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E00962: Greek epitaph for a young woman, praised as a diligent servant of God and probably also of unnamed saints (S00518). Found near Prousias/Prusias ad Hypium (Honoriad, northern Asia Minor). Probably late antique.

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posted on 2015-12-10, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski
[+ ἐν]θάδε κατά-
[κι]τε ἡ τῆς μακαρ<ί>ας
[μ]νήμης ̣Ἀ̣ναστασία,
γαμετὴ γενομένη
Λουκᾶ· ̣ἔ[ζ]ησεν ἔτη
κ̣β΄, ἐτελεύτησ[ε]
μη(νὸς) Μαίου |_| ἰνδ(ικτιῶνος)
ιε΄, δουλεύσασα
[το(?)]ῦ θ(εο)ῦ καὶ τοῖς
[ἁγί]οις καὶ το[ῖς]
[ ]ΤΟ

10-11. καὶ το[ῖς | ἀγγέλοις αὐ]το[ῦ Halkin

' [+] Here lies Anastasia of blessed memory, wife of Loukas. She lived 22 years, she died in the month of May |_| in the 15th indiction. She served God and the saints and the [- - -]'

Text: I. Prusias ad Hypium, no. 121.

History

Evidence ID

E00962

Saint Name

Unnamed saints (or name lost) : S00518

Saint Name in Source

[ἅγι]οι

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

450

Evidence not after

650

Activity not before

450

Activity not after

650

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Prusias ad Hypium

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

Prusias ad Hypium Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Saint as patron - of an individual

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Women Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy

Source

A rough limestone block, found near Prousias / Prusias ad Hypium (Honoriad, northern Asia Minor), in a field between Prusias and Tepecik. H. 0.66 m; W. 0.5 m; Th. 0.24 m; letter height 0.04 m.

Discussion

The inscription is the epitaph for a pious young woman, Anastasia. The closing eulogy is not completely preserved, but we can say that Anastasia is certainly praised as a person who diligently served God and his saints (δουλεύσασα [το(?)]ῦ θ(εο)ῦ καὶ τοῖς [ἁγί]οις). François Halkin completed the last line: 'an[d h]i[s angels]' / καὶ το[ῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐ]το[ῦ, but this reconstruction is too hypothetical to be accepted. The phrasing of the eulogy may refer to a passage from the First Epistle to Timothy, which specifies requirements for the so-called "enrolled" / "canonical" widows: '(...) a widow (...) having been the wife of one man. Well reported of for good works (...) if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work' / Χήρα (...) ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς γυνή, ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς μαρτυρουμένη (...) εἰ ἁγίων πόδας ἔνιψεν, εἰ θλιβομένοις ἐπήρκεσεν, εἰ παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ ἐπηκολούθησεν (1Timothy 5:9-10). Though we cannot determine whether Anastasia held this position, it seems plausible that the statement that she was a diligent servant of saints is nothing more than a literary figure, and we cannot infer that she was engaged in the cult of saints in any exceptional way. For epitaphs with similar references to the First Epistle to Timothy, see E00978 and E01028.

Bibliography

Edition: Die Inschriften von Prusias ad Hypium, no. 121. Dörner, F.K., Bericht über eine Reise in Bithynien (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-Historische Klasse. Denkschriften Bd. 75, Abhandlung 1, Vienna: Im Kommission bei R.M. Rohrer, 1952), no. 35. Further reading: Halkin, F., “Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure”, Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 97.

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    Evidence - The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

    Categories

    Keywords

    S00518History

    Licence

    CC0

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