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E00992: Greek dedicatory inscription commemorating an embellishment of a sanctuary of an unnamed martyr, almost certainly *Theodotos (probably a Montanist martyr of Ankyra, S00626). Found at Kalecik near Ankyra (Galatia, central Asia Minor). Probably 5th-6th c.

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posted on 2015-12-15, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski
The name of the donor followed by a single hexameter verse:

Ἀγλαόμυρις
μάρ|τυρος ἀθλοφορῆ|ος ὅλον κοσμή|σατο νηόν (christogram)

'Aglaomyris adorned the entire shrine of the prize-winning martyr.' (christogram)

Text and translation: Tabbernee 1997, no. 89.

History

Evidence ID

E00992

Saint Name

Theodotos, a probably Montanist martyr of Ancyra (Galatia, central Asia Minor), ob. c. 312 : S00626 Unnamed martyrs (or name lost) : S00060

Saint Name in Source

μάρτυς ἀθλοφόρος μάρτυς ἀθλοφόρος

Type of Evidence

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

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

600

Activity not before

400

Activity not after

600

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Ankyra Malos

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

Ankyra Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia Malos Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Women Aristocrats Heretics

Source

A slab found near a fountain at Kalecik (ancient Malos, area of Ankyra, Galatia, central Asia Minor). There is no published description of the stone.

Discussion

The inscription commemorates an embellishment of a sanctuary of an unnamed martyr (styled μάρτυς ἀθλοφόρος / 'the prize-winning martyr'), probably Theodotos of Ankyra, the protagonist of the Martyrdom of Theodotos and the addressee of an invocation found at a cemetery near Kalecik, and presented as E00991. The person who commissioned the embellishment (perhaps carried by the artisan Antoninos, mentioned in E00991), is Aglaomyris, an otherwise unattested woman, but certainly a rich member of the local elite. As Theodotos, the patron of the sanctuary, is sometimes considered a Montanist saint, the donor may also have been a supporter of this religious sect. Except for the name of the donor, the inscription consists of one hexameter verse and a christogram. Dating: 5th or 6th c. (based on the letter forms and the contents).

Bibliography

Edition: Tabbernee, W. (ed.), Montanist Inscriptions and Testimonia: Epigraphic Sources for Illustrating the History of Montanism (Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1997), no. 89. Steinepigramme aus dem griechischen Osten, no. 15/02/10. I. North Galatia, no. 211. Legrand, Ph.-E., "Inscriptions de Paphlagonie", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 21 (1897), 101. Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, no. 2381: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/2381 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), 102. Mendel, G., "Catalogue des monuments grecs, romains et byzantins du Musée Impérial Ottoman de Brousse", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 33 (1909), 348. Mitchell, St., "The Life of Saint Theodotus of Ancyra", Anatolian Studies 32 (1982), 93-113. Tabula Imperii Byzantini 4, 173, 201-202. Reference works: Bulletin épigraphique (1984), 481. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 32, 1263.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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