The Greeks in Bactria and India c10.s4.206

c10.s4.206

¹ Epitaph from Babylonia. Haussoullier, *Klio* ix, 1909, p. 362 no. 3 read ’Αρισ-τέας ᾧ ἄλλο ὄνομα ’Αρδύβηλ Τέιος, a Greek from Teos who called himself Ardubel, ‘servant of Bel’; so E. H. Minns, *JHS* xxxv, 1915, p. 60 n. 135, and W. Otto, *Kulturgeschichte des Altertums* 1925 p. 100 n. 201. Subsequently P. Koschaker, *Sav. Z.* xlvi, 1926, p. 296 n. 4, read ’Αρδυβηλτεῖος, ‘servant of Bel’; Cumont has followed this, and see now *SEG* vii, 38. If this be right, the only reason for supposing the man to be a Greek would be that when Babylonians took Greek names they always put their Babylonian name first, often with their patronymic, and here the order is reversed. The reason may or may not be valid; Babylonian double names usually come from formal contracts where accuracy was essential, while this epitaph is informal.