Label of a tomb at Korykos, with a reference to a church probably of a saint *Theodore (perhaps the soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita, S00480), venerated as a holy physician. Found at Korykos/Corycus (Cilicia, south-east Asia Minor). Probably late 5th or 6th c.
Evidence ID
E01072
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
+ σ̣ωματοθήκη Συμ̣εωνίου υἱοῦ
Σανβατίου κεραμέος τοῦ ἁγίου
ΘΕΟ ἰατροῦ +
3. Θεο(δώρου) Halkin
'+ The sarcophagus of Symeonios, son of Sambatios, potter (of the church) of Saint Theo(- - -) the physician.'
Text: MAMA III, no. 737.
Cult Places
Cult building - independent (church)
MiraclesHealing diseases and disabilities
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMerchants and artisans
Source
The lid of a sarcophagus found at Korykos. Letter height 0.055 m. Recorded in 1914.Discussion
The inscription labels the tomb of a potter who probably offered his services to a church dedicated to a holy physician. The name or the by-name of the saint is given in line 3 and reads ΘΕΟΙΑΤΡΟΥ. Josef Keil and Adolf Wilhelm, the first editors of the inscription, wondered if this was an otherwise unparalleled epithet θεοιατρός, which could stand for the by-name: 'the holy physician'. However, François Halkin plausibly comments that we are dealing with the abbreviated name Θεό(δωρος), followed by the word ἰατρός.It is however uncertain, whether the expression τοῦ ἁγίου Θεο(δώρου) ἰατροῦ really specifies the affiliation of the deceased. The phrase may constitute a separate sentence, stating that the tomb was 'of (the church of) Theodore the holy physician'. If a Saint Theodore is referred to, it is not certain who this is: Theodore of Amaseia and Euchaita had extensive cult in this period, but is not specifically known as a physician.
Bibliography
Edition: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 240.
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua III, no. 737.
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.
Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure", Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 90.
Samellas, A., Death in the Eastern Mediterranean (50-600 A.D.). The Christianization of the East: An Interpretation (Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum 12, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002), 257, note 2.
Record Created By
Pawel Nowakowski
Date of Entry
11/01/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00480 | Theodore, soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita | Θεο(- - -) | 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, E01072 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01072