EpitaphἘπιτάφιον
Epitaph of Abercius Epitaph PDF
The Epitaph of Abercius is a twenty-two line Greek verse inscription, carved on a marble tombstone in the late second century CE. Its author, Abercius, identified as the Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, composed the poem as his own funerary monument. The text presents a first-person account of his life and faith, describing his spiritual education under a "pure Shepherd" and his extensive travels to Rome and across Syria. These journeys, which included crossing the Euphrates to Nisibis, are presented not merely as personal biography but as a testament to the universal fellowship he encountered, symbolized by having "Paul" as a companion. The inscription is celebrated as one of the oldest and most significant surviving Christian texts from this period.
The work employs a symbolic and allusive vocabulary characteristic of a time when Christian expression required discretion. It describes the Eucharist through the metaphor of a "fish from the spring, pure and huge," a clear reference to the early Christian ichthys symbol for Jesus Christ, which a "holy virgin" presents to the faithful alongside wine and bread. This coded language functioned as a public declaration of faith intelligible to fellow Christians while avoiding overtly provocative terminology. The stone was originally erected in Hieropolis but was later lost, its full text preserved only within a Byzantine hagiographical work, the Life of St. Abercius. In 1883, archaeological excavations recovered fragments of the original marble, which confirmed the accuracy of the transmitted literary copy. The reassembled inscription is now housed in the Vatican Museums. As both a literary composition and an archaeological artifact, it provides invaluable evidence for the liturgy, communal identity, and geographical reach of the early Christian church.
| unit_1 | Ἐκλεκτῆς πόλεως ὁ πολείτης τοῦτ’ ἐποίησα ζῶν, ἵν’ ἔχω καιρῷ σώματος ἔνθα θέσιν. οὔνομ’ Ἀβέρκιος ὁ ὢν μαθητὴς ποιμένος ἁγνοῦ, ὃς βόσκει προβάτων ἀγέλας ὄρεσιν πεδίοις τε, ὀφθαλμοὺς ὃς ἔχει μεγάλους πάντη καθορῶντας. οὗτος γάρ μ’ ἐδίδαξε .... γράμματα πιστά· εἰς Ῥώμην ὃς ἔπεμψεν ἐμὲν βασιλείαν ἀθρῆσαι καὶ βασίλισσαν ἰδεῖν χρυσόστολον χρυσοπέδιλον· λαὸν δ’ εἶδον ἐκεῖ λαμπρὰν σφραγεῖδαν ἔχοντα. |
| unit_2 | καὶ Συρίης πέδον εἶδα καὶ ἄστεα πάντα, Νισῖβιν, Εὐφράτην διαβάς, πάντη δ’ ἔσχον συνομίλους Παῦλον ἔχων ἔποχον. πίστις πάντη δὲ προῆγε καὶ παρέθηκε τροφὴν πάντη ἰχθὺν ἀπὸ πηγῆς πανμεγέθη καθαρόν, ὃν ἐδράξατο παρθένος ἁγνή· καὶ τοῦτον ἐπέδωκε φίλοις ἔσθειν διὰ παντὸς οἶνον χρηστὸν ἔχουσα κέρασμα διδοῦσα μετ’ ἄρτου. ταῦτα παρεστὼς εἶπον Ἀβέρκιος ὧδε γραφῆναι, ἑβδομηκοστὸν ἔτος καὶ δεύτερον ἦγον ἀληθῶς. ταῦθ’ ὁ νοῶν εὔξαιτο ὑπὲρ Ἀβερκίου πᾶς ὁ συνῳδός. |
| unit_3 | οὐ μέντοι τύμβῳ τις ἐμῷ ἕτερόν τινα θήσει. εἰ δ’ οὖν, Ῥωμαίων ταμείῳ θήσει δισχίλια χρυσᾶ καὶ χρηστῇ πατρίδι Ἱεροπόλει χίλια χρυσᾶ. |