Description
Grey marble column, broken below, buried above. Above the inscription, Latin cross in relief.
Commentary
Karakaya is a small village at the eastern edge of the Konya plain, at the foot of the Boz Dağ between Divanlar and Göçü. This Christian funerary inscription appears to be an attempt at a pair of elegiac couplets. The name Asterios seems to have been particularly popular among Christians: cf. MAMA I 200, 240 (Laodikeia Katakekaumene), MAMA VII 109b (Lageina), TAM V 1, 643 (Daldis), IAph2007 1.19. For the term πινυτός (lines 4-5) as used of priests, cf. I.Konya 206 (Yağlıbayat: Savatra), ἱερεὺς... πιστὸς κὲ πινυτός, and see also [MAMA XI 207] (1954/43: Çeşmelisebil). For the term σεμνός (rare for men), cf. [MAMA XI 284] (1956/129: Zengicek/Koçyaka); [307] (1956/159a: Koçaş). For the phrase νέον ἔρνος (line 10), see the commentary to [MAMA XI 361] (1954/51: Kana).