Gregory (bishop) of Anaia (seventh/eighth century)
Obverse
Inscription of three lines, a cross above and a cross between tendrils below. Wreath border.
+
χ̅εοθ̅σ
σκεπεκ,
σζε
+
Χ(ριστ)ὲ ὁ Θ(εὸ)ς σκέπε κ(αὶ) σῶζε
Obverse
Inscription of three lines, a cross above and a cross between tendrils below. Wreath border.
+
χ̅εοθ̅σ
σκεπεκ,
σζε
+
Χ(ριστ)ὲ ὁ Θ(εὸ)ς σκέπε κ(αὶ) σῶζε
Reverse
Inscription of three lines, crosses between tendrils above and below. Wreath border.
+
γρηγορ
ιοντον
νεν
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Γρηγόριον τὸν Ἀνέων
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1345 |
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Diameter | 29.0 mm; field: 25.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 6.1. See also Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 290; Zacos-Veglery, no. 2878. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς σκέπε καὶ σῶζε Γρηγόριον τὸν Ἀνέων.
Christ, the Lord, watch over and save Gregory (bishop) of Anaia.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Les évêchés suffragants d’Ephèse aux 5e-13e siècles (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The inscription may represent an early example of a metrical seal; if one omits the initial invocation Χριστὲ ὁ Θεός, the rest forms a correct twelve-syllable verse.
Anaia (ἡ Ἀναία or τὰ Ἄναια: modern Ania or Kadi kalesi to the south of Ayasoluk) was the site of bishopric as early as the fourth century, as its bishops are attested at least until the thirteenth. It is mentioned as a suffragan of Ephesos in all the notitiae. See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 204 (add Zacos, Seals II, nos. 902 and 1057); Culerrier, Suffragants d'Ephèse, 153 (episcopal list); Zgusta, 72.