Greek epitaph for a young woman, praised as a diligent servant of God and probably also of unnamed saints (S00518). Found near Prousias/Prusias ad Hypium (Honoriad, northern Asia Minor). Probably late antique.
Evidence ID
E00962
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
[+ ἐν]θάδε κατά-
[κι]τε ἡ τῆς μακαρ<ί>ας
[μ]νήμης ̣Ἀ̣ναστασία,
γαμετὴ γενομένη
Λουκᾶ· ̣ἔ[ζ]ησεν ἔτη
κ̣β΄, ἐτελεύτησ[ε]
μη(νὸς) Μαίου |_| ἰνδ(ικτιῶνος)
ιε΄, δουλεύσασα
[το(?)]ῦ θ(εο)ῦ καὶ τοῖς
[ἁγί]οις καὶ το[ῖς]
[ ]ΤΟ
10-11. καὶ το[ῖς | ἀγγέλοις αὐ]το[ῦ Halkin
' [+] Here lies Anastasia of blessed memory, wife of Loukas. She lived 22 years, she died in the month of May |_| in the 15th indiction. She served God and the saints and the [- - -]'
Text: I. Prusias ad Hypium, no. 121.
Non Liturgical ActivityWomen
Saint as patron - of an individual
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Source
A rough limestone block, found near Prousias / Prusias ad Hypium (Honoriad, northern Asia Minor), in a field between Prusias and Tepecik. H. 0.66 m; W. 0.5 m; Th. 0.24 m; letter height 0.04 m.Discussion
The inscription is the epitaph for a pious young woman, Anastasia. The closing eulogy is not completely preserved, but we can say that Anastasia is certainly praised as a person who diligently served God and his saints (δουλεύσασα [το(?)]ῦ θ(εο)ῦ καὶ τοῖς [ἁγί]οις). François Halkin completed the last line: 'an[d h]i[s angels]' / καὶ το[ῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐ]το[ῦ, but this reconstruction is too hypothetical to be accepted.The phrasing of the eulogy may refer to a passage from the First Epistle to Timothy, which specifies requirements for the so-called "enrolled" / "canonical" widows: '(...) a widow (...) having been the wife of one man. Well reported of for good works (...) if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work' / Χήρα (...) ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς γυνή, ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς μαρτυρουμένη (...) εἰ ἁγίων πόδας ἔνιψεν, εἰ θλιβομένοις ἐπήρκεσεν, εἰ παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ ἐπηκολούθησεν (1Timothy 5:9-10). Though we cannot determine whether Anastasia held this position, it seems plausible that the statement that she was a diligent servant of saints is nothing more than a literary figure, and we cannot infer that she was engaged in the cult of saints in any exceptional way. For epitaphs with similar references to the First Epistle to Timothy, see E00978 and E01028.
Bibliography
Edition:Die Inschriften von Prusias ad Hypium, no. 121.
Dörner, F.K., Bericht über eine Reise in Bithynien (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-Historische Klasse. Denkschriften Bd. 75, Abhandlung 1, Vienna: Im Kommission bei R.M. Rohrer, 1952), no. 35.
Further reading:
Halkin, F., “Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure”, Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 97.
Record Created By
Pawel Nowakowski
Date of Entry
10/12/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | [ἅγι]οι | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Pawel Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E00962 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00962