Τεύχος - Περιεχόμενα

Παλαιοχριστιανικὴ ἐπιγραφὴ ἀπὸ τὸν Ἐλαιώνα τῶν Ἀθηνῶν

Περίληψη Άρθρου:

Georgios Pallis, An Early Christian Inscription from the Athenian Olive Grove

The unpublished inscription on which the present paper focuses is found on an oblong part of architrave or cornice of white marble, reused as a lintel over the main entrance of the post Byzantine chapel of Panaghia Moustapidena or Zoodochos Pege, at the former Athenian olive grove (Drakou str.). The text has been carved in capital letters on the moulding of the upper side of the stone. It preserves part of a quotation from the 90th Psalm (5-6) and should be ascribed to the 5th-6th century A.D. Because of the apotropaic meaning of its verses, this Psalm is often found in a variety of early Christian inscriptions; a large group of them was decorating buildings, including houses and basilicas. The fragment from Panaghia Moustapidena was probably part of a long inscription placed on the façade of a monumental building, most likely an early Christian basilica of the region of Athens.