Fragmentary Greek inscription, from Sikyon (near Corinth), with a calendar of saints' feast days, such as that of *Afra (martyr of Augsburg, S01797), *Apphianos (martyr of Caesarea of Palestine, S00159), *Andrew (the Apostle, S00288), *Antipas (presumably the bishop and martyr of Pergamon, S01816), *Antoninus (martyr of Alexandria, S00327), *Christophoros (martyr of Pamphylia, S00616), *Demetrios and four companions (unspecified, S02464), *Epimachus (martyr of Rome, S00295), *Glykeria (martyr of Perinthus-Heraclea in Thrace, S00018), *Gordiοs (presumably the soldier and martyr of Caesarea of Cappadocia, S00114), *Kodratos and his companions (Anectus, Paulus, Dionysius, Cyprianus and Crescens, martyrs of Corinth, S02368), *Laurence/Laurentius (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037), *Pionios (presbyter and martyr of Smyrna, $S00031), *Theodosia from Tyre (martyr of Palestine, $S00161), *Victor or Victorinus (martyr of Corinth, $S01927) and other saints or martyrs whose names are lost. Found at Sikyon near Corinth (north-eastern Peloponnese). Probably 5th c.
E06318
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Liturgical texts - Calendars and martyrologies
Text:
D: November December
[– – – – – –] ○ [– – – – – –]
○ α̅ Ἀνδρέου ἀπο(στόλου) ○ [– – – – – –]
vacat 5 ○ [– – – – – –]
G: March
[– – – – – –]
[○] ζ̣̅ Γορδίου
[○] ς̅ Κοδράτου ε̅
[○] ε̅ vacat
[○] δ̅ Πιονίου
10 [○] γ̅ Βικτω[ρ– –]
[○] α̅ vacat
E: April
12 [○ Κα]λ(άνδαις) vacat
[○ πρ(ὸ) δ̅] Νω(νῶν) Ἀφφιανοῦ I – – – –]
[○ γ̅ Θ]εοδοσίας
[– – – – – –]
F: August September
[– – – – – –]
15 ○ ζ̅ vacat ○ [– – – – – –]
○ ς̅ Ἄφρας 20 ○ [– – – – – –]
○ ε̅ Ἀντωνίνου ○ [– – – – – –]
○ δ̅ Λαυρεντίου ○ [– – – – – –]
[– – – – – –]
A: unknown month (May?) B: following month (June?)
[– – – – – – – –]
[– – – – – –] 30 ○ γ̣̅ – – – – – – –]
[○ δ̅ – – –]ανοῦ ○ α̅ vacat
[○ γ̅ Δ]ημητ[ρί]ου ○ Νώ(ναις) Μ̣– – – –]
25 ○ α̅ Ἀντίπα ○ πρ(ὸ) [η̅ ᾿Ϊδ(ῶν) – ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ –]
○ Νώ(ναις) Χρηστοφόρ̣[ου ○ – – – – – – – –]
○ πρ(ὸ) η̅ ᾿Ϊδ(ῶν) vacat
○ ζ̅ Ἐπιμάχου
○ ς̅ Γλυκερίας
[– – – – –]
lacuna
C: unknown month
[– – – – – –]
35 [○] δ̣̅ – – – – –]
○ γ̅ .– – – – –]
○ α̅ Κο– – – –]
○ ᾿Ϊδ(οῖς) vacat
[○] πρ(ὸ) ι̅η̅ [Καλ(ανδῶν) – – –]
[– – – – – –]
[l. 32. Μ[αρκιανοῦ Sironen, in his commentary, with a reference to the tenth-century Synaxarion of Constantinople (H. Delehaye, Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae e codice Sirmondiano nunc Berolinensi [Acta Sanctorum 62, Brussels, 1902], 732).]
Translation:
D: November December
29. [– – –] [29.] [– – –]
30. Of Andrew, the Apostle [30.] [– – –]
vacat 5 [31.] [– – –]
G: March
[8.] [– – –]
9. Of Gordios
10. Of Kodratos (and) five (companions)
11. vacat
12. Of Pionios
10 13. Of Viktor– –]
14. vacat
E: April
Kal. vacat
[2.] Of Amphianios
[3.] Of Theodosia
[4.] [– – –]
F: August September
[6.] [– – –]
15 7. vacat [7.] [– – –]
8. Of Afra 20 [8.] [– – –]
9. Of Antoninos [9.] [– – –]
10. Of Laurentios [10.] [– – –]
[11.] [– – –]
A: unknown month (May?) B: following month (June?)
