Fragment of an altar with a partially preserved Greek inscription, mentioning *Paul the Apostle (S00008), possibly patron of the church. Found at Pythagorio (Samos, the Aegean Islands). Probably mid-6th c.
Evidence ID
E01206
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
[--- τ]οῦ ἐνδόξου ἀπ(οστόλο)υ Παύλου (christogram)
1. [--- τ]οῦ Hallof, [- - -]Σ Steckner SEG
"[- - - of[ the glorious Apostle Paul. (christogram)"
Text: IG XII 6,2, no. 941.
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Cult building - independent (church)
Altar
Source
Fragment of a plaque (probably right-hand lower corner of a horseshoe-shaped altar), found in obscure circumstances on/near a church built on the site of the Roman baths in Pythagorio. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.38 m; W. 0.305 m; Th. 0.064 m. First edited by Cornelius Steckner. When recorded and copied by Klaus Hallof, it was kept in the Museum of Pythagorio. The inscription is written on the lower margin, in cursive script.Discussion
The fragment contains only the name of Paul the Apostle, in the genitive form. Based on the inscription, Steckner supposes that the basilica, constructed in c. 570-580 over the ruins of the Hellenistic gymnasium (extended with thermae (baths) in the Roman period), where the fragment had been found, was probably dedicated to Paul. The basilica was a three-aisled structure with an atrium, c. 45 m long and c. 15 m wide. It is supposed that this was the episcopal church and some elements of the old thermae were refurbished as a baptisterium.The founders of the church, might have chosen Paul as the patron for the sanctuary, because of an episode in his life. Acts say that in AD 58, Paul briefly stayed on Samos, during the third of his missionary journeys (see: Acts 20:15: κἀκεῖθεν ἀποπλεύσαντες τῇ ἐπιούσῃ κατηντήσαμεν ἄντικρυς Χίου, τῇ δὲ ἑτέρᾳ παρεβάλομεν εἰς Σάμον, τῇ δὲ ἐχομένῃ ἤλθομεν εἰς Μίλητον / 'And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus').
Beside the discussed basilica, the site contained several other ecclesiastical structures, including, for example, a holy tomb, where relics of some local Samian martyrs could have been deposited. Cornelius Steckner hypothesises that the complex could have been a lively pilgrimage centre, possibly visited by Sophronios, patriarch of Jerusalem, c. 560-638, author of a treatise on the journeys of the Apostles (see: De laboribus, certaminibus et peregrinatibus St. Petri et Pauli, PG 87, coll. 4011-4014).
Bibliography
Edition:Inscriptiones Graecae XII 6,2, no. 941.
Steckner, C., "Apostel Paulus, eine samische Altarinschrift und die Lokaltraditionen zu den Apostelreisen", in: Akten des XII. Internationalen Kongresses für Christliche Archäologie, Bonn, 22.-28. September 1991, ed. E. Dassmann, J. Engemann (Münster: Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1995), 1213-1218.
Further reading:
Kiourtzian, G., "Pietas insulariorum", [in:] Eupsychia: mélanges offerts à Hélène Ahrweiler, vol. 2 (Série Byzantina Sorbonensia 16, Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1998), 377.
Martini, W., Steckner, C., Samos XVII: Das Gymnasium von Samos. Das frühbyzantinische Klostergut (Bonn: In Kommission bei R. Habelt, 1993), 100.
Reference works:
Chroniques d'épigraphie byzantine, 238.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 46, 1177.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
15/03/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Παῦλος | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01206 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01206