Tomb Garden and Cistern of Gallatis, Son of Pythion
Dates
Probably the first or second century
Garden Description
An inscription found near Chaeronea and known only from a transcription records the dedication by Gallatis, the son of Pythion, probably some time during the first or second century, of a funerary monument to himself, his wife, his children, and whomever his children wish, "with the cistern and garden" (τῷ φρέατ[ι] καὶ κήπῳ) (IG VII, 3453). The freedom Gallatis grants to his children to dispose of the property as they wish is unusual, but cisterns (as at the tomb gardens of Lictoria Chaerusa at Capena and of P. Sullius Zoticus (cf. CIL 6.29961) at Rome) and wells (as at the tomb garden of Claudia Semne (cf. CIL 6.29959) at Rome), are sometimes mentioned explicitly, and ready sources of water, even when not specified, must often have been provided along with the gardens they supplied in such funerary dispositions.
Bibliography
- J. Kubińska, Les monuments funéraires dans les inscriptions grecques de l'Asie Mineure. Warsaw, 1968, pp. 146-47. (worldcat)