(Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 115.1) Frank R. Trombley-Hellenic Religion and Christianization c. 370-529, Volume 1. 1-Brill Academic Publishers (2014)

FRANK

R. T R O M B L E Y

Hellenic Religion and Christianization c. 370-529 VOLUME

I

Hellenic Religion and Christianization c. 370-529 Volume 1

Hellenic Religion and Christianization c. 370-529 VOLUM E 1

By

Frank R. Trombley

' 16 8*'

BRILL LEID EN | BOST ON

First p u b lish e d as a h ard b ack (set) e d itio n as v o lu m e 115 in th e Religions in the Graeco-Roman World series in 1993. First p a p e rb a c k e d itio n p u b lish e d as a set in 2001. Th is p a p e rb a c k (set) e d itio n p u b lish e d in 2014. Library o f C ongress C a talo gin g-in -P u b lica tio n D ata Trom bley, Frank R. H e lle n ic relig io n and C h ristian izatio n , c. 370-529 / b y F rank R. Trom bley. p. cm .— (R eligion s in th e G racco -R om an w orld , ISSN 0927-7633; v. 115) In clu d es b ib lio grap h ica l referen ces an d index. ISBN 9004096922 (set: alk. p aper). — ISBN 9004096248 (pt. 1: alk. paper) 1.

C h ristian ity a n d o th er relig io n s— R om an. 2. C h ristian ity a n d oth er relig ion s— G reek. 3. C h u rch

history— Prim itive and early ch urch, ca. 30-600. 4. R o m e— R eligion . I. Title. II. Series. BR128.R7T76

1993

261.2’2’09015— dc20

92-28631 CIP

ISBN 97 8 -9 0 -0 4 -27 4 7 9 -2 (volu m e 1 paperb ack ) ISBN 97 8 -9 0 -0 4 -27 8 2 4 -0 (set p ap erb ack ) ISBN 97 8 -9 0 -0 4 -27 6 7 7 -2 (volu m e 1 e-book)

nv, Leiden , T h e N etherlands. nv in co rp o rates th e im prin ts Brill, Brill N ijhoff, G lo bal O rien tal a n d H otei Publishing.

C o p yrigh t 1993 b y K o n in k lijk e Brill K on in k lijk e Brill

A ll rights reserved. No part o f this p u b lica tio n m ay b e reprodu ced , translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transm itted in a n y form or b y any m eans, electron ic, m ech an ical, ph otocopyin g, record in g or otherw ise, w ith o u t prior w ritten perm ission from th e publisher. A u th o riz a tio n to p h o to co p y item s for in tern al or p erson a l u se is gran ted b y K on in klijke Brill

nv p rovid ed

th a t th e ap p ro p riate fees are p a id d irectly to T h e C o p yrigh t C leara n ce Center, 222 R osew ood Drive, Suite 910, D anvers,

ma 01923, USA.

Fees are su b ject to chan ge. Th is b o o k is p rin ted on acid-free paper.

For Mary Kay

Beside the white sparkling marble quarries of Thasos Amidst the red walls and towers of Anastasioupolis Through the winding curves of the Nestos valley Beneath Azoros5 bleak akropolis walls Among the minaret spires of Xanthi Over sun-baked Via Egnatia looking west And a world away in the damp twilight of London.

C O NTEN TS Preface..........................................................................................................ίχ Abbreviations.............................................. ........................................... xiv I. The Legal Status of Sacrifice to 5 2 9 ............................................. 1 1. The Sacrifice in Late Hellenic R eligion............................ 3 2. The Status o f the Hellenic Cults in the Theodosian C o d e ............................................................................................ 10 3. The Varieties of Hellenic Religion..................................... 35 4. The Legislation against Sorcery......................................... 59 5. The Transformation of the Law after 438....................... 72 6. The Quasi-Justinianic Laws o f Zeno c. 481^484.......... 81 7. Conclusion................................................................................ 94 II. C h ristian izatio n ................................................................................ 98 1. Christianization and the Transformation o f Local G o d s............................................................................................ 99 2. The Social Context of Temple Conversions................. 108 3. Temple Conversions at Apamea, Alexandria and Palm yra.................................................................................... 123 4. Christianization of R ite...................................................... 147 5. C hristianization of the D ecurion C la s s ......................... 168 6. Conclusion............................................................................. 181 III. Gaza 1. The Cults o f Gaza in 395 .................................................. 2. The Urban Pagan Establishment.................................... 3. The Territorium of G aza...................................................... 4. The Destruction of the Temples in 402 ........................ 5. The Growth o f the Gazan C hurch................................. 6. The Church Establishm ent.............................................. 7. Conclusion..............................................................................

188 191 204 207 223 234 243

Appendix I: The Priority and Historicity of the Greek Version of Mark the Deacon’s Life o f Porphyrius of G a za .................................................... 246

v iii

CONTENTS

IV. Athens and A ttica........................................................................ 1. The Christianization of Attica and the Epigraphy....... 2. Hellenic Religion c. 400...................................................... 3. The Mid-Fifth Century....................................................... 4. The Social Background to the Survival of the Athenian C u lts....................................................................... 5. Conclusion...... .......................................................................

283 284 292 307 324 329

Appendix II : Did John Chrysostom Visit Athens in 367/8?......................................................................... 333 Appendix III: The Closure of the Asklepieion and Parthenon in 481-484 ............................. 342

PR EFA C E This book is not about paganism , nor is it about C hristianity. It is rath er about the phenom enon of Christianization* It seeks to iden­ tify and exam ine the points of conjuncture between the old and new religions* wherein the ordinary people of the Greek cities and their semi-Greek hinterlands accepted radical changes in their religious allegiances at the behest of C hristian bishops, their deacons and periodeutai, the monks, and ultim ately of the C hristian em perors. It thus avoids discussing “ pagans and C h ristians ’ 1 as separate com m unities except as starting points. It does not deal with the “ highest exam ples” of C hristian and Hellenic intellectuality like Proclus of Athens and T heodoret of C yrrhus, b ut rather w ith the ordinary folk embroiled in the daily business of religious life. Hellenic culture as exemplified in the philosophical schools and C hristian Sophistic had a pronounced religious coloring to it, but reciting H om er or w riting com m entaries on P lato’s Timaeus was not, stric tly speaking, a m an ifestatio n of religious practice, although the people who did this were involved in any variety of C hristian and Hellenic cults. Neoplatonism , which appeared in both Hellenic and C hristianized form, related to religious practice only to the extent th a t it gave theurgy a theoretical foundation or provided a target for C hristian polemics against sacrifice and the consequent influence of ill-willed daimones.1 I have in general avoided discussing the w ritings of intellectuals in favor of analysing their religious behavior instead. T here is bound to be some com m ent about the use of the term “ pag an ” , and so a brief disclaim er is necessary. T he pre-C hristian polytheistic religious world of the eastern M editerranean lands was, strictly speaking, m ade up of m any individual and localized cults (θρησκείοα) of the deities of earth, sea, and sky .2 T he groups who practiced the different cults were differentiated by linguistic background, geographical setting and world view. W hile these folk

1 The subject is variously dealt with in: E.R. Dodds* “ T h e u r g y The Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley 1951), 283-311. 2 Frank R. Trombley, “ Prolegomena to the Systemic Analysis of Late Hellenic Religion,” Religious Writings and Religious Systems7 cd. Jacob N eusner et al. (Atlanta

1989), 96f.

X

PREFACE

adm itted the existence in principle of m any gods, they were fre­ quently devoted to only one or two. In consequence^ term s like "polytheism/ ’ “henotheism /’ and “ pagan religion” are rather risky ways of characterizing complex phenom ena. Be th at as it m ay, I have discovered no good reason to avoid using the word “ p a g a n ” in contrast to “C hristian·' (which itself probably needs sharper defini­ tion) as a synonym for “ polytheistic,” or ridiculous catenas such as “ pre-C hristian A ram aic-speaking rustics who w orshipped the local Baals and A startes,” Λ11 the authorities who have recently w ritten books on late Greek religion have used the word “ pag an ” freely, and it would be pcdantic to do otherwise.^ I have at times referred to well-educated Greek pagans of the cities as “ H ellenes” and to the radicals of this group as “ H elle­ nists” , Both terms were employed by the ancient writers in the exact sense used in this book, and should be unobjectionable to the purist. T here were also “ C hristian H ellenists” , m asters of the Greek paideia who accepted the new religion bu t continued to cloak their writings in tim e-honored Atticism. Such taxonom ic distinc­ tions arc an im portant feature of ridding oneself of stereotypes; so long as they are not understood as absolute categories b ut as terms of relative description and convenience .4 I fail to see any derogatory m eaning in the term “pag an ” . If some scholars are troubled about hurting the feelings of generations long past, 1 cannot discern any scientific or em pirical necessity for such com punctions .5 My own work on late Hellenic religion and C hristianization began in Spcros Vryonis' Byzantine sem inar at the U niversity of California, Los Angeles in 1977.6 M y dissertation on this them e cam e out in 1981,7and an article published in 1985 sum m ed up my earlier f in d in g s .I t became obvious, however, th at it was im possi­ ble to discuss the phenom ena of polytheism ai)d C hristianization of Hellenic rite in the Justini anic period w ithout a carefully delineated study of the previous century and a h a lf (c. 370-529) when the real work of C hristianizing the L ater R om an Em pire was done. Am ple ■* Robin L, Pox, Pagans and Christians (London 1986). Pierre Chuvin. A Chronicle o f the Last Pagans (Cambridge, Mass. 1990). Ramsay MacMuJlen, Paganism in the Roman Empire (New Haven 1981). A much longer list could be drawn from articles. * See infra, Ch. IV and V, passim. 5 John Haldon, Byzantium in the Seventh Century (Cambridge 1990), 329, b Published as “ The Council in Trullo (691-692): A Study o f T he Canons Relating lo Paganism, Heresy, and the Invasions/' Comitatus 9 (1978). 1—18. ' The Survival o f Paganism in the Byzantine Empire during the Pre-Iconoclastic Period (540-727) (Ann Arbor University Microfilms, I9BI). 3 “ Paganism in the Greek World at the End of Antiquity: The Case of Rural Anatolia and Crecce,” H arvard Theological Review 78 (1985), 327-3Ö2.

PREFACE

xi

prelim inary work had already been done by the like of Jo hannes Geffcken, A .H .M . Jones and others. It becam c a m atter of taking this work to its logical conclusion by an exhaustive analysis of the law codes, epigraphy, and hagiographie texts. In this respect this book is nothing new at all, as m ost of the sources were edited before W orld W ar 1. Yet there is no com parable study of Hellenic religion and C hristianization, nor is it entirely clear why. Scholars have produced m any interesting studies th at have touched on the subject w ith them atically unified chapters. They have, however, often adopted the risky procedure of mixing evidence from divergent local and tem poral contexts as though Greek, L atin, Arabic, A ra­ maic, Egyptian, and A rm enian religiosity conform ed to some quasi-uniform standard of “ G raeco-R om ann polytheism that W2ts invariably interchangeable and hom ogeneous, and as though H el­ lenic religion rem ained always the same over m any centuries. Even if this were ultim ately proven to be the case (which I d o ubt), it does not recom m end itself as an a prion angle of attack at the beginning of a study. As a consequence, I have m ade certain well-docum ented local contexts the basis for this study. Once the social interactions and m echanics of C hristianization are better understood at places like Gaza, Athens, and the Lim estone M assif of the Antiochene, it will be possible to look m ore discerningly at other districts of the L ater R om an Em pire where the events and chronology are less obviously attested in the sources. This work has taken a num ber of lines of argum ent that were not originally envisioned, as for exam ple th a t pursued in A ppendix I on M ark the D eacon's life of Porphyrins of Gaza. T his is due in p a rt to the ill-considcred criticism of certain scholars, who have on occa­ sion m ade preposterous statem ents such as th at “ there was no paganism in the em pire after 395.” T he consequence has been a rather heavy-handed em phasis on the philological criticism of im ­ perial edicts, epigraphy, and hagiographie texts. Such an approach is inevitable in a climate of trendy scholarship. T he book which follows is therefore an austere one, designed to appeal to readers who want an exact understanding of how, where, and when pagan religion was displaced by Christian monotheism, and where it was not. T his book was w ritten in the space of less th an five years at five different institutions. In thanking the principal parties, I am aware th at others m ight fail to receive credit for some small bu t neverthe­ less essential contribution. I shall try to be com prehensive. T he actual writing was begun while I was a jo in t appointee at D u m b ar­ ton O aks and Georgetown University. I wish to thank Professors R obert Thom son, D irector of D um barton O aks, and Professor

PREFACE

Em eritus T hom as Heide of Georgetown U niversity for the g ran t of travel monies to conferences where I unveiled and discussed m uch that lies herein. Particular thanks goes to Professors Barisha Krekic and R obert Burns, S.J., whose support for Late A ntique and B yzantine studies gained me two years’ time as a visiting assistant professor at UCLA (1988-90), I did m uch w riting in the sum m er of 1988 as an N E H Sem inar m em ber with Professor Jacob N eusner at Brown University, and in the spring and sum m er of 1989 when I was a Fulbright Fellow at University of Thessalonike. For the latter 1 have to thank M r. C hip A m m erm an, D irector of F ulbright pro­ gram in Greece, and Professor Phaidon M alingoudis, my sponsor at the university. 'The book was completed at King’s College, U ni­ versity of London, where I served as lecturer in Late A ntique and Byzantine Studies, P articular thanks are owed to Professor Avcril Cameron> and to my heads of departm ent. Professors Geoffrey W aywell and Roderick Beaton. It was C harlotte Roueche who put me in touch with Ju lia n Deahl. the Senior Classics Editor at E.J. Brill. M any colleagues read completed chapters and m ade salutary suggcstions. First among these was Averil Cam eron, followed by Gail Lenhoff {Slavic languages, U C L A ), A ndrew Dyck (Classics, U C LA ), and the editors of the series at E.J. Brill, The intellectual roots of this study arc hardly recondite. They stem from an interest in the transform ation of culture, social orga­ nization, and economic life in the L ater R om an period. It steers a wide path between the two rather obsessional subjects of the em peror Ju lian the A postate’s adhesion to Hellenic religion until his death in 363 and the em peror Ju stin ian the G reat’s supposed final suppression of pagan cult in 529. T he real work of C hris­ tianization, the “great transformation5', took place between 363-529, At the beginning of this period most cities were perhaps halfC hristian and their ierritoria mostly pagan (with some notable exceptions). By its end, Hellenic cult and belief had become a broken reed, the religion of a substantial m inority w ithout any institutional basis except th at of small urban cliques and isolated village societies. Yet the problem of C hristianization in this epoch has had few students. M y own thinking on the subject has profited principally from the writings of A .H .M . Jones, Johannes Geffcken, and G. de Ste. Croix whose angles of approach seemed best suited to the sorts of questions asked here, I have devised m any argum ents th at came from no particular book. T he first great intellectual dcfcft owed here is to Speros V ryonis, my dissertation adviser, who interested me in the subject

PREFACE

Xlll

of interpreting hagiographie texts as an aid to the study of popular religious culture and social organization. T he predom inant— and at times exclusive— role he played in finding me em ploym ent be­ tween 1987-92 while this book was being w ritten guaranteed its completion. I m ust thank, secondly, Professor Tim othy E. Gregory, who as Kress Professor of Postclassical Greek at the A m erican School of Classical Studies introduced me to the study of epigraphy and archaeology when I was the G ennadeion-D um barton Oaks fellow at the Am erican School of Classical Studies in Athens in 1980-81. The influence is here ap parent in the stress on the exhaus­ tive analysis of epigraphy, the interpretation of pagan theophoric names, and the reading of m aterial, non-narrative sources such as the archaeology of tem ple conversions. London, 7 Ja n u a ry 1992

A B B R E V IA T IO N S Hury, LRK Cod. lust. Cod. Theod. DA CL IG 1LCV Jones, Later Roman Empire MAM A OGJS PG PGM PL

John B. Bury> History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian? 2 vols. (London 1923). Codex lus tinianus in Corpus luùs Civilis. Ed. P. Krucçcr, 2 (Berlin 1929), Theodosiani Libri XVI cum Constilutionibm Sirmondianis. Ed, T, M omm sen, P. Krueger, and P.M, Mayer. 2 vols, in 4 (Berlin 1905). Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie. Ed. F. Cabrol and H. Leclercq (Paris 1903-50), Inscriptions Graecae 1-14. Ed. A. Kirchoff et alii (Berlin 187390). inscriptions Latinae Christiana?, Veteres. Ed* E. Diehl 1—3 (Berlin 1925-31). The Later Roman Empire 284-fiQ2: A Social Eamomic and Administra­ tive Survey 1-3 (Oxford 1964). Monumenta Asiae Minons Antiqua 1—6 (M anchester 192H-39), Orientis Graeci inscriptions Setecîae. Ed. W. Dittenberger 1-2 (Leipzig 1903-5), Patrologia Cursus Completus, Series G raeco-L atina. Ed. J.P. Migne (Paris 1857- ), Papyri Graecae Aiagicae: Die griechischen Zauberpapyri. Ed. Karl Preisendan?: et alii 1-2 (Stuttgart 1973-74). Patrologia Cursus Completus, Series Latina. Ed. J.P. M igne (Paris

1B84-· ).

SEG

Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. Ed. P. Roussel et alii. (Leiden 1923- ).

CHAPTER ONE

T H E LEGAL ST A T U S O F S A C R IFIC E T O 529 A.D. T he com pilation and prom ulgation o f the Thcodosian Code, which was formally effected in 438, put the Hellenic cults of the E astern R om an Em pire on a new footing . 1 Previous im perial edicts and rescripts on th at subject had until that date been directed to the officium of a single Praetorian Prefect .2 O n other occasions such local officials received them as the Prefect of the City (Rom e), the Dux of O srhoene, the A ugustal Prefect and C ount of Egypt, the V icar of the Five Provinces of Spain, and the Proconsul of Africa ,3 T he inclusion of the rescripts on pagans and Hellenic cult practices w ithin the codification is em phatic proof that the rescript of 9 April 423, which m ade reference to the “ pagans who have survived, although we believe that there be none left / 5 had been form ulated on the basis of inadequate d a t a / T he earliest law against the pagan sacrifice dated from the reign of C onstantine the G reat (17 Decem ­ ber 321).5 This law, with all subsequent enactm ents, had the force of edicts or an im perial law of general force (edictorum vires aut sacra generalitas), as the prolegom enon to the Theodosian Code states .6 It adds th at all new lawTs should be valid in both halves of the empire after the transm ission of suitable im perial letters and their publica­ tion by the bureaus .7 T he incorporation of anti-pagan legislation into the new code indicated the intention of the im perial governm ent to system atize a struggle which m any u rb an bishops and rural monks had waged 1 Theodosiani Libri XVI cum Constitutionihus Sirmondianis, cd. Theodor M ommsen, Paul Krueger, and Paul M. Mayer, 2 vols. in. 4 (Berlin 1905), Cf. The Theodosian Code and Novels and the Sirmondian Constitutions 9 tr. G. Pharr et. aL (Princeton 1952). See also: Pcriklès-Pierre Joannou, La legislation impériale et la christianisation dt Γempire romain (311-476) (Rome 1972), The last named work provides a chronology of the imperial decrees relating to sacrifice and Hellenes. 2 Cod. Theod. 16.10 passim. 3 Cod. Theod. 16.10.3, 8, 11, and 15. + Paganos qui supersunt, quamquam iam nullos esse crcdamus. Cod. Theod.

16.10.22. * Cod. Theod. 16.10.1. h Cod. Theod., Gesta Senalus Romani de Theodosiano Publicando (Mommsen-Krueger, 2, lines 4'-?). 7 Ibid., lines 33-39.

2

CHAPTER ONE

against the pagans of their com m unities for m any decades. T he life o f Porphyrius of Gaza, w ritten by M ark the Deacon, m ost fully docum ents the dynamics of this conflict, which often found bishops deadlocked with wealthy urban dynasts who adhered to the old religion,B These latter used their control of the m agistracies and large funds of m anpow er in town and countryside to resist the efforts of the local churches to catechize the urban artisans and poor, as well as the villages of agriculturalists inside the city’s territorium or rural adm inistrative zone. W here opposition was strong, a bishop like Porphyrius had to procure a special rescript to pursue his program , which in this case included the destruction of the M arneion, the great temple of the C retan-born Zeus Marnas* T his occurred, it should be added, well before two early edicts of A rcadius and Theodosius II (15 Novem ber 408 and 30 A ugust 415) had come out ,9 T he Theodosian codification left little doubt about the legal remedies available to bishops who had the am bition to C hristianize their towns by force. It m ust be borne in m ind, how­ ever, th at this power accrued to the churches gradually and only through the dispensation of the secular arm . The fate of M arcellus, m etropolitan of A pam ea in Second Syria, dem onstrates w hat was in store for those who overlooked this reality , 10 The laws against paganism collected in the sixteenth book of the Theodosian Code extend from 8 M arch 321 to 14 N ovem ber 435. They contain accurate if brief statem ents about all the proscribed social renditions by ôf legal necessity, for a m agistrate cannot rule against a practice which is not described In typologicalty accurate terms in his law book under the code (as opposed to the common law) system. Hence the need of the T heodosian Code for precision and comprehensive coverage of all possible cases. There is a second consideration brought forw ard by A .H .M . Jones, namely that the existence of a law does not presuppose widespread public obedience to it, but rather often reflects simply the “ pious aspiration7’ of the m agistrate .11 It will be seen in due course that Jo n es 5 dictum th at the "laws were interm ittently and sporadically enforced” applies accurately to the repression of Hellcnic religion. The stiff penalties attached to certain offenses suggest, if anything, rath er frequent violations. ü Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 2 and 4. 0 Cod. TkeodA6AQA9 and 20. 10 Infra7 C h 4 II, Sect. 3. 11 A .H .M . Jones. The Later Roman Empire 284-602; A Social, Economic and Adminis­ trative Survey (Oxford 1964), viii. This work i.s hereinafter cited as Jones, Later Roman Empire.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

3

/. The Sacrifice in Late Hellenic Religion T he inclusion of the earliest laws in the codification of 438 reflects the existence of ongoing social and cultural conditions. The over­ riding concern uf successive em perors and m agistrates lay in the persistence of the pagan sacrifice (θυα ία ), which sought to achieve the favor of the gods on the principle of do ut des by the consum ption of a “victim '3, w hether of anim al or vegetable origin, by fire and a subsequent common meal (ιερόν δ ε ίπ ν ο ν ) . 12 T he sacrifice was a symbol of public solidarity in the pre-C hristian urban or agricultu­ ral com m unity. T he officers of the sacrifice and their functions are known m ainly from inscriptions of pre-C hristian antiquity. Officers included public: m asters of’ ceremonies, official recorders of sac­ rifices, tem ple sweepers and cleaners (ÖLCtKOVOi), priests, official woodcutters, and officers of the subsequent banquet, which in ­ cluded harpists, trum peters, cooks, and wine pourers. At oracular tem ples like those of Apollo at Delphi and K laros there were seers (μάνται) who m ade oracular pronouncem ents, whereas at the celebration of mysteries there m ight be a leader who interpreted symbol and myth (εξηγητής). T he city council m ight elect them to office, but some priesthoods, like those at Eleusis in A ttica and Philae in U pper Egypt, were hereditary. O thers yet could be purchased. These m en took oaths th at they would perform the rites in the regularly ordained fashion .13 Institutions of this sort certainly persisted through the reigns of Ju lia n the Apostate (361-363) and Valens (364—37S) in the Greek East, under whom the previous legislation against sacrifice became largely a dead lette r .14 The real repression of sacrifices and the cadres of their officiants began with the law of 21 D ecem ber 381 given by em peror Theodosius I .15 T he rites of the public sacrifice varied from place to place. Accurate descriptions of their practice from Late A ntiquity are generally lacking, except the account of a nocturnal camcl sacrifice which the pagan A rabs of Sinai perform ed , 16 and the more general treatm ent found in the sections of A m m ianus M arceilinus 5 Histories pertaining to the stay of Ju lia n the A postate at A ntioch .17 The 12 See the detailed description of the Panathenaia, the sacrifice, and the dis­ tribution of meats in: Sylloge Insmptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger, 3rd ed., vol. 1 (Leipzig 1915), no. 271, line 24f. i;i Royden K. Yerkes, Sacrifia in Greek and Roman Religions and Early Judaism (London 1953). 74-80. 14 Infra, Ch. II, n. 46. 15 Infra, Ch. L Sect. 2. lb Yerkes, Sacrifice, 81. Nilos of Ankyra, Narrations. PG 79, 613A -C , 17 Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 22.13.3 (wax tapers and a votive image of

4

CHAPTER ONE

desired precision is found in a m uch earlier docum ent, an inscription attached to the peace treaty concludcd between M iletus and M agnesia-on-M aeander concluded in 196 B .C .:18 T h e stew ards in office are to p u rch a se the b est b u ll [o b ta in a b le ] in th e m on th o f H cra io n a t the an n u al fair. T h e y are to ex h ib it it to Z eu s at the b eg in n in g o f seed tim e o n the first o f the m o n th K r o n io n w ith th e priest and p riestess o f A rtem is L eu k o p h ry cn e, tin: stephanophorus. the sae.red hera ld , a n d the p u b lic sacrificer in the city. T h e officers o f th e b oys are to send n in e h o y s, ea ch w ith b oth p a ren ts liv in g . T h e officers o f the girls are to sen d n in e girls, ea ch w ith b oth p aren ts livin g. A t the e x h ib itio n o f the h u ll th e sacred herald is to p rav, w ith the p riest and p riestess, th e stcp h a n o p h o r u s, th e boys and girls, the m ilita ry officers, the ca v a lry officers, th e stew ard s, the secretary o f the co u n cil, the a u d itor a n d the gen era l, for th e safety o f th e city an d the lan d , the w o m en a n d ch ild ren and all the in h a b ita n ts o f the city an d th e lan d , for p ea ce an d w ea lth a n d b ea r in g o f g rain and a ll o th er fruits and p o ssessio n s.

T he last several phrases succinctly sum up the idea of the peacc of the gods. T he inscription continues: T h e p erm an en t stcp h a n o p h o r u s, w ith the p riest and p riestess o f A rtem is L eu k o p h ry en e, lea d th e p ro cessio n on the tw elfth o f the m o n th A rtem isio n and sacrifice (θ ύ ε ιν ) the e x h ib ited bull. In th e p ro cessio n w ith th e m are to be th e sen a te, the p riests, the a p p o in ted a n d lo tter y -c h o scn m a g istra tes, th e y o u n g men* the y o u th s, the b oys, th o se w h o h ave w o n th e c o m p e titio n s in the L eu k op h rycn e, and all oth ers w h o h ave w o n crow n c o m p etitio n s. T h e stcp h a n o p h o r u s, lea d in g the p ro cessio n , is to b rin g the w ood en im a g es o f all the tw elv e g o d s in th eir fin est attire. H e is to erect a th olos in th e agora at the a ltar o f the tw elve g o d s. H e is to p repare three b ed s, as fine as p o ssib le . H e is to fu rn ish p layers, a flutist, a piper, and a h arp ist. O n th e tw elfth o f the m o n th A rtcm isio n th e stew a rd s are to fu rn ish three v ictim s w hich th ey are to sacrifice to Z eus S o sip o lis, to A rtem is L eu k op h ryen e, a n d to A p o llo P yth ios; for Z eu s a ram , th e fin est o b ta in a b le, for A rtem is a g o a t, and for A p o llo a h c -g o a l, sa crificin g to Z eu s on the altar o f Z eu s S o sip o lis, to A rtem is an d A p o llo on the altar o f A rtem is. T h e p r iests o f th ese g o d s are to h ave th e c u sto m a ry p ortions. W h en they sacrifice the b u ll th ey arc to d istrib u te to a ll the p a rticip a n ts in the p rocession .

Dea Caelestis), 22.14 (sacrifice to Zeus on Mount Casius), and especially 22.12 .

lu tia m s . .

,

victimasque inmm erabiies caedit).

10 Die Inschriften vûn Magnesia am Marauder, ed. Otto Kern {Berlin 1900), 98. The translation given here is borrowed almost completely from Yerkes. Sacrifice9 75f., as this version is practically definitive.

THE LEGAL STATUS OE SACRIFICE TO 529 A,D.

5

The ram, the she-goat, and the he-goat they are to distribute to the stephanophorus, the priestess, the polemarchs, the presiding magis­ trates, the temple wardens, the magistrates, and those who have rendered public service. The stewards (oikonomoi) arc to distribute these portions. When the stewards have exhibited the bull, they are to farm him out that he may be nourished by a contractor. The contractor is to lead the bull to the agora; he is to collect from the grain merchants and other merchants what is fitting for its nourishment. It is better for those who give. The stewards ar e lo record this vote at the temple of Zeus, T he splendor of these events will have dcclincd by the late fourth century A.D., and particularly from the time of Theodosius the G reat (379-395) onward. The later narratives found in the C hris­ tian biography of Porphyrius of Gaza (c. 400) and the pagan life of Proclus the Neoplatonist (c* 430-485) suggest hardly anything about public rituaL The C hristian wxiter no doubt suppresses w hatever inform ation he had, but the pagan w riter, M arinus of Neapolis, makes it clear that public cult consisted of little more than the traditional litanies or processions, but w ithout sacrificial ritual. T he Hellenes of Proclus’ circle observed private sacrifice with all its ram ifications and variations and talked publicly about their activities .19 T his circum stance suggests that the private reli­ gious sacrifice rem ained largely above the law, particularly in cities like Athens which had kept a relatively large pagan population through the mid-fifth century. The legislation compiled in the Theodosian Code, then, aimed more at suppressing public ceremonial than interfering w ith p ri­ vate conscience. A variety of sources including L ibanius 5 oration in behalf of the temples and Damascius* life of Isidore the sophist confirms this dictum , as does a system atic analysis of the provisions of the T heodosian Code relating to sacrifice and Hellenism, T he sacrifice connected w ith m agical arts, on the other hand, did not belong to the realm of private conscience, inasm uch as it included devices widely believed in during this epoch and designed to m a­ nipulate the behavior and dam age the health of private individuals. It therefore constituted an illegal sacrifice alius generis w hich, if its efficacy were proven by the standards of the day, required legal penalties, including the death penalty.™ ,g Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. For texts, see: Papyn Graecae Magicat: Die griechischen Zauberpapyn^ cd. Karl Preisendanz et. al., 2 vols. (Stuttgart 1973-74), Numerous other examples, in­ scribed on all sorts o f media, have appeared in the recent numbers o f Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Cf. the erotic charm composed in a lead tablet (Antinooupo-

6

CHAPTER ONE

T he character of the Hellenic sacrifice as popularly practiced emerges most clearly in the O ration 30 of Libanius, the Pro Templis, which belongs apparently to the year 386, over half a decade before the comprehensive law of Theodosius the G reat which banned all forms of public cult and processional, even those which did not entail anim al sacrifice but consisted merely of offerings in incense, the hanging of garlands, and so forth .21 T he oration Pro Templis dealt with the ravages of monks not only against tem ple buildings, but also against the pious behavior of rustic pagans who m ade offerings to the tutelary deities of the land when they sat down to eat. I f we may trust Libanius" understanding of the legal issue, such acts of religion had not been com prehended w ithin the laws against sacrifice to date, which had public ceremonial in mind, Libanius not only describes the phenom ena of Hellenic cult, but provides a brief history of the legislation on th at subject since the death of Ju lian the Apostate in 363. These d a ta are of vital significance for understanding the charactcr of popular pagan religion in the subse­ quent century, as the law dem onstrably worked only sporadically against this cultic substrate. Libanius sets forth the traditional argum ent that the t:peace of the gods5' (pax deorum), or. as he puts it, the goodwill of the gods toward men (θεώ ν . . . εύνο ια τοΓς ά ν θ ρ ώ π ο ις ),22 including the lis, Egypt. 3rd—4th c.), SEG 26 (1976-77], no. 1717. For an anthropological discussion and suggested paradigms, but no treatment of Late? Antique sorcery and magic, see the; essays collected in Witchcraft and Sorcery? ed. M ax Marwick (London 1982). For the Latin context in Late Antiquity, see: Richard Kieckhefer, Aiagic in the Middle Ages (Cambridge 1989), 19-42. Kicc.khcfer argues elsewhere that the magic of invoking daimùnes is in fact a “religious” phenomenon ιο be distinguished from ^natural5' magic. He also concedes that “popular” or folk sorccry ultimately worked its way into high culture. Ibid., If. This supposition agrees with rny own discussion of ihcurgy. Infra, Ch. I. Sect. 3 and 4. It is perhaps at variance with Peter Brown's thesis expounded in: The Cult of ike Samis: Ita Rise and Function in Latin Christianity (Chicago 1981), 17-20. Kicckhcfer’s arguments have the merit of being both empirically and theoretically grounded. 21 Libanius, Or, 30 (“To the Emperor Theodosius. For the Tem ples’'} in Selected Works, t.r. A.F. Norman. 2 (London 1977), 92-151. Ibid., 102f. This concept, of the “peace of the gods!> has prevailed in many cultures, ändern and modern. Cf. the implicit formulation found in Origcn Contra Cei.mm 5.26—28, See also the comments of Henry Chadwick (tr.), Contra Celsum (Cambridge 1965), xv. Augustine of Hippo was aware of a similar rationale to that of Libanius in the years after (.he sack of’ Rome by the Visigoths in 41Ü: “And the first duty that presented itself [to me] was to reply to those who hold the Christian religion responsible tor the wars with which the whole world is now tormented, and in particular for the recent sack of Rome by the barbarians, t hey ascribc this to the Christian prohibition of the offering of abominable sacrifices to dem ons.1' De Civitate Dei 2,2, Translation citcd from Augustine, Concerning the City of God against the Pagans, tr. H. Bcttcnson (London 1972), 49. There are (.wenliel h-cen tu rv examples of accusations against the Christian religion for upsetting the peace o f

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

7

m aintenance of Rom an im perial power ,23 depended on the tra d i­ tional sacrifices. As he puts it: iCO ne god contends for the m ight of Rome, another protects its tutelary city, another yet sustains an estate, providing it w ith good production” (ό μέν τις τω σκήπτρψ

τφ τής "Ρώμης συναγωνίζεται, ο δέ ταύττ] σώζει πόλιν υπήκοον, οδέ τις αγρόν άνέχει παρέχων εΰ πράττειν).24 Periodic shortfalls in local cereal production ieft the cities and their territoria liable to starvation and dependant on the grain of Egypt, which the edu­ cated Hellene saw as the gift of Sarapis, even though carried in regular shipm ents by an im perial m erchant m arine adm inistered and m anned by Christians:'^ And it is not only in Rome that sacrifice has been maintained. They are also performed in the great and mighty city of Sarapis, with its lieet of ships whereby it makes the produce of Egypt common to all mankind. Egypt is the work of the Nile, and offers feasts to the Nile inducing him to flood the fields, and if these are not performed in due season and by due persons, he loo would refuse. I feel that, in awareness of this, the eager supporters of abolition [of sacrifices] have refrained from abolishment of them» but have allowed the river to be feasted in the time-honored ritual for the customary reward. What, then? Since there is not a river on every estate bestowing the blessings of the Nile upon the land, must the temples in them cease to exist and be misused in whatever way these splendid fellows [the monksl decide? I would like to put this question to them. Will they dare come forward and propose the abolition of the Nile feast, and with il the banning of the land from partaking of it, and from the sowing and reaping and production of grain and all its products and their transportation to all the world as now? Libanius thus makes a M editerranean-w ide analogy of the goodwill o f the gods and applies it to the highly localized conditions which prevailed in the têrritorium of Antioch. H is description of the Nile cults provides an accurate sum m ary of those which persisted in the the gods. The manifesto of the Boxer rebellion of 1900 in China conlaincd a clause dealing with this: “The Catholic and Protestant religions being insolent to the gods and extinguishing sanctity, rendering no obedience to Buddha, and enraging Heaven and Earth, the rain-douds no longer visit us. . . Peler Fleming, The Siege at Peking (New York 1959), 35. The importance of ongoing sacrifices is recognized in late V edic Indian religion as well: “ The world began with a stupendous sacrifice performed by the gods. T o maintain it in good working order constant repetitions of that original sacrifice are necessary . Otherwise the universe would quickly degenerate arid chaos would come again.35 This led to the brah­ m ans1 powerful position, for only they were qualified by their knowledge of ritual to carry through the requisite sacrifices* A.L, Basham, The Sacred Cow: The Evolution of Classical Hinduism (London 1989), 30f. 23 Quoted from Libanius, “ For (he T em ples” (Norman 2, 128f.).

24 Ibid., 130Γ 25 Ibid., 130-133.

8

CHAPTER ONE

Nile river valley at least through the mid-fifth century, from C ano­ pus in suburbicarian A lexandria to the environs of Shcnute of A tripe’s W hite M onastery near Antinoupolis, and beyond to the tem ple of Isis at Philae near the southern extrem ity of the Rom an frontier .26 The seemingly archaic ring of this argum ent on behalf of the private sacrifice held sway in num erous.localities in Syria and Asia M inor too, as the criticism of local texts and inscriptions dem onstrates .27 Libanius provides the lengthy description of a typical offering to the tutelary gods of the land. T he orator carcfully distinguishes the licit from forbidden rituals:27* So what basis is there for the charge, save the mere assertion that they have performed an iUegal sacrifice? Rut this sort of argumenta­ tion will not suffice for the emperor. “They did not sacrifice, then?” will be the comment» Of course they did, but for a banquet, a dinner, a feast, and the oxen were slaughtered elsewhere, no altar received the blood offering, no p a rt o f the victim was burned\ no offering o f meal began the ceremony y nor did libations follow it.

If people assemble in some beauty spot, slaughter a calf or sheep, or both, and boil or roast it, and then lie down on the ground and eat it, I do not see that they have broken the laws at all. You, O emperor, have pul no legal ban on these acts. By banning the performance of one specific action you automatically permit everything else. So even if they were in the habit of drinking together amid the scent of every kind of incense, they broke no law, nor yet if in their toasts they sang hymns and invoked the gods, unless indeed you intend to use a man’s private life as grounds for accusation. It used to be the custom for country folk to assemble in large numbers al the homes of village notables at festival time, to make a sacrifice and then hold a feast. This they did while ever it was permitted lo do so, and therefore all the rest, with the exception of sacrifice, remained permissible. So, summoned on the customary day} they dutifully honored it and the shrine in a manner that involved no legal risk. That they also saw fit to offer sacrifice no single person has ever said or heard, alleged convincingly or believed. Nor yet could any of their enemies assert that he either had personally witnessed a sacrifice or could produce an informant about one. But if he had these proofs, or even one of them, who would have put up with arrests, a hue and cry, and charges made by these people, not in Flavianus’ [patriarch of Antioch] court but in a real court of law? Burnt offerings, particularly those in which the bloody parts of victims were tossed onto the altar as first fruits to the gods, were repudiated by the existing legislation (βωμού δέ ούδενός to α ίμ α Infra, Ch, IX , passim. *7 Infra, Gh. V II and V III. Quoted from Libanius, “For the T em ples’’ (Norman 2, 117f.) (my italics).

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

9

δεχομένου ούδέ μέρους ούδενος καομένου), as was the scat­ tering of cereal or meal and the pouring of wine libations. T he scent of burning anim al flesh was thought by Hellenes like Porphyry of Tyre (ob. 301) to a ttrac t bad daimones (πονηροί δαίμονες), w hich caused disease, “ possession” in the form of insanity, and other phenom ena considered harm ful to hum ans, particularly in conncctiori with soliciting oracles .28 O n the other hand, no ju rist— if one believes Libanius— construed the law in such a m anner as to ban hym ning and invoking the gods with incense-burning (but not alight on an altar) am idst the consum ption of food and drink. T he principle that banning one act perm itted all else (εν ειπών δειν μή ποιειν ταλλα πάντα άφήκας) provided the legal technicality necessary to avert prosecutions for sacrifices where circum stantial evidence suggested their perform ance, but where the absence of witnesses and in p articular the absence of altars left the case moot. T he monks who broke up these festivities with the tacit approval of patriarch Flavian I of Antioch (381^104) did not recognize the nicities of legal form, and it m ust be adm itted th at Libanius had m uch to hide in m aking these argum ents, being likely to understate the clear prevalence of pagan cultic activity in the territorium of Antioch. T he lim itations set on the rituals requisite for L ibanius> legal cultic banquet seems a bit formulaic, and to belong m ore to the ethos of urban dinners where C hristians m ight be present and inclined to report illegal activities. It rem ains difficult to see how a convinced Hellene or rural pagan, if free from hostile observation, would not toss some few bits of the repast onto a fire on a m akeshift a lta r in honor of the local deities. O ne could hardly have expected less educated nr illiterate rustics to engage in such legal sophistries in closed groups. Nor does L ibanius 1 argum ent that the failure to prosecute those who allegedly sacrificed in these situations in the regularly constituted law courts prove that sacrifices were not oiTered.29 H is argum ent rather more suggests that civil society, as opposed to the m onastic, populated with m any recent converts, felt an easy tolerance for its previous coreligionists, and that, as in m ost other situations, inertia governed the behavior of men more often than religious fanaticism , It should be added th at urban Hellenes who knew th tpaideia will have found— as Ju lian the A postate did— exceptionally detailed examples of sacrificial ritual capable of easy im itation in the H om eric poems and other texts. Proclus, head of the N eoplatonist 2e Infra,

Ch. II, Sect, L 29 Libanius, “For the T em ples” (Norman 2, ll8 f.).

10

CHAPTER ONE

school in fifth-century A thens, certainly knew this lore in great detail, in addition to m any arcane theologies and theurgies. In the countryside rustic common sense, fear for the good harvest, and awe of the divine seen in the forces of nature will have informed the non-C hristian as to w hat rituals and first-fruit offerings the gods required. It rem ains to be seen how the legal system through the Theodusian codification of 438 sought to restrict the forbidden cult practices and w hat their precise state was in the first four decades o f the fifth century. II. The Status o f the Hellenic Cults in the Theodosian Code

T he Theodosian Code, as assem bled, edited, and published in 433, constituted a blanket statem ent of the governm ent of Theodosius II (408—450) on how it intended to deal with the extant Hellenic cults. It proves that the reality of ongoing sacrifices and other m anifesta­ tions o f the old religion c. 438 was patent. No reason otherwise existed to revive the im perial cdicts of the previous century dating back to the reign of C onstantius I I (337-361) except to lend force to the argum ent th at C hristian emperors had always forbidden sacrifice and th at it had become expedient once again to reaffirm those prohibitions. These docum ents, m eant for jurists noted for their brevity in rhetoric and con tem pt for irrelevancy, necessarily dealt with the phenom ena th at a provincial governor and the notaries of his officium m ight encounter in the course of a y e a r’s duties. A bundant evidence exists to prove that, while the public sacrifices in the cities had ceased by the early fifth century, private worship of the sort described in the previous section of this chapter proved to be ineradicable even by the most stringent penalties. It is not so m uch our task here to trace the legal disabilities laid on those convicted of sacrifice as it is to test the m entality of the governm ent tow ard the cultural and dem ographic reality of this phenom enon. T he codification m ade edicts originally published in light of conditions in circum scribed localities such as Proconsular Africa, O srhocnc, and Egypt binding throughout the em pire. This act dem onstrates not so m uch a thirst for the eclectic or some such m isapprehension, for example, th at African cults existed in identi­ cal form in ethnically different parts of the em pire, as the desire to make known a set of principles em bodied in (he diverse im perial laws. They presuppose th at a judge w ith a sense of discretion could easily apply this corpus of past edicts during his deliberations in a given case. It was not so m uch a m atter of m isinterpreting or m isapplying the conditions found in one locality w ith reference to

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

11

those in another as it was of trying cases with a set of established, if flexible, principles. T he laws uf Theodosius II (408-450), particularly those p u b ­ lished most recently prior to the codification in 438, reflect a certain grudging realism about the survival of Hellenes and their ineradi­ cable sacrifices. A law of 9 April 423 given at C onstantinople calls upon “ the pagans who have survived” (paganos qui supersunt) to heed all recent legislation. T he law adds the clause: “although we would like to believe there be no [pagans] left any longer” (quamquam iam nullos esse credamus),30 O ne can account for this notion only in light of the fact th at Theodosius, who ran the palace like a m onastery and recited the psalms daily with his im perial sisters, was m uch di­ vorced from the realities of provincial a f f a i r s . T h i s pious hope m ust have draw n cynical smiles from the quaestor and his staff of notaries who drewr up the law, for cities such as A phrodisias in C aria and Athens, to cite two examples, had m any wealthy and influential Hellenes among their curiales or m em bers of the city council even decades la te r .32 A nother law. coming a decade later (14 Novem ber 435), reflects a greater sense of reality :33 We interdict all persons of a hardened pagan mind because of the accursed immolation of victims and the condemned sacrifices and the other acts forbidden by the authority of the ancient sanctiones. We order all their groves, temples, and precincts, i f they remain intact even now, to be destroyed by the decree of the magistrates [of the cities] and cleansed by the erection of the revered sign of the Christian religion [the cross]. T he law prescribes the death penalty for anyone who flouts its provisions. Addressed to Isidore, the praetorian prefect of O riens (c. 29 January 7 435—4 A ugust 436) the em perors 5 decree had in view rural groves, tem ples, precincts, and sites of sacrifice {Jana templa delubra) of a sort frequently attested in the sources of the period: groves and other places sacred to Artem is in “ inner Bithyn ia ” (c. 443^446) ?35 and the temples of the Syrian villages, which the monks had begun to penetrate in large num bers only during the episcopate of Flavian I of Antioch (381-^404).36 Some tem ples 30 Äl 32 ■*3 Λ 3fl 3*

Cod. Theoâ. 16.10.22. Jones, Later Roman Empire, 173. Infra, Ch. IV and V I. Cod. Theod. 16.10.25, V enante Grumel, Traité d ’Etudes byzantines I; La chronologie (Paris 1958). 3fi7. Infra, Ch. V II. Sect. 1. Infra, Ch, V IIL

12

CHAPTER ONE

rem ained open and accessible to persons who sacrificed in spite oi the law: at the Asklepieion in Athens, where private sacrifice seems to have accom panied incubation for the cure of m aladies until the 4fi0 3s; in the temples at C a rrh a e -H a m m where the solar, lunar, and planetary cults were practiced with im punity; and in the Isis tem ­ ple at Philae where, even if the m aintenance of the cult was gu aran ­ teed by a treaty with the barbarian Blemmyes and N obadae, m any Hellenes came to worship openly / 7 M any temples had been “ de­ stroyed by the com m and of the m agistrates ’ 5 {praecepto magistratuum destrui) by this time, but possibly m ore often than not by the connivance or direct action of bishops like M arcellus of A pam ea (c. 388) and Porphyrius of G aza (in 402) who supervised the literal pulverization and burning of the urban tem ples .313 O th er buildings continued to stand, however, to which an enterprising Hellene like the younger Asklepiodotus of A lexandria m ight gain access* T he latter sacrificed at the closed tem ple of Isis at Canopus In the 480’s. T he place had kept its statuary right under the nose of the p a tri­ arch of Alexandria and rem ained a mecca for the practitioners of sundry acts of divination and incubation, keeping a M editer­ ranean-w ide reputation, but particularly at Athens, through the 480’s.39 T he "destru ctio n 5' of temples often m eant no m ore than the rem oval or storage o f the cult effigies, altars, and ornam ental statuary, and in some instances the sealing off of the interior, but this rule did not apply to the splendid temples in Athens until half a c e n tu ry after the publication of the law of 435. T he bishops or m agistrales often erected the cross to purge such tem ple buildings from the taint of the old cults (conlocatione venerandae Christiana# religionis signi expiari), as the archaeological record makes clear .40 This proved to be a simple expedient in the urban ethos, bu t in the countryside, where num inous powers were often thought to inhere in groves, springs, and stones, monks strode about not only burning trees and incising crosses on objects of every kind, b ut physically m aking the sign of the cross w ith a m ovem ent of the hand upon themselves and all who came to them for help, and instructed persons to perform this act when they passed sites of pagan reli­ gious aw e .41 To put it briefly, m any shrines “ rem ained intact even 3> Infra, Ch, IX , Sect. 3 (Philae). Ch. IV, Sect. 3 (Athens). On Harrän in general, see: J,B. Segal, “ Pagan Syriac M onuments in the Vilayet o f U rfa,” Anatolian Studies 3 (1 9 j3 )’ 97-119. For a translation o f Jacob of Sarug’s sermon on the fall of the idols, see: Ibid., 109, 36 Infra, Ch. II, S ect 3, and Ch. i l l , Sect. 4·. Infra. Ch. IV, Scct. 3, and Ch, V s Sect. 2. 10 Infra. Ch. II. Sect. 2. 41 Infra! Ch. V II, Sect. 1.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

13

now” (qua etiam nunc restant integra) in the phrase of the law, in a m ateria] and cultural sense, ju st as the cross had begun in equal m easure to invade the m aterial and cultural ethos of the old cults. The circum stances of H ellenic cult adum brated by these recent laws of 423 and 435 had a history of regulation since the times of C onstantine the G reat (324—337 in the East). T he p u rp o rt of all the earlier legislation is sum m ed up in the com prehensive law of the co-em perors Theodosius the G reat, Arcadius, and H onorius given at C onstantinople 8 N ovem ber 392.42 Although issued to Rufinus, Praetorian Prefect of O riens (392-395). it was circulated through­ out the em pire. It proscribed even private sacrifices ofdevotion— as opposed to those perform ed for m agical purposes— in com prehen­ sive fashion:4"* No person of any class or order whatsoever . . . shall sacrifice an innocent victim to senseless images (carentibus simulacns) in any place at all or any city. He shall not in secret wickedness kindle lights with fire to a household deity (iar), with a wine libation (merum) to his genius, with incense to his penatest lay incense, or hang garlands, {serta). Tf anyone bent on sacrifice dares to immolate a victim [hostia) or to consult quivering entrails (spirantia exta), let the party who was in­ formed against by an accusation permitted to all persons receive the sentence appropriate for treason (maiestas), even though he sought nothing contrary to, or against, the welfare of the emperors. For it suffices to constitute an enormous crime that any person should wish to break down the very laws of nature to investigate forbidden matters, to disclose hidden secrets, to attempt forbidden practices, to seek to know the end of another’s life, or to promise the hope of another’s death. Penalties for treason were laid on those who sacrificed, the assum p­ tion being that where devotional sacrifices existed, the more dangerous, politically m otivated sacrifices designed to reveal the nam es of future m onarchs m ight also crop up or even flourish ,44 T he ageing Theodosius the G reat can hardly have failed to reckon on the possibility of plots against his young sons, the co-em perors nam ed in the prologue to the law, particularly by persons who used divination as a tool to rally support to a given candidate. T his was not, however, the senior em peror’s sole intention, for humiliores— persons below the legal standing of senators, soldiers, curiales, and bishops— who could hardly expect to rise to power, fell under ban as well. N or can most persons who lit candles, scattered incense or

Cod. Theod. 1β.ID. 12. 43 Cod. Theod. 16.10.12. prooem. and 1. 44 Infra, Ch. 1, Sect. 3'

14

CHAPTER ONE

poured libations to tutelary deities, except certain prom inent H el­ lenes, have often been viewed as potential conspirators. The law is remiss in one sense of its characterization of images: while some H cllcnic philosophers and C hristian bishops regarded cult effigies as purely m aterial objects, m any others of the same ilk regarded them as inhabited by the numen of the deity w orshipped (pagans) or as the haunt of a bad daimon (Christians) ,4j For these latter idols were anything but “ senseless” or devoid of divine force. T he crime of treason theoretically left the p erpetrator's life and property for­ feit, but its enforcement had gradations of severity which the second section of the law outlines, namely the confiscation of the building where the acts of sacrifice took place. The second section of the law of 392 provides direct evidence of the Hellenic cults 1 energetic character in the last decade of the fourth century, as a careful reading reveals :45 B u t if any p erson sh o u ld v en era te, by p la cin g in cen se before th em , im a g es m ad e by the w ork o f m ortals an d d estin ed to suffer the ravages o f tim e, a n d if, in a r id icu lo u s m a n n er, he sh o u ld su d d e n ly fear the effigies w h ich he h im s e lf h as sh a p ed , or sh o u ld b in d a tree w ith fillets, or sh o u ld erect an a lta r o f tu rf th at h e has d u g up, or sh o u ld a ttem p t to h o n o r v a in im a g es w ith th e offering o f a g ill, w h ich e v en th o u g h it is h u m b le, still is a c o m p le te o u tra g e a g a in st relig io n , si]eh a. p erson , as o n e g u ilty o f the v io la tio n o f religio n , sh all be p u n ish ed by the forfeiture o f t h a t h o u se or la n d h o ld in g in w h ic h it is proved that he served a p agan su p erstitio n . F or w e d ecree th at all p la ces sh all be a n n ex ed to our fisc, if it is p roved th a t th ey h ave reeked wich the v ap or o f in cen se, p rovid ed , h o w ev er, that su c h p la ces are p roved to h a v e b elo n g ed to su ch in cen se-b u rn ers,

W ith the closure of many temples and cessation of the public sacrifices a private individuals, including the curiales wdio held the traditional priesthoods, transferred the cults to their own estates. W here m arble altars at the entrances of temples had ceased to exist, men w ere now erecting turf altars {erecta ejfossis ara cespitibus) 7 often, it seems, near sacred trees which were decorated with fillets (redimita mttis arbore).*1 T h at Hellenes were still buying cult images from the appropriate craftsmen is implicit in the gram m ar of the law: “ if someone should . . , suddenly fear the images which he him self has fashioned” {Si quis . . . metuens subito quae ipse simulaveril), the Oil the subject of animate images, see: Edwyn Be van. Holy Images: An Inquiry into Idolatry and Image- Worship in Ancient Paganism and in Chiisliaiiiiy (London 1940). 24-27 and 91-93. 4h Cod. Thû-od. 16.10.12.2. Quoted mainly from Pharr, Theodosian Code, 474. Cf. the siting of altars in proximity to sacred trees in early Greek, Semitic, and V edic religion. Mircea Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion (New York 1959), 269Γ. and 279Γ.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

15

fashioner being the person who commissioned the m aking of the image, although m any m em bers of the priesthoods m ay have culti­ vated artisan talents in thal direction .40 This fact hardly brings surprise. M arinus of Neapolis indicates th at the protagonist of his biography, the N eoplatonist Proclus (ob. 485), sponsored the m anufacture of images, and refers to another phenom enon m en­ tioned in the law, the sacrifice of more “ hum ble” offerings (humiliore licet muneris praemio) if the cost of anim als were prohibitive, as for example incense, whey, and potana cakes.4y T he governm ent would discover the difficulty of controlling private sacrifices in the coming centuries, the few cases which crop up in the sources being only the tip of the proverbial iceberg ,30 Even the threat of confiscating buildings and estates would not deter the determ ined “ incense burners ’ 5 (tunficantes). T he coemperors regarded those who stole into public temples and their prccincts, or the private property of others, to sacrifice, as particularly infamous, as the third section of the law of 392 indi­ cates, probably bccausc access to rural temples, famous and locally known alike, proved difficult to control (Sin vero in templis fanisve publicu ant in aedibus agrisve alienis tale quispiam sacrificandi genus exercere temptaverit) A rural Bithynian diviner of the fifth century

.5L

(c. 443—446) advised his clients to sacrifice at the local idol-tem ple (ειδω λειον) in order to gain a hearing for their petitions, and practically anyone could gain clandestine admission to the great Isis tem ple at C anopus near A lexandria after its closure, dowrn to the 480;s . 12 M any ancient temples m ust have stood on the rural estates of landed m agnates, curiales, and senators. The law provided that scrupulous care be taken to ascertain w hether the owner of the property connived at the sacrifice (si ignorante domino usurpala con­ silient ), and only if this proved to be the case was the fine of 25 pounds in gold (1800 solidi) to be assessed of the owner, and in 48 I take “fearing” [metuens) to mean ‘'manifesting religious awe” in the sense of feeling the necessity to propitiate the divinity represented by the image with sacrifices to preserve the “peace of the gods” . There is substantial evidence to suggest that the image at times provoked physical fear as well, because of the daimnn or numtn thought to reside within it. The worshipper thus had to “ soothe’* the divinity with sacrifices in order to avoid provoking a hostile kratophariy {“ manifestation of power” ), or, put another way, its “daimonic rage” . Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1 (Zeus Bronton?) and Ch, V III, Sect, 2 (evidently the local Syrian ba *al). ™ Infra, Ch. IX, Sect. 2. 50 A series of sixth-century examples of this phenomenon arc treated in Frank R. Trombley, “Religious Transition in Sixth-Century Syria,” Proceedings o j the UCLA Jfyzantinists'' Colloquium^ Scct. 2 (publication data not yet available). 51 Cod. Theod. 16.10,12.3. 57 Infra, Ch. V II, Seer. 1, and Ch, IX, SecL Ί.

