Pyrgi Revisited. An Analysis into the Structure and Formulae of Pyrgi's Phoenician Text

This paper analyses the structure of the composition of the Phoenician text of Pyrgi, particularly in the light of typical formulae and structures found on similar Phoenician inscriptions. Its aim is to reach a better understanding of the general meaning of the text, its function and the circumstanc...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Zamora López, José Ángel
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2016
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/228616
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228616
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Epigrafía
Fenicios
Etruscos
Inscripciones
Description
Summary:This paper analyses the structure of the composition of the Phoenician text of Pyrgi, particularly in the light of typical formulae and structures found on similar Phoenician inscriptions. Its aim is to reach a better understanding of the general meaning of the text, its function and the circumstances in which it was produced. The analysis reveals that whoever created the text (no doubt an expert Phoenician scribe) tried to make use of the rigid formulae and structures that characterize Phoenician epigraphs. He fitted into a standard layout the basic information of what seems to be perceived as a single votive act, then extended this to include and develop further particulars, always attempting to make full use of the scribal resources in which he had been trained. The text thus reveals a certain tension between the Phoenician nature of the forms of expression used and the seemingly non-Phoenician nature of important elements of its contents.