedication could be connected to the Osiris myth. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that this dedication from a location in the inner Troad may have been dedicated during the festival Inventio Osiridis in order to commemorate the death and revival of Osiris. The translation of the inscription is as follows: “I dedicated Aphrodite Ourania [and] his own sister Nephthys to King Osiris.”

Keywords

• troad
• king osiris
• aphrodite ourania
• isis
• nephthys
• inventio osiridis
• troas
• kral osiris
• aphrodite ourania
• isis
• nephthys
• inventio osiridis