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Eutaxios (?) dioiketes of Mytilene (ninth century)

 
 

Obverse

Cruciform invocative monogram (type V). In the quarters: ΤΣ|Λ. No border visible.

Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ

Reverse

Inscription of four lines. No border visible.

.ΕΥΤ.
ΗΙΟ.
ΚΗΤΙΜΙΤ.
ΛΗΝ

Εὐταξήῳ διοικητῖ Μιτιλήνης

Obverse

Cruciform invocative monogram (type V). In the quarters: ΤΣ|Λ. No border visible.

Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ

Reverse

Inscription of four lines. No border visible.

.ΕΥΤ.
ΗΙΟ.
ΚΗΤΙΜΙΤ.
ΛΗΝ

Εὐταξήῳ διοικητῖ Μιτιλήνης

Accession number BZS.1958.106.5128
Diameter 24.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 2, no. 51.2.
Zacos-Veglery, no. 2586 (without proposing a reading for the name).

Translation

Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Εὐταξήῳ διοικητῖ Μιτιλήνης.

Theotokos, help your servant Eutaxios (?) dioiketes of Mytilene.

Commentary

The first letter of the inscription is not secure, but one can see the curve at the top indicating that this can be only Σ or Ε, but not an Ο because the loop does not close. We do not know of any other mention of the plausible masculine name Eutaxios, but the feminine form, Εὐταξία, is attested in Kos (P. Fraser and E. Matthew, A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names [Oxford, 1987], 185).

The main city of the island of Lesbos, Mytilene, gave its name to the whole island before the 6th century, but the old name was used concurrently. The second city of the island was Methmyna (see DO Seals 2, § 52).

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)
  • Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
  • A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names (Open in Zotero)
  • Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (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)