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. 

Edition

[Ἔ]νθα κατά-
κητε Εὐθέρ̣-
ης ποθητ[ός, κ-]
ὲ μάμης, κὲ
5μητρὸς χθ̣[ι-]
ζὰ κληρονό[μ-]
[ο]ς̣. Ἔτ(ει) θοψ̣´ (?).

Diplomatic

[.]ΝΘΑΚΑΤΑ
ΚΗΤΕΕΥΘΕ.
ΗΣΠΟΘΗΤ[....-]
ΕΜΑΜΗΣΚΕ
5ΜΗΤΡΟΣΧ.[.-]
ΖΑΚΛΗΡΟΝΟ[.-]
[.].ΕΤΘΟ.(?)

EpiDoc (XML)

<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

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