Note 754 — Chapter III
Reading edition
Dr. Northcote indeed asserts that “there are actually more instances of alumni among the sepulchral inscriptions of the Christians than among the infinitely more numerous sepulchral inscriptions of the pagans.” (Page 136.) The accompanying Greek examples are characteristic of the class: ΠΡΟΚΛΗ ΘΡΕΠΤΗ, “To Procla, an adopted daughter;” ΠΕΤΡΟϹ ΘΡΕΠΤΟϹ ΓΛΥΚΥΤΑΤΟϹ ΕΝ ΘΕΩ, “Peter, a most sweet adopted son, in God.”
The titles mamma and tata, sometimes in their diminutive forms mamula and tatula, equivalent to our mamma and papa, occur in Christian and pagan epitaphs.