Eight fragments of a Greek inscription on frieze from the interior of a church, found near Aizanoi (Phrygia, west central Asia Minor), with a dedicatory poem mentioning *Michael (the Archangel, S00181), other commanders of the Heavenly Host and founders of the sanctuary. Probably late antique.
E00872
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements
Scrolls (§) on Fragments A, G and H mark line ends of the metric verses. The text on Fragments A and H seems to be pentameters and on Fragment G a hexameter.
A: [- - -]ης § προφρονέως ναῖο̣ν [.]ε θεόφρονες ἁγ[- - -]
B: [- - -] πατρὸς ἑοῦ Θεοδωρ[- - -]
C: [- - - οὐ]ρανίης φρικτῆς ἡγεμόνες στρατ[ίης - - -]
D: [- - - ἀλι]τροσύνης [.]ον Μιχαὴλ π[- - -]
E: [- - -]λον οἶκον τοῦτον ὑπ[- - -]
F: [- - -] ος ἐδείμα[το - - -]
G: [- - -]̣οι § ἠδ' ἀλόχῳ Θ̣ε[- - -]
H: [- - -]̣η τεκέων § ἐσθλὰ χαριζόμενοι κα[- - -]
Α. [τ]ε MAMA || ἄγ[γελοι, ἅγ[ιοι, ἅγ[ν- (?) MAMA || E. τὸν κα]λόν Tuğrul, ἀγλ]α̣ὸν Roueché in MAMA || ὑπ[ούργησον (?) or ὑπ[ὲρ εὐχῆς (?) || F. ὃς MAMA || G. Θ̣ε[οδώρου (?)
A: '[- - -] keeping God in mind willingly dwelt [- - -]'
B: '[- - -] of his father Theodor[- - -]'
C: '[- - -] commanders of the dreadful heavenly army [- - -]'
D: '[- - -] of sin [- -] Michael [- - -]'
E: '[- - -] this house [- - -]'
F: '[- - -] he built [- - -]'
G: '[- - -] and for the wife of The[odoros? - - -]'
H: '[- - -] making a fortunate gift for [- - -] of (their) children [- - -]'
Text: MAMA IX, no. 552.
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Women
Children
Source
Eight fragments of a frieze almost certainly from the interior of a church. All of the fragments come from two villages (Karaköy Ören and Tavşanlı), close to Aizanoi (Phrygia, central Asia Minor), and may originate from a church in the ancient city.Fragment A: grey and white marble, seen by Christopher W.M. Cox in Tavşanlı, reused in a house, H. 0.35 m, W. 2.125 m, letter height 0.04-0.06 m.
Fragment B: white marble with grey streaks, reused as a trough, seen by Cox in Tavşanlı, H. 0.32 m, W. 1.31 m, Th. 0.49 m.
Fragment C: piece of a marble architrave, seen by L. Tuğrul in Tavşanlı, H. 0.37 m, W. 1.78 m, Th. 0.61 m, letter height 0.055 m.
Fragment D: piece of a marble architrave, seen by Tuğrul in Tavşanlı, H. 0.35 m, W. 1.89 m, Th. 0.53 m, letter height 0.06 m.
Fragment E: piece of a marble architrave, seen by Tuğrul in Tavşanlı, H. 0.47 m, W. 1.36 m, Th. 0.77 m, letter height 0.05 m.
Fragment F: broken white and grey marble building stone, probably a lintel or architrave, seen by Cox in Karaköy Ören, H. c. 0.4 m, W. 0.61 m, Th. 0.6 m, letter height 0.0475 m.
Fragment G: broken greyish white marble block, seen by Cox in Karaköy Ören, H. 0.44 m, W. 1.22 m, Th. 0.57 m, letter height 0.05 m.
Fragment H: greyish white marble block, partially buried, seen by Cox in Karaköy Ören, H. 0.28 m, W. 2.555 m, Th. 0.12 m (visible), letter height 0.055 m.
Discussion
This monumental inscription was presumably originally displayed in a church, on an elaborately moulded entablature (e.g. an architrave with bead-and-reel decoration) which ran around the interior of the sanctuary, as in the church of Saints Sergios and Bakchos in Constantinople. The text preserved on Fragment D refers to *Michael the Archangel and on Fragment C to other (arch)angels as commanders of the Heavenly Host. The founders of the church are mentioned in Fragments B, G and H. The text on Fragments A and H seems to be pentameters and on Fragment G a hexameter.Bibliography
Edition:Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua IX, no. 552.
Steinepigramme aus dem griechischen Osten, no. 16/23/03 (only fragments A; C; D; E).
Reference works:
Bulletin épigraphique (1965), 386.
Chroniques d'épigraphie byzantine, 361.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 38, 1296.
Pawel Nowakowski
22/11/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00181 | Michael, the Archangel | Μιχαήλ | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Pawel Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E00872 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00872