I read an interesting article in a recent issue of the Israel Exploration Journal that intrigued but also saddened me.1 It is about 16 eulogiai (singular, eulogia) inscribed in Greek simply with the name “Solomon.” A eulogia, literally, “blessing,” is a small token that operated as a kind of good-luck charm, mostly associated with a particular Christian pilgrim shrine. Christian travelers frequently came home with eulogiai from pilgrimage journeys in the Byzantine period (fourth to seventh century A.D.).a The article is by L.Y. Rahmani, a longtime scholar at the Israel Antiquities Authority, now retired. He examines these Solomon eulogiai […]