16

CHAPTER ONE

equal m easure on the persons who actually perpetrated the ritual. The am ount was, needless to say, quite a small fee to pay in order to assure the free practice of one’s religion for a senator or curialis, whose annual income m ight be com puted in hundreds of thousands of solidi** especially if he gave thought to the relationship between the peace of the gods and the good harvest. The law betrays the tendency, on the other hand, for m en to borrow the buildings and lands of others for cultic purposes. O ne can hardly doubt that pagan or partially C hristianized renters and smallholders at times m ade use of a C hristian landlord's properties and buildings to perform sacrifice. Such acts could be used to discredit one’s ene­ mies in prefccturah provincial, and urban political infighting, but the issue of doubt about finding the responsible party hardly viti­ ates the clear purport of the law th at clandestine sacrifices were com m on c. 392. The last section of the law of 8 N ovem ber 392 lodges the respon­ sibility of enforcing its provisions with the governors of the prov­ inces (literally indices here, as they handled cases of crim inal litigation), the city councils, and the defensors of the cities (indices ac defensores et curiales singularum u rb iu m )^ Local political conglom er­ ates often had the power to suborn these officials through bribery or hints to them to look the other way: the law refers to this as “favoritism ’: (gratia) and “ carelessness” (incuria) >a truly euphem is­ tic characterization. At any rate, the law prescribed a fine with “ judicial action 55 of unspecified character to punish them , the sum being 30 pounds in gold or 2160 soiidL The toleration of the O lym ­ pia w ith its a tte n d an t private sacrifices at C halcedon by its archbishop Eulalius and the connivance of the Prefect of the City of Constantinople Leontius (c. 434 35) suggest that this fine trou­ bled few persons even in ostensibly C hristian cities* It was left to the monks of rural ß i thy nia. as in the territorium of Antioch, to break up these proceedings. The threat of St. H ypatius of the m onastery at Rufinianae to attack the prefect physically w ith his fellow archi­ m andrites sufficed to secure the cancellation of the games and festival / 0 A fine of 30 pounds in gold (2160 sotidi) fell on a provin­ cial governor who deferred litigation on such m atters in the hope of allotting the case to the “ circular file55. His ojjicium, becam e liable for that fee collectively as well, presum ably if it failed to report his 53 Ari income of 120,000 srdidi prr annum or above 1,600 pounds in gold was not uncommon* belonging to the middle, range of senatorial incomes. Jones, Later Roman Empire, 55 4f. Cod. I'ktvd* 16JO. I?.4. 55 Infra, Ch. V II. Sect. I.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A,D.

17

connivance, a potentially serious hardship for low-level bu reau ­ crats even if shared out proportionately to their salaries. T he law of 8 N ovem ber 392 largely reaffirmed the previous legislation of Theodosius the G reat, a series of edicts and rescripts issued over the previous decade betw een 381—391. T hey had apparently received little public cooperation. These earlier enact­ m ents are w orth reviewing insofar as they treat the phenom ena of cult which persisted into the next century. The first of these pro­ scribed diurnal and nocturnal divinatory sacrifices by the “ consul­ ter of uncertain events” (incertorum consultor), who at tim es did so in sacred precincts and tem ple buildings .56 Issued in the nam es of the co-em perors G ratian, V alentinian II, and Theodosius on 21 De­ cem ber 381 at C onstantinople, it reflects the concerns of the lastnaraed, the eastern em peror at the time, and perhaps relates to fear o f conspiracies sim ilar to those which gained notoriety in the tim e o f Valens (364-378).57 Im perial dccrec at tim es allowed temples to rem ain open as a specific exception to the usual rule if their use was tied to tra d i­ tional civic festivals, so long as public sacrifice was eschewed. T his rule goes back to the law of 30 Novem ber 382 issued by G ratian, V alentinian II, and Theodosius to Palladius, dux of O srhoene, the T ranseuphratesian province which had Edessa as its capital :50 By the authority of the imperial consistory (publicum consilium) we decree that the temple shall he continually open that was formerly dedicated to the assemblage of throngs of people and now also is for the common use of the people, and in which images are reported to have been placed which must be measured by the value o f their art rather than by their divinity. We do not permit any imperial response that was surrepti­

tiously obtained to prejudice this situation. In order that this temple may be seen by the assemblages of the city and by frequent crowds, your cxpericncc shall preserve all celebrations of festivicies, and by the authority of our imperial response, you shall perm it ike temple to be open, but in such a way that the performance o f samfices forbidden therein may not be supposed to be perm itted under the pretext o f such access to the temple.

The address of the law to Palladius, dux of O srhoene, implies that a pious C hristian soldier in com m and of the provincial cavalry ariihmoi m ight, on occasion, have interfered with such public cerem onial on the ground that it violated the laws against sacrifice, despite the fact that the provincial governor had jurisdiction over criminal affairs. T he primary' and initial purpose of the law, therefore, may 56 Cod. Theod. 16.10.7.

57 Infra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. 50 Cod. Tktod. 16,10.3. Adapted from Pharr, Theodosian Code, 473.

18

CHAPTER ONE

have been to resolve conflicts between the civil and m ilitary ju ris­ dictions in Osrhoenc, having emerged as it did from a resolution of the im perial consistory (publici consilii auctoritate). The civic festivals of Edessa reveal traces of the survival o f the tem ples and procès^ sions m entioned here even in the early sixth century,5y The traditional procession of the effigy of A thena in the sacred boat from the Piraeus to the Akropolis whose survival is attested by a late fourth-century inscription^ probably went on in the next century as well. Plutarch, son of Nestorius. who appears in the inscriptions altern ately as sophist and philosopher, and who apparently endowed the N eoplatonic school with considerable properties, personally funded the P anathenaic procession on three occasions before his death in 410 (ος καί τρ ις ποτί νηόν

Άθηναιης έπέπλασσεν νουν έλάσας ιερήν):00 T h e demos o f E rcch th cu s h ave set up a [sta tu e o f J P lu ta rch o s, king o f fr h eto rica l an d p h ilo so p h ic a l] d isc o u r ses, w h o th rice sa ile d the sacred ship and m oored it at th e tem p le o f A th en a , h a v in g p ou red ou t great w ealth .

T he occasion certainly required lavish preparations apart from the construction of the processional vehicles, including m eat, wine, and possibly specie for the participants and onlookers, Tf no hint of public sacrifice survives iri the inscription, the perform ance of private offerings can hardly be doubted, particularly as such per­ sonal acts are well attested in M ar in u s’ life of Pro cl us for the m iddle of the next century *61 T he three Prim ithcnaia TVirn tinned in the inscription probably belong to the last two decades of P lu­ tarch's life> c. 390-410. and most likely well after the prom ulgation of the law of 392, which did not derogate the earlier law of 382 concerning non-cultic processions to temples. H im erius, an A thenian sophist who lived in the reign of Julian the Apostate (361—363) and died in the 390’s., provides a detailed contem porary description of the P anathenaic procession in his oration “ To Basileios on the O ccasion of the P anathenaia at the 50 T he chronicle o f Joshua the Stylite reports the persistence of a festival at Edessa “ at which the heathen talcs were sung” in 497/8 A,D, No sacrifices are reported, but there took place processions with lit candles, the burning of incense, vigils, singing, and so forth. Joshua the Stylite, The Chronicle, tr. W. Wright (Cambridge 1882}, 20f, Other ceremonies are reported, Ibid., 18. 23, and 35- The general situation in Syria at this time makes it most probable that private sacrifice persisted. Supra, Ch, I, n, 50. 60 fvscripiiom s Graecae 3/2: hiscnpiiones A tticae A etatis Romanae, ed . W. Dit ten berger (Berlin 1882), no. 3318. On the date, see; II J . IMumenthal, ‘cj29 and Its Sequel: W hat Happened to the Academy?” Ryzantion 48 (1978). 373f. 61 Infra, Ch. IV , Sect. 3. ‘ '

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

19

Beginning of Spring.” W ritten for Basileios, who as “ proconsul” m ust have been the civil governor of A chaea, this oration, if ideal­ ized, represents the kinds of furbishm ent th at a wealthy m an like Plutarch will have striven for and devised :62 I wish to relate to you a detailed account about the custom of the city and panegyris to which you are coming. It is pleasant and admirable not only to see the Panathenaia for oneself, bat even to say something about the Hellenes when the Athenians send the Sacred Trireme to the goddess in this panegyris. The ship begins by putting to sea out of the gates as if from some calm harbor. [The Trireme], being moved from there as if against a sea without waves, is pulled through the middle of the thoroughfare, which comes down straight and level from the upper parts [of the city] and separates the stoas arrayed on either side of it, where the Athenians and other folk conduct business [the Agora], Priests and priestesses, all of them Eupatrids, crowned with garlands, some of gold, others of flowers, arc the complement of the ship. The ship, stately and high in the air, is led in circles as if with sea waves lying beneath, and the priests and priestesses, equipped with many wooden poles athwart, lead the ship (το σχάφος) without hindrance to the hill of Pallas, [the Akropolisl- From there, I think, the goddess overlooks the panegyris and the entire holy time of the month (ιερομηνία). An ode will release the ship’s cables, which ode the Athenians sing as a sacred chorus, summoning the wind for the ship that it would be present and fly in the manner of a sacred ship. And the chorus, I surmise, knowing the Kean ode which Simonides set forth in the middle of the sea, follows it directly with lyric poetry (τοίς μέλεσι), and, as if sending a fair wind, blows against the stern and thus drives the ship (την ολκάδα) by the breeze. There is a story about the Egyptian river Nile that, when the sun rides in the middle of the sky and brings about the summer season, and when [the Nile flood] pours over the land of Egy pt and hides the tilled fields, Egypt appears to be the high sea, navigable and fit for ships. But the Sacrcd Trireme of the Parthenon, not bound by some incredible Egyptian flood, sets forth across dry earth. But clearvoiced breezes from Attic flutes, resounding clearly, drive the ship onward. Such civic observances as these easily passed the test of the law on processions to temples, No hint of sacrifice exists, and H im erius’ view that A thena, a deity often invoked by Proclus a century later, oversees the procession from the Akropolis, is expressed in term s divorced from cult. Such well-turned phrases as these can hardly have evoked the charge of sacrificing to a female daimon from a C hristian critic. The sponsor of the Panathenaic procession had to provide the monies for building the Sacred T rirem e, the tim ber 62 Himerius, Declamations et Orations, ed, Aristides Colonna (Rome 1951), 194f.

20

CHAPTER ONE

needed for the poles to push the vessel, the gold and floral garlands, and the musical instruments. It seems that the Eupatrid priests and priestesses, obviously members of the curial class, also formed the chorus, with their education in the Greek paideia assisting the task of lyric recitation. The sponsor of the festival presumably funded a public banquet as well, a survival of the old liturgy connected with public sacrifice. One can hardly imagine interference with private acts of sacrifice amidst the crowding of the inner city during the Panathenaic procession. It seems probable that ordinary pious Christians could and did participate in the festivities as onlookers. Nor can it be doubted that Christian Athenian Eupatrids, men and women of curial rank, would feel a degree of social pressure and personal longing to participate in these doings, tied as they were to the Greek paideia. This rule would apply particularly to recent converts .63 Ilim erius not only sums up Simonides 3 Kean ode, but also quotes a phrase, “most beautiful of all stars” (αστέρων πάντω ν ό κάλλιστος), from Sappho, Fragment 133, in his oration .64 To return to the law of 30 Novem ber 382, an urban com m unity known for its avoidance of sacrifice such as Edessa could easily rely on im perial favor in keeping its temples open. In places where the old cults were deeply entrenched like Athens, little choice existed except to tolerate the public cérém onial in the pious hope that private sacrifices would be kept to the m inim um .65 T he statues wrere themselves to be contem plated as works of a rt rather than as the antitypes of deities wherein the numen m ight reside {simulacra femnturposita artispretio quam divinitate metienda). Even the traditional public vows {vota) at temples, an annual ceremony of R om an R epublican origin, m ight be celebrated so long as sacrifices did not vitiate established law (omni mtorum celehntate sermia audoritate nosin). This law rem ained in general force as a result of the T heodo­ sian codification despite the provisions of the comprehensive law of 8 Novem ber 392, wrhich seem to contradict it. T he essence of the three other early laws of Theodosius the G reat p u t in the codification of 438 require notice prim arily because of the ongoing phenom ena of which they provide an adequate descrip­ tion. T hus the law of 25 M ay 385, given at Constantinople, was included because of the continuing Etruscan practice of exam ining the livers of sacrificial victim s :66 63 For the Christian Eupairids of .Athens, cf, infra, Ch. IV , S ect 1. 61 Himerius (Colonna, 195). bD On the control of civil life in Athens by prominent Hellenes, rt] infira, Ch. IV, Scct. 2 and 4. Cod. Theod. 16 .10.9. Quoted from Pharr, Theodosian Code, 473.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

21

N o m ortal sh a ll a ssu m e the a u d a city o f p erform in g sa crifices, so th a t by th e in sp ectio n o f th e liver and the p resa g e o f the en tra ils o f the sacrificial v ictim s, he m a y o b ta in the h o p e o f a v a in p ro m ise, .or, w h a t is w orse, he m ay learn th e future by an accu rsed co n su lta tio n . T h e torture o f a very b itter p u n ish m e n t sh a ll th rea ten th o se p erson s w h o , in v io la tio n o f ou r p r o h ib itio n , a tte m p t to e x p lo re the truth o f p resen t or future even ts.

The rhetoric is striking. T he second of these laws, th at of 24 February 391, given at M ilan, simply takes up the issue of sacrific­ ing an innocent victim ( insontem vktimam) and of entering a tem ple “w hether on the road or in a city for the purpose of adoration” (vel in itinere vel in urbe adoraturus). This phrase points once again to the frequenting of rural temples, as if in the m ind of the Hellene sacrificing outside the city lim it somehow m itigated the offense. T he law stipulated a fine of 15 pounds in gold .67 T he later com pre­ hensive law of 8 Novem ber 392 erased this penalty and indicated the less precise but m ore dangerous “ com petent sentence according to the precedent of treason” (ad exemplum maiestatis . . . sententiam competentem), which m ight entail the execution of the crim inal.5fl T he third law, published 16 Ju n e 391 and sent to Evagrius the Augustal Prefect of Egypt and Rom anus C ount of Egypt, had m ore specific conditions in view :09 L et the p ow er o f sa crific in g be g r a n ted to no o n e , let no o n e m a k e th e rou n d s o f the tem p le s, let n o o n e h on or sh rin es. L et th e m recogn ize th a t p rofan e a c cess is restricted for th em by the o b sta cle o f our la w to the ex ten t that, if so m eo n e co n triv es a n y th in g at all co n ce rn in g th e g od s or th in g s sacred con trary to our p ro h ib itio n , h e d ep riv es h im s e lf o f a n y acts o f m ercy {indulgentiis). I f a n y g o v ern o r or n o m e official (iudex) enters p o llu ted p la ces (polluta loca) d u rin g the ten u re o f his a d m in istra tio n , sa crileg io u s d efiler th a t h e is, he sh a ll b e co m p e lle d to p a y our fisc (aeTarium) fifteen p o u n d s in g o ld , and h is officium an e q u a l su m , u n less th ey resisted h im w ith th eir c o m b in ed force.

Conditions in Egypt following this date, and that of the codification of 438, tu rn all this rhetoric into som ething of a joke. N either this law nor later edicts set up any such obstacle (nostrae legis obstaculum), except in some unusually sensational cases* Persons still m ade the rounds of the temples (nemo templa circumeat)— an ironic phrase— even in the 480's, for access to the Isis tem ple at C anopus proved

67 Cod. Theod, 16,10,10. eö Cod. Theod. 16.10.12.1. 69 Cod. Theod, 16.10.11.

22

CHAPTER ONE

easy despite its closure ,70 T he Nile river winds some 200 miles between Canopus on the doorstep of A lexandria and the southern term inus of the province of Aegyptus, where the T hebaid begins. T he A ugustal Prefect and his officium resided at A lexandria, a city w ith a fair m easure of political, ecclesiastical, and adm inistrative headaches .71 It m ust have fallen to the C ount of Egypt to police sectors outside the Delta, but he can hardly have acted except in response to specific com plaints, the frequency of which is unknown, due to the distances over which he operated* The law seems to have been a retroactive confirm ation of the behavior of Theophilus, patriarch of A lexandria (385—412), who led the urban demos in the destruction of the Serapeum earlier th at year, the great tem ple of Sarapis which had given the city, in the phrase of the Hellene E unapius of Sardis, “ the sem blance of a sacred w orld” (ιερά τις ην οικουμένη).7* The Greek ecclesiastical historians of the next cen­ tury, Sozomen, Socrates, and T heodoret of C yrrhus, treated this act as if it were the end of the pagan cults o f Aegyptus proper by sim ply defaulting on the discussion of later rases. C anopus aside, entirely different conditions prevailed up the river in First and Second Thebais, where Shenute of Atripe, hegumen of the W hite Monastery* led a truly popular w ar of great intensity against the temples and priesthoods there during the next century .73 The law of 391 appears to represent an attem pt to mop up the resistance of the Hellenes to the fa it accompli of the destruction of the Serapeum in Aegyptus only, the business of the Thebaic provinces being left to future edicts which never cam e or to existing laws. The Hellenes of Alexandria had apparently in the m eantim e taken their business to other temples in the D elta region, like the temenos of Isis at Canopus, which were outside the im m ediate grasp of p a ­ triarch Theophilus and the mob of monks and secular zealots who had participated in the m ayhem and demolitions of 391. T heophi­ lus later led his retainers out to C anopus, some 14 kilometers north-northeast of A lexandria, inflicted some dam age on the tem e­ nos, and dispersed the Hellenes there. T he C anopic tem ple had apparently become the cult center and rallying point of the Alexan­ 70 For detailed analysis o f urban and rural Egypt, sec infra, Ch. II, Sect. 3, Ch, V, and Ch. IX . 71 Praefectus Augustalis is for some reason not indexed in Jon es, Later Roman Empire. 72 Eunapius of Sardis, Liues of the Philosophers and Sophists, tr. Wilmer G. Wright (London-Cambridge, Mass. 1921), 420, lines 2 f For the date, see John B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death Justinian, 1 (London 1923), 368f. This work is hereinafter cited as Bury, LRE 1. 73 Infra, Ch. IX , Sect. 1.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO

d 29

A.D.

23

drian Hellenes, bu t had a prestigious reputation throughout the M editerranean world and received m any visitors .74 Theophilus* liquidation gangs did not finish the job, as the idols, a rudim entary priesthood, and the repute of the place survived for nearly another century, until its final incineration during the patriarchate of Peter I I I M ongus (482-489),75 T he decline of the cults in the Nile delta and basin owed m ore to the unofficial war in the countryside conducted by the patriarch and his monks against the temples and to the general decline in Hellenic belief th an to im perial edicts, which in this instance merely underw rote a process already under way w ith the prom ise of civil and m ilitary support. T here rem ains the task of exam ining the legislation of the co­ em perors Arcadius and H onorius, and of their successors. This aim ed to supplem ent th at of Theodosius the G reat which, as has been seen, was em bodied most fully in the com prehensive law of 8 November 392.76 Apart from the two very late laws of 423 and 435 that were considered at the beginning of this section, there were eleven laws issued on the problem of ongoing sacrifice and other phenomena of late Hellenism between 7 August 395 and 8 Ju n e 423. O f these, probably seven were given at either Rome or Ravenna, and applied to conditions prevailing in the western provinces, including Africa and Spain. Every one of these laws was issued in the nam es of the co-emperors East and W est, and had binding force throughout the R om an oikoumene. T he commission which codified the im perial edicts at C onstantinople in 438 perhaps saw the relevance of these laws to conditions in the East and included them in the selection, but caution is indicated here, as the codification was intended to be com prehensive rath er than selective, and was com pleted w ith a view to its eventual ratification by the Senate at Rome and the western em peror V alentinian III (425^-55), O n balance, one is inclined to treat the laws addressing conditions in Italy, Africa, and Spain with some skepticism when looking for evidence about the state of affairs in the eastern provinces, except where such phe­ nom ena have a universal attestation or are inherently probable. The problem s of interpretation connected with these suppositions arc considerable. T h e earliest of these eleven laws, given 7 August 395 at C onstan­ tinople, aimed at tightening up the enforcem ent of existing laws 74 Rufinus of Aquileia, Historia KccUsiastim 2.26. The incident is discussed in detail infra, Ch. II, Sect. 3. For the edition o f this text used, cf. infra, Ch. II, n. 135. 75 Infra, Ch. IX, Scot. 2. 76 Cod. Theod. 16.10.12.

24

CHAPTER ONE

respecting heretics as well as pagans. After indicating th at the latter had continued to enter temples and perform sacrifices, the law requires provincial and urban officials to enforce the laws of Theodosius the G reat, including the im position of fines, confisca­ tions, and executions. The law prescribes capital punishm ent for provincial governors (moderatores) remiss in diligence .77 These of­ ficials had to contend w ith wealthy, powerfully entrenched local factions, and the choices proved to be difficult, but no evidence has come to light in this inquiry to suggest that any governor wras actually punished for such negligence, nor is it probable in light of the cases o f G aza and C arrh ae-IIarrân , whose cults enjoyed tacit im perial toleration after 395 .76 O ne could hardly convict provincial governors of complicity with the local Hellenes if the governm ent in C onstantinople itself turned a blind eye to these abuses. T he unof­ ficial pretext for tolerating the cults of G aza lay in the em peror A rcadius’ concern for its revenues .79 The reasons in the ease of C arrh ae-H arrän are unknown. T he priesthoods of the u rb an Hellenic elites survived until this time. T he law of 7 Decem ber 396 given at C onstantinople revoked the privileges given them by previous em perors :80 Let the privileges w'hich were conceded by ancient law to the minis­ ters, prefect, and hierophants of sacred mysteries, or by whatever name they arc called, be altogether abolished. Let them not con­ gratulate themselves that they are fortified by a privilege whose profession (professio) is known to be condemned b y taw. The origin and natu re of these privileges is difficult to trace, but some m ust have derived from the not so long-past reign of Ju lia n

77 Cod. Tküôd. 16.10 13 7H Infra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 2. This is not the place to cite the very extensive liter aLure aboul the survival of Semitic polytheism at Carrhae-Harrän. For a relatively recent summary with bibliography, see: Ilse Rochow, “ Zu einigen oppositionellen religösen Strömungen.'3 Byzanz im 7. Jahrhundert: Untersuchungen zur Herausbildung des Feudalumas? ed. F. Winkelmann (Berlin 1978) 233-236. C f J.B , Segal. “ Pagan Syriac M onuments in the Vilayet of Urfa?J> Anatolian Studies 3 (1953), 97 120. Idem , “The Sabian Mysteries, T he Planet Cult of Ancicnt Harr a n /1 Vanished Civilisations, ed. E, Baron (London 19fi3), 201-220. For an early sixth-century Christian polem ic against the culls of the city, see: J.P. Martin, “Discours de Jacques de Sarroug sur la chute des idoles,'1 Zeitschrift des Deutschen Morgenländischen Vereins 29 (1875), 107—147. For an overview and digest of several decades of research, see: Han Drijvers, “T h e Persistence of Pagan Cults and Practices in Christian Syria.” East of Byzantium: Syria and Armenia in the Formative Period) ed. Nina G. Garsoian et alii (W ashington, D.C. 1982), 35—43, with the standard bibliography. i9 Infra, Ch, III, Sect, 2. m Cod. Theod. 16'. 10.14.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

the A postate (361 -363), whose im print still lay heavily on the Rom an state, as with the still enforced reunification of C hristian M aium a and pagan G aza .81 It is conceivable that J u lia n ’s grant of grain and wine from the im perial estates in Asia M inor to the priesthood of Kybele at Pessinus in Second G alatia was still in force, particularly as it contributed to the public w e l f a r e . T h e C hristianization of parts of G alatia may have lagged behind for this reason. The m ention of hierophants, th a t is the priesthoods of m ystery cults like that of the Eleusinian D em eter and Persephone, suggests the continuation of a viable priesthood there, notw ith­ standing the statem ent of the pagan historian E unapius of Sardis that the ancient Eum olpid family, the repository of the cult, had died out, leaving the office to a candidate from T hespiae.^ The learned Hellene doubtless disliked the lowered tone o f the Eleusi­ nian cult and found the change of dynasty after a m illenium ta n ta ­ m ount to the extinction of the cult. T he tem enos apparently suffered extensive dam age shortly before the enactm ent of the law, in 396, as a result of A laric’s G oths’ having plundered A ttica .04 N ot surprisingly, our biased and, in this instance, dubious authority E unapius has it that monks accom panying the barbarians caused this destruction .05 T he privileges granted to Eleusis apparently dated from the reign of the tolerant co-em perors Valens and Valentinian I (c, 364—375), who perm itted the continuation of the Eleusinian mysteries after the proconsul of Achaea m ade the plea that their suppression would cause the Greeks to find life not worth living *a6 T hree edicts issued in the W est in 399 pertaining to the disposi­ tion of tem ple buildings had sufficient relevancc to general condi­ tions to m erit being included in the Theodosian C ode some forty years later. The first of these, given at R avenna on 29 Ja n u a ry 399 and sent to the V icar of Spain and the Five Provinces, forbade private persons to dism antle the ornam ental blocks of public build« ings (publicorum operum ornamenta), th at is the pagan tem ples which had reverted to the res privata of the em perors. Those who per­ formed such acts of spoliation probably belonged to the curial class

01 Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 1. 02 Infra, Ch. II, Sect. 5. 83 The man from Thcspiac held the hieratic rank of paler in the cult o f Mithra at the time of his succession to the Eurnolpids« Eunapius, Lives of the Pkilosûphers (Wright, 4 3 6 f), 04 Bury, LRE 1, 119Γ 05 Ibid., 370, Eunapius, Lives o f Ike Philosophers (Wright, 438f.). 06 Bury, LRE 1, 368, Infra, Ch. I. Sect. 4.

26

CHAPTER ONE

and wished to embellish their townhouses and country estates. The law required ccdug-up docum ents of w hatever kind” (erulae huiusmodi chartae) to be produced in order to verify one’s right to dism antle a tem ple .87 It is w orth noting in this connection th at Porphyrius, bishop of Gaza> proceeded against the tem ples of his city around this time only after arm ing him self w ith im perial rescripts th a t he could present to the provincial govern or ? the duovirs of G aza, and the city council .80 T he second w estern law of 399>given at Patavium on 20 A ugust and addressed to the governor of Africa Proconsularis> indicates th a t certain parties were dem olishing em pty temples on the ground that persons had entered them and perform ed sacrifice. T he au­ thors of these acts were probably bishops, unless they were decurions looking for a pretext to get decorative m aterials for their own private buildings. T he co-em perors ruled that, if the structure of the tem ple buildings proved to be sound (ut aedificiorum quidem sit integer status), and no real justification thus existed for dism antling the building, it should be left intact and the perpetrators of the sacrifice be prosecuted after the idols had been removed and de­ posited with the local authorities (depositis sub officio idolis)^ the idols “ on which it is clear that the cult of vain superstition depends even now” (quibus etiam nunc patuerit cultum vanae superstitionis impendi).m The lawr speaks well for the im portance of images in pagan cult c. 400. It sets up the implicit rule, muiatis mutandis, th at idols m ight only be removed if sacrifice in front of them could be proven. T he Hellenes of Athens undoubtedly owed the long preservation of the images of Askicpios and the chryselephantine A thena in the Asklepieion and Parthenon as late as the early 480’s to the scrupulous observance of the rule against clandestine sacrifice at tem ples .90 T he surviving priesthoods of some cities will have policed the precincts o f their temples against such violations of the law. T he third law of 399, given on 10 Ju ly to E utychianus, P raeto­ rian Prefect of O riens, gave up rural temples to random destruc­ tion ^ 1 I f th ere are tem p les in th e co u n tr y sid e (in agns templa), le t th e m be d em o lish ed w ith o u t m o b s and riots (sine turba ac tumultu). F or after th e y h a v e b een c a st d o w n a n d levelled* ev ery o c ca sio n for su p e rsti­ tion w ill be d estro y ed .

87 Cod. Theod. 16,10.18. Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 4. M Cod. Theod. 16.10.18. Infra, Ch, IV, Sect. 2 and 3* 91 Cod. Theod. 16.10.16.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

27

The law presum ably had it in mind th at civil officials should publicly notify villagers and estate owners, and thereby forbid any resistance to the destruction of their shrines, even when the dem oli­ tion gangs consisted of bishops or monks. O ne thinks here of M arcellus, archbishop of Apam ea. the m etropolis of Second Syria, who initiated w hat am ounted to a w ar in the territorium of his city c. 388 and was finally killed while directing a band th at included gladiators against a rural tem ple at A ulon .y2 T he survival of rural tem ples, groves, sacred stones, dknrcon-inhabited springs, altars be­ side num inous trees, and so forth certainly gave life to the local cults. The accounts of such places being destroyed in the fifth century are all consistent in reporting the complete absence of resistance by villagers to the forays of monks and clerics against their shrines in Bithynia, northern Syria, and the Nile valley .93 O ne partial exception to this rule concerns H ypatius, hegum en of the m onastery at R ufinianae in Bithynia, who hesitated to send his usually vigorous monks against a building (οίκος), probably an abandoned temple, which housed some forty men who performed sacrifices (c. 443-446). T he monks, who perhaps anticipated resis­ tance and could not rouse the partially Christianized peasantry to action, prudently waited to dism antle the place until its occupants had abandoned it. T he latter had on one occasion badly beaten a C hristian and probably outm atched their C hristian m onastic coun­ terparts in num bers and physical strength ,94 T hree of the edicts incorporated into the Theodosian Code have a strictly local context, b u t ended up there because of a certain general relevance. The first of these, addressed to C urtius, P raeto­ rian Prefect of Italy, Africa, and Illyricum and given at Rome, took away the annonae, that is the im perial donations of grain, from the temples on the grounds of m ilitary necessity, the grants being transferred to the soldiery.0·'* T he existence of these grants at the late date of this edict, 15 Novem ber 408, is plausible in Italy because of traditionalist senatorial opinion, which had by this time obtained m any concessions for the old cults ,96 and perhaps in 92 Infra, Ch. II, Sect. 3. 03 Infra, Ch. V II-I X . Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1. 30 Cod. Theod. 16.10.19 prooem. ™ Jones, Later Roman Empire, 33. The emperor Gratian is said to have ordered the confiscation of the revenues (but not of the estates themselves) o f the Vestal Virgins in 381, but this information does not derive from an imperial cdict. Ibid., 163. Later petitions o f pagan senators for the restoration of these incomes were brushed aside. Ibid., 168* One of the concessions planned to gain the support o f pagan senators during the rebellion of Eugenius and Arbogast was the reopening oi this question. Ibid., 168f.

28

CHAPTER ONE

Africa. Temples which looked after the public welfare, as for example the hieron of Kybele at Pessimis, constituted a class of institutions which may have kept their annonae until this tim e .97 The record for Africa stands in a vast array of sources which lie beyond the scope of' this study to examine. It seems that the local landowners there had great power ,98 perhaps sufficient to influence the Praetorian Prefect to m aintain the templorum annonae. Nor had the old opinions died out. One hears of Possidius, bishop of Calama, attempting to break up a “traditional procession7' in 408, the same year as this law, and nearly being killed in the riot which followed .99 The words of Augustine suggest something more virulent:ιυυ A c c e p t in a few w o rd s [m y a cco u n t] o f w h a t h a p p en ed , a n d d iscern for y o u rself ih e g u ilty from the in n o c en t. C ontrary lo the m o st reccn t la w s, a sa crileg io u s cerem o n y o f the pagans w as roused on the sixth K alen d s o f J u n e, w ith no on e attem p t­ in g to preven t il {nemine prohibente). W ith g rea t d a rin g su ch as n ev er occu rred in the tim es o f J u lia n [the A p o sta te ] , a th re a te n in g crow d o f leap in g p eo p le d irectly p a ssed th e g a tes o f th e ch u rch in th e sam e tow n (in e.odemprorsum mco fores transiret ecclesiae). W h e n the clerics tried to p reven t th is m ost illeg a l a n d u n d ig n ified b u sin ess the ch u rch w a s ston ed . T h e n , eig h t d a y s later, after th e b ish o p h a d p u t the w ellknow n law in to effect and wrh ile the m a ile r w a s b ein g litig a te d , the ch u rch w as sto n ed a g a in , as th o u g h th o se p eo p le wrcrc n o t d isp o sed to carry o u t the p ro v isio n s o f the law . O n the n ex t d a y . . as i f they had b een p u t in a sta te o f fear by som e divin e p ow er (uL vet diviniius terrerentur)i the m ob retu rn ed in large n u m b ers w ith ro ck -th ro w in g s (lapidai ionibus) . A fter carrying this o u t, th ey b rou gh t a b o u t a third rock -th ro w in g in c id e n t on the sp o t} and after th at set fire to th e ch u rch b u ild in g s a n d a tta ck ed our ow n m en . 'They k illed o n e o f th e servan ts o f G od w h o h a p p en e d to com c upon th o se o f th e m ob . W h ile so m e o th ers hid w h ere they w ere able and others fled, the b ish o p , d riv en b y force an d h a rd -p ressed , hid h im se lf in a certain p la c e wehere he co u ld h ear the v o ic e s o f those p eo p le screa m in g for him a n d c a llin g for his d ea th , b eca u se th ey h ad g ra tu ito u sly p erp etrated a crim e g rea ter than can be im a g in ed [an d wrariled 110 w itn e ss]. N o t on e o f th ose w h o se a u th o rity carries w eig h t (i.e. th e curiales) tried lo h elp , ex c ep t a certain n o n -resid en t [o f G a ia tn a ] (peregrinus). th rou gh w h om m a n y o f the servan ts o f G od (i.e. the clergy) w?ere freed from the h a n d s o f m en tryin g to kill th em , and a lso m a n y ob jccts taken b y those p lu n d erers. H e a lso m a d e it clear th a t su ch th in gs o u g h t n ot to be d o n e readily or at all. that th ey sh o u ld d e sist from w h at h ad been b egu n if th ey wrcrc c itizcn s [o f C a la m a J , an d th at th e decu rion s (primates) forbid any m o re o f th is b e in g d o n e . 97 Infra, Ch. II, Sect. 5. Peter Brown, Augustine o f Hippo (Berkeley 1967), Φ20. 90 Brown, Augustine of Hippo. 287f. 1(X> Augustine*, Epistle 91, B—10, PL 33, 317f.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

29

Augustine adds th at the whole lot of the rioters were pagans ( ipsos paganos) T he fact th a t no one intervened to prevent the proces­ sion (nemine prohihente) suggests th at the town council (primates) and

~un

urban population of C alam a had at very least a considerable pagan m inority, as does the fact that, as A ugustine puts it> “ in th at entire city* you cannot distinguish the innocent from the guilty, but perhaps only the less guilty from the guilty .3,102 T his event roughly coincided with, and resem bles, the pagan riot against Porphyrius and the C hristian churches of Gaza, a city in which the C hristians rem ained a distinct m inority even in the first qu arter of the fifth century . 103 T he law of 408 goes on to discuss the usual business of pulling down cult images to their bases (simulacra . . . suis sedibus evellaniur), destroying altars (arae), and the transfer of tem ple buildings to other uses. The third clause of the law sets forth a stricture concern­ ing public funerary rites :lfV1 It shall not be permitted at all to hold convivial banquets in honor of a sacrilegious rite in places defiled by tombs or to celebrate any religious rite. (Non liceat omnino in honorem sacriUgi nttLSfunestiorihus locis exercere comnvia vri quicquam sollemnitatù agitare.)

The bishops were supposed to cnforcc the law and provincial governors were to be fined twenty pounds in gold for negligence in adjudicating such practices. They were evidently quite com m on, as pagans and C hristians had burial grounds and nekropoleis in every city, and sometimes shared the same funerary places. Priests would sometimes officiate at the Hellenic rites, as an epigram of Gregory of N azianzus fob. c. 390) indicates. T he district was C appadocia and the A rm enian borderlands :105

101 In Ep. 91, 10, Augustine refers to the perpetrators of the assault at Calama as “ the pagans unaided'’ or “ the pagans for their part” (ipsospaganos), F. van der Meer has discussed the African pagans o f Augustine's experience in exceptional detail, referring to them as a “dwindling minority'*. Augustine the Bishop, tr. B. Battershaw and G.R. Lamb (New York-London 1961), 29-75. T o this magiste­ rial account rrnghl be added the statements of Augustine him self about adult conversions in the De Civitate Dei 1,38 and 22.8. The latter passage names a physician and an actor from the village of Curubis as recent recipients o f baptism. Augustine, Ep. 91,9- PL 33, 317, 103 Infra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 2. 104 Cod, Theod. 16.10,19.3, 105 Greek Anthology 8.175. The text used hereinafter is that found in The Greek Anthology, tr. W.R, Paton, 5 vols. (New York-London 1916-18). I am unable to agree with Georg Petzl that this epigram and those following were specifically intended to reflect the monuments at Nimrud Dag in Cappadocia. "Die Epi­ gramme des Gregor von Nazianz über Grabräuberei und das Hierothesion des

30

CHAPTER ONE

They solemnly celebrate unclean banquets to daimones, as many as wished iu former times to perform service for daimones. Wc Christians found release from this business, and established spiritual meetings with our martyrs. But now a certain dread grips me. Listen, revellers, you desert us for daimonic figures carved in relief. The last line of the epigram contains a pun, w ith “ daim onic figures carved in r e l i e f (τούς δ α ιμ ο ν ικ ο ύ ς τύπους) having the additional sense of “ acts of pagan religion 1\ T he epigram is addressed “to those who feast luxuriously in m artyr-chapeis” (ftpOÇ το ύ ς έν μ α ρ τύ ρ ιο ΐς τρ υ φ ώ ντα ς), recently converted Hellenes who p e r­ sisted in the old funerary customs. T h eir practices provide a not. so dim idea of what phenom ena the law of 408 had in m ind. T he celebrants (νεκροκόμοί) m ight invite a priest of the old religion (θυηπόλος) to funerary services in necropoleis of mixed cult :106 Thrice worthy of death J You have mixed the bodies of the unclean with martyrs, and the tombs have a priest somewhere about. The learned Gregory sums up the business of funerary convima in term s which apply to both Christians and H ellenes :107 Tf the contests [of martyrdom] arc dear to dancers, then let de­ bauchery he dear to martyrs, But these things are opposite. As it is. contests arc not dear to dancers, nor is debauchery to martyrs. How is it, then, that you bring silver, wine, food, and bclchings as gifts to martyrs? O r again:10" I witness, O martyrs! The belly-lovers have made your honor an insult. You seek neither a iine-smelling table nor cooks! The relevance of the edict of 15 Novem ber to the social tendencies of Hellcnic religion can thus be seen. T he continuation of these practices in that milieu explains the inclusion of th at law in the codification of 438. T he second lawr of this African group, given at R avenna on 30 August 415, provides considerable inform ation about the social and economic underpinnings of cults. It repeats the rule th at tem ples and their lands assigned to the im perial fisc or res p m a ia be repos­ kommagenischen Königs Antiochos I .,” Epigrapkica Anatolica 10 (1987), 121 f. Grave-breaking and funerary sacrifice were a common enough social phenomenon to be addressed without reference to this site, Greek Anthology 8.170. John Callahan, Professor Emeritus of Classics at Georgetown University and a participant in the Dumbarton Oaks Gregory of N yssa project, was kind enough to discuss the philology of this passage with me. 107 Greek Anthology 8,166. loe Greek Anthology 8.169.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

31

sessed from illegal usufruct arrangem ents. T his principle was to be observed not only in Africa, but “ throughout all the regions situated in our w orld” (per omnes regiones in nostro orbe pôsitas), th a t is all parts of the empire, for the decree came in the nam e of the co­ em perors Honorius and Theodosius I I .109 C ertain cultic officials are also nam ed. In the first instance, the Frediani, D endrophori, and other pagan cult guilds (pro/essiones geniilicae) are spoken of as a thing of the p a st .110 O ne thinks, for example, of the guild of the cult of Kybele (“ M other of the G ods” ) attested at Tom i, later in the province of Scythia M inor, in the third century, where the deity is called “ M other of the D endrophoroi” (μήτηρ ό εν δ ρ ο φ ό ρ ω ν ) .111 A later .section of the law, however, m entions the continuing existence of C hiliarchs and C entonarii, cultic officials who perhaps super­ vised the distribution of sacrificial m eats to the public .112 T he edict attached capital punishm ent even to assum ing these titles, irrespec­ tive of the actual perform ance of sacrifice, w hether public or pri­ vate. O ne other section of the law prescribes the removal of cult images— as opposed to m ere statuary— from bath-houses and other places of public association (ab usibus lavacrorum vel publicis affectibus) on the ground th at they offered fresh cause for error . 113 Any image which had been the object of sacrifices thus might, in theory, provoke new ones, wrhether clandestinely at the site or later in private. T his regulation did not interfere with the effigies still kept in temples, like the chryselephantine A thena in the Parthenon which was apparently not dism antled until the 480’s .114 A final group of laws deals with the persons of the Hellenes, both those who continued to sacrifice and those who eschewed such acts. T he first of these, given at C onstantinople on 7 Decem ber 416 to Aurelian us, Praetorian Prefect of O riens for the third time, pro­ vides th at “ those persons polluted w ith the defiled error of pagan rite or crime, that is pagans” (quiprofano pagani ritus errore seu crimine polluuniur, hoc est gentiles) ^ not be adm itted to m ilitary office (militia) or adm inistrative positions such as provincial governorships .115 Governors who sacrificed could hardly be expected to enforce the im perial cdicts proscribing those rites. Catcchum ens filled m any low-level adm inistrative posts in C onstantinople, as the biography 109 Cod . Theod . 16 . 10 ,2 0 . 1 .

110 Cod. Theod. 16.10.20.2. 111 insenptiones Graecae ad Res Romanos Pertinentes, ed. R. Cagnat et a i I (Paris 1911), no. 614. 112 Cod. Theod. 16.10.20.4. 113 Cod. Theod. 16.10,20.3, 114 Infra, Appendix III. m Cod. Theod. 16.10.21.

CHAPTER ONE

of St. H ypatius of R ufinianae indicates .116 1’he force of the edict concerned not non-C hristians in general or Hellenes who played at the catechum enate for reasons of professional advancem ent, bu t only those who m ade a practice of sacrificing. T he law thus a rti­ ficially narrowed the definition of the so-called gentiles. T he fundam ental failure of coercive m easures against sacrifice to affect public behavior at large finds its fullest expression in the law of 8 Ju n e 423 given at C onstantinople :117 T h e con fisca tio n o f g o o d s an d exile (bonorum prosenptio ac exilium) w ill coerce the p a g a n s w h o h a v e su rv iv ed (paganos qui supersuni), if they are at any tim e c a u g h t in sacrifices to the p a g a n g o d s, a lth o u g h th ey d eserve cap ital p u n ish m e n t.

The relative leniency of this regulation stands parallel to another cdict also given at C onstantinople on the same d a te :11* B ut w e esp ecia lly c o m m a n d th o se p erson s w h o are tru ly C h ristia n s or arc said to b e, th a t th ey sh a ll n ot a b u se the au th o rity o f r elig io n an d dare to lay v io len t h an d s on J e w s an d p a g a n s w h o are liv in g q u ie tly and a ttem p tin g n o th in g d iso rd erly or contrary to th e la w . F or if su ch C h ristian s sh o u ld be v io le n t a g a in st p erson s liv in g in secu rity or sh ou ld p lu n d er their g o o d s, th ey sh all he co m p e lle d to restore not o n ly th at prop erty w h ich th ey took aw ay, b u t after suit th ey sh a ll a lso be com p elled to restore triple or q u a d ru p le th a t a m o u n t w h ich th ey rob b ed . A lso the g o vern ors o f th e p ro v in ces and their office staffs and th e provin cia ls sh a ll know th a t if th ey p erm it su ch a crim e to be co m m itted , they to o sh a ll b e p u n ish ed in the sa m e w ay cts the perp etrators of th e crim e,

Acts of violence against pagans on the pretext of religion are attested mainly in connection w ith the destruction of tem ples .119 Yet the attacks of the monks which Libanius attests against groups allegedly performing sacrifices in the territoHum of Antioch m ust have gone on indefinitely, as is confirmed by this edict .120 Examples of such behavior in the cities are for the most p art lacking. An attack upon jew rs and at least one Hellene occurred at Alexandria in Egypt in M arch 415.121 T he latter was H ypatia, daughter of Thcon the m athem atician. This exceptional wom an expounded the Ncoplatonic philosophy of Plotinus, and num bered Syncsius of Cyrene am ong her pupils .122 Palladas, her contcmpo-

1,7 ne ll‘J i2(i m

Infra, Ch. V II, S ect I. Cod. Theod. 16.10,23. Cod. Theod. 16.10.24, mainly quoted from Pharr, Theodosian Code, 476. Infra, Ch. II, Sect. 3, Ch, III, Sect. 4. Libanius, Or. 30 Pro Templis (Norman 2, 106-111). Bury, LRE 1, 217-220. Ibid., 218, n. 1.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

33

rary, a poet and Hellene of A lexandria, wrote near doggerel verse in praise of h e r , 123 a feeling com m ensurate with her public renown in the city. She enjoyed close relations with Orestes, the A ugustal Prefect of Egypt. O restes had a N itrian m onk executed after the latter had heaved a stone at him in the wake of the anti-Jew ish riot and the subsequent controversy between the Prefect and Cyril, patriarch of A lexandria (412^444), over the latte r’s order to the populace to expel the Jew s and plunder their property. In reprisal, th tparabalani of the see of A lexandria, laym en who tended the sick, waylaid H ypatia and m urdered her with malicious violence, strip ­ ping her and then tearing off her skin with sharpened potsherds (όστρακοΐς άνείλον), this in the church callcd the K aisareion. After this act of desecration, the C hristians “ or those who are called such” , to borrow a clause from the edict under consideration (Christianis, qui net vere sunt vet esse dicuntur), dism em bered her body and burned the parts at a site called the K inaron. Even our C hristian authority for these transactions, the fifth-century eccle­ siastical historian Socrates, recoils in horror at the deed ,1*4 The Augustal Prefcct O restes claimed to be him self a C hristian. W hen the N itrian monks accused him of idol-worship and of being a Hellene, and used other select epithets, he rem inded them of his baptism by A tticus, p atriarch of C onstantinople (406-425) ,12A O restes was despite this suspected of cryptopaganism , perhaps because of his association with H ypatia, perhaps for m ore factual reasons, His baptism had taken place only recently, during the first nine years of A tticus’ episcopate. As Orestes wrill have been well advanced in years by then, the monks m ay have interpreted this act as one dictated by expediency and for the sake of career advance­ m ent. At any rate, even Hellenes like H ypatia who punctiliously avoided sacrifice risked injury, as did C hristian officials suspected o f such acts .1**1 Doubtless few assaults on ordinary Hellenes had the heinous character of those perpetrated by the parabalani of A lexan­ dria, but they persisted until the time of the law of 423 and beyond to 438, the year of the T heodosian codification. T he status of the Hellenic cults circa 438 appears, in the light of the collected edicts of the Theodosian Code, to have changed little qualitatively since the early fifth century. T he tem ples, w ith some exceptions like the Parthenon and Asklepieion in Athens, or the shrine of Isis at Philae, had been closed, dism antled, or converted l2' 124 ^ 126

Greek Anthology 9.400. Cf. B uns LRE 1, 217, n. 1, Socrates, HE 7.15 (PG 67, 768Λ -769Λ ). Socrates, HE 7.14 (PG 67, 765B). For some reason Bury regards Orestes as an out and out pa^an. LRE 1, 218*

34

CHAPTER ONE

to other uses, including em ploym ent as C hristian churches. T he public sacrifice οΓancient tradition had finally disappeared, b ut the processions that accom panied them endured m uch longer. Private sacrifice persisted despite all penalties. Its frequency dictated leniency, as the confiscation of real property and exile, that is exiltum7 which had a legal limit of ten years, were substituted for capital punishm ent in one of the laws of 423.127 Quantitatively* however, m uch had changed. T he fact th at em peror Theodosius II had supposed in the edict of 9 April 423 th at no pagans survived within the empire suggests the visible Christianization o f the cities, and such an impression wras not far off the m ark .128 The casual observer m ight even have taken G aza in First Palestine for a C hristian city around the year 410. T he oecumenical cult of the C retan-born Zeus M arnas had seemingly perished with the dem olition of the M arneion and the reuse of the temenos for the Eudoxiana, a C hristian church, but the surviving pagans constituted the great m ajority of the urban population there, and revered the blocks despoiled from the shrine used to pave the courtyard in front of the new basilica , 129 A ppearances sometimes deceived. The C hristian religion had m ade even fewer inroads into the countryside. In isolated districts villages rem ained pagan even at the end of the sixth century, as the epigraphic evidence from the eastern H auran plain in the province of A rabia suggests . 130 In other part s of Syria and Asia Alinor, the process of C hristianization was com pleted only in the m id-sixth c e n tu r y . 131 Rural districts in the territoria of the great C hristian cities sometim es accepted the new religion quickly. For the Lim estone M assif east of Antioch, the period of C hristianization was circa 365-425, quite an early date, but the failure of resurgent Hellenism under Julian the A postate within close proxim ity partially explains this phenom enon. 'The villages there were rebuilt in the fourth century and after, to be settled by prosperous folk, literate in Greek, who profited from increased olive-oil production and its sale in Antioch. Across the cultural frontier of this complcx came stonecutters w ith their urban architectural techniques, retired C hristian civil servants who

12V Carl Schneider, “ Leibes täligkcit als Strafe; Bemerkungen zu einer Inschrift an S ard is/’ Polychordia: Festschrift Franz Böiger zum 75. Geburtstag s ed. Peter Wirth (Amsterdam 1966), 284^289. 1M Cod. Theod. 16.10.22. 123 Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect, 4. l3n Infra, Ch. X I. 131 Frank R. Trombley, “Paganism in the Greek World at the End of Antiquity: The Case of Rural Anatolia and Grcccc,” Harvard Theological Review 78 (1985), 328, n. 3,

THE LEGAT. STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

35

bought lands and dominated the local religious of life of the com­ munities in which they settled,1*2 In more remote districts like Bi thy nia and the middle Nile basin, the religious transformation took longer, as it was left in the hands of the monks and was less in touch with the rapid changes in urban religiosity.133 This interac­ tion was still in progress during the mid-fifth century. The edicts included in the Theodosian Code in 438 are fully consistent with a process of Christianization that had much local variation and was much protracted* It remains to analyse the phenomena of Hellenic religion in the individual cities and tracts of countryside where a detailed record exists, IIL The Varieties of Hellenic Religion If the sacrifice to celestial and chthonic deities proved to be the most important and least eradicable feature of Greek and Semitic religiosity in the fifth century, there were many other foci round which belief* cult practices, and a sense of religious awe gravitated. Most of these foci and their attendant phenomena have vanished from human recollection because no writer found them worth recording. Exceptions exist. The outward forms of ancient aetiolo­ gies and rituals turn up in later Christian rite after their modifica­ tion to conform to the newr religion. Hagiographie texts abound with such data, and many features o f “Christianization of rite” (Ritenchristianisierung) are discussed in the following chaptcr.134 Our concern here is with unmodified Hellenic cult. The dearth of good evidence is to some extent compensated for in the traditions about the fifth-century sophists and philosophers re­ corded by Damascius in his Life o f Isidore, a work surviving only in fragments.135 The religious phenomena noted in a work about the lives of philosophers owe their inclusion in part to the ongoing synthesis of Greek philosophy with theurgy, that is divine magic, which gained respectability with Iamblichus (ob. 325-330) and his successors such as Maximus of Ephesus (ob. 371), a real charlatan who even beguiled Julian the Apostate.136 Another factor contributing to the inclusion 132 Infra, Ch. X and XL 131 See the arguments in Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld,” and infra, Ch. V II-X I. m Trombley, “Paganism in the Greek W orld,” 327f., 337, and 345* m Dam as ci us, Vitae Ιήάοή Reliquiae, ed. Clemens Zintzen (Hildesheim 1967). Cf. Das Leben des Philosophen Isidores von Damaskios aus Damaskos, tr. Rudolf Asmus (Leipzig 1911). Cf. E.R. Dodds, “Theurgy,” The Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley-Los Angeles 1951), 283-311. C. Zintzen, “D ie W ertung von Mystik und M agic in der ncuplatonischcn Philosophie,” Rhenisches Museum 108 (1965), 71-100,

36

CHAPTER ONE

of this data in D am ascius 5 work was the study of local Greek cults and theologies initiated by philosophers like the N eoplatonist Proclus of Athens (ob. 485), whose well-honed religious sensibilities caused him to note and systematize all the cases of religious lore th at came to his attention, even those which emerged from a stratum of “popular"’ belief and p ractice .137 “ P opular" Hellenic religion was not so m uch superstition or m agic as the set of beliefs and practices th at arose outside the context of the tem ple cults, which had a norm ative effect on howr men approached the resident deities.|λ* These norm ative patterns perished with the end of public sacrifice, the closure of the temples, the destruction of images, and the w ithdraw al of the privileges held by the priesthoods, all this am idst num erous conversions to C hristianity. Yet men and wo men continued to approach the old deities^ particularly the ehthonic sort thought to bring about the hydrological and meteorological condi­ tions favorable to the good harvest, those spirits which aided divin­ ers in predicting future events and finding lost articles, and m any lesser daimones writh other functions- The fifth-century Hellenes wrho saw the old cults perishing everywhere studied this lore with avid interest, recorded it in their theological treatises; and even incorpo­ rated it into their own cult practices. In their hands it became certifiably "H ellenic” , even if it wras em ergent from Semitic, Egyp­ tian, or even Indie subcultures and religiosities. Some of the d ata given by D am ascius reflect a seeming antiquarianism in these philosophers. O ne m ust bear in m ind in this connection th at the “ antiq u arian 53 d a ta transm itted by these writers often reflects not so m uch the absence of such beliefs arid pract ices in iin.h-ceni.ury “p o p u lar” religion as it does a conscious attem pt to stylize them in the current Hellenic m ode .139 The critic m ust therefore attem p t to see these phenom ena in their protean state, before the Hellenes adapted them to their own philosophical tastes. Let us consider, then, w hat modes of “p o p u lar” religiosity m ight be extracted from D am ascius' life of Isidore. l*; Infra. Ch. IV, Sect. 3. 138 Frank R. Trombley, “ Popular R eligion,” Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. Alexander Kazhdan et ai.. {New York-Oxford 1991), 169.5f. nn The reuse of seemingly archaic Hcllcnic devotions in a more recent con text and with some modification implies the ongoing relevance of these cults to contemporary [in this ease, fifth-century) religious concerns, Jacob Neusner has tîemonsUaU’d a similar connection with the continual reexamination of, and commentary on, rabbinic literature by the redactors o f the Midrash, Babylonian Talmud, and other Late Antique Jewish texts. Cf. Talmudic Judaism in Sassanian Babylonia (Leiden 1976), 1C)—12. The Bavli and Its Sources (Atlanta 1987), Iff. and

177ff.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO

j

29 A.D.

37

The regulations recapitulated in the Theodosian Code make it emphatically clear that urban Hellenes and rustic pagans con­ tinued to visit the temples and sacrifice, Damascius attributed these practices to the late fifth-century Hellenes as well· For exam­ ple, Asklepiades (late 5th c.), son of Horapollon the elder, made his “soul to dwell in shrines on every occasion and in temples where initiatory rites were practiced” (έν αδύτοις έκάοτοτε καί τελεστή ρίοις). He performed the ancestral rites (τάς πατρίους τελετάς) not only in Egypt, but also “in foreign [territory], what­ ever might have survived of such customs’3 (είπου τι κατελέλειπτο των τοιούτων).” '4*1Asklepiades, with his exceptional knowledge of Egyptian cultic lore (ή Αιγυπτίων σοφία), crossed the frontiers as well·141 The local rites and temple customs were rapidly being forgotten even in the limitrophic zone, a consequence of the finan­ cial woes of the temples and of conversions to Christianity. Acts of sacred pilgrimage nevertheless went on, and the memory of ancient ritual and theology lasted among the surviving priests. This fact stands out from the epigraphy of Philae on the Upper Nile as late as c. 460, and in that of Arabia as well.142 One sophist was said to have recognized in the latter province the Arabian deity Theandritës, “a masculine-faced god who breathed pre-suckled life into souls,” a formulation that owes something to Neoplatonic Hellenism super­ imposed on Semitic belief (εγνω δε Θ εανδρίτην αρρενω πόν οντα θεόν).143 The locals at the village of Bosoa on the eastern Hauran plain rebuilt a temple to this deity (θεονδρίτίον) in 387 A .D .144 Many villages o f Provincia Arabia show no signs of Christianiza­ tion even in the sixth century, when Damascius composed his biography of Isidore. The same traveller Asklepiades, who passed through Bostra, the metropolis or provincial capital of Arabia,145 should thus have observed cult practices at the rural temples, or at any rate surviving statuary. Dusarcs, another Arabian deity, was remembered at this time as well. The Hellenes equated him with Dionysus,146 The statuary, temples, and inscriptions littered the lw Damascius, Fr. 163 (Zintzcn, 137). 141 Damascius, Fr. 161 (Zintzen, 135). 1+2 Infra, Ch. IX, Scct. 3, and Ch. XL 143 Damascius, Epit. Phot. 198 (Zintzcn, 272). 144 Infra, Ch. X I, Sect. 1, l4* Dam ascius, Epit. Phot. 196 (Zintzen, 270). , 283; As mus, 124). ^ Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

39

shrines than did Isidore and Asklepiades. One could easily then light a sacrificial fire on an altar. Damascius^ as usual, only informs us about the behavior of learned Hellenes. O ne exam ple of this was a certain A ntonius of A lexandria, who seems to have become a m em ber of the city council of G aza, “ having taken up its political problem s 55:155 H e b eca m e m o st p io u s tow ard the truth and k ep t h is sou l e a g er for th e service o f G o d , both p u b lic ly an d even m ore p riv a tely , so th a t h e rend^rrd G aza m u ch m ore sacred th an it h a d b een b efore.

