Pothos imperial protospatharios and strategos of Hellas (ninth/tenth century)
Obverse
Patriarchal cross on three steps. Circular inscription along the circumference between a double border of dots.
ΚΕΟΗΘΗΤΣ..Λ
Κύριε βοήθη τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
ΠΟΘ
ΑΣΠΘ
ΚˊΣΤΡΑΤ
ΕΛΛΑΔˊ
Πόθῳ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Ἑλλάδος
Obverse
Patriarchal cross on three steps. Circular inscription along the circumference between a double border of dots.
ΚΕΟΗΘΗΤΣ..Λ
Κύριε βοήθη τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
ΠΟΘ
ΑΣΠΘ
ΚˊΣΤΡΑΤ
ΕΛΛΑΔˊ
Πόθῳ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Ἑλλάδος
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.1274 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 28.0 mm; field: 20.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 8.52a. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθη τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Πόθῳ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Ἑλλάδος.
Lord, help your servant Pothos, imperial protospatharios and strategos of Hellas.
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)
- Le Peloponnese byzantin jusqu’en 1204 (Open in Zotero)
- Du stratège de thème au duc: chronologie de l’évolution au cours du XIe siècle (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Hellas und Thessalia (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Line 2 (rev.): no abbreviation sign after Π. Line 3 (rev.): the letter Κ has its lower oblique bar twisted at the end, obviously to indicate the existence of an abbreviation (cf. no. 8.41 above). A strategos of Hellas named Pothos is mentioned (ca. 946) in the Life of St. Luke (ed. D. Sophianos [Athens, 1989], 199, cf. 51-52).