Greek inscription on a bronze cross, asking *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) to give repose to a deceased person. Found at Shiloh near Sebaste (Samaria, Roman province of Palaestina I). Probably mid-5th – early 6th c.
Evidence ID
E04533
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed objects
Images and objects - Other portable objects (metalwork, ivory, etc.)
Archaeological and architectural - Cult buildings (churches, mausolea)
On the vertical arm of the cross:
+ ἁγ-
ία Μ-
αρί(α),
ἀνά-
πα-
υσ-
ον
On the horizontal arm of the cross:
Ἀνιανόν +
‘+ O Holy Mary, give repose to Anianos!’
Text: SEG 62, 1693.
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEx-votos
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Vow
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Cult Related ObjectsEx-votos
Crosses
Source
The inscription is on a bronze cross. The arms of the cross also bear holes at their ends.The cross was found in the debris of the so-called Later Northern Church at Shiloh. The church houses two inscribed floor-mosaics (SEG 61, 1691-1692, cf. Madden 2014, no. 184) which, however, do not specify its dedication. One of them records the completion of the floor-mosaic in the north aisle under the presbyter Delmatios, the other invokes God as the Lord to accept an offering (presumably the same mosaic pavement).
The inscription on the cross was first published by Leah Di Segni in 2012.
Discussion
The cross was apparently a votive offering for the repose of the Anianios mentioned in the inscription. Remarkably, it is not God who is invoked to grant repose to Anianos but solely the Virgin Mary (here named Holy Mary/Hagia Maria). Therefore, this is an interesting record of a belief that saints (or at least some particular saints) could act independently, and not only by interceding with God. We can compare this request with similar cases where Mary and God (E04401), and Thekla and God ($EXXXX) are invoked as equal partners.Bibliography
Edition:Di Segni, L., "Greek inscriptions from the Late Northern Church at Shiloh", in: N. Carmin, E. Levin, C. Ebert, M. Gugenheim (eds.), Christians and Christianity, vol. 3: Churches and Monasteries in Samaria and Northern Judea (Judea and Samaria Publications 15, Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority, 2012), 219-222, no. 3
Further reading:
Madden A.M., Corpus of Byzantine Church Mosaic Pavements in Israel and the Palestinian Territories (Leuven - Walpole, MA: Peeters, 2014), 127 no. 184.
Reference works:
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 62, 1693.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
29/12/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Μαρία | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E04533 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04533