[Ἐμ]μανούηλ, μεθ' ἡ̣μ[ῶν ὁ] θεός· ἁγία Μ̣α̣ρία βοίθ̣ι + .
after the final cross: ὑ[μῖν] = ἡ[μῖν] Canivet, an unidentified sign Rey-Coquais
'Emmanuel, God is with us! O holy Mary, help! +'
Text: Rey-Coquais 1987, no. 21.
Evidence ID
E01625Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Saint Name in Source
ΜαρίαType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
580Evidence not after
700Activity not before
580Activity not after
700Place of Evidence - Region
Syria with Phoenicia
Syria with PhoeniciaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Ḥūarte
Apamea on the OrontesPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Ḥūarte
Thabbora
Thabbora
Apamea on the Orontes
Thabbora
ThabboraCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocationSource
A limestone lintel, found in the ruins at Ḥūarte. When recorded, the stone was partially buried. Length of the inscribed field 1.40 m; letter height 0.08-0.085 m. The ornaments below the inscription are damaged: either by erosion or intentionally.
Seen and copied by Pierre Canivet in 1965, during an archaeological survey of the territory of Apamea. Reedited by Jean-Paul Rey-Coquais in 1987, based on the photograph.Discussion
The first part of the inscription contains the acclamation based on a passage from the Gospel according to Matthew: καὶ καλέσουσιν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ· ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον 'Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ θεός' / 'They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us' (Matthew 1:23, cf. Psalm 46:7; Isaiah 7:14). The phrase was understood by early Christians as referring to Christ as the Messiah, and is quite frequent in inscriptions in Syria and other eastern provinces (see: E01012). Importantly, Canivet notes that among several parallel text from the territory of Apamea, none was found at the site of a church or a monastery. He concludes, however, that our lintel is a high-quality element of architecture, and is very unlikely to come form a secular structure.
The second part of the inscription contains an invocation of Mary, notably not as the God-bearer/Theotokos, but as 'holy Mary'. Based on this, Canivet considered our inscription as a work of people unwilling to support the Chalcedonians. Such an interpretation is, of course, hypothetical, and lacks further evidence, though it is true that Monophysite beliefs dominated in Syria.
Canivet noted that the style of the lintel resembles the stones from Basilica B (the so-called Basilica of Photios) in Ḥūarte, whose mosaic pavement was constructed in 483 (see: E01624). However, based on the forms of letters, the scholar dated our inscription to the late 6th or 7th c.Bibliography
Edition:
Rey-Coquais, J.-P., "Épigraphie", in: P. & M.T. Canivet and others, Ḥūarte. Sanctuaire chrétien d’Apamène (Paris 1987), 59, no. 21.
Canivet, P., "Due iscrizioni greche a Ḥūarte nell'Apamene (Siria)", Epigraphica 33 (1971), 95-98, no. 4.
Reference works:
Bulletin épigraphique (1973), 489.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 37, 1430.
