Monogrammatic seal (sixth/seventh century)
Obverse
Cruciform monogram. Wreath border.
- β - δ - ε - θ - ι - κ - ο - ρ - - Ψ -
?
Reverse
Cruciform monogram. Wreath border.
- ε - ι - λ - μ - ν - ο - ρ - σ - υ
?
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.3243 |
---|---|
Diameter | 20.0 mm |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
?
?
Commentary
This corrosion on this seal makes it impossible to give certain readings of either monogram; the obverse seems to read either the strange, ἀββᾷ Θεωδώρῳ (Father Theodore) in the dative case or Θεοδώρας/Θεοδώρᾳ (Theodora) in the genitive or dative case (though also the strangely positioned ω at the top of the upper terminus of the cruciform may be a ψ, making the monogram even less decipherable). Neither of these seems possible, as the reverse almost certainly contains a masculine genitive name; the corrosion make essentially every terminus of the cruciform unclear, especially the left terminus, but some possible readings are Μενάνδρου (Menandros), Ἀμμενιανοῦ (Ammenianos), Ἀνεμίου (Anemios), and Ὑμεναίου (Hymenaios).