Leo anthypatos, patrikios and strategos of Samos (tenth century)
Obverse
Beautifully engraved bust of St. John the Baptist holding a long processional cross with his right hand, and offering a blessing with his left. On either side, a vertical inscription: Ο|Α|ΓΙ,Ι|ΟΠΡ|Ο|Δ,: ὁ ἅγι(ος) Ἰω(άννης) ὁ Πρόδ(ρομος). Border of dots.
Obverse
Beautifully engraved bust of St. John the Baptist holding a long processional cross with his right hand, and offering a blessing with his left. On either side, a vertical inscription: Ο|Α|ΓΙ,Ι|ΟΠΡ|Ο|Δ,: ὁ ἅγι(ος) Ἰω(άννης) ὁ Πρόδ(ρομος). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines. Double border of dots.
λεν
ανθυπατ,
πατρηκηο,
σταρτηγ
οστησ
σαμ
Λέων ἀνθύπατ(ος), πατρήκηο(ς) (καὶ) σταρτηγὸς τῆς Σάμου
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1311 |
---|---|
Diameter | 27.0 mm; field: 25.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 44.5. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Λέων ἀνθύπατος, πατρήκηος καὶ στρατηγὸς τῆς Σάμου.
Leo anthypatos, patrikios and strategos of Samos.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor (Open in Zotero)
- Samos in frühchristlicher und byzantinischer Zeit (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Βυζαντιακὰ μολυβδόβουλλα τοῦ ἐν ἈΘήναις Ἐθνικοῦ Νομισματικοῦ Μουσείου (Open in Zotero)
- De Thematibus (Open in Zotero)
- Monumenta Latrensia Hagiographica (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
- Les îles de l’empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
This seal contains two errors attributable to the engraver: St. John blessing with his left hand (!) and the transposition of letters in στρατηγός (tacitly corrected in the final reading).