Early Bosporan Cult Dedications under Leukon and Pairisades -- Four Greek Inscriptions

Four Greek Inscriptions from Pantikapaion and Phanagoria

These four short Greek inscriptions come from the early Bosporan kingdom on the north Black Sea frontier. They are cult dedications: Kreousa to Demeter, Satyrion to Apollo Ietros, a damaged father to Artemis Ephesia for his daughter Itia, and Kassalia to Aphrodite Ourania.

Their value for the Scythian shelf is the royal formula. The stones name Bosporos, Theodosia, the Sindi, the Maeotians, and in one Phanagorian dedication the Thateans and Doschi. They show Greek civic cult, Bosporan kingship, and neighboring peoples in the same epigraphic frame without making those peoples identical.

The translations below were made from inspected Ancient Greek texts in PHI Greek Inscriptions: PH182722 / CIRB 8, PH182724 / CIRB 10, PH182725 / CIRB 11, and PH183705 / CIRB 972.

Translation

1. Kreousa Dedicates to Demeter

Kreousa, daughter of Medon, dedicated this to Demeter after serving as priestess, when Leukon was archon of Bosporos and Theodosia and king over the Sindi and all the Maeotians.

2. Satyrion Dedicates to Apollo Ietros

Satyrion, son of Pataikos, after serving as priest, dedicated this to Apollo Ietros, when Pairisades was archon of Bosporos and Theodosia and king over the Sindi and all the Maeotians.

3. A Father Dedicates to Artemis Ephesia for Itia

[A certain man], son of Koiranos, dedicated this to Artemis Ephesia [for] his daughter Itia, when Pairisades was archon of Bosporos and Theodosia and king over the Sindi and all the Maeotians.

4. Kassalia Dedicates to Aphrodite Ourania

Kassalia, daughter of Posios, dedicated this to Aphrodite Ourania when Pairisades was archon of Bosporos and Theodosia and king over the Sindi, the Maeotians, the Thateans, and the Doschi.

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Scythian shelf by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Ancient Greek inscription texts printed below. The English is a new rendering from the Greek. PHI Greek Inscriptions was used as the source text, with local HTML captures and extracted source files retained for verification.

The dossier is included for Bosporan, Sindian, Maeotian, and north Black Sea cult context. It should not be used as a broad identity claim about the Scythians, Sindi, Maeotians, Thateans, Doschi, or Bosporan Greeks.

Prepared for the Good Works Library of the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

🌲

Source Text: Four Early Bosporan Greek Dedications

Ancient Greek source texts from PHI Greek Inscriptions. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translations above.

1. CIRB 8 / PH182722

1 Κρέουσα Μέδοντος Δήμητ[ρι ἱερωμένη ἀνέθηκεν]
ἄρχοντος Λεύκωνος Β[οσπόρου καὶ Θεοδοσίης]
καὶ βασιλεύοντος Σίνδω̣[ν καὶ Μαϊτῶν πάντων].

2. CIRB 10 / PH182724

1 [Σ]α̣τυρίων Παταίκου ἱερησάμενος
[ἀ]νέθηκεν Ἀπόλλωνι Ἰητρῶι
[ἄ]ρχοντος Παιρισάδεος Βοσπόρο
[κα]ὶ Θευδοσίης καὶ βασιλεύοντος
5 [Σίν]δων καὶ Μαϊτῶν πάντων.

3. CIRB 11 / PH182725

1 [ὁ δεῖνα] Κοιρ[άν]ου ἀνέθηκεν
[ὑπὲρ τ]ῆ[ς θυ]γατρὸς Ἰτίης Ἀρτέμιδι
Ἐφεσείηι ἄρ[χοντο]ς Παιρισάδους Βοσπόρου
καὶ Θευδ[οσίης] καὶ βασιλεύοντος
5 Σίνδ[ων καὶ Μαϊτ]ῶν πάντων.

4. CIRB 972 / PH183705

1 Κασσαλία Πόσιος ἀνέθηκε Ἀφροδίτηι
Οὐρανίηι ἄρχοντος Παιρισάδεος
Βοσπόρου καὶ Θευδοσίης
[κ]αὶ βασιλεύοντος Σίνδων, Μαϊτῶν,
5 [Θ]ατέων, Δόσχων.

Source Colophon

The source texts were inspected from PHI Greek Inscriptions. PH182722 is CIRB 8 from Pantikapaion, dated 389-348 BCE and cross-referenced as IosPE II 7. PH182724 is CIRB 10 from Pantikapaion, dated 349-310 BCE and cross-referenced as IosPE II 10. PH182725 is CIRB 11 from Pantikapaion, dated 349-310 BCE and cross-referenced as IosPE II 11. PH183705 is CIRB 972 from Phanagoria, dated 349-310 BCE and cross-referenced as IosPE II 347.

The local HTML captures and extracted Greek source files are preserved in the Scythian source archive as phi_182722_cirb_8_ins24.html, phi_182722_cirb_8_ins24_source.txt, phi_182724_cirb_10_ins24.html, phi_182724_cirb_10_ins24_source.txt, phi_182725_cirb_11_ins24.html, phi_182725_cirb_11_ins24_source.txt, phi_183705_cirb_972_ins24.html, and phi_183705_cirb_972_ins24_source.txt.

The English renders bracketed PHI restorations cautiously. In CIRB 8, ἱερωμένη is rendered "after serving as priestess." In CIRB 10, Apollo Ἰητρῶι is left as Apollo Ietros. In CIRB 11, the lost dedicator is kept visibly damaged. In CIRB 972, Πόσιος is read as a patronymic, and the restored initial letter in [Θ]ατέων is kept visible in the source text.

🌲