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Michael (?) Pothos (thirteenth/fourteenth century)

 
 

Obverse

Bust of St. Michael holding the scepter in his right hand. Indeterminate border. Inscription preserved only on right: Χ|Ι: ἅγιος Μιχαήλ.

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Indeterminate border.

ΕΓ
ΤΟΟΘ.
ΙΧΗΛ
.ΕΣΦΡ
ΓΙ

Ἐγὼ το πόθ Μιχαὴλ σε σφραγίζω

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obverse

Bust of St. Michael holding the scepter in his right hand. Indeterminate border. Inscription preserved only on right: Χ|Ι: ἅγιος Μιχαήλ.

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Indeterminate border.

ΕΓ
ΤΟΟΘ.
ΙΧΗΛ
.ΕΣΦΡ
ΓΙ

Ἐγὼ το πόθ Μιχαὴλ σε σφραγίζω

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accession number BZS.1958.106.816
Diameter 26.0 mm
Previous Editions

Cf. Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden I, no. 684.

Translation

Ἐγὼ το πόθῳ Μιχαὴλ σε σφραγίζω.

With longing for you, Michael, I place you on my seal. / I inscribe you, Michael, on the seal for Pothos. / I seal you (i.e. the seal) for Michael Pothos.

Commentary

The inscription can be taken in three ways, depending on whether the owner, the saint, or the seal is speaking. If we take πόθος ("longing") as a noun, the inscription proclaims the owner's veneration of the saint shown on the obverse. In this case, the seal would be anonymous. If, however, Pothos is a name (as we think it is), the inscription could be addressed to the archangel Michael, or it could equally be a statement that the seal has been inscribed on behalf of Michael Pothos.

Bibliography

  • Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 1, Siegellegenden von Alpha bis inclusive My (Open in Zotero)