Evidence ID
E00910Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Saint Name in Source
ΜαρίαType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
500Evidence not after
600Activity not before
500Activity not after
600Place of Evidence - Region
Asia MinorPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
DorylaionPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Dorylaion
Nicomedia
Νικομήδεια
Nikomēdeia
Izmit
Πραίνετος
Prainetos
NicomediaCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Awarding privileges to cult centresSource
A cubic block used as a boundary stone, found in a yard near a local market at Eskişehir, ancient Dorylaion (Phrygia, central Asia Minor). All dimensions: c. 1.68 m. The inscription occupies its upper part. Dimensions of the text field: H. 0.19 m; W. 0.03 m.Discussion
This is a rare case, in which Mary is called by her name and the epithet ἁγία (holy), while she is usually addressed in Anatolia as the God-Bearer (Θεοτόκος).
Though this inscription does not say so explicitly, boundary stones were usually bestowed upon sanctuaries by emperors.
For a boundary stone with a similar formula, see: E01219.Bibliography
Edition:
Armanet, C., "Inscriptions de Dorylée", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 28 (1904), no. 22.
Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, no. 1416: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/1416
Further reading:
Haspels, E.C., The Highlands of Phrygia (Princeton : Princeton University Press, 1971), 211, note 36.
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua V, Lists I(i), 182, no. 130.
