ISic001629: Epitaph of Ienari(o)s son of Primos

Apparatus criticus

• lines.1-2: Ἰε|νάρι(ο)ς Ferrua; Ἰε|ναρίς Libertini, Agnello
  
• line.3: πρὸ θ´ καλ(ανδῶν) Agnello, Ferrua; πρὸ θ´ Libertini
  
• line.5: μήν(ης) ς´ Agnello; μνης ... Libertini

Physical description

Support

Description

Marble plaque

Object type

plaque

Object condition

No data

Dimensions

height: 21 cm, width: 12 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: 20mm

Interlinear heights

Interlineation line 1 to 2: mm

Provenance

Place of origin

Catina

Provenance found

Found in the Cesareo property in via Ughetti (necropolis of Via Androne).

Current location

Place

Catania, Sicilia

Repository

Autopsy

None

Date

Evidence

No data

Text type

funerary

commentary

The funerary inscription for the young deceased Ienarios, son of Primos, follows Korhonen's (2004, 105) G8c pattern for Christian epitaphs, characterized by the formula ἐνθάδε κεῖται, the indication of the date of death by means of a finite verb, and the expression of the deceased's age through a participial construction. The deceased's name as engraved is presumably a variant for Ἰενάριος (rather than Ἰεναρίς, a feminine name, as suggested by Libertini and Agnello), in turn a variant of Ἰανουάριος (other variants include Ἰανάριος and Ἰανάρις; for these variants in Sicily LGPN IIIA 215). His father bears the name Πρῖμος (for the variant Πρεῖμος, cf. IG XIV 498 = ISic000648). From ll. 5–6, κεῖτε μετὰ | τῆς μάμη, it may be inferred that the child was buried together with his mother. The term μάμη (a variant of μάμμη; cf. IG XIV 765a) lends an affectionate nuance to the statement and may be connected precisely with the young age of the deceased (cf. IMusCatania 204; see Korhonen 2004, 268).

Bibliography

Digital editions

• TM: 645080
• EDR: -
• EDH: -
• EDCS: -
• PHI: -

Printed editions

• Guido Libertini, «Miscellanea epigrafica», Archivio Storico per la Sicilia Orientale 27 (1931): 39–53, at 44 no.7
• S.L. Agnello, Silloge di iscrizioni paleocristiane della Sicilia (Rome, 1953), at no.61

Discussion

• Antonio Ferrua, Note e giunte alle iscrizioni cristiane antiche della Sicilia (Vatican, 1989), at 106 n. 407
• Kalle Korhonen, Le iscrizioni del Museo civico di Catania : storia delle collezioni, cultura epigrafica, edizione (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 2004), at 105, 268

Citation and editorial status

Editor

Jonathan Prag

Principal contributor

Jonathan Prag

Contributors

• Jonathan Prag
• James Cummings
• Arianna Cinquatti
• Simona Stoyanova
• Zoé Lienard
• Dmitry Dundua
• Robert Crellin
• Marta Fogagnolo

Last revision

8/3/2026