Athens and Macedon: Attic Letter-Cutters of 300 to 229 B.C.

IG II 2 689 Cutter, 305/4–ca. 270 B.C.

74 The Cutter of IG II2 689 Dates: 305/4 –ca. 270 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LETTERING (figs. 17–18) This cutter employs thin strokes and inscribes his letters rather lightly. Moreover, strokes rather frequently overlap or do not meet precisely. The lettering has an evanescent, somewhat sloppy, quality. PECULIARITIES OF INDIVIDUAL LETTERS Alpha This letter is relatively wide; one or the other slanting stroke extends a bit past the other at the apex. The crossbar is placed around the midpoint and sometimes bends a little. Epsilon The vertical often extends above and below the horizontals. The horizontals so vary in length and in placement with respect to one another that almost no two epsilons are alike. The central horizontal is usually somewhat shorter than the other two. Kappa The slanting strokes of this letter are unusually short and sometimes cross one another just before they meet the vertical. In one case they curve and in several the lower is much shorter than the upper. The variety is very striking. This letter is one of this cutter’s most idiosyncratic. Attic Letter-Cutters of 300 to 229 B.C. / 75 Omikron This letter varies in size but is usually somewhat smaller than the other letters and is placed in the middle or lower part of the letter-space. It is usually made from a number of straight strokes and has a squarish appearance. Figure 17. IG II2 689a. Figure 18. IG II2 689b. Attic Letter-Cutters of 300 to 229 B.C. / 77 Rho The loop varies from rather small to rather large and is quite often made with straight segments. Upsilon This letter is composed of three strokes. The vertical is no more than half the height of the letter. The surmounting v is quite wide and large. The left slanting stroke sometimes cuts through and across the vertical. Omega This letter is reasonably round, somewhat less tall than the others, and open at the bottom with short horizontals to right and left. The left one tends to be larger. The letter sits more or less on the baseline. LIST OF INSCRIPTIONS IG II2 689 and addendum Archon [ . . . . . . ]ide[s]. For the restoration p. 665 (figs. 17–18) of the opening lines, see B.D. Meritt, “Greek Inscriptions,” Hesperia 26 (1957) 55; on the calendar equation see now J.D. Morgan, “Determination of the Calendar Equation of IG II2 689 and MA 14906,” Horos 10 –12 (1992–1998) 49–51. A.P. Matthaiou, “N°o yraËsma t∞w IG II2 689,” Horos 10 –12 (1992–1998) 29– 42, has added a new fragment that joins at the upper left (SEG 46 no. 134). He does not restore Lysitheides (272/1) as the archon, but suggests that others are also possible, e.g., Arrheneides (262/1) or Philippides (269/8). IG II2 690 (fig. 19) D. Peppa-Delmousou, ArchDelt 29B (1973– 1974) 17, has joined EM 12814 to this (⫽ SEG 29 no. 103). ⫹IG II2 711 IG II2 797 and addendum Archon [Euxenippos] (305/4). See Hesperia p. 667 (fig. 20) 32 (1963) 358 (⫽ SEG 21 no. 337) for some improved readings. Figure 19. IG II2 690 lines 2–13. Figure 20. IG II2 797. ADNOTATIUNCULA IG II2 711 The stone is preserved blank for 0.13 m below line 13. Thus far we have only four inscriptions from this workman’s hand, with a temporal spread of roughly thirty-five years. The four all reveal a striking regularity. All have letters and interlines about 0.006 m in height; all are stoichedon. None shows syllabification and none has a blank space. In the only inscription where enough survives so that we can ascertain his practice with certainty, IG II2 689, the cutter did not use the perfect design or emphasize the speaker in any way. Attic Letter-Cutters of 300 to 229 B.C. / 79 ...