Let's start with the observation that we are working with a "dedicatory inscription," that is, an inscription that proclaims someone's gift. In this case it is Eumachia's gift of a building to the city, although the building is actually dedicated to Concordia Augusta and to Pietas.
A dedicatory inscription is formulaic. It says that "so-and-so dedicated something to someone". (In Latin that's nominative, verb, accusative, dative...but not in that English word order, of course.) Here it's "Eumachia dedicated it to Concordia, etc." That's the basic information. But our inscription provides more than the bare facts. There is a lot of other information that can be extracted from the inscription. If we consider some of the nuances in the inscription, if we pick up on the allusions made to the contemporary political and cultural scene in Rome, and if we look at the building itself--that's a lot, admittedly-- but if we do it, we can enter a whole world of status, ambition, responsibility, civic pride, architectural achievement, urban development, sculptural display, etc. The inscription and the building to which it belongs can be a window on to Pompeian life.
So where do we begin? At the beginning of the inscription. Here is the inscription again in translation (or, if you prefer, the expanded Latin text).
Eumachia, daughter of Lucius [Eumachius], a public priestess, in her own name and [in the name] of her son, Marcus Numistrius Fronto, built at her own expense the chalcidicum, the porticus, and the crypta, and dedicated them to Concordia Augusta and to Pietas.
The dedication to Concordia Augusta and to Pietas is extremely important, but a discussion of it will be more fruitful if it is deferred until other issues are pursued.
Let's pursue a new line of analysis and consider the plan of the Eumachia Building.
More to come...
Stay tuned!!
Return to beginning of exercise.
Copyright 1997 by John J. Dobbins, all rights reserved
Document URL: http://www.iath.virginia.edu
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