Two floor-mosaics with Greek inscriptions in the ecclesiastical complex of Serğilla in Jabal Zawiya, near Apamea on the Orontes (Roman province of Syria II), suggesting the existence of a shrine of *Theodore (probably the soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita, S00480). Probably early 6th c.
E03484
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Archaeological and architectural - Cult buildings (churches, mausolea)
Inscription 1:
Mosaic panel from the nave of the south chapel:
ἔτο<υ>ς ̣η[.. μηνὸς Ξ]α̣ν-
θικοῦ ε΄ (καὶ) ἐ̣π[ὶ τοῦ εὐλα]-
β(εστάτου) πρεσβ(υτέρου) Ἰ̣ω[άννου (?) ἐτ]-
ηλιώθ̣η ̣τ[οῦτο τὸ εὐκ]-
τήριν [- - -]
'In the year ..8, on the 5th day of [the month of] Xanthikos, and under the most pious presbyter [Ioannes] (?) was completed this oratory (eukterion) [- - -]'
Inscription 2:
Mosaic panel in a chamber sited to the north of the apse:
[- - -]ΟΥ̣Α[- - -]
[- - -]ΛΟΥ
[- - - ἐ]τελιώ[θη]
[τὸ ἔργο]ν τοῦ [ψηφίου (?)]
[ - - -] Θεοδώρου ἐν μη̣νὶ
[- - - ἔτους - - -] τρια[κ]οστοῦ [..]
[- - - ἰνδι]κτιῶν[ος]
1-2. probably ἐπὶ τοῦ ἁγιωτ(άτου) ἐπισκόπου || 4-5. [τὸ ἔργο]ν τοῦ [ψηφίου (?) | τοῦ ἁγίου] Θεοδώρου ἐν μη̣νὶ or [τὸ μαρτύριο]ν τοῦ [ἁγίου | N καὶ] Θεοδώρου ἐν μη̣νὶ
'[- - -] was completed the work of the [floor mosaic (?) of - - -] of Theodore. In the month of [- - -, the year - - -] thirtieth [- - -] indiction [- - -].'
Text: P.-L. Gatier, in Tate and others 2013, 545-551.
Cult building - dependent (chapel, baptistery, etc.)
Non Liturgical ActivityRenovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Construction of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - lesser clergy
Source
The inscriptions come from the ecclesiastical complex in Serǧilla, an exceptionally well preserved deserted village in the south sector of Jabal Zawiya (the Limestone Massif), in the territory of Apamea.The mosaics were first published by Pierre-Lois Gatier in 2013, in the report of the excavations conducted at the site by Georges Tate and his team on behalf of the Mission Archéologique Syro-française de la Syrie du Nord.
Discussion
Gatier supposes that Inscription 2 commemorates the paving of a martyr shrine dedicated to Saint Theodore, probably the soldier and martyr of Euchaita in Pontus. In his comments in the Bulletin épigraphique, Denis Feissel considers this supposition highly plausible.Dating: the dating formulas in both inscriptions are partially lost. For the date of the paving of the presumed shrine, of which the number '30' is clearly legible, Gatier reasonably expects a date around the year 830 of the Seleucid era, i.e. within the decade 518-528.
Bibliography
Edition:Gatier, P.-L. (ed.), in: G. Tate, M. Abdulkarim, G. Charpentier, C. Duvette, C. Piaton (eds.), Serǧilla, village d'Apamène, vol. 1: Une architecture de pierre (Beirut: Presses de l'IFPO, 2013), 545-551.
Reference works:
Bulletin épigraphique (2014), 503.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 63, 1492-1493.
Paweł Nowakowski
24/07/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00480 | Theodore, soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita | Θεόδωρος | 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, E03484 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E03484