Abstract
The article is a publication of a unique lamp with the depiction of the prophet Jonah and the sea monster – κῆτος. This lamp was found by R.Kh. Loeper during the excavations of the necropolis of Tauric Chersonesos in 1910. The image on the discus of the lamp depicts the moment when Jonah was thrown from the ship into the open sea, and was swallowed up later by a sea monster. Below the human figure are the traces of the Greek letters ΙΩ̣, which we interpret as the initial letters of the prophet’s name - Ἰω̣[νᾶς]. The story goes back to the text of the Old Testament, and was very popular. This iconography has many parallels in reliefs and frescoes discovered in Rome and other cities of the empire and traditionally associated with early Christianity. The context of the Chersonesos crypt, in which the lamp was found, is dated according to the accompanying inventory no later than the middle of the 3rd century AD. At the base of the lamp, the inscription ΧΟΛϹ / ΗΡ Ϲ was made on wet clay, which is probably an abbreviation of the name of the lamp-maker. This lamp was produced in Asia Minor in line with the syncretism of the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian religions. Any resident of the city, who knew and honoured the traditions of the Old Testament, could use the lamp. Considering such an early dating of the crypt, it is diffi cult to interpret the iconography of this lamp as unambiguously early Christian. Perhaps it can be associated with the Jewish tradition.
Keywords
Lamp, Tauric Chersonesos, Jonah, early Christianity, Judaism, iconography.
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