(The monastery of) St. John Prodromos of Ganos (eleventh century)
Obverse
Poorly preserved bust of (most probably) St. John the Baptist holding a long cross and scroll. No inscription visible. Border of dots.
Obverse
Poorly preserved bust of (most probably) St. John the Baptist holding a long cross and scroll. No inscription visible. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
Ι̅Ο
ΠΡΟΔ,
ΤΓ.
ΝΟΥ
ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ἰω(άννης) ὁ Πρόδ(ρομος) τοῦ Γ[ά]νου
Accession number | BZS.1947.2.88 |
---|---|
Diameter | 17.0 mm; field: 10.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 51.3. |
Translation
ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Πρόδρομος τοῦ Γάνου.
St. John the Prodromos 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)
Commentary
This is obviously the seal of a monastery of Ganos dedicated to St. John the Baptist. We disagree with Laurent's hypothesis that this monastery was also the seat of the the protos. The inscription might possibly be a very poor fifteen-syllable verse.
Mount Ganos was a 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.