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E00843: Fragmentary Greek inscription with a dedication to *Peter (the Apostle, S00036). Found in a cemetery near Myndos (Caria, western Asia Minor). Probably late antique (5th-8th c.).

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posted on 2015-11-06, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

[Πέτ]ρον τὸν ἅγηον ἀπόστολον. ἀμήν

'(For?) Peter the holy Apostle. Amen.'

Text: IGC 233(5).

History

Evidence ID

E00843

Saint Name

Peter the Apostle : S00036

Saint Name in Source

[Πέτ]ρος

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Peter_the_Apostle/13729195

Type of Evidence

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

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

800

Activity not before

400

Activity not after

800

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Myndos

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

Myndos Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Prayer/supplication/invocation

Source

A fragmentary marble plaque. Broken and lost on the left-hand side. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.35 m; W. 0.72 m (original W. 1.20 m?); Th. 0.09 m. Found in the cemetery of Gheresi, near Myndos. Decorated with a carving of Greek cross within a rectangular frame and a carving of a rosette, framed by a lozenge. It is probable that a similar rosette was once carved on the other side of the cross. In its upper part the plaque has a bevelled edge, and bears small rosettes and other ornaments. The inscription is written on the bevel. The letters are small. The slab was offered to the collection of Christian antiquities of the Louvre Museum by William Paton, on the request of Théodore Reinach. The offering was recorded in 1902, in the Bulletin de la societe nationale des antiquaires de France.

Discussion

The inscription mentions an Apostle, whose name is partly lost, but may be convincingly reconstructed as *Peter. Thus it is of noticeable importance, as Peter the Apostle was rarely invoked in inscriptions from the eastern part of the Empire. It is supposed that the carving of the cross was positioned in the middle of the plaque, which implies that the preserved right-hand side of the stone bears half of the original inscription. The phrase lacks a verb and the name of the Apostle is given in the accusative. In Late Antiquity the accusative case was gradually taking over the functions of the dative case and our monument may illustrate this trend. Therefore, it is highly probable that the inscription commemorated a dedication to Peter the Apostle. For a similar formula, see E01003.

Bibliography

Edition: Grégoire, H. (ed.), Recueil des inscriptions grecques chrétiennes d'Asie Mineure, vol. 1 (Paris: Leroux, 1922), no. 233(5). de Villefosse, H., “Séance du 29 Janvier”, Bulletin de la societe nationale des antiquaires de France (1902), 152-153. Further Reading: Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure", Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 83. Kiourtzian, G., "Pietas insulariorum", [in:] Eupsychia: mélanges offerts à Hélène Ahrweiler, vol. 2 (Série Byzantina Sorbonensia 16, Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1998), 376.