Floor-mosaic with a Greek inscription invoking the intercession of *Kyrikos (probably the child martyr of Tarsus, S00007). Found at Khirbet el-Buraq (Samaria, Roman province of Palaestina I). Probably 6th c.
Evidence ID
E04154
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Archaeological and architectural - Cult buildings (churches, mausolea)
Μαρκι-
ανοῦ τοῦ δ-
ούλου σου ἐλέη-
σον εὐχες τ-
οῦ ἁγίου Κυρί-
κος
[4. εὐχες = εὐχαῖς Bingen in SEG, εὐχ(ὴ) ε(ἰ)ς Applebaum, Isaac, Landau]
'Have mercy upon your servant Markianos through the intercessions of Saint Kyrikos!'
Text: Applebaum, Isaac & Landau 1981-1982, no. 14 with altered interpretation of line 4 from SEG 32, 1521.
Cult PlacesRenovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityRenovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Source
Mosaic medallion found in the nave of the ruined church at Khirbet el-Buraq, c 20 km to the southwest of Shechem. Dimensions not specified.The site was excavated by Shimon Dar before 1981. Sadly, soon after the excavations the floor-mosaics fell victim to an act of vandalism and are now lost. A copy of the inscription was forwarded to Shimon Applebaum, Benjamin Isaac, and Yohanan Landau, who published it with the permission of the finder in 1981/1982. Small corrections to the interpretation of line 4 were subsequently offered by Jean Bingen in the Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum.
As far as we are aware, there is no published photograph of this inscription.
Discussion
The inscription invokes God's help for a certain Markianos. This is probably a donor who contributed to the paving of the church with floor-mosaics.God's help is invoked through the intercession of Saint Kyrikos. The editors identify this figure as Kyriakos, an apocryphal character, a martyr and companion of Saint Photina, which is the apocryphal name given to the Samaritan woman who talked with Jesus in the Gospel of John 4.7. The editors suggest that the construction of the church postdates the violent suppression of the Samaritan revolt of 529 by Justinian, which was followed by the forced baptism of Samaritan communities, and that Kyriakos was chosen as the holy patron for the newly built shrine because of his links with the region. Although highly speculative, this suggestion has some support in the archaeological evidence from the site, which documents destruction of the village in the Justinianic period, see Crown, Pummer &Tal 1993, 26-27. The church, however, could have been built at a later date and its construction need not be an immediate result of the christianisation of the Samaritans. Furthermore, Saint Kyrikos (also spelt Kerykos) appears frequently in inscriptions throughout Syria and Palestine, and he is more readily identified with Kyrikos, the child martyr of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is the option we favour here.
Dating: The editors tentatively place the panel in the 6th c., based on the fact that most dated floor-mosaics come from this period.
Bibliography
Edition:Applebaum, S., Isaac, B., Landau, Y., "Varia epigraphica", Scripta Classica Israelica 6 (1981-1982), 104, no. 14.
Further reading:
Crown, A.D., Pummer, R., Tal, A., A Companion to Samaritan Studies (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1993), 26-27.
Reference works:
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 32, 1521.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
13/10/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00007 | Kyrikos/Cyricus and Ioulitta/Julitta, child and his mother, martyrs of Tarsus | Κύρικος | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E04154 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04154