Edited by Christiane Zimmermann and Cilliers Breytenbach
Scripta Antiquitatis Posterioris ad Ethicam REligionemque pertinentia
(SAPERE)
In histories of early Christianity, the use of the evidence provided by
inscriptions produced by or for Christians has long remained marginal.
However, emerging from the late second century onwards, such
inscriptions are indispensable for reconstructing the development of
Christian communities, particularly in regions where literary sources
are scarce or entirely absent. They offer insights into the distinctive
regional characteristics of early Christian groups, their leadership
structures, building activities, and theological concerns. Above all,
they reveal the striking diversity that marked these communities, each
shaped by its own cultural and geographical setting. Dedicated to the
distinguished historian of the Roman Empire, the late Stephen Mitchell,
this volume provides an introduction to Greek inscriptions that may be
identified as Christian and explores their significance for
historiography. It brings together fifteen selected Christian
inscriptions from Asia Minor and Greece. Thirteen contributors from
different disciplines - Cilliers Breytenbach, Timo Christian, Georgios
Deligiannakis, Klaus Hallof, James R. Harrison, Ulrich Huttner, Stephen
Mitchell, Markus Öhler, Julien Ogereau, Philipp Pilhofer, Daniela Summa,
Paul Trebilco, and Christiane Zimmermann - present a carefully curated
set of especially noteworthy inscriptions dating from the second to the
sixth centuries AD, highlighting both the individuality and the breadth
of these texts and their messages. Four concluding essays by Andreas
Merkt (ancient church history), Hartmut Leppin (ancient history),
Sylvain Destephen (epigraphy), and Heinz-Günther Nesselrath (classical
philology) place the selection within its wider historical and literary
contexts.
Table of contents:
A. Introduction - Cilliers Breytenbach, Christiane Zimmermann
1. Introducing Inscriptions by Christians - 2. Basic Characteristics of
Inscriptions, their Edition, and Presentation in this Volume - 3.
Identifying Inscriptions as Christian - 4. Dating Christian Inscriptions
- 5. The Contribution of Inscriptions in Depicting the Local Histories
of Early Christianities - 5.1 Names - 5.2 Family Structures, Virtues,
and Christian Ideals of Conduct - 5.3 Occupation and Social Status - 5.4
Preservation and Transformation of Traditions - 5.5 The Clergy - 5.6
Ascetism and Other Christian Ways of Life - 5.7 Theology - 5.8
Persecution - 5.9 Churches, Liturgy, and Rituals - 5.10 Conclusion - 6. A
Short Description of the Essays in this Volume -
B. Christian
Inscriptions from Greece and Asia Minor (2nd-6th c. AD) / Christliche
Inschriften aus Griechenland und Kleinasien (2.-6. Jh. n. Chr.) - 1. Cilliers Breytenbach: The Resurrected Jesus, Jonah and the Big Fish - 2. Paul Trebilco: Epitaphs from The Cemetery of the Seven Sleepers - 3. Stephen Mitchell ✝: The Lawyer, the Preacher, and a Guardian Angel. A Tale from Eumeneia in Phrygia - 4. Markus Öhler: Himmlischer Lohn für tugendhaftes Leben. Das Gedenken an Regulus und seine Töchter Olympion und Aquilina - 5. Christiane Zimmermann: Zwei Inschriften - eine Person? Ein Bischof und ein „Sackträger» - 6. Ulrich Huttner: Grabinschrift der Palladion. Eine Jungfrau auf dem Weg in den Himmel - 7. Daniela Summa: The Mosaic Inscription of Bishop Spyridon in Tremithus/Tremithousa - 8. Daniela Summa: The Epigraphic Dossier of the Complex of 'Eustolios' - 9. Timo Christian: Das „Testament« des Philomenes - 10. Philipp Pilhofer: Bischof Firminianus und der reparierte Aquädukt des Sokrates - 11. Klaus Hallof: Puzzeln für Heilige. Ein christlicher Steckkalender aus Sikyon - 12. Klaus Hallof: Maria auf Ikaria. Ein christliches Pseudo-Orakel auf dem Weg durch die Ägäis - 13. Julien Ogereau: The Clerical Career of the Presbyter Daniel at Philippi - 14. James R. Harrison: The Protocols of Honour at Ephesus: Justinian and Bishop Hypatios - 15. Georgios Deligiannakis and Philipp Pilhofer: Heavenly Laughter in a Funeral Poem
C. Essays - Andreas Merkt:
Plurality and Transformation. The Epigram Selection in the Light of Two
Paradigms for Conceptualizing the »Early Church« and »Ancient
Christianity« - Hartmut Leppin: Christian Inscriptions from the Perspective of Ancient History - Sylvain Destephen: Inscribing in Early and Late Antique Christianity - Heinz-Günther Nesselrath: Observations on the Language and Literary Style of some significant Christian Inscriptions
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