The protos of (Mount) Ganos (eleventh/twelfth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans with medallion of Christ before her. Inscription: |ΘΥ: Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines preceded and followed by an ornament (the ornament on top is in fact the horizontal dash indicating the abbreviation placed between two pellets). Border of dots.
· ·
ΜΕ̅Ρ̅ΛΟ
ΓΚΛΕΙΣ
ΤΝΛΟΓΝ
ΠΡΤΟΥ
ΓΑΝΟΥ
·
Μ(ῆτ)ερ Λόγου, κλεὶς τῶν λόγων πρώτου Γάνου
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans with medallion of Christ before her. Inscription: |ΘΥ: Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines preceded and followed by an ornament (the ornament on top is in fact the horizontal dash indicating the abbreviation placed between two pellets). Border of dots.
· ·
ΜΕ̅Ρ̅ΛΟ
ΓΚΛΕΙΣ
ΤΝΛΟΓΝ
ΠΡΤΟΥ
ΓΑΝΟΥ
·
Μ(ῆτ)ερ Λόγου, κλεὶς τῶν λόγων πρώτου Γάνου
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.407 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 25.0 mm; field: 20.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 51.2a. See also Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden I, no. 1439, and Laurent, Corpus V/3, no. 1949; Corpus V/2, no. 1229. Another specimen is described by Laurent in EO 30 (1931) 480. Yet another, from the same boulloterion as the DO seals, was published by Zacos, Seals II, no. 648. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Μῆτερ Λόγου, κλεὶς τῶν λόγων πρώτου Γάνου.
Mother of the Word, key to the words of the protos of Ganos.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 1: Italy, North of the Balkans, North of the Black Sea (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 1, Siegellegenden von Alpha bis inclusive My (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
This specimen, with a dodecasyllabic inscription, comes from the same boulloterion as BZS.1951.31.5.1523, BZS.1951.31.5.87 (both linked to this entry).
Monastic center situated north of the Propontis and attested from the tenth to the fourteenth century. See Laurent, Corpus V/2, 152. It was composed of several monasteries and, like Mount Athos, was administrated by an (elected?) protos, attested as early as the eleventh century.