Constantine (metropolitan) of Mytilene (twelfth century)
Obverse
St. Theodora standing, holding a martyr's cross in her right hand, with her left hand open before her. On either side a vertical inscription: Η|Ο|Σ|Ι|ΑΘΕ|Ο|ΡΑ|Δ|: ἡ ὁσία Θεοδώρα. Note that the rho and alpha were placed on either side of the vertical inscription to form the shape of a cross. Border of dots.
Obverse
St. Theodora standing, holding a martyr's cross in her right hand, with her left hand open before her. On either side a vertical inscription: Η|Ο|Σ|Ι|ΑΘΕ|Ο|ΡΑ|Δ|: ἡ ὁσία Θεοδώρα. Note that the rho and alpha were placed on either side of the vertical inscription to form the shape of a cross. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a cross above and and two eight-rayed stars below. Border of dots.
ΚΝΝ
ΤΙΝΣΦΡ
ΓΙΣΤ
ΤΥΛΙΝΗΣ
Κωνσταντίνου σφράγισμα τοῦ Μητυλίνης
Accession number | BZS 1958.106.12 |
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Diameter | 35.0 mm; field: 28.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 51.7; Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 755. Cf. Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden I, no. 1231. |
Translation
Κωνσταντίνου σφράγισμα τοῦ Μητυλίνης.
Seal of Constantine (metropolitan) of Mytilene.
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)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Alexiade: Règne de l’empereur Alexis I Comnène, 1081–1118 (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
Dodecasyllabic inscription. Laurent is probably correct in saying that the siant represented must be the Alexandrine Theodora, martyred under Diocletian, because she is carrying a martyr's cross. The metropolis of Mytilene was dedicated to St. Theodora (AnalBoll 18 [1899] 226), and for that reason this saint appears on several metropolitans' seals.