Bodel, J. (2026). "Funerary Grove of Epikrates and Tomb Garden of Tertia and Secundus." Gardens of the Roman Empire, accessed October 2, 2026. https://roman-gardens.github.io/id/50eb63744b/

Funerary Grove of Epikrates and Tomb Garden of Tertia and Secundus

Author: John Bodel
Contributors: Annette Guan, Amelia Lamis
Published: 2026-10-01
Last modified: 2026-10-01

Dates

first century CE

Excavation Dates

1965

Garden Description

A large stele of light grey marble inscribed on both sides and found in 1965 lying in a field between Akhisar (Thyateira) and Kirkağuç (Nakrason) in the border land between Lydia and Mysia records the final part (perhaps second half) of the will of a certain Epikrates, the son of Epikrates, from Thyateira, establishing a foundation to provide commemorative funerary rites for his son Diophantos, also from Thyateira. The detailed provisions of the will, which include specific topographical indications for the disposition of various productive properties to support the foundation, reveal a network of watercourses, vineyards, olive groves, cultivated fields, and open land in which a funerary grove (alsos) is set aside for Diophantos and another exception is made for "the garden in which my mother Tertia and my maternal uncle Secundus are buried" (κήπου, ἐν ᾦ τέθαπται Τερτία μου ἡ μήτηρ καὶ ὁ πρὸς μητρὸς θεῖος Σεκοῦνδος, lines 90-91). Two of the nearby properties are identified with toponyms, the "Elm Grove" (Πτελεών, lines 16, 18, 30) and the "Brickworks" (Πλινθούλκιον, line 28), which suggest productive areas comprising woodlands and claybeds as well as cultivated plots. The funerary complex described by Epikrates included buildings (οἰκοδομήματα, line 47), surrounding walls (περικείμενοι τοῖχοι, line 47), and the tomb of Diophantos, destined eventually to house the remains also of Epikrates and other members of his family (lines 76-79). The male line of the clan (Epikrates, Epikrates, and Diophantos) proclaimed its Greek ethnicity in its nomenclature, but the women of the family—his mother Tertia (sister of Secundus), his wife Laevilla, his daughter Tertia, and his granddaughter Cestia—all bore Roman names. Such mixed marriages of local male élites and women from the families of the Roman governing class (or, eventually, simply bearing Roman names) are characteristic of the provincial aristocracy of Asia Minor during the first century, the period to which, on the basis of its vocabulary and lettering, the inscribed testament of Epikrates belongs.

Bibliography

  • Herrmann P., and K. Z. Polaktan. 1969. Das Testament des Epikrates und andere neue Inschriften aus dem Museum von Manisa. Vienna, pp. 7-36. (worldcat); (PHI)

Keywords

Places