Text and Context of Ephesos Museum III 1072 (Antikensammlung, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien)/Cast Gallery H110 (The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford)

The influence and popularity of the legend of Abgar, King of Osrhoene, are difficult to overstate. Describing an episode from the life of Jesus of Nazareth, this apocryphal legend was widely disseminated across diverse Christian traditions from late antiquity through the medieval period and beyond. Among these, the Greek versions of the Abgar Story offer significant insights into questions that lie at the core of modern epigraphic research. The evidence of inscriptional transmission is remarkably extensive. It attests to a broad spectrum of contexts: public spaces such as city gates, courtrooms, and churches; liturgical and commemorative environments; and even domestic settings. The present contribution draws attention to the interpretive value of the Abgar narrative for our understanding of medieval epigraphic habits. By focusing on a door lintel from late antique Ephesus (modern-day Selçuk, İzmir, Turkey) inscribed with the text of this apocryphon, it further addresses issues concerning the display, presentation, and interpretation of inscribed artefacts within modern museological contexts.