Two Inscriptions from Messene Found at Olympia
Abstract
These two votive dedications were engraved on bronze greaves and a helmet and offered to Olympian Zeus following the victory of the Messenians over the Locrians, which took place between approximately 488 and 485 BC. The events leading up to the story mentioned in the dedication are recounted by Herodotus, while Thucydides provides an account of the battle of 488‑485 BC. The dialect of the inscriptions reflects the tumultuous history of Zancle, conquered by Anaxilaos tyrant of Rhegion and renamed Messene. The inscriptions are of a public votive nature, as they commemorate the entire citizenry of the Messenians who fought against the Locrians and were placed within pits; furthermore, the formula in which the epigraphs are expressed is typical of votive inscriptions from Archaic Greece.
Submitted: Oct. 27, 2025 | Accepted: May 20, 2026 | Published July 9, 2026 | Language: it
Keywords Anaxilaos tyrant of Rhegion • Greaves • Zeus Olympian • Messenians • Thucydides • Locrians • Helmet • Herodotus
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Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Axon/2532-6848/2026/01/001