The innuendoes of the Greek leave this text alm ost untranslatable w ithout com m entary. T he principal deity of Gaza, the C retan-born Zeus, but usually called Zeus M arnas, still evidently retained a following in the late fifth century, to judge from M arinus of Neapolis 5 biography of Proclus the N eoplatonist (ob. 485), for the author m entions Proclus’ devotion to Zeus M arnas, in connection with other deities whose cults certifiably survived until th at time, cer­ tainly th at of Isis at Philae and most probably that of T heandrites in A rab ia .156 T he inference stands that, late in Proclus’ life. Zeus M arnas still had adherents in Gaza, A ntonius’ ‘Service of God, both public and even m ore in private5' (προς θεοΰ θεραπείαν, την τε δημσιελή την τε άπορρητοτέραν) provides the clue. The M ar­ neion, destroyed in the first decade of the fifth century, rem ained a site of religious awe through the spolia taken from it to pave the courtyard of the new Eudoxiana cathedral erected on the site, for the Hellenes continued to revere those blocks .1*7 Public behavior proves to be the aperture through wrhich the wide span of private cult becomes visible. D am ascius' Greek words allude in fact to sacrifice “ performed at public expense 53 (θεραπεία δημοτελής). The reference to the "m ore ineffable service” suggests through parataxis with “ public” the more common forms of liturgy con­ nected w'ith secret sacrifice when new edicts, like the Theodosian codification of 438, disrupted the complacency o f provincial gov­ ernors and bishops about the continuing consum ption of burnt offerings. Gaza still had a m uch larger pagan population than C hristian even by c. 420, if one can believe the figures for conver­ sions given by M ark the Deacon in his biography of bishop Porphyrius .158 It follows that m any of the im perial edicts which 155 Damascius, Fr. 186 (Zintzen, 159-161). 1Sfi Marinus o f Neapolis, Vita Prodi, 19, ed, Iohannes F. Boissûnade (1814; repr, Amsterdam 1966), 16. lv; Infra, Ch. I l l , Scct. 4. l* Ibid., Sect. 5.

40

CHAPTER ONE

reaffirmed the prohibition of sacrifice had places like G aza in m ind, w here a strong pre-C hristian subculture prevailed. All this inclines one to greet M ark the D eacon’s assertion th a t Porphyrius crushed the u rb an cults with great skepticism* Antonius was, perhaps, only one of m any adherents of the old cults of Gaza, but D am ascius 5 preoccupation with sophists and philosophers obscures the social, cultural, and dém ographie context of late Semitic Hellenic pagan­ ism. It is possible, in any case, that tem ple spolia in some instances provided sufficient focus for the old beliefs to persist in an atm os­ phere of alternatingly zealous and passive C hristianization. O th er temples rem ained in integral or at least identifiable condi­ tion in the late fifth century. T he baitjlos-w or shipper Eusebius observed the fall of a m eteoric stone near the splendid and very ancient temple of a female fertility deity- Dam ascius calls her A thena— which lay on a m ountain outside the city of Emesa in Phoenicia (σχεδόν ώ ς π ο ρ ρ ο τ ά τ ω π ρ ο ς τ ο ορ ος αΐΐτό., έν φ τή ς "Α θήνας ΐδ ρ υ τα ι νεώ ς α ρ χ α ιο π ρ επ ή ς ) ,159 T he tem ple need not have lost its im portance to local Hellenes and rustic pagans, even if in bad repair or devoid of a priesthood, nor need we necessarily conclude that its cult images had been carted off. It is worth adding that the monk A braam es, a native of the territorium of C yrrhus, converted a village on the M ount L ebanon m assif in the country­ side around Em esa in the early fifth century .160 C hristianity had m ade inroads into the rural areas there around the tim e Eusebius picked up his baitylos. The cult images of the Greek, Scmitic, and Egyptian gods in some instances survived the destruction of cultic statues mentioned in the Theodisian Code and other texts. Thus, Asklepiodotns of Aphrodisias in Caria used to “ perform the ancestral sacred devices of a proper nature by decorating images [of the godsj and composing hym ns” (εις τα Γερά τής οικείας φύαεω ς εκγονα μηχανήματα, αγάλματα τε δια κ όσ μ ω ν κ α ι ϋμ νους π ρ ο σ τιθ είς ) .161 T his behavior had, of course, become illegal under the law wrhich forbade the cerem onial use of garlands .162 O f greater interest for Hellenic theological ideas was the attitude

iyj Damascius, Epil. Phot. 203 (Zintzcn, 274f.; Asmus, 121Γ). 16ü Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2. 161 Damascius, Fr. 209 (Zintzen, 179, lines 5 -7 ). There is more than a little information on Hellenic hymnographv during this period. Cf. the Stoic hymn on the creation of the world found at M onte Fortino, Italy (2nd-3rd c. A .D .). SEG 32 .1D2G. There is also a hymn to the goddess Hera (Samos, 4th c. A .D .). SEG 30.1082. On the compositions of Produs o f Athens, see infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. 162 Cod. Theod. 16.10.12. prooem.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

41

toward the sacred statues of the gods held by H eraiskos, who believed m any of them to be an im ate:16* Heraiskos became able to distinguish between animate and nonanimatc sacrcd statues, for in looking upon them he was wounded in the heart by divine frenzy and he leapt up in body and soul, as if seized by the god. If he was not moved in such a way, the statue was inanimate and bereft of divine conception. Thus he discerned that the ineffable statue of Aion was gripped by the god, whom the Alexan­ drians worshipped, along with Osiris and Adonis who were just as truly in the mystic divine mingling. T he difference between anim ate and inanim ate (άψ υχον) images (των τε ζώντων και των μή ζώντω ν ιερών άγαλμάτων) seems to have lain in the “ divine conception” (θεία επίνοια) of the sculptor when he produced the work. Such a work of art caused the religious Hellene to be gripped by divine frenzy (ύπό τού θειασμοΰ). A deity like Aion m ight th en seize the view er (ύπό τοΰ θεού κατεχόμενον), D am ascius, or least his excerptor, leaves the precise operation by which the divine conception inhering in the idol gripped Heraiskos unclear, th a t is, w hether the deity acted from inside the image, or w hether the emotion of the viewer caused a descent or overshadowing of the god from, as it were, the celestial realm, C hristian writers like M ark the Deacon, who im agined that the daimon or pagan god inhered in the cultic statue of the Semitic A phrodite of Gaza, were thus not so m uch engaging in anti-pagan propaganda as giving the C hristian interpretation of a belief com ­ mon among Hellenes. T hus, as M ark had it, the statue of the female deity shattered at the approach of the cross and prayer of the bishop, and not from the im position of the h am m er *154 M any a pagan m ight have agreed with this, inasm uch as epiphanies of deities were thought to flee before the sign of the cross, becausc of its association with death and the consequent ritual pollution, as H ypatius of Rufinianae claimed and even Ju lia n the A postate is said to have ad m itted ,165 This belief explains the frequent incision of crosses on the walls of tem ples and on sta tu a ry ,166 and their Damascius, Fr. 174 (Zintzen, 147), Se Zintzen’s note on other texts describ­ ing anim ate images. Edwyn Bevan has collected many rcfcrences to these in: Holy Images: An Inquiry into Idolatry and Image-Worship in Ancient Paganism and in Christian­ ity. Among the themes discussed are: a Hcrmctic text on Asklepios c. 260-310 (24f.), a Hellenistic automaton (25), the ritual animation o f an image, with Hindu examples f 31 f. ), the implantation of a daimon inside an image (34), and the image as an abode or instrument of a divinity (36f. and 39), 164 Infra, Ch. I ll, Sect, 4. 1^ Infra, Ch. V, Scct. 4. Infra, Ch. II, Sect. %

42

CHAPTER ONE

erection everywhere when a m onastery supplanted the teirienos uf a local deity ,l(i7 H eraiskos’ experience provides a single fifth-century instance of the phenom enon C h ristian w riters and preachers sought to suppress .160 M any aniconic chthonic deities thought to move and exist w ithin the forces of nature, such as rivers, rain clouds, and hail storm s, survived in popular im agination and religiosity wrell after the fifth ccntury .169 Sky-gods like Apollo-Hclios, Zeus, and the innum erable Baals of the Hellenized E ast were thought at tim es to control such lesser gods or daimones, as an incident in the life of Asklepiodotus of Aphrodisias reveals :170 l ie [Isidore] and Asklepiodotus, who was formerly his tutor, went down to the channcl of the Maeander river to swim. The Maeander, taking them back in its eddies, submerged them, until Asklepiodotus raised himself enough so that the sun could be secn, and cricd; “We are dying!” He was unable to utter anything [else], hardly an indistinguishablr word. Then, suddenly, out of no apparent forethought, they lay upon the bank of the river half-dead. They thereupon recovered their breath and went up from the torrents of Hades, Thus Asklepiodotus owned güd-inspired power and these things are still with his body. Local credence pictured the M aeander with a strong-willed per­ sonality, which in this case relented at the com m and of the sun. Strabo relates that when, on one occasion, the M aeander shifted its course and underm ined tilled fields, the Phrygians fined the river under religious law in the form of a crossing toll., which evidently wrent into a local tem ple treasury .171 A sixth-century C hristian monk, Theodore of'Sykeon, clung to the earlier belief of the G ala“ tians west of A nkvra in the ill-tem pered and erratic nature of the Sangaris river, when he inserted crosses on its bank to prevent the erosion of the m onastery’s tilled lan d s -1/2 In the transform ed C hristian ethos, the cross was thought to m ake the river deity m ore tractablc than the fines and other deviccs of the old religion. The early chthonic A natolian deities exerted a powerful in­ fluence on the popular im agination. Am ong them was K ybele or the G reat M other of the Gods, whose powers were thought to 167 Cf. the example of Nikertai in the terntorium of A pam ea in Second Syria. Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2. l6R A later example of the daimon of Aphrodite dwelling in a mosaic depiction o f her life turns up in the sixth-century life of E-uty chi us o f Constantinople. PG 86, 2333Ü -2336A. 169 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld,” 340f. 170 Dam ascius, Epii. Phot, 116 (Zintzcn, 156), 171 Strabo, Geogr. 15UU9. 172 Supra. Ch. I, n, 169.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

43

produce all good things from the soil .173 H er worship was deeply rooted and was still practiced in the isolated m ountain districts of eighth-century C a ria , 174 T he sophist Asklepiodotus of Aphrodiaias (5th c,) celebrated her cult in a theologically upgraded form. Once, in Laodicea-H ierapolis in Phrygia, he dream ed th at he had com­ pleted a festival of hers called the H ilaria after a vision of Attis, her consort (καί μοι επιτελεισθαι παρά τής μητρός των θεών την των Ίλαριων καλουμένην έορτήν).17Γ> If the Basket of Artem is sur­ vived am ong the rural population of “ inner” B ithynia c. 443^448. one can hardly doubt that the unchristianizcd rustics of other localities, and in this case Phrygia, celebrated the annual rites of their own M others of the Gods, whose earlier votive offerings (2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.) recorded in inscriptions reveal m any local epithets .176 Sites of religious awe rem ained holy to the M other of the Gods in Asklepiodotus' lifetime, as for exam ple the so-called Ploutoneion or C haroneion at Laodicea H ierapolis, a subterranean descent (βόθρος) under the tem ple of Apollo which gave off deadly fumes, probably sulfide gases, that were fatal to all who entered . 177 It was said that only the Galloi, the castrated initiates of the G reat M other, could avoid harm in the deepest recesses of the chasm (τοις δέ τετελεομένοις . . . δυνατόν) / 78 D am ascius' use of the perfect tense suggests that Galloi were still about, ju st as they were on the authority of Cosmas of Jerusalem in the eighth century .179 None of them seems to have accom panied Asklepiodotus on his own descent there nor does he seem to have desired to pay the price of becoming an initiate. The epigraphy reveals th at Laodicea had become a largely C hristian city in the fourth century> and that its terri torzum in the A x y lo n steppe had mostly gone over to the new religion by the last qu arter of the same century .100 At any rate, in his early youth, with the sure em piricist sense of a Hellene, Asklepiodotus went down into the depths of the Charoneion in the m anner of an "initiate-descender” (ό καταιβάτης):101 m See the rather general remarks o fjo h n Ferguson, The Religions of the Roman Empire (Ithaca 1970), 15Γ 14 Trombley, '‘Paganism in the Greek W o rld /’ 344, lo Damascius, E p it Phot. 131 (Zintzen, 176; Asmus, 78). 176 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2. 1/7 Damascius, Epit. Phot. 131 (Zintzen, 176Γ; Asmus, 78 and 174). Ibid., Zintzen, 176. The translation runs; “ Certain irrational pagans in the mountains o f Caria practice se If-cast rati on even until the present day, as the story goes, gripped by this ancient custom /' Cosmas o f Jerusalem , Scholia in Gregom Naôan&m Camina PG 38, 502, iaa Infra, Ch* V II, Sect. 2. im Damascius, Epit. Phot. 131 (Zintzen, 178).

44

CHAPTER ONE For as a yo u n g m a n he sa id he w e n t to this p la c e an d m a d e a trial o f its nature. T w ic e and th rice he fold ed his g a rm en t over his n o strils, th at h e m igh t b rea th e often y et n o t in h a le the d e stru ctiv e an d m a lig ­ nan t air, b ut rather safe and h a rm less air. H a v in g w ra p p ed safe air in his g a rm en t, h e b ro u g h t it in sid e, a n d h a v in g d o n e th u s h e w en t w ith in the d ecliv ity following; the efflux o f the h o t w a ters to the u tterm o st end o f its in n er m ust and least a c cessib le nookj b u t d id not arrive a t the en d o f th e d e sc en t. For the route b rok e a w a y to g rea t w atery d ep th s an d w a s in a c c essib le to m en . B u t the in itia te , b e in g d iv in ely en th u sed , bore h im se lf to th e lim it.

In all this one can sec the claim of the fiftlvcentury philosophers to prim acy over the older priesthoods. H ere the rationalism of the youthful Hellenist Asklepiodotus allowed him to penetrate m yster­ ies accessible only to the initiates of the old cult, D am ascius cakes even this to be a J"miracle 5J (θαύμα), th at is, a w onder of the divine virtue found in the m an. The emission of' deadly fumes from the subterranean waters was taken to be the hierophany of the M other of the Gods, whose power over life-giving w ater equalled her ability to bring death, all from the same source. T he Nachleben of C hristian belief and ritual surrounding this site is unknow n, but we should not err Loo far in supposing th at it was regarded as the haunt of destructive subterranean daimones, which appear in pre-C hristian parlance as the ‘‘katachthonic deities” (καταχθονίου θεοί),1*2 the kind whose presence one could smell in the air. Some n atural phenom ena, such as sacred springs and stones, lent themselves to C hristian aetiologies only gradually, and saw the impress of the new religion only later, as for exam ple the sacred black volcanic stone on a m ountain peak outside M iletus in the tenth century .183 To citc another exam ple, the m em ory and worship of Attis, the consort of the M other of the Gods, persisted in popular m emory as well, its strength m ay be gauged by the fact th at his iconography was occasionally transferred to M ichacl the archangel, the archistrategos of the heavenly arm y, a C hristian spirit often invoked in later centuries at the sacred spring at Colossus-Ghonae, where the cult of an earlier katachthonic deity, perhaps Attis himself, had prevailed .104 Less inform ation has survived about the state ofH ellenic ritual, ap art from the actual perform ance o f sacrifice. M arinus o f Neapolis records the specific practices of the N eoplatonist Proclus (ob. 485), but these belong largely to the local A thenian context .1*5 T he 182 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2. 103 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld,1* 333-339, 345. ,fi4 Infra, Ch. II, Scct. 4, Infra, Ch. IV, Scct, 3.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

45

fifth-century philosopher Heraiskos, who as m entioned above be­ came gripped by divine frenzy when in the presence of a cult image of “divine conception” , adhered like Proclus to strict rules of ritual purity. Heraiskos’ inspired, or perhaps hypersensitive, nature was said to cause him headaches whenever he heard the utterance of a m enstruating woman, who in th at state was of course in a condition of ritual contam ination .100 Philosophers constantly in a state of spiritual em ulation were supposed, like Heraiskos, always to re· spond in this m anner, and not only when sacrificing. Like Proclus, Asklepiades composed liturgical hym ns to the Egyptian gods (από

τε των ϋμνων, ων συγγέγραφεν εις τούς Αιγυπτίων θεούς).187 These were doubtless a pale reflection of the recitative mode of ordinary pagans. T he traditional funerary rites lasted until the late fifth century, as M arinus' account of Proclus 5 obsequies reveals .100 These ceremonies had a true liturgical character. To cite an exam ­ ple from the later fourth century » A m m ianus M arcellinus observes concerning the funeral procession of a certain H eliodorus c. 371/2 that “ persons preceded the ill-omened bier of the body-snatcher to the sepulchre, m arching w ith bared heads and feet, some also with folded h an d s .” 189 T he ritual usually included singing and m usic .190 U pon the death of Heraiskos, his friend the Hellene Asklepiades provided him with a shroud of O siris :191 After the customary rites had been performed by the priests, Askle­ piades provided the dead man with the other [usual tributes], including the garments of Osiris for his body. They were everywhere illuminated with the ineffable letters of shrouds and around them were seen the god-like shapes of apparitions, who exhibited [Herais­ kos'1 sou l palpably, so great a hearth-sharer had he become with the gods. O ne is rem inded here of the m um m y portraits in which the god Horus exhibits the soul of the deceased beside his sarcophagus, the latter bearing his likeness in death, the form er his personality in the afterlife .192 The “ ineffable letters” (απόρρητα διαγράμματα) were undoubtedly modelled on the hieroglyphic script, which had reia6Dam ascius, Fr. 174 (Zintzen, 147). 107Dam ascius. Fr. 164 (Zintzen, 137f). ltia Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. liM> Ammianus Marcelliims, Res Gestae 29.2.12-15. Infra, this section. lÿ0 Cf. Johannes Quasten, Music and Worship in Pagan and Christian Antiquity, tr. B. Ramsey (W ashington, 1).C. 1983), 148-160. 191Damascius, Fr. 174 {Zintzen, 147). 192There are three examples o f burial shrouds that show the deceased between a niummiform Osiris and the funerary deity in: K.Parlasca, Mumienpurtràis und verwandte Denkmäler (W iesbaden 1966), Tafel 12/1, 35/1, 61/2.

46

CHAPTER ONE

m ained in cultic use at Philae until at least 394 A ,D .193 A som ew hat different set of beliefs surrounded the b a iiy lo i or meteoric stones, on which a considerable literature exists.104 This cull, initially a Semitic one, had penetrated the Greek world at some indeterm inate point. The collection of b a iiy lo i formed one p art of the religious experience of a H ellene nam ed Eusebius j who resided near Emesa in Phoenicia L ibanensis:195 T h e n a m e o f th e baitylos-w o rsh ip p er w a s E u se b iu s, w h o said lh a i an u n con sid ered y e a rn in g had co m e over him to w a n d er n ea rb y , o u tsid e the city o f E m esa in the m id d le o f the n ig h t, d irectly in front o f the m o u n ta in on w h ich is b u ilt a tim e-h o n o red tem p le o f A th e n a , H e w en t quickly to the fool o f th e m o u n ta in and sittin g there rested as if from th e road. H e sa w a fire-b a ll su d d e n ly lea p in g d o w n from ab ove, th e co n stella tio n o f th e g rea t L ion sta n d in g n earb y n e x t to the balL A t oncc it b cca m c in v isib le. H e ran o v er to the ex tin g u ish e d fire-b all and d isco v ered th a t it w a s a baitylos. H e p ick ed it up, an d qu eried w h a t g o d it m ig h t be. It a p p ea red to be th at o f G en n a io s. w h o m the H e lio p o lita n s honor, h a v in g erected a sta tu e o f Z eu s in the sh ap e o f a lion . E u seb iu s carried the baitylos h o m e, co v erin g , as he sa id , not less than 210 stadia in the sa m e n igh t. E u seb iu s w a s n o t a m a ster o f the m o v em en t o f the baitylos. as o th er p erson s are o f oth er phenom ena^ b u t h e p rayed and g a v e h eed to its oracu lar a n sw ers.

T he notion th at baiiyloi eould give oracular answers belongs to the ethos of late Hellenism, Eusebius took the spectacular fall of the m eteor through the atm osphere (τον β α ίτυλϋν δ ιά to û ά έρ ο ς κ ινούμ ενον . . . σ φ α ίρ α ν δε ττυρός) as the hierophany of Zeus G en n aio s, a local B aal of the tem ple com plex at B aalbekTleliopolis, Eusebius claimed the ability to get oracular answers from the m eteorite which he once described; Photius, writing in the ninth century, observes: H a v in g said m a n y fo o lish th in g s, as th ou g h he w ere w o rth y o f ih c baitylia, he d escrib es the sto n e and its sh a p e. H e says: T h e sp h ere w as exa ctly round and its color w h itish . It w as a sp an in s i/e . R ut it w as h ere an d there greater or sm a ller, and at tim es p u rp lish . H e sh o w ed u s letters w ritten on the sto n e co lo red v erm ilio n . H e h a m m ered on its sid e. T h ro u g h th is it ren d ered th e ora cle so u g h t b y th e person in q u ir ­ in g , an d it g a v e forth the so u n d o f a d e lica te p a n -p ip e , w h ich E u scb ius in terp reted .

l* Infra, Ch. IX , Sect. 3. l5i4 Henri Lammcns, “ Lc cult des betyles et les processions religieuses chez les Arabes préislamites.” Bulletin de l ’Institut d Archéologie Orientale, Cairo 17 (1919-20), 39-10 L See the brief discussion of Mircca Eliade. Patterns in Comparative R d ig w n , 2 2 7 -2 2 9 .

190 Damascius. E pit. Phot. 203 (Zintzcn, 274ff.; Asmus, 121 f.). 196 I hid., Zinizen, 216.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A,D.

47

The appearance of the stone with its unusual m ineral content evoked wonder, but the m agic lettering probably represents an attem pt by Eusebius to improve on the seemingly miraculous coinci­ dence of his finding the stone. The technique by which Eusebius got the stone to whistle will rem ain an object of uncertainty, whether by some m echanical m eans, or w hether, because of an intricately and deeply pitted surface, it gave the sound of a flute when turned in the air or blown upon. Eusebius and the philos­ opher Isidore disputed the theological significance of the w onder­ ful stone, While the form er attributed it to the local divinity, the latter w ith evident satisfaction and a degree of cynicism assigned its attributes to the activity of a lesser daimon (δα ιμ ό νιο ν), this a tti­ tude being consistent with late Hellenic attitudes tow ard m antic activity; Photius ad d s:197 A fter relatin g the said m arv els, this em p ty -h e a d ed m a n relates o th er m yriad and ev en m o re fra u d u len t th in g s a b o u t th e baity los\ I think th at the m atter o f the bailyios is d iv in e, b u t Isid o re a rgu ed to the contrary that it is d a im o n ic. For a certa in daimon a c tiv a te s it w ith n eith er harm fu l nor co n n ected eiFects . . . O n e after th e oth er o f the baityloi are d e d ic a te d . . . to K ro n o s, Z eu s, H e lio s, an d o th er d eities.

The deities listed belong to the solar and planetary cults. I f the Christian Photius, writing in the m id-ninth century, had nothing but contem pt for Eusebius' theological speculations, Isidore took them quite seriously, regarding them as a legitim ate set of views within the m ainstream of Hellenic religious thought. T he cult of baityloi achieved a w ider following in Greek religion at an indeter­ m inate time, perhaps in Late A n t i q u i t y . A rem nant of this cus­ tom and belief survived in Boeotia and Phokis until at least the ninth century. A m arginal note found in M anuscript A of the Photian Epitom e of the life of Isidore, perhaps that of Photius himself, indicates the spread of this cult to rural G reece;199 I h a v e heard from the in d ig en o u s in h a b ita n ts o f G rce ce a b o u t this kind o f dûimonion [th e bûitylos\9 w h ich turns up in th e P arn assos district» T h e y say m a n y oth er stran ge th in g s a b o u t th em , w h ich o u g h t soon er to b e Left in sile n c e th a n talked a b ou t.

W ould that the glossator had gone into greater detail about the other phenom ena. O ne divinatory practice with a long history of continuity through 19, Damascius, E pit. Phot. 203 (Zintzen, 276-278). I am u n a b le to discover anything about the baityloi in Michael R Nilsson, Geschichte der griechischen R d igion , 2 v. (1953-61). Damascius (Asmus, 191).

48

CHAPTER ONE

all phases of religious transition was that of predicting the future from cloud formations. A woman nam ed A nthusa continued this ancient art during the reign of em peror Leo I (457-474) :200 W h erefore o n e finds a w o m a n in the d ays o f L eo th e R o m a n em peror w ho k n ew n eith er b y sen se o f h ea rin g n or b y th e a n cien t practices the art o f d iv in a tio n by clo u d s. T h e w o m a n ca m e from A ig a i in C ilicia , h a v in g co m e irom the fam ily o f the O r estia d a i w h o d w ell on the m o u n ta in at K o m a n a in C a p p a d o cia . H er fa m ily w en t back to the P e lo p o n n e se. S he took th o u g h t for a m a n en tru sted w ith a m ilitary co m m a n d w h o w a s se n t w ith oth ers to th e w ar [a g a in st the V a n d a ls] in S icily. S h e p ra y ed to foresee the future by d r e a m and prayed fa cin g the risin g sun. H e r father p rescrib ed a n d c o m m a n d e d her in a dream to pray tow ard the w est. W h en sh e p ra y ed , a clou d from th e u p p er air stood aro u n d th e su n , and b e c a m e en la rg ed and took the sh a p e o f a m an , A n o th er clou d sh eared off and rendered its e lf o f eq u a l size and took the sh a p e o f a w ild lion , It w en t in to a great rage aridj h a v in g m ad e a g rea t c h a sm , th e lion sw a llo w e d the m an . T h e h u m a n , c lo u d -m a d e sh a p e w a s like a G o th . A little m ore ab ou t the ap p arition s: T h e r eu p o n the em p ero r L eo slew A sp a r h im ­ s e l f th e h eg em o n o f the G o th s [in C o n sta n tin o p le ] and his ch ild ren , f r o m th at tim e A n th u sa has co n tin u ed u n til n o w w ith o u t in terru p ­ tion to p ractice th e cu sto m o f m a n tic p red ictio n th ro u g h clo u d s.

The Hellenic pedigree of A nthusa’s family speaks for a pedigree of cult as well. The: dr cam vision of her father suggests family tra d i­ tions th at presum ably or ostensibly went back to Peloponnesian settlers who m igrated to the A rm eiio-G appadocian borderlands in Hellenistic times. T hus, her father may have instructed her in the techniques of cloud divination in early youth which came back to her as a figment of the unconscious mind in her dream . Cloud divination survived in Greek C hristian culturc until the time of the canonist Balsam on in the twelfth century.201 The merging of theurgy and philosophy in the m ainstream of Hellenic religious thought seems to date from the time of lam b lichus (ob* 325-330). M axim us of Ephesus, an out-and-out charla­ tan who even convinced Ju lian the A postate of his sincerity, gave this strand of Greek religion an extremely bad nam e w ith C hris­ tians, although enlightened and even-handed Hellenes like the *K Damascius, E p it, PhoL 69 (Zintzen, 98). 203 T he canonist reports: “They predict things unknown to many from the clouds. For some gaze at the clouds, or rather, when they become fiery at sunset, feign to learn ihe truth from them. For this cloud, when it takes the shape o f a dove, they say misfortune will come to the inquirer. I’rom another cloud, when it l akes (he shape of a. sword-hearing man, they predict war, From another, when it take? the shape of a lion, they predicL the action o f imperial edicts.'5 Balsamon. Syntagma tön ik m n kai hierön kanonon, ed, G,A. Rhalles and M. Potles, vol. 2 ^Athens 1852), 445.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

49

historian A m m ianus M arcellinus could call him a m an w ith a great reputation for learning (vir ingenii nomine doctrinarum) and decry the injustice of his execution by order of Festus* proconsul of Asia.™ T he m ore biased E unapius of Sardis (ob. 414) extols M axim us to the skies in his Lives o f the Philosophers, despite recording the naked terror felt by Eusebius of M yndus at M axim us5 precocity in sum ­ m oning H ekate and allegedly causing her statue in her tem ple at Pergam um to smile and then laugh.203 This was ju st the thing that C hristians most feared of cult effigies>in which daimones were often thought to reside. Some statues, like th at of Sarapis in the Serapeun of A lexandria, were hollow and em itted the disguised voices of the priests hidden w ithin. This evoked terror in pagan and C hristian alike. Thus the account of Eusebius of M yndus:204 E u seb iu s said: " M a x im u s is on e o f the old er a n d m ore learn ed stu d en ts, w h o , b cc a u se o f his lofty g e n iu s an d su p er a b u n d a n t e lo ­ quence scorned all logical proof in these subjects and im petuously resorted to the a cts o f a m a d m a n . N o t lo n g sin ce, he in v ited us to th e tem p le o f H e k a le an d p ro d u ced m a n y w itn esses o f h is folly. W h en w c h ad arrived arid sa lu ted the go d d ess: 'B e s e a t e d / said h e, ‘m y w e llb elo v ed friends, and ob serve w h a t sh a ll co m e to p a ss, and h o w greatly I su rp ass the co m m o n h erd .' W h en he h a d said this, and w e had sa t d o w n , he burned a grain o f intense an d recited the whole o f some hymn or other, and w as so su ccessfu l in his d em o n str a tio n th a t th e im a g e o f the god d ess first b eg a n lo sm ile, th en even seem ed lo la u g h a lo u d 5. “ W e w ere m u ch d istu rb ed at this sig h t b u t he said: ‘L et n o n e o f you be terrified by th ese th in g s, fur p resen tly even the to rch es w h ich th e g o d d ess h o ld s in her h an d s sh a ll k in d le in to fla m e .5 A nd before he cou ld finish sp ea k in g th e torch es burst in to a b la z e o f lig h t. N o w for the m o m en t w e ca m e aw a y am azed b y that th ea trica l m ira clew ork er.55

Unless this anectode be pure fantasy, one can hardly doubt that m echanical devices were at play here. It reveals in any case w hat people thought of cult images and th e u rg ists.^ M axim us of Ephesus underw ent execution c. 371-72 because of his failure to divulge his own knowledge of the T H E O D oracle plot at Constantinople, which purported to signify the first four letters of the nam e of the em peror who would succeed V alens (364-378). 202 Ammianus M arcellinus, Res Gestae 29.1.42. '203 Eunapius, Lives o f the Philosophers (Wright, 435). 204 Quoted from ibid., 433f. 9'0:' See the recent discussion of temple automata designed by Hero o f A lexan­ dria, which caused ihe doors oF the cella to open when a sacrificial fire was lit on an altar in front of the building in: Sigvard Strandh, The H istory o f Technology (New York 1979), 34f. Cf. Albert Ncubcrgcr, D ie ’Technik des Altertum s (Leipzig Î9L9), and Curt Merkel, D ie Ingenieurtechnik im Altertum (Berlin 1899; repr. 1969).

50

CHAPTER ONE

The perpetrators of the oracle recognized a certain T heodore, an im perial secretary who was later accused of inveterate am bition to acquire the im perial crown, as th at successor.200 T he officials who conducted the seance constructed a sacred divination table (mensula) in the fashion of a Delphic tripod (cortina Delphica ), and dedicated it w ith m any in ca n tatio n s ( imprecationibus carminum secretomm) .20? O ur witness, A m m ianus M arcellinus, continues the story, which he bases on the deposition of a certain H ilarius:208 30. [T h e tripod] w a s p la ced in the m id d le o f a h o u se purified th o r­ o u g h ly w ith A ra b ic p erfu m es; on it w a s p la c cd a p erfectly rou n d p la te m a d e o f vario u s m eta llic su b sta n c e s. A ro u n d its o u ter rim th e w ritten form s o f the tw en ty -fo u r letters o f the [G reek] a lp h a b e t w ere sk ilfu lly en g ra v ed , sep arated from o n e a n o th e r b y ca rcfu lly m ea su red sp a ces. 31. T h en a m a n clad in lin en g a rm en ts, sh o d a lso in lin e n sa n d a ls an d h a v in g a fillet w o u n d round his h ea d , carrying tw igs from a tree o f g o o d om en , after propitiating in a set form ula the divine pow er from whom predictions come ( litato concepäs canninibus numim praescitorum auctore), h a v in g full k n o w led g e o f the c erem o n ia l, stood ov er th e trip od as p riest and set sw in g in g the h a n g in g ring fitted to a v ery fine lin en th read and co n secra ted w ith m y stic arts. T h is rin g, p a ssin g o v er the d esig n a ted in terv a ls w ith a series o f ju m p s, an d fa llin g u p o n this an d th a t letter w h ich d eta in ed it, m a d e h ex a m eters c o r resp o n d in g to q u e stio n s an d c o m p le te ly fin ish e d in feet and rh y th m . like th e P y th ia n verses w h ich w e read, or th o se g iv en o u t from the o racles o f the B ra n cb id a c [the p riesth o o d o f A p o llo at D id y m a n ear M ile tu s]. 32. W h en w e th en an d there in q u ire d , S v h a i m a n w ill su c c ee d th e p resen t emperor?*, sin c e it w a s said that h e w o u ld be p erfect in every particular, an d th e rin g lea p ed forw ard a n d lig h tly to u ch ed the tw o sy lla b les Θ Ε Ο , a d d in g the n ex t letter [a d e lta ], th en one o f th o se p resen t cried o u t th a t b y th e d ecisio n o f in ev ita b le fate T h e o d o r u s w as m ean t. A n d th ere w a s n o further in v e stig a tio n o f th e m atter; for it w as agreed a m o n g us th at he w a s the m a n w h o w a s so u g h t.

Am m ianus tries the critic’s skepticism by failing to m ention the oifering of a propitiatory sacrifice th at went with the incantations recited by seer. Even if M axim us, then living in Ephesus, played no role in the m antic techniques th at led to the T H E O D oracle, his association with the principals in the affair and his reputation for the knowledge and practice o f analogous forms of theurgy proved dam ning. 'The circle of Isidore, successor of Proclus as director of the

206 Ammianus Marcellînus, Res Gestae 29.1.5-44'. 407 Ammianus M arcellinus, Res Gestae 29.1.29. 200 Quoted from Am mianus Marcellinus with an English Translation , ed. J.C . Rolfe 3 (London 1964), 205Γ.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

51

Neoplatonist school in Athens (post 485), rem em bered M axim us of Ephesus' acts with a degree of fright:209 M a x im u s— fur this m a n w a s a H e lle n e in w o rsh ip — sen t o ff m a n y g la n ces o f the eyes an d u sed to see frig h ten in g and d a n g ero u s th in g s, so th a l he rep elled th e g a z e o f th o se w h o b ch cid h im . . . H e w a s ev en th e seer o f a p p a ritio n s w h ic h oth ers c o u ld n ot see. H e h a d th e ca p a b ility to d isp a tc h d e s Iructive daimones and to su m m o n th o se sen t from elsew h ere. E x ce p t th a t b ec a u se o f p erform in g im p io u s acts h e w as arrested at C o n sta n tin o p le an d d id n ot esca p e th e ju s tic e o f th e sw ord.

T he purported ability to dispatch destructive daimones and to re­ direct those sent from elsewhere (ικ α νό ς δ ’ ήν κ α ι δ α ίμ ο να ς έ π ιπ έ μ τ τ ε ιν φ θ ο ρ ο ε ρ γ ο ύ ς , κ α ί α λ λ ο θ ε ν ε π ιπ ε μ π ό μ ε ν ο υ ς άναστέλλεΐν) and, indeed, the uncom m on ability to perceive such daim onic presences in general, belonged to the regular stock-intrade of the lowest crim inal sorcerer. An alm ost identical set of talents, with a survey of the different varieties of acts of destruction perpetrated, such as plagues of locusts against tilled fields, poison­ ing, and i&nmiM-possession, are attributed to a certain Theodore K ourappos, who resided in m id-sixth century G alatia at the village of M azam ia. T he m an had never been baptized, owned magic books with directions lor imposing spells, claimed to converse with daimones, and evoked great popular fear. T he local C hristian hegumen Theodore of Sykeon eventually proved the sorcerer's powers to be im potent against the holy m an, both as regards the dispatch of daimones and in his h u m anitarian ability to win over the rural population enthralled by religious awe.210 I f Isidore's biographer D am ascius and m any fifth-century Hellenes like him abhorred such acts with terror and disdain, they nevertheless believed them to be w ithin the reach of the theurgist, w hether he belonged to the Hcllcnic elite of philosopher-theologians or was an impoverished rural sorcerer. I f few Hellenes chose to follow this path, these instances nevertheless provide another exam ple of the system atiza­ tion and recategorization of debased practices within high-cultural Greek theology. Fhilosopher-theurgists in Isidore's circle of friends claimed to have performed such acts. For example, when Isidore accom panied Asklepiades to see the baityloi at Baalbek-Heliopolis below the M ount Lebanon massif, the latter supposedly “ lit with fire the plain lying oyster-green writh grape clusters below and he saw the crop tu rn entirely to ash ” (κα ι τό ύττοκείμενον π ε δ ίο ν Damascius, E p it. PhoL 204 (Zint7en, 278)* 210 Trom bley, “ Paganism in the Greek W o r l d 540.

m

52

CHAPTER ONE

στάχυ σι βρύον τοξεύει πυρί, καί το λήϊον παν τέφραν ώετο γεγονέναΐ).21’ M odern speculation about a more m aterial cause for such phenom ena can hardly blunt the reality of the sense of fear with which both educated and illiterate superstition regarded the theurgist, who will m ore often than not have taken a fee for his services, unlike Asklepiades, for whom the alleged act was little m ore than a gratuituous display of power. O ne wonders, b ut can hardly discover, how m any times C hristian monks restored com ­ m unal confidence in the good harvest by raising an apotropaic cross against sorcerers and the daimones thought to act a I their behest. Asklepiades, at any rate ; included destructive theurgy in the “ harm ony of all theologies5’ (των θεολογιών άπασών ή σ υμ φ ω νία ) which he is said to have begun w riting.212 This control of daimones which the Hellenic theurgists claimed to display theoretically gave them the power to perform exorcisms, a task of the earliest C hristians clergy which monks like H ypatius of R ufinianac later coopted in the struggle to Christianize the Bithynian countryside in the 440’s.m A pious Hellene like the sophist Theosebios m ight perform such an operation sim ply by calling upon deities known from his studies of theology w ithout any real expertise in theurgy:214 As a daimonion w as not p ersu a d ed to go ou t o f a w o m a n by g e n lle w ords. T h e o se b io s co m p elled it w ith an oath (ο ρ κ ψ ) and did it w ith o u t k n o w in g h ow to p ra ctice m a g ic or h a v in g stu d ied th eu rgy. H e adjured the rays o f th e su n , w h ile stretch in g forth [his h a n d ], and the G od o f the H eb rew s, T h e daimon w as d riv en oil, cry in g ou t th at it revered the g o d s an d th at it w a s a sh a m ed ev en before h im .

The incident bears a rem arkable sim ilarity to C hristian cxorcism, with the stretching forth of the hand, as the text implies, and the sum m oning of the Alm ighty God of the Jew s, whom the monks regarded as one and the same as theirs. H ypatius would invariably seal the forehead of the victim possessed by the daimon (in the above instance a daimonion or lesser daimon) w ith holy oil and the sign of the cross (σ φ ρ α γ ίς).215 T he philospher m ight, like the monk, “ move all things’5> w hether the daimones thought to cause m ental disorders, rain clouds, locusts, the rise of rivers and even the rays of 2tl Damascius, Fr. 166 (Zintzen, 139). r-2 Damascius, Vv, 164 (Zintzen, 137f.), ' ]- Infra, Ch. V II, Scct. 1. 2H Damascius, Epit. Phol. 56 (Zintzen, 82). Theodoret of Cyrrhus reports a strikingly similar, if more detailed, ease of Christian exorcism in his Ilùfaria Phiiôlheos. Infra. Ch. V III. Scct. 5. 21“ Infra, Ch. V II, S c c t 1.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 Α,Τλ

53

the sun.216 In fifth-ccntury Hcllenic theology the rays of the sun, the hierophany of a great deity, were thought break the grip of lesser daimones, who revered him in a hierarchy rem iniscent of the Neoplatonic taxeis of celestial beings.217 At the same time the God of the Jews (ό Ε β ρ α ίω ν θεός), often sum m oned for such purposes in m agical texts, was thought to specialize in repelling daimones, and His cult thus becam e integrated in the Hellenic “harm ony of all theologies” . This behavior suggests the existence of an unsuspected avenue for conversion to C hristianity and at the same rime crypto­ paganism , for a Hellene m ight as a catechum en revere the Jew ish, or publicly C hristian, God w ith a sincere respect for His unique powers, while keeping in mind the aretalogies of the Hellenic deities. The powers of the latter m ight eventually be seen to lapse with the failure of prayers to them and the closure of their temples. T he catechum en m ight then keep the Jew ish-C hristian God as part of the bargain, and transfer his allegiance entirely if some w onder or cure was performed in His nam e. This behavioral model may explain some of the conversions of the pagan C onstantinopolitans effected by H ypatius of R ufinianae.210 T he m anufacture and circulation of am ulets (φ υλα κ τή ρια ), apotropaic devices designed to w ard off harm in ail its m anifesta­ tions, disease, bodily insult and injury, the evil eye, and the ubi­ quitous daimones of physical and m ental illness, was a prom inent feature of Greek* Semitic, and C optic religion in its polytheistic, Ju d a ic , C hristian, and syncretistic varieties.219 The m anufacture and use of such objects developed as the logical consequence of, and as a counterm easure to, the m agical devices of sorcery, which often aim ed at seduction, the dem olition of erotic relationships, and the physical injury of persons. Am ulets often took the shape of rings, medallions, and folded m etal sheets worn w ith one’s personal effects and inscribed with prayers or adjurations to the protecting deity or datmon. It is hardly possible in the present survey to provide π ά ντα ϋύν καλώ ν έκίνει. Damascius, Epit. Phot. 57 (Zintzen, 82), 217 This supposition receives a fifth-century Neoplatonist basis and interpreta­ tion in Proclus’ Elements of Tkeoloçy^ Prop. 143: “AD inferior principles retreat before the presence of the gods1* (παντα τα καταδεέστερα τή π α ρ ου σ ία τών θεώ ν ύπεξίσταταί). The Elements oj Theology, ed* tr. E.R. Dodds, 2nd ed, (Oxford 1963), 127 and 275. 218 For the problem of conversion, see infra, Ch. V, passim, 219 See the full discussion and vast array of examples in Campbell Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets Chiefly Graeco-Egyptian (Ann Arbor 1950). Also o f general interest are: Henri Leclercq, “ Am ulettes,” DACL 1/2 (Paris 1907), 1784-1802, and Gary Vikan, “Art, M edicine, and Magic in Early Byzantium ,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 38 (1984), 65-86.

54

CHAPTER ONE

a plausible sum m ary of the variety of these objects, which continue to tu rn up in excavations and fortuitous finds. Dam ascius m entions an am ulet, a C haldaean ring of wisdom (το της σωφροσύνης δακτύλιον) owned by Theosebios* the philosopher who performed the aforem entioned exorcism w ithout having cultivated either magic or theurgy (καιτοι οΰτε μαγεύειν ειδώς ούτε θεουργίασμά τε μελετήσας).2*0 T he name of the protecting deity is left unstate ri:^j Theoscbios. having furnished this man wich the ring of wisdom which the Chaldaean had come and given to him, went to his wife and told her; '‘He once gave you a ring for the betrothed of a child­ bearing marriage. Now I give one to you as a chastizer, to be present as a protector of wise housekeeping and its cares. She accept cd it gladly, and lived with her husband the remaining time without bodily intercourse* This amulet had something efficacious not only for the wife but also for himself, as be used to relate a long time ago, For when he was a young man, he confessed, he contended in the agon of the p a id e ia with enemies in his own generation< both those who attacked him from without and those who betrayed him from within.

T he am ulet was thought to assist the w om an's housekeeping (επίκουρον παρεσόμενον τής σώφρονος έττικουρίας), but also led to a philosophical style of cohabitation (άνευ σωματικής κοινω νίας). Although worn by the m an's wife, the phylactery protected him in his own professional life as well, that is from his contem poraries (γενεσιουργοί) in the sophists1 discipline. O ne gets the impression th a t the typical jealousies among scholars led them to m obilize the received knowledge of theurgy against their professional com peti­ tors, m uch like the more banal varieties that prevailed am ongst the charioteers and wrestlers of the hippodrom e.222 Damascius, Epit. Phot. j '6 (Zintzcn, 82; Asrnua. 35). Damascius, EpiL Phot. 311 (Zintzen, 87f.). C f the comm cut o f R. Asmus, Das I.tb m des J.sidoros} 156. 1~A For the legislation on acts of .sorcery. see infra, Ch. I, Scct. 4. The life of George o f Choziba, a seventh-century text, provides the striking example of a wrestler who ultimately found a cure with the Christian monk after having tried both pagan and Christian devices to defeal the effects of “ sorcery'5: “There was a certain wrestler in Byzantium, a Cilieian by birth, who was victorious in his art. His opponents, who were in difficulty bccausc of his art, poisoned him. and he suffered. His friends brought him from chapel to chapel and irom monastery to monastery, and were grieved for his sake. Finally, out of much folly, or rather madness, these so-called Christians brought him to sorcerers who rejected the saints for the sake of their own tricks. The sorcerers hound an evil spirit to him for two years, fie was victorious in his art from the strength of his body and from the activity of the spirit/' Vita S. Georgii Chozibae a Antonia, ed. C, Houze, Analecta Bollandiana 7 (1888), 114. Ancient varieties o f sorcery correspond closely to those reported in the anthropological literature. Cf. E.E. Evans-Pritchard, “ Sorcery and Native O p in io n /’ A frica 4- (.1.931}, 23-28, and idem, "Witchcraft (M angu) amongst

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

55

It is instructive to consider some archetypal examples of amulets which, if dating from earlier centuries, reflect paradigmatic modes of regarding a sometimes threatening exterior world. Thus, a text from c. 200 A.D. composed “in a crude school hand . . . on a roll left blank after entering tax receipts’5 reflects issues of general concern:223 Amulet. Great cclcstial one, who grasps the world, you who arc the god Iao, lord pantokrator, [magic word] Ablanathalaabla, give» give, that I might possess a favor, the name of the great god in this amulet, and protect me from every evil (φύλαξόν μοι από παντος κακού πράγματος), whatever some woman might beget, whatever some man might beget. A papyrus from Egypt of fourth- or fifth-century date reflects concerns which affected Hellene and Christian alike:224 ΧΜΓ, [Magic words.] Iao, Sabaoth, Adonai, Eloe, Salaman. [Magic word.] I bind you, scorpion, Artemisian, 315 times, Protcct this house with those living in it from every evil influence of the spirits of the air, and of the human [evil] eye, and of dangerous illness, and of the bite of the scorpion and snake through the power of the name of God most high. [Magic words.] Protect me, Lord, son of David according to the flesh, who are begotten holy highest God of the holy virgin Maria of the Holy Spirit. Glory to you, celestial king! Amen. Α +Ο λ^.Α +ω . ΪΧΘΥΟ As regards household conccrns, a fragmentary amuletic prayer dating from the sixth or seventh century adjures an unknown deity or daimon to protect the bearer against the archetypal, particular, or bodily daimon— the sense is unclear— thought to cause pregnancy (διαφυλάξετε από του συλ[ληπτικοΰ] αύτοόαίμονος) and against migraine, (ττρός ήμίκρανον),225 A philosophical marriage without the Azande,” Sudan Notes and Records 12 (1929), 163-249. For extracts and m od­ ifications o f Evans-Pritchard's groundbreaking theories, see: Witchcraft and Sorcery, ed. Max Marwick (London 1982). Scholars generally agree on several points about sorcery: that inveterate competitiveness often provides the motivation (as in the case of George of Choziba’s wrcster), that it entails the supposed dispatch o f spirits, and that the malefidam requires the belief of the victim in its potency in order to producc the desired evil effect, which is often sympathetic, hysterical, or psychosomatic in nature. Ibid., 16, 31, and 52. The tendency to assume the operation of magic rather than natural causes In cases of illness is quite common in primitive societies, Bronislav Malinowski, Magic, Science> and Religion and Other ed, Robert Redfill (Garden City 1984), 15. 2 Papyri Graecae Magicae: Die gùechischen Zauberpapyn, ed. Karl Y reise ndanz, 2 (Stuttgart 1974), P .L X X I (203). In this and the following instances, I have deliberately selected some shorter illustrative texts for the sake o f brevity. This source is hereinafter abbreviated as PGM. PGM 2, P3 (p. 21 Of.). PGM 2, P .L X V (p. 197).

56

CHAPTER ONE

sexual intercourse like that m entioned in connection w ith Theosebios’ ring m ight generate an occasional m igraine in the course of reading and speculation, b ut quite clearly obviated any need for a prophylactic am ulet. I t rem ains to consider some of the phenom ena of everyday life th a t belong to the varieties of Hellenic religion practiced by persons of a lesser philosophical bent than those nam ed in D am ascius’ biography of Isidore. Some of these phenom ena lie in the sphere of true religion, others in the realm of sorcery. O u r source is A m m ianus M arcellinus, a soldier and Hellene of Antioch who reports on the affairs of the eastern parts of the em pire during the last years of the em peror Valens in the final three books of his histories (c. 371-378). A characteristic feature of this era was a preoccupation with sorcery linked to the sensational trials and convictions which led to a num ber of executions- Some of the acts proved to be heinous, other innocuous and hardly deserving of capital punishm ent, A m m ianus5 reports reveal, in any case, a dark side to the old religion that bore little resem blance to the great urban tem ple cults. The most heinous act concerned a certain Numerius* who was apparently the tribune of an im perial guards unit attached to the palace in C onstantinople. T he historian refers to him as “ a m an of surpassing wickedness.’' N um crius was pardoned after confessing to an act of crim inal divination;226 T h is m an w a s co n v icted at thal: sa m e tim e on his ow n co n fessio n o f h a v in g dared to cu t o p e n th e w o m b o f a liv in g w o m a n an d tak e o u t her unripe offspring, in ord er to evok e the g h o sts o f th e d e a d an d co n su lt th em a b o u t a c h a n g e o f rulers; y et V a le n s, w h o lo o k ed on h im w ith the eye o f an in tim a te friend, in sp ite o f the m u rm u rs o f th e w h o le S en a te g a v e ord ers th at h e sh o u ld csca p e u n p u n ish e d , an d retain h is life, en v ia b le w e a lth , and h is m ilita ry rank u n im p a ir e d .

The incident provides the exam ple of politics actually helping a practitioner of magic. T he w om an m ust have been a slave of N um crius, or one procured especially for the purpose. T his p articu ­ lar form of sacrifice turns up again, with some m odifications in m ethod and purpose, in the eighth century, when the Arab emir M aslam a was besieging Pergam um .227 Im p o rta n t citizens of C on­ stantinople and other cities underw ent torture and execution for lesser divinatory offenses, w hether real or im agined. One m an, who resided in the province o f Asia and was perhaps a senator (quidem

Quoted from Amm. Marc., Res Gestae 29.2.17 (tr. Rolfe 3, 225). 22' Trombley, “ Paganism in the Creek W orld,55 334-,

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

57

municeps clarus), but certainly a wealthy decurion, having his per­ sonal papers examined on some business m atter in 372, lost his life after a horoscope (genitura) nam ing a certain V alens turned up am idst the other docum ents. W hen asked why he had had a horo­ scope cast with the birth constellation of the em peror on it (quam ob rem constellationem pnncipis collegisset) >he indicated that he had had a brother nam ed Valens, who apparently possessed a set of signs identical to those of the em peror, b ut had died years before.228 Zealous officials could not exclude the possibility that, in the wake of the T H E O D oracle trials, other am bitious men m ight be seeking foreknowledge of V alens' destiny in order to cxccute a coup d ’état at the most favorable m om ent. O ne did not have to be plotting against the life of the em peror to fall victim to the obsession with sorcery that prevailed during the 370’s. C aution was dictated, for example, at the bath houses, particularly in the province of Asia, where Festus the proconsul was conducting a purge, for sorcerers and diviners m et their clients in such places:229 In the bath (in balneis) a y o u n g m a n w a s seen to to u ch a lter n a te ly w ith th e fingers o f cith er h a n d first th e m arb le [u f the floor or w a ll] an d then his b reast, and to c o u n t th e sev en v o w els, th in k in g it a h elp fu l rem ed y for a sto m a c h trou b le. H e w a s h a u led in to cou rt, tortu red an d beheaded*

This behavior, evidently a ritual proscribed by a physician to help his patient distract him self from the periodic recurrence of stom ach pains caused by an ulcer, closely resem bled the recitation of Greek vowels recom m end cd in certain m agic texts.230 The authorities sometimes mistook magic applied as a medicinal cure for the baser arts of sorcery and divination. A t C aruntum , the m etropolis of Pannonia Prim a, a predom inantly Latin-speaking area on the D anube, the nephew of the Praetorian Prefect of Illyricum , a certain Faustinus, was convicted of having killed a donkey (asinus) in 375. His accusers declared the act to have been a sacrifice connected with certain crim inal “ secret a rts” (ad usum artium secreiarum), although Faustinus professed th at he had done it as p a rt of a ritual to stop his hair from falling out (ad imbecillitatem firmandam fiueniium capillorum)PxA surer locus for investigating practitioners of the ‘'secret a rts” was the hippodrom e. A favorite charioteer c. 372 22ii Amm. Marc., Res Gestae 29.2.27. 229 Quoted from Amm. Marc., Res Gestae 29.2.28 (tr. Rolfe 2, 233). PGM 2, P.L X II (p. 195). 231 Amm. Marc. 30,5.11. A minute examination of the magical papyri might yield information about such a sacrifice.

