Greek inscription on a lintel, possibly invoking *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023). Found at el-Ekhwēn near Apamea on the Orontes (central Syria). Probably 5th-7th c.
Evidence ID
E01881
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Δ + Ω. ἅγιος ὁ θεός, ἅγιος [ἰσχυ]ρός, ἅγιος ἀθάνα[τος, ἐλ]έη(σον) (?). Σήργ(ις). +
'Δ + Ω. Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy! Sergis. +'
Text: IGLS 4, no. 1775.
Non Liturgical Activity
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Source
Stone lintel. The inscription is above a damaged carving of a cross within a square. No published description.When recorded, the lintel was reused in the wall of a roadside inn (khan) at el-Ekhwēn. First seen by Richard Burton during his stay in Syria (with Charles Tyrwhitt Drake) and published by him in 1872, with the aid of W.S.W. Vaux. Revisited by Jean Lassus in the 1930s, who noted that by that time most of the inscription was lost. Republished by René Mouterde in 1955, based on the earlier editions.
Discussion
The inscription begins with the letters Α and Ω (with Δ erroneously carved instead of Α by the stonecutter), followed by the Trisagion prayer. At the end of the line is the name 'Sergios'. Mouterde prudently noted that this could be the name of Saint Sergios, invoked to protect the building where the inscription was displayed, but could also have been the name of a supplicant, saying the prayer.Dating: the Trisagion prayer was popularised in Syria during the miaphysite controversy, therefore a 5th or 6th c. date is probable.
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. 1775.
Lassus, J., Inventaire archéologique de la région au nord-est de Hama, vol. 1: Text (Documents d'Études Orientales 4, Damascus: Institut français de Damas, [1935-1936?]), 111, no. 59, fig. 117.
Burton, R. Fr., Drake, Ch.F.T., Unexplored Syria: visits to the Libanus, the Tulúl el Safá, the Anti-Libanus, the northern Libanus, and the ʼAláh, vol. 2 (London: Tinsley brothers, 1872), 383, no. 44, and plate III, no. 44.
Images
)
Drawing. From: Burton 1872, plate III, no. 44.
)
Drawing. From: Lassus 1935-1936, 111.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
01/10/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00023 | Sergios, soldier and martyr of Rusafa | Σήργις | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01881 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01881