SEG 52:749 / PH340417

This small graffito from Tyras is only one restored line, but it belongs with the Scythian source dossiers because it gives Achilles a Scythian territorial title at the western edge of the North Black Sea.

The source is a fragment of a black-glazed open vase, with the graffito written on the inner bottom. PHI dates it to the late fifth century BCE and cites Thraco-Dacica 22,1-2 (2001), pages 211-212.

The translation below is from the inspected Ancient Greek source line. The restoration is visible in both English and Greek.

Translation

To [Achil]les, protector of Scy[thia].

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Scythian shelf by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Ancient Greek inscription text printed below. The English is a new rendering from the inspected PHI Greek Inscriptions source line.

The word restored as μεδέοντι can carry the force of ruling, guarding, or holding sway over a place. This edition uses "protector" to keep the cultic and territorial force without overstating the damaged title. Another epigraphic rendering may prefer "ruler," "lord," or a less interpretive phrase.

The translation is a new Good Works rendering from the inspected Greek source text.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

🌲

Source Text: SEG 52:749

Ancient Greek source text from PHI Greek Inscriptions, SEG 52:749 / PH340417. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

[Ἀχιλ]λεῖ Σκυ[θίας μεδέοντι]

Source Colophon

The source text was inspected on disk from PHI Greek Inscriptions record PH340417, SEG 52:749. PHI describes the object as a dedication to Achilleus on a fragment of a black-glazed open vase, with the graffito on the inner bottom, from Tyras (Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi) on the North Shore of the Black Sea, late fifth century BCE, citing Thraco-Dacica 22,1-2 (2001), pages 211-212.

The source capture is preserved in the Scythian source archive.

🌲