191 (ph.) | |
174, fig. 17 (ph., dr.) | |
211-212, no. 3 (dr.) (ed. pr.) | |
127, no. 183 |
SEG 62 (2012): 1688
In the mosaic pavement in the chancel, at the foot of the altar.
The inscription at the foot of the altar is framed within a tabula ansata enclosed in a rectangular panel (122×53.5 cm). The panel containing the inscription measures 71×53.5 cm. The handles of the tabula ansata are formed of white, black, and pink tesserae; the letters and the frame of the inner panel are of black tesserae on a white background. The letters, 7 to 8.5 cm high, present a mixture of oval and round forms. Several abbreviation marks are used: a horizontal stroke marks the abbreviated nomina sacra, and diagonal strokes of different sizes mark truncation of words.
Κ(ύρι)ε Ἰ(ησο)ῦ Χ(ριστ)έ, συντ-
ήρησον Εὐτόνι(ο)ν
τὸν ἐπίσκ(οπον) κὲ Γερ-
4 μανὸν πρεσβ(ύτερον) κὲ
Ζῶσυν ψιφ(οθέτην) τὼν ἱδ(ρύσαντα).
Lord Jesus Christ, preserve Eutonius the bishop and Germanus the priest and Zosys the mosaic-worker who has set this up.
Invocation of the Lord on behalf of Eutonius the bishop, Germanus the priest and Zosys the mosaic-worker, within a tabula ansata in the mosaic pavement in the chancel.
The last line can be interpreted in two different ways. The most likely solution is seeing ΤΩΝ as a misspelling of the masculine article in the accusative singular, referred to Zosys. Such an exchange of short and long vowels is quite common in the Byzantine period. A less likely solution would be taking ΤΩΝ for a genitive plural and surmising that the article refers to the three men, with a sudden shift from the accusative, required by the verb and used in the articles and names above, to the genitive: τῶν ἰδ(ρυσάντων) for τοὺς ἰδ(ρύσαντας), “who have set this up”. Such shifts of case are also known in the language of Byzantine inscriptions, but are much less common than the exchange of short and long vowels. Our choice of the singular rests also on the meaning of the verb ἰδρύω. Ἰδρύειν means “to set up” in the sense of “to found” or “to dedicate” (for instance, a statue). If the inscription referred to the “founding” of the church, the mosaic layer would hardly have been associated in the act. Again, if the participle here means “who dedicated,” with reference to the chancel mosaic or to the altar, the artist would not have been associated with the bishop and priest who were responsible for the dedication. Only if the participle simply means “made (this mosaic)” or “set up (this inscription),” can it refer to the artist and be understood as singular. In other words, the bishop and the priest in charge of the church are mentioned because of their position and their responsibility for all that was done in the building, while the artist invokes Christ’s blessing in recompense for his work.
Eutonius is a rare name. In the relevant period—the late fourth century, as indicated by the paleography of the inscriptions and by historical reasons we shall expound below—a bishop of this name is known from literary sources: he was the bishop of Sebaste who attended the synod of Lydda in December 415, and was present, together with John bishop of Jerusalem and Eleutherius bishop of Jericho, at the translation of the relics of Stephen the Protomartyr to Jerusalem on December 26. The mention of his name has two important consequences: first, it confirms the early date of the Church (which was probably built in the early 390s), and second, it shows that Shiloh, the southernmost village of Acrabattene (eastern Samaria), belonged to the territory of Sebaste, contrary to Avi-Yonah’s opinion that Acrabattene was included in the territory of Neapolis.