A Greek Christian curse, inscribed on a tombstone, probably invoking *Michael (the Archangel, S00181) to punish potential desecrators of the grave. Found near Pepouza (Phrygia, west central Asia Minor). Late antique.
Evidence ID
E00879
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Literary - Magical texts and amulets
ἴ τοις (= τις) ̣π[- - - - -]
οὐ βλέπι, τὸν ἀρχισ̣τ̣ρ̣[άτ-]
ιγον ἀτὸν ἔχι διάδι-
κον.
(christogram) +
+
1-2. ἴ τοις (= τις) ̣π[- - - - -] | οὐ βλέπι Feissel (in a letter dated 17.09.2016), ΙΤΟΙCΙΙ[- - -] | ̣ΟΥΒΛ Tabbernee, ΙΓΟΙCΙΙ[- - -] | ουβ<α> MAMA || 2-4. ὁ βλέπι τὸν ἀρχ[... ἐπ]|ὶ γονάτον, ἔχι διάδι|κον Huttner
'If someone [- - -] does not watch, that person shall have the Comma[nd]er-in-chief (of all the angels) himself as persecutor.'
Text: Tabbernee 1997, no. 76. Translation: W. Tabbernee, lightly modified.
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Magic
Source
Limestone block supporting a pillar in a water basin. Broken above. H. 0.33 m; W. 0.53 m; letter height 0.025-0.037 m.Discussion
The inscription is usually interpreted as an imprecation, threatening potential desecrators of the grave with the punishment by Michael the Archangel. However, Ulrich Huttner, in the Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, argues that the last lines should be read ὁ βλέπι τὸν ἀρχ[... ἐπ]|ὶ γονάτον, ἔχι διάδι|κον / 'whoever sees the arch[- - - on] his knees, has an enemy' and that the text is a quotation from a book of comments explaining dreams. The commentator says that if somebody sees in a dream a kneeling official, apparently has an enemy. If Huttner's reading is correct (which is very unlikely), the inscription can no longer be considered as referencing Michael.Bibliography
Edition:Tabbernee, W. (ed.), Montanist Inscriptions and Testimonia: Epigraphic Sources for Illustrating the History of Montanism (Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1997), no. 76.
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua IV, no. 325.
Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, no. 1078: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/1078
Further reading:
Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure", Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 330.
Record Created By
Pawel Nowakowski
Date of Entry
24/11/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00181 | Michael, the Archangel | ἀρχιστρ[άτ]ιγος | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Pawel Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E00879 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00879