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Role: Copyist; Calligrapher Gender: Female Date: Mid-third century CE Place: Alexandria Language: Greek Literary Genre: History Title of Work: Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History Reference: Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.18.1–2; 6.23.1–2 cf. Jerome, Vir. ill. 56; 61.3 Original Text: Ἐξ ἐκείνου, δὲ καὶ Ὠριγένει τῶν εἰς τὰς θείας γραφὰς ὑπομνημάτων ἐγίνετο ἀρχή, Ἀμβροσίου παρορμῶντος αὐτὸν μυρίαις οὐ προτροπαῖς ταῖς διὰ λόγων καὶ παρακλήσεσιν αὐτὸ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀφθονωτάταις τῶν ἐπιτηδείων χορηγίαις. 2 Ταχυγράφοι τε γὰρ αὐτῷ πλείους ἢ ἑπτὰ τὸν ἀριθμὸν παρῆσαν ὑπαγορεύοντι, χρόνοις τεταγμένοις ἀλλήλους ἀμείβοντες,  βιβλιογράφοι τε οὐχ ἥττους ἅμα καὶ κόραις ἐπὶ τὸ καλλιγραφεῖν ἠσκημέναις· ὧν ἁπάντων τὴν δέουσαν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἄφθονον περιουσίαν ὁ Ἀμβρόσιος παρεστήσατο·  (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.18.1–2) English Translation: From that time, Origen also began commentaries on the divine writings, with Ambrose urging him on, not only with the kind of encouragement and exhortation that comes in words, but also with a plentiful supply of what was required. For more than seven shorthand writers were with him when he dictated, relieving each other on a schedule, and just as many scribes, along with maidens trained in calligraphy. Ambrose generously supplied what was required for all of them. (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.18.1–2) Text: Eduard Schwartz, Eusebius Kirchesngeschichte (Repr.; Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021) Translation: Modified from Jeremy Schott, The History of the Church: A New Translation (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2019) Commentary: Seven enslaved female calligraphers (κόραις ἐπὶ τὸ καλλιγραφεῖν ἠσκημέναις) assisted the mid-third-century Christian teacher, philosopher, and polymath Origen of Alexandria with his literary needs. They were “supplied” to Origen by his patron Ambrose, a detail that suggests that these anonymous workers were enslaved and were “gifted” in the same way as Roman elites gifted literate workers to one another. It is possible that these young women had been educated in Ambrose’s household in much the same way as the wealthy Roman Atticus trained all of the members of his household to read and write (Haines-Eitzen). In scholarship on ancient literacy it is often assumed that the vast majority of women were illiterate. The reference here to professionally trained female calligraphers, thus, invites comment. The existence of Eusebius’s calligraphers suggests that women were also trained to be literary experts (Haines-Eitzen). Other examples of enslaved literate women include Sulpicia Petale (AE 1928, 73); the enslaved Christian teacher Grapte (Herm.Vis.2.4); and, potentially, the woman who holds tablets in a second century relief depicting a butcher’s shop originally from Trastevere in Rome (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, inv. ZV 44). Of equal interest is the young women’s ages. Eusebius presents the calligraphers as young women (κοραῖος). Many enslaved literate workers were young because their senses were known to be sharper than those of adults (Moss). Examples like Melior, a distinguished accountant whose funerary relief indicates that he died at the age of thirteen, indicate that enslaved copyists could reach positions of distinction at a young age (Eckhardt, 130). The same term “calligrapher” (καλλιγραφος) is used by the fourth-century monk Epiphanius of a well-educated Christian copyist named Hieracas (Pan. 67.1.1–4; 67.7.9). Keywords:  Christian; Copyist; Eusebius; Literate Worker; Origen; Women Related Entries: Anonymous Copyists (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.23.1-2); Anonymous Shorthand Writers (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.23); Grapte (Herm. Vis. 2) Bibliography: Eckardt, Hella. Writing and Power in the Roman World: Literacies and Material Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Haines-Eitzen, Kim. “‘Girls Trained in Beautiful Writing’: Female Scribes in Roman Antiquity and Early Christianity.” JECS 6.4 (1998): 629-646. ———Guardians of Letters: Literacy, Power and the Transmitters of Early Christian Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Moss, Candida R. “Disability.” In Writing, Enslavement, and Power in the Roman Mediterranean. Edited by Jeremiah Coogan, Joseph Howley, and Candida Moss. Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming. How to Cite: Coogan, Jeremiah and Candida Moss. “Anonymous Female Calligraphers (Eusebius, HE 6.23.1)” Ancient Enslaved Christians. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. .

