This volume contributes to the reconstruction of the history of ancient Christians on the basis of an exemplary selection of Greek inscriptions. Fifteen essays discussing inscriptions from Asia Minor and Greece offer striking insights into the lives, beliefs, and diversity of Christian communities that literary sources largely pass over.
In histories of early Christianity, the use of the evidence provided by inscriptions produced by or for Christians has long remained marginal. However, emerging from the late second century onwards, such inscriptions are indispensable for reconstructing the development of Christian communities, particularly in regions where literary sources are scarce or entirely absent. They offer insights into the distinctive regional characteristics of early Christian groups, their leadership structures, building activities, and theological concerns. Above all, they reveal the striking diversity that marked these communities, each shaped by its own cultural and geographical setting. Dedicated to the distinguished historian of the Roman Empire, the late Stephen Mitchell, this volume provides an introduction to Greek inscriptions that may be identified as Christian and explores their significance for historiography. It brings together fifteen selected Christian inscriptions from Asia Minor and Greece. Thirteen contributors from different disciplines - Cilliers Breytenbach, Timo Christian, Georgios Deligiannakis, Klaus Hallof, James R. Harrison, Ulrich Huttner, Stephen Mitchell, Markus Öhler, Julien Ogereau, Philipp Pilhofer, Daniela Summa, Paul Trebilco, and Christiane Zimmermann - present a carefully curated set of especially noteworthy inscriptions dating from the second to the sixth centuries AD, highlighting both the individuality and the breadth of these texts and their messages. Four concluding essays by Andreas Merkt (ancient church history), Hartmut Leppin (ancient history), Sylvain Destephen (epigraphy), and Heinz-Günther Nesselrath (classical philology) place the selection within its wider historical and literary contexts.
Table of contents:
A. Introduction - Cilliers Breytenbach, Christiane Zimmermann
1. Introducing Inscriptions by Christians - 2. Basic Characteristics of Inscriptions, their Edition, and Presentation in this Volume - 3. Identifying Inscriptions as Christian - 4. Dating Christian Inscriptions - 5. The Contribution of Inscriptions in Depicting the Local Histories of Early Christianities - 5.1 Names - 5.2 Family Structures, Virtues, and Christian Ideals of Conduct - 5.3 Occupation and Social Status - 5.4 Preservation and Transformation of Traditions - 5.5 The Clergy - 5.6 Ascetism and Other Christian Ways of Life - 5.7 Theology - 5.8 Persecution - 5.9 Churches, Liturgy, and Rituals - 5.10 Conclusion - 6. A Short Description of the Essays in this Volume -
B. Christian Inscriptions from Greece and Asia Minor (2nd-6th c. AD) / Christliche Inschriften aus Griechenland und Kleinasien (2.-6. Jh. n. Chr.) - 1. Cilliers Breytenbach: The Resurrected Jesus, Jonah and the Big Fish - 2. Paul Trebilco: Epitaphs from The Cemetery of the Seven Sleepers - 3. Stephen Mitchell ✝: The Lawyer, the Preacher, and a Guardian Angel. A Tale from Eumeneia in Phrygia - 4. Markus Öhler: Himmlischer Lohn für tugendhaftes Leben. Das Gedenken an Regulus und seine Töchter Olympion und Aquilina - 5. Christiane Zimmermann: Zwei Inschriften - eine Person? Ein Bischof und ein „Sackträger» - 6. Ulrich Huttner: Grabinschrift der Palladion. Eine Jungfrau auf dem Weg in den Himmel - 7. Daniela Summa: The Mosaic Inscription of Bishop Spyridon in Tremithus/Tremithousa - 8. Daniela Summa: The Epigraphic Dossier of the Complex of 'Eustolios' - 9. Timo Christian: Das „Testament« des Philomenes - 10. Philipp Pilhofer: Bischof Firminianus und der reparierte Aquädukt des Sokrates - 11. Klaus Hallof: Puzzeln für Heilige. Ein christlicher Steckkalender aus Sikyon - 12. Klaus Hallof: Maria auf Ikaria. Ein christliches Pseudo-Orakel auf dem Weg durch die Ägäis - 13. Julien Ogereau: The Clerical Career of the Presbyter Daniel at Philippi - 14. James R. Harrison: The Protocols of Honour at Ephesus: Justinian and Bishop Hypatios - 15. Georgios Deligiannakis and Philipp Pilhofer: Heavenly Laughter in a Funeral Poem
C. Essays - Andreas Merkt: Plurality and Transformation. The Epigram Selection in the Light of Two Paradigms for Conceptualizing the »Early Church« and »Ancient Christianity« - Hartmut Leppin: Christian Inscriptions from the Perspective of Ancient History - Sylvain Destephen: Inscribing in Early and Late Antique Christianity - Heinz-Günther Nesselrath: Observations on the Language and Literary Style of some significant Christian Inscriptions
