Introduction
Scholars of the ancient world are often frustrated in their endeavors by the vast amount of material which has been lost due to the passage of time. One area of ancient scholarship in which the amount of available sources continues to increase is in the field of epigraphy, or the study of inscriptions. For this and other reasons, epigraphic analysis is proving to be of increasing value in the study of virtually all aspects of the ancient world, including social issues, religious aspects, political and economic decision-making, and social connections between groups or individuals.
Definition
Greek epigraphy is generally defined as the study of writings in the Greek alphabet which are inscribed upon durable artifacts. The materials on which the inscriptions are placed include not only stone (although the majority of epigraphic documents are indeed inscribed on stone) but also bronze, pottery, and other objects. Inscriptions may be movable, such as those on pottery, gems,...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsFurther Reading
The American Society of Greek and Latin Epigraphy. n.d. Available at: http://www.case.edu/artsci/clsc/asgle/.
Austin, R. P. 1938.The stoichedon style in Greek inscriptions. London: Oxford University Press.
Bourguet, E. & G. Colin. 1929-43. Fouilles de Delphes 3. Paris: E. de Boccard.
The Center for Epigraphical and Paleographical Studies. n.d. Available at: https://epigraphy.osu.edu/.
The Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents. n.d. Available at: http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/.
Cook, B.F. 1987. Greek inscriptions. London: British Museum.
Dow, S. 1969. Conventions in editing: a suggested reformulation of the Leiden System (Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies Scholarly Aids 2). Durham: Duke University.
IG/SEG Concordance. n.d. Available at: http://www.ig.uni-muenster.de/igseg.dll/EXEC/0/0hvp1nx001ueo218hrugy0is7zgp.
Inscriptiones Graecae Eystettenses: A database for the study of the Greek inscriptions of Asia Minor. n.d. Available at: http://www.gnomon.ku-eichstaett.de/LAG/datenbank.html.
Jeffery, L.H. 1990. The local scripts of archaic Greece, 2nd ed. Oxford: A.W. Johnston.
Klaffenbach, G. 1966. Griechische Epigraphik, 2nd ed. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Lawton, C.L. 1995. Attic document reliefs: art and politics in ancient Athens. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Maier, F.G. 1959-60. Griechische Mauerbauinschriften. 2 vols. Heidelberg.
McLean, B.H. 2002.A n introduction to Greek epigraphy of the Hellenistic and Roman periods from Alexander the Great down to the reign of Constantine (323 B.C.-A.D. 337). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
The Packard Humanities Institute Searchable Greek Inscriptions. n.d. Available at: http://epigraphy.packhum.org/inscriptions/.
Petrakos, V. 1999. Ὁ δῆμος τοῦ Ραμνοῦντος, I-II. Athens.
Plassart, A. & F. Durrbach. (1926-1972). Inscriptions de Délos, 7 vols. Paris: Champion.
Raubitschek, A.E. 1949. Dedications from the Athenian Akropolis. Cambridge (MA): Archaeological Institute of America.
Reinmuth, O. 1971. The Ephebic inscriptions of the fourth century B.C. (Mnemosyne Supplement 14). Leiden: Brill.
Rhodes, P.J. & R. Osborne. 2003. Greek historical inscriptions 404-323 B.C. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Robert, L. 1940.Les gladiateurs dans l’Orient grec. Paris: Champion.
Rougemont, G., J. Bousquet, A. Bélis & F. Lefèvre. (1977-2002). Corpus des inscriptions de Delphes 1-4. Paris.
Sokolowski, F. 1969. Lois sacrées des cités Grecques. Paris: E. de Boccard.
Tracy, S.V. 1990. Attic letter-cutters of 229-86 BC. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- 1995. Athenian democracy in transition: Attic letter-cutters of 340 to 290 B.C. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- 2003. Athens and Macedon: Attic letter-cutters of 300 to 229 B.C. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Threatte, L. 1980. The grammar of Attic inscriptions: phonology. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter.
-1996. The grammar of Attic inscriptions: morphology. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter.
U.S. Epigraphy Project. n.d. Available at: http://usepigraphy.brown.edu/.
Woodhead, A.G. 1981. The study of Greek inscriptions, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Kellogg, D.L. (2014). Epigraphy, Greek. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_945
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_945
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0426-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0465-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law