Inscription built into the wall of the church of Ἁι-Νικόλας ο «παλιός» at Thermi (Lesbos)
Click here to view it in Greek.
In an article written by M. Axiotis1 in the local newspaper of Lesbos the photograph of an ancient inscription is published. In the present note I identify the inscription and I publish again Axiotis’ photograph.
Phot. 1. IG XII 2, 108: dedicatory inscription to Artemis Thermia at the church of Ἁι-Νικόλας ο «παλιός» at Thermi (Lesbos)
Phot. 2. The church of Ἁι-Νικόλας ο «παλιός», in the settlement of «Κάτω Πύργοι» of Thermi (Lesbos)
IG XII 2, 108 (Phot. 1): dedicatory inscription of the Roman Period to Artemis Thermia. It is built into the external wall of Ἁι-Νικόλας ο «παλιός», the ruined church in the settlement of «Κάτω Πύργοι» of Thermi (Phot. 2), (see Μ. Αξιώτης, Εμπρός, 10 Απριλίου 2013, «Άρτεμη, Αφροδίτη και Άι-Νικόλας»).
Μεγάλ]α Θέω Ἀρτέμιδι Θε-
ρμ]ία Ὀμόνοια Τε-
λ]έσφορος Συμ-
φ]όρω καὶ Φλ. Τύχα
τ]ὰν χαλκίαν εἴκο-
ν]α καττὰν ἐπιτά-
γα]ν καὶ χρημάτισ-
μ]ον αὔτας, ὀντε-
θεί]κοντες καὶ τὸ
τᾶς Θέ]μιδος παν-
[- – – – – – – -]
G. Paton (IG XII 2, 108) mentions the exact same find spot: «Kato Pyrgi in vetere ecclesia S. Nicolai». According to Axiotis, there are other inscriptions built into this church which must have originated from the sanctuary of Artemis Thermia. I plan to visit Thermi in the near future so as to investigate the site and possibly locate the inscriptions mentioned by Axiotis.
MARIA S. DIAKOUMAKOU
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1 Makis Axiotis is a local of Lesbos, a professional medical doctor, who is very interested in the history, topography, architecture as well as the flora of his homeland and often publishes articles on these subjects in the local newspaper «Εμπρός».