E01696.jpg (103.93 kB)

E01696: Greek inscription on a boundary stone commemorating the grant of the privilege of asylum (prosphygion) to a shrine of 'Eias' (perhaps an otherwise unknown martyr, or the Old Testament prophet Elijah, S00217), a certain Andreas (probably the martyr of Antioch, S00883), and a certain Dometios (probably the monk and martyr of Syria under Julian, S00414). Found at Kfar 'Aruq near Antioch on the Orontes (north-west Syria). Dated 521/522.

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posted on 2016-07-07, 00:00 authored by dlambert

+ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεσ[πότ(ου)] τῶν ο<ἰκ>[ουμ(ένων) Φ]λ(αουίου) Ἰουστίνου Αὐγουστ(οῦ) παρεσχήθη ὑμῖν εἰς προσφύγιον τῶν ἁγίων Εἰᾶ (?) (καὶ) Ἀνδρέου (καὶ) Δομετίου. <ἰ>νδ(ικτιώνος) ιε΄ τοῦ οφ΄ ἔτους +

ὑμῖν = ἡμῖν || perhaps Ἐ<λ>ία

'+ Under the lord of the world Flavius Justinus Augustus (this boundary stone) was granted to us (to mark) the refuge of Saints Eias (?), and Andreas, and Dometios. 15th indiction, the year 570. +'

Text: IGLS 2, no. 589.

History

Evidence ID

E01696

Saint Name

Dometios, monk and martyr of Syria, ob. 363 : S00414 Andrew, the Apostle : S00288 Andreas Stratelates, martyr under Maximian : S00763 Andreas, martyr of Antioch on the Orontes : S00883 Elijah, Old Testament prophet : S00217 Elijah (unspecified)

Saint Name in Source

Δομέτιος Ἀνδρέας Ἀνδρέας Ἀνδρέας Εἰάς Εἰάς Εἰάς Εἰάς

Related Saint Records

Image Caption 1

From: IGLS 2, no. 589.

Type of Evidence

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

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

521

Evidence not after

522

Activity not before

521

Activity not after

522

Place of Evidence - Region

Syria with Phoenicia Syria with Phoenicia

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Antioch on the Orontes Kfar 'Aruq

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

Antioch on the Orontes Thabbora Thabbora Kfar 'Aruq Thabbora Thabbora

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Seeking asylum at church/shrine

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Monarchs and their family

Source

A limestone cylinder. The inscription is displayed as three concentric circles around a carving of an octagon. H. 0.56 m; W. 0.47 m; letter height 0.05 m. Found on the terrace of a house in the west part of the village of Kfar 'Aruq. Seen and copied by Joseph Mattern in 1929 and by René Mouterde before 1939 (a drawing).

Discussion

The inscription was probably carved on a boundary stone, marking the safe zone, protected by the privilege of asylum, awarded by the emperor Justin I to a sanctuary of the saints Eias, Andreas, and Dometios. The identity of these saints has been disputed. Jalabert and Mouterde, the editors of Les inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, suggested that they might have been: 1) a certain Eias or Ias, probably a local martyr, or (which is however much less probable) Ia, female martyr in Persia under Shapur II, venerated on the 4th August (BHG 761); 2) Andrew the Apostle, or Andreas, martyr of Antioch, or Andreas, martyr in Cilicia under the emperor Maximianus, venerated on the 19th August (BHG 118); 3) Dometios, the martyr venerated in Cyrrhus (see: S00414; Peeters 1939, and the comments in Weitzman 1963, 396, note 40). Halkin suspended judgement on the identity (and the nominative form) of the name of the saint Eias, argued that this Andreas was 'certainly' the martyr of Antioch, and accepted the possibility that Dometios was the one of Cyrrhus. We can add that the first of the saints might actually have been actually Elijah, the Old Testament prophet, as the genitive form of his name, Ἐλία, might have been misspelt here: Εἰα. Dating: the date of the inscription is given according to the era of Antioch. Its year 570 corresponds to AD 521/522. This fits the 15th indiction year, as well as the reign of the emperor Justin I (518-527).

Bibliography

Edition: Jalabert, L., Mouterde, R., Les inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 2: Chalcidique et Antiochène (BAH 32, Paris: P. Geuthner, 1939), no. 589. Mattern, J., "A travers les villes mortes de Haute Syrie", Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph (Beyrouth, Lebanon) 17 (1933), 132-133 (just a French translation and comments with no transcription). Further reading: Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, II, Les deux Phénicies et et les deux Syries", Analecta Bollandiana 67 (1949), 99, note 10. Jalabert, L., Mouterde, R., Les inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 3/2: Antioche (suite). Antiochène: nos. 989-1242 (BAH 51, Paris: P. Geuthner, 1953), 684 (addendum). Peeters, P., "Dometios le martyr and Dometios le médecin", Analecta Bollandiana 57 (1939), 72-104. Weitzmann, K., Ševčenko, I., “The Moses Cross at Sinai”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 17 (1963), 396, note 40.

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Keywords

S00414 S00288 S00763 S00883 S00217 S00667 S00884 S00885 History

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