Greek building inscription just possibly for a church dedicated to a saint *Kosmas. Found at Umm Hartaine to the east of Apamea on the Orontes and Ḥamāh/Amathe (central Syria). Probably 5th-7th c.
E01966
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Two conjoining and one loose fragment of a lintel. Dimensions of the first two fragments: H. 0.53 m; W. 1.82 m; of the third fragment: H. 0.36 m; W. 0.72 m. The inscription is divided into three phrases, the first is written within a frame, the other two have the form of monograms. The first two phrases are probably invocations of Jesus and the Son of God. The last one was expanded by William Prentice as Κοσμᾶ/'Of Kosmas'. If so, our inscription could commemorate the construction of a church dedicated to Kosmas/Cosmas, a physician martyr in Syria and brother of Damianos (S00385). This interpretation is, of course, disputable, as the actual meaning of the last monogram is not clear and the figure is apparently not named ἅγιος/'saint'. Also Kosmas was usually venerated together with his brother and his individual cult seems unlikely.
Another possibility is that we have here the name of the donor or founder of a building.
If the inscription does refer to a saint Kosmas, it is possible that Kosmas, a local martyr of Sekizlar (near Manbij and al-Bab in north Syria) is the saint mentioned here. This Kosmas apparently died under the emperor Trajan and is attested by a single Syriac inscription (see: E01968).
See also E04563.
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityConstruction of cult buildings
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. 1919.
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), 22, no. 857.
Images
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From: Prentice 1922, 22.
Paweł Nowakowski
28/10/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00385 | Kosmas and Damianos, brothers, physician martyrs of Syria | Κοσμᾶς | Uncertain | S01005 | Kosmas, martyr of the area of Sekizlar (north Syria), ob. 110/111 | Κοσμᾶς | Uncertain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01966 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01966