58

CHAPTER ONE

named Athanasius, a Greek who practiced his profession in the circus at Rome, was suspected all along of a certain “vulgar levity” in his life-style. lie suffered capital punishm ent for having practiced poison­ ing (venefodis usus) after he received a stern warning about his activities from the Praefectus Urbi Romae.232 Wc learn, finally, of a simpleminded old woman who used to “cure interm ittent fevers with a harmless incantation73 (intervallatisfebribus medeH lent carmine). She was executed despite the fact that she had, with the knowledge of the provincial governor, treated his own daughter,*53 T he judge in this last case was Festus of T ridentum , at this tim e (372 A.D.) proconsul of the province of Asia. A m m ianus M arcellinus advises us th at he had gotten it into his head to im itate the relentless search for evidence about the different kinds of divination and sorcery conducted by M axim inus, the erstwhile Praefectus U rb i of Rome and later Praetorian Prefect of Italy .234 It was this Festus, as well, who had ordered the execution in 372 of the m an who had the Valens horoscope in his private papers and the young m an in the bathhouse who had rccited the Greek vowels while tapping on the marble panelling and then his own chest. In assess­ ing the phenom ena of cult revealed in these and other cases, one is struck by A m m ianus’ tcndcncy always to believe the alibi and to exculpate the person executed, when the behavior or practices involved bore a striking resem blance to sorcery or divination. T he critic is forced to choose between his own knowledge of the p h e­ nom ena of divination and magic and the pronounced apologetic tendency in Ammianus. For example, when die guilt of the offend­ ers was unam biguous, as w ith A thanasius the charioteer, who seems to have practiced poisoning after receiving a stern w arning, A m m ianus com plains th a t the m an deserved indulgence because of his profession as an artist in entertainm ents {voluptatum artifex) in the circus,2*^5 a most surprising position for the historian to take to judge from what he has to say about the poisoner's art elsewhere;236 F or if a n yon e w ore on h im an a m u le t a g a in st q u a rta n ag u e or a n y oth er co m p la in t, or w a s a c c u sc d b y the te stim o n y o f th e e v illy d is­ p osed o f p a ssin g b y a g ra v e in th e e v e n in g , on th e g ro u n d th a t h e w as a d ea ler in p o iso n s, or a gath erer o f th e horrors o f to m b s an d the v a in illu sio n s o f the g h o sts th a t w a n d er th ere, h e w a s co n d e m n e d to ca p ita l p u n ish m e n t a n d p erish ed ,

232 Amm. Marc., Res *ΛΑ Amm. Marc., Res 2S4r Amm. Marc., Res Amm. Marc., Res

Gestae 29.3.5, Gestae 29.2,26. Gestae 29.2.22-23. Gestae 29,3.5.

236 Adapted from Amm, M arc., Res Gestae 19.12,14-15 (tr, Rolfe 1, 541).

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.B.

59

T his datum derives from the reign of C onstantius II in the year 359. O n the other hand, our im partial historian (pace G ibbon) curses the system which allowed the tribune N um erius to go free after performing a sacrifice by cutting the fetus out of a living w om an: a heinous crim e, all will certainly agree, b ut one com ­ m itted by a m iddle-ranking official am ong the palatines whom A m m ianus may have had every reason to em ulate, or hate secretly under the eyes of Valens and the court entourage. It wTould hardly be dangerous to suppose the prevalence of the cults described here in the late fourth century. If m any of the executions were politically inspired and at tim es fell on the innocent, it is equally certain that A m m ianus’ account was inspired by a bitter loathing for a system which saw m any good m en, including friends of his, cashiered, and in which the historian perhaps failed to receive advancem ent com­ m ensurate with his own high opinion of himself. Bitter, talented men like Tacitus and Niccolo M achiavelli always write interesting history. T he present-day historian m ust therefore question the alibis of the victims of Fcstus' cxccutions as much as the motives of their apologist A m m ianus. T he close sim ilarity of their behavior to known practices suggests that, if officials erred on the side of severity in rooting out “ enemies of the Rom an order’1, there were m any other occasions when these crim inal investigations landed right on the m ark. These varieties of cultic behavior m ust therefore be taken as indirect evidence for the dark side of Hellenic religiosity in the 370’s, on the eve of the anti-pagan legislation of Theodosius the G reat> and possibly as som ething quite distinct which the “ im partial historian” has obscured for his own purposes.237 IV. The Legislation against Sorcery It rem ains to exam ine the status of sorcery and divination in the im perial edicts. T he series of twelve statutes assem bled in the Theodosian Code dates back to three laws prom ulgated c. 319 by C onstantine the G reat, whose imperium was still confined to the western parts of the em pire at that tim e.238 The most recent belongs to 409. These acts range widely over such questions as haruspices taking auspices from anim al entrails, astrologers casting horo­ 2*7 This view of Ammianus M arcellinus5 bias is, I find, generally shared. Cf. A.A. Barb, “ Survival o f M agic A rts,55 The Conflict between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Centu?y7 ed. A. M omigliano (Oxford 1963), 103. This view was originally stated by A, Alfoldy, A Conflict v f ideas in the L ate Roman Em pire, tr. H. M attingly (Oxford 1952), 3. ** On the legislation* see: Andreas Alfoldi, The Conversion o f Constantine and Pagan Rome, tr. HL M attingly (Oxford 194B), 75—78.

60

CHAPTER ONE

scopes, and sorccrers practicing base m agic to the detrim ent of their victim s5 health and virtue. T hree of the edicts date from the early 370’s, when the hysteria about m agic had reached its zenith in the eastern provinces of the empire, and at C onstantinople in particu lar.239 As it turns out, m ore than a few of the laws seek remedies for phenom ena closely related to those described by A m m ianus M arcellinus and discussed in the previous section. T he principles for judging such cases were firmly established during that time. The three C onstantinian laws reflect th at em peror's anxiety about the activities of the haruspices, practitioners of the ancient E truscan art of seeking omens in the entrails of sacrificial anim als. Two laws on this question, given at Rome on 1 February and 15 M ay 319, did not seek to interdict the practice as such, b ut to confine it to the house of the haruspex him self These folk were forbidden under any circum stances to approach the threshold (Itmen) of another, even under the pretext or fact of longstanding friendship (sub praetextu amicitiae).240 Such friendship was, in fact, condem ned im plicitly.241 T he haruspex was subject to the penalty of being burned alive, the person who sum m oned him by persuasions or fees (suasionibus vel premiis) to exile,242 C onstantine perhaps felt threatened by a conspiracy of the largely pagan Senate of Rome and Licinius Augustus (ob. 324) in the East. He was therefore anxious to prevent secret consultations about omens, lest favorable signs trigger the audacity of some. T he law of 1 February removes the odium of informers (delalores) from any who m ight divulge the identity of the offenders. T he continuity of the haruspices’ art into the early fourth century and down to the time of the Theodosian codification is thus evident, for a religious system requires a strong consensus for it to be used as a political tooL The law rejects secret com binations only. Haruspices were thus allowed to practice their rite publicly (publice riium proprium exercere):2*3 But those of you who think that this [practice] is profitable to you may go to the public altars and celebrate the sacrifices of your custom (adite aras pubhcas adque delubra el consuetudinis vestrae celebrate soliemnia). 2119 Alfoldy, Conflict o f Ideas in the Late Roman Empire, 69-72, 74f., 78f., etc. Alfoldy rightly distrusts A m m ianusJ veracity in describing these cases of magic. Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. A.A. Barb’s article even now remains the classic statement of the issue. Supra, 11. 237. More recently, see: Richard Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages (Cambridge 1989), 1—42. ^ Cûd. Thêod. 9.16.1. 241 Cod, Theod. 9.16.1. ^ Ibid. 243 Cod, Theod, 9.16.2,

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

61

For w c d o n o t forbid the ccrem o n ics o f th e o ld o b se rv a n ce to be e a rn ed ou t in th e ligh t o f d a y {libera luce).

T he subsequent history of these practices suggests their ineradicability.244 The laws of C onstantine were considered good ipsofacto by virtue of their authorship and relative antiquity. Two laws of C onstantius II (337-361) make a new departure, putting the a rt of the haruspex in the sam e crock of dam nation as m alevolent magic. The first of these statutes (25 J a n u a ry 357) forbade consultation with haruspices under the threat of capital punishm ent, but not the practice itself. It adds: 4'T he curiosity of all men about divination (divinandi curiositas) shall fall silent forever.” 24^ T he second statute (5 Ju ly 358) confuted haruspices w ith other diviners and sorcerers. It aim ed not at banning the practice as such, but only at eradicating it from the im perial court circle (comiiatus), which was constantly in m ovem ent during the reign of C onstantius II. M ore of this law will be seen in connection with the problem of base m agic.246 T he periodic restatem ent of the original C onstantinian law against sacrifice implicitly bore on the karuspex's art, since one could hardly inspect anim al entrails and divine the future w ithout a sacrificial victim to m ake the rite efficacious. These processes went on all through the fourth and fifth centuries. They cam e to the fore, for example, during the brief reign of Ju lia n the Apostate. Ju stu s, his proconsul of Asia, “ who depended upon every kind of divina­ t i o n (καί μ α ντείας εξεκρέμα το πά σ ης), perform ed public sac­ rifice during a visit to Sardis.247 He was so addicted to ritual that, when the victim collapsed after he applied the knife, he began the divination by studying the m eaning of the posture into which the anim al had fallen.248 241 The anonymous interpretatio attached to this statute ridicules the idea that the law actually invited persons to perform the haraspidna publicly. "Scholia Vaticana: Similar to the [statute] above, but this one goes on to say that som eone might [actually] perform ceremonies. But it says this in a mocking tone, as though one might actually attempt to perforin sacrifices in the manner of ancient ceremo­ nial (. . . sed hoc inruive dicit3 ut tempta conducta publica secundum ritum pristinum sacnficare) ,n T he actual law is emphatic about the license given to sacrifice. T he interpretatio is in contrast the product of a later age, when all sacrifices were forbidden. Constantine's complicity in such acts struck the commentator as im ­ possible. Hence it appears that Cons tantine’s forbearance during the early days o f his regime in Rome had been forgotten by the late fourth century. C f Barb, “T he Survival o f M agic Arts,15 105f. Or: “ Let the curiosity of men about divination fall silent forever." Cod. Theod. 9.16 4. ^ Cod. Theod. 9.16.6. Eunapius, Lives of the Philosophers (Wright, 552f.), Ibid., 554-557.

62

CHAPTER ONE

Λ law of V alentinian I, given at T rie r (29 May 371) and later ratified by the cocmpcrors Valcns and G ra tia n > clarified the re la ­ tionship of the haruspex's art (haruspicina) to o th er kinds of div­ ination, U nlike the others, d iv in atio n from anim al entrails was v indicated by its origin deep in the R om an political and religious trad itio n . It was therefore legitim ate so long as it was no t p ra c ­ ticed 4‘h a rm fu lly '5, th a t is to p redict the outcom e of conspiracy and rebellion:249 I do not. ju d g e th e art o f d iv in a tio n from en tra ils (haruspicina) to h ave co n n cctio n w ith ea ses o f sorcery (ego nullum cum maleficiorum causis kahere consortium iudico), nor d o 1 m o reo v er con sid er this or any r eli­ giou s practice a llo w e d by our a n cesto rs to b e a ca teg o ry o f crim e (. . ,

neque ipsam aut aliquant praeterea concessam a maioribus religionem genus esse arbitror criminis). T h e sta tu tes g iv en b y m y s e lf at the b e g in n in g o f m y imperium arc w itn esses in w h ich free o p p o r tu n ity (libera facullas) w as gran ted to ev ery o n e in d iv id u a lly (unicuique) o f cu ltiv a tin g w h a tev er he con ceived in his m in d . W e d o n ot cen su re th e art o f th e haruspex, bu t we d o forbid it to b e p ra cticed h arm fu lly.

T he Hellenes of Aphrodisias practiced haruspicina in its illegal form during the rebellion of Ulus, the magisler militum per Orientem, against the em peror Zeno c. 481 488,2h0 an exam ple that m ust be the tip of the proverbial iceberg. V alentinian I ’s clarification of the law given here was fully consistent w ith the C onstantinian decrees of 319 and rem ained the rule until at least 484.2:>1 It provides a good example, as well, of the post-Julianic liberalization of the rules against hamspicina that Constantius II had imposed. This tendency of the Valenlinian dynasty is a seldom appreciated feature of the period c. 363-378.25* Base magic, in the m ultifarious forms of sorcery (maleficium)y poisoning (venefirAum), and vulgar divination (the art of the fiariolus), has a status completely divorced from that of haruspicina in the edicts collected in the T heodosian Code. C hristian bishops, H el­ lenic: philosophers, im perial officials, and a wide public of urban wrorkers and agriculturalists believed in the efficacy of m alevolent spells. Hcllcnic philosophers dignified such works w ith the term theurgy (ϋ ^ ο υ μ γ ια ), which im plied channeling the powers of an unseen divine wrorld for the edification (m ainly) or benefit of m en.253 If Dam ascius of D am ascus is to be believed, the pagan 249 Cod, Theod . 9.16.9. 350 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 4. 251 Infra, Ch. I, Scct. 6. Infra, Ch. II. SecL 2, n. 46. Cf, Garth Fowderrs absorbing study: “The Pa^an Holy Man in Lale Antique Society/* Journal a f Hellenic Studies 102 (1982), 33-59.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A,IX

63

“ holy m en” at times gave in to the perverse tendency to try7 to use their powers gratuitously and destructively,254 O rdinary sorcerers by way of contrast sum m oned individual, and sometim es whole constellations of, daimones to effect their spells. A m m ianus M arcellinus’ histories provide a veritable rogues’ gallery of base magicians and diviners along with other persons whom the “ philosophic historian5’ seeks to exculpate from such charges posthum ously.255 T he im perial edicts reflect the public opinion that the practitioners of these arts were “ legally alien to n a tu re ’1 {naturae peregrini sunt),2bS “ enemies of the hum an race in w hatever p a rt of the world they live’1 (etsi omnes magi, in quacumque sini parte terrarum, humani generis inimici credidendi sunt)?*7 and undeserving of pardon in the periodic amnesties granted on the C hristian Pasch.258 A m an or wom an who suddenly fell ill or gave way to an uncontrollable am orous passion often suspected the work of sorcer­ ers right, from the start, w hether he was the sim plest C hristian catechum en or a Hellenic philosopher.259 E unapius of Sardis relates the intriguing story of the female philosopher Sosipatra (ante c, 361), who had landed estates in the vicinity of Pergam um , Some­ thing of a clairvoyant and theurgist h e rse lf250 Sosipatra was once troubled by a love charm , it was said, imposed on her by an adm iring pupil nam ed Philom etor, W hen the young m an left her presence, she would feel her heart “ w ounded and churning within her in such a m anner as to burst from within her chest” (δάκνεται μου καί στρέφεται πως προς την έξοδον ένδον ή καρδία),*(>ι O ne can easily suppose w ith E.R. D odds that a scarcely repressed subconscious eroticism lay behind her physical symptom s th at was perhaps excited by Phiîom etor’s g la n c e s . A noble and sophisticated Hellenic woman could hardly adm it such a craving, and so a daimon and spell had to be invented. M axim us of Ephesus, the inscrutable theurgist and crony of Ju lia n the A postate, generously stepped in and counteracted the spell with a stronger one, after discovering

254 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3> 2b:> Supra, Ch. I> Sect. 3. 2i6 Cod. Theod. 9.16.5. Cod. Theod. 9.16.5. 258 Cod. Theod. 9.38.3-5, 7, 8. 2W This is the obvious interpretation in an age that saw an unseen world populated by daimones that affected the natural order and behavior of phenomena. See the comparative examples collected in Kieckhofer, Magic, 7, 19-20, and 81-83. In cases of life-threatening illness, too, suspicion of sorcery often preceded the search for material causes. Supra, n. 222. ^ Eunapius, Lives of the Philosophers (Wright, 327). 2C1 Ib id ., 4 1 0 - 4 1 3 ,

64

CHAPTER ONE

the origin of the problem through his sacrificial lore (δί,ά σοφίας

μέν θετικής καταμαθών φτινι κέχρηχαί, βιαίοτέρφ τε και δυνατωτέρω καταλΰσαι to ελαττον).262 T he opinion that Philom etor had of these proceedings cannot be deduced from E unapius' narrative. M axim us is said to have con­ fronted him with the facts of the case: ' ‘‘Colleague Philom etor, by the gods, stop burning wood in vain.' He said this to him perhaps about the maleficia th a t he was practicing.” 263 T he ‘‘perhaps3* (ϊαως) of this statem ent tells all. Sosipatra relieved herself of the anxiety about a potential liascm w ith her pupil by a sublim ated confession of libidinous desire to M axim us, whose “ exorcism ” of the daimon conferred a sort of symbolic absolution on the wom an. It was easier for all the parties concerned to confront the “ otherness” of the daim on th an the “self-ness” of seemingly antisocial libido, especially as the N eoplatonic world-view of the participants de­ spised such impulses.264 T he average law student, artisan, or farmer confronted these problems at a less philosophic level, but the emotion­ al dynamics and rationalizations were essentially the same The earliest statute on sorcery in the Theodosian Code dates from the reign of C onstantine the G reat in W est (23 M ay 317—19; 321 24):26r> ‘ T h e scien ce (scientia) o f those w ho are d isco v ered lo b e e q u ip p ed w ith m a g ic arts an d to w ield th em a g a in st the sa fely o f m en or to d eflect virtu ou s m in d s to lu st is to b e p u n ish ed a n d d eserv ed ly a v e n g e d w ith the severest law s. B u t th e rem ed ies so u g h t for h u m a n b o d ies sh all n ot be in volved in crim in a l accusations,, n or th o se acts o f a ssista n c e (suffragia) in n o cen tly a p p lied in the rural d istricts, lest rain s w o u ld th reaten the rip en in g v in ta g e s or th a t they be sh a ttered by the sto n es o f a tu m b lin g h a ilsto rm , b y w h ich no o n e ’s safety or re p u ta tio n is h arm ed, but w h o se p erform an ce m ig h t b e b en eficia l, lest d iv in e gifts or the labors o f m en b e d estro y ed . Interpretatio'. Sorcerers or en ch a n ters or la u n ch ers o f storm s o r th ose w ho through th e in v o ca tio n o f daimones th ro w th e m in d s o f m en in to con fu sion sh a ll be p u n ish ed w ith every' kind o f p en a lty {Malefici vet incantatores m l inmissores tempestatum vel hi, qui per invocationem daemonum mentes kominum turbant> e tc .). 2^ Ibid., 4-12f. Thus, by calling them maleficia (τα κακούργα), Eunapius or his source equates the rituals o f concocting love charms in every respect with those designed to cause bodily harm. Supra, Ch, I, n, 259. 264 p ^ D odds’ discussion, Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety (Cam ­ bridge 1965), 29f. 261 Cf . the case of Paralios1 seemingly bad conscience after his baptism. Infra, Ch. V , Sect. 3. Remedia humanis quaesita corporibus aut in agrestibus locis. ne maturis vindcmiis metuerentur imbres aut ruentis gradinis lapidatione quarterentur, in­ nocenter adhibita suffragia. Cod. Theod. 9.16.3.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

65

If Eunapius of Sardis can be trusted, even C onstantine at times gave in to the persuasion th a t sorceries explained unusual devia­ tions in the w eather,267 A blabius, the great Praetorian Prefect* is supposed to have convinced the em peror th a t adverse north winds preventing the Black Sea grain fleet from reaching C onstantinople had been induced by the pagan philosopher Sopater, who had supposedly ‘'bound the winds through an excess of [theurgic] wisdom ” (άλλα Σώπαΐρος γε . . . κατέδησε τούς άνεμους δι’ υπερβολήν αοφίας) Sopater was beheaded after this» If one accepts the notion th at some m en had the daim onic power to shift the winds, the act was seditious: civil rebellion could result if grain supplies ran low in the city. If A blabius feared for his job, C onstan­ tine m ay have feared for his throne.269 A more interesting feature of the law of 17-23 M ay 317—19 is the special status accorded to the non-m aievolent forms of m agic (in­ nocenter adhibita suffragia) designed to heal pagans and Christians from physical ailm ents (remedia humanis quaesita corponbus) and to prevent the destruction of harvests from im m oderate rainstorm s or the fall of hail (in agrestibus locis, ne maturis vindemiis metuerentur imbres aut ruentis gradinis lapidatione quaterentur). It would seem th at the edict was a necessary response to the overzealousness of some officials who punished every kind of magic. Few' examples of the pagan sacrifices and incantations survive.270 T he evidence for these rituals, including m agic circlcs around tilled fields, the sum m oning of anim ate rain clouds, the averting of “ wild’1 clouds full of hail­ stones, and healing the sick with oil and prayer, survives m ainly in its modified and C hristianized form .571 T he system atic legislation against sorcery continued during u, 358-389, a time when the morose suspicions of em perors like C onstantius II and Valens in particular floated to the political

.26Β

2(>/ On Constantine’s association with the theurgist Sopater, see Alfoldi, Conver­ sion o f Constantine, 57 and 99. 260 Eunapius, Lives of the Philosophers (Wright, 384-f.). ?M Even well-established emperors tested the murky depths of the political waters of Constantinople for sedition. That few emperors w^ere ever overthrown in the city is more a testimonial to the logistic efficiency o f their subordinates than the predictability of the urban crowds. In this instance, the dernos is said to have been worn out by hunger. After observing that Sopater had bound the winds, it uttered a seditious shout: “ But Sopater, he whom you honor, has bound the winds through an excess of [theurgic] wisdom that even you praise, and because o f this he (you?) still sits on the imperial throne/' Ibid, 2 T he anonymous interpretatio adds: “ Sorcerers or enchanters or launchers o f storms or those who through the invocation of daimones throw the minds o f men into confusion shall be punished with every kind of penalty” . 271 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld,!’ 337—341, 345.

66

CHAPTER ONE

surface in the form of em otional debris and anxiety about the practitioners of m alevolent m agic (malefici), poisoners (venefici), ver­ sifiers a b o u t future events ( votes), au g u rs (augures), C h ald aean astrologers, Hellenic astrologers (mathematici) , vulgar astrologers or diviners (harioli). “ Persian’7 astrologers (magi), and the rest, T he greater p art of this catalogue derives from a law of C onst an tius II (25 Ja n u a ry 357) directed against “ inquisitiveness about divina­ tion” (divinandi am odias). Each one of these was a “ depraved sc ie n c e/'272 The first two (m alevolent magic and poisoning) were in the phrase of C onstantine the G reat a “ science . . . of those who are . . » equipped with m agic arts and wield them against the safety of m en or to deflect virtuous minds to lu st.”273 T he law stipulates capital punishm ent for these offenses. All the sorcerers and diviners attested in the laws of C onstantine I and Cons tan tius II turn up in later contexts: a sorcerer who concoctcd a love charm in Berytus (late 5th century); poisoners who robbed graves for organs of the dead to m anufacture their potions (Rome, c. 359—72);2/4 versifiers o f future events, that is producers of hexam etric oracles, in A phrodisias in the tim e of Ulus' rebellion against the em peror Zeno (c. 481—484) ;275 Persian m agi­ cians (magi) in Berytus (c. 490) ;276 astrologers who cast the horo­ scope of Proclus, diadockos of the N eoplatonic school of Athens (5th century);27' vulgar m antics (harioli) like the m an of B ithynia who claim ed th a t an “ angel5’ helped him to see the future after appropriate sacrifices had been m ade at idol tem ples (c. 4 4 3 -4 6 )? 78 and the cloud-drivers (νεφ οόιώ κ τα ί) who were thought to direct clouds bearing hailstones and im m oderate rain from place to place.279 T he list m ight be extended endlessly.280 A nother edict, given at M ilan probably on 4 D ecem ber 356,281 reaffirmed the penalties against malefici and venefici in dram atic form :202 272 Cod. Tktod. 9.16.4. 273 Cod. Theod. 9.16.4. 274 Supra, Ch. I, Scct. 3. 275 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 4. 276 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 5. 277 Infra, Ch. IV, Scct. 3. 278 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1. 2/9 Supra, Ch, I, Sect. 3.Trombley, “ Paganism in theGreek W orld,” 343. 280 Examples mav be found in Phaidon Koukoules,Byzantinon bios kaiPolitismos 1/2 (Athens 1948)/226-265. Cf. “ M agic,” Oxford D ictionary o f B yzan tiu m , ed. A Kazhdan eL al. (Oxford 1991), 1265f 201 The date o f the prescript to this law fails k> conform to the known m ove­ ments of Constantius II and the comitutus. Pharr, Theodosian Code , 238. Cod. Theod. 9.16.5s

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

67

M a n y p ersons w ho d a re to d is tu rb the forces o f n a tu re (elementa iurbari) a n d w ho d a re to w ave in the air afte r the sp irits o f the d e a d hav e been su m m o n ed do n o t h esitate to d a m a g e the lives o f in n o c en t p erso n s, so th a t everyone m ig h t d estro y his p erso n a l en em ies by evil a rts. D e a d ly ru in shall consum e those perso n s, since th ey arc alien to n atu re!

This statute only treated m alevolent acts, hut not the ' ‘innocent57 magic m entioned in the C onstantinian law m entioned above th at was designed to benefit the health of m en and their crops. This was manifestly the intention of the Theodosian codification as well. It cam e to light around this time th at m em bers of the comitatus had engaged in sorccry, divination and astrology. C onstantius II responded with a harsh edict designed to obliterate the persons in question (5 July 358), H e evidently feared his comites’ speculations about the “ fated35 end o f his reign and perhaps attem pts to poison him* Such acts suggest acrim onious relations among m en bent on gaining personal dom inance in the court hierarchy th at could only be a bad thing for the execution of C onstantius IT s policies. T he law is intransigent:203 A lth o u g h the bodies o f those d istin g u ish e d by offices o f h ig h ra n k a rc ex em p t from to rtu re , except for those crim es w h ich a re sta te d in th e s ta tu te s, an d since all m ag ician s, in w h atso ev e r p a r t o f th e w orld they live, should be tru ste d as th o u g h enem ies o f the h u m a n race (,humani generis inim ici) , a n d since those w ho a re in o u r comitatus have d ire c t co n ta c t w ith o u r m ajesty: ii any one o f th e m is a magus o r is tra in e d in the c o n ta m in a tio n o f th e m agic a rts (magicis contaminibus adsuetus), w ho is called maleficus by th e cu sto m o f the v u lg a r m asses, o r a karuspex o r hatiolus o r a t all events an au g u r, o r even a n astro lo g er, o r som eone concealing som e skill a t d iv in in g by in te rp re tin g d rea m s, o r a t an y rate som eone w h o p ra c tic e s something like this in m y comitatus o r th a t o f the C a e sa r is c a u g h t by su rp rise, he shall n o t escap e to rtu re by his p ro tec ted p o sitio n o f high rank» If h e is convicted o f his ow n crim e a n d opposes th o se w ho d iscovered it by a d e n ia l, h e shall be given to th e w ooden rack an d to th e claw s th a t dig a t his sides, an d he shall e n d u re p en a lties a p p ro p ria te to his crim e.

As konestiores, or m en belonging to the higher grade of citizenship, counts of the im perial consistory, palatine guards such as protec­ tors, and so forth were norm ally exem pt from torture and sum m ary execution.2^ This statute signifies an im portant exception to the rule of exorbitant privilege applied to m em bership in the comitatus. T he m en im plicated in the T H E O D - divination conspiracy at Antioch in 371-372 held various prefectural and notarial offices, MS Cod. Theod. 9.16,6. Jones, Later Roman Empire, 17f.

68

CHAPTER ONE

b u t did not at th a t time belong to the comitatus. Cruel tortures were applied to them to extract confessions, ju st as the earlier law given here provides. Tw o low-level officials, Patricius and H ilarius, who gave a complete account of the Delphic ritual, were tortured with hooks after their confession and then taken away unconscious from pain and terror, Another conspirator, the young philosopher Simon­ ides, had failed to divulge the conspiracy for reasons of honor toward his friends’ secrets. lie was sentenced to be burned alive. Ridiculing his fate, the m an m ounted the pyre unm oved.285 All the participants in the aflfair and some uninvolved persons were ex­ ecuted, including the famous theurgist M axim us of Ephesus (by beheading). Alvpius. the form er vicar of the diocese of B ritain, a quiet m an living in retirem ent, was denounced for a separate case of sorcery; but was reprieved ju st before his execution. T he only evidence, according to A m m ianus M arcellinus, came from a “ low fellow” (vilus) called Diogenes who was m angled until there was no feasible torture left to be applied and then b urnt to death .286 O ur purpose is not to catalogue tortures, but only to identify the state of danger that existed for honestiores after the cdict of 358 becam e law .287 This regulation did not deter highly placed officials from undertaking the proscribed rites. As with the pagan sacrifice, sor­ cery and divination certainly declined during the period being investigated here, but could not be rooted out entirely. An early law of Valens and V alentinian I (9 Septem ber 364) reiterated the previous rulings.on m agic preparations along with 1'nefarious prayers” and funerary practices (Ne guis deinceps nocturnis temporihus aut nefarias pieces aut magicos apparatus aut sacrificia funesta celebrate conelur) >2ai? Funerary sacrifices existed in all the local cul­

tures of the empire, Bishops like Gregory of Xazianzus in the bor­ derlands of C appadocia and the Arm en ias regarded them as a form of backsliding into H ellenic religion/2^ The custom of funer­ ary banquets at C hristian tombs and their repetition on occasion is evident in the mens a inscriptions of the N orth African provinces. O ne in p a rtic u la r datin g from 299 A .D ., em phasizes the tra n s i­

2Ca Amm. Marc., Res Gestae 29. L 3 7-3 9. ^ Arum. Marc:*, Rea Gestae 29.1.44. 20/ But see the case of Numcrius, a iriburie of the imperial guards at Constanti­ nople. who completed the divinatory sacrifice o f a human ictus and cscaped punishment thanks to the emperor V alens’ iavoritism. Supra, Ch. I, Seer. 3 S n. 226. 288 Cod. Theod. 9.16.7. 28Q Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 2.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

69

tional character of these rites between the old and new religions.1*90 Funerary rites themselves had been driven underground by a pre­ vious law of Ju lian the A postate (12 February 363). Its validity rem ained unquestioned in the years after the Hellenic em peror’s death. The law forbade the transit of funeral processions through crowds of people during the daylight hours because of the risk of ritual pollution to bystanders for the worship of the gods (Qui enim dies est bene auspicatus afunere aut quomodo ad deôs et templa venietur?) and bccause of the unlucky aspect symbolized by such processions.291 T he statute is entirely consistent with a later regulation issued in the time of G ratian, V alentinian II and Theodosius I (30 J u ly 38 1 ) 292 j u[ia n [c iaw was incorporated into the Theodosian Code in its original wording, notw ithstanding its clear reference to the gods of the old polytheism .293 T he few attested cases of pagan funerals suggest that this law was observed.291 To return to the law of 364, “ nefarious prayers” and funerary banquets (“ sacrifices” ) becam e theoretically illegal, T o judge from the gloss or interpretatio attached to it at the time of the Theodosian codification, this rule had in view the nightly horror of poisoners5 preparing their concoctions from the hum an debris inside tombs and the invocation of daimones™ I t simplified the task of enforce­ m ent to ban all nocturnal rituals involving the spirits of the dead [manes). An overzealous proconsul of A chaca then apparently inter­ dicted the m ysteries of the underw orld deities D cm cter and Persephone being celebrated at Eleusis, as they were thought to enjoy a special relationship with the spirits of the dead. This interruption ran against the spirit of accom m odation w ith the old religion th at prevailed during the reign of the c o - e m p e r o r s V alen­ tinian I and Valens. The error was belatedly recognizcd and the FJeusinian mysteries were reestablished and apparently continued

The important pre-Christian mensa inscription ofSatafis (299 A .D .) is conve­ niently found in Inscriptions Latinae Chnstianae Vetere$y cd. E. Diehl (Berlin 1961), no. 1570. On the pagan nature o f the text: Antonio Ferrua, Nuove correzioni alia silloge del Diehl Inscr. Lot. Ckr. Vet. (Vatican City 1981). 37. The dedication of a mensa, or altar tabic at tombs, passed over directly into Christian practice. T he very many examples include ILCV 3710-3726, and others in Diehl's corpus. 293 Cod. Theod. 9,17.5. 292 Cod. Theod. 9.17.6. Cf. Frank R. Trombley, “ Boeotia in Late Antiquity: Epigraphic Evidence on Society, Economy, and Christianization,” BOIOTIKA: Vorträge vom 5. Internationalen Böotien-Kolloquium zu Ehren von Dr. Siegfried Lauffer, ed, Hartmut Beister and John Buckler (Munich 1989), 22 lf. Cod. Theod. 9.17.5. 294 Supra, Ch. 1, Sect. 3. Cod. Theod. 9,17.5, Interpretatio.

70

CHAPTER ONE

to function publicly until A laric’s Visigoths pillaged the lemenos in 396.29e The Hellenic historian Zosimus observes:297 O n c e [V a le n tin ia n ] h a d d ec id e d on th e in tro d u ctio n o f legislation,, b eg in n in g as it w ere from h is o w n h earth , he restricted n o ctu rn a l sacrifices from b ein g p erform ed, as he w a s d esiro u s th a t the m y steries be im p ed ed th ro u g h this la w . W h en P r a etex ta tu s, w h o h a d h eld the p ro co n su lsh ip o f G reece (a m an e x c e llin g in every v ir tu e ), told the em p eror th a t this law h a d m a d e life u n liv e a b le for the H e lle n e s , if the h u m an race sh o u ld be restricted from cele b ra tin g th e m o st h o ly m ysteries as u su a l a cco rd in g to c u sto m a ry law , th e em p ero r ru led th at all cuuld b e a c c o m p lish e d a cco r d in g to th e a n cestra l cu sto m o f th e earliest tim es, the [im p eria l] law b ein g u n en fo rced .

If pressed, Zosim us’ text reveals the status of the law. It rem ained am ong the standing im perial edicts, but was simply not enforced in the case of the Eleusinian mysteries (ά μ γουντος χ ο ν νό μ ο υ ).29B Its passage was perhaps an oversight, a problem quickly corrected through the advice and protestation of V ettius Agorius Praetextatus, whose term as proconsul of Achaea had apparently expired not long before the publication of the new law, which was issued nine days after the beginning of the new indiction (9 Septem ber 364). It seems th at his successor as proconsul interpreted the new statute as vitiating the Eleusinian mysteries. These wcrc> however> ancestral custom s from earliest Limes (τα έξ αρχής πάτρια), a body of cults and customs clearly unrelated to sorcery and whose legitimacy V alentinian I later recognized in principle in the cdict of 371 on the haruspicina,299 T he public opinion of the urban Hellenes of A chaea still had the power to convincc em perors of the legality of their cults in 364, and not in the least because they had a powerful patron in Praetextatus, a Hellene who rose to the Praetorian Prefecture of Illyricum and Italy in 384, and was nam ed consul designate in that year as well,™0 The co-cm perors Valens and V alentinian I also tightened up the laws against casting horoscopes, m aking not only the purveyor, but

Eunapius, L ives o f the Philosophers (Wright, 436-439).

207 Zosimus,

Historia

jVn?,'J Zosimus' account here derives from the Universal H istory of Eunapius of Sardis, an author exceptionally well-informed about social, economic and religious conditions in Attica during the 360’s. Cf. his discussion of the rise in the prier: of grain during the reign of emperor Constans I (337-350). Eunapius, Lives o f the Philosophers (W right, 508-511). 299 Cod . Theod.. 9.16.9. Supra, this section. Sflft Zosimus, N ew H istory, tr. Ronald T. Ridley

(Canberra 1982), 185, n. 8.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

71

also the receiver of the forbidden docum ent, subject to the death penalty (12 December 370 or 373) :30^ T h e p ractice o f th e a strologers sh all cease. I f a n y o n e is c a u g h t p u b licly or p riv a tely at d a y or n ig h t e n ta n g le d in this forb id d en ch arlatan ry, e a c h o f th e tw o {uterque) sh a ll be strick en w ith ca p ita l p u n ish m en t, For the forb id d en c u lp a b ility o f receiv in g th e in form a­ tion is not d issim ila r from m ak in g it k n ow n (neque enim culpa dissim ilis est prohibita discere quam docere) .

The statute sought to strangle the dem and for horoscopes by terror­ izing the m arket. Although reaffirmed by the Theodosian codifica­ tion of 438, the law was unenforceable. Proclus, the diadochos or director of the Neoplatonist academ y in A thens (ob. 485), m ight in theory have been liable to execution for possessing the horoscope that his successor M arinus published in his posthum ous life of Proclus.™2 P roof of this m ight be found in the anecdote of A m m ianus M arcellinus m entioned above about the wealthy decurion of the province of Asia executed in 372 for possessing the horoscope of a certain i 'V a le n s55 w'hom he claim ed was his brother.™* T he law books were firmly closed on astrologers in the early fifth century by a decree of the co-em perors A rcadius and Honorius* Given at Ravenna (1 February 409), it aim ed at the eradication of the mathemaiici from the cities of the em pire, where the principal m arket for their services lay:™4 W e decree th at astro lo g ers b e d riv en from n ot on ly the cily o f R o m e, bu t from all c ities (civitates), u n less th ey are p rep ared to su rren d er their faith tn the w o rsh ip o f the ca th o lic ch u rch a n d n ever return to their former error, after the books o f their erron eou s d o ctrin e h a v e b een in cin cra tcd in a fire u n d er th e e y es o f the b ish o p s (. . . codicibus erroris propm sub oculh episcoporum incendio concrematis). B ut i f th ey fail to d o this an d , co n tra ry to the sa v in g d isp o sitio n o f our c le m e n c y , arc ca u g h t in the cities or in tro d u ce the secrets o f their error and p rofes­ sion , they sh all receiv e th e p u n ish m e n t o f ex ile (deporiatio).

Zachariah of M ytilene provides practically a textbook exam ple of this system of enforcement c. 490. Tn this instance bishop Jo h n of Berytus supervised the burning of m agic books in a public square with the defensor of the city and local corps of im perial notaries looking on.305 Ät>l C od. Theod. 9.16.8. C. Pharr has, in my view, misunderstood the meaning of the Latin text here. Theodosian Code , 238 ► Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. n. 228. C od . Theod. 9.16.12. 305 Infra, Ch. V, Sccr. 5.

72

CHAPTER ONE

A law of the co-em perors V alentinian II, Theodosius I and A rcadius (given at Rome, 16 August 389) provided that sorcerers be denounced publicly (ilico ad publicum protrakat) as an “ enemy of the public safety” (communis hostis salutis). C harioteers had in p a r­ ticular been the target of m alevolent magic (maleficia). T he edict calls upon them to heed this rule of public denunciation and not to avenge themselves on sorcerers or any other personal enemy [inimicus) on the pretext th at they had im posed evil spells.305 C harioteers rem ained perpetual suspects of hiring sorcerers and poisoners to destroy their enemies. Steering a team of horses in the hippodrom e could be extremely lucrative. O ne acccpted the m oney and popu­ larity of this trade nor only at the risk of accident and poisoning, but also o f conviction in the courts for crim e, as happened to the Greek charioteer A thanasius in R om e;'07 T he edicts on m agic rem ained in force throughout the era of the Theodosian dynasty (379—457), and were, of course, reiterated in the Theodosian Code in 438. T he quaestor T rib o n ian ’s new codifica­ tion of the edicts in 532, the so-called Ju stin ia n Code, repeated m ost of the old edicts. H ere the phrasing of the statutes received certain m inor alterations in response to the conditions then prevail­ ing at C onstantinople and in the other Greek cities. It causes no surprise that, in 532. the law of 371 issued by V alentinian I, Valcns, and G ratian granting free practice {libera facultas) to the ancestral cults (concessa a maiorihus religio) was simply dropped from the list of activc statu tes.308 T he em pire of Ju stin ia n aim ed at nothing less than the com plete eradication of the varieties of H el­ lenic religion and the assim ilation of their practitioners into the C hristian social fabric.309 F. The Transformation o f the Law after 438 T he legislation against sacrifice and the other varieties of H ellenic belief between 319-423 did not, in itself, envision the complete obliteration of the old religion, but sought rath er to regulate it in a m anner th at fended off the perceived m oral and social dangers inherent in the ancestral cults. T he m en responsible for the fram ing and publication of the Theodosian Code in the years before 438 held this opinion as well. O ne thinks, for example, of the law against the propitiatory sacrifice of infants, or, presum ably, m ature Cod. Theod, 9.1 Ü. 11. Supra, Ch. I, Scct. 3. 5DR Supra, this section, 305 Infra, Ch. I, Scct. 6.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

73

fetuses in the course of divination rituals (piaculum) (given by V alentian I, Valens, and G ratian, 7 F ebruary 3 7 4 ) , 310 the restric­ tion of fnneral processions to the hours of the night, and the condem nation of the M aium a. T he M aium a was a w ater festival celebrated in specially de­ signed sacred pools wherein women are thought to have bathed and, perhaps, to have frolicked naked*311 T he precise religious m eaning of the M aium a is unknown. It was possibly a fertility cult o f some sort. At any rate, Jo h n Chrysostom , p atriarch of C onstanti­ nople (398-404), condem ned it, and two im perial laws attem pted to control the behavior in question. T he first of these, given at C onstantinople in the nam e of the co-em perors Arcadius and H onorius to Caesarius, Praetorian Prefect of O riens (25 April 396), was anxious to conserve the festival:312 I t h as pleased o u r clem ency th a t the jo y o f M a iu m a be resto re d to th e p ro v in cials, so long, th a t is, as d e c o ru m is m a in ta in e d a n d m o d esty is p reserv ed by m orally u n o b je ctio n ab le practices*

A later law. issued by the sam e em perors to the sam e P raetorian Prefect, notes the continuing violation of the established rule on decorum and modesty at the festival (2 O ctober 399) :313 W e allow the sp o rtiv e a rts to be ce le b ra ted , lest d ejectio n be caused by overzealous regulation* W e flatly refuse th a t, how ev er, w h ich lays legal claim to the n am e o f im p u d e n t license, the M a iu m a , a foul an d ob scen e spectacle (Illud vero quod sibi procax licentia uindicami, maiumam, Joedum adque indecorum spectaculum).

A mid-fifth century' civil governor of C aria was given the civic titles of agonothete and M aium arch.^14 It would seem> then, th at the M aium a festival survived despite im perial denunciation and eccle­ siastical lam ent in a form uncoupled from its original religious and sexually interesting context. And so the co-em perors' policy suc­ ceeded in the long run, despite anything th at Hellenes and C hris­ tians on the fringes of the catechum enate m ight have done privately or in small groups on th at occasion, including invoking the relevant deities and m aking sacrifice. T he fourth- and fifth-century em perors continued to tighten the screws on C hristian apostates in the area of civil law. An edict given at C onstantinople by the three reigning A ugusti (G ratian, 31Ü Cod. Theod. 9.14.1. 311 Ramsay M acM ullen, Paganism in the Roman Empire (Mew Haven 1981), 19 and 21. Jiy Cod. Theod* 15.6.]. 313 Cod. Theod. 15.6.2.

74

CHAPTER ONE

V alentinian II and Theodosius I) on 20 M ay 383 voided wills m ade by catechum ens or baptized C hristians who “ m igrated to pagan rituals and cults55 (qui ad paganos ritus cultusque migrarunl)215 and once again approached Hellenic altars and tem ples “ in such great neglect of the venerable [C hristian] religion55 (qui Christiani et catechumeni tantum venerabili religione neglecta ad aras et templa transierunt) .3ie A subsequent statute degraded C hristian holders of im perial titles who apostasized through sacrifices (ac se sacnficiis mancipassent) to below the status of humiliores, or the lower category

of Rom an citizenship. This technically reduced them to the status of freedmen with L atin R ights:317 I f th e sp le n d o r [of rank] is conferred u p o n p erso n s or is in b o rn by rea so n o f legal sta tu s, an d they have d e v ia te d from the faith a n d p ra c tic e o f sa cro san c t religion w ith th e fa ith o f a d ev io u s m a n a n d th e m in d o f a b lin d m a n a n d they d eliv er them selves to sacrifices, they shall be d eg ra d ed to th e p o in t o f being evicted from th e ir sta tio n a n d sta tu s [de loco suo statuque deicti) a n d be e m b a rra ss e d w ith p e rp e tu a l infam y. T h ey shall n o t be n u m b e re d even a m o n g the low est o f th e ignoble m asses. F o r w h a t can they h av e in co m m o n w ith th o se m en w ho d etest the g race o f c o m m u n io n a n d re tire from th a t o f the [re st of] men?

The rule on wills was strengthened by another edict of Theodosius II and V alentinian I I I (given at R avenna, 7 April 426). If the private papers or other testim om a about a m an revealed th a t he had performed sacrifices or had ordered them to be perform ed “ after assum ing the nam e of C hristianity3' {qui nomen Ghrislianitatis induti sacrificia vd fecerunt vel facienda mandaverini), his bad faith, even if proven posthum ously (etiam post mortem), will have voided the will. All other special bequests would be legally rescinded as wrell.318 The inclusion of these ants in the Theodosian Code dem on­ strates that Christian apostasy remained a problem of some dim en­ sion even tow ards the m iddle of the fifth century. T he literature of the Justinianic era and its sequel (c. 518-602) points to the periodic occurrence of cryptopaganism , a concept im plicit in the law o f 426, all through the sixth century.*19 Public and private behavior and 3:* 3J5 316 317 ™

Infra, Ch. V I, Sect. 1, n. 20. . . . qui ad paganos ritus cultusque mierarunt. Cod. Theod. 16.7.2. prooem. Cod, Theod. 16.7.2.1. Cod. Theod. 16.7.7.3. Cod. Theod. 16.7.7.3. There is ample evidence for the continuation o f sacrifice, in fact, into the mid-eighth century, as the Ekloga of the emperors Leo III and Constantine V attests. Prank R, Trombley, The Survival o f Paganism in the Byzantine Empire during ike Pre-Iconoclastic Period (Ann Arbor 1981), 213—227. This legal text has recently been edited, but for some reason the Appendix is not included. Eclöga; Das Gesetzbuch

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 Α.Ώ.

75

thought had therefore hardly crystallized along strictly C hristian lines by the end of the period under consideration here. These three statutes are absolutely dam ning to the thesis of a “ completely C hristian society'3 em erging quickly in the wake of the legislation initiated by em peror Theodosius I. T he legislation of his grandson against the Hellenes of the E ast­ ern Rom an Em pire came to an end in a law issued at C onstanti­ nople on 31 J a n u a ry 438, the T hird Novel of Theodosius I I, even as the new codification was being ratified by the Senate in elder Rome. It is a docum ent of unparallelled rhetorical brilliance sus­ tained with visually inspiring images of the beauty of the cosmos. It reflects the now established view that the supposed 4‘peace of the gods” (deorum pax) in the old dispensation had been abrogated and transform ed into a nova pax unius dei solius Chnstianorum. T he new statute establishes a principle of m onotheism , the only conceivable interpretation of the text vis à vis Hellenes, although it also ad­ dresses Jew s, Sam aritans, and various “heretical m onsters” :'320 F o r w ho is so d em en te d , w ho is so co n d e m n e d by the g reatn ess o f novel ferocity th a t, w hen he sees th e sky w ith in c re d ib le sw iftness set lim its to th e m e asu re u f the seasons w ith in its spaces by the c o m m a n d o f d iv in e h an d iw o rk , the m otion o f th e sta rs co n tro llin g th e c irc u m ­ stan ces o f life, th e e a rth end o w ed w ith rip en in g h a rv e sts, th e serene sea, the im m en sity o f the g re a t w ork confined w ith in th e b o u n d s o f the n a tu ra l universe: w ho sh a ll n o t in q u ire afte r th e a u th o r o f so g rea t a han d iw o rk , so g rea t a m ystery?

T he divine power that harnessed and directed these regularized forces of nature (divina ars) belonged no longer to the Hellenic gods of the w eather and harvest, the vault of the firm am ent, or the resolves of destiny, bu t to the C hristian God, the originator of the great handiw ork and m ystery (tanti secreti, tantaefabricae . . . auctor). The verdict of the senses on this issue seemed obvious to T heodo­ sius II and the Greek church of the period after the Oecum enical Council of Ephesus (431), but obvious in other ways to the more resistant Hellenes, from their senatorial estates in B ithynia to the libraries of Athens. Leons IIL und Konstantinos K, ed. Ludwig Burgmann (Frankfurt am M ain 1983). For the Appendix cf. the early edition of Antonius G. Monferratus, Ecloga Leonis et Consiantini cum Appendice (Athens 1889). Its importance is rccognized by Edwin H, FreshfieJd (tr.), A Manual o f Roman Law: The Ecloga (Cambridge 1926), 115-141. This evidence is absolutely damning for John H aldon’s thesis that the Hellenic sacrifice is not attested in the law codes after the sixth ccntury. Byzantium in the Seventh Century (Cambridge 1990), 336. Nov. Theod, 3,1, Although quite elegant, the Latin has been omitted for the sake of brevity.

76

CHAPTER ONE

T he Novel of 438 authorized the coniiscation and execution o f all who sacrificed, although it adm itted the principle of leniency:S21 H e n c e our c le m e n cy p erceiv es th a t w e m u st a llo t su r v e illa n c e over p a g a n s and p a g a n e x c e ls {p ag an o ru m quoque et g m l i l i s in m a n iia lis vigil i a ) , w h o by so m e n a tu ra l in sa n ity a n d irred u cib le la w le ssn e ss d ep art from th e path o f true relig io n {mra rdigio) an d d o n o t d isd a in in a n y w ay to practice the n efariou s rites o f sacrifices and the d e a d ly errors o f su p erstitio n in h id d en so litu d e s, u n less their crim es are m a d e p u b lic by n a tu re o f p rofession to th e injury o f our su p ern a l m a jesty and to the co n tem p t o f our ep och . T h e th o u sa n d terrors o f our p u b lish ed sta tu tes d o n o t d eter th em , n ot the th rea ten ed p e n a lty o f exile, so that, jf th ey c a n n o t am en d [th eir b e h a v io r ], th ey sh o u ld at lea st defer to a b sta in from th e m ass o f crim es a n d filth o f sa crificia l v ictim s (inlutu mclimarum . . . abstinere). T h erefo re, a lth o u g h love o f religion can n ev er be secu rc, a lth o u g h p a g a n m a d n ess d e m a n d s th e h arsh n ess o f all p u n ish m e n ts, n e v erth eless, b ein g m in d fu l o f our in n a te len ien c y , we d ecree b y our firm c o m m a n d th a t, if a n y p erson w ith p o llu ted and c o n ta m in a te m in d is d e te c te d m a k in g sacrifice in any p la ce w h a tso ev er, o u r w ra th sh a ll rise a g a in st h is fortu n e, a g a in st his blood! It w ere proper for us to g ive this b etter v ictim , w ith th e a ltar o f C h ristia n ity k ept in ta ct, (o p o rtet enirn dare nos kan c viclim a m m eliorem ara C h n s tia n ita tis Intacta s e rv a ta ).

The statute adds in another context that anyone who “ should lead a slave or freedm an, w hether against his will or by punishable persuasion, from the worship of the C hristian religion to an im ­ pious sect or ritu a l” would suffer capital punishm ent (qukumque servurn seu Ingenuum? invilum vel suasione plecienda. ex cultu Chrislianae religionis in nefandam sedam rilumve tramduxerit) 'y n T his provision applied to pagans and ‘"hcrctical m onsters” like M anichaeans m ore than to Jew s. The T hird Novel of Theodosius II embodies a spirit of violence against seduction ( p e r s u a s to ) to entrap freemen (ingznui) and free women {ingenuae) that m any C hristian bishops shared, being anxious to prevent the apostasy of persons recently baptized and of the catechum enate. This m entality drove bishop Forphyrius of Gaza to destroy an Antiochene wom an nam ed Ju lia , who had attracted newly baptized young m en and women into a syncrctistic “ M anichacan” cell (c. 4-08-4-15). These im m ature folk had been led ex cultu Chrislianae religionis in nefandam sectam ritumve, and so M ark the Deacon, our source for the episode, provides a haunting demise for Julia, who lapses into a self-absorbed catatonic state and descends to inexhorable dam nation.323 The Novel of 438 321 Nov. Theod. 3.8. Nov. Theod. 3.4. 32:i Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 5.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

77

provided a legally sanctioned and pragm atic solution to confronta­ tions of this character instead of the poisoning (vmaficium) or taboo death of Ju lia th a t seems to lie behind this piece of C hristian “ m agic” . The Novel of 438 draw s the inference th at pagan sacrifices had upset the balance of nature, or rather the goodwill of the C hristian God, because of the m anifest impiety of the Hellenes:*24 O r shall we e n d u re it any lunger th a t th e a lte ra tio n s o f th e seasons be c h a n g ed , w ith th e te m p e ra tu re o f the sky gro w in g an g ry , b ecau sc th e e x a sp e ra tin g perfidy o f the p a g a n s know s n o t how to p reserv e th e b alan c e o f n a tu re ? F or w hy h as sp rin g den ied us its u su a l ch arm ? W h y h as su m m e r a b a n d o n e d th e h a rd -w o rk in g farm er w ith a m eag re h a rv e st, ag a in st h is h ope for cars o f g rain ? W hy h as the im m o d e ra te ferocity o f w in te r w ith its p iercin g cold cursed th e fertility o f the soil w ith th e ru in o f sterility? W h y all this, unless n a tu re h as o u tstrip p e d th e d ec ree of its ow n law to avenge a n im piety? In o rd e r th a t we m a y n o t h ere after be com pelled to su sta in [these rev e rsa ls], th e rev ered m ajesty o f the su p e rn a l deity m u st be a p p e a s e d hy a p eacefu l v en g ean ce, as we h av e said.

T he “‘peaceful vengeance” (pacifica ultio) would comc in the form of confiscations and executions. T he will of the C hristian God, here designated as the supernal divinity (supernum numen), is em bodied in the decree of nature against m ankind for the im piety of sacrifice. If em perors and bishops held this view, rustic monks and their con­ gregations had a different attitude toward forces of nature such as violent hail-bearing clouds and rivers surging above their banks into tilled fields: these phenom ena becam e hostile, anim ate kratophanies, or epiphanies of daim onic power. The C hristian cross could confine them to their allotted bounds in the terrestrial and meteorological zones of the cosmos.323 Be this as it m ay, the reli­ gious attitude had come full circle since Pliny the Younger had served as governor of B ithynia during the reign of the em peror T rajan (99-117 A.D.): the polytheistic sacrifices th a t had once guaranteed the natural order now defiled and disrupted it. The God of erstwhile C hristian atheists now guaranteed the toil of men in their tilled fields against the daim onic forces of nature th a t men had once thought to be divine. T he publication of the T heodosian Code and the T hird Novel of 'Theodosius II in 438 did not in the end ensure the slow strangula­ tion of Hellenic belief and ritual. C onvincing evidence from cities 324 Nov. Theod. 3.8. ^ Cf. infra. Ch. II, passim. Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld.” 341 and 345.

78

CHAPTER ONE

like Athens. Aphrodisias and A lexandria, and from the rustic parts of Bithynia, Syria, Egypt, A rabia, and elsewhere dem onstrates the survival of the old religiosity in forms entirely unaffccted by C h ris­ tianity. The later chapters of this book expound this thesis in great detail. The next attested statutes against sacrifice turn up in Book O ne of the Ju stin ian Code, whose first edition was brought out in 532 by T ribonian, Ju stin ia n ’s quaestorpalatii sacri and a Hellene, T he edicts given after 438 are four in num ber. T he first of these, issued by the coemperors V alentinian I I I and M arcian at C onstantinople to Palladius, Praetorian Prefect of O riens (14 Novem ber 451). proves that all the previous statutes were still being violated by polytheists bent on practising their anccstral cults. Its p u rp o rt is perfectly consistent with known events in the Greek cities of the R om an E ast:326 N o one w ith the m in d o f a p erson b en t on rev eren cin g an d p ra y in g sh a ll u n b olt the sh rin es (ddubra) w h ich h a v e a lca d y b een clo sed . For it is urisuited to ou r era th at p ristin e h o n o r be restored to u n sp eak a b le im ages, w h ich sh o u ld in ste a d be e x ecra ted , th at th e im p io u s d o o rp o sts o f the tem p les (templvrum impios posies) be cro w n cd w ith w reath s, th at fires be k in d led on p rofan e altars, th a t v ic tim s b e slau gh tered , th a t w in es be p ou red from lib a tio n b o w ls (pateris v im lib a ri)i and th at sa crileg e be este em e d in p la c e o f relig io n . W h o ev er a ttem p ts to carry o u t sacrifices a g a in st this sta tu te o f our seren ity an d again st the p ro h ib itio n s o f lo n g -sta n d in g im p e r ia l c o n stitu tio n s sh a ll be licitlv accu sed as the g u ilty p arty o f so g rea t a crim e in front o f a crim in al court, an d u p o n b ein g c o n v icted he sh a ll su b m it to the confis cation o f a ll h is prop erty and to ca p ital p u n ish m e n t. E v en those w ho w ere m erely co g n iz a n t o f the sacrifices or servan ts (conscii eiiam ac ministri sacrificiorum) shall en dure the sa m e p e n a lty as th at im p o se d on th e p rin cip al party, in ord er that, terrified b y th e sev erity o f our sta tu te, they w o u ld c e a se to cele b r a te th e forb id d en sacrifices from fear o f p u n ish m e n t.

