The archbishop of Parion (eleventh/twelfth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding Christ. No traces of epigraphy. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
ΤΟΝΠΑΡ.
ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟ
ΑΓΝΗΜΕ
ΣΚΕ.ΟΙΣ
Τὸν Παρ[ί]ου πρόεδρο[ν], Ἁγνή, με σκέ[π]οις
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding Christ. No traces of epigraphy. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
ΤΟΝΠΑΡ.
ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟ
ΑΓΝΗΜΕ
ΣΚΕ.ΟΙΣ
Τὸν Παρ[ί]ου πρόεδρο[ν], Ἁγνή, με σκέ[π]οις
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.4232 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 21.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 64.3. |
Translation
Τὸν Παρίου πρόεδρον, Ἁγνή, με σκέποις.
Holy One, may you protect me, the archbishop of Parion.
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)
- 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)
Commentary
Although the last visible letter of line 1 seems to be a Ρ, it could also be a muddled Ν, in which case the seal would have belonged to the bishopric of Panion in Thrace. In either case, the inscription forms a twelve syllable verse. See DOSeals 1.57.
Parion (modern Kemer on the Hellespont) was initially a suffragan bishopric of Kyzikos (represented at the Council of Nicaea in 325); by 640 it was an archbishopric and appeasr as such in all notitiae until the thirteenth century. Before 1261 it was united to the metropolis of Pegai. See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 641.