Role: Literate Workers Gender: Unknown Date: 90-150 CE Place: Unknown Language:  Gospel; Bios; Narrative Literary Genre: Letter Title of Work: Gospel of Luke Reference: Luke 1:1–4 Original Text: Ἐπειδήπερ πολλοὶ ἐπεχείρησαν ἀνατάξασθαι διήγησιν περὶ τῶν πεπληροφορημένων ἐν ἡμῖν πραγμάτων, καθὼς παρέδοσαν ἡμῖν οἱ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς αὐτόπται καὶ ὑπηρέται γενόμενοι τοῦ λόγου,  ἔδοξεν κἀμοὶ παρηκολουθηκότι ἄνωθεν πᾶσιν ἀκριβῶς καθεξῆς σοι γράψαι, κράτιστε Θεόφιλε, ἵνα ἐπιγνῷς περὶ ὧν κατηχήθης λόγων τὴν ἀσφάλειαν. (NA28 Luke 1:1–4) English Translation: Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. (NRSV Luke 1:1–4) Commentary: The context of this passage is the opening to the Gospel of Luke. The author here notes their reliance on the "huperetai of the word." The language is usually translated as either "ministers" or "servants," terms that in conjunction with the reference to “the word” have a theological resonance for Christian readers. In Greek the term can refer to any kind of service including subordinate workers, assistants employed in executions, and those who attended soldiers. The same term is used in Luke 4:20 of the attendant to whom Jesus hands the scroll in the synagogue. Commentary on Luke 4:20 has viewed this attendant as a lower status worker comparable to a tanna. We might reasonably infer that these invisible individuals were enslaved workers involved in the curation of oral or written sources for the Gospel of Luke. Keywords: Christian; Gospel of Luke, Literate Workers; New Testament Bibliography: Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1940. How to Cite: Moss, Candida R. “Anonymous Assistants (Luke 1:1-4).” Ancient Enslaved Christians. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. .

Role: Literate Worker Images: Detail of the Alexamenos Graffito (Photo Credit Brent Nongbri) Alexamenos Graffitto Line Drawing McClellan Gender: Male Date: Early 2nd - early 3rd century CE Brief Description: The image shows a man or young boy worshiping a donkey headed man who is affixed to a cross. Beneath the cross is a crudely made inscription in rudimentary Greek. The graffito was scratched into plaster on the wall of a room, usually identified as a paedagogium or school room, near the Palatine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is usually identified as one of the earliest images of Jesus. Initial Publication: Raffaele Garrucci, Un crocifisso graffito da mano pagana nella casa dei Cesari sul Palatino (Rome: Copi tipi della civiltà, 1856), 529-45. Find Spot: Internal wall of a building located on the south-eastern slope of the Palatine Hill in Rome. The building is usually referred to as the Paedagogium. The graffito was found on the south-east wall of room 7. Current Location: Museum Palatino inv. 381403, Rome. Material: Plaster Measurements: 38 cm x 33.5 cm Language: Greek Inscription: ΑΛΕ ΞΑΜΕΝΟϹ ϹΕΒΕΤΕ ΘΕΟΝ, ALE XAMENOS SEBETE THEON. ϹΕΒΕΤΕ English Translations: Alexamenos worships [his] God Alternate Translation: Alexamenos worshiping a god Commentary: Alexamenos was a second-century enslaved Christian child who was educated at the paedagogium (schoolroom) that is located on the Palatine Hill in Rome. His existence is noted in the famous Alexamenos graffito, which is generally regarded as one of the earliest images of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. In the image, Alexamenos is shown looking up at a donkey-headed man on a cross. Tertullian and Minucius Felix refer to the pagan view that Christians worshiped a donkey headed God (Ad Nat. 1.14.1-4; Minucius Felix 9.3; 28.7). In the image the crucified man (Jesus), is seen from behind. The cross is the  “T” or tau shaped cross known as a crux commissa. Above the crossbar there seems to be a tabula where the titulus (identifying title) would have been attached. Both Alexamenos and the crucified figure are wearing a short, sleeveless tunic known as a colobrium. This particular form of dress was associated with servile status and work. The donkey head itself was associated with servile status Given that the Palatine schoolroom is filled with graffiti that mention the names of students it is likely that both Alexamenos and the author of the graffito were enslaved children who were being educated as part of the imperial household. There is some external evidence of Christians in the imperial household during the Severan period (Tertullian, Scap. 4; See Euelpistus). Alexamenos is a Greek name meaning Alexander that was frequently used of enslaved workers in Rome (Solin, 1996). While some scholars have identified the graffito as evidence of hostility towards Christians or even evidence of the persecution of Christians in Rome, the graffito is more at home in the satirical context of playroom taunts. Many other examples of playful taunts have been found in the space. The graffito presents evidence that Christian and non-Christian enslaved people worked alongside one another. Keywords: Christian; Graffiti; Imperial Household; Inscription; Literate Worker; Rome Image Sources: Line Rendering of the Alexamenos Graffito. Made by Dan McClellan. Detail of the Alexamenos Graffito 2nd Century C.E., Rome © Brent Nongbri Bibliography: Keegan, Peter.  “Reading the ‘Pages’ of the Domus Caesaris: Pueri Delicati, Slave Education, and the Graffiti of the Palatine Paedagogium.” Pages 69–98 in Roman Slavery and Roman Material Culture, ed. Michelle George. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013. Harley-McGowan, Felicity. “The Alexamenos Graffito.” Pages 105-140 in The Reception of Jesus in the First Three Centuries. Edited by Chris Keith et al. London: T&T Clark, 2019. Schwaller, Tyler. “Picturing the Enslaved Christ: Philippians 2:6-8, Alexamenos, and a Mockery of Masculinity.” JECH 11.1 (2021): 38-65. Solin, Heikki and Marja Itkonen-Kaila, eds., Graffiti del Palatino I: Paedagogium (Helsinki: Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae, 1966), 210-212, 246. How to Cite: Moss, Candida R. “Alexamenos (Graf. Pal. I.246).” Ancient Enslaved Christians. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. .

Purpose Ancient Enslaved Christians is a collaborative project designed to make early Christian enslaved and formerly enslaved workers visible to both the scholarly community and the broader public. It is framed as an inclusive project that takes its inspiration from similar projects in Atlantic history and the study of the ancient world. As a resource it collects together information about these workers in a searchable database and provides a starting point for further research. In keeping with the grounding vision that enslaved workers should be centered in our conversations, the entries are organized around enslaved workers rather than the objects or texts that refer to them. For more information on the methodology informing this project please see our Methodology page. For more information on enslaved literate workers and their roles in general see our introduction to enslaved literate workers. All of the material contained here is free for non-commercial use in teaching, research, and academic publications providing that adequate credit is provided to the individual author. The essays, entries, methodology section, site text, and bibliography is covered by a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . For permission beyond the scope of this license please contact the project administrators. History and Goals The project began as an effort to document the presence and work of enslaved literate workers among early Christians in the first and second centuries CE. Though enslaved secretaries, copyists, and scribes had been noted by readers of religious and secular ancient literature, they were widely viewed as mouthpieces for their enslavers. Recent scholarship in book history and the study of Roman slavery has sought to correct this view. The second stage of the project, beginning Summer 2024, plans to document the presence of other enslaved Christian workers in the first and second century. While some entries on non-Christian enslaved workers already exist in the database, it is our aim to broaden the scope of the project further in order to create comprehensive data for enslaved women and enslaved literate workers who lived around the ancient Roman Mediterranean in the first and second centuries CE. This resource is constantly under development and is regularly updated. Steering Committee Candida Moss University of Birmingham Principle Investigator and Project Lead Chance Bonar Tufts University Project Lead Christy Cobb University of Denver Co-Principle Investigator and Project Lead Jeremiah Coogan Jesuit School of Theology Project Lead and Lead Epigrapher Research Fellows Darby Alvarenga , University of Denver Joseph Foltz , University of Denver Wake Gerbi , University of Denver Kimberly Majeski , University of Birmingham Lily Reed , University of Birmingham Matthew Webber , University of Denver Research Interns Max Foa , The Dalton School Savannah Irelan , University of Denver Abraham Samuel Milgrom , Greenwich Country Day School Technology Stage One of the development of this resource was overseen by Gabriela Cabrera. Stage Two of the development was overseen and coded by Abraham Milgrom , Greenwich Country Day School. Our Partners This first stage of the project was initially developed by Candida Moss and was supported by a grant from the Catholic Biblical Association on “Enslaved Literate Workers and Christian Book Culture.” We are enormously grateful to the Catholic Biblical Association for their support, without which this project would never have emerged.

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