The law provides for a fine of 500 lb, in gold (36,000 solidi) against any provincial governor w ith the rank ordinary senator (vir clarissimus) who should connive at getting the case dismissed, and the same penalty for His officium. M arcian's edict of 451 corroborates the eviricncc of contem por­ ary sources thaï the longstanding statutes in the T heodosian Code and Novels were still being violated, a practice “ unsuitcd to our e ra ” (absit a saeculo nostro) in view of the form al C hristianization of

3ir' Codex lustinianus 1.1 L.7 in Corpus laris Civiiis, ed. P. Krueger, 2 (Berlin 1929). This text, is hereinafter citcd as Cod. lust.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

79

the empire enunciated in the Third Novel o f Theodosius II, where­ in the mastery of nature is attributed to the Christian God.32' The cdict of 451 mentions that cult effigies (simulacra) still stood inside some temples and that the clandestine use of their buildings for prayer to the local divinity had survived as well. Near contempor­ ary sources agree with this supposition. For example, the younger Asklepiodotus, a rhetor of Alexandria, slept with his wife in front of the image of Isis in her temple at Canopus c. 488—489.328 In this instance the shrine had been sealed with stone and mortar.329 The doorkeeper (θυρωρός) of the Parthenon in Athens secured the place with his keys (τάς κλεΕς) not only against theft, but also against the risk o f devotees’ unbolting the gates, practicing rites, and thereby incurring the wrath of the imperial government.330 Proclus the diadochos probably performed his devotions to Athena outside the temenos even before the elosure of the Parthenon c. 484, as for example the many hymns he composed, whose significance could hardly have been missed if recited in public,331 Clandestine sacrifices required the use of inccnse (tur)f which is attested at Athens,332 Canopus,333 and elsewhere. The Aphroditeion of Aphrodisias, dismantled and equipped as a Christian martyrion probably c. 484, undoubtedly kept its cult image of the goddess past the time of Marcian’s law.334 It was easy to sacrifice animals on the altars of the surviving rural temples of Bithynia c. 443^446.335 Finally, the law contains an innovation of great import, declaring persons who simply knew about the sacrifices (consdi. . . sacrificiorum) subjcct to the same penalties of death and confiscation as applied to the actual instigators. The cottscii were regarded as sympathizers for their failure to denounce the “ s a c r i le g e ” . Attendants (m in is teri) were held accountable in the same way, although they might be slaves or dependents of the instigator. Such persons could hardly resist the demands of their owner or patron without running legal and financial risks. The previous statute on this question lies in the Fourth Clause of the Theodosian Novel of 438.336 It attaches

327 N ov. Theod. 3.8. Infra, Ch. V, Scct. 2. Infra, Ch. IX , Sect. 2. 330 Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 2 and 3. 531 Ibid. 332 Ibid. :m Infra. Ch. IX , Scct. 2. Infra! Ch. V I, Sect. 1, n. 5. Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1, 336 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 5.

80

CHAPTER ONE

penalties only to the person using compulsion or persuasion against his client, w hether free or slave. It was perhaps incum bent upon a new em peror (for M arcian was clcctcd in 451) to reaffirm the laws against paganism . In this instance he chose to confront the acces­ sories to crimes against religion w ith a policy of terror and no m incing of words. T he second post-Theodosian law, given by the co-crnpcrors Leo I and Anthem ius at C onstantinople (c. 472?), defines the position o f “sym pathizers” (conscii) and “ a tte n d an ts” (ministri) at sacrifices with greater clarity. Provincial governors seem to have applied too broad a definition to the question of culpability:337 L et no one dare to p erp etra te th o se a cts w h ich h a v e q u ite often (sa e p iu s) been forb id d en to p erson s o f the p a g a n su p erstitio n [p a g a n a m p e r stilio ). k n o w in g (sciens) how great a p u b lic crim e he is c o m m it­ tin g. So m uch do w c d esire crim es o f this kind to be cu rta iled th a t his lan d ed estate (p rae d iu m ) or h o u se (domus) sh a ll b e a w a rd ed to the h o ld in gs o f th e im p erial treasu ry, ev e n if the a ct in q u estio n w as perform ed in the la n d ed estate or h o u se o f an oth er. O w n e rs [sh all be p en a lized ] for this rea so n alon e, th at a lth o u g h co g n iz a n t th ey p e r m it­ ted their ow n g ro u n d s to b e c o n ta m in a te d by su ch c r im e s /

T he law prescribes the loss of title or m ilitary rank as the penalty for persons holding im perial offices, but specifically excludes con­ fiscation in such cases. Public disgrace was evidently considered a sufficient penalty at the court of Leo I (456-4 74), a peculiar rever­ s io n t:o the concept of Icnicncy. In c o n t r a s t , p e r s o n s of private condition were to be condem ned to perpetual exile after the a p ­ plication of torture. O ne could not therefore in theory witness a sacrifice in the course of dining at another man^s residence (etiamsi in alieno praedio Del domo), nor could he escape penalties if his clients, attendants, or slaves wrere observed contaminating· the soil of his own estate with sacrifices if he had done nothing to stop it (do-mini vero pro hoc solo, quod scientes consenserint sua loca talibus contaminari sceleribus). It thereby becam e incum bent on C hristian citizens to

refuse the hospitality of religious Hellenes and at the same tim e to have bailiffs police their estates for signs of sacrificial fires or rem nants of tu rf altars. If he bccamc aware (consdus) of these acts, the private citizen practically had to turn inform er or suppress the evidence on his own land in order to avoid indictm ent. T he exten­ sion of the rule of culpability to witnesses and accessories to sacri­ ficial rites did not prevent the forbidden acts, b ut simply widened the legal net of entrapm ent for am bitious prosecutors and the n7 CW. I usl 1. 11 .8.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

81

personal enemies of imperial and civic magistrates. This law largely laid the groundw ork for the num erous “ pagan trials ’ 5 of the sixth century under Ju stin ian and his successors. VI . The Quasi-justinianic Laws o f Zeno c. 481-484

Two exceptionally com prehensive cdicts of a later date (inter 472529) designed to crush Hellenic belief and cult once and for all, a ppear in the Codex lustinianus*30 These statutes seem superficially to correspond to the jejune accounts o f the Justinianic law of 529 found in the chronicles of Jo h n M alalas and Theophanes the Confessor ,340 but the supposed relationship is im probable. The two laws of the Ju stin ian Code lack the customary' prescript addressed to the Praetorian Prefect, with the date and place of issue, all of which T rib o n ian ’s staff o f jurisconsults invariably incorporated with edicts of Justinjanic au th o rsh ip ,341 These two quasi-Justinianic laws— as I have designated them — alm ost certainly belong to a previous em peror, but which one? O n the face of it, Ju stin ian the G reat seems to have gotten credit for acts which in fact be­ longed to a predecessor, as was the case w ith m uch of his building program .342 T he most probable context for the statutes, which will be ana­ lysed forthwith, is the rebellion against the em peror Zeno by Illus, magister militum per Qrieniemy and his faction betw een 481-488. The insurgents attracted large num bers of followers from the aristocra­ cies and intelligentsia of the East R om an cities. Am ong the H el­ lenes who rallied to Illus were the rhetor Pam prepius, who had held im portant im perial posts in Constantinople, and the circle that gravitated around the elder Asklepiodotus, a respected decurion of Aphrodisias in C aria who had m any friends with sim ilar views in A lexandria .143 This circle perform ed divinatory sacrifices to discover the outcom e of the rebellion w ith the specific hope of 338 R ochow, ‘O p p osition ellen Ström ungen,” 230C Eadem. “ Die Heiden­ prozesse unter Kaisern Tiberios IL Kons tan tinos und M aurikias,” Studien zum 7. Jahrhundert in B yzan z: Probleme der Herausbildung des Feudalismus , ed> F. W inkelmann et ai. (Berlin 197G), 120-130. C f Frank R. Trombley, “ Religions Transition in Sixth-Century Syria/' Sect. 2 (publication data not vet available). 330 Cod. lust. ί. 11.9 and LI 1.10, 340 John Malalas, Chronograpkia, ed. L. D indorf (Bonn 1831), 451 and 491. Theophanes the Confessor, Ckmnograpkia, ed. C. de Boor, 1 (Leipzig 1883), 180, lines 11-21. 341 Cf. Cod. lu st. 1.4.21, a rcccnt law of 528, and many other examples, 342 C. Capizzi, L ’imperaiore Anastasio 1 (Orientalia Christiana Analecta 184, Rome 1969), 206ff. See infra. Appendices 11 and III. S4a Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 2.

82

CHAPTER ΟΛΕ

learning of emperor Zeno’s overthrow ."544 This m ust have happened elsewhere as weil. O th er synchronisms suggest a date c. 481-488 for the two laws. For example, to judge from the internal chronological evidence in M arinus of N eapolis 5 biography of Proclus, the closure of the Parthenon as a Hcllenic religious shrine, along with the dism antling of Pheidias: chryselephantine A thena, look place near the end of Proclus 5 life (he died in 485), perhaps as late as 484, but easily w ithin the term inal dates of the rebellion ,345 It. was also around this time that A phroditeion of Aphrodisias was dism antled and a m artyrion constructed inside the tem enos .346 It is thought th at the Hellenes of the E ast rallied to Illus’ cause in the hope of having public sacrifices restored to the temple priesthoods ^47 W hatever the practicability of this design, Illus had a strong following at Aphrodisiac, as wc know irom X achariah of M ytilene. The civil war will have evoked a sim ilar fervor in Athens, although M arinus of Neapolis scrupulously avoids reference to it in discussing Proclus’ career. Illus 3 rebellion had been thoroughly crushed at the time M arinus wrote, so he could hardly raise the issue of sedition at Athens with im punity. The em peror Zeno m ay well have decrced the final cleansing of the temples in the two cities, and elsewhere as weih in reprisal for their bad faith during the civil war. As for the two statutes. Zeno probably aim ed them at the now politicized Hellenes of those places, giving p articular em phasis to destroying the economic underpinnings of the temples and philosophical schools. T he laws are thus a product of the unpopular Zeno's struggle for political survival during the early stages of the civil war, when the issue was still in doubt. The laws perhaps had the effect of nullifying the bad im pression m ade on the adherents of Chalccdonian theology by the Henotikon of 481, a decree ending the discussion of the hum an and divine natures of Christ, but it failed to conciliate the m onophysites in the provinces controlled by the rebel 111us. ^ If so> the laws m ight be put m ore closely between the termini 482—484. T he activities of the Hellenes during these years, coupled writh the broad dates assigned to the archaeological Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 4. 345 Alison Frantz, ‘5From Paganism to Christianity in the Temples of A thens,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 19 (1965), 194—195 and 201—204. Cf. the discussion of Tim othy E. Gregory, “ The Survival of Paganism in Christian Greece: A Critical E ssa v /J Amencan Journal of Philology 107 (1986), 238f Infra, Ch. V I, n. 5. i4? Bury, LRE 1, 398f.. n. 5. 340 \W H.G. Fiend, The. ttise of the Monophysite Movement (Cambridge 1972), 177 181.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

83

evidence, adm it the working hypothesis th at the two undated laws in the Ju stin ian Code were an elem ent in Zeno’s propaganda w ar against Illus and the insurgents, either during the later stages of the w ar or shortly thereafter. T he first of the quasi-Justinianic edicts is directed against the endowm ents of schools and tem ples:349 We command that our officials both in Constantinople and in the provinces go with all alacrity on their own initiative and on that of the bishops and scarch out, according to law, the tcachcrs of all the impieties of Hellenic cult, that their acts would no longer occur and accordingly be punished. If their correction excccds the compctence of the provincial officia, let these matters be brought to us, lest accusation for misdeeds and prosecution be brought against the [officials]. L It is unlawful for anyone to bequeath in a will or leave as a gift or for anything to be given to persons or places in support of the impiety of Hellenism, even if this is not comprehended specifically in the words of the will or testament or gift, but is otherwise truly bequeathed. 2. Let the things bequeathed or given in this manner be taken from those persons or places to whom or to which they were given, and be assigned instead to the cities in which such persons live or under whose jurisdiction such places lie, that they would be ex­ pended in the same way as public revenues. 3. All penalties, as many as were rescinded by previous emperors against Hellenic error or in behalf of the orthodox faith> are con­ tinuously valid and firm, and arc affirmed through the present pious legislation* I f we place this decree c. 482-484, it constitutes a thinly disguised m andate to im perial counts, agentes in rebus, and provincial gov­ ernors to apprehend the Hellenes of Ulus' faction. The cooperation of these officials with the bishops was cncouragcd, the latter having envied the inner-city lots on which the pagan tem ples stood and wishing to raise the cross above their gables. T he decree is directed against the sophists and philosophers of the Hellenic paideia and any who m ight still claim a priesthood.350 The recom m ended in­ quiries would in theory have revealed the names of the m alefactors and the identity of each crime. Yet, as it fell out, most of the suspects had in the past shown such discretion in their teachings and cultic acts th at sufficient evidence seldom survived to secure convictions. Proclus rem ained the diadochos of the Neoplatonic

3*9 Cod. lust. 1.IL9. 3:10 τα τοιαυτα διδασκόμενους πάντα τα τής Ελληνικής θρησκείας

ασεβήματα νομιμως άναζηιείν.

84

CHAPTER ONE

school in Athens until his death in 485.3d1 H is successors M arinus and Isidore prospered in the years to come, as did the A lexandrian Hellenes H orapollon the younger, Heraïskos, Asklepiodotus the younger, and others whom the C hristian philoponoi confronted d u r­ ing the late 480’s.SS2 The elder Asklepiodotus died a respected citizen and philanthropist at A phrodisias in the 490*s, his divinatory sacrifices during the civil w ar with Illus never having been detected .303 To these m ust be added acts of theurgy. Religious Hellenes talked m uch about this in their private circles all through the fifth century, as D am ascius' life of Isidore the diadochos reveals, but no philosopher-theurgist is known to have been executed for his arts sinec M axim us of Ephesus fell foul of the em peror V alens’ inquisitor Festus in 372.3j4 This statute also denied the legality o f any testam ent (διαθήκη) or gift (δωρέα) or “ anything given to persons or places for the support of the im piety of H ellenism 55 (öiÖ ovai τι κ ρ ο ο ώ κ ο ις ή tojcolç έπ ι σ υοτάσ ει τής του Ε λ λ η νισ μ ο ύ δυα α εβ εια ς), where the term Hellenismos refers both to culture and religious practice ,335 The law takes aim, as well, at attem pts to increase the endowm ents th at supported the late Hellenic sophistic and its religious insti­ tutions, It seems quite possible th a t some of the estates owned and adm inistered by the A thenian decurion A rchiadas supported the Parthenon and Asklepieion in A thens .3:50 U nder a ruling of the jurisconsult U lpian (3rd ccntury A.D.) repeated in the Digest of Justinian> the deities of five designated tem ples could inherit pro p erty .3'1"7 The Parthenon in A thens is not nam ed in the list, bu t this practice m ay have suffered less regulation than U lp ian ’s ruling im plies ,350 This principle of heritability does not seem to have become otiose until the date of the quasi-Justinianic statute under discussion here. Religious Hellenes like Proclus will thus have been perm itted to make bequests to A thena and Asklepios until c. 482484. It is not coincidental th at a different law from the reign of Zeno recognized the principle and established the procedure for m aking 351 Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. Infra, Ch. V, Seel. 2. 353 Infra, Ch. V I, Sect., 2. Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. Eunapius, Lives of the Philosophers (Wright, 458f.). 355 Cod. lust. 1.II.9 T . ^ Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3 and 4, 37 Ulpian, Liber Singulam Regulomm 22.6 in Collectio Libromm. Juris Anteiustiniani, ed. Paul Krueger, 2 (Berlin 1888), 24. T he temples designated by Ulpian are those o f Apollo at Didyma, Athena at Ilion, Artemis at Ephesus, the M other o f the Gods at Sipylcue, and Nemesis at Smyrna.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

85

a direct gift (δωρέα) to the person (εις πρόσωπον) of any apostle, martyr* prophet, or holy angel (who can hardly be considered fictive legal personalities in the cultural milieu of the late fifth century') in building a chapel (εύκτήριον οικον οΕκοδομεΪν).359 The principle derives directly from that enunciated by U lpian. T here is, for the rest, no convincing evidence th a t the im perial fisc (res privata) had confiscated all tem ple estates during the fourth century, as for exam ple those of the tem ple at Eleusis, whose mysteries were still being celebrated c. 395. Nor is it to be doubted that monies deriving from landed estates directly owned by Athens paid in part for the routine m aintenance of the temples and the huge outlays for the publicly secularized but privately religious celebration of the P anathenaia m entioned by H im erius .360 Such properties may well have been owned by “ A thena” in the local registers and have been open to heritable gifts, So m uch, then, for one kind of legal person or place th at the quasi-Justinianic law had in view. A nother sort was certainly the N eoplatonic academ y, whose endow m ent originated from d o n a ­ tions by well-to-do founders and their successors. T he N eoplatonic academ y had appropriated the endowm ent of the Platonic school probably sometime after th at philosophical system had become one and the same with “ Platonism ” under Am m onius (2nd century A.D.) and others in Late A ntiquity. The endow m ent adm inistered by the diadochoi in Athens survived the quasi-Justinianic law which we have assigned to c. 482-484, as D am ascius reports in his life of Isidore :361 Plato was poor and owned only the garden in the Academy, which was the least part of its endowment. For the garden straightaway yielded three solidi per annum, but the whole yield was later 1000 solidi or even a little more. It was augmented in more recent years when other holy and learned men died at various times and left to the philosophers a means of peace and leisure for the philosophic way of life in their wills (kata dialhekas). Photius’ sum m ary of th at lost work provides the date, putting the endowm ent at 1000 solidi in the time of Proclus .362 The legacies and gifts to this fund seem to have grown rapidly in the m iddle decades of the fifth century, the years of Proclus 7 greatest fame as an interpreter of Plato. T he em peror Zeno m ay perhaps be forgiven for 359 Cod. lust. 1.2.15. Supra, Ch. I. Scct. 2. 361 Damascius, V. Isidon, Fr, 265 (Zintzcn, 213). Damascius, V. fsidon7 Epit. Phot. 158 (Zintzen, 212).

86

CHAPTER OXE

supposing th at this hypertrophic munificence was fuelling rebellion as well as philosophy. A careful reading of the law under discussion here suggests that it did not confiscate the endowment, but rath e r out­ lawed all future legacies and gilts, as Clause 2 makes explicit. Thus* the income of the Academy rem ained the same. O ne thousand solidi could support ten or more sophists in an enviable state of luxury, the annual income of the typical artisan being about 20 solidi at best. The A thenian decurion Theagcnes added monies to these out of his own pocket :363 For he w as io n d o f g iv in g and g a v e to ex cess, an d p a id m u ch m o n ey [to M arin u s] for teach ers a n d p h y sic ia n s an d the o th er m a n a g e m e n t o f the fath erlan d .

T hese private acts of generosity (D am ascius calls T heagenes φ ιλ ό δ ω ρ ο ς τε κ α ι μεγαλόδω ρος) came during M arinus 3 tenure as diadochos. W hile technically gifts, the monies given as salaries were perhaps laundered under the: rubric of “ adm inistrative funds” , but, as will be seen, Zeno seems to have allowed the force of the law to lapse after the successful suppression of Ulus 5 insurgency, for with the m ilitary threat to his regime gone, the em peror will have regarded the crowd of Hellenic sophists as so much chaff in the wind. The precedent for such de facto abrogations of im perial edicts is seen in V alentinian V s failure to enforce the law of 364 against nocturnal sacrifices after V ettius Agorius Praetcxtatus com plained of the grief this m easure had caused for the Hellenes of A ttica .364 Like the law of 364, Zeno's statute of c. 482—484 will have rem ained on the books unenforced, only to be revived from dorm ancy in the Justinianic codification of 532 and later m istaken for a new act of the sixth-century em peror .**1 The force of the im perial hand was felt elsewhere, in the closure of the Parthenon and Asklepicion* w ith the confiscation of the precious m etals built into the cult images therein.36* This display of im perial power was effected quickly (by 484) and easily. It proved to be a sufficient warning. T his was the “ persecution ' 5of Hellenes th at D am ascius later noted. wrriting in the 520's or later

Damascius, V. fsidori. Fr\ 264 (Zintzen, 213), 36* Supra, Ch. Γ, Sect. 4. 360 It must be remembered that Tribonian came up with many rare and forgotten legal documents in the course of the rescarchcs that went into the new codification, 36‘ Infra, Ch. IV, Scct. 3. 36' Damascius, Das Leben des Isidoros (Asmus. 115). Infra, 11. 394.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

87

T he quasi-Justinianic law ruled, finally, that the estates and gifts unlawfully bequeathed to the tem ples and schools be rem anded to

the cities under whose jurisdiction they lay to defray public adm in­ istrative costs .368 It would not be suprising if local bishops profited from this, as they had in the late fifth century increasingly to expend church funds on the repair of fortifications, food for the poor, and so forth .369 In the instance of A phrodisias, the local church acquired the tem ple of A phrodite. At Athens, the P arth e­ non perhaps became a C hristian shrine at an early date, but the earliest inscription cut on the tem ple proving this dates from 693.370 T he Asklepieion of Athens becam e the healing shrine of St. Andrew in the years im m ediately after the closure of the tem ­ ples, as we suppose in 482-484.*7i Finally, the decrees of the Theodosian Code and all later edicts against “ pagan error” (κατά τής Ελληνικής . . . πλάνης) were reaffirmed. The second of the quasi-Justinianic laws is probably contem po­ raneous with the first one. It sets forth several rather sim plistic form ulas for the final and absolute C hristianization of the E astern Rom an Em pire, thus speaking for the sense o f crisis th a t the em peror Zeno associated w ith the H ellenic opposition to his rule. T his statute provided, first, for the execution of C hristians who had lapsed, performed Hellenic sacrifices, and celebrated festivals, on the ground that the goodwill of the C hristian God toward the Rom an state might be com prom ised :372 Since certain persons have been found to be gripped by the error of the unholy and defiled Hellenes and to be performing those acts which move philanthropic God to just anger, we cannot bear to leave matters concerning them unsettled. Rut since we know that there are 36a τα δέ οϋτω καταλι^υιανόμενα ή δωρούμενα αφαιρείσθω μέν έκεινων των προσώπων ή τόπων, οις δέδοται ή καταλέλειπται, προσκυρούσθω δέ ταΐς πόλεσι. Cod. lust. 1.1L9.2. 369 This problem merits fuller study. Under one law the bishop was required to select the purchaser of public grain in the cities in cooperation with the cunalts. Cod. hist* 1,4.17 and 10.27 A. A law dated 503/4 and published in an inscription at Korykos in Cilia Trachea specified that the bishop select the defensor o f the city. Monumenta Asiat Minons Antiqua III: Denkmäler aus Rauhen Kilikien, cd. J . Keil and A. Wilhelm (M anchester 1931), no. 197. It is of interest that a law o f emperor Anastasius barred Hellenes from holding the office o f defensor (505 A .D.) Cod. lust. 1.4.19. Bishops acquired all sorts of municipal responsibilities under a law of 530, including inspecting such public works as bath-houses, aqueducts, harbors, fortifications, bridges and roads. They also became responsible for supervising the accounts and revenues assigned to these facilities. Cod. lust. 1.4.2Γ). 370 A.K. Orlandos and A. Vranousë, Ta Charagmala tou Parthenonos (Athens 1973), no. 34. *71 Gregory', tlSurvival of Paganism in Christian Greece,1' 238. 3,2 Cod. Iw l, 1,11.10. prooem.

CHAPTER ONE

88

Lhose who leave the worship of the one and true God and offer sacrifices to idols in irrational error and celebrate festivals sated with all unholiness, we impose on those who sinfully perform these acts after being deemed worthy of holy baptism that their offenses be reproved by suitable legal vengeance, and this in a rather humanita­ rian manner. A rhetorical tour de force , it echoes earlier statutes. It was the first im perial law to invoke the ‘O n e G od” form ula (τοΰ α λ η θ ιν ο ί κ α ί μόνου θεοΰ), which in other contexts was the literary com panion of the ‘‘conquer’’ (νικα) inscriptions and symbols of C hristianiza­ tion like the crosses incised on temples, m artyr relics, Chi-Rho m onogram s, and the raising of the cross (σ τα υ ρ ο π ή γιο ν ).373 To citc one example from the time of the rebellion against Zeno, C hristians were present when Asklepiodotus the elder conducted divinatory sacrifices outside the walls of A phrodisias.37* These C hristians were liable to suffer severe punishm ent as accessories to sacrifice and the haruspicina under the laws of M arcian (451) and of Leo I (472?) m entioned above.375 The new law implicitly con­ dem ned sorcerers' sacrifices as well, like the hum an sacrifice plot­ ted by the C hristian Jo h n Foulon at Berytus in the 490’s.375 T hree sections of the new statute required the baptism of all citizens and residents of the em pire and their system atic instruction in the C hristian scripturcs and canon law, w ith p articular emphasis on procuring the 51‘genuine conversion” (γνήσ ια μετάνοια) of small children:377 It is neccssary for a« many persons as have not been deemed worthy of baptism to make themselves manifest, whether living in this imperial city or in the provinces, and proceed to the most holy churches with their wives and children and entire household and be taught the true Christian faith. After being taught in this manner and having cast off their former error with all purity, they shall be deemed worthy of saving baptism. O r 3if it seems that they are contemptuous of these things, they shall not partake of otir way of life nor be permitted to be owners of moveable or real property. But, being deprived of everything of consequence, they shall be left in want, in addition also to being subjected to the appropriate penalties. If there is such a person, whether someone here or in the country­ side, and he does not run to our most holy churches with his own women and children, as was said, he shall be subject to the previously

373 374 375 3'/fi 377

Infra. Ch. II, passim. Infra! Ch. V, SecL 4. Infra. Ch. I, Sect. 5. Infra. Ch. V , Sect. 5, Cod. 'tusl. 1.11.10.1, 3, and 5.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A,D.

89

stated penalties: the fisc shall confiscate their property and they shall be given over to exile. We cnact this so that children who are at an early age will at once and without delay partake uf saving baptism in such a manner that, after they have advanced in maturity sufficiently to sit in the most holy churches and be taught the sacred scriptures and canons and thus partake of genuine conversion, they shall receive reverend bap­ tism only after shaking ancient error from themselves. For they ought to receive this way of life firmly and keep the true faith of the orthodox and not convert again back into the ancient error. This m easure was unrealistic in its p u rp o rt and claim on the resources of the church, not to m ention the increased work load its enforcem ent would have imposed on the offida of the provincial governors. As A .H .M . Jones has stressed, the ability of the Late Rom an adm inistration to carry out sweeping reforms of any kind was restricted.378 The entire business seems to have been laid aside after the end of Illus’ insurgency in 488, to be revived only in 532 along with the other clauses of the quasi-Justinianic laws. There is no evidence for the confiscation of rural lands on the charge of sacrifice either in the 480’s or-530’s, except for one perhaps aber­ ra n t case.379 As the task of denouncing the unbaptized will have lain m ainly in the hands o f the urban churches, little progress was m ade. T he first initiatives for converting villages in the territona of the cities did not always lie in the hands of the bishops. T he literary record of the period c. 365-c. 550 suggests th at the task often fell to the monks, as for exam ple in Bithynia, northern Syria, the Nile basin, and western Asia M inor.3™ Such a m anpow er shortage existed for the task th at the em peror Ju stin ia n had to mobilize num erous m onophysite bishops a n d m o n k s of S y r ia n and A rm e­ nian extraction in western Asia M inor, all under the leadership of Supra, n. 1 L 5'y Procopius’ Antkdota> tr. H.B. Dewing (London-Cambridge, M ass. 1935) provides som e interesting cases of prosecution for Hellenic cults. In the first instance there was a fellow named Theodotus the ‘‘Pumpkin’\ who after serving as praefecius urbi o f Constantinople was indicted for poisoning and sorcery'* T he quaestor Proclus exonerated him, but Theodotus was hounded out o f the city and forced to go into hiding from assassins. The fate o f his properties is unknown* Procop,, Anekdota 9.37—42. Elsewhere Procopius makes a general statement, to the effet:t that estates were confiscated on various grounds, including polytheism (π ολύθεία ), heresy, sodomy, sexual relations with ascetic women, and so forth. Procop,, Anek. 19,11-12 (Dewing, 230f.), It is difficult to make any thing out o f this, as the cases in question are undated and the names o f the victims not given. The incidents in question perhaps belong to the 540’s and 550’s, when pagan trials again occurred* Trombley >“ Religious Transition in Sixth-century Syria,” Sect. 2. °>eo Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1, and Ch. V III, Sect. 2. This thesis is presented in Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld,” passim.

90

CHAPTER ONE

Jo h n , the m onophysite archbishop of Ephesus ,381 T he speed with which this enterprise was cxccutcd required a great deal of C hris­ tianizing the local pagan rites in order to make a strong case for the new religion .382 If m uch “genuine conversion5’ took place., the opposite occurred as well, as for example the sem i-C hristianization of m any Iranian-speaking fire-worshippers or M azdaeans living in C appadocia and the T au ru s m ountain areas* whose incom plete cate chizat ion becam e a fertile ground for the dual is tic Paulician heresy which fully emerged only in the ninth century ,3*3 T he catechizadon of the rural folk had definite procedures th at existed before the law in question, m any of which are discussed in the later chapters of this work. It is necessary to consider some fewr examples in order to understand the practicability of enforcing the second quasi-Justinianic law, 'The career of Euthym ius, who con­ verted the p ro-Iranian A rabs who had defected to the em pire in the early fifth century under the leadership of A spebetos-Peter, pro ­ vides a case in point. Euthym ius, a solitary m onk, provided brief instruction in the A rabic tongue for his co-workers, supervised the construction of rural churches as central shrines for these pastoral folk, and requested a presbyter to celebrate the C hristian liturgy ,*84 O ne could hardly confiscate lands from pastoralists, but it seems quite clear from the literary record that voluntary conversion was invariably the principle followed. T he C hristian elites, w hether bishops, philoponoi, monks, or rustic presbyters, seem only to have used compulsion with sorcercrs and other seemingly dangerous characters, as in the case of Jo h n Foulon at Bcrytus or Theodotus K ourappos in rural G alatia .383 Persuasion and a spirit of accom ­ m odation seem otherwise to have prevailed even after the revival of m ilitant C hristianization by the em peror Ju stin ia n in the decades after 529,3BiI One could avoid this in the countryside by simply not “ m aking oneself m anifest ' 5 (το ύ το υ ς . . . κ α τα δ ή λ ο υ ς εα υ το ύ ς jtoisîv) and by not “ proceeding to the m ost holy churches” (προσιέναι ταις άγιωτάταις έκκλησυαις). It should not be su r­ prising in light of this th a t monks actually had to go hunting for new ru ra l congregations all through the sixth century. N or was it consi­ dered expedient where the countryside was thinly settled to con­ fiscate the lands of pagan fam ilies, as the decurions will have had to 381 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 330-334. Ibid., 337. 383 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 5. ** Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2. Trombley, “Paganism in the Greek W orld,” 340. Infra. Ch, V, Sect. 5. Jüö Ibid.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

91

make good the taxes disrupted by the confiscations. The prospect existed th at poorly-off sm allholders m ight sim ply have rented the same lands after their confiscation. T he law therefore excluded this possibility by providing for the exile of the unbaptized (αύτοί δε

έξορια παραδοθήσονται). T he articles on compulsory C hristianization enunciate one orig­ inal principle, th at of producing ‘‘genuine conversion” (γνήσια μετάνοια) by m aking small children sit in church to rcceivc in­ struction, thus preventing them from “ converting back again into the ancient error” (καί ού πάλιν έπί την παλαιάν μεταβάλοιεν πλάνην) am idst an ethos of sem i-C hristianization .387 L ittle is known about the conversion of small children at this lime. There was the case of little S alaphtha-Irene, to whose family bishop Porphyrins of G aza paid out four silver millaresia daily (for Irene and her grandm other) and a solidus, apparently a one-time gift, to her aunt. We do not know the fate of the older generation* a p art from their baptism , bu t little Irene rcflccted a m ore “ genuine conversion" by becom ing a deaconess of the G azan see and an ascetic.38* In the instance of E uthym ius’ catechization of the Arabs at his church in the Ju d a e a n desert, all we know is th at entire extended families cam e in from the so-called E ncam pm ents for brief instruction prior to baptism . It was continued for sometime afterw ards as well .389 T he tribal chieftain A spebetos-Peter had the authority and prestige to enforce these journeys on his relatives and dependents. Even so, the “ genuine conversion” of children will have m ore often occurred in the anom ia of the cities than am idst the ethos of village custom and the ties of kinship in pastoral society. O ne best learned the C hristian scriptures and canons in the social flux and vacuum of the cities, lost in the crowd and buried in poverty. A nother clause of the second quasi-justinianic law denied pagan professors of the Greek paideia the right to teach their particular academ ic disciplines (μάθημα παιδεΰειν) lest they destroy the souls of their students (τας των δήθεν παιδευομένων διαφθείρειν ψ υ χ ά ς ).390 This expression already had a certain currency at Alex­ andria in the late 4805s, where C hristian students mocked the younger Horapollon, a Hellene and teacher of rhetoric, as Psychapollon or “ Soul-destroyer” in an invidious pun on his nam e .391 387 Cod. lusL 1.11.10.5. Infra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 6. SA9 Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2. 390 Cod. lust. 1.11.10.2. 391 Infra. Ch. V, Sect. 2.

92

CHAPTER ONE

U nder the new law these persons lost certain rights o f citizenship, both urban and R om an:39* W c forbid every sc ien c e to be tau g h t b y th o se w h o are sick w ith th e m ad n ess o f the H e lle n e s, th at they m ig h t n ot a cco r d in g to this rule tench th ese w h o m isera b ly a p p ro a ch th em a n d d estro y the so u ls o f the person s su p p o se d ly stu d y in g tru th s w ith th em . B u t th ey sh a ll not draw grain from the p u b lic d o le sin ce th ey d o n ot h a v e freed o m o f sp eech , nor shall a n y su ch p erson h a v e freed o m to b rin g su it in h is ow n b e h a lf b y rea so n o f im p e r ia l w rits a n d p ra g m a tic sa n c tio n s.

T he sophists and philosophers of Athens, A lexandria, AphrodLsias, and other cities continued to practice their professions after c. 484, as overwhelming evidence proves .393 N or did the Ju stin ian ic law of 529 have m uch effect in the long ru n .394 This section of the law applies strictly only to imperial grain doles and writs, A Hellene W O u l d thus suffer privation only if he lived in C onstantinople or other im portant cities where im perial officials dom inated the local patronage network. T he greater num ber of pagan rhetors and philosophers had little need of public grain in any case because their estates supported th em .39:1 The endow m ent of the N coplatonic academ y in Athens survived the crises of 484 and 529 for the reasons explained above> nam ely th at the law7did not provide for its confiscation, but only that of newly and illegally acquired gifts and legacies- Salaries could thus be paid out of existing rents. It is almost unthinkable th at civil m agistrates would have accepted the letter of the lawr and not have allowed pagan profes­ sors or their patrons to defend their interests in the local courts. The law probably came into play wrhen the provincial governor sought to elim inate personal or political enemies. A likely author of such litigation m ay have been a certain Albinus who, as civil governor of C aria in the reign of the em peror A nastasius (491—518), had to contend with the “ envy” of certain unnam ed local enemies. W e cannot say w hether they were pagan sophists or philosophers, although such existed in A phrodisias at this time, but the acclam a­ tions accorded to him and to the em peror in the inscriptions taunt the local pagans in the rhetoric: of the ongoing religious conflict: "T h e faith of the C hristians conquers!” and “ O ne God for the

i92 Cod, l u s t 1. 11 , 10 .2 . ** Cf. Ch. I, Scct. 3; Ch. IV } Scct. 3-4; Ch. V, Sect. 1-4, and Ch. VL 354 Alan Cameron, ‘T h e Last Days o f the Academy o f A thens,” Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society 145 (1969), 7-29. 5r“’ Cf. the case o f Proclus of Athens, who seems to have owned extensive estates in and around Xanthos in Lycia, the home o fh is family. Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3;

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A.D.

93

whole w orld !” 396 It seems probable that, the A phrodisian Hellenes were the enemies in question. T he test of “ true conversion” for m ilitary officers and im perial civil officials was the baptism of their households. O therw ise they fell under suspicion of proforma C hristianization (έσχηματισμένω ς, 4‘in the m anner of posturing, keeping up appearances” ) to advance their careers and of cryptopaganism :*97 Those persons who have come forward or shall come forward lo saving baptism fraudulently with the motive of keeping military rank or a title of honor or property, but leave their wives or children or others in their household in a state of Hellenic error: we command that they not only suffer confiscation and have absolutely no share in our government, but that they also be subjected to suitable penalties, as they plainly and of their own accord do not partake of the pure faith of holy baptism. D uring the em peror Zeno’s civil war, public officials civil and m ilitary alike will have fallen under the natural suspicion of sym ­ pathizing with Illu s’ prom ise to rehabilitate the Hellenic cults. In the uncertainty of the public emergency, rough and ready tests of loyalty like this prevailed. T he existence of whole households in a state of “ Hellenic error” c. 482^4*84 is reflected in the inscriptions of the decurion class and historical sources (xoiic κατά τον αύτών όντας o l k o v επί Ελληνικής . . . πλάνης).390 The culpability of the offenders for“ uttcrlv leaving” (καταλειψαιεν) their families and slaves pagan reflects the position of the householder as paterfamilias under Rom an law. This position now carried the obligation of forcing one's dependents to accept baptism . The dem and seems unw arranted in view of the dem ographic realities of C hristianiza­ tion, as the female m em bers and slaves of the typical household invariably acccptcd the new religion before the paterfamilias* as the striking example of a certain A elia’s family at Gaza suggests c. 4 0 0 . Thi s corroborates the hypothesis th a t the second quasiJustinianic law sought to achieve the short-term political aim of crushing religious dissent in the palatine arm y com m ands and in the officia o f the provincial governors. Two other clauses of the second quasi-Justinianic law equate the behavior of Hellenes w ith th at of the M anichaeans, who fell under the penalty of capital punishm ent. This sentence is laid against

390 Infra, Ch. V I, Sect. L 357 Cod. lust. 1.1 L I 0.6.

** Infra, Ch. V, Scct. 4, and Ch. VI, Sect. 2, Infra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 2.

94-

CHAPTER ONE

pagans who perform ed sacrifices and acts of idolatry secretly (έμφω λεύω ν). T his point of em phasis links the law once again with fear of the treasonable designs against Zeno during Illus* insurgency. The elder Asklepiodotus of Aphrodisias m ight, for example, have been executed under this statute. The news of his activities had gotten into the hands of the philoponoi at A lexandria through the testimony of a young student of rhetoric c. 488-89 while Asklepiodotus was still alive. Peter M ongus, the p a triarc h of A lexandria, denounced the m an to his archiépiscopal colleague at Aphrodisias, but nothing camc of it .400 W ith the civil w ar ended, it evidently seemed pointless to pursue charges such as these against an influential m an, whose friends in the provincial aristocracy and offidum of the governor probably protected him . This reflects how quickly Zeno’s laws will have fallen into disuse once the civil war had ended. The tendency to equate Hellenes w ith M anichaeans goes back to the early fifth century, being a logical consequence of the closure of the tem ples »401 Hellenes who continued to sacrifice secretly— and very m any did— belonged to an increasingly “ underground” reli­ gion, a status held by the M anichaeans since the edict of D iocletian against them in 297.402 Like some M anichaeans, Hellenes could be found am ong respectable decurions> sophists, and civil servants .403 Even so, it was less palatable to treat pagans like religious outlaws down to 529> and so the equation of the two religious systems re­ mained a practical fiction during the period u n d e r discussion here. VII. Conclusion

I t has been necessary to treat the legal status of the Hellenic cults at length because of the badly grounded skepticism th at surfaces at times in the m inds and statem ents o f scholars that the old cults did not survive the legislation of the late fourth-century em perors .404 The im perial edicts could not address im aginary religious phe­ nom ena without m aking the regime look ridiculous. By the same token, the state apparatus could not expeditiously suppress every

400 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 4, 131 Cf. the ease of Julia in early fifi.h-eenlury G-aza. Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect, 5> *02 Mosaicarum et Romanorum Legurn Collado 15.3.4, ed. Theodor M omm sen in Collectif) Librorum lu m Anteiustiniani in Usum Scholarum, ed, Paul Krueger . 3 (Berlin 1890), 187f, 403 Infra, Ch. II, Scct. 5. iCH Cf. Ramsay M acM ullen’s comment on A dolf Harnack’s work in Paganism in the Roman Empire (New Haven 1981), 137 and 206, n. 16.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 A,IX

95

activity th at it condem ned, as A .H .M , Jones has show n .W5 I f some of the laws had aim s th at were partly political, one can hardly deny the existence of urban Hellenes and rustic pagans between c. 370-529, as the later chapters of this work will dem onstrate conclu­ sively. Prosecution of sacrifice, divination, and sorcery, even if politically inspired at times, would not have been a plausible course of action unless these cultic acts existed as real social and cultural phenom ena. The consideration is often overlooked that, while div­ ination, haruspicina, and poisoning had the direct political effect of rallying conspirators, they nevertheless corresponded to the religious suppositions and superstitions of many pagans and Christians alike, including philosophers and Christian bishops* T he prevailing rage for Hellenic theurgy decisively proves this. The degree of Christian belief in the efficacy of these practiccs varitxl considerably by locality and with the attitude of each individual monk or bishop and his congrega­ tion. Hypatius, the hegumen of Rufinianae in Bithynia, is said to have actually seen an ephiphany of Artemis and to have perceived a magical belt dedicated to her on the person of a visitor to the m onastery ,406 O n the other hand, the rationalistic Zachariah of Mytilene doubted the ontological reality of pagan miracles and magic, ascribing them instead to fraud. Yet even he believed that the old gods in the rccategorizcd form of daimones appeared in visions to men asleep and sometimes even in the waking state *407 Christian writers like Theodoret of Cyrrhus agreed in general that sacrifices attracted daimones and violated the newly established peace of the Christian G od ,408 This new covenant guaranteed the terrestrial, marine, and meteorological elements to the benefit of men so long as the Christian victory was conserved by the eradication of sacrifice and the erection of the cross. This is the thrust of both the imperial edicts and of much fifth-century Christian literature, including hagiography, apologetical treatises, canon law, and even the inscriptions. These texts corrobo­ rate the imperial laws about the survival of Hellenic cult and practi­ cally never contradict them. A clear w atershed was reached in the relations between the C hristian empire and the priesthoods of the Greek cities with the comprehensive law of Theodosius the G reat (8 Novem ber 392) from the standpoint of public worship. A generation earlier, the 405 Supra, Ch. I, n. 11. ** Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1. 407 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 2. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Grcœcamm A jfectim u m Curatio VII: D e SacTificiis, PG 83, 992—1060. Cf. icii'ir:, Thérapeutique des m aladies helléniques, cd. tr. P. Canivet, 2 (Paris 1958), 296-309.

96

CHAPTER OXE

agents of Ju lia n the A postate had rededicated the temples of the old faith everywhere, as an altar inscription of Thessalonikc attests in 362. Ju lia n is here celebrated as the “ restorer of the tem ples” (άνανεω τοΰ τω ν ιερ ώ ν ).409 His demise gave way to an uneasy tolerance during the first decade of V alens’ reign in the Rom an East- Christians criticized Valens for perm itting public festivals like the Diasia, the Dionysia, and the “ frenzies” of D em etcr at A ntioch during his residence th ere .410 As late as 392 a local official at Antinoopolis in Aegyptus felt able to erect a pagan altar in the nam e of the C hristian emperors. He consecrated it “ with the cus­ tom ary dedication” (xf\ συνήθει κ α θοσ ιώ σ ει) at the instigation of Flavius Eutolm ius T atian u s, a sincere H ellene and the great Praetorian Prefect of the elder T heodosius .111 It was not long before this time that a frieze was erected at the tem ple of the im perial cult in Ephesus, Its sculpture depicted Theodosius the G reat standing to the right of Artem is Ephesia. His father Theodosius the elder stands half-naked in heroized form along wTith the A ugusta and the co-em peror Arcadius. They stand enclosed by figures of Pallas A thena at the extremities of the frieze, which also incorporates the goddess Selene .'1'12 Tt is as though Theodosius the G reat and his im m ediate family mingled freely with the Hellenic gods. All this began to change quickly. T atian fell from power between S eptem ber-N ovem ber 392, and the com prehensive edict against pagan cult came out on 8 Novem ber of the sam e year. T his dccrcc m arked an im portant transition in im perial policy th at was never thereafter reversed. Public sacrifice and other religious rituals were perm anently harmed. From this time onw ard Hellenic rites could only be performed in the greatest secrecy or with the connivancc of civil officials who took bribes or looked the other way.4n The poet Palladas of Alexandria could thus justly lam ent: “ We Hellenes are reduced to ashes, having buried the hopes of the dead. For now all affairs have been turned upside dow n .” 414 T he dictum of H eraclitus the O bscure criticizing sacrifice spoken some 900 years before now gained the force of law :410 4Ü9 SEG 31.G41. 4,0 Thcodorct. HE 4.24/2 (Parmenticr, 262f). Orienlis Graecae Inscriptions Seltdae, no. 723. *1Z Franz Miltner. Ephesos: Stadt der Artemis und des Johannes (Vienna 1958), 105f, *13 See Joncs: comments. Later Roman Empire, 395, 407, 409, 792, etc. Tem ple lands remained ander the administration of the imperial res privaia under the rubric o f fundi iuris templorum. Ibid. 415f.. etc. On their confiscation, ibid., 732. 414 Greek Anthology 10, 90. Cf. 9.89 and 10.94. 4lü Heraclitus, Fr. 5 in Early Greek Philosophy. tr. J. Barnes (New York 1987), 118.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SACRIFICE TO 529 Α,Ιλ

97

They vainly purify themselves with blood when they arc defiled: as though one were to step in the mud and try to w ash it off with mud. Any man who saw him doing that would think he was mad. And they pray to these statues as though one were to gossip to the houses, not knowing who the gods and who the spirits were. The law nevertheless respected the consciences of pagans, and so prominent Hellenes had direct access to the “ most Christian” em per­ ors in the conduct of state business. Among these was AthenaisEudokia, the daughter of the Athenian philosopher Leonti os who married Theodosius II in 421 and accepted baptism .416 H er great friend and another Hellene, Cyrus of Panopolis, served as Praetorian Prefect and Praefectus U rbi at Constantinople c, 439—440.417 And in the time of Leo I (457—474) the quaestor sacn palatii, a certain Isokakios, was discovered to be a Hellene .418 This state of affairs continued straight through to the time of Ju stin ian .419 These few examples bespeak the existence of m any other H el­ lenes whose nam es and frustrations no historian saw fit to record. T he H ellenes 5 dem ographic and cultural bases declined steadily through the fifth century. After the shock of the rebel Illus" defeat between 481-488, those bases began to erode more rapidly 420 This was partly the result of em peror Zeno's harsh laws, but was also a product of the historical m om ent, wThich had seen the Greek paideia merge with the C hristian sophistic and rural pagan religion merge with C hristianity through the devices of Ritenchristianisierung.42' A Hellene could thus accept baptism and retain his cultural roots comfortably in the new m onotheistic scheme of things. Some perhaps rem em bered the dictum of X enophanes of Colophon cited in Clem ent of A lexandria^ Miscellanies that: *‘T here is one God, greatest of gods and m en, sim ilar to m ortals neither in shape nor in th ought .” 422 It echoes the words of the psalm ist who calls the God of the Jew s the £CGod o f gods.”

+lii Bury, LRF ], 20Of. *17 Bury, LRE L 227f. ^ John Malalas, Ckronographia, ed. L> Dindorf (Bonn 1831), 369-71. 4 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 6. In the time of Justinian, Tribonian the quaestor and John Lydus, a subordinate of the Praetorian Prefect ofO riens, were Hellenes. See now the work o f Michael Maas, τ/β Lydus and the Roman Past (London 1992). 42i) The inscriptions of Aphrodisias are o f critical importance in this connection. Infra. Ch. V I. 4“' Infra, Chs. IT and V. Heraclitus, Fr. 23 (Barnes 95).

CHAPTER TWO

C H R IS T IA N IZ A T IO N T he exact processes by which the ecclesiastical authorities de­ graded local deities to the status of daimones and grafted their identitic aretalogies and iconographies onto C hristian m artyrs and angels is little u n d e rsto o d / Nor has the m onks’ and bishops' habit of modifying pagan ritual by the adducem ent of C hristian cult formulae (Ernst K irsten ’s Ritenckrisiianisierungi the “ C hristianiza­ tion of r ite '5) been traced with any success .2 J o h n C u th e b e rt Lawson attem pted som ething like this long ago in his Modem Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion , a pioneering work which greatly contributed to understanding certain aspects of the origins of Byzantine and Ncohcllcnic folk religion and belief, b ut which con­ tains only fragm entary and unsystem atic analysis of the sources of the Late A ntique period -3 He not only missed m any obvious lines of transform ation apparent from any exhaustive survey of the literary sources of this period— which proved to be the crucible of the religious transform ation— bu t also drew m any im plausible and even comical lines of correspondence betw een the old and new religions .4 Law son’s book was som ething of a seminal work and will 1 For the links between the cult of M ichacl the Archangel and the earlier typologies of Attis, the Anatolian cult of angels, and so forth, see inira, Ch, II, Sect. 4. 2 Ernst Kirsten, “Artemis von Ephesus und E leuthera von Myra mit Scitblick auf St. Nicolaus und auf C om m agene,” Studien zur Religion und Kulten KUinanens: Festschrift für Karl Dornet. ed. S. Sahin et al., 2 (Leiden 1978), 465. 3 John C. Lawson, Modem Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion (1910; repr. New York 1964). 4 Lawson, “The Survival o f Pagan Tradition,” Greek Folklore and Religion, 36-f>4. For example: “ It bccame the hope [of the church| to supplant paganism by substituting for the old gods ChrisLian saims of similar names and functions55 (my italics) (p. 43). Lawson associates St. Demetrius, the protector o f Thessalonike, with the cereal goddess Demeter solely on the basis of similar nomenclature. Here there is neither similarity of function nor do their festivals coincide, (p. 43f.) I am unable to discover any plausible connection between the cults of the hero Theseus and St. Geurge, nor is continuity of cult at the Thcscum in Athens assured in ancient tunes, (p. 45) The parallelism that Lawson sees between a church of the Theotokos and Poseidon's kagiasma (“holy spring55) on the island of Tenos has no discernible justification, (p. 45f.) Lawson’s explanation for the rationale o f temple conversions is inadequate: “T he adoption o f the old places of worship made it

CHRISTIANIZATION

99

require detailed and exhaustive criticism before the final verdict can be laid on it. Tw o m ethodological weaknesses underlie the book, the first being its restriction to the religious phenom ena of the classical Greek deities and their supposed evolution, at the expense of the local cults of the Grcek-influenced, but not always Grcckspeaking, oikoumene— I am thinking here of central Asia M inor, Syria, Arm enia, A rabia, and C optic Egypt— and secondly, the fact th at Lawson produced his book in 1910, well before the extensive archaeological and epigraphic discoveries o f later decades, and the edition of m any early C hristian texts which provide new and im ­ portant d ata. No definitive answers to these questions will emerge without the reconciliation of texts and archaeology, of which the present survey will constitute a beginning. Three issues— the transformation of local gods, the Christianization of rite, and temple conversions— have an integral relationship and arc three aspects of a single problem. I. Christianization and the Transformation o f Local Gods5

Psalm 95.4—5 provided the scriptural justification for reducing pagan gods to the status of daimones: “ W herefore all the gods of the inevitable that the old associations should survive and blend themselves with the new ideas, and that the churches should more often acquire prestige from their heathen sites than themselves shed a new lustTe of sanctity upon them .” (46) My own analysis suggests that the real prestige of the old temple sites’ being Chris­ tianized derived from the bishop or monk’s success in eradicating the former local “great god” through the power o f Christian invocations, the cross, the Chi-Rho symbol, and the importation of martyr relics, which proved the im potence o f the old god in the facc o f the ritual pollution o f his temenos* The pagan awe associated with the tem ple buildings, statues, and architectural fragments arose only amongst groups who resisted Christianization ur were later forcibly Christianized under the Justinianic law o f 529. Lawson's approach amounts to the crass sim­ plification both chronologically and functionally o f a complex social and cultural process. T he supposed connection between M ichael the Archangel and Dionysus as patrons o f a winepress on Rhodes is impossible according to Lawson's criteria in terms o f either nomenclature, function, or festival time (p. 55). Lawson misses the connection between the holy physicians Sts. Kosmas and Damian (p. 55) and the Hellenic Dioskouroi. discussed infra, Ch. II, Sect. 4. Some saints listed by Lawson with cognate deities do not belong to the earliest period o f Christianiza­ tion (4th-6th c.), lack martyr status and identifiable relics, and thus have little relevance to his thesis, as for example Sts. Therapon and Eleutherios (p. 56). Other examples abound. This is not to say that LawsonSs pioneering work lacks constructive features, but only that the problem is more complex than he en­ visioned. For an equally confused, but considerably more complacently framed set of supposed “ survivals” , sec: John Ferguson, The Religions of the Roman Empire (Ithaca 1970), 238^-242. 5 T he following section was initially discussed at the Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins, Department of Religion. University of Pennsylvania, 7 April 1988.

100

CHAPTER TWO

pagans are lesser d a im o n e s in the Septuagint: οτι πάντες οι θ εοί των εθνών δαιμόνια. An extensive and seemingly endless dem onology already existed in the Hellenic writers of the third through fifth centuries A.D., among them Plotinus. Porphyry, Iam blichus, and Proclus .6 Porphyry laid particular em phasis on both the be­ neficent and troublesom e nature of daimones in his tractate on abstaining from anim al m eat. Jo h an n es Geffcken powerfully sums up the philosopher’s views :7 T h ere arc good and evil d em o n s. B oth arc d erived from d ie soul o f d ie all. T h e g o o d o n es carc for th e w e ll-b e in g o f m an; th ey b rin g g o o d w eath er and b e n e fic ia l a c tiv ity a m o n g m en; it is im p o ssib le th a t b oth go o d and ill sh o u ld co m e from th em b u t rath er, th ey effect w h a t is go o d on ly in terrestrial existen ce; m oreover, a c c o rd in g to P lato, they are the m ed ia to rs b etw een g o d s a n d m en . T h e e v il d em o n s on the oth er h an d , a lth o u g h , like g o o d on es, th ey arc in v isib le an d in every w a y im p ercep tib le, h ave m a n y form s and are lo n g a e v a l, th o u g h n o t etern al, do n ot h a v e th e n o b le a sp e c t o f the good d e m o n s b u t are d ish a rm o n io u s in ap p earan ce; they c a u se us to regard th e an ger o f the g o d s as th e orig in o f p e stile n c e , ea rth q u a k es a n d d ro u g h t, and ev en cau se us to regard th e a n g er o f th e g o d s as the origin o f these sufferings an d ca u se us to ad d ress o u r selv es to th em for r e lie f from th ese afflictions. W ild p assio n , greed , d esire for d o m in a tio n , a m b itio n a n d their c o n seq u en ces, a m o n g th em war: su ch are their w orks. A n d all th ese th in gs, so they try lo c o n v in ce us, are the fau lt o f h ig h est god . E ven p h ilo so p h ers h a v e been d eceiv ed b y th em , an d h e n c e the m a sses w ere con firm ed in th eir u n rea so n . It is true th at g o o d d em o n s seek to m odify th ese v eiled w orks by d rea m s a n d o th e r sig n s, b u t n ot every o n e is a b le to w ith sta n d th em . M a g icia n s on the oth er h a n d are inform ed a b o u t the n a tu re o f evil d em o n s w h o se c h ic f th ey w o rsh ip , and by th eir lo v e p o tio n s in sp ire b ase p a ssio n s. G reed for w e a lth a n d la m e , an d every d eceit, o rig in a te from th ose d em o n s, w h o feed o lf lib a tio n s and the sm ok e o f sacrifices, so as to fatten their aerial a n d yet co rp o rea l b ein g. H e n c e su ch sacrifices m u st be om itted ; th ey attract d e m o n s. B ut d e m o n s ca n n o t tou ch the pure sou l. It is o n ly w h ere m aterial g o o d s are v a lu e d , in the cities o f m en . th at the cu lt o f d em o n s is p ra cd sed . B u t w c w h o. rem oved from e v ery th in g th at is c o n n ected w ith m a tter, o n ly seek to be like G od , h a v e n o n eed for th em .

