Look at this monument, dear, and ask who’s the person who built it;

O, Hermogenes it was, who was grieving for me and our daughter,

Thecla, the curly-haired girl who was taken by Fate with no mercy.

Pure she was, for indeed she had never laid with a husband,

God, please accept her like this, unblemished by passion or marriage.

Now let me tell you the names of the two other people that rest here.

It is my brave little boy who was known by the name Demosthenes,

Son of Matrona – that’s me, and I live in the city of Nike.

Fourth in the grave, by his son, the father and husband was laid down.

Have you ever thought about what you would like to have written on your tombstone? What message would you like to leave for the next generations? Discussing such matters is not a show of bad taste, and it is not ‘tempting fate’. Come on, guys, it’s the 21^st century, isn’t it! We all know how it is going to end for all of us, and yet, we keep kindling our conviction that we are immortal.

Even though this epitaph was written in the style of Homer’s epic, in essence it is not an epic but rather lyrical; a guy by the name of Hermogenes speaks of his family with love and affection. A man creating poetry? This shouldn’t come as a surprise. In Antiquity, art was an exclusive privilege for men. There’s Sapho, of course, but she is rather the exception that confirms the rule. Same as today, women were in charge of the household, bearing children, and looking after the farm, and they didn’t have time to spare for dreamy stargazing and poetic endeavours.

Hermogenes’ family consisted of his wife Matrona, and his children Thecla and Demosthenes. They lived 1800 years ago in Nicopolis ad Nestum, ‘the city of Nike’, as it is called on the stone slab. It was founded in the 2^nd century CE by Emperor Trajan to commemorate his victory over the Dacians. He named it after Nike, the goddess of victory. Getting a new name wasn’t the only benefit for the Thracian settlement that existed on the spot earlier; Trajan promoted it to the status of autonomous city with its own city Senate and a court house, and he granted the local authorities the right to mint coins. The local elite then raised the funds needed to set up the new city according to the advanced urban planning standards of the Roman Empire: fortified walls, a forum, public buildings, baths, and temples. In short: Hermogenes’ family lived in a well-planned city with a developed economy, bustling trade, active public life and rich cultural environment.

Despite all the advantages of civilization, health care in antiquity was not what it is today. The average life expectancy was about 25 – 30 years. Giving birth was the main cause of death for women, and men died most often on the battlefield. Child mortality was high. Without antibiotics even the commonest infection could be fatal. We could only guess at what the cause of death was for curly-haired Thecla, as well as whether her mother and her brother passed away at the same time as she did in a horrible epidemic. But there is something more to this inscription. It holds a coded message that only people in the know could perceive, those who could read between the lines; namely, that Hermogenes’ was a Christian family. Is that such a big deal, one might ask, spoiled by living in a culture where choice of faith and speech are free.

It is. In the Roman Empire Christianity was perceived as a cult, a new religious movement that was very suspicious. Christians refused to take part in public sacrifices, celebrations, games, rituals to ensure the emperor’s well-being. And this was considered high treason, unequivocally. In times of adversity, Christians were to blame. The attitude of society towards them ebbed and flowed, and long periods of tolerance were followed by fierce persecution.

Emperor Trajan, the founder of Nicopolis ad Nestum, had an intriguing attitude towards the Christians. We have written testimonials for that: his correspondence with Pliny the Younger. In his letters, Pliny asks for the emperor’s advice with regard to the anonymous reports he would receive, blaming people for being Christians. ‘I interrogate them,’ Pliny writes, ‘and if they confess to being Christian and refuse to denounce Christianity, I punish them with death. If they offer sacrifice to the Roman gods and condemn Christ, I set them free.’ The emperor’s response is rather practical: he advises Pliny to not persecute Christians actively, to punish them if they flatly refuse to offer sacrifice and to not accept reports. In other words, although Christianity was illegal, the authorities took care not to start a ‘witch hunt’. Christianity was the ‘underground’ religion of those times.

That is why we could assume that Hermogenes and his family lived a life of insecurity: they were not persecuted actively but the threat of being accused and punished was ever present. But faith is like measles: you can’t hide it that easily. So, what are the hidden Christian messages in the epitaph Hermogenes left for us?

There were many deities in the Roman Empire. According to the heathens’ beliefs, when people died, they didn’t join the gods in heavens, but went to the underworld instead. There, the souls of the dead were carried across the River Styx, transported by Charon, the ferryman. People would place a coin in the dead person’s mouth so that they could pay him. But the way Hermogenes talks about death reveals that his family was Christian. The words ‘pure for God to accept her’ are a typical Christian reference.

Now read carefully the third verse: ‘Thecla, the curly-haired girl, by fate taken without mercy.’ The slab dates from the 3^rd century CE. Back then Christianity was still a new thing in our lands. People still hadn’t shed their old beliefs and rituals. And these words hint at heathendom. Thecla was seized by the Moirai. Thus, this one inscription is a manifest of two religions: Christianity in ‘pure for God to accept her’ and heathenism in ‘by fate taken without mercy’. The family lived in a time of transition when ways old and new came together.

Tombstones tell us the story of the people that lived in Nicopolis ad Nestum in surprising detail. They speak of Seuthes, son of Bitys; of Pyrrhula and Kalpe; of Apollodorus, son of Pyrros; of Sallas and Moukasses. These are all Thracian and Greek names. Hermogenes and Demosthenes are Greek names but ‘Thecla’ originates from Asia Minor, and even Syria. Could her parents have migrated from Asia Minor in present-day Turkey? Or is it simply that her name had become popular with Christians during that time? Saint Thecla was a noble maid; upon hearing Apostle Paul’s preachings she accepted Christianity and she refused to get married, turning to a life of devotion to Jesus Christ. Outraged by her decision, her own mother demanded for her daughter to be burned on the stake. But a miraculous storm put out the flames. In Antioch, the local ruler ordered her to be thrown to the wild beasts on the arena. But the animals refused to attack her. In another attempt to execute her, people tied her body with ropes to two bulls to tear it apart. But it was the ropes that tore and she survived yet again. Saint Thecla passed away an old woman, most probably in Seleucia (present-day Turkey). Locals believe that she was buried in a nearby cave which was turned into a sacred temple later on. The town of Maaloula in Syria also claims that her remains are buried there. According to tradition, the saint spent her last years in a cave, turning people into Christians and healing their illnesses. A small monastery stands by that alleged cave today.

There are many uncertainties surrounding curly-haired Thecla from Nicopolis ad Nestum but one thing we know for certain: she wasn’t as long-lived as the saint whose name she bore.

We can still feel the love and pain radiating from the inscription and it leaves the impression of a letter from the underworld. Hermogenes’ words act as a reminder that life is short but memory lasts forever. And that love is the only thing that can outlive fate. For those who can read between the lines.

Author: Ela Ruseva (Α Blonde in the Museum)
Translation in English: Alexander "Sancho" Marinov