Evidence ID
E01721Saint Name
Isidore, martyr of Chios, ob. 249/251 : S00425Saint Name in Source
ἸσίδωροςType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
400Evidence not after
1300Activity not before
400Activity not after
1300Place of Evidence - Region
Aegean islands and Cyprus
Aegean islands and CyprusPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Chios
Livadia (Chios)Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Chios
Salamis
Σαλαμίς
Salamis
Salamis
Farmagusta
Far
Κωνσταντία
Konstantia
Constantia
Livadia (Chios)
Salamis
Σαλαμίς
Salamis
Salamis
Farmagusta
Far
Κωνσταντία
Konstantia
ConstantiaCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Other lay individuals/ peopleSource
A whitish stone plaque. H. 0.39 m; W. 0.42 m; Th. 0.14 m. Seen and copied by Georgios Zolotas at the Museum of the Gymnasium in Chios after 1886. Said to have been found at Livadia.Discussion
The inscription is an invocation of Saint Isidoros. Its remarkable feature is the unusual combination of the pagan introductory formula agathe tyche / 'with good fortune' with the Christian religion of the supplicant.
We witness here a sign of the devotion to a local martyr, as Isidoros was martyred and then venerated in Chios. His cult was known to Gregory of Tours in the late 6th c., see: E00654.
Dating: There is no reliable way to date such a short invocation: this type of prayer, with the 'servant-of-saint' formula, is unlikely to occur before the late 5th or 6th c., while the agathe tyche formula suggests a date early in this period.Bibliography
Edition:
Zolotas, G., "Επιγραφαί Χίου ανέκδοτοι", Athena 20 (1908), 312, no. 29
Further reading:
Kiourtzian, G., "Pietas insulariorum", [in:] Eupsychia: mélanges offerts à Hélène Ahrweiler, vol. 2 (Série Byzantina Sorbonensia 16, Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1998), 375.