The philosopher m aintains with Apollonius of T yana th at “ the true sacrifice was to be like god.” fi Exccpt the concept o f good daimones} Porphyry’s notions did not differ widely from the C hristian view:

6 Johannes Gcflcken, The Last Days oj Greco-Roman Paganism, tr. Sabine MacCormack (New York 1978), 53f., 58, 61, 67-70, 134, and 24-5f_ 7 Ibid., 69, ü Ibid.

CHRISTIANIZATION

101

libations and the scent of' burning fat in sacrifices, on which the daimones were thought to feed, attracted them; the crim inality of magic lay precisely in the harnessing of the spirits’ daim onic, th at is to say evil, powers. W riters of the late C hristian sophistic like Theodoret of C yrrhus did, in fact, form ulate their demonologies from Porphyry’s theories .9 The C hristian view differed from the Hellenic, however, in two respects. First of all, m artyrs and angels stepped forward as the helpers of m ankind, even the unbaptized, in place of Porphyry’s good daimones,10 Secondly, C hristians grouped locally prom inent deities w ith daimones. These included Artem is of Ephesus, the A phrodite of Gaza, Sarapis o f A lexandria, and m any others whose names the tem ple-bashers of the new religion would have concealed from us w ithout the luck of fortuitous epigraphic finds, such as the inscription on an olive-oil factory nam ing the divine triad worshipped at the north Syrian village of Kefr N abo, “ the ancestral gods Seimios and Sym baitylos and Leon .” 11 In ­ scriptions describe the unam biguously new status of the old deities under the C hristian regime. T he first exam ple derives from &

Theodoret quotes a long section directly from Porphyrius* L etter to Anebo the Therapeutic f o r Hellenic M aladies , PG 83, 881D -884C . Theodoret refers a bit later to "those who currently practice Hellenic religion” (των νυν Έλληνιζόντων), Ibid, 888D. He is thus not inventing antiquarian arguments but combating the extant Hellenic beliefs and devotions with all the arguments at his disposal. Iamblichos of Chalkis (ob. 325—330 A .D .), the Neoplatonist theologian, found Porphyrius’’ attack on sacrifice and divination as nothing more than the invocation o f evil daimones so troubling that he wrote the lengthy D e M ysteriis in reply, quoting the L etter to Anebo at the beginning and then developing a systematic reply that owes much to Plotinus7 ontology of immaterial and spiritual beings, the gods, archangels, angels, daimones. archons, heroes, and ordinary souls. He argues with considerable force that both gods and daimones ^being spiritual and therefore impassible, are unaJQfected by the vapors that arise from sacrifices- D e M ysteriis 5,10-12» For text and translations, see: Jam blique, Les M ystères d'Egypte, ed, tr. Edouard des Places (Paris 1966). Iamblichus, On the M ysteries o f the E gyp­ tians, Chaldeans^ and Assyrians , tr. Thom as Taylor, 3rd ed. (London 1821). 115 This is the thrust o f Peter Brown’s chapter, ^The Invisible Com panion,55 in The Cult o f the Saints: Its Rise and Function in L atin Christianity y 50-68. Theodoret o f Cyrrhus sums up the fifth-century view o f the Greek episcopate succinctly: “ The philosophers and rhetors have been delivered to oblivion, and few know the names o f emperors and generals, but all know the names of the martyrs better than their best friends. And they are eager to give their names to their children, thereby devising security and protection for their [little o n es].” Therapeutic f o r Hellenic M a ladies , PG 83, 103 3A. The martyrs along with the angels thus became the tutelary friends of the next Christian generation that arose in the first half of the fifth century. This tendency explains, for example, the disappearance of pagan theophoric names from personal nomenclature at Athens and Aphrodisias* Infra, Ch. IV and V I. E gyptian P riest in the

11 Publications o f the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1 904-5 and 1909 , D ivision H I: Greek and L atin Inscriptions, Section B : Northern S yria , ed, W.K* Prentice (Leiden 1922), no. 1170. This series hereinafter cited as Prentice, PAES III B, Cf. infra, Ch. X , Sect* 1.

102

CHAPTER TWO

Ephesus, where the tem ple of A rtem is, considered one of the w on­ ders of the ancient world and having a M editerranean-w ide body of patrons, suffered closure. M argherita G uarducci dates the inscrip­ tion of the basis uf letter forms to the fifth century, and perhaps even after 435 :12 H a v in g lorn d o w n the b e g u ilin g im a g e o f th e daimon A rtem is, D e m e a s set up this m arker o f the truth in h o n o r o f G o d , d ie cx p c lle r o f id o ls, and the cross, th e d ea th less v icto ry -b ea rin g sy m b o l o f C hrist.

M any examples of the Ephesian goddess 1 4'beguiling im age” (άτιατήλιον είδος) have turned up in excavations and to the C hristian mind had a distinctly “ d aim onic'’ appearance- Beneath A rtem is’ m ural crown and brooch some twenty breasts protrude in representation of her role as fertility goddess, and acorns often hang from the brooch, which bears the crescent moon or other symbols. H er ankle-length tunic often displays rows of panels which contain in descending order anim als of various kinds, including griffins .13 T he C hristian God becam e the expeller o f idols (ειδώλων έλατήρ Θεός) through his locum tenens Demeas, who supervised the erection of the inscription and who was either an im perial official or. more likely, a m em ber of the city council· T he cross wras the symbol of victory over the daimon Artemis (νικοφόρος Χριστοί σύμβολος αθάνατος), a phrase which seems to echo the imperial law of 14 Novem ber 435, given at C onstantinople, which called for the m agistrates to cleanse their temples by the erection of the sign of the revered C hristian religion (conlocationeque venerandae Christianae religionist signi) . 14 Statuary of the Ephesian style differed consider­ ably from popular notions of A rtem is’ epiphany in the countryside. In rural Bithvnia she was thought to appear as a tall wom an with the stature of ten men who went about spinning and grazing flocks of sw'ine ,15 and her hostility to passers-by earned her the epithet “ hater of strangers” (μισόςενος).1^ so th at the C hristian was advised to make the sign of the cross in front of him self should he 12 jRecueil dûs inscriptions grecques-r.krp.timnes d'Asie Mineure, ed. .Henri Grégoire (Pans 1922; rep r. 1968), no* 104. For the date and a drawing of the block, sec: Margherita Guarducci, Epiçrafia Greca IV: Epigrafi sacre pagane e crisliane (Rome 1978), 40Of. 15 Cf. the many examples collected by Hermann Thicrsch. Artemis Ephesia: Eine archäologische Untersuchung, I (Berlin 1935). 14 Cod. Theod. 16.10.25. Guarducci seems to infer the date of the inscription from this law. On stylistic grounds the letters may be even later, perhaps c. 4-84, when Ulus' rebellion was brought under control. 13ury, LRE 1, 39δ. Cf. supra. Ch. I, Sect. 5, and infra. Chapter V , Sect. 4. 15 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. I. 16 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 2.

CHRISTIANIZATION

103

m eet the daimon on the road, m uch as Demeas had formally erected that symbol in E phesus ,17 C hristian v ic to r y inscriptions m arked a sharp divergence from the older views which saw feminine deities as the givers of all good things. A rem arkable group of hexam etric inscriptions from Lindos on Rhodes com m em orates the planting of olive trees in honor of A thena— whom m any A thenians, including the Neoplatonist Proc­ lus, still w orshipped in the late fifth century— by Aglochartos, her local priest. T he longest of the inscriptions dates from c. 300 A ,D .;10 Broad is the repute of ancicnt Lindos, which received the Unwearied [Pallas AthenaJ on the skyward hills of the akropolis, But her great, delightful reputation goes far upon the earth, filled as it is with the bright grey blessings of the virgin goddess. For now a flourishing “ house” of Athena resounds, to be a place for those who gaze upon fruit-bearing promontories. For the priest Aglochartos gave a rich votive offering to Atbena, by allowing properties (κτεανών) better than those of Keleos and Ikarios, so that the sacred olive tree (ή ιερή ελέη) might grow on the land. The patient work of Aglochartos appears elsewhere around the akropolis in the form of an aretalogy of A th en a :19 I, the Unwearied^ the Undefiled (άμωμ[ή]τη), daughter of great Zeus, am a tiller of the soil (γιο[πόν]ος) and husbandm an (έργοπό[νο;]). Aglochartos, renowned son of Moiönis. T his them e is repeated in two other inscriptions which attest the strength of agrarian deities in the popular im agination and in A glochartos 5 priestly consciousness :20 K eleo s w as a h u sb a n d m a n o f c h a ste D em eter* and Ikarios o f B a c­ ch u s, and A g lo ch a rto s o f the offspring o f T r ito n is [A th e n a ].

And finally:21 Ikarios rcached to Bacchus for the grape-fruit and Keleos delighted in the friendly grain-sheavcs of Dcmcter, and the priest Aglochartos crowned Athena with the olive and adorned a sacred precinct (χέμε[νος]) on the akropolis with the young shoot. T he rich imagery o f verdure in A glochartos 5 verses signifies the strength of a religious ethos which had turned to A thena in good times and bad. T he erection of the ‘'victory-bearing and im m ortal 17 Infra, Ch. V [I, Sect. L 10 Guarducci, Epigrafi sacre, 2 13f, IG 12/1 783.

19 FG 12/1 779. 20 IG 12/1 780.

21 IG 12/1 7ÖL

104

CHAPTER TWO

cross” and other tokens of C hristianization m ust have struck the old believers as little m ore than polemic and fraud. That victory eclipsed, as well, the reputations of past generations of city council­ lors who had taken on the burden of the expense of erecting and refurbishing the temples. W ith the ongoing conversions of the fourth and fifth centuries, men like Aglochartos becam e a dying breed. The em ulation which goaded some public figures appears in another of A glochartos 5 inscriptions which asserts th a t he crowned the akropolis with olive-trees at his own expense (Ά γ λ ω χ ά ρ τ ο υ έα ις στρεψαμέ[/νου ό α π ]ά [ν ]α ις ), if the reading is accurate, a typical claim of those w'ho com peted for honour in their cities.2* These w'cre, then, the female daimones wrhieh the catechists of the new religion rejected. The recategorization of local gods into daimones appears strikingly in a Syrian inscriptions at the m artyrion of St. George at Zorava, a site west of Djebel H auran. T he octagonal building supplanted a pagan temple, T he parataxis of antitheses is rem arkable:2* The abode of d a im o m s has become the house of God. The light of salvation shines where darkness caused concealment. Where sac­ rifices to idols occurred, there are now choirs of angels. Where God was provoked, now He is propitiated. A certain Christ-loving man, the town-councillor (πρωτεύων) John, son ofDiomedes, offered a gift to God from his own property, a beautiful building, after having installed within it the worthy body of the martyr George, who appeared to this John not in a dream, but manifestly (τ ο υ φ α ν έ ν τ ο ς νώτω Ιω άννη (και) ού καθ’ ύπνον, άλλα φανερώς). T he inscription dates from 515 A.D. No proof exists for continuity of cult at the site down to th a t year, but the old religion survived widely elsewhere in sixth-century Syria, even in the territorium of Antioch, as the life of Symeon Stylites the Younger attests, and in particular at H arrän -C arrb ae.24" T he religious experience of the m arty r’s apparition closely resem bles one averred in another in ­ scription of 324 A.D., some 190 years earlier, which would d o ubt­ less have been classed as “daim onic” , had C hristian clergy or monks been on hand to provide suitable guidance. It is a funerary

22 IG 12/1 782. JA Publications o f an American Archaeological Expedition to Syria in 1899-1900, Part III: Greek and Latin Inscnptions, ed. W ,K . Prentice (New York 1908), no. 437a- This collection is hereinafter cited as Prentice, AAES III. For fuller discussion o f this inscription, see infra, Ch. X I, Sect. 3. 24 Frank R. Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World at the End of Antiquity: The Case of Rural Anatolia and G ree ce/’ Harvard Theological Review 78 (1985). 328. n. 3.

CHRISTIANIZATION

105

inscription from Frikya in the Djebel R îhâ district in northern Syria on a tom b th at is incontcstibly p a g a n :25 These things Abedrapsas states in giving thanks. When I came of age, my ancestral god, the god of Arkesilaos, appeared to me visibly and conferred many benefits on me. For when [I reached the age of] twenty-five, I was given over to the study of an artisan trade, and I received the same trade in a very short time, and furthermore, through my own provision, I purchased a plot of land for myself, with no one knowing it, and freed myself from having to go down to the city. And I was just, and was justly guided. A bedrapsas lays em phasis, like George the son of Diom edcs, on the wakeful reality of the epiphany or vision (δήλως μοι φ[ε]νόμενος). T he daimon— th at is, the pagan god unnam ed except as the object of veneration of Arkesilaos, owner of the slave A bedrapsas, who seems to have purchased his freedom from the peculium earned from his trade, also unstated— guided his adherent in the ways of justice (κέ έ(γ)ώ δικεος ημην κέ δικέως όδηγήθη). A bedrapsas’ nam e was, in fact, a pagan theophoric, “ slave of R ab b ” , th at is the M aster .26 C hristian clcncs and monks subjected the old gods to anonym ity w herever possible. T heodoret of C yrrhus (ob. 458) rises to unsur­ passable hyperbole in the Historia Pkilotheos or “ Lives of the M onks” , a typical product of the late C hristian sophistic, when relating the career of the monk Thalaleios, who invaded a ru ral temenos some 20 stadia from G abala, “ a small yet splendid city5’ (πόλις δέ αυτη σ μ ικ ρά κ α ί χαριεσ τάχη) th at had evidently be­ come C hristian .27 T he violence of T heodoret’s rhctoric suggests that the new religion had m ade few inroads into parts of its territorium at th at time, probably around 400-^20 A.D. T he tem enos lay on a hill (λόφ ος), “ on which there was a tem ple reserved for daimones a n d fo rm erly h o n o red by the im pious w ith m any sacrifices .51*0 T h alaleio s bu ilt a h u t in the precinct an d , as T heodoret had it, discovered the daim onic powers of the previously beneficent deities of the site, who presum ably resem bled the pre­ viously m entioned triad found at K efr Nabo, Seimios, Symbaitylos, and Leon. T he monk attributed his problem s to them , the same

Prentice, AAES III 242. For fuller discussion o f this inscription, see infra, Ch. X , Sect. 6. liy Frank R. Trombley, The Survival of Paganism in the B yzantine Empire during the Pre-Jconoclastic P enod (.540-727) (Ann Arbor, University Microfilms, 1981), 193, Cf. infra, Ch. X I, Srct. 2. lt Theodoret ofC vrrhus, H istoric Pkilotheos , PG 82, 1488A-B. 20 Ib id .

CHAPTER TWO

106

problem s which the pagans of the place sought to avoid by soothing their deities with sacrifices: “ For they destroy m any persons^ both those nearby and their neighbors, not only m en but also mules, asses, cattle and sheep. [The daimones] m ake w ar not on anim als, b ut plot against m en through them .” 29 T he ultim ate reversal of the peace o f the gods began when C hristian monks penetrated the tem ple precincts and provoked the w rath of the erstwhile deities. It will be recalled th a t Aglochartos, priest of A thena the U nw earied at Lindos, had planted the akropolis of her temple with olive trees. T he tem ple at G abala which the monk Thalalcios penetrated also had a grove, which, presum ably because the rustics no longer perform ed propitiatory sacrifices, the old gods in daim onic form destroyed :30 T h e n , u p on se e in g this m an T h a la le io s a rr iv in g , [th e daimones] a t­ tem p ted to strike h im , b u t cou ld n o t b c c a u sc h is faith fortified h im and grace p ro tected him . B ein g struck w ith rage an d m a d n e ss, they ru sh ed a g a in st th e trees g r o w in g there, an d m a n y oliv e and fig trees on th at h ill w ere w ea k en ed . They say that, o f th ese, m ore th a n 500 w ere suddenly torn dow n. T h is I heard from the neighboring farm­ ers. w h o tell the story'. T h e y form erly em b ra ced th e g lo o m o f im p iety , b u t received th e lig h t o f k n o w led g e o f G od th ro u g h th e te a c h in g and m ira cle-w o rk in g o f th a t m a n .

T heodor et leaves the historian w ith too inexact a set of d a ta to perm it positing a n atural cause for all this, although hailstorm s or hum an agency provide the likeliest explanadon. T he daimones are said thereafter to have m ade scream ing sounds at night and to have shown lights in order to terrify Thalaleios and confuse his reason­ ing power. Here hum an agency seems m ost probable. T he m onk replied with laughter, Thalaleios thereafter built a cage for himself, T heodor et observes with some irony: “ Since he had a large body, he was not able to sit w ith his neck straight. H e always sat bent forw ard, having his feet nailed to his face” ! T heodoret him self spoke to Thalaleios, who as a Cilician conversed in Greek and seems not to have spoken the local A ram aic dialect at first .31 T halaleios’ ascetic acts led to the conversion of the rustics dwell­ ing around the temenos (π ερ ίο ικ ο ι). T aking the analogue o f the pagan and C hristian visions witnessed in the already m entioned inscriptions of Zorava and Kefr N abo, the m artyrs here too re-

29 Ibid. 30 ibid. 31 Ibid.j 1488C-D.

CHRISTIANIZATION

107

placed the local gods who becam e daimones. T heodoret form ulates a succinct descriptive p aradigm :32 T h e in h a b ita n ts say m an y m iracles are d o n e th ro u g h his p ra y e r , n o t o n ly on m en , b u t a lso on c a m e ls, m u les, and d o n k ey s, w h ich en joy eu res. T h e en tire p o p u la c e o f th at p la c e w a s form erly g rip p ed by im p ie ty > but lea rn ed to d esp ise ancestral jo lly an d received the ra d ia n ce o f d iv in e ligh t. By m ak in g use o f these serv ices h e a b o lish ed the tem en o s o f daimones and raised a grear p recin ct to th e sp len d id ly v ictoriou s m artyrs, su b stitu tin g the d iv in e d ead for th e falsely n a m ed g od s.

To wit, the daimones were none other th an “ falsely nam ed gods” . The hagiographer neither adm its the names of the local deities nor those of the m artyrs whose relics were interred in the church which arose over the ruins of the tem ple. T he daimones ceased to have the bcncficcnt qualities that the tiller of the soil required, but did “daim onic” things, as it were, of the sort that the Hellenic philos­ opher Porphyrius and C hristian catechists of ever)' stam p a ttrib ­ uted to the evil dem ons thought to be at the disposal of m agicians, sorcerers, and poisoners. The personality and rhetoric of the catechists played a vital role in this transform ation, as did the m aterial presence of the symbols of Christianization: m artyr relics, the cross, and other tokens of C hristian victory, T heodoret of C yrrhus writes in an Atticist cant th at obscures m any details. O ne can hardly doubt that the temenos had carvings on it bearing the accepted formula: Χ ρ ισ τός νικφ, the C hi-Rho C hristogram , and so forth, as appear on the pagan tombs of A thens and northern Syria, and on the great Isis tem ple at Philae. which underw ent C hris­ tianization only in the sixth century *33 T he Problematik of daim onization thus becomes clear by m eans of a few richly illustrative examples. The paradigm is consistent throughout the literature of the period. O n the one hand the local deities fall to the status o f daimones because truly divine or— to risk coining a new term — theic powers exist only in the C hristian God. At the sam e time, the recategorized deities reveal “ daim onic” powers, that is, they allegedly attack their form er adherents who trespass in the vicinity of the sites of the age-old sacrifices and direct their vengeance against the rustics and their anim als, and particularly against C hristian clerics and monks, but unsuccess­

32 I b id ., 1 4 8 9 A -B .

ri Charles M. Bayet, De Titulis Aiticae Christianis Antiquissimis Commenlatio Histor­ ien ei Epigraphka (Paris 1878), no. 92. Infra, Ch. IX, Sect. 3.

108

CHAPTER TWO

fully where the symbols of C hristian victory, including the holy m an himself, stand. The m erging of old deities with C hristian angels and m artyrs reflects another and m ore complex variation in this process of transform ation, but, for this, extant evidence is intractable and susceptible to bizarre m isinterpretation. O ne thinks, for example, of the entirely superficial and specious notions th at St. Phokas as the protector of m ariners descended from the E arthshakcr Poseidon, or th at St. D em etrius, w ith an entirely opposed typology, m ight derive from the underw orld fertility deity D em eter— a re­ semblance based on nam e only .*4 T he solution to the question lies more in the identity and its localization to a pre-C hristian site of religious awe which underw ent C hristianization as a m atter of necessity bccause the cult practiccd there lay too deep in the local ethos simply to be eradicated. It will be necessary to tu rn from Syria to Asia M inor in this connection, where the evidence speaks clearly.3Λ IL The Social Context o f Temple Conversions

T he term 6‘tem ple conversion7'- - th e dem olition o r p artial dism an­ tling of a sacred edifice and its modification into a ch u rrh or m artyrion— was the logical consequence of the theological ten ­ dency to rccategorizc pagan dcides into destructive daimones. The expression has been applied not only to the transform ation of a tem ple building into a church, but also to the construction of a church within a temenos or sacred precinct such th at the entrance of the tem ple facing east (an architectural feature designed to ensure th a t the rays of the rising sun touched the cult effigy) directly confronted the entrance of the new C hristian basilica, which at times lay in the tem ple courtyard, and had its own m ain entrance of the west end of the b u i l d i n g .T h e space betw een the entrances of the tem ple and church m ight serve as the atrium of the C hristian basilica. As one walked into this space, he m ight pass 34 Supra, Ch. II, n. 4. 35 Cf. the striking example o f a mountain peak near Miletus. Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld,” 345. Cf. also the case ofD jebcl Sheikh Berckat in the Limestone M assif east of Antioch in Syria, Infra, Ch. X ., Sect. 1. lam blichos of Chalkfc did not find the gods* presiding over certain localities inconsistent with his own Ncoplatonist interpretation o f sacrifice. De Mysteriis 5,24. 36 The standard survey is still that o f Friedrich W. Deichm ann, “ Frühchrist­ liche Kirchen in antiken Heiligtüm ern,” Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Insti­ tuts 54 (1939). 105-136. It is supplemented in some particulars by Jean-M ichel Spieser, “ La Christianisation des sanctuaires païens en Grèce.’"Neue Forschungen in griechischen Heiligtümern, ed. U lf Jantzcn (Tübingen 1976), 309-320.

CHRISTIANIZATION

109

from there through the narthex and tribelon of the basilica into the m ain aisle of the church, or instead enter the pronaos of the pagan tem ple which led to the cell a where the cult effigy had stood and sometimes to the adyton beyond, a secret cham ber where initiatory rites were perform ed or oracles given .37 W hichever way one turned from the atrium > the symbols of the new religion confronted him. T he tem ple to the west, if it were a structure of im posing beauty and o f high quality in its interior sculpture and panelling, m ight be preserved intact, w ithout the incision of crosses and C hristian victory form ulae ,38 but the cult effigies which had received sacrifices would probably have been removed by the early fifth century .39 In less urbanized areas, where fewer concessions were m ade to the old culture, the interior of the tem ple m ight reveal crosses and C hris­ tian graffiti hacked everywhere into the stone, or even a m artyrion or depository for m artyr-relics where a C hristian m onk or cleric would recite the psalm ody or even conduct the eucharistie liturgy. A hybridized church-tcm plc complex invariably had a sacristan (παραμονάρι,ος or προσμονάριος), often a m onk with the clerical rank of deacon, who observed and supervised the behavior of all who entered the buildings .40 If small offerings or gratuities fell into his hands from C hristian visitors ,41 his eye invariably fell on those who approached th t pronaos of the tem ple. Clandestine sacrifices in the form of small incense fires and the scattering of whey were quite possible in these circum stanccs and by the law of 8 Novem ber 392 had a m andatory death penalty attached to them. T he term “tem ple conversion” is used as well to describe the demolition of the old buildings to m ake way for C hristian basilicas. Such actions bccam c a particular necessity when local bishops desired to erect churches within the city walls, where large lots were seldom available am idst the public buildings and areas such as the council-cham ber and agora (a social and economic neces37 Thus the temple of Zeus Heliopolitanus at Baalbek-Heliopolis in Phoenicia Llbanensis. Deichmann, “ Kirchen ln H eiligtü m ern /5 115-117, with plans. 3H A certain exception to this proposition is the Isis temple o f Philae in the upper Nile basin. Cf. infra, Ch. IX , Seers. 3 and 4. Supra, Ch. I, Scct» 2. Cf. the small chapcl of M ichael the Archistrategos of the heavenly army at Colossos-Chonae, “Le M iracle de Saint M ichel à C olosses,” ed. tr. F. Nau, Patrologia Orientait* 4 ( 1907), 650, lines 11 ff. and the so-called Second Martyrion at Berytus in Phoenicia, infra, Ch. V, Sect. 5. 41 We learn that in the time o f the emperor Heraclius (610-641) the kebdomadoi o f the marlyrion of St. Artemius in Constantinople were inclined to deny a wealthy man access to the shrine without being offered a sum o f money (logarin). Diëgêsis ton thaumatôn tou hagiou megalomartyros kai thaumatourgou Arttmiou (BHG 173), Varia Graeca Sacra, ed, A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus (St. Petersburg 1909), 17f.

110

CHAPTER TWO

sity), the large town houses of the decurion class, and the tenements which housed the folk of the absolutely essential artisan and foodhandling classes .42 T he temples of the Greek and Semitic deities thus attracted the interest of the bishops, who might claim with justification that the dem olition of these buildings posed the fewest economic risks to the com m unity out of all other possibilities .43 This tendency corresponded to the dem ographic reality th at the cities of the eastern M editerranean lands had by the time of Ju lia n the A postate (361-363 in East) achieved equal pagan and C h ris­ tian populations, as in the case of Bostra, the metropolis of the Provincia A rabia .44 Ju lia n 's fate shattered any hope for the revival of Hellenic religion, despite m any enduring m easures, such as the rcincorporation of C hristian M aium a with pagan Gaza into a single polish' It seems undisputable th at his death increased the prestige of the local churches and led to increasing num bers of conversions in the cities and their suburbs after about 365, all this despite the m oderate and tolerant policy conducted toward the old tem ple cults by the eastern em peror V alens .46 This supposition is based in p art on Jo h n C hrysostom ’s Ilomilia in Ignatium , a product of his early career at Antioch. This city, the earliest Hellenistic site to have a large C hristian congregation, had a population of circa 200 , 000, excluding slaves and children, when the homily was w rit­ 42 This motivation is implicit in Porphyrius’ demolition of the Marneion in Gaza. Tnfra. Ch. I l l , Sect. 4. On the concentration of different categories o f essential trades in the inner city, see: Frank R. Trombley, “ Korykos in Cilicia Trachis (sit'): The Economy of a Small Coastal City in Late A n tiq u ity/7 Ancient IHstoiy Bulletin 1 (1987), 1(5^23. 43 This was perhaps one o f the most important factors left unstated in the sources that lay behind the demolition o f the great temples in Apamea, Gaza, and Aphrodisias. Cf. infra. Ch. IL Sect. 3 passim., and Ch. V I. Sec the comment o f Robert Markup The End o f Ancient Chnstianity (Cambridge 1990), 147. 44 xaixoL Χ ριστιανώ ν οντω ν έμφαμΐλλω ν τω πλήθέι των Ε λλ ή νω ν. Julian the Apostate, Epistle X L I in The Works of the, Rmpzror Julian^ tr. W.C. Wrieht, 3 (London-New York 1923), 132f '3S Tnfra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 2. 46 Theodoret of Cyrrhus observes: “ Valens encouraged all others [including Hellenes] to worship as they pleased and to celcbrate their riles (τα θρησκευό­ μενα θ εραπεύειν). . . . All through his reign the altar fire was kindled (έττιβώμιον π υρ). [The Hellenes furthermore] poured libations and made sacrifices (α π ο νδα ί κ αι θυσίαι) to idols and celebrated public festivals in the agora (καί τάς όημοθοίΛαας κατά την α γο ρ ά ν έπ ετέλουν). Those who celebrated the mysteries of Dionysus ran about wearing goatskins, tearing dogs asunder and raging, roused to Bacchic frenzy, and doing other things that made clear the evil o f their teacher.’: HE 5.21, 1-5 in Kirchmgeschichie, cd. Leon Pannentier (Leipzig 1911), 317f, Thcodorct7s obvious bias against Valens, who tolerated the semi-Arian theology in the Roman East, is offset by the fact of this emperor’s explicit permission for the nocturnal sacrifices celebrated in connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries (o go on. Supra, Ch. I, Scct. 4.

CHRISTIANIZATION

111

ten in the 370’s. Its principal church alone had a congregation of 100,000, a figure which certainly included C hristian slaves, but this does not speak for the C hristians affiliated w ith the other local churches, who m ust have been quite num erous.4' Thus, when C hristian bishops called for the dem olition of tem ples and reuse of their urban lots for new churches, they often had a m ajority of public opinion behind them . W here such an initiative lacked the full backing of the public, bishops seem at times to have played upon the superstition of the recently converted, but not necessarily baptized, folk, that is to say the catechum ens, who in some in­ stances believed that the old deities had retained a residuum of their powers which endangered the com m unity, w hether from the clan­ destine sacrifices reputed to attract daimones or from the very stones of the buildings which had been the scene of these acts. Episcopal propaganda in such cases fed on the fact that cult effigies were often thought, as was seen in the previous chapter, to harbor daimones, although not necessarily the actual persona of the deity. The former gave them a certain power to receive votive offerings and answer the petitions of suppliants, and even at times to become anim ate (έμψ υχος). T he latter belief, found in high-cultural and everyday Greek theologies alike, resulted from the priesthoods’ cynical but nevertheless ciTcctive use of autom ated statues and other devices .40 W here bishops lacked the local political power to acquire inner city tem ple lots, they relied on im perial decrees and troops to carry out their program s, as did Porphyrius, bishop of G aza »49 Archaeologists have generated a great deal of research on the m echanics of demolishing temples or adapting them to C hristian liturgical purposes, but less is known about the social and economic context of these acts. After reviewing certain m aterial phenom ena of tem ple conversions, which serve to illustrate d a ta usually accesible only in archaeological reports, the social context of three inci­ dents will be examined: the destruction of the Zeus tem ple at A pam ea in Second Syria by the m etropolitan M arcellus c. 388; the closure of the Serapeum in Alexandria in 391; and the sm ashing of the statuary of the tem ple of A llat-A ihena at Palm yra in the Provincia A rabia circa 385^388. Em phasis will be laid on the behav­ ioral and economic significance of these events, which, although 4' Adolph Harnack, The Mission and Expansion o f Christianity in the First Three Centunes, 2nd ed., 2 (London-New York 1908), 133, 40 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. Cf. Edwyn Be van, Holy Images (London 1940), 25, 31-39, with examples from the Hellenistic and Late Antique periods. Cf. the case of the effigy o f Sarapis in Alexandria. Infra, Ch. II, Sect, 3. Infra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 4.

112

CHAPTER TWO

of late fourth-century v in ta g e provide the essential background for understanding how the social apparatus of cult evolved during the fifth century. A comprehensive theory, if not a theology, on tem ple conversion began to emerge in the early fourth ccntury, if the statem ents of Eusebius of C aesarea be taken as the reflection of a GraecoPalestinian consensus. Its fullest expression comes in the section of his Life o f Constantine dealing with the supposed discovery of the Holy Sepulchre.™ T he site in question was evidently a cave-tem plc dedicated to A phrodite or some Semitic equivalent from the time of the em peror H adrian (117-138 A .D .), when he refounded J e ru ­ salem as Aclia Capitolina in the wake of the Bar K ochba rebellion (132-135).51 Eusebius has it th at im pious men (άνδρες δυσσεβείς), or “ the entire race of daimones” (jtäv TO δα ιμ ό νω ν δ ιά το ύ τω ν γένος), that is the pagan gods, acting through the former, conspired to hide from m en the sacred cave where C hrist was buried, a peculiar admission that those deities actually had the capability of perpetuating their own cult at the expense of the C hristian God! This contrived explanation, a fourth-century po­ lemic against Hellcnic and Semitic polytheism, relied on the notion that men had fallen into “ forgetfulness” about true religion. Pales­ tine was full of shrines which had double or triple associations am idst Hellenism, Judaism., and C hristianity, as for example the O ak of M am bre, which Christians (and possibly Jews as well) associated with A braham , bu t which in the fourth ceEitury lay inside a pagan temenos with an altar set up next to the tree for sacrifices.5^ As w ith the cave-tem ple in Jerusalem , the shrine was converted back to its pristine Judaic-C hristian associations, or so it was thought. Eusebius fails to explain how a C hristian holy place with quasi-m agical powers to defeat the influence o f the pagan gods or daimones could have fallen into such a state. The reality seems to be, quite to the contrary, th at these sites, as w ith caves and trees in m any cultures, had always had sacred associations in more than one local religion arid evoked awe in all who visited th em .53 T he 50 Eusebius of Caesarea, De Vita Constantini 3.26-29 in Eusebius, Werke, ed, Ivan A. Heikel, 1 (Leipzig 1902), 89-91. Cf. Deichmann, “ Kirchcn in Heiligtüm ern,” 107. Jl Albino Garzettii, From Tiberius to the Automnes: A History of the Roman Empire AD 14-192, tr. J.R . Foster (London 1974), 398f.? 422-^24. 112 Eusebius, De Vita Constantini 3.51-52. D eichm ann, “ Kirchen in H eilig­ tüm ern/' 107f, and 120. M Tree and bethel stone shrines were common among the Canaanites. Cf. the survival of the tree and altar in the cult of Indian fertility deities, the Yaksas, through all stages of religious transformation (pre-Iridic, Hindu, and Buddhist).

CHRISTIANIZATION

113

discovery of the Holy Sepulchre had more of a symbolical function than archaeological reality about it, but served all the same as one m ore proof of the trium ph of the C hristian God. T he procedure used to convert the sacred cave into a C hristian shrine, the earliest example of a tem ple conversion, set the prece­ dent for all such acts in the future, and owed not a little to C onstantine the G reat’s own notions of liturgical form alism and superstition. Sacrifices had been perform ed in the Holy Cave, after the Hellenes had “ rem odelled a dark cavern for the unchaste daimon o f Aphrodite and had performed defiled sacrifices and libations upon the im pure and accursed altars there ” .54 T he “ daimon of A phro­ dite” ("Αφροδίτης άκολάστς) δαιμονι), evidently a daimon of the type thought to dwell in sacred precincts and in idols, was nnt considered to be A phrodite herself, whom the cultists worshipped, b ut her locum-tenens Zachariah of Mytilene, The Synac Chronicle Known as Thai o f Zachariah of Mitylene, tr> F.J. Hamilton and E,\V. Brooks (London 1899), 320. The Sassanid cavalryman and fire-worshipper M agoudat-Anastasius convinced a Persian silversmith o f his sincere desire to accept Christianity only after he accompanied the latter to the churches of Hierapolis in Euçhratensis “and prayed and saw the hitones o f Ike martyrs” (χάς ιστορίας ιών αγίων μαρτύρων εώρα). Acta Μ . Anastasii Ptrsa*, ed. Hermann U sencr (Bonn 1894), 2. Cf. the highly individualized portraits of martyrs depicted in the mosaics of the Rotunda o f Thessalonike and the spiritualized paradise in the apse mosaic: at St. Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Theocharis Pazaras, The Rotunda of Saint George in Thessaloniki (Thessalonike 1985), 32-44. Clive Foss and Paul M agdalino, Rome and Byzantium (Oxford 1977), 58 (for convenient reference).

116

CHAPTER TWO

It is but a short step from Eusebius of C aesarea’s description, which quickly developed a theoretical cant, to the practical consid­ érations of converting temples- Freidrich D eichm ann and Je a n M ichel Spieser have discussed the archaeological side of this ques­ tion in great derail, and their findings need not be treated here cxccpt ccrtam points relevant in this context,0^ Spolia taken from the temples were pu t to different uses, depend­ ing on local attitudes. Porphyrius of G aza used the partly inciner­ ated stones of the M arneion to pave the courtyard in front of the planned Eudoxiana basilica, although the m aterials were thought to be ritually contam inated (dem Dämon gehörige M aterie)}5 O n the other hand, the A phaka tem ple of A phrodite, a rural shrine in the m ountains of L ebanon where ritual prostitution continued until C onstantine closed the place ,66 saw its spolia reused to build a C hristian church. T he temple was razed to its foundations and a new building constructed all over again, with the same stones* on the same spot, and with identically sited exterior w alls .67 In con­ trast to this, the legendary St. Nicholas of M yra was said to have torn up even the foundations of the A phrodite tem ple at M yra, the metropolis of Lycia in southern Asia M inor, lesi the daimon of the place continue to dwell th ere .60 I f the story be apocryphal, exam ­ ples of this kind of behavior certainly lie behind the legend. At Baalbck-Hchopolis in Phoenicia Libanensis the unknown catcch^ ists left the splendidly sculptured tem ple building o f /e u s Heliopolitanus alone, but erected a three-aisled basilica to the east of it in the middle of the old courtyard, so that the respective entrances faced each other. The positioning of the central aisle of the C hrist­ ian basilica directly on top of the pagan altar m ade the continuance of sacrifice im possible .09 Alternatively, a small m artyrion staffed by a m onastic caretaker (παραμονάριος or προσμονάριος) with the rank of deacon might be erected w ithin the circuit wall of the temcnos off to the side, to serve merely as the symbol of the new religion at a large urban temple, such as the small m artyrion of St. Jo h n supposed to have been built inside the enclosure of the Zeus tem ple at D am ascus .70 O n the other hand, a small church m ight be pu t up at a rural temcnos through the am bition of a local

G:’ 66 67 6β 69 70

Supra, Ch. II, n. 36. Deichmann, “ Kirchen in Heiligtüm ern.” 109. Eusebius, Vita Constantini 3,55. Deichmann, “ Kirchen in H eiligtü m ern /’ 108, 115, 117, Ibid., 111. Ibid., 109, 11 5 f, 117, Ibid., 116.

CHRISTIANIZATION

117

monk and m artyr relics placed there to serve the purpose of dis­ rupting cult, as sacrifices were thought to he inefficacious if the shrine were polluted. T he introduction of the C hristian dead served this purpose adm irably. Such is certainly the explanation of the Syrian m artyr chapels whose construction T heodoret of C yrrhus reports in his Historia Philotkeos,7] and perhaps also th at erected within the temenos of D espoina at Lykosoura in the m ountains of the A rcadian Peloponnese ,72 T he question of tem ple conversions in Greece, touched upon initially by Friedrich D eichm ann, was updated by Je a n Michel Spieser, who m aintains th at no continuity of cult existed at the temples there between the Hellenic and C hristian religions, that is, that a long interval of time elapsed before tem ples like the P a rth ­ enon, Theseion> and Asklepieion in Athens were rem odelled into C hristian churches, an interval of anywhere between one to two hundred years, between c. 485 and as late as the last decades of the seventh century, when dated C hristian inscriptions first appear on the P arth en o n .73 Spieser sums up his thesis in these term s after discussing the fate of the Asklepieion on Kos and the C hristian basilica in the temenos of H ebraiokastro on T hasos :74 H ere too. it c a n n o t be ex clu d ed th at the p a g a n sa n ctu a ry h a d been a b a n d o n ed w ell before the triu m p h o f C h ristia n ity . It follo w s th a t, if in certain o f th e e x a m p les cited d e a r co n c lu sio n s d o n ot im p o se th em selv es, it is certain for th e rest th at the tra n sfo rm a tio n o f a tem p le or the reuse o f its site is linked to cau ses p ro p er to ea ch site (liés à des causes propre à chaque site) a n d d o n ot a p p ea r as m a n ife sta tio n s o f th e triu m p h o f C h ristia n ity , w h ich so u g h t to m ark its victory o ver pagan ism in this m an n er.

This conclusion relies upon the long chronological intervals, at sites of tem ple conversions, between the last dateable votive offer­ ings or attested priesthoods on the one hand (most often falling in the third century A .D .), and evidence of C hristian architectural modifications or new basilicas ,75 The absence of secure literary testimonia about tem ple conversions makes such a thesis tenable when the evidence from the Greek m ainland and Aegean islands is considered in herm etic isolation from the rest of the E astern R om an Em pire. This view can hardly be m aintained in a com parative

71 Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2. 72 Trombley. “ Paganism in the Greek W o rld /5 346f. ™ Spieser, “Christianisation des sanctuaires,” 310.

74 Ibid., 31 If. 76 This view of the evidence goes back to Geflcken, Last Days of Paganism, 25—34.

118

CHAPTER TWO

contcxt, however, particularly in light of behavioral evidence gleaned from other parts of the eastern M editerranean world, unless one posits the existence of entirely unique religious patterns in local Greek society and culture, the demonstration of w'hich constitutes a desideratum for the present, but which nevertheless seems feasible. Spieser himself hints at such a distinctive paradigm :76 It is clear th at the en d o f D e lo s as a g rea t sa n ctu a ry is w ell a n terio r to triu m p h a n t C h ristia n ity . F or th e rest, th e p a g a n cu lts, or at lea st certain o f l h c m , su rv iv ed m u ch lon ger than the w ritten so u rces tell. W ith o u t d o u b t sm a ll cu lts a d d ressin g lo c a l n eed s [petits cultes pour tes besoins locaux), w h ic h d isa p p ea red little by little , b ro u g h t th e d eclin e o f the great tem p les in th eir ruin and a su p p o rt too co stly for c o m ­ m u n ities that w ere q u ite im p o v e r ish ed an d , in an y ca se , red u ced in size. E q u ally m o d e st C h ristia n sa n ctu a ries w ere born b e sid e th em in the im a g e o f the [so cia l and cu ltu ra l] m ilieu for w h ich th ey p ro v id ed exp ression , an d w h ich h a d n eith er th e cause, n or the m ea n s to refur­ b ish or reuse the sp len d id b u ild in g s o f the past.

As not one of the early C hristian basilicas built next to great shrines such as those at Eleusis and Epidaùros survives, it is difficult to speculate about local m eans for basilica construction, and so these argum ents hang in m id-air. A nother consideration clucidatcd by the laws found in the Theodosian Code is th at Hellenic buildings were often kept intact by reason oflocal civic patriotism , a powerful factor in the cities of m ainland G reece .77 Furtherm ore, T im othy E. Gregory has plausibly argued in the instance of the AsMcpieion in A thens that a C hristian healing Cult of St. Andrew entailed incuba­ tion and m ade use of the dorm itories attached to the temple. Significantly, the C hristian cult postdated the similar worship of Asklepios im m ediately, probably in the 480’s.7ß Nor does the vio­ lent destruction of Pheidias' chryselephantine statue of A thena in the Parthenon, perhaps also in the 480’s, tic in with notions of the auto-extinction of the Hellenic cults .79 W c come next, as regards Greece, to the daim onic powers which some early Christian bishops writh their u rb an com m unities a ttri­ buted to the recategorized deities thought still to dwell in their shrines. Spieser argues sensibly th at this sort of thinking explains the usual practice in Greece of constructing C hristian churches outside the entrances of the pagan sacred enclosures. O ne can Spieser, “Christianisation des sanctuaires/' 315. 77 Cod . Tkeod. 16.10.8. Irvfni, Ch. IV, Scct. 2 . '^T im othy E. Gregory, :iThe Survival of Paganism in Christian Greece: A Critical E ssay,’’ American Journal of Philology 107 (1986). 237f, 7* Infra. Ch. IV, Sect. 3.

CHRISTIANIZATION

119

hardly contest this thesis in light of the ab u n d an t cvidcnce th at Christians feared daim onic kratophanies in the absence of the symbols of the new religion and the cross in particular. T he ques­ tion rem ains why Spieser should doubt th at the cross was erected on the temples of Greece. Some few cases, which hardly exhaust the d ata, indicate that it was. The incision of the cross on the gorgoneion o f the breastplate of M arcus Aurelius on the clipeus sculp­ ture at Eleusis is well-known .80 A nother exam ple is found on an altar discovered at Epidauros which bears the inscription: “ T o Asklepios. A ntipatros a suppliant 5\ 81 O n the next side of the block to the right, a cross with the tiny loop of a Rho on its upper arm , which thus combines two sacred C hristian symbols, is incised w ithin a circle.8* The votive inscription of A ntipatros is partially erased, particularly the nam e of the “ daimon” Asklepios, and the w reath below it has been largely chipped off.83 The epigraphy indicates the survival of cult at Epidauros in the form of a dedica­ tion to the Asklepios of Aigai in Cilicia until 355. T he C hristian basilica outside the temenos belongs to the late fourth century ,84 C hristians of the sixth or seventh century who had forgotten the daim onic powers of the old gods can hardly have been responsible for these effacements, which belong to an earlier era of C hris­ tianization, the late fourth and fifth centuries. Hellenism did in fact rem ain a powerful force in m ainland Greece all through the fifth century, and produced a rather unique style of conversion, to judge from the Christian funerary inscriptions of A ttica.ϋ:> A view expressed by T im othy E. Gregory has force here, nam ely that the C hristian basilicas erected on the perim eters of tem ple enclosures served the function of catechetical ‘‘com peting show s” orchestrated by the local C hristian bishops .36 T he architecture and ornam entation should have been anything but modest to secure this aim, b ut the archaeological record does not fully bear this out. T here is the consideration as well th at even C hristian Hellenists of the city councils, who enjoyed education in the Greek paideia and possessed m ore than a little civic pride, found themselves in the q uandary of adm iring the old buildings no less than the literature, m Trom bley/'Paganism in the Greek W orld,” 34-5, n, 108, Cf. Otfried Deubner, “Zu grossen Propyläen von Eleusis,” Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Athenische Abteilung, Mitteilungen 62 (1937), 75 and Plate 39. Werner Peek, Neue Inschriften aus Epidauros (Berlin 1972), no. 44. 82 Ibid., Tafel X II, Abb. 26 and 27. 83 Ibid., 30. 84 Spieser, “ Christianisation des sanctuaires,” 318f« 83 Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 1. 86 Oral communication.

120

CHAPTER TWO

yet being unable to restore them , w hether for reasons of conscience, the bishops’ prodding, or even fear of “ daim onic rage” . H ence the tem ples fell down from ncglcct and scismic activity. It seems safest to put the defacem ent of inscriptions and statues in the late fourth and fifth centuries, when the local adherents of the old cults had dim inished sufficiently for such acts to be carried out with im pu­ nity. Even then, the clandestine sacrifices repeatedly proscribed by the Theodosian Code and reported, for example, in M arinus of N capolis 5 biography of Proclus went on in the precincts w hen the watchful eyes of the C hristian clergy were averted. T he final con­ version of buildings like the Erechthcion, Parthenon and Thcseion in Athens, the Thesm ophoreion on Delos, and the site closed by the bishop Jovian on Corfu, which Spieser puts in the sixth ccntury ,e7 belongs to the term inal stage of C hristianization, when the build­ ings around which civic tradition were centred becam e churches. T here rem ains one theoretical question to be considered before the detailed analysis of some specific tem ple conversions, and th at is the adoption of the “ O ne G od” (ΕΕς Θ εός) form ulae, which are in fact acclam ations, as one ideological feature of the C hristianiza­ tion of the empire, and of tem ple conversions in particular. The “ O ne G od” form ula goes back unquestionably to pre-C hristian usage, as Erik Peterson dem onstrates in E IC Q E O C .m T his study cites or quotes m ost of the extant texts in the original Greek, the greater num ber of them epigraphic, in a liturgical analysis which, in rhe interest of them atic unity, abstracts them from their original social and archaeological contexts. It is argued in great detail below' in connection with the C hristianization of rural Syria that the 'O n e G od” form ula lent itself to adaptation by recent converts, and th at such an interpretation is incontestable in the unique archaeological context of the villages of the Lim estone M assif that lies east of Antioch on th e Rom an road running due east to Aleppo15eroia, where at m any sites dated examples of these texts ornam ented with crosses and sometimes nam ing C hrist represent the earliest series of identifiably C hristian inscriptions .89 This rule stands quite firmly, w hether one argues th at the social origin of the phenom enon lies in the outright conversion of the rustic popula­ tion, o r w'hether the persons who erected the “ O ne G od” inscrip­ tions were Christian m igrants to this district from Antioch, who as

S7 Spieser, “Christianisation des san ctu aires/5 312. Erik Peterson. EIC GEOC, Epigraphischen^ fonngeschichtliche und religionsgeschicktliehe Untersuchungen (Göttingen 1926), passim. Infra. Ch. X.

CHRISTIANIZATION

121

capitalistic producers of an olive oil crop were the progenitors of the urban style of masonry in the houses* churches, and public build­ ings of the d istrict .90 At any rate, the specific role of the ‘O n e G od” form ula in tem ple conversions, a topic never really worked out in detail, requires brief m ention in a non-Syrian context. O ne turns in this connection to the tem ple o f pharaoh H atshepsut at Deir al-B ahari in Nilotic Egypt, which dates from the X X II I or X X IV dynasty. Here, under the Hellenizing influence of the Ptolem aic kings, a new cult, that of the god Am enothes son of H apou, is first m entioned in 261/260 B.C .91 It essentially becam e the sanctuary of the divine triad Im hotep-Asklepios, his daughter Hygeia, and Am enothes son o f H apou. Im hotep was of course assim ilated to the Greek physi­ cian deity Asklepios, whose incubation cult, replete with healing visions and miracles, existed as well at O xyrhynchus and Ptolem ais until at least the time of the em peror T rajan (c. 99—117 A .D .).M T he tem ple at Deir al-B ahari attracted cure-seekers thereafter, through the third century A.D., who filled the walls of the tem ple rooms w ith inscriptions and graffiti, very m any of which refer to a sacrifice or act of obeisance (proskynêma) with the formula: το

προσκύνημα του δεινός.^ N othing survives in the way of later evidence at the tem ple of Deir al-Bahari cxccpt a C hristian inscription and three crosses grouped around an early votive text. T he pagan inscription rea d s :94 The proskynêma of Eugraphios before the lord god Asklepios and Amenothes and Hygeia. Remember us and grant us a cure. T he invocation of the divine triad w ith the plea for a healing m iracle received a C hristian reply, probably sometim e in the fifth century: “ T here is [in reality! one God who helps you!” (Ε ις Θ εό ς ö βοηθώ ν ύμών) 95 A round the pagan proskynêma the same or another C hristian incised three crosses, one of them a sort of rounded

90 Oral communication from Zvi Ma'oz. T he distribution o f olive-growing zones in the Limestone M assif is discussed analytically by Georges Tchalenko, Villages antiques de la Syne du Nord 3 vols, (Paris 1953—58). Cf. vol. 2, Plate X X X I (zones o f olive and olive-vine cultivation), Plates C X V III-C X X (olive presses o f the village of Befoyo on Djebel il-cAlä)> and the impressive examples of ashlar block architecture used in the churches, houses, towers, and other buildings. 91 Andre Bataille, l*s inscriptions grecques du temple de Hatshtpsôui a Deir el-Bahan (Cairo 1951), vii. 92 Bataille, ix. 91 Bataille, xxvii. 94 Bataille, no. 86. 95 Bataille, no. 89 (Note itacism).

122

CHAPTER TWO

swastika, the other two being examples of the E gyptian ankk (deux croix ansees) trefoil or M altese crosses w ith their top petals in the shape of loops. This E gyptian symbol of Life (Zand Palmyra

M arcellus, archbishop of A pam ea, the metropolis of Second Syria, took in hand the C hristianization of the city and its temtorium with fanatical zeal. T he detailed account given by T heodoret of C y rrh u s 102 of the social and adm inistrative consequences of the bishop’s actions have consistent parallels in the later narrative of M ark the Deacon about bishop Porphyrius' destruction of the tem ­ ples of G aza.10* M arcellus’ first am bition was the dem olition of the tem ple of Zeus inside the city, but he found it impossible to accom ­ plish this w ithout im perial help, because the place still had a large pagan population (πλήθος) th at would rio t .104 H e therefore pro­ cured an imperial rescript for the task he had in m ind (οπλω τω νόμψ χρησάμενος).10* T he actual work was to have been carried out initially by about 1000 im perial troops com m anded probably by the Praetorian Prefect of O riens M aternus Cynegius, who was a fanatical C hristian, and two tribunes who would keep order during the proceedings as w ell .106 T he tem ple itself had impressive architectural features. T he blocks were apparently closely fitted together, writh no apertures for the insertion of breaking-rods. The clam ps which held the rows of blocks together m ade the task of pulling out individual blocks extremely difficult :107 An attempt was made to dismantle the temenos of Zeus, which is very large and decorated with magnificent works of ornamentation. Upon seeing that the structure was solid and strongly built, the Prefect surmised that it would be impossible for [him] to break the joining of the stones. For they were quite large and well-fastened to cach other, and bound together with iron and lead [clamps]. The divine Marcellus, seeing his loss of courage, sent him to other cities, and prayed to God that means would be given for the destruction of the [temenos].

101 There is an interesting parallel in the destruction of the temple ufV ahevanean the Dragon-Hand 1erin the district o f Taron west of Lake Van in Armenia. Gregory the Illuminator accomplished this and other temple conversions after winning over the princely houses o f the land. H e seems to have gotten some initial experience in catechetical technique in Christian Cappadocia. Agathangelos, History of the Armenians, tr. R.W . Thom son (Albany 1976), 347-351, 489f. 102 Theodoret of Cyrrhus* H E 5.21.

lw Infra, Ch. III. 104 Theodoret, HE 5.21 (Parmentier, 318, line 13). 10r’ Theodoret, HE 5.21 (Parmentier, 318, line 6). M arcellus7 act predates the very restrictive legislation of the 390’s against paganism by several years. 106 Ibid., line 12. 107 Ibid., lines \± - 2 \.

124

CHAPTER TWO

T h e troops evidently resented the backbreaking natu re of a task m ore suitable for day-1 aborers. Bishop M arcellus dism issed the Prefect, whose “loss of courage5’ (δείλια) m ay reflect the attitude of the troops used to skulking about the officium. This circum stance allowed M arcellus to carry out the work of destruction in a d ram a ­ tic fashion symbolic of the victory of the new religion. T he failure of the troops to work vigorously at the dem olition m ay reflect as well their religious attitudes. Bishop M arcellus effected the destruction of the Zeus tem ple with the assistance of ;‘a certain self-employed m an who cam e from the East, and who was neither a house-builder nor learned in any other craft, being accustom ed rather to carry stone and lum ber upon his shoulders ” .100 This day-laborer, perhaps a Syrian from Persia, knew a great deal about practical building techniques, and engaged to receive double the pay of an a rtisa n .109 His m ethod of pulling down the tem ple consisted of inserting wooden beams as props under the upper parts of the columns of the colonnade that surrounded the cella on all four sides, then rem oving the lower colum n drum s, and finally setting fire to the p ro p s .110 T he colum ns had a circumference of sixteen cubits or about ten feet, and the stone was exceptionally hard (στερροτάτη). Good tim ber did not apparently abound in the territorium of A pam ea, for beams of olive trees (ξιιλοις έλαινοις) had to be used. It would seem th at the tim ber had been freshly cut, for it refused to burn when the time came to apply the torch. Bishop M arcellus evidently circulated the story later told by T heodoret of C y rrh u s :111 B u t a certain b lack daimon a p p ea red an d th e w o o d d id n o t a cco rd in g to its n atu re b egin to be c o n su m e d b y th e fire b eca u se o f the b lack daimon h in d erin g the a ctio n o f th e flam e. A fter th ey tried this often , an d seein g th a t th e d e v ic e w a s w ith o u t profit, th ey in fo rm ed th e sh ep h erd [M arcellu sJ o f this w h ile h e la y a sle e p after m id d a y .

