File(s) not publicly available

E01126: Greek inscription commemorating a restoration of a church dedicated to unnamed *Archangels as a vow for the donor's repose. Found at Baris near Seleukia/Seleucia Sidera (Pisidia, west central Asia Minor). Probably late antique.

online resource

posted on 2016-02-15, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

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.

History

Evidence ID

E01126

Saint Name

Archangels (unspecified) : S00191

Saint Name in Source

ἀρχάνγελοι

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Archangels_unnamed_or_name_lost/13729642

Type of Evidence

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

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

600

Activity not before

400

Activity not after

600

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Seleucia Sidera

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

Seleucia Sidera Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Vow

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Other lay individuals/ people

Source

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).