epigraph

An epigraph is a short inscription or, in a literary context, a brief quotation placed at the beginning of a document, book, or chapter. The term comes from the Greek epigraphē, meaning an inscription, from epi- “upon” and graphein “to write.” In its historical sense, an epigraph records dedication, ownership, decree, or remembrance on durable materials such as stone, metal, or clay.

Historically, epigraphs were used to publicize laws, civic decrees, religious offerings, and honorific dedications on monuments, temples, altars, and tombs. They provide important primary evidence for archaeology, history, and linguistics, revealing naming conventions, formulas, and social practices. Notable examples include the Rosetta Stone, whose inscriptions in Greek and Egyptian scripts aided the decipherment of hieroglyphs, and the many Greek and Roman inscriptions that documented public honors, votive gifts, and municipal acts.

In modern usage, an epigraph may be a quotation selected to introduce a work or section, often attributed to a classical author to set mood or theme. Such epigraphs can be misattributed or apocryphal. The term epitaph is related but distinct, designating a text commemorating the dead on a tombstone. Epigraphy is the scholarly discipline dedicated to collecting, interpreting, dating, and preserving inscriptions, encompassing monumental, funerary, and archival texts, as well as inscriptions found on everyday objects and artifacts.