Niketas bishop of Lampsakos (tenth century, second half)
Obverse
Cruciform Invocative monogram (type VIII). In the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. Border of pellets between concentric circles of dots.
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, decorations above and below. Border of dots.
ΝΙΚΗΤ,
ΕΛΕΘΥ̅
ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠ,
ΛΑΜΨΑ
ΚΟΥ
Νικήτ(ᾳ) ἐλέῳ Θ(εο)ῦ ἐπισκόπ(ῳ) Λαμψάκου
Obverse
Cruciform Invocative monogram (type VIII). In the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. Border of pellets between concentric circles of dots.
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, decorations above and below. Border of dots.
ΝΙΚΗΤ,
ΕΛΕΘΥ̅
ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠ,
ΛΑΜΨΑ
ΚΟΥ
Νικήτ(ᾳ) ἐλέῳ Θ(εο)ῦ ἐπισκόπ(ῳ) Λαμψάκου
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.528 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 28.0 mm; field: 20.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 54.1. See also Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 358. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Νικήτᾳ ἐλέῳ Θεοῦ ἐπισκόπῳ Λαμψάκου.
Lord, help your servant Niketas, bishop of Lampsakos by the mercy of God.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- La géographie ecclésiastique de l’empire byzantin, vol. 2, Les églises et les monastères des grands centres byzantins (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Lampsakos (modern Lapsaki, opposite Gallipoli on the east side of the Dardanelles) was the site of a suffragan bishopric of Kyzikos from at least the fourth century (Laurent, Corpus V/1, 255). It is listed in all the notitiae until the beginning of the fourteenth century. The city was the cult center of St. Parthenios, a 4th-century saint and bishop, who appears on the seal of the bishop Thomas published below (54.2). See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 256; Janin, Grand centres, 206. ODB II, 1172.