of the Grceco-Roman Era in certain ancient Sites of Asia Minor. 137 



ship, or because he was prompted by his vanity* to a public display of so beauti- 

 ful a monument as even the relic which I saw proves the tomb to have been when 

 as yet uninjured by time or barbarism. 



The inscription proceeds to inform us, that this soros was destined to his own 

 use and to that of his sweetest spouse (yXvKVTaTrj avTov yvvaiiu) Aurelia Ponti- 

 ana, exclusively, no other individual being privileged to make use of it for the 

 purpose of interment : that any infringement of this notice was to be attended 

 with a forfeiture to the most illustrious city oftheThyatirenes, of one thousand 

 five hundred denaria, and to the most sacred treasury {to lepcoTarov rafjulov) 

 of two thousand five hundred:^ in addition to which, the parties so offending 

 were to incur the penalties of the law against breaking into tomhs (rvii^wpv^ia). 

 It is then added : two fair copies of this inscription have been made, one of' 

 which has been entered (ereOr)) in the registry office {ap^eiov). Done in the 

 most illustrious city of the Thyatirenes, in the proconsulship of Catillius Severus, 

 on the thirteenth of the month q/AudncBUs, in presence ofMenophilu^sJulianus, 

 Registrar. 



The following observations are suggested by this extract : firstly, that there 

 were two classes of penalties to which tomb-breakers {TVfijBcopvxoi) were made 

 liable, one affecting their property, the other their persons, or, it may be, their 

 civil rights. We know that amongst the Romans there were express laws against 

 the violation of the receptacles of the dead, J as also that this department of legis- 

 lature was not neglected by the Greeks : for Cicero's words, when treating of 

 Solon's enactments on this and other matters relative to the common weal, are, 

 " Posnaque est, si quis bustum (nam id puto appellari Tvp.fiov), aut monu- 

 mentum, aut columnam violarit, dejecerit, fregerit. § 



Secondly : that the framer of the inscription defines with great exactness the 

 legal formalities which were observed, giving also names and dates. 



Of these the proconsulship of Catilius Severus is the first. This name is 



* The expressions of Rosinus prove that Zosimus shared this feeling in common with his 

 countrymen : " Communis Romanorum sepullura in viis publicis erat ut ex epitaphiis apparet, <^c." 

 Antiq. Rom. v. 39. fin. 



■f The value of the denarius wras different at different times : but fixing it at a medium of eight- 

 pence halfpenny, these suras correspond respectively to £53 2s. Gd., and £88 10s. lOd. of our money. 



I Vid. Rosin. Antiq. ubi supr. § De Legibus, ii. 26. 



S2 



