Greek inscription with an invocation of *Gabriel (the Archangel, S00192). Found at Fa'loūl, near Androna, to the east of Apamea on the Orontes and Ḥamāh/Amathe (central Syria). Probably 6th c.
Evidence ID
E01839
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements
Archaeological and architectural - Cult buildings (churches, mausolea)
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
+ ἀρχάγγελε Γαβρι-
ήλ, βοήθησον. +
'+ O Archangel Gabriel, help! +'
Text: IGLS 4, no. 1572.
Cult PlacesPrayer/supplication/invocation
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Source
Basalt corbel. Decorated with a carving of a cross in low-relief on the under side. The upper surface has a circular socket, possibly for a small post. The inscription is on the right-hand side. Line 1: length 0.785 m; letter height 0.045-0.05 m. Line 2: length 0.64 m; letter height 0.045-0.05 m.Found in a courtyard, in the eastern outskirts of the settlement by the Princeton Archaeological Expedition to Syria. First published with a drawing by William Prentice in 1922. Republished by René Mouterde in 1955, after the edition by Prentice.
Discussion
The inscription contains an invocation of Gabriel the Archangel. Howard Butler and William Prentice hypothetically suggested that the corbel, on which it was written, might have supported a pulpit, possibly in the local oratory of the Archangels (see: E01838), from where it could have been brought to the courtyard. This possibility was later considered certain by Mouterde.Dating: The inscription is not dated, but this kind of short invocation was especially popular from the late 5th c. The oratory dedicated to Archangels was built in Fa'loūl at 526/527, so there is a good chance that our inscription also belongs to the 6th c.
Bibliography
Edition:Jalabert, L., Mouterde, R., Mondésert, Cl., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 4: Laodicée, Apamène (BAH 61, Paris: Librairie orientalise Paul Geuthner, 1955), no. 1572.
Prentice, W.K. (ed.), Publications of the Princeton University of archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904-1905 and 1909, Division III: Greek and Latin Inscriptions, Section B: Northern Syria (Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1922), 109, no. 1052.
Further reading:
Butler, H.C. (ed.), Syria, Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904-1905 and 1909, division II: Ancient Architecture in Syria, part B: North Syria (Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1920), 99-100 (description of the find-spot).
Peña, I., Lieux de pèlerinage en Syrie (Milan: Franciscan Printing Press, 2000), 19, 26.
Trombley, F.R., Hellenic Religion and Christianization c. 370-529, vol. 2 (Leiden, New York, Cologne: Brill, 1994), 301.
Images
)
Drawing. From: Prentice 1922, 110.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
09/09/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00192 | Gabriel, the Archangel | Γαβριήλ | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01839 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01839