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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Floor mosaic with a Greek inscription just possibly mentioning *George (soldier and martyr, S00259). Reportedly found at Baḥan, c. 5 km to the north of modern Tulkarm (Samaria, Roman province of Palestina I). Probably late antique.

Evidence ID

E03557

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

In his list of epigraphic attestations to the cult of saints in Palestine, Yiannis Meimaris (1986) mentions an unpublished floor mosaic recorded in the files of the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums under Neg. No. 11935/7. Meimaris quotes two words: ...Γεωργίου. ἀμήν/'... of George. Amen.' saying that 'although the inscription is damaged, the word "holy", ἅγιος, is suggested in the genitive singular case.'

This interpretation is doubtful, and the name may well refer to an ordinary ecclesiastic or lay donor, called Georgios. As far as we know the inscription is still unpublished.

Cult Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Non Liturgical Activity

Prayer/supplication/invocation

Bibliography

Meimaris, Y., Sacred names, saints, martyrs and church officials in the Greek inscriptions and papyri pertaining to the Christian Church of Palestine (Athens: National Hellenic Research Foundation, Center for Greek and Roman Antiquity, 1986), 125, no. 677.


Record Created By

Paweł Nowakowski

Date of Entry

10/08/2017

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00259George, soldier and martyr, and CompanionsΓεώργιοςUncertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E03557 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E03557