[2.] [– – –]
[3.] [– – –] 30 3. [– – –]
[4.] [– – –anos 4. [– – –]
[5.] Of Demetrios Non. M– – –]
25 6. Of Antipas 6. [– – –]
Non. Of Christophoros [7.] [– – –]
8. vacat lacuna
9. Of Epimachos
10. Of Glykeria
[11.] [– – –]
C: unknown month
35 10. or 12. [– – –]
11. or 13. [– – –]
12. or 14. Of Ko[– – –]
Ides vacat
14. or 16. [– – –]
Text: IG IV2 3, no. 1825.
Service for the saint
Other liturgical acts and ceremonies
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Source
Seven fragments of a large thin white marble slab. Th. 0.025-0.03 m. Dimensions of the surviving pieces: A-B (two conjoining fragments, inv. nos. 968-969): H. 0.115 m + 0.105 m, W. 0.12 m + 0.105 m; C (inv. no. 937): H. 0.075 m, W. 0.065 m; D (inv. no. 970): H. 0.085, W. 0.115 m; E (inv. no. 962): H. 0.07, W. 0.095; F (inv. no. 966): H. 0.105, W. 0.115 m; G: H. and Th. 0.17 m, W. and Th. 0.16 m. Presumably the slab was at least 0.70 m high and at least 1.40 m wide. Letter height 0.008-0.015 m. Four of them were found in Sikyon near Corinth (northeastern Peloponnese) in 1926, during the excavations directed by Alexandros Philadelpheus. The fifth fragment (G) was published more than 60 years later by Kalliope Krystalle-Botse. In 2016,Erkki Sironen published previously known fragments along with two unpublished in the fourth volume of Inscriptiones Graecae (2nd ed.), based on the reconstruction of Klaus Hallof. Now in the Archaeological Museum of Sikyon.They constitute a small part (24 days out of 365) of a local liturgical calendar. It was divided into 12 columns (from January to December), counting as many lines as days of the month. The calendar has the form of a parapegma, on which the days of the month were indicated by movable pegs inserted into bored holes. On this type of calendars, see A. Rehm, 'Parapegma', RE 18,2 (1949), 1295-1366.
Note added 4 June 2023: The six photographs that now appear on our website were kindly provided by Konstantinos Bilias. He has identified three new fragments of this calendar in the storerooms at the site of Sikyon (one of them with the names of a number of saints). These he is in the process of preparing for publication.
Discussion
The calendar from Sikyon records the feasts of the following saints:on 30 November of *Andrew (the Apostle, S00288), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on the same day (p. 265, 12);
on 9 March of *Gordiοs (presumably soldier and martyr of Caesarea of Cappadocia, S00114), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on 3 January (p. 367, 2);
on 10 March of *Kodratos and his companions (Anectus, Paulus, Dionysius, Cyprianus and Crescens, martyrs of Corinth, S02368), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on the same day (p. 523, 13); see also E06282;
on 12 March of *Pionios (presbyter and martyr of Smyrna, S00031), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on 11 March (p. 529, 11);
on 13 March of *Victor or Victorinus (martyrs of Corinth (Greece), S01927), commemorated together in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on 31 January (p. 435, 22), and recorded also in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum on 24 Februrary (E04698) and 6 March (E04708);
on 2 April of *Amphianos (martyr of Caesarea, S01525), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on the same day (p. 579, 13);
on 3 April of *Theodosia from Tyre (martyr of Palestine, S00161), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on the same day (p. 584, 46);
on 8 August of 'Aphra': she is perhaps *Afra (martyr of Augsburg, S01797) who is not commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople, but recorded on 5, 6 and 7 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (E04908, E04910 and E04911), in the entries for 5 and 7 August specifying Augsburg as the place of her commemoration. This Afra of Augsburg is first recorded in western Latin texts at the end of the 6th century (E08486).
A 'martyr Afra' is also commemorated in the Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, which was compiled in Georgian in the 10th century, but based on prototypes from Palestine of the 5th/7th century.
It is possible that all these Afras are the same martyr, the martyr of Augsburg; but for her to be commemorated at Sikyon, probably in the 5th century, would be very unusual, and for her to appear in a late-antique Palestinian calendar truly extraordinary. There are two other possibilities: that these are two different martyrs, one eastern and one western, who happen to share a name and close-to-the-same feast day; or that Afra of Augsburg (who is documented later than the Greek Aphra) is an avatar of the Greek saint.
on 9 August of *Antoninus (the martyr of Alexandria, S00327), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on the same day (p. 881, 6);
on 10 August of *Laurence/Laurentius (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on the same day (p. 881, 8);
on 5 May (?) of *Demetrios (unspecified, S02464), commemorated with four companions in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on 6 May (p. 662, 8);
on 6 May (?) of *Antipas (presumably the bishop and martyr of Pergamon under Nero, S01816), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on 11 April (p. 595, 33-34);
on 7 May (?) of *Christophoros (martyr of Pamphylia, S00616), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on 9 May (p. 667, 25);
on 9 May (?) of *Epimachus (martyr of Rome, S00295), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on 10 May (p. 673, 53);
on 10 May (?) of *Glykeria (martyr of Perinthus-Heraclea in Thrace, S00018), commemorated in the Synaxarion of Constantinople on either 12 or 13 May (pp. 676, 47 and 679, 7);
and other saints or martyrs whose names are lost.
