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E01077: An ornamented stone band from the apse of a church at Anazarbos (Cilicia, south-east Asia Minor) with a Greek inscription referring to unnamed *Apostles. Probably 5th-6th c.

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posted on 2016-01-13, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski
On an ornamented stone band:

[τ]ῶν ἀποστό+λων τοῦ Χ(ριστο)ῦ
Α + Ω

1. [τ]ῶν ἀποστό+λων Gough copy, [ἁγί]ων ἀποστωλõν Bell

'Of the Apost+les of Christ. Α + Ω.'

Text: I. Anazarbos, no. 59.

History

Evidence ID

E01077

Saint Name

Apostles (unspecified) : S00084

Saint Name in Source

Ἀπόστολοι

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.) Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

600

Activity not before

400

Activity not after

600

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Anazarba

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Anazarba Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Source

An ornamented stone band in the middle of the outer wall of the apse in Basilica no. 1 at Anazarbos. H. 0.9 m; W. 1.08 m; Th. 0.65 m; letter height 0.042-0.046 m. Found in situ in 1905 by Gertrude Bell (for her description of the church, see Bell 1906, 13, 15-19). Revisited by Michael Gough in 1949-1951. The stone also bears a carving of a cross within a laurel wreath.

Discussion

The inscription refers to the 'Apostles of Christ' (without further specification), mentioned in the genitive case. Gough and Sayar (editors of Die Inschriften von Anazarbos) identified this text as the dedicatory inscription of the church. This is possible, but the formulation is not readily paralleled. Dating: 5th-6th c. (based on the dating of the basilica).

Bibliography

Edition: Die Inschriften von Anazarbos und Umgebung, no. 59. Gough, M., "Anazarbus", Anatolian Studies 2 (1952), no. 13 (after his own copy and the examination of the stone). Bell, G.L., "Notes on a journey through Cilicia and Lycaonia. I", Revue Archéologique 7 (1906), 19 (in majuscules; after inspection of the stone). Further reading: Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure", Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 346. Mietke, G., "Monumentalisierung christilcher Heiliger in Kilikien in frühbyzantinischer Zeit", Olba 17 (2009), 120. Reference works: Bulletin épigraphique (1954), 238.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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