Greek inscription on a possibly Christian fragmentary amulet, invoking the help of the Archangels: *Michael (S00181), *Gabriel (S00192), and *Ouriel (S00770) for a horse, and possibly the help of *Sisinnios, a holy rider (S00608), against a demon. Provenance unknown, possibly Syria. Probably late antique.
Evidence ID
E01695
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed objects
Images and objects - Other portable objects (metalwork, ivory, etc.)
Literary - Magical texts and amulets
Face A:
ἵππος, Μιχαήλ, Γαβ-
ριήλ, Οὐριήλ, βοήθ[ι]
[σ]ε σπ<ε>ίρε<ι>ν· ἄλ<ε>ιψε Θε(- - -)
[- - -]ΕΟΥ μεθ' ἡμ[ῶν]
[3. [- - -]ε ἔσπ<ε>ιρεν Seyrig || ἄλειφε Manganaro || 4. e.g. [ἡ χάρις τοῦ θ]εοῦ μεθ' ἡμ[ῶν]]
Face B:
φεύ<γ>ε, φεύ<γ>ε Αβιζι-
ον. ἔνθα γὰρ κατοικῖ
[Σι]̣σίννις και Σισιννία
]ολαβραξ. Κ<ύριε> (?), φύ-
[λαξ]ον Θεόδωρον, ὃν ἔτη-
[κεν Χ]ριστίνα· εἷς ̣θ[ε]̣ό̣ς
Τ Λ
3. κοίων = κύων (?) or Κ<ύριε> Seyrig
Face A: 'Horse, Michael, Gabriel, Ouriel, help make you fertile! (He?) anointed The[- - -] is with us.'
Face B: 'Run away, run away, Abizon! Because here dwell Sisinnios and Sisinnia [- - -]. Lord (?), protect Theodoros, whom Christina bore. One God.'
An improved reading of these texts will be offered by Juraj Franek (see the Discussion tab).
Text: Seyrig 1934, 5-8 with completions from SEG 51, 2010.
Use of ImagesPrayer/supplication/invocation
MiraclesOther lay individuals/ people
Private ownership of an image
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Magic
MiraclesOther miracles with demons and demonic creatures
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Animals
Demons
Source
Upper fragment of an inscribed bronze amulet (a pendant). Lines 3-4 on Face A run around an almost completely lost depiction of probably a bearded man with a whip. A star is visible to the left of his head.Provenance unknown, presumably Syria. First published by Henri Seyrig in 1934 as an acquisition of the American University of Beirut. Now probably lost. An improved reading was offered by Giacomo Manganaro in 2001 and by the editors of SEG 51.
A new edition of the object with a discussion of further bibliography will be prepared by Juraj Franek in the published version of his habilitation thesis Solomonica Magica. Solomon, Sisinnius, and the Holy Rider on Greek-Inscribed Amulets from Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium, defended in 2022 at the Department of Classical Studies, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. We are grateful to his help and corrections on the present location of the object, submitted for this entry.
Discussion
The inscription is on an amulet, invoking the help of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Ouriel. Henry Seyrig believed that the amulet was made by a Christian-pagan syncretist, and that the horse, mentioned in line 1 was the so-called 'black infernal horse', a supernatural entity, frequently appearing in pagan charms. A new interpretation was suggested by Giacomo Manganaro. Based on a new reading of line 3 on Face A, he points out that this part of the charm contained a semi-magical invocation, meant to increase the fertility of an ordinary horse (possibly a race horse). Manganaro concludes that the amulet could have been fixed to the horse's harness, like other similar objects (see: E00927; E01139).As for the text inscribed on Face B, which is not discussed by Manganaro, Seyrig commented that it protected a certain Theodoros, perhaps from the demon Abizon, a variant of the name Obyzouth, a demon conquered by Solomon and Saint Sisinnios (see the comments in E01318). Therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that the name Sisinnios, occurring in line 3, is of that holy figure. The identity of his female companion is more problematic as the saint is usually aided by his brothers, Sisen, and Sinodoros. Seyrig proposes that this might be a sister of Sisinnios, and that the amulet refers to an unattested version of the legend, in which the demon kills Sisinnia's child, and then is pursued by Sisinnios.
In his comments on the inscription in Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Rolf Tybout notes that the Theodoros, for whom the charm was designed, might have been a horse owner or even a charioteer (the figure depicted with a whip on Face A). Therefore, we might have here a case of a charm protecting both an animal and the man owning it.
Bibliography
Edition:Franek, J., Solomonica Magica. Solomon, Sisinnius, and the Holy Rider on Greek-Inscribed Amulets from Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium (forthcoming), no. SoMa 241.
Manganaro, G., "Byzantina Siciliae", Minima epigraphica et papyrologica 4/5 (2001), 177.
Seyrig, H., "Invidiae medici", Berytus 1 (1934), 5-8.
Reference works:
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 51, 2010.
Images
)
From: Seyrig 1934.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
06/07/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00181 | Michael, the Archangel | Μιχαήλ | Certain | S00192 | Gabriel, the Archangel | Γαβριήλ | Certain | S00608 | Sisinnios (unspecified) | Σισίννις | Certain | S00770 | Ouriel, the Archangel | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01695 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01695