Evidence ID
E00864Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - GraffitiEvidence not before
550Evidence not after
700Activity not before
550Activity not after
700Place of Evidence - Region
Asia MinorPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
XanthosPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Xanthos
Nicomedia
Νικομήδεια
Nikomēdeia
Izmit
Πραίνετος
Prainetos
NicomediaCult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Cultic confraternitiesSource
Graffito from the Letoon in Xanthos (Lycia, southern Asia Minor), on a stone block at the door of the temple's cella.Discussion
The graffito is an acclamation for the good fortune of the 'Marianoi', an otherwise unattested group, probably venerating *Mary (the Mother of Jesus) or deriving its name from a church dedicated to the saint, or from a district called after the church.
The editors dated this graffito to a period prior to the 7th c. when the Letoon was destroyed. One can, however, suppose that it comes already from the mid-6th c. because of its similarity to the inscriptions of the 'Michaelitai' guild from Sagalassos. Their inscriptions, almost identical in form, were cut on pieces of architecture and pottery and read: 'Long live the Michaelitai in the entire city and (her) territory' (νικᾷ ἡ τύχη Μιχαιλιτῶν κατὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν κὲ χώραν, see E00917).
Perhaps both 'Michaelitai' and 'Marianoi' were associations concerned with the cult of their saints. But, nevertheless, these names are puzzling. The formula νικᾷ ἡ τύχη is also characteristic of circus factions rather than pious brotherhoods, and implies some kind of rivalry.Bibliography
Edition:
Hansen, E., Le Roy, Ch., "Au Létôon de Xanthos: Les deux temples de Léto", Revue Archéologique (1976), 336.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 26, 1447.
