V 326. Phanagoreia.Epitaph of Eutheris, 481 C.E.
Monument
Type
Block.
Material
Limestone.
Dimensions (cm)
H.25.0, W.30.0, Th.unknown.
Additional description
Chipped on the right and bottom.
Place of Origin
Phanagoreia.
Find place
Sennoy.
Find context
Rubble fill.
Find circumstances
Before 1941, random find.
Modern location
Moscow, Russia.
Institution and inventory
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, no inventory number.
Autopsy
April 2009.
Epigraphic field
Position
On the front.
Lettering
Lapidary. Alpha with broken crossbar, V-shaped upsilon.
Letterheights (cm)
1.5–2.0.
Text
Category
Epitaph.
Date
481 C.E.
Dating criteria
Explicit date, palaeography.
Editions
L1. Rozanova1941, 256, fig. 6.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><supplied reason="lost">Ἔ</supplied>νθα κατά<lb n="2" break="no"/>κητε Εὐθέ<unclear>ρ</unclear><lb n="3" break="no"/>ης ποθητ<supplied reason="lost">ός,</supplied>
<supplied reason="lost">κ</supplied><lb n="4" break="no"/>ὲ μάμης, κὲ
<lb n="5"/>μητρὸς
χ<unclear>θ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ι</supplied><lb n="6" break="no"/>ζὰ κληρονό<supplied reason="lost">μ</supplied><lb n="7" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ο</supplied><unclear>ς</unclear>.
<date><expan><abbr>Ἔτ</abbr><ex>ει</ex></expan>
<num value="779">θο<unclear>ψ</unclear></num> <note>?</note></date>.
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
2-4: Εὐθεηηο ποθητ[ή] ...Rozanova
5-7: χθ[όνα] ἄκληρον ο... ..... τθο ...Rozanova
Translation
Here lies beloved Eutheris, an heir, just yesterday, both to his mother and grandmother. In the year 779 (?).
Commentary
The text probably consists of two dodekasyllabic verses, plus the date.
1–2. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.d.
2–3. The name Eutheris (here Eutheres) is attested in Christian epigraphy in V 5 and in Thomsen 1921, 92, № 129 (Jerusalem). On the use of epsilon to represent eta, see commentary to V 61. On the transition of the ending -ιος to -ις, see Tokhtasiev 2007.
3. The term ποθητός is often used in Christian epigraphy with reference to deceased, including children (MAMA I 279; Agnello 1953, № 12).
4-5. In Christian inscriptions, relatives, including grandmothers, are often mentioned (e.g., Grégoire 1929, № 29; MAMA VII 421, 577, 578; Feissel 1983, № 13; Strazzulla 186; Agnello 1953, № 61).
6-7. The word "heir" is common in Christian tombstones, but always in reference to ownership rights with respect to the grave. By constrast, in our case, it is used poetically as a description of the deceased son and grandson by his mother and grandmother who must have set up the stele.
7. The date, judging by the reverse order of digits, must be according to the Bosporan era. The hundreds are difficult to make out, but out of all possibilities (phi, chi, psi) it must surely be psi.
There are no obvious indicators of the Christian character of the inscription, but the palaeography and the formula, otherwise unknown in non-Christian inscriptions of Bosporus, speak in favour of its Christian origin.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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