The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

Inscription 1:

Floor-mosaic with a metric inscription in clumsy iambs. L. 2.31 m; W. 0.6 m, letter height 0.08 m. Found in 1966 during the restoration of the monastic church of St. Spyridon at Trimythous, supervised by Athanasios Papageorghiou. Originally published in capital letters by Papageorghiou in 1966. The first edition in minuscule with accents and diacritics (but without comments) was offered by Jean and Louis Robert in 1970. The most important editions with commentary are by Demetrios Pallas (1977), Michael Donderer (1989), and Olivier Masson (1995).

ψηφί[δι γρα]πτῇ ποικίλῃ ται τὴν χρόαν
τόπον ̣κ̣ο̣σμῆσαι ἁγίων ἐπισκόπων
Καρταιρίου χερσὶν προσέταξεν ἀγαθε͂ς
μνήμης Σφυρίδων μεταίχων ἁγίας
ἴσος ὁμοίῳ δυνάμι πνευματικῇ +

1. ψηφὶ[ς γρα]πτὴ <πε>ποικίλ{η}ται Donderer || ται =τε || 3. ἀγαθε͂ς = ἀγαθαῖς || 4. μεταίχων = μετέχων || 4-5. ἁγίασ|ισος = ἁγιάσεως Donderer

'Sphyridon, of holy memory, ordered the good hands of Karterios to adorn the room of the holy bishops with a mosaic of figures and various colours, an offering by a peer to a peer sharing the same spiritual power. +'

Text: Masson 1995, 410-413. Translation: E. Rizos, P. Nowakowski.

The inscription commemorates the paving of the church with a mosaic floor, commissioned by a certain Sphyridon, and carried out by the artisan Karterios. Though the general sense is clear, Olivier Masson notes that the syntax of the poem is still problematic, and various implausible interpretations have been suggested by subsequent editors (see: Masson 1995, 412-413).

The first editor, Athanasios Papageorghiou connected the epithet ὅμοιος with δύναμις, making the phrase: 'being equal to (them, i.e. other bishops) by the same spiritual power', which he referred to the commissioner of the mosaic, allegedly Saint Spyridon himself. However, the gender of the epithet ὅμοιος and of the noun δύναμις are different, which presupposes a mistake of the author of the inscription. Ino Nicoalou suggests that the mosaic describes a miraculous appearance of Spyridon, probably in a vision to a local bishop, when he ordered the embellishment of the church (see: Nicolaou 1971, 36; cf. Michaelides, Karageorghis 1987, 36). Another interpretation was offered by Demetrios Pallas. He suggests that bishop Sphyridon, mentioned in line 4 of our inscription, was a regular bishop, bearing the same name as the patron of the church, and that he equated himself with his holy predecessor, saying that he was 'equal to him in the spiritual power' (line 5). This interpretation was accepted by Denis Feissel and Olivier Masson.

We partially support the interpretation by Pallas, but it is more plausible that our donor, Sphyridon, a regular bishop, equals himself not with the famous holy figure, but with other deceased bishops, whom he calls ἅγιοι/'holy' (line 2). It is possible that the shrine of Sphryridon hosted the tombs of bishops of Trimythous, and that the donor Sphyridon was himself probably already dead when the inscription was made, as he is named 'of holy memory'/μνήμης μεταίχων ἁγίας. For a list of bishops of Trimythous, see: Papageorghiou 1966, 25.

Dating: Papageorghiou dated the mosaic to the last decades of the 4th c.. Michaelides and Karageorghis note that the depiction of a jewelled cross above our inscriptions implies a date before 427, when an imperial law banned the use of the cross in mosaic floors.

Inscription 2:

Inscription from two plaques, found close to the northern wall of the monastic church of St. Spyridon in Trimythous, probably parts of a pulpit.

A: μέσος πέφυκεν χῶρος ἡγηασμένος

B: + ὁ κλῆρος [--]ΙΩΣ κὲ [-]Ε[-] Σφη[ρίδων (?)]

A: 'The middle room is sacred and completed.'

B: '+ The clergy [- - -] and [- - -] Sphy[ridon (?)]'

Text: Papageorghiou 1966, 30.

The inscription on Plaque B may refer to Spyridon, the patron of the church, or to a homonymous bishop (cf. Inscription 1 above). It is however, too fragmentary, to draw any firm conclusions.

Inscription 3:

Label of a seriously damaged wall painting, showing a saint. The painting is displayed in a hexagonal chapel, behind the third buttress of the northern wall in the monastic church of St. Sphyridon in Trimythous. Date unknown, but probably much later than the 4th c. mosaic (Inscription 1).

ΜΑΤ[- - -]

'Mat[thaios]'

Text: Papageorghiou 1966, 31.

The partly preserved inscription allows us to identify the depicted person as the Evangelist Matthew. The other saint, painted on the same wall, was not identified by the editor.

Monastery

Public display of an image
Commissioning/producing an image

Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings

Ecclesiastics - bishops
Merchants and artisans

Using saints to assert ecclesiastical/political status
Considerations about the succession of saints

Source

Bibliography

Images

Inscription 1 (after the restoration); from: Nicolaou 1971, plate XLVII.

Inscription 1 (before the restoration); from: Papageorghiou 1966, plate VIII.

Plan of the basilica; from: Pallas 1977, 287.

Inscription 1 (after the restoration); from: Masson 1995, 412.