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De Titulis Olbiae Ponticae Et Viciniis. I
Greek Epigraphy brings the most important sources for the history of the Hellenic world, and for all the sides of Greek life. Besides the corpus of Greek Inscriptions constantly updates. It is the situation on the North Shore of the Black Sea too. These facts necessitates the periodically re–examination of some epigraphic publications in Russian periodicals. Regarding that, the paper proposes a number of serious corrections for epigraphical artefacts published in 2004–2017 by A.I Ivantchik, S.Yu. Saprykin and A.V. Belousov. All of they was presented in the publications as the inscriptions sensational coming from Niconium (lower Dniestr region). However, we know the archaeological context only for one of them. On the other hand, the “from Niconium” is from Soviet time the loved “explication” of provenance of antiquities marketing on the back markets of Odessa and so one: because of the site of Niconium served as sand quarry for the plants of surrounding industries. Therefore, only the two marble fragments founded during the regular archaeological excavations on the site of Niconium in 1959 and published by A.I. Ivantchik in 2017 comes really from this Greek city. They are the upper part (the pediment) of the stele conserving the four letters – ΣΑΝΑ – from the ethnicum of one of two polis Sana (Σανα[ίων] or Σανα[έων]) which honored by her decree some Niconian citizen perhaps at boundary of V and IV centuries B.C. The one of marble pieces published by S.Yu. Saprykin is the fragment of Olbian decree mentioning the crucial (perhaps a war) circumstances of the city and the person (from his name are preserved only the letters Παρϑ) who helped his compatriots by money: Παρϑ[- - - ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς καιρ|]οῖς π[αρέχεται /παρεχóμενος χρείας - - -]. The other is the Bosporan epitaph of the married woman: ~]ενὼ Ἡ[(τοῦ δεῖνος), γ]υνὴ [δὲ τοῦ δεῖνος]. The third – a scrap of closing formula of the Chersonesitan decree praising some person: - - - δι’ἃ δεδóχϑαι τᾶι βουλᾶι καὶ τῶι] δά[μωι ἐπαινέσαι τὸν δεῖνα τοῦ δεῖνος, δοῦ]ναι [δὲ αὐτῶι κτλ. The graffito from the same collection published also by S.Yu. Saprykin tell about the care of an Herakleidas concerning the provision of goods for the theatre company residing in Chersonesus: Ἡρακλείδας ⁞ Τ[(τῶι δεῖνι) - - -]/ περὶ χορõ πóτ[ητος (~οῦ)]/ ΑΙ προτὶ Νικάν[δρō vel Νικάνδρωι ---]. The most rectification of wrongs needed the non-professional publication of Olbian defixio. A.V. Belousov don’t master epigraphical techniques. For this reason he incorrectly reconstruct the lacunae, and don’t arrive to understand that the names of the enemies of anonymous author of the invocation was deliberate distort by the writing: Τελ(ε)cι[κρ]άτηc / Ἐπαφ[ρó]διτος / Ἀρτιμίδαροc / Cαγένηc / Ἀρτίμ(ας), Διóδαροc / Ἀϑήναιοc, Ἀριστοφά[νης] / Βουκολίαν Ἀπολλóδα[ρος] / [Ἀ]λέξανδ[ρ]ος / Ἀμφίcτρα[τ]οc / [Ἐ]παμείναν / Ἐπικράτηc / Ἀριcτομένηc / [Ν]ουμήνιοc / [Εὔ]βουλοc / [Πο]λίξενοc / Ἀμίνταc / Ἡρο[σ]ᾶν / Ἀρι[σ]τóξεν[ο]ς / τούτο[υς] / γενέc[ϑα]ι / ἀφṓν(ου)c.