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E01179: Greek invocation of the God of a saint, whose name is lost, probably *John the Apostle and Evangelist (S00042). Found in the monastery of John the Theologian on Patmos. Possibly late antique or later.

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posted on 2016-03-10, 00:00 authored by Bryan
+ κ(ύρι)ε θ(εό)ς τοῦ ἁ[γίου - - -]
Εὐσεβίου κ[- - -]

ΚΕΘC Manganaro, Κ(ύρι)ε θ(εὸ)ς Robert

'+ O Lord, God of Saint [- - - help?] of Eusebios [- - -]'

Text: Manganaro 1963-1964, no. 49.

History

Evidence ID

E01179

Saint Name

John the Evangelist : S00042 Saints, name wholly or largely lost : S01744

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.) Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

500

Evidence not after

1300

Activity not before

500

Activity not after

1300

Place of Evidence - Region

Aegean islands and Cyprus

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Patmos

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

Patmos Salamis Σαλαμίς Salamis Salamis Farmagusta Far Κωνσταντία Konstantia Constantia

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Other lay individuals/ people

Source

Fragment of a marble plaque. H. 0.18 m; W. 0.3 m; Th. 0.09 m; letter height 0.025 m. Seen and copied in the autumn of 1962 by Giacomo Manganaro in the Monastery of John the Theologian on Patmos.

Discussion

The inscription is the invocation of the God of a saint whose name is lost. This was most probably *John the Evangelist (also venerated as the Theologian). John was said to have been exiled on Patmos during the persecutions of the emperor Domitian and it was believed that he authored the Book of Revelation on the island. He is also frequently mentioned in other (mostly middle Byzantine) inscriptions from the island, see: Manganaro 1963-1964, p. 346. In 1088 the emperor Alexios I Komnenos founded a monastery there, dedicated to John as the Theologian. The date of our inscription is disputable, but as the plaque was cut to be reused in a new structure, we can at least suppose that it predates the construction of the monastery.

Bibliography

Edition: Manganaro, G., "Le iscrizioni delle Isole Milesie", Annuario della Scuola archeologica di Atene e delle missioni italiane in Oriente, 41-42 (1963-1964), no. 49. Further reading: Kiourtzian, G., "Pietas insulariorum", [in:] Eupsychia: mélanges offerts à Hélène Ahrweiler, vol. 2 (Série Byzantina Sorbonensia 16, Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1998), 377. Reference works: Bulletin épigraphique (1966), 323.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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