164 Part Two: Epigrams in Context
but little doubt that the economic value of the reliquary and the relic inside
must have been considerable (which is also the reason, of course, why it was
stolen by the crusaders and subsequently donated to the Franciscans). Basil’s
supposed ‘modesty’ is contradicted by the words that follow immediately
afterwards, stating that Basil, with this humble gift, shows his “lavish devo-
tion”, Álbion pöqon. These words are difficult to translate, but easy to under-
stand for anyone familiar with Byzantine inscriptions. Inscriptions usually
state that the donor donated a precious object or a church ™k pöqoy, pöqù
f6onti, or the like: “with burning desire”, because he shows his devotion to God,
the Theotokos or one of the saints by his pious donation. The adjective Álbioß
is also very common in Byzantine inscriptions. It is used as an attribute to the
object donated: the monastery of Lips, for instance, is called an Álbion Çrgon
because of the costs involved in having it built and because God’s blessing rests
on it^42. In Basil’s epigram, however, it is not the object itself that is Álbioß, but
the pious devotion Basil shows by donating the object. The poet clearly juggles
with words and the reason for doing this is merely to mask Basil’s false
modesty, the feigned embarrassment of riches that shows through in the whole
epigram. If Basil was really as modest as he pretends to be by calling his
donation a d0ron penicrön, why should he enumerate the titles and offices that
he holds, and mention his imperial lineage? And why should he explicitly state
that the reliquary was adorned with gold and silver? The large amounts of
money that Basil invested in the purchase of the relic and the production of the
reliquary are transformed into a sort of spiritual capital by the very act of
donating the object to a religious institution^43. Basil will cash in his reward in
the form of spiritual salvation. It is worth noting that the salvation of his soul
is not something Basil hopes for, but expects to obtain. The verb aœt0 says it
all. Ordinary people do not “request” salvation, they beg for it. However, the
highest official in the imperial administration, the parakoimomenos, is so close
to the emperor and therefore, by implication, so close to God that he can file a
petition for admission to heaven^44. Of course, even a high-powered dignitary,
such as Basil the Nothos, needs an intermediary to take care of his petition and
deliver it into the hands of God Almighty. This is the task of St. Stephen. The
(^42) Ed. C. MANGO & E. HAWKINS, DOP 18 (1964) 300–301.
(^43) On the economic aspects and symbolic value of donations, see A. CUTLER, in: Byzance et
les images, ed. A. GUILLOU & J. DURAND. Paris 1994, 287–325.
(^44) The inscription on the tenth-century staurotheca in Lorch (ed. FROLOW 1961: no. 126)
states that its donor, a certain Theophanes, viewed the reliquary as a proseyktikñn
sk8nzma t0n aœthm1tzn. Since the word aÉthma, “request”, is quite arrogant, and since
reliquaries are expensive, Theophanes must have been a high-powered dignitary. I
would suggest that he is the famous parakoimomenos of Romanos II.