Greek building inscription just possibly for a church dedicated to a saint *Kosmas. Found at eṭ-Ṭayyibe to the east of Apamea on the Orontes and Ḥamāh/Amathe (central Syria). Probably 5th-7th c.
E01967
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
The inscription is written in the form of a framed cross-shaped monogram (H. 0.33 m; W. 0.28 m) on a lintel, at one of its ends. William Prentice suggested that the monogram should be expanded as Κοσμᾶ/'Of Kosmas.' This interpretation was accepted by René Mouterde. If so, our inscription could commemorate the construction of a church dedicated to Kosmas, a physician martyr of Syria and brother of *Damianos (S00385), but such a statement is, of course, disputable, as 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 referred to. 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. 1918.
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), 23, no. 861.
Images
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From: Prentice 1922, 23.
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, E01967 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01967