Eustratios protos of the diakonia of the property of Peter (eighth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God holding Christ before her; at left and right, small crosses. Beginning at twelve o'clock, a circular inscription along the circumference between a double border of dots:
θεοτοκεβοηθητοσοδ,
Θεοτόκε βοήθει το σο δ(ούλῳ)
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God holding Christ before her; at left and right, small crosses. Beginning at twelve o'clock, a circular inscription along the circumference between a double border of dots:
θεοτοκεβοηθητοσοδ,
Θεοτόκε βοήθει το σο δ(ούλῳ)
Reverse
Inscription of six lines. No border visible.
ευστρα
τηα/
τισιακο
νιαστον
πετρο
υ
Εὐστρατήῳ (πρώτῳ) τῖς διακονίας τον Πέτρου
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1203 |
---|---|
Diameter | 21.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 5 no. 33.1; Zacos–Veglery, no. 1135; Laurent, Corpus 5.2: no. 1217. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει το σο δούλῳ Εὐστρατήῳ πρώτῳ τῖς διακονίας τον Πέτρου.
Mother of God, help your servant Eustratios, protos of the diakonia of the properties of Peter.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 5: The East (continued), Constantinople and Environs, Unknown Locations, Addenda, Uncertain Readings (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The Patria, 249, records that the quarter τὰ Πέτρου derived its name from the οἶκος Πέτρου, the estate of a patrikios in the reign of Justinian, where a church and gerokomeion were built. It is possible that the diaconate recorded on this seal was a lay service organization devoted to the care of the elderly. Its location is unknown.
Seibt (in his review of Laurent's Corpus 5 in BSl 35 [1974]: 74–77) has suggested that Eustratios might be a deuteros or cleric, but we may be reasonably sure, based on comparison with the design of the alpha in line 3, that the letter at the end of line 2 is the letter A.