The “black daimon” which appeared (δαίμων τις μέλας φαινόμενος), evidently em bodied in the moist smoke of the flagging fires, seems not to have been in the minds of the superstitious the same daimon as the Zeus-Baal of the temple, but the sort of “ grem lin 33 thought to affect all forms of m echanical devices and building operations ,132 138 Ibid., line 23f. 1Π3 Ibid., 319. line 1. I1C Ibid., lines 7-10. iU Ibid., lines 10-14. u2 Ibid., line 11. Cf. the incident reported in the Acta of SL Demetrius (7th-8th c.), wherein the failure o f the mechanical apparatus o f the city gate to operate is blamed on a daimon thought to be active inside the machinery. T he spell is said to

CHRISTIANIZATION

125

Archbishop M arcellus is then said to have applied some C hristian ecclcsiastical magic th at induced the flight of the resisting daimon

(του αντιπάλου δαίμονος):11:1 He immediately ran to the church of God, and having ordered water to be put in a container, he set the water upon the altar. Having bowed his head down on the floor, he begged the Philanthropic Master not tu yield to the tyranny of the daimon, but to expose its wickedness and manifest His own power, that there would be no pretext for greater harm being caused by the unbelievers there [in Apamca]. Having said these things and the like, and making the sign of the cross over the water, he ordered Equitius the deacon, [a man] well-fenced by faith and zeal, to take the water and run quickly, to pour with faith and apply [the water] to the flame. When he did this, the daimon, unable to bear the pouring of the water, absconded. The lire, as if making use of water against the wood, ignited it and consumed it in a moment. When their support vanished, the columns fell down, and so the men pulled down twelve other columns. The wing [of the temple] attached to the columns was pulled down by their force. The crash resounded throughout the entire city (for the sound was very great) and roused everyone to go and see. When they learned of the flight of the resisting daimon, they set the tongue in motion in a hymnody to the God of all things. It was in this manner that that God-îike archbishop destroyed many other temples. T he stoiy is scientifically im plausible unless we suppose th at the w ater which had received the sign of the cross (έπ ιθ είς του σταυρού τον τύπον τω ϋδατι) was actually applied to a solution of sulphur, pitch, and quicklime that had been sm eared onto the tim ber, which burned furiously when the workm en applied the w ater to it* Such an interpretation is consistent w ith the chemicals used to incinerate the M arneion in G aza a decade and a half la te r .1MT he social and religious conséquences of this act m ust have been sim ilar to w hat M ark the Deacon reports about Gaza: m any initial conversions resulting from the shock of the tem ple’s destruc­ tion, followed by a trickle of converts thereafter, when the im pact of the event had worn off.m The burning of the tem ple rather th an the talc of the sanctified w ater was the critical causative factor. Archbishop M arcellus was a real fanatic, for after cleansing A pam ea of its temples he carried these depredations into the territorium of the city. This seems to be the m eaning of T heodoret’s have been broken when a workman cried out:“Christ with us!” Les plus andtns recueils des miracles de Saint Démétnus et lapénétration desSlaves dans les Balkans, ed, P. Lemerle, 1 (Paris 1979), 153, 113 Theodoret, HE 5.21 (Par men tier, 319, line 12 - 320, line 9). 114 Infra, Ch. I l l , note 146. 115 Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 5.

126

CHAPTER TWO

com m ent th at 'T hat divine m an destroyed the other tem ples” (τάλλα τεμ ένη ) .115 Pierre Canivet believes th at one of these shrines lay at N ikertai, where a m onastery w ith C hristian architectural carvings typical of the “ Theodosian renaissance” arose circa 400.117 O ne o f these missions of destruction cost M arcellus his life, but T heodoret finds it expedient not to describe the circum stances of his “ m artyrdom ” :110 H a v in g a t m y d isp o sa l m a n y o th er rath er a d m ira b le a cco u n ts a b o u t th at m an (for h e se n t for [th e relies o f] the v icto rio u s martyrs^ an d even w rote a g a in st [th e H ellen es] and fin a lly ea rn ed th e crow n o f m a rty rs), I n ev erth eless h esita te to w rite the h isto ry o f th e se th in g s n ow , lest by le n g th e n in g [m y a cco u n t] rath er m u ch I d e n y a tte n tio n to [other] p erso n s m e t w ith in m y n arrative, i sh a ll n o w turn to a n o th er story.

This convenient pretext for avoiding a difficult issue may reflect T heodoret’s categorical rejection of M arcellus' violent and irreg­ ular m ethods of destroying rural temples, against which practice one of the post-Theodosian laws, dated 10 Ju ly 399, seems to be directed .119 The tem ple conversions which T heodoret describes in his Histona Philotheos or Lives o f the Monks all cam e about by acts of persuasion in which the monks at times endured physical injury and risked death at the hands of the rustics by raising the cross over their tem ples .120 M arcellus did not fall into this category. It was left to another ecclesiastical historian, Salaminias Hermias Sozomenos, to relate the consequences of archbishop M arcellus 7 belli­ cose tactics :121 T h ere w ere still p a g a n s in m a n y cities, w h o co n ten d ed ze a lo u sly in b e h a lf o f their tem p les; a s, for in sta n c e, th e in h a b ita n ts o f P etra ea an d A reop olis in A rab ia; o f R a p h i and G a z a in P alestin e; o f H ie r a p olis in P h oen icia; an d o f A p a m ea on th e river A x iu s in S yria. I h a v e b een in form ed th a t the in h a b ita n ts o f th e la st-n a m e d city o ften arm ed th e m en o f G a lile e and th e p e a sa n ts o f L e b a n o n in d efen se o f their tem ples; an d th at at la st, th ey carricd th eir a u d a c ity to su ch a h e ig h t as to slay a b ish o p n a m ed M a rcellu s, T h e b ish o p h a d c o m ­ m a n d ed the d em o litio n o f all the tem p les in th e city and villages, u n d er 3lc Theodoret, HE 5.21 (Parmentier, 320, lines 8f). 117 Maria-Theresa and Pierre Canivet* “Sites chrétiens d’A pam ène,” Syùa 48 (1971), 295-314. ne Theodoret, HE 5.21 (Parmentier, 320, lines 10-15). ll* Cod. Theod. 16.10.16, 120 This body of cvidcncc is fully analysed in Ch. V III. 121 Sozomen, HE 7.15. Translation adapted from A Select Library o f Nicene and Posl-Nkens Fathers of the Chnstian Church, Sen 2, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids 1983). 386. All citations in Greek below derive from: Sozomeni Ecclenastica Histona, ed. Robert Hussey, 2 (Oxford 1861). This passage 722, line 22 - 723, line 4.

CHRISTIANIZATION

127

th e su p p o sitio n th at it w o u ld n ot b e ea sy o th e r w ise for th em to b e co n verted from their form er religion . H a v in g h eard th a t there w a s a very sp aciou s tem p le at A u lo n , a d istrict o f A pam ea> h e repaired th ith er w ith a b od y o f sold iers a n d g la d ia to rs. H e sta tio n e d h im s e lf at a d ista n ce from the sccn c o f c o n flict, beyond the reach o f arrows; for he w as afflicted w ith g o u t, an d w a s u n a b le to figh t, to p u rsu e, or to flee. W h ilst th e sold iers and gla d ia to rs w ere en g a g ed in th e a ssa u lt a g a in st th e tem p le, so m e p a g a n s, d isco v erin g th at he w a s a lo n e, h a sten e d to th e p la ce w here he w a s se p a ra ted from co m b a t; th ey aro se su d d en ly an d seized h im , a n d b u rn t him a liv e.

Sozomen had a great personal interest in questions of C hristianiza­ tion, having come of a wealthy rural family from the territorium of G aza th at accepted the new religion under the impress of St. H ilarion’s teaching. His rather dry account of M arcellus? death suggests a certain ironic detachm ent from the event and a dislike of these tactics, which seem to indicate a fanatical private and illegal w a r .1*2 T he bishop had an arm y of soldiers, perhaps retired, and gladiators (στρατιώτας τινάς καί μονομάχους παραλαβών), and retreated a safe distance, lest he be caught in the clouds o f arrows fired against his troops (εξω βελών περιέμενεν), being unable to m a­ neuver with them (και οϋτε μάχεσθαι, ούτε διώκει,ν ή φεύγειν ήδύνατο), because of his physical condition (ποδαλγός).123 The pagans of the district (τινες των Ελληνιστών) executed a flanking m aneuver, it seems, and thereby destroyed the enemy leader. An official inquiry was subsequently held under the auspices of the provincial council of Second Syria. Sozomen continues :124 T h e perpetrators o f this d eed w ere n ot then k n ow n , but, in th e cou rse o f tim e, they w ere d ete c ted , a n d th e so n s o f M a rc e llu s d eterm in ed upon aven g in g his d ea th . T h e co u n c il o f th e p rov in ce, h o w ev er, p roh ib ited th em from ex e cu tin g this d esig n , and d ecla red th at it w as n o t ju s t th at the relatives or friends o f M a rcellu s sh o u ld seek to a v en g e his d eath ; w h en th ey sh o u ld rather return thanks to G o d for h a v in g accou n ted h im w o rth y to die in su ch a ca u se.

Two circum stances suggest that the landed m agnates of the Aulon district led their retainers, composed of bailiffs and agricultural laborers, out against archbishop M arcellus. T he first is Sozom en’s peculiar reference to the enemy milida as the “ Hellenists” , a term usually reserved for sophists, philosophers, and generally Hellenes educated in the paideia.12^ The second is the lawsuit which Marcellus* 122 Sozomen, HE 5.15 (Hussey, 487f,)· ia3 Sozomen, HE 7.1.5 (Hussey, 723, lines 37-39). 124 Cf. Ch. II, footnote 121 for translator. Sozomen, H E 7.15 (Hussey, pp. 723, Jines 4 - 724, line 2). 125 Julian the Apostate seems first to have coined the expression with this

12 8

CHAPTER TWO

sons (τταιδες) registered at the provincial council (σύνοδος), which certainly conducted its business in close touch w ith the governor, who resided at A pam ea, the m etropolis of Second Syria. I f the perpetrators of the act— one hesitates to call it a crime—-had been a rabble of sm allholders or tenant farmers w ithout political connections, they would easily have been prosecuted, fined, or executed, for M arcellus and his sons had a strong voice in the council and evidently came from a family of curial or decurion rank. O ther landed m agnates, evidently pagan Hellenes wrhose clients carried out the execution of M arcellus, also sat on the provincial council and successfully blocked the prosecution. The H ellenists m ay well have had the support of their C hristian peers in all this, which wras seen as a defense of privilege and property rights in the countryside, where wealthy pagans and C hristians alike found refuge from the rapacity of the civil and ecclesiastical officials at Aparnea, among whom archbishop M arcellus was counted, being perceived as a social and economic rival with a desire to aggrandize his family's interests and having a private arm y of bucellarii at his disposal ,126 The decree of the provincial council betrays an evident cynicism in its response, paying lip service to the idea of m artyrdom , that M arcellus 7 family and friends (but not the church of Apam ea) should give thanks to God, as the m an had been deemed w orthy of dying on His behalf (ώς ύπερ Θεοΰ άποθανειν ήξιωμένοη).127 Sozomen, who concludes with the observation "an d thus it turned o u t” (και τ ά μέν οηχω ς ίπχκν), took care to put the pious senti­ ments about m artyrdom into the m ouths of the provincial council­ lors, the status group to which his own family belonged, but not the local church or im perial officials. It all sounds like latent hostility to archbishop M arcellus and his like. Behind the exoneration of the m urderers probably lay the hand of the Praetorian Prefect of Oricns, T atian (16 Ju n e 388-ante 10 Septem ber 392), who as a Hellene had reversed M aternus Cynegius’ policy of system atically destroying tem ples .120 Two im perial laws eventually issued from

cultural-religious significance in his letter toA rsacius, archpriest of the province of Galatia. Julian, EpislL· 22 (Wright, 3, 70, line 9). 12G T he province o f Achaca had a provincial council that met at Corinth from time to time to discuss such questions as the allocation of the annona or grain tax in kind, as IG 7.24: dem onstrates. Cf. Julian's Epistle 28 (W right, 3, 85ff.)? and Frank R, Trombley, “ Bocotia in Later A ntiquitv,” BO IO TIK A ) cd. H. Beister and J. Buckler (Munich 1989}, 217. 27 Sozomen, HE 7,15 (Hussey. 724, lines 1-2), '2S Barbara Gassowska. “ Maternus Cynegius, Praefectus Praetorio Orientis,

CHRISTIANIZATION

129

this flap about archbishop M arcellus, one of them the com prehen­ sive law of 8 N ovem ber 392 on sacrifice , 129 the other given 10 J u ly 399 requiring th at rural tem ples be razed “w ithout disturbance or tu m u lt” [sine turha ac tumultu), the idea being that so long as bishops did not invade the countryside w ith p riv ate arm ies, the local Hellenes should pacifically acquiesce to the destruction of their temples: ‘T o r when they are torn down and removed, the m aterial basis for all superstition will be destroyed5’ ( His enim deiectis atque sublatis omnis superstitioni materia consumetur) .m

T he second example of tem ple conversions belongs to A lexandria in Egypt in 391, when the C hristian demos under the leadership of patriarch T heophilus (3 8 5 ^ 1 2 ) attacked and destroyed the Sera­ peum and other tem ples of the city. T he event had a profound im pact on Egyptian and M editerranean religion, leading to m any conversions, as often happened when the old gods proved powerless in the face o f the C hristian God and H is sym bols .1*1 The event was com m em orated, for example, in the Alexandrine Chronicle with a series of m iniatures which depict p atriarch T heophilus standing with gospel book in hand atop a small shrine housing the effigy of Sarapis writh the Basket on his h e a d .132 T he corresponding passage in the text indicates: “ In this year [109 in the era of D iocletian or 392 A .D J the temples of the Hellenes were destroyed ’ 5 (καί αύτψ τφ [ετει οί ναοι τώ]ν Έ[λ]λή[ν]α>(ν) ΕΛΗ).133 T he producer of the m iniature implicitly invested this event, along w ith the birth and accession o f Honorius, the destruction of the pagan usurper Eugenius, and the consecration of Theophilus, with the same signi­ ficance as events in the lives of C hrist> Jo h n the Baptist, and prophets, not to m ention the Rom an, M acedonian, and other kings .134 T he destruction of the Serapeum proved to be of im m ense interest throughout the Greek-speaking parts of the M editerra­ nean. as for example in Palestine, where Rufinus of Aquileia (ob* 410) appended the longest extant account of that event to his Latin translation and continuation of the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius

and the Destruction of the Allât Tem ple in P alm yra/’ Archeologia 33 (1982), 121 fCf. Charlotte Roueché, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity (London 1989), 47-52. 129 Cod. Tkeod. 16.10.12, discussed supra, Ch. I, Sect. 2. 13f> Cod. Tkeod. 16.10.16. 131 This was the ease at Gaza. Infra, Ch, III, Sect. 5. Cf. Peter Brown’s statement o f method in The Cult of the Saints, 17-22. 1 A. Bauer and J . Strzygowski, Eine Alexandriniscke Weltchronik (Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der W issenschaften, Wien 5/2, Vienna 1906). 1-204, 133 Ibid., 74, lines 23-25. 134 Ibid., 204, for a list o f the miniatures.

130

CHAPTER TWO

of C aesarea .135 T he learned w riter viewed the seemingly final de­ struction of the Hellenic cults as the sign of a culminating epoch. The subsequent history o f the fifth century proves the closure of the A lexandrian tem ples to have been a mere froth of bubbles on the heaving seas of ancient Greek religiosity, but the incident reveals m any features of the transition going on all over the Greek east. Rufinus gives, as well, the fullest description of the engineering m echanism s inside the Serapeum which lent superstitious awre to the m aterial objects and forces seem ingly controlled by the numen of the deity. A pagan riot preceded the destruction of the Serapeum and provided patriarch Theophilus with a suitable pretext for dem an­ ding this act of demolition. T he uprising began with the consign­ m ent of a roofless and neglected public basilica to the p atriarch for the use of the city's steadily growing C hristian congregation. A crypt (literally "caves'3, antra) was discovered in the process of inspecting the foundations, wherein ancient mysteries had been celebrated. T he place was evidently the adyton of a M ithraeum of the sort discovered during the earlier p atriarchate of George (357361).136 T he C hristian profanation of the site triggered a riot of the urban Hellenes, who exploded £ias if a cup of snakes had been drunk from " (yelut draconum calice potato).107 Rufinus 5 inform ant was undoubtedly right in asserting th at the C hristians of the city were in the m ajority, but lacked aggressiveness (modestia religionis) in the initial stages of the ensuing fighting. The Hellenes apparently fortified themselves in the Serapeum and tortured certain of the C hristian captives they had taken 7 in some instances using yokes (patihula). A certain O lym pus, a teacher of philosophy whom Rufinus’ source criticized as having been iLa philosopher in nam e and garb only 35 (Olympus quidam nomine et kabitu solo filosofus)™ thereafter com m anded the desperadoes, who raided the adjoining quarters of the city as opportunity perm itted. N either O lym pus nor his colleagues had clear aims, for wrhen the m agistrates, perhaps a t the behest of the Augustal Prefect, stood before the barricades and asked for an explanation, they received back only shouts. This irrationalism finds a close parallel in the resistance of the rustic Rufinus of Aquileia, Histoùae Ecclesiastical cd. tr. Theodor M omm sen in Eusebius Werke, 2, cd. Eduard Schwartz (Leipzig 1908). 136 For the fullest account, see: Socrates Scholasticus, Historia Ecciesiastica 3.3, PG 67, 381C -384A. Cf. the reference to the adyton of the Mithraeum as one of the buildings destroyed in 391, I b id ,H E 5,16. PG 67, 604B—C. l *7 Rufinus. HE 11.22 (Mommsen, 1025, line 18£). 130 ibid., 1026, line 3.

CHRISTIANIZATION

131

pagans of the Aulon district to the “ search and destroy” tactics of M arcellus o f A pam ea, but m ore particularly to the riots that broke out in G aza some years after the demolition of the M arneion and erection of the Eudoxiana basilica .139 This irrationalism became fully ap parent when the m atter was referred to the em peror (res gesta ad imperatorem refertur) .14ü T he inquiry went directly from the A ugustal Prefect to Theodosius I, but the influence of T atian , the Praetorian Prefect of O riens, came into play. The latter, as a Hellene, stood behind the m oderation of the im perial response :141 [The emperor] preferred to emend rather than lose the erring be­ cause of his inborn clcmency of mind, and replied (rescribit) that the punishment of those whom [Olympus J had caused to create martyrs by shedding their blood in front of the [pagan] altars was not to be demanded, for among them [the martyrs] the glory of merit had overcome the grief of being killed. Litigation (caussa) about the rest of the evils and roots of the discord, whatever had come forth in behalf of the defense of images, was not to be pressed. After these issues had been removed, the cause of the war would be removed. The im perial gaze simply overlooked the nasty and convoluted business of litigation {caussa) over the deaths of the C hristians by simply granting them the title of m artyrs. T his solution has an exact parallel in the Aulon afTair, after which the provincial council denied M arcellus of A pam ea’s sons com pensation from the instiga­ tors of his assassination. All this suggests that T a tia n exerted a powerful m oderating influence on the “m ost C h ristian'' T heodo­ sius by pointing out the real economic and local political power of the Hellenes of Syria and Egypt. T he promise of im perial clemency in the letter (epistola) con­ tained in its exordium , however, the accusation that “ the vain superstition of the pagans” (vana geniilium superstitio) had caused the rioting. This charge induced m any of the Hellenes to hide by mixing w ith the C hristian crowds th at had begun to form. As Rufinus puts it: “ T he rage of the daimon [Sarapis] th at had pre­ viously roused frenzy in the crowds had fled” ( furorem daemonis qui 139 Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 2. 140 Rufinus, HE 11.22 (M ommsen, 1026, line 13). 141 Ibid., 1026, lines 13-19. The last decree issued to Tatian as Praetorian Prefect o f Oriens is dated 10 September 392. T he anti-Christian riot and subse­ quent destruction o f the Serapeum thus occurred well within his period of admi­ nistration. The riot seems to have taken place well before the rising of the Nile waters in June. The expeditious reply indicated by Ru-finus’ survey o f events suggests that the season for ships sailing from Constantinople to Alexandria had not yet ended. The events thus belong to the early spring of 391. Cf. Venance Grumcl, Traité d }Etudes byzantines I: La chronologie (Paris 1958), 367.

CHAPTER TWO

132

in Mis pnus debacchatus fuerat effugaium) .l42 The resultant dispersions perm itted the C hristian part of the demos to undertake the dem oli­

tion of the Serapeum and other temples. T he historian Rufinus of Aquilcia provides w hat is by far the most detailed description by any C hristian w riter about the des­ truction of the Serapeum , and expatiates also upon its architec­ tural schcme and the m echanical devises designed to sim ulate the action of the numen of Sarapis w ithin the cella of the tem ple build­ ing. Rufinus observes: “ I think the tem ple of Sarapis at Alexandria has been heard of by all, and is even known firsthand to m any ' 1 (. . . plerisque vero etiam T he historian’s description o f the temenos has been studied at length and reconciled w ith the d ata from excavations .144 O ur prim ary concern here lies w ith the cultic apparatus. It suffices to note that the enclosure wall of the temenos m easured 173.70 by 77 meters* The R om an tem ple proper lay at the north end of this rectangular enclosure along with the shrines of Isis and H arpocrates. T he enclosure wall itself was riddled with m any small priests’ lodges (exedrae et pastoforia domusque) The site w as 3 furtherm ore, built on an extensive land-fill. In conséquence, the subterranean parts were full of vaulted passageways and adyta (rooms for the celebration of mysteries), The tem ples had a staff of wardens (aeditui or νεω κόμοι) even in 391. The Serapeum had an interior ornam entation designed to be­ dazzle the pilgrim. Rufinus dcscribcs its im pact on the view er :146 In the m id d le o f the en tire sp a ce w as th e tem p le b u ild in g [aedes}> con stru cted sp le n d id ly a n d richly o n the o u tsid e w ith sto n e, an d furnished w ith co lu m n s and m a rb le p la q u es. In sid e this tem p le the im a g e o f S arap is w as en o rm o u s and frightful, as it grazed one w all on th e left and th e o th er on the righ t. T h is p rod igy (monstrum) w a s said to b e co m p o sed o f all k in d s o f m e ta ls an d w o o d s. T h e in terior w a lls o f the shrine (deluhrum) w ere dressed w ith plates o f gold , above th em w ith p la tes o f silver, an d at the upper ex tr e m ity w ith p la te s o f cop p er, w h ic h bear p recio u s m eta ls. T h ere w ere a lso so m e d ev ic e s m a d e w itli c u n n in g skill to arou se th e a m a ze m e n t and a d m ir a tio n o f the o n lo o k ­ ers, O n the east sid e o f the tem p le there w a s a very narrow ap ertu re w h ich w as m a d e in su ch a w ay th a t on the d a y e sta b lish e d to b rin g in the image* o f the S u n to sa lu te S arap is. w h en th e tim e had been carefu lly ob serv ed an d the im a g e ca m e in, a b ea m o f th e S u n d irected th rou gh that aperture illu m in a te d th e m o u th and lip s o f S a ra p is so

H2 14* 144 145 146

Ruimus, HE 11.22 (Mommsen, 1026, line 2 6 f). Runnus. ÊIE 11,23 (M ommsen, 1026. line 2 8 f), The! amort, Païens ei chrétiens au IVc siècle, 165-173, with two plans. Rufinus. HE 11.23 (M ommsen, 1027, line 4f.). Ibid., 1027, lines 8-21.

CHRISTIANIZATION

133

thal it seemed to the onlooking people that Sarapis was being greeted with a kiss by the Sun. An orb which passed for the image of the Sun (signum solis) seemed to levitate am idst the upper parts of the cella and provoked the w onder of the view er :1+7 There was another fraud of this kind. The nature of the magnetic stone is said to be of such virtue as to snatch and draw iron to itself. The image of the Sun had been fashioned from that stone by the hand of an artisan out of a very fine grade of iron, whose nature as we said draws iron to itself It was fixed within the ceiling paneU above. When the image of the sun had been properly positioned under the light-beam in relation to a balance (ad libram) and drew the iron toward itself, the orb rose up before the people and seemed to hang in the air. Lest this trick be given away by the quick motion (lapsu propero)y the ministers of deception (ministri fallaciae) would say: “Sol has risen up, so that saying farewell to Sarapis he would go back to his own abodes.” Patriarch Theophilus and the C hristian leadership exposed these and other devices (μηχανήματα) when they overran the temples in the afterm ath of the riot of 391.Kii They discovered, for example, that the images, composed of bronze and wood, backed into walls from which secret passageways issued, perm itting the tem ple w ar­ dens and priests to climb inside the effigies and issue com m ands through their m ouths, apparently w ith a sort of trum pet th at augm ented and distorted the speaker's voice .149 W hen the head of the image of Sarapis was torn off during the dem olition of the Serapeum , masses of mice scam pered out from the interior. T heodoret of C yrrhus observes with irony: “ For the god of the Egyptians was the dwelling place of m ice” (μυών γά ρ ο ΐκ τή ρ ιο ν ήν ό Α ιγ υ π τίω ν θ εό ς ) / 50 and “ the Sarapis received the blow and did not feel the pain (for he was m ade of wrood), nor did he give forth a cry, being inanim ate” (ξύλινος . . . ά ψ υ χ ο ς ) .151 T he priests of Sarapis seem to have m aintained sundry levers, balances, and possibly hydraulic systems until this time, and so Hellenic religion looked to Hellenistic engineering science for its survival. Rufinus adds: “ But m any devices were constructed by the ancients in this place for the cause of deceiving which it is now tedious to enum er­ ate in individual cases (sed et multa alia decipiendi causa a veteribus in 147 Ibid., 1027f. 14e Theodoret, HE 5.22 (Parmentier, 320, line 21). 149 For an example of how this worked, see: Robin Lane Fox, Pagayis and Chnstians (New York 1986), 135. 150 Ibid., 321, line 12. 151 Ibid., 321, lines 9-11.

134

CHAPTER TWO

loco fuerant cmstrucia . quae nunc longum est enumerare per singula) 152

The historian of Hellenistic science regrets this omission. It is conceivable that one of these devices was a subterranean, steam driven hydraulic system used to sim ulate earthquakes like the one later invented by Anthem ius of Tralles in the early sixth century .1'33 T heodoret hints at the existence of such a contrivance w ith the observation: “ In addition to great size of Sarapis* image, there was the generally believed false report that, if someone were to approach it, the earth would trem ble (κλονηθήσεται μένή γή) and total destruction would seize everyone. Such a system evidently lay behind the popular view of the A lexandrians that, when T hcophilus approached the stat ue to dism antle it, a seismic release would occur, and destroy the entire world. As Rufinus of A quileia puts it :lD5 N ev erth eless a certain convincing story [persu/isio] had b een d is se m i­ n ated by th o se p a g a n s th at if hu m an hand should m u ch th a t im a g e, the earth sp littin g o p en w o u ld th en a n d th ere be red u ced to ch a o s, and the firm am en t w o u ld rush d o w n h e a d lo n g .

W hen a soldier applied the axe to the wooden image and no earthquake occurred, the C hristian demos chanted: “ The heavens did not rush down, nor did the earth sink .” 1*6 O ne can. at any rate, im agine how m uch the descriptions of such a m echanical system would have taxed R ufinus 5 well-honed rhetorical skills. Tt seems that this aspect of H ellenistic engineering rem ained unforgotten by Anthem ius of Tralles a century later, despite its associations with the fraud of die ancicnt cults. The consequcnce of the raid on the Serapeum was the dem oli­ tion of the image of Sarapis. After the rem oval of the head and limbs, the torso was burned in the am phitheatre as a public dem on­ stration of the C hristian victory. P atriarch T heophilus 5 p ro p a ­ ganda had it that these acts had abolished the cult of Sarapis and with it the. entire structure of ancient religion in Egypt. So Rufinus: “ And here wras the end of the vain superstition and ancient error of Sarapis .” *07 T heodoret of C vrrhus, w-riring a quarter of a century later and with the benefit of hindsight, puts the affair in more em phatic terms: “T hus the tem ple precincts everywhere on land 152 Rufinus, HE 11.23 (Mommsen, 1028, line 7 f). ^ A gath ias of Myrina, JlisUmamm Libn Quinque 5.6.3 to 5,7,5 (cd. Rudolt KevdelL Berlin 1 Rufmus? HE 11.23 (M ommsen, 1028, lines 10-13). Ιϋ5 Ibid.3 1028, line 16f 157 Ib id , t028f.

CHRISTIANIZATION

135

and sea were released from the daimones.”15* The A lexandrian Christians with their usual capacity for inventing epithets ridiculed the fallen deity (κω μ ω δούντες ) ,159 who had become the “ trickster” (iveterator), the smoke-filled daimon of rotten wood (putris lignifumosus genius), and the ancient lethargic deity (senex veternosus) .lfi0 T he imm ense prestige of the cult of Sarapis did, however, outlive the destruction of the Serapeum . T heodoret’s sophistries attest to that cultural fact, as does the survival of the Nile river cults in certain localities for another century and beyond .161 C hristian ecclesiastics fended off these deeply em bedded habits of thought by identifying Sarapis with the prophet Joseph, who had by his p ru ­ dence averted famine. This idea originated in a H ellenistic Alexandrian syncretism th at owed som ething to the allegorical method of interpreting religious texts, Jew ish, C hristian and Hellenic, and was rooted in the Euhem erist tradition of assigning heroic origins to the gods :102 The opinion of the pagans (paganomm) about his origin is diverse. Some think him Jove, upon whose head a modius is superimposed, cither because he fixes how all things are to be governed with the measure (mensura), or because he supplies life lo mortals by an abundance of produce {Jrugum largitate). Others think Sarapis to be the virtue of the Nile (virlutem Nili fluminis), whose Egypt is fed by its abundance and fertility. Certain others say that his image was shaped in honor of Joseph because of the rationing of grain by which he assisted the Egyptians in time of famine. Others refer to Sarapis as being found in the ancient histories of the Greeks as Apis, a certain paterfamilias or king settled at Memphis in Egypt when the grain gave out at Alexandria in time of famine. He provided maintenance (alimenta) out of his own property, enough lor the citizens; they say that after his death a temple was erected at Memphis in his honor in which a bull with some characteristic colorings was tended as a representation, so to speak, of that excellent farmer, which was called Apis after him. In truth, the sown, that is the sepulchre in which his body lay, they brought to Alexandria and called him Sarapis later through a corruption of Soron Apis, from the composite Sorapin. Whether this be the truth or nothing at all, God sees concerning these things. T he “ virtue of the Nile river” (virtus N ili fluminis) was none other than the εργον αρετής of the deity, a "w onder” (θαύμα) at the point of conjuncture between the divine and m aterial w orlds .163 It 150 159 160 I€1 ie2 I€3

Theodoret. HE 5.22 (Parmentier, 321, line 15f.). Ibid. Rufinus, HE 11.23 (M om msen, 1028, lines 15, 18, 22). Infra, Ch. IX passim . Rufinus, IIE 11.23 (M om msen, 1029Γ). Yves Grandjean, Une nouvelle aréialogie d ls is à Maronée (Leiden 1975), 1-8.

136

CHAPTER TWO

was a simple case for the C hristians to argue that, as with the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the nearby O ak of M arbre, i[ignorant m en” , th at is the Hellenes, had corrupted the cult of the prophet Joseph into th at of a hero who had undergone apotheosis. M any scandals emerged in the wake of the cleansing of the Serapeum , not the least of which derived from the opening of the adyta where the mysteries were celebrated. T he m ore fanatical C hristians produced the skulls of decapitated infants allegedly found in gilt basins. Such dem onstrations led to some conversions, as did revelations about priestly corruption. Rufinus of A quileia singles out only one exam ple o f crim inality for the sake of brevity ,lb4 I t concerns a priest of Saturn nam ed Tyrannos, who used to seduce the wives of the A lexandrian city councillors and m en of senatorial rank (mhilibus quibusque et pnmariis dirts) on the pretext o f bogus oracles (quasi ex response numinis).165 Rufinus relates the story with great relish :156 A s their w ives w ere p le a sin g to h is lib id o , he said th a t S atu rn h ad co m m a n d ed h im th at so m e o n e ’s w ife in c u b a te in th e tem p le (ut uxor sua pemoctaret in iemplo). T h e m a n w h o h eard th is, rejo icin g th a t his w ife w as su m m o n e d by the rep u ta tio n o f th e d iv in ity , se n t h is w ife to the tem p le g rea tly a d o rn ed , ev en b u rd en ed w ith gifts, lest sh e b e rep u d iated . W h e n the m a tro n w a s en clo sed w ith in in the sig h t o f all, T y ra n n o s w en t a w a y after th e g a tes w ere c lo se d a n d th e k ey s su rren dererî. S ilen ce b ein g m a d e, h e w a s c r eep in g th rou gh h id d en and su b terran ean adyta a n d in to th e im a g e o f S a tu rn itself, the h o llo w s o f w h ich w ere op on every farm (rai), along the hanks of the River (per ripas fluminis), and in the desert (heremum) too, wherever prccincts. or rather the sepulchres jof the pagan gods] could be found (si qua Jana vel pvtius busia reppenn potueruni), they were undermined and dragged down to the earth at the instance of some bishop, so that the country­ side (■rus) was restored to [righteous] worship (culiura) once again* which had been unjustly pruned away by the daimones (quod iniusle fuerat daemonibus députa turn).

Fifth-century evidence, particularly that in the life of Shenute of A tripe, contradicts this claim .179 All Rufinus’ claims do not, however, lie in the im aginary. T he golden roofs (aurea tecta) of the kibotia or reliquaries probably came from the bullion extracted from the plundered statues and o rn a­ m ents of the temples « P atriarch T heophilus strictly controlled the disposition of metals, the statues being m elted down and poured into sundry kettles and other vessels owned by the A lexandrian church (τά 0 έ α γά λ μ α τα τω ν θεώ ν μετέχω νεύετο εις λεβήτια , κ α ι εις έτέρα ς χ ρ εία ς τής Ά λ ε ξ α ν δ ρ έ ω ν εκ κ λη σ ία ς ),100 T he em peror 176 Infra, Ch. TII, Sect. 5. 177 Infra, Ch. IX . m Rufinus, HE 11.28 M ommsen, 1034, lines 15-26)* Infra, Ch. IX . ,ΰΙ1 Socrates, HE 5.16 (PG 67, 6Ü5A-B).

CHRISTIANIZATION

141

Theodosius I ordered th at “ the gods5’— an ironic reference to their bullion content— be given as a gift to support the church’s dole for the poor of the city (του βασιλέως χαρισαμένου τους θεούς εις δαπανήματα των πτωχών),ljil It is inconceivable th at T heophilus should not have pu t some of the captured m etals to use in order to gain spiritual charismata for the city by ornam enting the m artyr chapel with it. In the parallel instance of G aza less than a decade later, bishop Porphyrius received the m etals taken from the M arneion after carefully m onitoring their collection .102 D iscrepancies exist in Rufinus' account, however, as to the disposition of the statues. T he historian Socrates had it on the eyewitness testim ony of the gram m arians H clladius and Am m onius, both of them priests of the Hellenic religion in A lexandria in 391, that T heophilus had left the statue of an unnam ed god standing in a public place (δημοσίςί) “ th at the Hellenes m ight not deny in future time th at they had worshipped such gods” (ΐνα, φηαί, χρόνου προϊόντος μή

άρνήσωνται οι Έλληνες τοιοΰτους προσκεκυνηκέναι (θεούς)).lft3 All historians of the closure of the Serapeum mention the Chris­ tianization of the use of the A nkh cross ( crux ansata), a trifoil cross whose top petal had the shape of a loop (Ç ). T he symbol, a hiero­ glyphic letter, turns up in pre-C hristian Egyptian iconography as the sign of “life” , whether “happy3' or “eternal55. It thus belonged to the very extensive Egyptian theology about the afterlife, in the sense of “ the life to com e” (τοίχο γάρ είναι τήν έπερχομένην ζωήν or vita ventura).'** P atriarch T heophilus gave the order that the A lexandrians should scrape the so-called thoraces of Sarapis from the walls, doorposts, and windows of every house, “ lest there be any trace whatsoever of [Sarapis] or any other daimon, to the ex­ tent of even speaking its nam e5’ (ut ne vestigium quidem usquam vel nominis appellatio aut ipsius aut cuiuslibet alterius daemonis).1™ T he popu­ lace of A lexandria was then ordered to paint the C hristian cross, perhaps in the common red dye of C optic epigraphy, in the erased 101 Ibid., 6Ü5B. IHJ Infra, Ch. I l l , Scct. 4. The imperial mint took its share of tlie bronze from the pagan statuary in 391 as well, turning the bullion into fo lk s, as the Hellenic poet Palladas of Alexandria relates: “Those having houses on Olympus, who have become Christians (i.e. the gods), dwell here without molestation. For the m elting pot shall put them on the fire and turn them into life- p res erving f o l k s ” Greek Anthology 9.528. In general, see: C .M . Bowra, “ Palladas and Christianity/* Proceed­ ings of the Bniish Academy 45 (1959), 255—267. ,fi3 Socrates, HE 5.16 (PG 67, 605B). Ifl4 Socrates, HE 5.17 (PG 67, 608B). Rufinus, HE 11.29 (M om msen, 1035, line 9), iab Rufinus, HE 11.29 (M ommsen, 10341).

142

CHAPTER TWO

spaces and on columns throughout the city. This done, some of those who accepted C hristianity seem ro have begun using the A nkh cross because of its em otional association w ith the dead cults of the Egyptian gods. Socrates, once again relying on his pagan professors and m entors Helladius and Am m onius, gives the fullest account of this act ofliturgical C hristianization :186 When ihe temple of Sarapis was torn down and laid bare, there were found in il. engraven on stones, certain characters which they call hieroglyphs, having the forms of crosses. Both the Christians and pagans, on seeing them, appropriated and applied them to their respective religions: for the Christians, who affirm that the cross is the sign of Christ's saving passion, claimed this character as peculiarly theirs: but the pagans alleged that it might appertain to Christ and Sarapis in common; “for,” said they, :‘it symbolizes one thing to Christians and another to the pagans,’* Whilst this point was con­ troverted amongst them, some of the pagan converts to Christianity, who were conversant with these hieroglyphic characters, interpreted the form of a cross and said it signifies “Life to come.” This the Christians exultingly laid hold of as dccidcdly favorable to their religion. But after other hieroglyphics had been deciphered contain­ ing a prediction that “When the cross should appear/3—for this was the “life to comc’:—“ the temple of Sarapis would be destroyed / 5 a very great number of pagans embraced Christianity, and confessing their sins, was baptized. Such are the reports I have heard respecting ihe discovery of this symbol in the form of a cross. But I cannot imagine that the Egyptian priests foreknew the things concerning Christ, when they engraved the figure of a cross. Socrates omits the vitally im portant fact th at m any who accepted the plausibility of this hidden revelation in their hieroglyphic texts cam e from the pagan priests and tem ple officials whose task was certainly to interpret the writings {unde accidit, ut magis hi, qui eranl ex sacerdotibus vd mintsIm templomm> ad ßdem c o n v e r te r e n tu r The knowl­ edge of reading hieroglyphics had evidently died out in Hcllenized A lexandria by this time, although it was still known at Philae until at least 394; otherwise this bogus case of Ritenchnstianisierung , based on the accidental coincidence of shape between the A nkh cross and cross of Christ, but with no clear correspondence of symbolic m eaning at all, would have been exposed. T he religiously sincere and possibly naive priests of Sarapis, as well as the more pragm ati­ cally m inded, accepted the new religion according to these arg u ­ m ents, w hatever their secret beliefs. It was said th at the others,

ιήδ Socrates. HE 5.17 (PG G7, 608Λ-609Α): Quoted from Nicem and Post-Nicene Fathers, Ser. 2, v. 2, 126f. Cf. supra, n. 121. for full citation, ie> Rufinus, HE 11.29 (JVIomrnsen, 1035, line 12Γ).

CHRISTIANIZATION

143

“ whom the devices of deception and illusions of error delighted,” refused conversion, an ap parent reference to priests like the in ­ famous Tyrannos who had faked oracles and im itated the voice of Saturn inside the god’s effigy.108 T he historian Socrates’ teachers, the gram m arians H elladius and Am monius, had held respectively the priesthoods of Zeus and the “ Apc-god” (Ά μ μ ώ ν ιο ς δέ π ιθ ή κ ο υ ). N either accepted C hris­ tianity, but m igrated to C onstantinople to continue their careers as teachers of rhetoric. T heir good conduct guaranteed free pro­ fessional practice and great freedom of speech. Both publicly criticized the closure of the Serapeum . Am m onius opined that “ the cult of the Hellenes has suffered terrible things” (δεινά π επ ο ν θ έν α ι τη ν Ε λ λ ή ν ω ν θρησ κείαν), and com plained that the single cult effigy left standing in a public place in A lexandria was kept there as a mockery (επί γέλω τι) of the old religion.lßy H ella­ dius boasted, on the other hand, that he had him self killed nine men during the initial melee against the C h ristian s .190 He was free to speak of the homicides publicly because, it will be recalled, the rescript of Theodosius the G reat sent to the defenders of the Serapeum had decreed am nesty for the perpetrators of these crimes and raised the dead to the rank of m artyrs. Socrates heard all this as a student in early fifth-century Constantinople. T he lawyers who m igrated to the m onastery of St. H ypatius at Rufinianae had doubtless moved in this milieu as well before their conversion .191 It is unknown if Am m onius and H elladius performed sacrifices at Constantinople* bu t the freedom with which the sophists of Alexan­ dria performed such acts in the 480’s suggests the plausibility of th is.19" O ne last act m arked the closing of the Serapeum , to wit, the handing over of the K ilom eter to patriarch Theophilus. It was reported after the event that Sarapis would refuse to let the w aters ,ö* Ibid., line 13f. ,0S Socrates, HE 5.16 (PG 67, 695B). lgo Ibid. The statue in question was perhaps that o f Herakles mentioned by Palladas of Alexandria in one of his epigrams: “ I was amazed to see Zeus1 bronze son, once ["called upon] in prayers (έν εύχω λαΐς) but now cast aside. In anger I said: ‘Averter of evils, offspring of three m oons> you were never defeated but are today prostrated7’ (Ά λ ε ξ ίκ α χ ε τρισέληνε, μηδέιτοθ* ήττηθεις, σήμερον έξετάθης). But the god stood beside me in the night and said: 'Even though a god, ί have learned to serve the tim es’.” Greek Anthology 9.441. Proclus, the Neoplatonîst of Athens (5th c.), is said in a similar vein to have had a vision of Athena not long before her chryselephantine image was removed from the Parthenon. Infra, Ch. IV , Sect. 3, n. 139. 191 Infra, Ch. V II, Scct. 1. 192 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 2.

144

CHAPTER TWO

of the Nile rise for the flood of 391, bu t the inundation when it came proved to be deeper than usual, From then onward, the C hristian patriarch rather than a priest of Sarapis m ade the public announce­ m ent when the w ater level of the river began to increase. T he C hristian God becam e Lord of the W aters (aquamm dominus); prob­ ably taking over some of the titulaturc of the Nile, which had consisted of such nam es as daimon (δα ίμ ω ν), god (θεός), lord (κύριος), and “ equal of the gods” (ισ ό θ εο ς ) .193 C hristian prayers and processions for the Nile flood preexisted the transfer of the N ilom eter to the ch u rch .194 It was now said th a t the C hristian God com m anded the w aters to rise at times suited to his own purposes (jkzV temporibus) and the Euhem erist idea was enunciated that “ Sarapis was m uch later in time than the Nile ’ 3 (Serapin qui multo eral Nilo posterior).195 This, w ith the recategorization of Sarapis into a corrupted variant of the H ebrew Joseph, son of Jacob, com pleted the Christian polcm ic .li56 It should be added th at the Ankh cross perm anently penetrated C hristian E gyptian iconography, perhaps being initially used by the converts of the 390’s and appearing with other C hristian symbols on a basis of equality from then onw ard. O ne pre-C hristian Ankh cross appears on the funerary p o rtrait of a dead woman, who holds the symbol in her left hand while m aking an orant gesture of prayer with her rig h t .197 Exam ples of C hristian use of the Ankh abound. O n the sixth-century funerary stele of a certain Rodia, it dom inates the A lpha-O m ega .198 Its top loop at times encloses the trefoil C hristian cross (6th-7th century ) .199 O n the funerary stele of a certain Plenios the lector, Ankh crosses stand on either side of the C hristian cross, bu t are dom inated in tu rn by a w reathed Chi-Rho C hristogram (5th-6th century ).200 Ankh crosses

,S3 Danielle Bonneau, La Crue du N il: D ivinité égyptienne à travers mille ans d ’kistoire [332 av.—641 ap . ] —C.) (Paris 1964), 357f. J&4 Ibid., 421-439. 195 Rufinus, TIR 11.30 (M ommsen, 1035, lines 19-21). 196 Firmus Maternus, a fourth-century Christian writer, had .already tampered with Sarapis’ name to make him “son o f Sarah” (Σαρρηΐ îtoÆç), thus making an etymological connection between the deity and the offspring of the marriage of Abraham and Sarah. Bonncau, La Crue du N il, 42 7f. 197 A pre-Christian Ankh cross appears in the funerary portrait of a dead woman, who holds this symbol in her left hand while making gesture of prayer with Lhe right (I’ayum, 3rd c. A .D .). Benaki Museum, Athens, no. 6877. Cf. M aria Cram er ^ Das altägyptische Lebenzeicken in christlichen (koptischen) Ägypten (W iesbaden 1955). 190 Alexander Badawy, Coptic Art and Archaeology (Cambridge, M ass. 1978), no. 3.193. 153 Ibid., no. 3.192. Friedman, Beyond the Pharaohs, no. 177. Badawy, Coptic A rt and Archaeology, 110. 3.207.

CHRISTIANIZATION

145

enclose various C hristian symbols on C optic tapestries ,201 and appear on tapestry panels th at depict birds along with crosses ( 5 th century).20^ There rem ains a third tem ple conversion to be considered, th at o f the shrine of A llat-A thena at Palm yra in the Provincia A rabia, which the Polish scholar B arbara Gassowska has dated to the cam paign of M aternus Cynegius, the Praetorian Prefect o fO rien s, against the temples of the East between 25 M ay 385 and 19 M arch 388.*1'* T he temple, dedicated by a certain T aim arsü, a citizen of Palm yra, probably betw een c. 123-164 A.D., has the shape of a rectangle with a colonnaded porch .204 T he pronaos leads down to an adyton, where both the cult effigy and altar stood. T he ritual conducted in the temple varied considerably from the stereotypical, for the positioning of the altar, which was taken from the previous tem ple on the site, required indoor saenjice, the m eat from which will have been distributed to and consum ed by persons sitting on the benches placed around the pronaos. T he statue of the goddess Allât, reassem bled from the fragm ents, corresponds to a type of A thena found in A thens in the fifth century B .C .,205 although Allât turns up occasionally as the equivalent of the Greek A rtem is .206 The feet of a baldaschino which stood over the effigy of AUat are still in situ.207 This interior architectural device was later used in C hristian churches to cover the alta r table or depository of m artyr relics. T he temenos of Allât is surrounded by an enclosure wall w'hich fronts on the m ain street near the tetrapylon of the city. It thus occupied an expensive plot of inner-urban real estate. T he cult of A llat-A thena retained its vitality in Palm yra until the 380’s, to judge from the objects discovered in the adyton pu t there before the destruction of the tem ple. Two deposits of clay votive lam ps of local, fourth-century m anufacture have turned up, as has a hoard of forty-four bronze Rom an coins, hidden intentionally before the dem olition of the statu e .208 Tw enty-six of the coins belong to the reign of V alentinian I with his co-em pcror Valens (364—375), and

ÏÜ1 Friedman, Beyond the Pharaohs, no. 129. atw Ibid., no. 204. 50* Barbara Gassowska, “ Maternus Cynegius, Praefectus Praetorîo Orientis and the D estruction o f the A llât T em p le in Palmyra.,” Arckeohgia 33 (1982), 121f. Ib id ., 110. Ibid., 111. 206 Ibid., 110, n, 8, 207 The open air shrine o f the Gazan Aphrodite reported by Mark the Deacon was covered by a sort o f canopy. Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. I, n. 21. 20H Gassowska, “ The Allât Temple in P alm yra/’ 112 and Fig. 8.

146

CHAPTER TWO

two of them to Valeris alone .209 Λ later loose coin found in the destruction debris bears the effigy of Aelia Flavia Flacilla Augusta, wife of Theodosius I between 376-386.210 O n the basis o f this data, the excavators have pu t the tem ple conversion some years after 336, in the suitable context of M aternus Cynegius' actions against the temples of O riens. The ruin of the tem ple of A llat-A thena has two striking features. The first of these, the architectural proof that the cult ritual was celebrated inside the temple, has already been mentioned* This will have perm itted the offering of clandestine sacrifice, away from the public gaze, during the 380’s, after the initial laws on th a t subject given by Theodosius I. T he second feature is the abandonm ent of the fragm ents of the statue w ithin the adyton. From the available pieces it proved possible for the excavators to dem onstrate the sequence of blows which the image received as Cynegius' agents ransacked the interior of the building. T he statue was first decapi­ tated w ith a blow behind the head. T he face wras then sm ashed into several pieces so dextrously th at no fragm ents survive of the nose, upper lip, and chink between the eyes of A llat-A thena. T he partly m utilated torso was then deposited behind the baldaschino .'211 The decapitation and obliteration of the goddess' facial features consti­ tuted a sort of “ symbolic annihilation of personality^ in order to drive out the daimon inhabiting the image, som ew hat like the expul­ sion of the genius of the em peror thought to reside in im perial statues in a formal damnatio memoriae :y]/ Superstitious pagans and C hristians had both theological and artifice-induced reasons for such suppositions, as has been dem onstrated in this and the pre­ vious chapter. T he top of the impressive altar was cut off, dum ped behind the cella, and later covered with debris, undoubtedly to 209 Ibid. The dates cii minting arc not [riven. 2iû Ibief 2,1 I b id , 113-115. Fig/s 7 and l(la-c. m Quo (cd from: Ibid., 117. It is worth noting here the method prescribed for desecrating an idol in the Mishna on Idolatry (3rd c. A.D.): “In what manner can one desecrate ari idol? By cutt ing oif the tip of its ear or nose or finger, by battering it— even although (sic) its bulk be not diminished— it is desecrated. But by spitting in its face, making water before it; dragging it about, or casting dirt upon it, behold! the idol is not desecrated. I f one sells or pawns itTRabbi holds that it is desecrated, but the W ise are of the contrary opinion. ‘Aboda Zara 4.5 (Elmslic, 67). W.A. Elmslie remarks: “ . . . a hollow-cast idol might be battered in without lessening its bulk. M aimonidcs says that in such eases profanation is only eiiected when theface is damaged” Ibid., 66, n. (5). An obvious connection exists, once again, between Jewish methods o f dealing with pagan cult effigies and the devices invented by Christian civil officials in the fourth-century temple conversions. Cf. supra. Ch. LI, n. 58.

CHRISTIANIZATION

147

prevent the celebration of the clandestine sacrifices frequently m en­ tioned in the Theodosian C odc .^13 T he missing element in these various acts of destruction,, insofar as the rem nants perm it us to judge, is the incision of C hristian crosses and other symbols on the statuary, altar, and walls of the building, a circum stance suggesting th at officials acting under orders perform ed the despoliation rather than fanatical laymen, monks, or a bishop like M arcellus of A pam ea .2J1 Palm yra certainly had a C hristian com m unity before 388-392, its bishop M arinus having participated in the Council of Nicaea. Two three-aisled early C hristian basilicas, constructed from reused building m aterials and not yet excavated, date from no earlier than the fourth century .213 N either the bishop nor the civil governm ent had any further use for the tem ple of A llat-A thena, but in the latter half of the fifth century converted two other temples of Palm yra, the small temenos of B aal-Sham in and the old and splendid shrine of Bel into c h u rc h e s /,b T he case of the tem ple of A llat-A thena is instructive on several counts. It dem onstrates that generalizations about the character of Scmitic-Hcllunic liturgical practices will rem ain subject to revision as m ore such buildings are excavated. It also reveals that a theo­ logically thought-out system lay behind the dism antling of culteffigics. For all the rhetoric spilled by fifth-century writers on the destruction of Sarapis' image at A lexandria, an epigraphically m ute site with no literary testimonia like th at of A llat-A thena in Palm yra gives new and im portant d a ta about the religious thought processes th at accom panied such acts. I V . Christianization o f Rite and Christianization o f Culture

T he recategorization of the old deities as daimones and the destruc­ tion of temples proved to be only the beginning of a process of C hristianizing m any features of the pre-C hristian Hellenic, Semi­ tic, and Egyptian religious ethos. Fanatics like M arcellus of A pam ea stood in fundam ental agreem ent w ith the m oderates who avoided violence in their aim of generating a new C hristian ethos in town and countryside. It wras quickly discovered, however, th at the ancient traditions connected with the Greek paideiay the peace of the 213 Gassowska, “The AUat Temple in P alm yra/’ 114. 2M Gassovvska suggests the action of the bishop, with the help of soldiers from the local legionarv camp. 215 Ibid., 122 and n. 66. 2I€ Ibid., 123. Deichmann, “ Kirchen in Heiligtümern,” 122.

14 8

CHAPTER TWO

gods, and fertility rites of agriculture lay deep in the popular psychology. As m ore persons accepted the new religion, often for reasons of social, political and economic advancem ent, it proved impossible to refuse their protestations of good will, and m any brought their cultural baggage with them into the m ind-shaping process of their catechizatioru Episcopal and m onastic polemicists discovered as well that powerfully rooted ritual and m yth could be adapted to C hristian cult and theology. By dem onstrating the supposed C hristian, or at any rate Ju d a ic , origin of a given cultural form ation, the catechist fram ed effective argum ents to induce con­ versions to the one real or original God, the C hristian one. T he exam ple of revaluing Sarapis as Joseph the provider, son of Jacob, the citation of no longer understood hieroglyphic texts to prove a prophecy about the destruction of the Serapeum , and the adoption of the Ankh cross as a C hristian symbol, have already m ade this process apparent. W here polytheistic myth and ritual lay too deeply entrenched in the local ethos for plausible conversions even to take place, ''adm inistrative conversions 55 occurred instead. A vil­ lage m ight be formally catechized by a resident m onk, followed by a presbyter who recited the C hristian liturgy at a local chapel. Some baptisms m ight occur, but the populace would sum m on the aid of the traditional deities in their daily concerns, w hether to induce rainfall, fend oifhailstorm s, achieve successful child b irth ,217 or other things, often through the aid of a local priest, sham an, or magician. The typical anxieties of the agriculturalist arc succinctly summed up in a poem of the Greek Anthology that dates, surprisingly, from the sixth century A .D .:218 Calligenes the husbandman, after he had cast seed into his land, went to the house of Aristophanes the astrologer and begged him to say if he would have a favorable harvesL and a good surplus of grain. 217 See, for example, the many dedications composed to Artemis for successful childbirth, most of them perhaps literary exercises but nevertheless reflecting real attitudes. Greek Anthology 6.59, 203, 242, 271, and 273. In the com position of Marcus Argcntarius (6th c. A ,D .), a good example of the Late Sophistic, the fictive female dedicant Euphrantë offers to Artemis her sandals, headband, a sccntcd lock of hair, her belt, unclervesl, and waistband in thanksgiving for successful childbirth. The offering is made at a temple of Artemis (Εύφμάντη νη φ θήκεν vre Άρτέμι,όος). Marcus Argcntarius relied on earlier dedications as exemplars for this piece, perhaps an actual inscription taken from one of the now closed temples (6.203). Another o f these epigrams refers to Artemis as the ‘‘sooth“ er of child-bed pangsi: (6.242). For the use of diviners and magicians to aid the pagan matron Aelia of Gaza in a diflicult childbirth, cf. infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 2, n. 51. 219 Adapted from Greek Anthology. 11.365 (tr. Paton 4. 243£).

