Leo spatharios and judge of Samos (ninth/tenth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding the medallion in front of her. Along the upper border of dots, circular inscription.
ΘΚΕΟ....ΔΛ,
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Double border of dots.
.ΛΕ.Ν
.ΣΠΑΘΑ
ΡΙΟΚΑΙΚ
ΡΗΤΗΣ
ΑΜ
Λέοντι σπαθαρίο καὶ κρητῇ Σάμου
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding the medallion in front of her. Along the upper border of dots, circular inscription.
ΘΚΕΟ....ΔΛ,
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Double border of dots.
.ΛΕ.Ν
.ΣΠΑΘΑ
ΡΙΟΚΑΙΚ
ΡΗΤΗΣ
ΑΜ
Λέοντι σπαθαρίο καὶ κρητῇ Σάμου
| Accession number | BZS.1977.34.64 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 25.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 44.2. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Λέοντι σπαθαρίο καὶ κρητῇ Σάμου.
Theotokos, help your servant Leo spatharios and judge of Samos.
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)
- Samos in frühchristlicher und byzantinischer Zeit (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Βυζαντιακὰ μολυβδόβουλλα τοῦ ἐν ἈΘήναις Ἐθνικοῦ Νομισματικοῦ Μουσείου (Open in Zotero)
- De Thematibus (Open in Zotero)
- Monumenta Latrensia Hagiographica (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
- Les îles de l’empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The seal has been struck twice, and for this reason the last letters of lines 1-4 of the rev. (Ν|Α|ΙΚ|Σ) appear for a second time along its right-hand margin.
It may be due to a coincidence, but the reverse inscription can be read as a twelve-syllable verse (cf. DO Seals 2, no. 51.9 and 54.2).