ὑπὲρ μνήμη<ς> καὶ ἀναπαύσεως Παύλου ΕΠΙΚs Δίου ἀνέκτισεν τὸν ναὸν τῶν ἀρχανγέλων ἰνδ(ικτιῶνος) <ι>ε΄
ΜΝΗΜΗΕ Sittlington Sterret's copy, ΜΝΗΜΗC Collignon's copy || ΕΠΙΚs ΔΙΟΥ Sittlington Sterret's copy (= Ἐπίκ(τα) or Ἐπικ(τήτου) or Ἐπικ(ύδους) Δίου), ΕΠΙΚΥΔΙΟΥ Collignon's copy (= Ἐπικυδίου), ἐπίκ(λην) PHI || ΓΕ Sittlington Sterret's copy (= <σ>ε΄), ϚΕ Collignon's copy
'A vow for the memory and repose of Paulos (- - -) of Dios restored the church of the Archangels. In the <1>5th indiction.'
Text: Sitlington Sterrett 1883-1884, no. 87.
Evidence ID
E01126Saint Name
Archangels (unspecified) : S00191Saint Name in Source
ἀρχάνγελοιType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
400Evidence not after
600Activity not before
400Activity not after
600Place of Evidence - Region
Asia MinorPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Seleucia SideraPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Seleucia Sidera
Nicomedia
Νικομήδεια
Nikomēdeia
Izmit
Πραίνετος
Prainetos
NicomediaCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
VowCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Other lay individuals/ peopleSource
A lintel elaborately decorated with carvings of palmettes, denticles, and ovals. When recorded, it was reused at the entrance to a mufti's school. First seen and copied at Isparta (Baris, near ancient Seleukia) before 1879 by Maxime Collignon, while on a journey from Burdur to Antalya. Revisited by J.R. Stillington Sterrett in the summer of 1884 during his first journey across central Asia Minor.Discussion
The inscription was probably originally displayed over a doorway of a church. It commemorates a restoration of a shrine dedicated to unspecified archangels as a vow for the repose of a certain Paulos. The name Paulos is followed by a word of unclear meaning. Maxime Collignon, the first editor, read it as ΕΠΙΚΥΔΙΟΥ and interpreted it as the name of Paulos' father, Ἐπικύδιος (Epikydios). Sitlington Sterrett argued that the word was misread by Collignon and that the sequence of letters should be divided into two words: an abbreviated one (ΕΠΙΚs), with the abbreviation mark clearly visible on the stone, and the name Δίος (Dios) in the genitive form. He suggested three names that could stand for the first, abbreviated word: Ἐπίκτας (Epiktas), Ἐπίκτητος (Epiktetos), and Ἐπικύδης (Epikydes). The editors of the Packard Humanities Institute database propose yet another explanation: Παύλου ἐπίκ(λην) Δίου / 'of Paulos, also called Dios', which is entirely plausible. The inscription, however, still lacks the name of the restorer of the church, so it is also possible that the abbreviated word is not the name of Paulos' father (given in the genitive form), but the name of the restorer, in the nominative form.
The inscription ends with a date, which was copied as ϚΕ by Collignon and as ΓΕ by Stillington Sterret. The latter corrected it to σε΄, but this interpretation makes no sense. As indictions were grouped in 15-year cycles, the only reasonable correction is to ιε΄ (= 15).
Dating: probably late antique (based on the contents).Bibliography
Edition:
The Packard Humanities Institute database: PH281604.
Sitlington Sterrett, J.R., An Epigraphical Journey in Asia Minor (Papers of The American School of Classical Studies at Athens 2, 1883-1884, Boston: Damrell and Upham, 1888) 117, no. 87 (after his own copy and the examination of the stone).
Collignon, M., "Inscriptions de Pisidie et de Pamphylie", Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 3 (1879), no. 20 (after his own copy and the examination of the stone).
