V 286. Pantikapaion.Epitaph of Philoxenos, IVth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Stele.
Material
Limestone rubble.
Dimensions (cm)
H.41.0, W.36.5, Th.7.5.
Additional description
The front is well worked and bears carved image of Latin cross with serifs on the left and right arms and tri-forked top and bottom arms. Fully preserved.
Place of Origin
Pantikapaion.
Find place
Kerch.
Find context
Glinishche, garden of Poltavsky.
Find circumstances
3 May 1909, chance find.
Modern location
Kerch, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
Historical and Archeological Museum of Kerch State Historical and Cultural Preserve, КЛ–1175.
Autopsy
May 1999, September 2004, September 2008.
Epigraphic field
Position
In corners between the arms of the cross.
Lettering
Lapidary; letters filled in with ochre. Alpha with broken crossbar; delta and lambda with projecting right hastae, rectangular and lunate epsilon, rectangular phi, Y-shaped and V-shaped upsilon.
Letterheights (cm)
3.0–5.0.
Text
Category
Epitaph.
Date
IVth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. Marti1911, 8–11, № 3; 1.1. Yaylenko1987, 165 approx. 11; 1.1.1. Bull.ép. 1990, 903; 1.1.2. SEG 39, 699; 1.2. Diatroptov, Yemets1995, № 39; 2. Vinogradov2007, 261–263, № 9.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> Ἐνθάδε κα<lb n="2" break="no"/>τάκιτε Φι<lb n="3" break="no"/>λόξενος
<lb n="4"/>υἱὸς
Ἀγα<lb n="5" break="no"/>πητοῦ τὴν
<lb n="6"/><expan><abbr>τέχνη</abbr><ex>ν</ex></expan> γου<lb n="7" break="no"/>νάριος.
</ab>
</div>Translation
Here lies Philoxenos, son of Agapetos, a furrier by trade.
Commentary
The monument was bought from I. Pekerev for the Melek-Chesmen Tumulus Museum. Marti believed that the cross had been carved before the inscription, but it is unclear what his opinion is based on. D. Feissel, the author of the lemma in Bull. ép., could not find a reference to editio princeps in Yaylenko and so wrongly considered the inscription to be a new find.
1-2. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.d.
2–3. The name Philoxenos is attested in Bosporus three time, starting as early as the IInd century C.E.(see CIRB 905). It is also known in Christian epigraphy (see Feissel 1983, № 160; IG XIV 2418).
4–5. The name Agapetos is unknown in Bosporus, but occurs in Byzantine inscriptions (MAMA I 279; VI 339; IGLS 1908; ICUR 25972; SEG 8.741). Two saints of this name are known (see Delehaye 1902, 1043).
5–7. Indication of professional occupation is known in Christian inscriptions, it is used particularly in Corinth (see Bees 1941, pass.). The occupation γουνάριος is attested in Beševliev 1964, № 99, 100, 102–104 (VIth century), Feissel 1983, № 34 (V–VIth century).
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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