E00986: Greek epitaph for a woman, 'servant' of a Saint Paulos, probably *Paul the Apostle (S00008). Found at Satala (Roman province of Armenia I, eastern Asia Minor). Probably 6th c.

online resource

posted on 2015-12-14, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

+ ἔνθα κα[τ-] άκιται ἡ [μ-] ̣α̣κ̣α̣ρ̣ί̣α Μ- αρία ἡ δούλ[η] τοῦ ἁγίου Π̣α- [ύλου] 2-3. [μ]|̣ο̣ν̣α̣χ̣ή (?) Mitford '+ Here lies the blessed Maria, servant of Saint Paulos.' Text: Mitford 1997, no. 47.

History

Evidence ID

E00986

Saint Name

Paul, the Apostle : S00008

Saint Name in Source

Πα[ῦλος]

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Paul_the_Apostle/13729135

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

500

Evidence not after

600

Activity not before

500

Activity not after

600

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Satala

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

Satala Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Prayer/supplication/invocation

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Women

Source

Fragment of a limestone stele reused as a hearth stone in a private house. Found by Timothy Bruce Mitford at Sadak (Satala, Armenia I, eastern Asia Minor) in the autumn of 1972. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.37 m; W. at least 0.35 m; Th. at least 0.05 m.

Discussion

The inscription is the epitaph of a woman, called a servant of a Saint Paulos, probably Paul the Apostle. Mitford noted that the designation of the woman in lines 2-3 could be read as μακαρία/'the blessed' or μοναχή/'the nun'. Dating: This kind of invocation with the 'servant-of-saint' formula is usually dated to the 6th/8th c. or later. Other formulas used in the epitaph make it unlikely to postdate the 6th c.

Bibliography

Edition: Mitford, Tim. B., "The Inscriptions of Satala", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 115 (1997), no. 47. Reference works: Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 47, 1899.