E00919.jpg (146.32 kB)

E00919: Greek inscription with an invocation, probably of *Konon (one of the several homonymous martyrs of Anatolia). Found at Laodikeia/Laodicea Combusta (Pisidia, west central Asia Minor). Probably 6th/8th c. or later.

online resource

posted on 2015-12-01, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

ὁ ἅγιος Κ̣ό[νων (?)]
Ἀδρόνηκος Ἀθις δ̣ο̣ύ̣λ̣ι
Χ(ριστο)ῦ

1. Κ̣ό[νων (?)] Halkin, Κο[ίριχος] = Κύρικος MAMA

'Saint Konon (?). Andronikos (and) Athis, servants of Christ.'

History

Evidence ID

E00919

Saint Name

Konōn, martyr in Isauria (south-eastern Asia Minor) : S00430 Konōn, martyr in Iconium of Lycaonia (central Asia Minor) : S00429 Konōn, gardener martyr in Magydos of Pamphylia : S00177 Kyrikos, 3rd c. child martyr in Tarsus, son of *Julitta : S0000

Saint Name in Source

Κό[νων] Κό[νων] Κό[νων] Κο[ίριχος]

Related Saint Records

Image Caption 1

From: MAMA 1, no. 251., better image?

Type of Evidence

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

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

500

Evidence not after

800

Activity not before

500

Activity not after

800

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Laodikeia Katakekaumene / Laodicea Combusta

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

Laodikeia Katakekaumene / Laodicea Combusta Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Prayer/supplication/invocation

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Other lay individuals/ people

Source

A bluish limestone plaque found in the apse of a church at Laodikeia Katakekaumene/Laodicea Combusta (Pisidia, central Asia Minor). H. 0.42 m; W. 0.35 m; Th. 0.12 m; letter height 0.0125-0.035 m. Decorated with a low relief carving of an elaborate cross. The inscription is written above its horizontal arm.

Discussion

The inscription is an invocation of a saint, whose name is mentioned at the end of line 1. William Calder restored the name as Κο[ίριχος], which he understood as a corrupted version of the name Κύρικος. François Halkin suggests a much better completion: Κό[νων]. There are three Anatolian saints, who bore the name Konon, and we don't know which one is referred to. *Konon, martyr of Isauria (south-eastern Asia Minor) was said to have lived in the times of the Apostles (1st/2nd c.). He enjoyed the special protection of *Michael the Archangel and led a life of holiness. He was credited with working many miracles. *Konon of Magydos (Pamphylia, southern Asia Minor) was a gardener and martyr under the emperor Decius. It is claimed that he came from Nazareth and was a relative of Christ (if this declaration is to be taken literally, and not as a metaphor for the Christian religion, creating a bond between the followers and the Saviour). *Konon, martyr of Iconium (Lycaonia, central Asia Minor) died under the emperor Aurelian (270-275). Dating: This kind of invocation with the 'servant-of-saint' formula is usually dated to the 6th/8th c. or later. The formula is certainly common in the middle Byzantine period.

Bibliography

Edition: Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua I, no. 251. Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, no. 394: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/394 Further reading: 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), 93. Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure", Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 331. Tabula Imperii Byzantini, vol. 7, 327. Reference works: Bulletin épigraphique (1954), 27.