V 268. Pantikapaion.Epitaph of Adelphis, IV–Vth centuries C.E.
Monument
Type
Panel.
Material
Limestone.
Dimensions (cm)
H.38.0, W.61.0, Th.16.0.
Additional description
On the front, in the centre - carved cross-Christogram with flaring arms (except the bottom one). The bottom is missing.
Place of Origin
Pantikapaion.
Find place
Kerch.
Find context
Mithridates Hill, north slope, west of the city cemetery (near modern Pugachevsky lanes).
Find circumstances
1878, excavations of A.E. Lyutsenko.
Modern location
Moscow, Russia.
Institution and inventory
State Historical Museum, no inventory number.
Autopsy
November 2008.
Epigraphic field
Position
On either side of the cross.
Lettering
Lapidary. Alpha with broken crossbar, rectangular epsilon.
Letterheights (cm)
6.8–8.8.
Text
Category
Epitaph.
Date
IV–Vth centuries C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. Kulakovsky1891, 29–30, № 4; 1.1. Latyshev1891, 403; 2. Latyshev1896, 89–90, № 88; 2.1. Diatroptov, Yemets1995, № 6.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/>Ἔνθα κατ<lb n="2" break="no"/>άκιτε Ἀδέλφις.
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
1: Ἐνθα(δε) sic!Diatroptov
2: Ἀδελφή resp. ἀδελφήLatyshev
Translation
Here lies Adelphis.
Commentary
After the discovery (Stefani 1880, 134, № 9), the monument was sent to the State Historical Museum. The old photo is preserved at the Photo Archive of the Institute for History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences (Q.759.72; I–90980).
1–2. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.d.
3. The first two words were read by Kulakovsky (1891b, 30), the last by Latyshev. The latter observed that Adelpha could be a Christian nickname "sister" (but no such examples unaccompanied by a personal name are attested) or, more likely, a personal name. Latyshev's reading, however, contained errors, probably as a result of a bad photograph (on the other old photo - see above - the name is very clear) - in reality, the stone shows the name Ἀδελφίς. Such a female name is not known, but a Chrstian name Adelphis (Feissel 1983, № 6 (IIIrd century)), and possibly even Adelphos (Bull. epigr. 71, № 703) are known. On the transition of endings in -ιος to –ις, see Tokhtasiev 2007.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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