Greek inscription on a boundary stone of a church dedicated to *Michael (the Archangel, S00181). Found on Lesbos (the Aegean Islands), probably close to Mytilene. Probably late antique.
Evidence ID
E01213
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
ὅροι τοῦ ἁγ[ίου]
ἀρχαγ[γέλου]
Μιχ[αήλ]
'Boundaries of the holy Archangel Michael.'
Text: Charitonidis 1968, 20.
Cult PlacesAwarding privileges to cult centres
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityAwarding privileges to cult centres
Seeking asylum at church/shrine
Source
A cross-shaped marble plaque of unknown provenance. Kept in the Museum of Mytilene. Seen and copied by Anastasios Orlandos before 1948, and between 1960 and 1964 by Seraphim Charitonidis. There is no detailed description of the stone.Discussion
The inscription marked the boundaries of a church or an estate belonging to a church dedicated to Michael the Archangel. For an identical formula, engraved on a boundary stone, see: E00963.Though this inscription does not say so explicitly, boundary stones were usually bestowed upon sanctuaries by emperors.
Dating: Probably late antique - based on dates of other boundary stones, usually authorised by late 5th or 6th c. emperors.
Bibliography
Edition:Charitonidis, S., "Παλαιοχριστιανικὴ τοπογραφία τῆς Λέσβου", ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟΝ ΔΕΛΤΙΟΝ 23 (1968) ΜΕΡΟΣ Α' - ΜΕΛΕΤΑΙ, 20.
Orlandos, A.K., "Παλαιοχριστιανικά λείψανα τῆς Ῥόδου", Ἀρχεῖον τῶν βυζαντινῶν μνημείων τῆς Ἑλλάδος 6 (1948), 12, note 4.
Further reading:
Dimitrokallis, G., Συμβολαὶ εἰς τὴν μελέτην τῶν βυζαντινῶν μνημείων Νάξου, vol. 1 (Athens: 1972), 75, note 85 (mentioned).
Bulletin épigraphique (1969), 421.
Kiourtzian, G., "Pietas insulariorum", [in:] Eupsychia: mélanges offerts à Hélène Ahrweiler, vol. 2 (Série Byzantina Sorbonensia 16, Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1998), 377.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
17/03/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00181 | Michael, the Archangel | Μιχ[αήλ] | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01213 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01213