ISic001423: Epitaph of Theodoule

No image available

ID
ISic001423
Status
draft
Language
Ancient Greek
Object type
plaque
Text type
funerary

Edition

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Apparatus criticus

  • Text of Rizza and Bitto ;
  • line.7: σφραγῖδος τῆς πρεσβυτέ(ρας) Bitto; σφραγῖδος τῆς πρεσβυτέ(ρου) Ferrua; τῆς πρεσβυτε(ρικῆς) Manganaro, Rizzone

Physical description

Support

Description
No data
Object type
plaque
Object condition
No data
Dimensions
height: cm, width: cm, depth: cm

Material

Description
marble
Type > subtype
stone.unspecified > unverified

Inscription

Layout
No data
Text condition
No data
Technique
chiselled
Pigment
No data
Lettering
No data
Letter heights
Line 1: mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin
Catina
Provenance found
via Androne, under the pavement of a C6 CE small basilica

Current location

Place
Catania, Sicilia
Repository
Autopsy
None

Date

First half of 4th century CE (CE 301 - CE 350)
Evidence
No data

Text type

funerary

commentary

The funerary inscription was discovered within a burial complex associated with the cult of the martyrs, including an adjoining basilica, dating to the 4th-6th centuries AD and located in the central-southern sector of the insula bounded by Via Androne, Via Tomaselli, and Via Dottor Consoli (cf. Rizza 1964). The young deceased, Theodoule (for this Christian name in Catania, see also IMusCatania 167 = ISic001648), who died at only twenty-two years of age, is described as ἀειπαρθένος ("ever-virgin"), an epithet of consecrated virgins frequently attested in Christian epigraphy (cf. Rizzone 2008, 179). Lines 6–7 mention the grant of the burial place, but the passage is difficult to interpret because of the uncertain resolution of the final abbreviated word. Ferrua (1989, no. 425) expanded it as σφραγῖδος τῆς πρεσβυτέ(ρου), interpreting "the seal of the priest" as a reference to baptism. On this interpretation, Theodoule would have been baptized relatively late in life, a conclusion that sits uneasily with her designation as ἀειπαρθένος. Bitto (1996), by contrast, restored σφραγῖδος τῆς πρεσβυτέ(ρας), interpreting the phrase as "on account of the gift of the highest sphragis," namely the martyr's baptism. According to this interpretation, Theodoule enjoyed a privileged status that would explain her burial within such a prestigious funerary complex, which also appears to have accommodated the young Iulia Florentina (CIL X 7112 = ISic000083), buried apud fores martyrum. This interpretation seems preferable, although it is difficult to dismiss entirely Manganaro's proposal (1993, 560), who restored σφραγῖδος τῆς πρεσβυτε(ρικῆς) and interpreted the expression as "by a deed of donation authenticated with the presbyter's seal," attributing to it an administrative meaning connected with the concession of burial in ecclesiastical buildings.

Bibliography

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Discussion

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
8/3/2026