Stele Honoring a Judge in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, January 2018

Stele documenting Mylasa and Alabanda honoring the judge Lanthes
Greek
Hellenistic Period
second or first century (after 166) B.C.

Findspot: Anatolia (Turkey), Troad, Assos (Behramkale), Below the bouleuterion

Medium/Technique: Marble, crystalline white from western Asia Minor (?)

Dimensions Overall: 49 x 45.6 x 8 cm (19 5/16 x 17 15/16 x 3 1/8 in.)

Credit Line: Gift of the Archaeological Institute of America

Accession Number: 84.53

Collections: Ancient Greece and Rome

Classifications: Inscriptions


Catalogue Raisonné: Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 280; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 113 (additional published references).

Description: "Lanthes, son of Prodikos, the judge. The inhabitants of Mylasa. The inhabitants of Alabanda."

Four cities, including Mylasa and Alabanda, erected this stele to honor the judge Lanthes, probably for managing the competitions in civic festivals. At the the top is a triangular pediment with a shield at the center; below this is a panel giving the judge's name. The main field is divided into four panels, each containing a laurel wreath around a disk or shield noting the name of a city. The laurel wreaths are insignia of honor, here conferred on a judge instead of a victor.

The stele has a pedimental top with akroteria above and a shield in relief in the center. The field between the thin pilasters was originally divided into four squares (two and parts of the lower two remaining), in each of which is an inverted laurel wreath with an inscription on a shield within.

Condition: The surfaces are well preserved, with a yellow patina: the break is clean and relatively fresh. The relief is low and delicate. There are sculptor's guidelines for the inset panels of relief and the moldings, as well as lapicide's lines for the lettering.

Provenance: From Assos (Behramkale, Turkey); below the Bouleuterion. 1881-1882: excavated by the Archaeological Institute of America; gift of the Archaeological Institute of America to MFA, January 1884.

Text from: collections.mfa.org/objects/151278/stele-documenting-mylasa-and-alabanda-honoring-the-judge-lan