Labels of tombs at Korykos/Corycus (Cilicia, south-east Asia Minor), owned by a charitable institution named after *Konon (one of the several homonymous martyrs of Anatolia, probably that of Isauria, S00430), and perhaps affiliated to a church dedicated to the saint. Probably late 5th or 6th c.
Evidence ID
E01065
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Inscription 1:
On the lid of a sarcophagus. The inscription is written within a frame. Letter height 0.045-0.055 m. Recorded in 1925.
+ σοματοθήκη δηαφέ-
ρουσα τοῦ εὐαγοῦς
πτωχίου τοῦ
ἁγίου Κόνωνος
'+ Sarcophagus belonging to the reverend charitable institution of Saint Konon'
Text: MAMA III, no. 783.
Inscription 2:
A sarcophagus. Letter height 0.04-0.06 m. Recorded in 1914.
+ σοματοθίκη
τοῦ πτοχίου τοῦ ἁγ(ίου)
Κόνω̣νος
'+ Sarcophagus of the charitable institution of Saint Konon.'
Text: MAMA III, no. 784.
Inscription 3:
The lid of a sarcophagus. The inscription is framed a tabula ansata. Letter height 0.055 m. Recorded in 1914.
+ σωματοθή-
κη τῶ πτοχ-
ίω τοῦ ἁγί-
ου Κόνω(νος)
'+ Sarcophagus of the charitable institution of Saint Konon.'
Text: MAMA III, no. 785.
Cult Places
Cult building - independent (church)
Places Named after SaintHospital and other charitable institutions
Discussion
The inscriptions label tombs owned by a charitable institution (πτωχεῖον) named after Saint Konon, and perhaps affiliated to a church dedicated to the saint. There are three Anatolian saints who bore the name Konon, and we don't know which one is referred to. *Konon, martyr of Isauria (south-eastern Asia Minor) was said to have lived in the times of the Apostles (1st/2nd c.). He enjoyed the special protection of *Michael the Archangel and led a life of holiness. He was credited with working many miracles. *Konon of Magydos (Pamphylia, southern Asia Minor) was a gardener and martyr under the emperor Decius. *Konon, martyr of Iconium (Lycaonia, central Asia Minor), died under the emperor Aurelian (270-275). The Konon of Isauria, which bordered on Cilicia, is the most likely.Charitable institutions, called πτωχεῖα, were concerned with providing shelter and free burial service for the poor. Procopius (On Buildings V 9; see E05099) says that the emperor Justinian restored a charitable institution (πτωχεῖον) dedicated to Saint Konon at Corycus: πόλεως Κουρίκου λουτρὸν <καὶ> πτωχεῖον ἀνενέωσε· τὸ πτωχεῖον τοῦ ἁγίου Κόνωνος, ‘At the city of Corycus, he restored a bath and a poor-house; the poor-house of Saint Conon.' We may assume that the same institution is mentioned in our inscriptions.
Dating: probably late 5th or 6th c. (based on the style of the lettering and sarcophagi).
Bibliography
Edition:Inscription 1:
Hagel, St., Tomaschitz, K., (eds.), Repertorium der westkilikischen Inschriften (Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der philosophisch-historischen Klasse 265, Ergänzungsbände zu den Tituli Asiae Minoris 22, Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1998), no. Kry 514.
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua III, no. 783
Inscription 2:
Hagel, St., Tomaschitz, K., (eds.), Repertorium der westkilikischen Inschriften (Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der philosophisch-historischen Klasse 265, Ergänzungsbände zu den Tituli Asiae Minoris 22, Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1998), no. Kry 238.
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua III, no. 784.
Inscription 3:
Hagel, St., Tomaschitz, K., (eds.), Repertorium der westkilikischen Inschriften (Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der philosophisch-historischen Klasse 265, Ergänzungsbände zu den Tituli Asiae Minoris 22, Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1998), no. Kry 245.
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua III, no. 785.
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), 106.
Mietke, G., "Monumentalisierung christilcher Heiliger in Kilikien in frühbyzantinischer Zeit", Olba 17 (2009), 121.
Record Created By
Pawel Nowakowski
Date of Entry
08/01/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00177 | Konon, gardener and martyr of Magydos of Pamphylia | Κόνων | Uncertain | S00429 | Konon, martyr of Iconium | Κόνων | Uncertain | S00430 | Konon, martyr of Isauria | Κόνων | Uncertain |
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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, E01065 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01065