ISic001626: Epitaph for Sokrates

I.Sicily with the permission of the Assessorato Regionale dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana - Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana
ID
ISic001626
Language
Ancient Greek
Text type
funerary
Object type
plaque
Status
No data
Links
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Edition

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Apparatus criticus

  • Text based on photograph;
  • line.2: Orsi, Agnello, Wessel: πάντων ὁ | φίλος; Ferrua, Korhonen: πάντων | φίλος (Ο is part of the Christogram)

Physical description

Support

Description
Marble plaque damaged on the left upper corner (restored with plaster).
Object type
plaque
Material
marble
Condition
damaged
Dimensions
height: 36 cmwidth: 50 cmdepth: 3.5 cm

Inscription

Layout
No data
Text condition
No data
Lettering

Letter heights
Lines 1-4: 33-45mm
Interlinear heights
Interlineation line 1 to 2: not recordedmm

Provenance

Place of origin
Catina
Provenance found
Found in a cemetery to the East of the chamber with paintings and graffiti on Via Vittorio Emanuele (Orsi).

Current location

Place
Catania, Italy
Repository
Museo Civico di Catania , 315
Autopsy
Observed by Orsi in Museo Civico, later by Korhonen in Magazzino del cortile, Museo Civico (formerly sala VI 123).
Map

Date

4th century CE (AD 301 – AD 400)
Evidence
No data

Text type

funerary

commentary

This epitaph has a formula very similar to pagan epitaphs, although the presence of the two Christograms denotes it as Christian. Ferrua and Korhonen read πάντων φίλος with the interpretation of Ο as part of the Christogram, which in this case should be interpreted as ὁ Χ(ριστό)ς (the same hight of the letter O compared to the other letters of the text is probably a misinterpretation of the stonecutter). However, there is no need to eliminate the article since other parallels of similar epithets denoting friendship and affection in Christian inscriptions, such as IMusCatania 178 = ISic001359 and SEG 65. 791 = ISic001633 present the names of the deceased followed by adjectives preceded by the article (Κάλλιστος καὶ | Εὐκαρπία οἱ φιλόστορ|γοι and ὁ πανφίλ|ητος ... Εὐδέμων respectively).

Bibliography

Digital editions
Printed editions

Citation and editorial status

Editor
Jonathan Prag
Principal contributor
Jonathan Prag
Contributors
Last revision
12/22/2022