Greek inscription, probably on a boundary stone of a sanctuary of *Kyrikos (child martyr of Tarsus, S00007). Found near Amisos (Helenopontus, northern Asia Minor). Probably late 5th or 6th c.
Evidence ID
E00977
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
προσ(φύγιον) τοῦ ἁγίου Κυρίκο[υ]
1. προσ(φύγιον) Feissel (in a letter dated 17.09.2016), <ὅ>ρος or πρὸς or προσ(ευχὴ) (?) Grégoire, ΠΡΟC copy
'The refuge (of the church) of Saint Kyriko[s].'
Text: Studia Pontica III/1, no. 19
Cult PlacesSeeking asylum at church/shrine
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivitySeeking asylum at church/shrine
Awarding privileges to cult centres
Source
A rectangular limestone block, found at Karaköy (area of Amisos, Helenopontus, north-eastern Asia Minor). H. 0.62 m; W. 1.02 m; letter height 0.04-0.05 m. One of its faces is decorated with a carving of a cross in a circle. The inscription was engraved on the side facing the village of Belek.Discussion
Henri Grégoire was unsure how to classify this inscription. The copy he made reads clearly ΠΡΟCΤ(ΟΥ)ΑΓΙΟΥΚΥΡΙΚΟ. His first idea was to identify it as a boundary stone indicating the property belonging to a church or a monastery of Saint Kyrikos. Therefore, he corrected Π to Ο and read <ὅ>ρος τοῦ ἁγίου Κυρίκο[υ] / 'Boundary (of the church) of Saint Kyrikos'. However, Grégoire also considered other possibilities: that the inscription was a road sign showing the way to a church of Saint Kyrikos: πρὸς τοῦ ἁγίου Κυρίκο[υ] / 'To (the church) of Saint Kyrikos' or that it was a kind of prayer: προσ(ευχὴ) τοῦ ἁγίου Κυρίκο[υ] / 'The prayer of Saint Kyrikos' (which is less probable). Denis Feissel suggests that the enigmatic first word is actually προσ(φύγιον) and that the inscription marked the refuge site (asylum) of that church.Dating: probably late 5th or 6th c. (as boundary stones are common, authorised by emperors of this period).
Bibliography
Edition:Anderson, J.G.C., Cumont, F., Grégoire, H., Studia Pontica, vol. 3, part 1: Recueil des inscriptions grecques et latines du Ponte et de l'Arménie (Brussels: Lamertin, 1910), no. 19.
Further reading:
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), 103.
Grégoire, H., "Rapport sur un voyage d'exploration dans le Pont et en Cappdoce", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 33 (1909), 8.
Reference works:
Delehaye, H., "Bulletin des publications hagiographiques", Analecta Bollandiana 30 (1911), 335.
Record Created By
Pawel Nowakowski
Date of Entry
12/12/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00007 | Kyrikos/Cyricus and Ioulitta/Julitta, child and his mother, martyrs of Tarsus | Κύρικο[ς] | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Pawel Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E00977 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00977