Chapter 8. Observations on writing practices in the athenian ceramicus

It was many years ago that Steve Tracy asked me what I thought of the validity of his then recently developed method of identifying the hands of stone masons by the types of errors they committed. I told him that from my experience with Beazley’s method of identifying the hands of vase painters in part by small technical differences in their drawing (the so-called Morelli method) I had no problem with it whatever. Meanwhile the method has been well established and has led to important results..

An Inscribed Terracotta Ball in Boston

A toy rattle, ca. 500 B.C., has inscriptions that include the owner’s name, Myrrhine, and praise of a boy “from the mounds,” i.e. private funeral games. <!--EndFragment--

Studies in Greek epigraphy and history in honor of Stefen V. Tracy

Ce recueil d'articles en épigraphie grecque est destiné à honorer l'œuvre de Stephen V. Tracy dont la recherche méticuleuse sur les "mains" - ou styles - des graveurs a transformé notre perception des inscriptions d'Attique et d'au-delà. Les vingt-neuf érudits qui ont contribué à ce volume présentent des articles qui dévoilent de nouvelles inscriptions ou de nouvelles études sur des textes connus depuis longtemps, mais aussi traitent de questions historiques, religieuses et sociales. Ainsi sont étudiées la Grèce, la Mer Egée et l'Asie Mineure occidentale sur une période qui s'étend de l'époque archaïque à l'Empire romain. Le point commun de ces Mélanges réside dans le caractère central de l'épigraphie, tant dans les problèmes soulevés que dans la conviction qu'un soin minutieux porté au moindre détail d'un témoignage épigraphique peut élargir et enrichir notre compréhension de l'histoire grecque.This collection of studies in Greek epigraphy honors the work of Stephen V. Tracy. His meticulous research on the hands of Attic letter-cutters has transformed the way we think about Greek inscriptions in Attica and beyond. The twenty-nine scholars who have contributed to this volume offer papers ranging from publication of new inscriptions and studies of others long-known to wide-ranging discussions of historical, religious, and social matters. Chronologically and geographically they cover Greece, the Aegean, and western Asia Minor from the Archaic period to the Roman Empire. What unites the work here offered to Tracy is the centrality of epigraphy to the questions addressed and conviction that careful attention to even the smallest details of the epigraphic evidence can advance our understanding of the Greek past in rich and unexpected ways