Saint Afra was more important for the Western Church and is not known from the Eastern calendars, so her presence on our list is quite surprising, but Denis Feissel rightly pointed out that until the 8th century the bishoprics of Illyricum were subordinate to Rome, and hence we can witness here the influence of the Western hagiographical traditions (see BE 2016, 582).
Dating: Klaus Hallof dated the calendar to the 5th c., based on the shape of letters and the Latin structure of the calendar (which is unlikely to occur in Peloponnese in later centuries). The same date is given in IG IV2 3 and in the Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database.
Bibliography
Edition:Hallof, K., "Ein christlicher Steckkalender aus Sikyon (IG IV2 3, 1825)," Early Christianity 7 (2016), 237-246.
Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, no. 2884: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/2884
Inscriptiones Graecae IV (2nd ed.) 3, no. 1825 and Tab. XLIV.
Philadelpheus, A., "Ἀνασκαφαὶ Σικυῶνος", Archaiologikón Deltíon 10 (1926), 48, no. 4-7 (fragm. A-D) and fig. 2-3 (fragm. A and B)(cf. SEG 11, 266).
Further Reading:
Delehaye, H., Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae e codice Sirmondiano nunc Berolinensi (Acta Sanctorum 62, Brussels, 1902).
Idem, Commentarius perpetuus in Martyrologium Hieronymianum (Acta Sanctorum, Novembris II/2, Brussels, 1931), 259.
Krystalle-Botse, Κ., "Ανασκαφή Σικυώνος", Praktiká tis en Athínais Archaiologikís Etaireías 142 (1987), 68 and Pl. 56 (Fragm. G).
Eadem, "Ανασκαφή Σικυώνος", Praktiká tis en Athínais Archaiologikís Etaireías 143 (1988), 31.
Reference works:
Bulletin épigraphique (1993), 753.
Bulletin épigraphique (2016), 582 (cf. SEG 41, 271).
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 11, 266.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 41, 271.
Images
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Fragments A-B. Photograph: Konstantinos Bilias
)
Fragment C. Photograph: Konstantinos Bilias
)
Fragment D. Photograph: Konstantinos Bilias
)
Fragment E. Photograph: Konstantinos Bilias
)
Fragment F. Photograph: Konstantinos Bilias
)
Fragment G. Photograph: Konstantinos Bilias
)
Reconstruction of the calendar, drawing. From: Hallof 2016, 245, Abb. 7.
Małgorzata Krawczyk
10/09/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00018 | Glykeria, martyr of Perinthus-Heraclea in Thrace | Γλυκερία | Certain | S00031 | Pionios, presbyter and martyr of Smyrna | Πιόνιος | Certain | S00037 | Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome | Λαυρέντιος | Certain | S00114 | Gordiοs, soldier and martyr of Caesarea of Cappadocia | Γόρδιος | Certain | S00159 | Apphianos, martyr of Caesarea of Palestine | Ἀφφιανός | Certain | S00161 | Theodosia from Tyre, martyr of Caesarea of Palestine | θεοδοσία | Certain | S00288 | Andrew, the Apostle | Ἀνδρέας | Certain | S00295 | Epimachus, martyr of Rome, buried on the via Latina | Ἐπίμαχος | Certain | S00327 | Antoninos, martyr of Alexandria | Ἀντωνῖνος | Certain | S00616 | Christophoros, martyr of Pamphylia | Χριστοφόρος | Certain | S01744 | Saints, name lost or very partially preserved | Certain | S01797 | Afra, martyr of Augsburg | Ἄφρα | Uncertain | S01816 | Antipas, bishop and martyr of Pergamon | Ἀντίπας | Uncertain | S01927 | Victorinus, Victor and companions, martyrs of Corinth | Βίκτωρ/Βικτωρίνος | Uncertain | S02368 | Kodratos and his companions (Anektos, Paulos, Dionysios, Kyprianos and Kreskes), martyrs of Corinth | Κοδρᾶτος | Certain | S02464 | Demetrios and four companions (unspecified) | Δημήτριος | Uncertain |
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