ON THE USE OF "ΚΑΤΑΣΚΕΥΑΣΕΙΝ" IN BUILDING INSCRIPTIONS.

Based upon the recent discussions concerning the construction chronology of the monumental fountain building (nymphaeum) at Side, this contribution makes some suggestions concerning the other possible meaning(s) of the verb of "κατασκευάζειν", which is not infrequently attested in building inscriptions. To this end, a total of nine case studies sourced from different regions and over a wide time-span, from the Hellenistic to the Late Antique Period, were assembled and interpreted. Two of these examples are recorded from mainland Greece, i.e. the theatre building at Delphoi and an unidentifiable building at Athens. The other documents concern the Laodike fountain at Teos mentioned in the inscription of Antiochus III, the Pataran road monument (Monumentum Patarense), the governor edicts enacted for the protection and upkeep of the Aristion aqueduct at Ephesos, the donations of Opramoas of Rhodiapolis in the aftermath of the severe earthquake in Lycia in 141 A.D. (regarding in particular the bath-houses), the inscription of hydreion of Menandros at Ephesos and lastly the Neronic/Vespasianic bath from Patara. By scrutinizing all of the above evidence, this article maintains that the initial construction phase of those buildings whose inscriptions carry the verb of "κατασκευάζειν", may not provide the exact date when the inscription was carved, contrary to what is widely believed in current scholarship. It is thereby emphasized that the verb of "κατασκευάζειν", synonymous occasionally with "ἐπισκευάζειν", is not limited in its meaning "to construct", but rather, it has a wide range of meanings, such as: to reconstruct, to repair, to renovate or even to enlarge the buildings. It is therefore proposed that the dating of the constructions, if they are made relying only upon the epigraphic evidence (i.e. upon the presence of the verb of "κατασκευάζειν"), may result in faulty interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]