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Dionysios monk and bishop of Stratonikeia (tenth/eleventh century)

 
 

Obverse

Bust of St. Philip blessing and holding a scroll. On either side the inscription: |Φ|Ι|Λ|Π|ΠΟ|Σ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Φίλ(ι)ππος. Along the upper circumference, within a border of dots, a circular inscription:

ΚΕ,ΗΘ,ΤΣΔ,

Κ(ύρι)ε β(ο)ήθ(ει) τῷ σῷ δ(ούλῳ)

Reverse

Inscription of five lines, decorations above and below. Border of dots.


ΔΙΟΝΟΙ
ΣΙΟΧ̅Ε
ΠΗΣΚΟΠ
ΣΤΡΤ,
ΝΙΚΙ

Διονοισίο (μον)αχ(ῷ) ἐπησκόπ(ῳ) Στρατ(ο)νικία(ς)

Obverse

Bust of St. Philip blessing and holding a scroll. On either side the inscription: |Φ|Ι|Λ|Π|ΠΟ|Σ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Φίλ(ι)ππος. Along the upper circumference, within a border of dots, a circular inscription:

ΚΕ,ΗΘ,ΤΣΔ,

Κ(ύρι)ε β(ο)ήθ(ει) τῷ σῷ δ(ούλῳ)

Reverse

Inscription of five lines, decorations above and below. Border of dots.


ΔΙΟΝΟΙ
ΣΙΟΧ̅Ε
ΠΗΣΚΟΠ
ΣΤΡΤ,
ΝΙΚΙ

Διονοισίο (μον)αχ(ῷ) ἐπησκόπ(ῳ) Στρατ(ο)νικία(ς)

Accession number BZS.1958.106.60
Diameter 25.0 mm; field: 20.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 3, no. 108.2a. See also Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 373. Cf. Zacos, Seals II, no. 806 (illustrated as no. 807).

Translation

Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Διονοισίο μοναχῷ ἐπησκόπῳ Στρατονικίας.

Lord, help your servant Dionysios, monk and bishop of Stratonikeia.

Commentary

There are two bishoprics named Stratonikeia, one suffragan of Sardeis of Lydia and one suffragan of Stauropolis of Karia (cf. Darrouzès, Notitiae, no. 1, lines 167, 298; no. 13, lines 119, 313). The first, also called Κάλαμος, is identified with the ruins of Sidelik, northeast of Kirkağac, in the upper Kaïkos valley (Laurent, Corpus V/1, 267). The second is identified with Eskihisar, to the west of the Marsyas river (RE, 2. Reihe, IV A [1932] 322-25).

It is probable that the two two sets of bishops' seals from Stratonikeia in the DO collection come from the same place. Both display an image of St. Philip, a rather unusual saint, to whom the episcopal church must have been dedicated (cf. SBS 4 [1995] 22). This could be St. Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who was martyred in Hierapolis, or St. Philip the deacon and apostle, known from the Acts, who was martyred in Tralleis of Lydia (Syn. Eccl. CP, 129, 222, 781, 783). The question remains open. Another seal of a bishop of Stratonikeia, decorated with a bust of the Virgin holding the medallion, is also published (Seyrig, no. 269), but the motif is too common to allow attribution to the other Stratonikeia.

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)
  • Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
  • Les sceaux byzantins de la Collection Henri Seyrig (Open in Zotero)