V 267. Pantikapaion.Epitaph of Agorastos, IVth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Stele.
Material
Cоmpact fine-grained limestone.
Dimensions (cm)
H.56.0, W.33.0, Th.7.0-15.0.
Additional description
A hole on the side is probably for a dowel; on the front - two Latin crosses with flaring arms, at the beginning and end of the inscription; in secondary use. Top left corner is missing, the surface is chipped.
Place of Origin
Pantikapaion.
Find place
Kerch.
Find context
Glinishche, garden of K. Woerle.
Find circumstances
4 May 1897, chance find.
Modern location
Kerch, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
Historical and Archeological Museum of Kerch State Historical and Cultural Preserve, КЛ–1143.
Autopsy
May 1999, September 2004, September 2008.
Epigraphic field
Position
In the upper part.
Lettering
Lapidary. Alpha with slanting crossbar, delta and lambda with projecting right hasta, rectangular epsilon and sigma, kappa with extended vertical, small diamond-shaped omicron.
Letterheights (cm)
2.0–4.0.
Text
Category
Epitaph.
Date
IVth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography, archaeological context.
Editions
L1. Shkorpil1898a, 209–210, № 19; 1.1. Diatroptov, Yemets1995, № 5.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> Ἐνθάδε
<lb n="2"/>κατάκιται
<lb n="3"/>Ἀγόραστος
<lb n="4"/>Λούου <g ref="#stauros"/>
</ab>
</div>Translation
Here lies Agorastos, son of Louos.
Commentary
The inscription was found together with V 280 and V 281, as well as the Jewish tombstone of Simon (Shkorpil 1898b, 210, № 20).
1–2. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.d.
3. Among Christian names, only a female name Agorasta is attested in Feissel 1983, № 13 (V–VIth century). The male name Agorastos (and also Agorasta) are known in antiquity only from Termessos in Pisidia (34 times in ТАМ III); outside of Termessos, Agorasta is attested once - in Lycia (TAM II 990). We can hypothesize that the Bosporan Agorastos, as well as Lycian and Macedonian Agorastas all originated in Termessos.
4. The name Louos is not otherwise attested, although its etymology is quite obvious. Patronymics are not common in early Christian inscriptions of Bosporus, only four examples are known (see Introduction III.1.E.a).
Shkorpil's opinion was that the script was similar to V 276, V 280, V 281. Indeed, in terms of palaeography (and also, in part, archaeologically) they form a certain unity. Taking into consideration the presence of a Jewish tombstone in the same cemetery, we may suggest that they all date to the IVth century (see Introduction III.1.E.a for more detail).
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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