Greek inscription on a reused sarcophagus with an invocation of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Found at Kalliopi (island of Lemnos; Aegean Islands). Possibly late antique.
Evidence ID
E01728
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
μί(τη)ρ θ(εο)ῦ
ἡ δού- λη τοῦ
θ(εο)ῦ Καλή
'Mother of God. (Here lies) the servant of God Kale.'
Text: IG 12,8, no. 42.
Non Liturgical Activity
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Source
A tuff sarcophagus. The inscription was carved on one of the long faces, apparently in the Christian period. Letter height 0.015-0.035 m. The sarcophagus also bears poorly preserved pagan epitaphs for previous owners.Found near the modern church of St. Anna, at the village of Kalliopi. Seen and copied (drawing, squeeze) by Carl Friedrich before 1909.
Discussion
The inscription is an invocation of Mary, probably on behalf of the person buried in the sarcophagus, a certain woman named Kale.Dating: Such short invocations are usually undatable, but the presence of the 'servant-of-God' formula points to a fairly late period: possibly the late 5th/7th c., or even middle Byzantine times.
Bibliography
Edition:Friedrich, C. (ed.), Inscriptiones Graecae, vol. 12, part 8: Inscriptiones insularum maris Thracici: Lemnos, Imbros, Samothrace, Thasos, Skiathos (etc.) and Skyros (Berlin: Apud G. Reimerum, 1909), no. 42.
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), 376.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
15/07/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01728 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01728