Record | The Cult of Saints

Greek building inscription of an oratory (eukterion) of Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023) and Bakchos (soldier and martyr of Barbalissos, Syria, S00079), founded by Basilios, a bishop presumably of Mylasa (Caria, western Asia Minor). Found near Mylasa, tentatively dated to the 6th c.

Evidence ID

E00827

Type of Evidence

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

Βασίλιος ὁ ὁσιώ(τατος) ἡμῶν ἐπίσκο(πος) ἐ̣κ ̣θ[εμελίων - - -]
σεν τὸ εὐκτήριον τῶν ἁγίων Σερ[γίου καὶ Βάκχου - - -]

1. ΕΙΣΟ Hula's copy || 1-2. ἐ[κ θεμελίων ἐκτισεν καὶ] | [ διεκόσμη]σεν Grégoire

'Basilios, our most holy bishop built this oratory of saints Sergios [and Bakchos] from the foundations [- - -].'

Text: I. Mylasa, no. 622.

Line 2: Bacchus' name is restored based on the plural form of the word ἁγίων before the name of Sergios.

Cult Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Non Liturgical Activity

Construction of cult buildings

Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Slab reused in a wall of a house near the site of ancient Mylasa (Caria, west Asia Minor). H. 0.28 m; W. 0.83 m. Found by A.E. Kontoleon, later seen by Eduard Hula and Louis Robert.

Discussion

The inscription commemorates the foundation of a church of saints *Sergios and *Bakchos by Basilios, presumably a bishop of nearby Mylasa (see PCBE 3, Basilios 7). Basilios is most probably the founder of another sanctuary dedicated to a saint near Mylasa (a church of *Stephen, the First Martyr, see E00826), which is a very rare case, as provincial founders are rarely documented as involved in multiple undertakings.

Dating: the inscription was tentatively dated to the 6th c. by Henri Grégoire, the editor of IGC and then Wolfgang Blümel, the editor of Die Inschriften von Mylasa. A date in the 5th or 6th c. is probable.

Bibliography

Edition:
Die Inschriften von Mylasa, no. 622.

Grégoire, H. (ed.), Recueil des inscriptions grecques chrétiennes d'Asie Mineure, vol. 1 (Paris: Leroux, 1922), no. 239bis.

Kontoleon, A.E., Ἀνέκδοτοι μικρασιαναὶ ἐπιγραφαί (Athens , 1890), no. 41.

Further reading:
Destephen, S., Prosopographie du Diocese d'Asie (325-641) (Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire 3, Paris: Association des amis du centre d'histoire et civilisation de Byzance, 2008), Basilios 7.

Destephen, S., "Martyrs locaux et cultes civiques en Asie Mineure", in: J.C. Caillet, S. Destephen, B. Dumézil, H. Inglebert, Des dieux civiques aux saints patrons (IVe-VIIe siècle) (Paris: éditions A. & J. Picard, 2015), 87.

Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure", Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 84.

Record Created By

Pawel Nowakowski

Date of Entry

31/10/2015

Related Saint Records

ID	Name	Name in Source	Identity
S00023	Sergios, soldier and martyr of Rusafa	Σέργιος	Certain
S00079	Bakchos, soldier and martyr of Barbalissos		Certain

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Pawel Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E00827 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00827

The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world

Greek building inscription of an oratory (eukterion) of Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023) and Bakchos (soldier and martyr of Barbalissos, Syria, S00079), founded by Basilios, a bishop presumably of Mylasa (Caria, western Asia Minor). Found near Mylasa, tentatively dated to the 6th c.

E00827

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

Cult building - independent (church)

Construction of cult buildings

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Discussion

Bibliography

Pawel Nowakowski

31/10/2015

Greek building inscription of an oratory (eukterion) of *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023) and *Bakchos (soldier and martyr of Barbalissos, Syria, S00079), founded by Basilios, a bishop presumably of Mylasa (Caria, western Asia Minor). Found near Mylasa, tentatively dated to the 6th c.

E00827

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

Cult building - independent (church)

Construction of cult buildings

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Discussion

Bibliography

Pawel Nowakowski

31/10/2015

Greek building inscription of an oratory (eukterion) of Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023) and Bakchos (soldier and martyr of Barbalissos, Syria, S00079), founded by Basilios, a bishop presumably of Mylasa (Caria, western Asia Minor). Found near Mylasa, tentatively dated to the 6th c.