Revising the Inscription in Honour of Agasicles, Son of Ctesios (IOSPE I2. №418)

Zubar V. М.

An analysis of the inscriptions within the wreaths on the front side of the pediment of Agasicles' statue leads the author to the conclusion that on the turn of the 4th-3rd cc. ВС or at the beginning of the 3rd с. ВС, simultaneausly with the adoptation of the Chersonesian Oath, the borders of the land (divided into allotments) of the Heraclean Peninsula were fixed legislatively and fortifications were built on the craggy slopes of the Sapun Mountain to be occupied by a specially formed garrison. The present archaeological data prove that the «plain» of Agasicles honorary inscription, as well as the «plain» of the Chersonesian Oath, cannot be localized in north-westen Taurica. There are sufficient grounds for supposing that Agasicles, son of Ctesios, took a series of extraordinary measures on the border of Chersonesian agricultural possessions in the eastern part of the Heraclean peninsula, whish was reflected in the text of the inscription within the wreaths. Consequently, it is high time to return to the opinion that the «plain» is to be localized in the Heraclean Peninsula. Its localization in northwestern Taurica was based neither upon the data of new sources nor on revised old data, but was a priori connected with this area, where large-scale excavations were conducted in the second half of the 20th century, which as it might seem could confirm such conclusions.