Confession inscriptions of

Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...

and

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

are Roman-era Koine Greek religious

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

s from these historical regions of Anatolia (then part of Asia and

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...

provinces), dating mostly to the second and third centuries. The new element that appears, the public confession of sin and the

redemption Redemption may refer to: Religion * Redemption (theology), an element of salvation to express deliverance from sin * Redemptive suffering, a Roman Catholic belief that suffering can partially remit punishment for sins if offered to Jesus * Pi ...

through offerings (), unknown to traditional Greek religion, has made scholars to name this social phenomenon as oriental. The religious thought and the use of vernacular Koine Greek, full of innovative orthography, syntax and grammar, suggests that they may also represent something at the root of religion in Phrygia and Lydia. Marijana Ricl has argued that the practice of confession is a reminiscence of Hittite religion. According to Schnabel E.J it was a counter-move prompted by the increasing success of the Christian missionaries. Indeed, beside the scheme of confession and redemption, the phraseology and terms are reminiscent of Greek New Testament: (sin), (advocate), (servant of God), (master), (king). Another point for discussion is the punishment of sexual transgressions, which further relates the inscriptions to Christianity and the concept of chastity in Hellenistic philosophy and religion, in contrast to the previous perception of sexuality inside the religion ( Hieros gamos, Sacred prostitution,

Aphrodite Pandemos Aphrodite Pandemos ( grc, Πάνδημος, Pándēmos; "common to all the people") occurs as an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. This epithet can be interpreted in different ways. In Plato's ''Symposium'', Pausanias of Athens describes ...

). Some indicating names or epithets of deities engaged in the inscriptions are: Men (Axiottenos, Artemidoros), Meter (mother), Zeus (Aithrios, Keraunios, Soter), Apollo, Hypsistos,

Anaitis Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associate ...

, Attis, Dionysos, Hades, Herakles,

Sabazios Sabazios ( grc, Σαβάζιος, translit=Sabázios, ''Savázios''; alternatively, ''Sabadios'') is the horseman and sky father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. Though the Greeks interpreted Phrygian Sabazios as both Zeus and Dionysus, rep ...

, Batenos,

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...

, Asclepius, Tyrannos, Basileus, Theos Strapton and Bronton, Hecate, and Artemis.

Inscriptions

Ritual dialogue of Theodoros with the Gods (Lydia, 235/236 AD)

According to George Petzl, a trial of sacred theatre did take place in the sanctuary; Theodoros was convicted and jailed. Zeus was impersonated by a priest. According to Ender Varinlioglu, (jail) is used metaphorically. Blindness was the jail or punishment upon Theodoros in order to be saved from his licentious sexual activities.The Greco-Roman East: politics, culture, society By Stephen Colvi
Page 28
(2004)

Soterchos of Motella (Phrygia, 3rd century AD)

References

External links

Divine Tyranny and Public Humiliation: A Suggestion for the Interpretation of the Lydian and Phrygian Confession Inscription Schnabel E.JUnder the watchful eyes of the gods: divine justice in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor
by Angelos Chaniotis
Human Transgression – Divine Retribution A study of religious transgressions and punishments in Greek cultic regulations and Lydian-Phrygian reconciliation inscriptions by Aslak Rostad
*The curse of the law and the crisis in Galatia : reassessing the purpose of Galatians by Todd A Wilson *Anatolia: Land, Men, and Gods in Asia Minor by Stephen Mitchell Volume I The Celts in Anatolia and the Impact of Roman Rule {{DEFAULTSORT:Confession Inscriptions Of Lydia And Phrygia 2nd century in religion 3rd century in religion 2nd-century inscriptions 3rd-century inscriptions Roman-era Greek inscriptions Greek religion inscriptions Lydia Phrygian religion Roman Anatolia Christianity and Hellenistic religion Anthropology of religion Sexuality and religion

Inscriptions

Ritual dialogue of Theodoros with the Gods (Lydia, 235/236 AD)

Soterchos of Motella (Phrygia, 3rd century AD)

References

Further reading

External links