V 269. Pantikapaion.Epitaph of Aniketos, IV–Vth centuries C.E.

Monument

Type

Stele. 

Material

Limestone. 

Dimensions (cm)

H.57.0, W.36.0, Th.6.5.

Additional description

On the front - carved crosses in top corners. Broken into 5 parts, chipped on all sides. 

Place of Origin

Pantikapaion. 

Find place

Kerch. 

Find context

Glinishche, garden of K. Woerle. 

Find circumstances

March 1896, chance find. 

Modern location

Kerch, Crimea. 

Institution and inventory

Kerch Historical and Cultural Reserve, КЛ–1018. 

Autopsy

September 2010. 

Epigraphic field

Position

On the front. 

Lettering

Lapidary. Alpha with broken crossbar, rectangular epsilon, theta, omicron, sigma, delta with projecting right hasta. 

Letterheights (cm)

ок. 3.0–4.5.

Text

Category

Epitaph. 

Date

IV–Vth centuries C.E. 

Dating criteria

Palaeography. 

Editions

L1. Latyshev1896, 131–132, № 91а; 2. Shkorpil1898, 190, № 11; 1.1. Diatroptov, Yemets1995, № 7. 

Edition

Ἐνθ̣ά-
δε κα̣τ̣-
άκιτε
Ἀνίκη-
5τος.

Diplomatic

ΕΝ.Α
ΔΕΚ..
ΑΚΙΤΕ
ΑΝΙΚΗ
5ΤΟΣ

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
   <ab>
      <lb n="1"/>Ἐν<unclear>θ</unclear>ά<lb n="2" break="no"/>δε κ<unclear>ατ</unclear><lb n="3" break="no"/>άκιτε
      <lb n="4"/>Ἀνίκη<lb n="5" break="no"/>τος.
   </ab>
   </div>
 
Apparatus criticus

4-5: (Ἀ)νικετος (sic!)Diatroptov

Translation

Here lies Aniketos.

 

Commentary

The monument was acquired by Shkorpil for the Odessa Society for History and Antiquities in 1896. Latyshev used an estampage sent to him by K.E. Dumberg and accompanied by Shkorpil's note in preparing his edition. In particular, the latter observed that the script was similar to that of V 276. Two years later, Shkorpil published the inscription as well, without referring to Latyshev's edition. At present, only the bottom right corner survives.

1–3. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.d.

The conjecture of Diatroptov and Yemets - Ἀνικετος (sic!) - makes no sense. The name Aniketos is attested as such only in inscriptions from Asia Minor, and only 6 times (MAMA I 173 (hiereus of apotactics), 180, 237, 357; 7, 279b; Mitchell 1977 98, № 40). Two martyrs of this name are also known in Asia Minor (Delehaye 1902, 201, 885). In addition, this name is also attested 7 times in the epigraphic record of Asia Minor in classical antiquity, and outside Asia Minor - once each in Athens, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Amorgos, as well as 4 times in Egypt (according to PHI7 Database). On these grounds, we can cautiously hypothesize that the Bosporan Aniketos hailed from Anatolia.

 

Images

(cc)© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to theEpiDoc schema.)