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E01796: Greek inscription on a lintel, referring to a saint *John (probably either the Baptist, S00020, or the Apostle and Evangelist, S00042). Found at Abouḍḍouhour/Abu al-Duhur, between Beroia/Aleppo and Ḥamāh (central Syria). Dated 502.

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posted on 2016-08-09, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski
ἔτους διωʹ <Γ>ορ(πιαίου) <εʹ>.
ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης.

1. διωʹ <Γ>ορ(πιαίου) <εʹ> Mouterde, διωιορο copy

'In the year 814, on the 5th (day) of (the month) of Gorpiaios. Saint John.'

Text: IGLS 2, no. 353.

History

Evidence ID

E01796

Saint Name

John the Baptist : S00020 John the Evangelist : S00042

Saint Name in Source

Ἰωάννης Ἰωάννης

Type of Evidence

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

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

502

Evidence not after

502

Activity not before

502

Activity not after

502

Place of Evidence - Region

Syria with Phoenicia Syria with Phoenicia Syria with Phoenicia

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Beroia Ḥamāh Abouḍḍouhour/Abu al-Duhur

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

Beroia Thabbora Thabbora Ḥamāh Thabbora Thabbora Abouḍḍouhour/Abu al-Duhur Thabbora Thabbora

Cult activities - Liturgical Activity

  • Ceremony of dedication

Cult activities - Festivals

  • Anniversary of church/altar dedication

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Source

A stone lintel. The inscription is engraved to the right and to the left of a carving of a cross within a circle. Copied by a local and forwarded to Charles-Léonce Brossé. First published by René Mouterde and Louis Jalabert in 1939. There is no published image.

Discussion

The inscription probably commemorates the construction of a church dedicated to an unspecified Saint John: the most plausible candidates are either *John the Baptist or *John the Evangelist. The date is given according to the Seleucid era. Its year 814 corresponds to AD 502.

Bibliography

Edition: Mouterde, R., Jalabert, L., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 2: Chalcidique et Antiochène: nos 257-698 (Paris: P. Geuthner, 1939), no. 353.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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