[ὑπὲρ εὐχῆς (?) Δή]μητρας παρθένου, Χ(ριστ)ὲ, δ[ιὰ τῆ]ς πρεσβίας τῆς Θεοτό[κου - - -]
1. [- - - Δή]μητρας παρθένου Kiourtzian, [- - -] μήτρας Παρθένου Evangelides
'[As a vow] of the virgin Demetra, Christ, through the intercessions of the God-Bearer (Theotokos) [- - -]'
Text: Kiourtzian 1998, 376, lightly altered.
Evidence ID
E01724Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements
Archaeological and architectural - Cult buildings (churches, mausolea)Evidence not before
431Evidence not after
1300Activity not before
431Activity not after
1300Place of Evidence - Region
Aegean islands and Cyprus
Aegean islands and Cyprus
Aegean islands and CyprusPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Lesbos
Mytilene
ArgalaPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Lesbos
Salamis
Σαλαμίς
Salamis
Salamis
Farmagusta
Far
Κωνσταντία
Konstantia
Constantia
Mytilene
Salamis
Σαλαμίς
Salamis
Salamis
Farmagusta
Far
Κωνσταντία
Konstantia
Constantia
Argala
Salamis
Σαλαμίς
Salamis
Salamis
Farmagusta
Far
Κωνσταντία
Konstantia
ConstantiaCult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
VowCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Women
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermitsSource
Fragment of a marble cornice. L. 1.04 m. Found in the ruins of the church beneath the modern chapel of Saint Euprepeia at Argala. First published by Demetrios Evangelides in 1930.
The ruined basilica is a three-aisled structure (W. 17 m; L. 16.80 m) with a narthex (ending with an apse at its south end), a baptistery, and possibly a guesthouse. Next to the southwest corner of the church there is a small building, tentatively identified as a martyr shrine or a mausoleum. The basilica is presumed to have been constructed in the 5th c.Discussion
The first editor supposed that the inscription commemorated a dedication, or the fulfillment of a vow, through the intercessions of Mary, here addressed as the God-Bearer. Georges Kiourtzian adds that the name of the dedicant might have been mentioned at the beginning of the preserved fragment and he reconstructs it as Demetra. He also notes that the word παρθένος/'virgin', which occurs after the presumed name of the dedicant, does not refer to Mary (as suggested by Evanglides), but to Demetra herself, who might have been a consecrated virgin.
Dating: Inscriptions addressing Mary as the God-Bearer are unlikely to occur before the council of Ephesus 431, which greatly contributed to the development of her cult and the spread of this epithet.Bibliography
Edition:
Evangelides, D., “Πρωτοβυζαντινὴ βασιλικὴ Μυτιλήνης”, Arachaiologikon Deltion 13 (1930-1931), 17.
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), 376.
