page_title: Tomb of Menecrates
section_title: Inscription
hierarchical_section_title: Tomb of Menecrates / Inscription
caption_attribution_description: English: Ancient inscription on Menecratis's tomb
context_page_description: The Tomb of Menecrates or Monument of Menecrates is an Archaic-period cenotaph in Corfu, Greece, built around 600 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra. The tomb and the funerary sculpture of a lion were discovered in 1843 during demolition works by the British army who were demolishing a Venetian-era fortress in the site of Garitsa hill in Corfu. The tomb is dated to the sixth century BC.
  The sculpture is dated to the end of the seventh century BC and is one of the earliest funerary lions ever found. The tomb and the sculpture were found in an area that was part of the necropolis of ancient Korkyra, which was discovered by the British army at the time. According to an Ancient Greek inscription found on the grave, the tomb was a monument built by the ancient Korkyreans in honour of their proxenos Menecrates, son of Tlasias, from Oiantheia. Menecrates was the ambassador of ancient Korkyra to Oiantheia or Ozolian Locris, and he was lost at sea, perhaps in a sea battle. The inscription also mentions that Praximenes, the brother of Menecrates, had arrived from Oiantheia to assist the people of Korkyra in building the monument to his brother.
context_section_description: There is an ancient inscription on the tomb. It is expressed in dactylic hexameter, and is written in the Corinthian alphabet from right to left. It starts with a mark of a rhombus, and there are traces of punctuation marks. Its style is very early, as indicated by the use of the digamma Ϝ. The inscription is one of the oldest extant in Greece. There is a peculiarity in the inscription, in that although it is in Doric Greek, the verb "πονηθη" is in Ionian Greek; the proper Doric form should have been "ποναθη". It is theorised that while the authors of the inscription were Dorians, the inscription on the tomb must have been engraved by an Ionian.
  
  The inscription reads as follows: 
  Υιού Τλασίαο Μενεκράτους τόδε σάμα Οιανθέως γενεάν τόδε δ' αυτώ δάμος εποίει- Ης γαρ πρόξενος, δάμου φίλος- αλλ' ενίπόντω Ώλετο· δαμόσιον δε καθίκετο πένθος Οιάνθην. Πραξιμενης δ' αυτώ ι. ηδ' απο πατριδος ενθων Συν δαμω τοδε σαμα κασιγνητοιο πονηθη.
  
  The ancient inscription translates as: 
  For Menecrates, the son of Tlasias from Oiantheia, this [monument] was built by the people [of Korkyra]—because he was proxenos [ambassador] and friend of the people [of Korkyra], but he was lost at sea. Oiantheia fell into public mourning. Praximenes for this reason came from his fatherland to make an effort to raise this monument to his brother together with the people [of Korkyra].
caption: Transcribed inscription of Menecrates's tomb
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