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E00827: Greek building inscription of an oratory (eukterion) of Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023) and Bakchos (soldier and martyr of Barbalissos, Syria, S00079), founded by Basilios, a bishop presumably of Mylasa (Caria, western Asia Minor). Found near Mylasa, tentatively dated to the 6th c.

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

Βασίλιος ὁ ὁσιώ(τατος) ἡμῶν ἐπίσκο(πος) ἐ̣κ ̣θ[εμελίων - - -]
σεν τὸ εὐκτήριον τῶν ἁγίων Σερ[γίου καὶ Βάκχου - - -]

1. ΕΙΣΟ Hula's copy || 1-2. ἐ[κ θεμελίων ἐκτισεν καὶ] | [ διεκόσμη]σεν Grégoire

'Basilios, our most holy bishop built this oratory of saints Sergios [and Bakchos] from the foundations [- - -].'

Text: I. Mylasa, no. 622.

Line 2: Bacchus' name is restored based on the plural form of the word ἁγίων before the name of Sergios.

History

Evidence ID

E00827

Saint Name

Sergios, martyr in Syria, ob. 303-311 : S00023 Bakchos, martyr in Barbalissos (Syria), ob. c. 303-311 : S00079

Saint Name in Source

Σέργιος

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

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

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

650

Activity not before

400

Activity not after

650

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Mylasa

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

Mylasa Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Construction of cult buildings

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Slab reused in a wall of a house near the site of ancient Mylasa (Caria, west Asia Minor). H. 0.28 m; W. 0.83 m. Found by A.E. Kontoleon, later seen by Eduard Hula and Louis Robert.

Discussion

The inscription commemorates the foundation of a church of saints *Sergios and *Bakchos by Basilios, presumably a bishop of nearby Mylasa (see PCBE 3, Basilios 7). Basilios is most probably the founder of another sanctuary dedicated to a saint near Mylasa (a church of *Stephen, the First Martyr, see E00826), which is a very rare case, as provincial founders are rarely documented as involved in multiple undertakings. Dating: the inscription was tentatively dated to the 6th c. by Henri Grégoire, the editor of IGC and then Wolfgang Blümel, the editor of Die Inschriften von Mylasa. A date in the 5th or 6th c. is probable.

Bibliography

Edition: Die Inschriften von Mylasa, no. 622. Grégoire, H. (ed.), Recueil des inscriptions grecques chrétiennes d'Asie Mineure, vol. 1 (Paris: Leroux, 1922), no. 239bis. Kontoleon, A.E., Ἀνέκδοτοι μικρασιαναὶ ἐπιγραφαί (Athens , 1890), no. 41. 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), Basilios 7. Destephen, S., "Martyrs locaux et cultes civiques en Asie Mineure", in: J.C. Caillet, S. Destephen, B. Dumézil, H. Inglebert, Des dieux civiques aux saints patrons (IVe-VIIe siècle) (Paris: éditions A. & J. Picard, 2015), 87. Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure", Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 84.