Ramsay, William Mitchell: The cities and bishoprics of Phrygia: being an essay of the local history of Phrygia from the earliest time to the Turkish conquest (Band 1,2): West and West-Central Phrygia (Oxford, 1897)

496 XII. CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS OF S.W. PHRYGIA.

religion ; and that the inscr. is either Chr., or provoked from the
opponents and rivals of Christianity.

This method requires great care, for mistakes have been made.
There is a class of inscriptions, like Niktj TXclvkov, Niktj NucoXdov,
&c, found chiefly on the coast at Branchidai, Halikarnassos, Mylasa,
Iasos, and in the island of Cos. Sir C. Newton first observed them,
and interpreted them of victories in the games. MM. Cousin and Diehlx
suggested that they were the epitaphs of Chr. martyrs, and their view
was taken up and reinforced by Prof. G. Hirschfeld 2. In addition to
other peculiarities which seemed to these scholars to be suspicious,
they pointed out that the palm-branch (a well-known Chr. symbol)
was in one case engraved beside the inscr.3, and that the father's name
was never added. The latter point is an admitted characteristic of
later Chr. inscr., but not of pre-Constantinian inscr. ; and some
of the Nike inscr. are as early as the first century. The reasoning of
M. Duchesne, Mr. Paton4. M. Th. Reinach, and M. Cumont seems to
me conclusive against the Chr. origin of this class of inscr. No Chr.
accompaniments or names have been detected among them ; and,
where the class is so numerous, that objection alone would be fatal.

§ 5. The Beckoning with God. From the pagan Phrygian concep-
tion of the nature of a grave, it follows that intrusion of any other
corpse into the grave was a diminution of the prerogative and the rites
of the first occupant. Christianity rejected such a conception of the
grave. But it is always difficult to eradicate from the popular mind
its conception and principles in the treatment of the dead ; moreover,
from a different cause, Christianity was naturally disposed to attach
great sanctity to the sepulchre. There was, however, one marked
difference : the burial of different families in one grave was essen-
tially opposed to the Phrygian conception, whereas it was in perfect
accordance with the Christian ideas of brotherhood and communion.
Especially, the Christians longed to be buried close to the grave of
a martyr or saint; and richer Christians often provided that their
grave should be open to others or to the poor. Hence in any case
where the epitaph gives wider admission to the grave, Christian
character is probable, and will in many cases be found to be confirmed

1 BCH 1890 p. 115: to which M. 1893 pp. 202 ff. New examples at Iasos
Duchesne replied, Bull. Crit. 1890 BCH 1894 p. 24.

p. 138 (an article which I have not 3 The goal (meta) is indicated beside

seen). it; and an agonistic sense is quite as

2 Fhilologus 1891 pp. 430 ff: to which natural as a Chr.

M. Th. Reinach replied, Bev. Et. Gr. * Paton and Hicks Inscr. of Cos p. 121.