E00825: Greek inscription commemorating the paving of an aisle and the construction of a chancel screen in a church at Bargylia (Caria, western Asia Minor) by a certain Auxibios, probably a member of the city council, giving thanks to *Peter (the Apostle, S00036) and unnamed saints (S00518). Probably late antique (5th-6th c.).

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posted on 2015-10-31, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

Αὐξίβιος ὁ ἐδεσιμ(ότατος) π(ολιτεύομενος?)
[ὑ]πὲρ σωτηρίας ἑαυτοῦ
καὶ τῶν πεδίων μου
ἔστρωσα τὴν στοὰν
καὶ τοὺς κανκέλλους ἐ-
[ποίη]̣σα ἐκ τῶν τοῦ θ(ε)ο(ῦ) δομάτων
[εὐχ]αριστῶν τῷ ἁγίῳ Πέτρῳ καὶ τοῖς ἁγί-
οις

1. π(ρωτεύων) or π(ολιτευόμενος) Destephen, π(ρεσβύτερος?) Traina

'I, Auxibios, the most respected m(ember of the city council?), having used the gifts of God, paved this stoa (i.e. aisle) and constructed the chancel screen as a vow for delivering me and my children, giving thanks to Saint Peter and the saints.'

Text: Traina 1990, no. 2. Translation: P. Nowakowski.

History

Evidence ID

E00825

Saint Name

Peter the Apostle : S00036 Anonymous saints : S00518

Saint Name in Source

Πέτρος ἅγιοι

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

600

Activity not before

400

Activity not after

600

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Bargylia

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Bargylia Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Vow

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Officials Children

Source

Chancel screen slab found in the ruins of Bargylia: H. 0.7 m; W. 0.58 m; Th. 0.33 m. The inscription is written on the side lacking ornament.

Discussion

The inscription records a vow of a certain Auxibios (see PCBE 3, Auxibios), giving thanks to *Peter the Apostle and some unnamed saints. Auxibios says that he makes the vow also on behalf of his children but he does not mention his wife. The object of the vow is paving an aisle and constructing a chancel screen in a local church. Auxibios' function is abbreviated as αἰδεσιμ(ώτατος) π(- - -). Giusto Traina, the first editor of the inscription, says that he could be a presbyter, π(ρεσβύτερος), but Sylvain Destephen points out that presbyters were not styled αἰδεσιμώτατοι and one would rather expect a municipal official, e.g. a member of the city council, π(ολιτευόμενος) or a principalis, π(ρωτεύων). The inscription is dated by Traina to the 5th or 6th c., based on palaeography, a dating which seems entirely plausible.

Bibliography

Edition: Traina, G.,"Iscrizioni bizantine de Bargylia (Caria)", Orientalia Christiana Periodica 56 (1990), no. 2. Further reading: Destephen, S., Prosopographie du Diocese d'Asie (325-641) (Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire 3, Paris: Association des amis du centre d'histoire et civilisation de Byzance, 2008), Auxibios. Reference works: Chroniques d'épigraphie byzantine, 305. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 40, 953.