From: Edgar M. Krentz (emkrentz@mcs.com)
Date: Fri Jan 05 1996 - 20:49:35 EST
In response to the r3equest below:
>I'm an italian journalist specialized in archaeology and history, and this
>is my very first time here on CLASSICS just I got subscription few days ago.
>I'd like to ask you informations about the following phrase :
>
> SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS
>
>I've found it on the main wall of some churchs here in Italy. It's written
>on the stone in the following way :
>
> SATOR
> AREPO
> TENTE
> OPERA
> ROTAS
>
>It appears like 5 words of 5 characters each one, to make a 5 letter side
>square. Someone calls it the "magic square". No one knows what is it, where
>does it come from and who did it. In some places the carved stone is up side
>down.
>In possible, I'd like to know :
>
>1) if someone of you have seen it somewhere (with all possible details about
>the place).
>
>2) if someone of you has any information about it.
>
>3) any source reporting about it.
>
>Many thanks in advance.
>
>
>Giovanni Lattanzi
>E mail giolat@mbox.vol.it
The best discussion of this mystery square known to me is the following:
Hildebrecht Hommel, "Die Satorformel unbd ihr Ursprung," pp. 84-130 in
_Sebasmata. Studien zukr antiken Religionsgeschichte und zum fruehen
Christentum_ I. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 31.
Tuebingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1983.
The work was originally published in _Theologia Viatorum. Jahrbuch der
Kirchl. Hochschule Berlin_ 4 (1952) 133-180, and first reprinted in H.
Hommel. _Schoepfer und Erhalter. Studien zum Problem Christentum und
Antike_. Berlin: Lettner Verlag, 1956, pp. 32-79 with additions on pp.
141-146.
Hommel offers a number of different suggestions for decoding the square and
includes comprehensive references to earlier bibliography in his notes.
I hope that Hommel's work will provide the information you seek.
Cordially, Ed Krentz
Edgar Krentz, New Testament
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
1100 East 55th Street
Chicago, IL 60615
Tel.: 312-256-0752; (H) 312-947-8105
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