CHRISTIANIZATION

149

Taking his counters and spreading them out on a tray, and then extending his fingers, the latter said to Calligcnes: “ If your plot of land receives enough rain and produces no crop of wildflowers, if frost docs not break the furrows, if hail does not nip off the tops of sprouting ears, if no goat browses on the corn, and if it meet no other injury by air or earth, I prophesy that your harvest will be excellent and you will cut tbe ears with success, Keep watch only for locusts. W hatever the fees chargcd by such an astrologer, the farm er can hardly have found m uch comfort in his pronouncem ent. T he usual propitiatory and apotropaic rites thought to w ard off such phe­ nom ena did not always lend themselves to C hristianization readily, but a sort of pragm atic pact seems to have been m ade betw een the catechist and rustic pagan during the prehistory of C hristianization at individual villages, which emerge as fully C hristian only later in the hagiographie texts, inscriptions, and other narratives. This theoretically binding and irreversible pact required adherence to C hristian m onotheism in the formal ritual of the village chapel, but gave grudging publie recognition to all other religious forms and formulae as acceptable, seeking all the time to recontextualize them in the em brace of the new religion. C hristian archangels m ight suddenly guard the sacred w ater of springs in Asia M inor where the chthonic Attis had previously resided, and w ith the sam e iconography .219 Sacrifices m ight go on, but w hat Bronislawr M ali­ nowski calls the “ collective effervescence” of village religiosity would be channeled w herever possible to Christianized sacrifices in front of the chapels, all celebrated on the purported exam ple of K ing David, as happened in sixth-century Lycia under the guid­ ance of Nicholas, hegum en of the TIagia Sion m onastery ,220 But w hat did the average catechum en think of such transposi­ tions? It seems probable that on the intuitive level of understanding the m anifestation of divine powers, he saw the old deity but re­ peated the name of the Christian m artyr, prophet or archangel out of respect or fear of the representative of the elite, the C hristian m onk or presbyter. As M ircea Eliade has put it: “ . . . a given hierophany m ay be lived and interpreted quite differently by the religious elite and the rest of the com m unity .” 221 O r later: “ W here . . .J a c o b saw

219 On the cult of Attis as found in the Neo-Phrygian inscriptions (3rd c. A .D .), cf. infra, Ch, VT I, Sect. 2, See also Cyril M ango’s discussion o f the possibility that Attis was the Anatolian predecessor o f M ichael the Archangel, whose iconography resembles that o f the deity, in: MSt. M ichad and A ttis,” Deliion les Christianikës Archamiogikes Etaireias 12 (1984), 39-62. 220 Trombley, “Paganism in the Greek W orld,” 339. 221 Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion, 7.

150

CHAPTER TWO

the angels 7 ladder and the house of God, Palestinian peasants saw the god Bethel .” 232 Eliade continues :223 B u t w e m use rem em b er th at, w h a tev er g o d the lo c a l p o p u la tio n m a y h a v e seen in B eth el, n o stone ever rep resen ted m o re th an a sign, a d w ellin g , a th eo p h a n y . T h e d iv in ity w a s manifest by m ea n s o f the sto n e, or— in other ritu als —witnessed and sa n ctified a co v e n a n t m a d e n ear it. T h is w itn ess c o n sisted , in th e m in d s o f sim p le folk, in the d iv in ity ’s b ein g e m b o d ied in the sto n e , an d to the elite, in th e sto n e ?s b ein g transfigured by th e d iv in e p resen ce.

This paradigm is perfectly applicable to Christianized sacrifices, cults of stones, magic circles, and m uch else .224 O nly the rem nants of this process survive in the extant evidence. Some scholars have argued that it is sufficient to regard the society as “C hristian” and forgo this pre-history of cultural transform ation wherein nothing is “ pag an ” .2:2:j T his is a descriptive rather than analytical methodology, and although anthropological in its o u t­ w ard form, it ignores m any of the data and m echanism s which the study of com parative religion has revealed. It is thus necessary to disagree with M ircea Kliade’s assessment that only the ritual and theological disposition of the C hristian village priest m atters in the local contcxt because of its “ p u rity ,’' as a principle of analysis not useful to understanding the process of C hristianization:22b T h e m o d a lities o f the sacred rev ea led by C h ristia n ity are in fact m ore truly preserved in th e tra d itio n rep resen ted by the p riest (h ow ever stro n g ly colou red by h istory and th eo lo g y ) th a n in th e b eliefs o f the villa g ers. W h a t the o b serv er is in terested in is n o t the one m o m en t in the h istory o f C h ristia n ity , or o n e p art o f C h r iste n ­ d o m , but the C h ristia n religion as su ch . T h e fa ct th at o n ly on e m an , in a w h ole v illa g e , m a y h ave a p roper k n o w led g e o f C h ristia n ritu al, d o g m a and m y stic ism , w h ile th e rest o f the c o m m u n ity are illinform ed a b o u t them and p ra ctise an elem e n ta l c u ll tin ctu red w ith su p erstition (w ith , th at is, the rem a in s o f o u tw o rn h ie ro p h a n ies) d o es n ot. for his p u rp o se at lea st, m atter at ail. W h a t d oes m a tter is to realize th at th is sin g le m a n h a s kept m ore co m p le te ly , if n o t the o rig in a l ex p erie n c e o f C h ristia n ity , a t le a st its b a sic e lem en ts and its m y stica l, th eo lo g ica l and ritual v a lu es.

To take up Eliades’s stone of Bethel once again in the context of C hristianization in the fifth century, it was the task of the catechist Ibid.. 229. Ibid., 229f. 2^4 For general discussion, see: Tromblev, “Paganism in the Greek World/’ 337-345. 22:7 Rochow, ;:Zu einigen oppositionellen Strömungen7', passim. 22 to that found in two second-century inscriptions which invoke Zeus the M ost High and the Angel in parataxis (Δ ιί ΰ ψ ίσ τω κ α ί θειω άγγέλιο and Δ it ΐ ψ ί σ τ φ κ α ί ά γ α θ ω ά γγ έλ ω ).231 A.A.R. Sheppard rejects any substantive borrow ing from Ju d aism or actual syncret­ ism in these instances »232 248 T he “ angel of G od” hinders the daimones employed by sorcerers to effect spells o f illness upon their victims. Callinicus of Rufinianae, De Vita S. Hypatii Liber, ed. Seminarii Philologorum Bonnensis Sodales (Leipzig 1895), 58, T his text ts fully analysed in Ch. V II, Sect. L 2*9 Ibid., 90f. 2i0 Miracuium Michaelis, 561. 251 Sheppard, “Pagan Cult of A ngels,” nos. 1 and 2. 252 For conclusions j ibid., 86f. Cf. SEC 32.1539 (Gerasa, 2nd-3rd c. A .D .), a dedication to Zeus in his messenger form (Δ ιι *Αγγέλωι).

156

CHAPTER TWO

T he Eugenius inscription cited by C alder and the Miracle o f the Archutrategos offer, in any case, unm istakable proof for the continui­ ty of cult at tem ples, an im portant corrective to some of the argu­ m ents form ulated by Alison F rantz who suggests that cultic edifices could not have been converted into C hristian churches w ithin the living mem ory of the cults practiccd there bccausc of the former gods’ daim onic pow ers .253 These argum ents are based, as was indicated above, on am biguous and fragmentary’ evidence largely confincd to Greece. Some pagan hierophanies and typologies did not lend themselves to C hristianizaiion. The cult of trees falls into this category, although the O ak of M am bre in Palestine, thought to have been the oak of A braham , provides a single exception to this rule. It was the paradigm atic Indo-E uropean practice to set up an enclosure around a sacred tree and em place an alta r beside it, which thereby became a m edium for worshippers of fertility deities. P re-Indian sanctuaries of this type existed at the time of B uddha’s teaching, but neither Buddhism nor H induism could weaken the grip of these sacred places in popular religiosity and eventually absorbed and incorporated such cults. Similarly, Semitic shrines in m any places consisted o f a tree and bethel-stone .254 T he O ak of M am bre. w hat­ ever its Judaic and C hristian associations in the m anner of a Hellenic keroeion of A braham , derived its typology ^ if not origin, from the Semitic tree and bethel sanctuary. Trees were thought to be the hierophany of Greek deities as well, particularly th at of A rtem is ,255 whose cult survived until the sixth century at a large oak tree in Lycia that was thought to control the fertility of the surrounding fields. This tree, like m any others, fell to the axe of the C hristian m onk .256 T he monks of Asia M inor such as H ypatius of R ufinianae were anxious to break the residual powers of the female deity, and destroyed sacred trees and groves wherever the rum or of c'daim onic error 55 at such sites reached th em .257 In perform ing these acts of m utilation and burning, the monks im ­ itated a common form of im piety in the ancient world, ju st as during tem ple conversions when they deliberately effected the ritual pollution of the temenos by depositing the relics of C hristian dead w ithin the enclosures. The direct nature of the affront is illustrated in the earlier literature. T he balance of nature, a m ate* * Supra, Ch. II, Scct. 2. Eliade. Patterns in Comparative Religion. 270. Ibid., 279. 2dî’_ Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld/' 338. *57 Infra. Ch. V II, Sect. 1.

CHRISTIANIZATION

157

rial reflection of the state of the peace of the gods, was always a precarious issue in the M editerranean ecospace. The Geoponika, a tenth-century com pilation of texts on agriculture and its lore m ost­ ly from the Rom an period, lists the traits desirable in a farm -gang supervisor. After enum erating the typical work virtues, it adds:2aB And, above all, he must resist lying and swearing falsely, be pious to God, keep the traditional rites of worship, and not be an insulter of sacrcd trees or anything else holy. This set of qualifications reflects the perceived need for pious men to till the soil, lest the peace of the gods be violated. Yet the abuse of sacred trees was com m on in Hellcnic antiquity. O ne epigram m ist, A ntipater (of Thessalonike?) (1st century B.C.) recapitulates the words of a sacred tree (δένδρον ιερόν) bidding the passer-by (παρερχόμενος) not to m utilate it (πημαίνειν) by stripping off its bark (φλόος).259 Such acts of gratuitous sacrilege becam e the m eans of m onastic attacks on the chthonic deities of the fertility cults. U nlike their H indu and B uddhist counterparts, the C hristian monks waged a ruthless w arfare of “search and destroy” raids that seems to have been partially successful in eradicating the m em ory o f tree cults. T he cult of Artem is proved exceptionally difficult to eradicate, w hether it was observed at tem ple enclosures, trees, or groves. T he great festival (μεγάλη άγιστεία) of the Basket (κάλαθος), whose ritual entailed worshippers m aking baskets “ dance ’ 5 (χορεύειν),260 perhaps on their heads in im itation of the effigies of the goddess, whose polos sometimes served as a m ural crown, survived in v iru­ lent form in Bithynia until at least the 440’s.261 T he groves sacred to Artem is were thought to be dangerous at the hour of noon in First G alatia a century later .262 A rtem is’ statues represent her with num erous breasts. She was the archetypal fertility deity. W om en were particularly devoted to Artem is, it appears, even in the sixth century, wherever Hellenic religion survived. The poetry m entions their m aking dedications at temples in thanksgiving for successful c hildbirth .263 An epigram of M arcus A rgentarius (6 th century A.D.) describes such an offering by a certain E uphrante of her sandals, headband, a scented lock of hair, belt, undervest, and 258 Geoponica 2.44.1-2 (cd. H> Beckh, Leipzig 1895, 7 9 f), J59 Greek Anthology 9.706. 260 Strabo, Geography 13,4,5. 261 Infra, C h. V I I , Sect. L

262 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld,5’ 335. 263 Greek Anthology 6.59, 240, 242, 271, and 273.

158

CHAPTER TWO

w aistband io Artemis at a tem ple (Εύφράντη νηώ θήκεν ΰ π ' Άρτέμιδος).264 T he episcopal and m onastic catechists sought to tap into such devotion and redirect it to the C hristian M other of God, the Theotokos, and other suitable cults. A rtem is' and other female deities' appellations survive in C hristian nom enclature, as for exam ple in a graffiti on the A thenian P arth en o n : ^ 3 Mistress, all-holy, virgin, undefiled, all-hymned; importune your son to save your suppliants in the kingdom.

(δέσποινα), “ all-holy” (παναγία), and “ virgin” (παρθένος) all tu rn up in the inscriptions of Artemis al Ephesus, and “ undefilcd” (αγνή) at Sardis in a petition to Iaso, divine “ M istress”

daughter of Asklepios, the physician god /266 These epithets are some of them repeated or amplified in the sermon of Proclus, patriarch of C onstantinople, on the T heotokos *267 T he transcend­ ence of such nom enclature for the m any female deities required this Namencknstianisierung* It m arked an im portant, and possibly initial, stage in transferring religious allegiances to the C hristian. O ther Christian epithets have early analogues in Hellenic term inology } and only a prelim inary list can be given. For example, Isis was called “ begetter of fruits” (καρποτόκος) and “ m other of grain ” (στάχυμήτηρ). corresponding exactly to two C hristian term s for “ M other of G od” (Θεοτόκος and θεομήτηρ) O n the other hand, Isis was also said to be :cthnnsand-shapcd” (μυριόμορφος), a conception hardly adaptable to the new religion* Popular religiosity associated Artem is with acts of healing at her 264 Creek Anthology 6.203, 255 Λ .Κ . Orlandos and A, Vranousë, Ta Charagmata iou Parthenënos (Athens 1973), no. 130. *Gfi Infra, Ch. II, n. Proclus refers to the virgin as the 4‘pure one” (άγνπί.α) and “ m aiden'7 (ή π α ρ θένος), at a time (c. 434—447) when it was common simply to call her the Mother of God or Theotokos. She is called the “ all holy” (π αναγία ) in the title of the enkomiun) which was composed to celebrate the “festival of the maiden” (τιαρθενική π ανή γυρις), Elsewhere Proclus observes that “land and sea bring gifts to the maiden” (γή καί θάλαττα δω ροφορ gl xij παρΒένω ). To reduce the Hellenic color o f his remarks, he resorts to the juxtaposition of Christian term inol­ ogy (ή ά γία Θεοτόκος Π α ρθένος Μ αρία). Proclus of Constantinople, Enkömion eis Impanagian Theolokon Marian, PG 65, 680C -681B. Tn a later section of the oration, he criticizes the Hell cries who ridicule the incarnation (καν Έ λ λ η νες κωμωόώαι το θαύμ α). Ibid., 684Β. Tt must be borne in mind that, while this piece uses rhetoric highly suited to devotion to Isis or Artemis, its context is Christian, We should not go far wrong, however, in supposing that many recent converts from Hellenic religion made up Proclus’ congregal ion. Cf* Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. L One o f their requirements will have been hearing the theology of the new religion conceptualized in the terminology o f the old. 36a Greek Anthology 16.264.

CHRISTIANIZATION

159

temples and also at hot springs that were thought to have curative properties. T hus, a tem ple and cult dedicated to A rtem is Sebaste by a freedman of Augustus grew up at Buyuk Tepe Keui in B ithynia .269 T he Neohellenic cult of St. C onstantine in existence at the hagiasma c. 1929 m ay well date from the C hristianization of the site in Late A ntiquity ,270 perhaps deriving from the dem olition of the tem ple and erection of a basilica by th at em peror. T he pre­ viously cited example of the cult of M ichael the archistrategos at C olossae-K honai reflects the initial synthesis of C hristian and H el­ lenic cults that occurred at such sites of religious awe. T he goddess m ight perform cures for her suppliants at temples as welL A m arble stele of Roman Im perial date, with an inscription and two hum an eyes carved in relief, was found at Sardis. It reads: “ T o Artem is Anaitis: Ammias daughter o fM a tris erected [this] because of being chastizcd [in the eyes— J .” 271 T he editors observe :272 A m m ia s had so m e eye c o m p la in t w h ich sh e regard ed as a c h a stise ­ m en t for sin; in the h o p e o f b ein g cu red or in g ra titu d e for a cure she m ad e a p rop itiatory c o n fessio n , i.e. p u b licly a ck n o w le d g e d h er sin an d the g o d d e ss5 p ow er.

A nother stele, dated by the Sullan era to 172/3 A.D., has a pair of hum an eyes incised am idst the inscription and is dedicated to Iaso, the divine daughter of the physician god Asklepios :273

*69 CIG 4.3695c. 270 “ It may be noted that the collocation o f natural hot baths and mosques . . . does not necessarily imply a sacred site, . . . but a mosque at a hot spring may also be regarded as a precaution against unorthodox superstition.'1 (my italics) Hasluck, Christianity and Islamy 108f. The same rationale was attached to providing a prosmvnanos at springs after the Christianization of the site, as the Miraculum Michaelis makes clear. Hasluck indicates elsewhere that the continuities between Hellenic religion and Christianity in Anatolia were much more pervasive and direct than those between Christianity and Islam in the later middle ages. Ibid., 4·. Cf. the Pythia Therma, the “ Pythian hot springs” noted by Procopius, which later became those of M ichael the Archangel at Kuri Yalova in Bithynia (Buildings 5,3,16—20), Ilabluck, Christianity and Islam, 107. The Christian archangel was here quite obviously ihe successor o f the chthonic divinity identified by Hellenes as the local Apollo, who was worshipped as the owner o f the subterranean waters. The sick of Constantinople frequented the place until the time o f Justinian the Great, who established a palace and bath-house. The church of the archangel, peculiarly referred to as his ttmmos (τού αρχαγγέλου τέμενος), with its dormitory, guaran­ teed the suppression of publicly “unorthodox superstition”, that is, the open invocation o f the chthonic deity, in line with Justinian’s policy of suppressing Hcllcnic belief and practice. 271 Sardis VII: Greek and Latin Inscriptions Part l : ed. W .H. Buckler and David M. Robinson (Leiden 1932), no. 95, with photo. Ibid. Ibid.. no. 97.

CHAPTER TWO

160

To

the unde filed goddess laso.

(θεά άγνί ]5 Ία[σοι]) (E y es) In th e 2o7th y ea r (o f the S u lla n era)

Apphion daughter of Apollonios set up this votive offering. T he practice of reproducing the part of the body which required healing on a votive sid e or other object passed into C hristian euchology during the period of C hristianization in the form of less expensive metal foil reproductions of the organa with prayers in ­ cised on them .274 Nor did the practice of worshipping female deities in cults p a ra ­ llel to, and apart from, that of the Theotokos entirely die out. Jo h n C uthbert Lawson notes the evidence for various cults of the Despoina, “ M istress of the W orld” (ή δέσποινα τ ο ν κόσμου) and “ M istress of earth and sea” (ή κυράτοη γης καίχση θάλασσας) in late nineteenth-century A rcadia, M essenia, and Zakynthos, all of which conform to the character of the chthonic D em eter .275 The formula “ M istress of land and sea;’ also has som ething in comm on with Hellenistic typologies of Isis,27G ju st as a molded terracotta figure of Isis L actans of fourth-fifth century date from Palestine does with later representations of the C hristian V irgin and C h ild .277 A nother set of terracotta figurines discovered at Ephesus around the tu rn of the century depicts Artemis with bulging breasts and holding a small child. O ne of the images dates from the fourth century B.C .27BThey bear a striking resem blance to representations of the Theotokos writh Christ, W illiam M . Ram say refers to this object as “ the M other-Goddess of Ephesus anthropom orphized .5,279 It will be recalled th at with the destruction of the Serapeum in 391 the pre-C hristian Ankh cross, a letter of the Egyptian hiero­ glyphic script, was cited as an oracle from pharaonic sacred texts to prove th at C hrist would displace Sarapis as the God of the Nile. A

574 Lawson, Greek Folklore and Reliçion, 58ff. *75 Ibid., 89-91. '2/h See the various categories listed in the Isis aretalogy of Kyme, Trombley, “Systemic Analysis of Late Hcllenic R elig io n /7 98f. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Arts Third to Seventh Century,

ed. Kurt Weitzmann (New York 1979), no, 167, 278 D .G. Hogarth, “ Small Objects from the Croesus Tem ple,” in British Museum. Excavations ai Ephesus: The Archaic Artemisia y ed. D.G. Hogarth (London 1908), 313-315. 2751 William \L Ramsay, : Later Roman Empire, 93 and 943. Ham ack, Mission and Expansion of Christianity, 2 (1908) 112. Raphia in First Palestine had a strong polytheistic population c. 388 (Sozomen, H E 7.15). It is o f interest that its first attested bishop Romanus flourished at a relatively late date, c. 431. Le Quien, Orietis Christianus 3, 629f. Areopolis, another hotbed of Semitic paganism, had its first known bishop only c, 449. Le Quien, 3, 733—736. Strong local anti-Christian sentiment may have kept these sees temporarily vacant in the fourth century, that is, if they had bishops at all. 35 V. Porphym, Cap. 21. 36 F. Porphym, Cap. 20, 37 V. Porphym, Cap. 20. 38 On Baruch, see Appendix I.

GAZA

195

ecclesiastical canon when a pagan (ανόσιος) called in his fellow villagers, who like him were farmers (γεωργοί τινες όμοιοι αύτοΰ συγκωμήται), and gave the isolated C hristian a sound beating .39 W hen Cornelius the deacon and two other C hristians found B aruch and carried him into the city the next day in an unconscious state, certain citizens raised the issue with the m agistrates, inasm uch as they supposed the m an to be dead. Both Hellenic and C hristian funerary custom forbade the interm ent of the dead inside city walls, the form er regarding it as a form of ritual pollution ( δ Là to νομίζειν μύσος εΐναι νεκρόν έπιφέρειν εις την πόλιν),40 the latter as a threat to public health. T he pagans m ay also have feared the creation of a new m artyr cult in their m idst, w ith a consequent increase in Porphyrius 5 political leverage. A recent im perial law of G ratian, V alentinian II, and Theodosius the G reat (30 Ju ly 381) had em phatically forbidden the im portation and burial of bodies in churches on the specious ground th at the presence of m artyr relics in C hristian buildings justified such a c ts :41 A ll b o d ies that are c o n ta in ed in urns or sa rco p h a g i and are k ep t ab ove th e grou n d sh all be carried a n d p la c e d o u tsid e th e city , th a t th ey m ay presen t an ex a m p le o f h u m a n ity (i.e. th e c o m m o n lot o f m ortals) and le a v e the h o m es o f th e c itizen s th eir sa n ctity (i.e. fear o f th e p o llu tio n o f the d ea d ) . . , [L et] n o p erson ev a d e th e p u rp o se o f this regu latio n by false an d c u n n in g sh r e w d n ess an d su p p o se th at th e sh rin es (sedcs) o f a p o stles an d m artyrs are g ra n ted for th e b u ria l o f b od ies.

The pagan bystanders attacked Cornelius and his men, w hereupon Porphyrius was brought into the altercation and a riot ensued. The next d ay > a com m ittee of m agistrates called on Porphyrius* The defensor of the city (a m agistrate charged with hearing m inor cases at law in behalf of the poor) presided over the inquest, being accom panied by the circnarchs (policc m agistrates) and the two executive m em bers of the city council, the duoviri T im othy and E piphanius (ο δημεκδικών μετά των είρηναρχών καί των δύο πρωτευόντων), all of them pagans.4* The defensor asked: “ W hy did you bring a dead m an into the city when the ancestral laws forbid it?” (των νόμων πατρφων τούτο απαγορευόντων),*3 Por­ phyrius sensed the anger of the deacons Cornelius and M ark, the latter being an eyewitness to the events of his narrative, and bade 59 w 41 *2 *3

V P orpkym } Cap. 23. V. Porphym, Cap. 23. Cod, Theod. 9.17.6, Cf. Trombley, “ Boeotia in Late A n tiq u ity /* 2 2 If. V. Porphym, Cap. 25. V. PùTpkyùi, Cap. 25.

CHAPTER THREE

196

them cooperate. A noisy altercation went on until Baruch recov­ ered his senses, emerged in front o f the crowd, and began flailing at them with a wooden plank (ξύλον). He allegedly pursued them as far as the M arneion. For this feat, but more probably because of his near m artyrdom , Porphyrius appointed Baruch deacon “ w orth­ ily and ju stly 55.44 Even if one discounts the tale of B aruch’s physical prowess, his emergence from the episkopcion fully alive will have ended the dispute, w hether the Hellenes feared ritual pollution, or a new m artyr cult as the rallying point for the local C hristians. O ne did not strike (τύπτειν) urban police officials w ithout the risk o f retaliation. It was best to preem pt the city officials and get the im perial governm ent on one's side. Sensing the danger, bishop Porphyrius composed a letter to Jo h n Chrysostom , the prom inent Antiochene hom ilist who had hccome patriarch of C onstantinople (398-4Ό4), requesting him to intercede w ith the co-emperors Arcadius and H onorius to shut the temples of Gaza. M ark the Deacon acted, by his own account, as apokrisiaùos of the see to C onstantino­ ple, delivered the missive, and secured the appropriate im perial rescript for closing the tem ples .45 H e also received copies of the edict (xa αντίγραφα) w hich he presented to the bishop upon his return to Gaza. M ark does not pretend to quote their text, but observes briefly :16 A fter sev en d a y s th e im p eria l ed ict (θ ε ι ο ν γ ρ ά μ μ α ) w a s p u b lish ed th a t the tem p les o f G a z a b e c lo sed (κ λ ε ισ θ ή ν α ι) an d n o lo n g er u sed , an d that H ila r iu s, a su b a d ju ta n t o f the magister \ offidomm\ ( σ ο υ β α δ ι ο υ β α τ ο ΰ μ α γ ίσ τ μ ο υ ) e x e cu te d Lhe co m m a n d .

This particular rescript had an entirely local aspect and simply repeated the term s of the m ore com prehensive laws incorporated into the Theodosian Code. It will be recalled that many of the rulings in Book X V I of the Code were ad hoc regulations sent to specific officials. It would not be surprising if many texts like this were not incorporated into the codification in order to avoid repetition, a sa­ lient problem with that work in any case. The subadiuva arrived w ith a retinue and seemingly executed his task with prom p titu d e :47 I [M ark] set o u t from B y z a n tiu m three d ay s later and r e a d ie d G a za in ten . p reced in g H ila riu s by sev en d ays. I found P orp h yriu s ailin g , I sh ow ed him the reply o f J o h n o f C o n sta n tin o p le an d m a d e it k n ow n . [P orp h yriu s recovered from his fever.] H ila riu s arrived after sev en 44 V. V. 46 V, 4/ V.

Porphyrii, Porphyrii\ Porphyrii, Porpkyni,

Cap. Cap. Cap, Cap.

25. 26. 26, 27.

GAZA

197

d a y s, h a v in g w ith h im tw o commentarienses o f c o n su la r rank, [officials in ch a rg e o f state d o c u m e n ts,] a n d m a n y a ssista n ts (β ο η θ ο ί ur üdiiitores) from A z o to s a n d Ascalon^ an d th e en tire p u b lic retin u e (π α σ α δ η μ ο σ ία Ο ψ ις). A t o n c e he arrested th e three curiales o f the city an d got full satisfa ctio n from th em (ί κ α ν ο δ ο σ ία ) , sh o w ed th em the im p e ­ rial e d ic t ord erin g the clo su re o f the id o l-te m p le s o f G a z a u n d er p en a lty o f ca p ita l p u n ish m e n t for th e cuùales o f the sa m e c ity , an d h a v in g overtu rn ed th eir id o ls he clo sed th e [tem p le s]. B u t th e tem p le o f M arn as h e a llo w e d to fu n ctio n secretly after receiv in g a large b ribe in b e h a lf o f this. T h e id o la to rs th en p erform ed la w less acts an ew a ccord in g to cu stom .

Stories about bribery, particularly am ong the subadiuvae of the who were always on the take, abound during this period, and it would be naive or hyper-critical to discount such a possibility in this instance.4* Ail this is consistent with M ark ’s other statem ents about the prestige, w ealth, and scruples of the decurion class of Gaza, T he adiutores of Ascalon, a city known for the persist­ ence of Scmitic pagan cult a t this lime, evidently m ade the initial contacts .49 They would have to deal with decurions of the Palestines after H ilarius had gone. M ark the Deacon denies us access to the Weltanschauung of reli­ gious habits and tenets of the G azan elites except in one case, where, predictably, the person was converted to C hristianity. H er nam e was Aelia, a noble im perial nomen, and thus the w om an’s first name, from the time of H adrian. H er family belonged to the decurion class (γυνή τις των εμφανών τής πόλεως όνόματι Αίλίας), and was evidently descended from Rom an settlers who had founded the Colonia Gaza (Κολωνία Γάζη).50 Bishop Porphy­ rius converted the wom an after an ap p aren t miracle. Aclia’s life had been threatened wThen the fetus she was carrying slipped into an abnorm al position across the birth canal and caused a pro­ longed and dangerous labor. M ark the Deacon observes :01 m a g istri o jfkioru m ,

H er p aren ts a n d h u sb a n d , h a v in g a su p erstitio u s fear o f th eir g o d s (δ ε ισ ιδ α ιμ ο ν ε ς ), m a d e a sacrifice (θ υ σ ία ) for her every d a y . and even brough t in m a n tic s an d p erso n s w h o perform ed in c a n ta tio n s, th in k in g she w o u ld be h elp ed b y th em . Jones, Later Roman Empire, 578-580. I f sorne subadiuvae could accept bribes from heretics, others will certainly have taken them from pagans. Cf. the case of Priscillian, Ibid., 1057, Subadiuvae turn up in the literary and cpigraphic sources from c. 400 onwards. 49 Supra, Ch. I l l , n. 34. A0 Hadrian's mme^ or middle name, was Aelius (P. Aelius Hadrianus). Albino Garzetti, From Tibmus to the Antonines: A History of the Roman Empire AD 14-I92i tr. J.R . Foster (London 1974), 378. Cf. Ch. IFÏ, n. 9. 51 V. Porphyùi, Cap. 28.

198

CHAPTER THREE

T he Greek or Semitic deity invoked by A elia’s family is unknown, bur it m ay have been the local A phrodite. A growing distrust of its power or of the efficacy of the sacrifices led them to sum m on m agicians to two kinds: incantors (έπαοΐδοί), who pronounced healing spells and affixed apotropaic dcviccs to the sick, and seers (μάντεις), who no doubt predicted the favorable outcom e of A elia^ pregnancy. It is quite probable th a t A elia’s family purchased the services of the m ost prom inent and expensive m agicians to be had. These professions lacked the tradition-bound respectability of the priesthoods of healing deities such as the Semitic Asklepios of Berytus m entioned by D am ascius in his biography of Isidore the sophist .52 Resort to such charlatans betokened nascent atheism in the Hellenic sense, and m ust have been the first stage in the conversion of m any persons to C hristianity. Particularly after the am ulets and prognoses of the m antics failed there cam e a second stage of “ atheism ” leading to C hristianity. T his religious and cultural m echanism has seldom been appreciated .53 In the case of Aelia. the m atter was resolved when her nurse, a C hristian w om an who prayed in the m artyr-chapels (έν to ic ε υ κ τ ή ρ ιο ς οΐκ οις) and belonged to bishop Porphyrius’ small congregation, acting on the bishop's advice, approached Aelia’s family and urged them , be­ cause their house was “ full of idols” (κατείόίϋλος), to invoke C h rist ,54 T he subsequently successful delivery of A elia’s child brought about the conversion of the entire family and household, which num bered 64 persons in all, a figure which m ust have included dependent laborers of different kinds and probably m any slaves .55 T he exultant acclam ation which M ark the Deacon puts into their m ouths resembles acclam ations addressed to pagan deities: “ G reat is the God of the C hristians, great is the priest Porphyrius” (μέγας

ότι ό έν Βηρυτώ . . . ’Α σ κλη π ιός ούκ ε σ τ ιν Έ λ λ η ν ουδέ Α ιγύ π τιο ς, άλλα τις Επιχώριος Φ οινιξ. Dam ascius, Epit. PhoL 348 (Zintzcn, 283), ^ The inscription on a private shrine dedicated to the goddess Agdistis at Philadelphia in Lydia (OGIS 985, 2 n d /1st c. B.C.) requires that the person entering the temenos be free from the taint o f sorceries, poisonings, love charms, abortion, contraception arid so forth; “Let not woman or man who do the aforementioned acts come into this shrine; for in it are enthroned mighty deities,” A .D. Nock, Conversion (Oxford 1933), 216f. T he “ second stage of atheism ” might be rcachcd when a person seeking divine aid, and disappointed with his sorcerics, refused to return to his ancestral gods, but embraced a new cult instead. Christ­ ianity bccamc an important: option from the fourth century onward. 54 V. Porphym, Cap. 29, 55 V. Pvrpkyni, Cap. 30.

GAZA

199

ό Θεός των Χριστιανών, μέγας ό ίερεύς Πορφύριος).36 T he nam ing of the bishop is, however, a clear departure from ancient practice. T he conversion and subsequent baptism of Aelia’s household will require our attention further on in this analysis, in connection with the growth of the small C hristian com m unity at Gaza. T he event was unique. Bishop Porphyrius failed completely elsewhere to brcach the solid ranks of the decurion class, which kept its faith in the Graeco-Sem itic deities to the end, or at any rate until the term inus of M ark the D eacon’s n arrativ e .57 M ark the Dcacon nam es only one of the landed m agnates, a certain Sampsychos (Σαψύχου του πρωτεύοντος).58 T his Sam psychos and the rest of the city council kept their grip on the public opinion o f the urban demos even after the eventual dem olition of the M arneion and other temples of G aza in 402.59 M ark m entions a dispute which arose between Sampsychos and the oikonomos or adm inistrator of revenues of the G azan church. It “ conccrncd some villages” (χάριν χωρίων), an innocent enough phrase which perhaps conceals too m uch. H e adds in the same context th at the pagans were becoming enraged the more they saw C hristianity growing (προκόπτοντα τον Χριστιανισμόν).60 T he hagiographer avoids detail, and the historian is justified in asking w hether, in the course of m anaging the church lands, the C hristian oikonomos did not engage in prosely tization on the estates of Sam psychos, which m ay have interlocked with, or adjoined, those of the church. M onks did this sort of thing constantly in northern Syria .61 A t G aza, it is conceivable that the secular clergy took a hand in such enterprises. T he city after all had an aggressive bishop, and A ram aic-speaking monks seem to have been in short supply, as none are m entioned in M ark's account. T he countryside was thoroughly pagan, and even if M aium a had a m onastic population, it may well have consisted mostly of m igrant Copts from Egypt. H ence an insuperable linguis56 Erik Peterson argued that the formula here has a monotheistic sense, as for example: μέγας ό θεός ιώ ν Χ ριστιανώ ν, ούκ ëcruv έτερος θ εός π λή ν αύτοΰ. E IC & EO C 197. Pagan parallels to this formula are apparent in a vast number of epigraphic and textual examples. EIC S E O C , 200-210. T he most exact o f these is the Ephesian acclamation: μεγάλη ή νΑ ρτεμις Έ φ εσ ίω ν (p. 199). But this comes from Christian scripture (Acts 19.34). 57 For similar fifth'century examples at Athens, Alexandria, Aphrodisias and Berytus, see infra, Ch. IV -V I. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 95. 59 Infra, Ch. ΠΙ, Sect. 4. 60 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 95. On the demographic features of the growth of Christian­ ity in Gaza, see infra, Ch. I l l , Sect* 5. 61 Infra, Ch. V III, passim.

200

CHAPTER THREE

tic b arrier will have arisen between them and the pagan rustics *62 If the oikonomos did indeed meddle w ith Sam psychos’ properties> the latter m ay well have feared a violations of the peace of the gods and consequent crop failures, not to m ention insubordination to his bailiffs and a breakdow n of the entire agricultural regime* W h a t­ ever the origin of the dispute, a heated debate ensued between Sampsychos and the oikonomos in which the com bative deacon Baruch became embroiled as well. The altercation seems to have occurred in or near the agora and public buildings, for the rem ainder o f the city council (οι λο ιπ ο ί τ ο ν βουλευτηρίου) joined the dispute. G aza still had a vocal and potentially seditious dem os :63 M a n y o f the c itizen s a p p ro a ch ed the co u n cillo rs, fin d in g in th is [altercation ] an ex c u se to h arm C h ristia n s . . . T h e id o l-m a n ia c s raged even to th e p o in t o f ta k in g u p sw o rd s and c lu b s, a n d k illed sev en person s an d w o u n d ed m a n y others.

In the subsequent street fighting, which proved to be entirely one-sided, the pagan mob storm ed and plundered the episkopeion, and Porphyrius fled w ith M ark the Deacon through m any houses (δια των δωμάτων), and in such a state of fear th a t they walked on free-standing walls (τοιχοβατήσαντες).04 T he m en, who seem not to have countenanced m artyrdom in this instance, finally took refuge in a shack or housetop dwelling to which access was got through a skylight (διά τίνος λυκίσκου), presum ably w ith a pul­ ley. A poor girl aged fourteen resided there. She worked to support her aged grandm other. They were both of them pagans .G5 T he upshot of this chance m eeting will claim our attention later. Its significance lies in the fact that, ju st as the large crowd o f the demos (πολλοί τω ν π ολίτω ν) which pillaged the episkopeion indi­ cates the existence of a radically pagan and politically vocal artisan and m ercantile class, not to m ention the retainers of the decurion class, there also existed an undoubtedly large num ber o f urb an poor who, it seems, although no longer receiving sacrificial m eats from the tem ples after their closure, rem ained ad am an t in their allegiance to the old gods and did not defect to C hristianity for the 62 This supposition is plausibly consistent with the evidence for rural conditions discussed infra, Gh. V II—X I. V. Porphyni, Gap. 95. 6* V. Porphym, Cap. 96. 65 V. Porphym, Cap. 97, This is one exception to the rule that Constantine the Great in every instance allied him self to the Christian poor, as must have been the case with his large gift o f estates that went to the Roman churches as endowments. There were many urban pagan poor who did not avail themselves of Christian almsgiving·, as the V. Porphym shows. Cf. Peter Brown, The Cult of the Saints, 45fF,

GAZA

201

sake of free bread. D uring the stay of Porphyrius and M ark with the women j the latter served bread, oil, cheese, soaked pulses, and wine, but doubtless in no m ore th an subsistence portions, for Salaphtha, the fourteen year-old girl, invited the men to ''tak e it, my lords, and bless my poverty.7’ T here was evidently not enough food to go around: M ark consum ed the cheese and wine, Porphy­ rius the b re a d , pulse, and some w ater .66 The anti-C hristian riot occurred after the final destruction of the M arneion and dedication of the Eudoxiana basilica on its site in 407. At this time the ecclesiastical bread dole to the poor probably played second fiddle to the large disbursem ents in food, clothing, and specie accorded to m igrants at the xenodocheion of the Eudoxiana, which basilica the empress Eudoxia had subsidized and erected in the old temenos of the M arneion .67 Even so, a daily sum of six obols was defrayed to cach poor citizcn and foreigner .60 These foodstuffs and monies evidently derived from the church's endowm ent, which will have been provided in the form of agricultural lan d s .59 Years later, bishop Por­ phyrius 5 will stipulated additionally that each poor m an receive on the fast days during Lent a provision doubtless intended to lure pagans as well as C hristians to the churches .70 T he will perhaps represents a confession th at the ordinary dole had failed to draw pagans to the churches in sufficient num bers to show the success of C hristianization during Porphyrius’ adm inistration of the G azan see, after an episcopate of perhaps a decade and a half .71 T he riot eventually died down, but Porphyrius and M ark found it too risky to return to the episkopeion except by night. T here they found the indestructible B aruch, who had come close to dying (εσχάτω ς εχοντα) from the beating he had received. A force of troops led by a commentariensis of the governor of First Palestine arrived some days later and imposed stern reprisals, although the num ber of persons arrested is not given, nor are executions reported :72

66 V. Pnrphyûi^ Cap. 98. 67 Infra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 4. 68 F. Porphyni, Cap. 94. MFor Constantine the Great's endowments to the Roman church, see infra. Ch. I l l n. 248. 7 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 94, Mark the Deacon appears to base his statement on a knowledge o f the actual document. 71 The personal and private wealth o f the bishop was thus an important factor in the religious transformation of Gaza, a fact consistent with Raymond Van Dam's thesis. Supra, Ch. I l l , n. 2. 11 V. Porphyni, Cap, 99,

202

CHAPTER THREE

[The commentaHensis] punished some, but flogged others with an ox-tendon whip (βο'υνευρίσας) and then released them, and created no small fear in the city in restoring order. T he decurions can hardly have been am ong those flogged, for, as has been seen, they enjoyed im m ense w ealth and useful political connections .73 Nor does M ark the D eacon blam e them directly for the riot, which had a spontaneous origin. It is unknown w hether any of the pagan G azan decurions held senatorial rank at this ju n ctu re. In all this one can see the basic leniency with which the law was enforced, and another example of the now-deceased em peror Arcadius’ express wish that the G azans not be alienated, as he observed some years earlier when Eudoxia first broached to him the subject of term inating the secret rites still in progress at the M arneion .74 A rcadius observed :75 I know that the city is given to idolatry, but it is right-minded with respect to taxation and pays much of the public revenue. If we attack them fearfully all of a sudden, [the decurions] will flee and we shall lose much of the revenue, hut if it seems appropriate, we shall grieve them partially by taking away the titles of the idol-maniacs and other civil offices, and we shall command that their temples be closed and no longer used. For when we trouble them, we fall short in all areas, and they know the truth of this [dictum|. G aza, w ith its seaport of M aium a, generated great revenue from the im ports on the carrying traffic exiting to the M editerranean from the inland Dam ascus-^Aqaba trade route. T he fiscal realities of this situation required the cooperation of the decurions in some m easure. It is possible, as well, that they were punctual in paying the annona, the annual tax in kind on the products of their estates, in order to avoid criticism and repression precisely because of their adherence to the old Graeco-Sem itic cults. A rcadius 5 point was simple: suppression m eant the forfeiture of the Gazans* coopera7* T he persons flogged will not have been decurions, but the urban artisans and poor who made up their ctwilelae. City councillors “ enjoyed as hotissiiores a number o f legal privileges. They could not lawfully be flogged or tortured. . . . ” T wo laws o f Constantius II forbade governors to inflict corporal injuries on decurions* and two more of Theodosius I threatened governors with the severest penalties if they flogged decurions with lashes weighted with lead. Libanius mentions frequent violations of this rule, Jones. Later Roman Empire, 749f. We might suppose that Kynegios as an imperial comes and consistonanus took scrupulous care to avoid offending the imperial will. 7* K Porpkyni. Cap. 40. Both Bury, LRE I, 142-147 and Jones, Later Roman Empire, 344—346 accept the historicity of Mark the Deacon's account of the negotiations that preceded the empress3 request ► 75 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 4L

GAZA

203

tion. The em peror's surm ise proved accurate, for after the final destruction of the M arneion m any of the decurion class did even­ tually m igrate from the city ,70 T he riot which arose between Sam psychos and the oikonomos of the G azan see— whose nam e is interestingly om itted— suggests the large-scale dem ographic survival of the inner-city pagan popula­ tion some five years after the destruction of the M arneion. The stasis was sufficiently popular to be allowed to run its course, and was thereafter left to the troops of a nearby provincial governor to punish. T he eirenarchs, who figure prom inently in the earlier p art o f M ark the D eacon’s narrative, are here conspicuously absent. T he hagiographcr confirms the persistence of the old belief in Zeus M arnas am ong the inner-city pagans who exhibited a cultic defer­ ence toward the m arble debris of the M arneion some 15 to 20 years later :77 After the ashes had settled and all the abominations had been des­ troyed, the bishop [Porphyrius] ordered the remaining debris of the marble work of the Marneion, which the pagans said was sacred (ιερά) and lay in a placc not to be trodden (έν τόπφ άβάτψ), particularly for women, to be used as paving stones in the main street (πλατεία) outside the temple, so that they would be trodden upon not only by men, but also by women, and dogs and swine and beasts. This grieved the idolators more than the burning of the temple, wherefore the greater number of them, mainly the women, do not walk on the marbles up to the present day. Recent excavations at A phrodisias in C aria, another city which had an intractable pagan population in the fifth century ,78 provides an archacological exam ple th at corroborâtes the use m ade of the spo­ lia from the M arneion. A t Aphrodisias a vast num ber of relief sculptures taken from buildings and possibly funerary m onum ents was used to pave a large courtyard. These m aterials had quite obviously to be placed face-down with their flat sides upw ard in order to create a level surface .79 T he artistic value of the relief sculpture did not m itigate its offensiveness to the C hristian religion, and so a suitable, and at the same time useful, purpose was found for the blocks, T he date of the desposit has not been established, but it can hardly have been earlier than c* 400,ao Bishop Porphyrius in this instance aim ed to insult the cult of Zeus M arnas, but its 76 77 78 79 00

V. Porphym^ Cap, 63. V. Porphyni, Cap- 76, Infra, Ch. VI. Kenan T. Erim, public lecture, W ashington, D.C,* March 1986, Ibidem.

204

CHAPTER THREE

adherents continued to revere the spolia of the ruined temple. W e do not know w hether C hristians reacted to the stones w ith analo­ gous dread, or w hether to counter this Porphyrius had his workm en carve crosses and other symbols of C hristianization on the m arbles **1 In light of this it should not be surprising th a t C hristian monks of the fifth century like Daniel the Stylitc should often have entered and resided in tem ples, whose statues had long before been re­ moved, to prove the im potence of the old gods .82 In some districts their power was thought to inhere even in m arble and stone debris. T he generation ar G aza which had seen its temples destroyed did not accept the destruction of the M arneion as proof of their gods 5 impotence. O f the next generation we know nothing, IIL The Territorium o f Gaza

M ark the Deacon, like his superior, bishop Porphyrius, was preoccupicd with the problem of urban paganism and the issue of finding m eans to suppress it. H e therefore gives short shrift to the territorium of Gaza. Yet his work contains any num ber of reports bearing on religious conditions there. Relations between the polis and the im m ediately contiguous lands under its direct adm inistration, the territorium (χώ ρα), were tightly governed, particularly as the decurion class, the temples of the local deities, and the C hristian church often drew their incomes from villages on estate lands {fundi). Bailiffs (οικονόμοι) supervised agricultural labor and im prove­ m ents on the land, drew up accounts of production, settled disputes between parties or villages, and much clse,a:l Freeholders (ÔSCHtOtaL), or owners of their own plots; who sold their agricultural surplus in the agora of the polis , also existed in the typical urban territorium along with the tenants and day-laborers who worked on the estates.^ U nfortunately little is known about the organization of the territorium of G aza except that it produced wines of export quality th at found their way to G aul.h^ N or are the early arrange81 Supra. Ch. II, Sect►2. 02 The “ church” in question was surely a pagan temple, for the word naos is used. The nearby chapel o f St. M ichael is by contrast called an euktenon. Vita S. Daniehs Skylitae^ ed, H. Delehaye, Analecta Bollandiana 32 (1913), 134« line 12. a3 See the detailed information in the life of Theodore o f Sykeon (c. 582-600), who served briefly as the bishop of Anastasiopolis in First Galatia. V. Theodori Sykeotis, Cap. 70 in Vie de Théodore de Sykéôny ed. tr. A.-J. Festugière, 1 (Brussels 1970), 63, 94· Infra, Ch, V III, and Jones, Latir Roman Empire, 773—781. 8~ Jones, Later Roman Empire, 824 and 850.

GAZA

205

incuts for the C hristianization of the land known either, except for the brief settlem ent of the herm it H ilarion (291/2—371) there circa 330. He was him self born of pagan parents in the village of T h ab ath a situated some five Rom an miles from Gaza, and returned to those parts after studying gram m ar in A lexandria, where he had come under the influence of St, A nthony the herm it .*6 H ilarion did not proselytize exclusively in the countryside, bu t is said to have perform ed cures on victim s of incantations in Gaza and to have resisted the cult of Zeus M arnas in the H ippodrom e .87 He per­ formed the notable achievem ent of converting the family of the later ecclesiastical historian Salam inos Sozomenos, whose well-todo family lived on a rural estate thereabouts .88 H ilarion left G aza perm anently thereafter to practice the life of an itinerant h e rm it .89 T here is thus no evidence for any substantial m onastic settlem ents in the villages of the territorium of G aza, or for the widespread C hristianization of the rustics* Some sixty years elapsed before the arrival of Porphyrius as the bishop-clect of Gaza, which H enri Grégoire and M .-A. K ugener dated to M arch 3 9 5 Porphyrius, accom panied by M ark the Deacon, took the road from C aesarea M aritim a to Gaza by way of Lydda-Diospulis, where they spent the night. As the men reached the approaches to G aza the next day, they m et with interference from the rustics who were pagan to a m an:qi There were some pagan villages along the road near Gaza. By preconcerted plan the inhabitants spread the entire road with bram­ bles and stakes so that no one could pass, and they poured out slime and made smoke with other foul-smelling materials, so that we were choked by the rotten smell and were imperilled in our eyesight. We entered Gaza at the third hour of the night, hardly having saved ourselves. M ark advises the reader that this occurred 4'by preconcerted plan 55 (έκ σ υ νθ ή μ α το ς ).92 T he sites are called “ villages 51 (κώ μαι) and the dwellers therein οίκ ήτορες, a generic term for “ in h ab itan ts” th at tells nothing about their economic status, th at is, w hether they Jerom e, V. Hilanonis, PL 23, 30f, 87 Jerom e, V. Hilanonis, PL 23, 38f. Ά& Sozomen, HE 5.15. ** For the chronology of St. Hilarion’s life, see: P, de Labriole, Histoire de Peglise, 3 (Paris 1947), 321-324. T he author mistakes Hilarion’s birthplacc for the site of his subsequent activities in and around Gaza. w V. Porpkyni, Gap. 17, 91 V. Porpkyni, Cap. 17. 92 Or, as Grégoire-Kugcncr (1930) would have it, “ sur un mot d ’o r d r e . V. Porpkyni, Cap. 17«

206

CHAPTER THREE

were tenants or freeholders. T he circum stances suggest, however, that these folk lived on the estates o f the pagan decurions, Some G azans had, after all, been present at Porphyrius’ election in C aesarea .93 It can hardly be doubted that these were prom inent citizens, although M ark the Deacon is silent about their exact status. These will have been either pagan decurions visiting the provincial capital of First Palestine on business w ith the governor, or their business agents* who would naturally have notified their employers in the first instance of this new developm ent, which concerned everyone at old G aza .94 At any rate, they objected to Porphyrius 5 appointm ent, sensing in him, because of his m onastic background, a dichard who would threaten the very existence of the Graeco-Sem itic cults.9:>This scenario is fully consistent w ith the subsequent conflict between the bishop and the G azan city council. Nor is it probable th at M ark the Deacon intended to suggest the existence of a C hristian opposition to Porphyrius 5 appointm ent. T he point is that, once the bishop and his aide had left for G aza, word m ay have been sent to the bailiffs on the decurions’ estates and perhaps to villages of freeholders to prepare an unpleasant reception for the C hristian prelate. Such acts were not unknown in the fifth century .96 The assault on bishop Porphyrius’ and M a rk ’s senses fell short of insult or b attery ,97 but dem onstrates the ability of the pagan decurions of G aza to mobilize large num bers of rural dependants against the agents of C hristianization. T he principal participants in the riot m entioned in the previous section th at was triggered by a dispute "over some villages” (χά ρ ιν χω ρίω ν) may well have been the clientelae of the decurions as well5 93 V, Porpkyrii> Cap, 16. 94 Business correspondence is well attested in the papyri. Select Papyn I: Private Affairs, tr. A,S. Hunt and C.C. Edgar (London-New York 1932), 3 4 6 f and 386-389. 95 Other die-hards were M arcellus o f A pam ea (while he lived) and Theophilus o f Alexandria (once aroused). Supra, Ch. II, Scct. 3. Bishops of this kind seem to have been the exception to the rale, 96 Cf. the story of Shcnute of A tripeJs arrival at Pleuit, Infra, Ch. IX , S ect L 97 But see the commentary on the Lex Aquilia in Digest 9.2.27 (Ulpian): “ On the other hand, if you have not yet done me any damage but you have such a fire that I fear you will cause me damage, I think your giving security against threatened damage should suffice.11 This ruling seems to apply only to real property, Nor was the building o f the fires to “welcom e” bishop Porphyrius the type of “insult” (iniuria) called clamor: “ Labeo says that to raise an outcry amounts to iniuria. An outcry is said to consist in a tumult or in concerted vociferous abuse. W hen several voices come together it is called 'concerted vociferous abuse* when the voices are indeed concerted against the individual . . . and tends to bring someone into hatred, ridicule or contem pt.” Digest 47.10.15 (U lpian), Digesta Iustiniani Augusti, ed, T. M ommsen, 2 v. (Berlin 1970-1963) Tr. exccrpted from: Justinian, The Digest of the Roman Law, tr. C.F. Kolbcrt {London 1979), 84 and 170.

GAZA

207

whose patrons could no longer bear the intrusion of an aggressive C hristian clergy am ongst the agriculturalists on their estates. All this suggests a complex and intractable grouping of agricultural relations and interests spanning the cultural frontiers of the polis and chora9 all of them dom inated by the G azan decurion class. W hile C hristianity eventually m ade inroads into the u rb an popula­ tion o f G aza, M ark the Deacon offers not a single piece of evidence to suggest that this drive successfully penetrated the territorium of the city. It could hardly have been otherwise with the trenchant opposition of the decurions, whose religious conservatism shielded the agricultural regime of their estates and the contiguous villages of freeholders. This hypothesis is fully consistent with the evidence on rural conditions in Bithynia, Syria, and E gypt .90 T he G azan m aterials are im portant here, because they reveal the restrictive influence th a t decurions often exerted on the C hristianization of the countryside, even in the presence of an aggressive clerical regim e." The prevailing hostility to the C hristianization of the countryside is illustrated, as well* in the previously m entioned anecdote about the beating adm inistered to the C hristian ecclesiastic B aruch :100 W h en B aru ch w en t o u i to perform the e c c lc sia stic a l ca n o n in a v illa g e n ot far from the city , [he g o t in to a d isp u te w ith a p a g a n ]. T h e u n h o ly (ά ν ό σ ιο ς ) [p a g a n ] ca lled in so m e farm ers, his co~villagers, and th ey b eg a n to strike B a ru ch w ith rod s, and ca st h im h a lf-d ea d in to a d esert p la c e , h a v in g carried h im o u tsid e th e v illa g e.

U nconverted villages, w hether populated by freeholders or tenant farm ers, (γεωργούς τινας όμοιους αυτού συγκωμήτας), lay quite close to the city walls (εις κώμην ούκ μήκοθεν τής πόλεως), and were in complete agreem ent about the m easures to be taken against the C hristian cleric. IV. The Polemic against the Pagan Cults o f Gaza and Destruction o f the Temples in 402

T he evidence cited in the two previous sections suggests th a t the C hristianization of Gaza, as it occurred during the episcopate of Porphyrius (395-420), took place in the city proper. M ark the Deacon, who composed his biography of the bishop well before large num bers of urban pagans had converted to C hristianity ,101

9B Infra, Ch. V l l - i X . 09 T his may have been the case at Apamea in Second Syria as well. Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3. 100 V. Porphyni, Cap. 22. 101 Infra, Ch, III, Sect. 5.

208

CHAPTER THREE

dwells in particular detail on the destruction of the shrines and tem ple buildings of Gaza. All this hay the air of a polemical statem ent. M ark's delineation of the decurions 3 im potence in the face of an aggressive C hristian bishop arm ed with im perial edicts had the propagandistic intent of convincing his readership, m ade up of Aram aic- and Greek-speaking C hristians, th at the new reli­ gion would prevail despite the influence and m anipulation of the pagan landed m agnates, who still largely controlled the local poli­ tics and economy of old G aza at the time of the composition of his w ork.10* T he story is told in great detail. M ark the Deacon m ust necessarily have described the pagan buildings and shrines with précision, bccause his readership knew these sites well, witnessed the sacrifices and processions near them , and stood by during their final and inexorable demolition. The author had every reason to be precise. M ark the Deacon describes the ritual associated w ith only two of the G azan cults, those of Zeus M arnas and the G raeco-Sem itic A phrodite. The latter can be dealt with briefly. It will be recalled th at an effigy of the female deity stood under a sort of canopy near the M aium a gate of G aza, and that wom en frequented the spot to pray for the assistance of the deity in having intercourse w ith their husbands. As the hagiographer had it> the dream -oracles which predicted success were entirely bogus and women “ deceived each other” by embellishing stories about alleged epiphanies .103 Some few persons who accepted baptism adm itted this; as M ark observes: “ W e know these things from those who repelled error and recognizcd the tru th / *10/1 All this was grist for bishop Porphyrius’ mill as his polemic againsi the pagan cults of G aza intensified. Porphyrius, or perhaps his disciple M ark, refused to g ran t th a t the supposed dream -oracles were fulfilled even by daim onic power, but rather ascribed them to a synchronism based on chance (άπό σ υμ β ά ντος to o to γ ίν ε τ α ι ):105 B ut som e id o l-w u rsh ip p ers, u n a b le to b ea r the m isfo rtu n es o f th e h ard sh ip s w h ich th ey en d u red o b ed ien tly a c co rd in g to the c o m m a n d o f the p agan g o d A p h ro d ite, b eca m e v ex e d and a d m itte d the d e c e p ­ tion . For su ch are th e p agan g o d s in d ec e p tio n ev e n as to say w h o lly

102 This is th t prima Jack intent of Mark the Deacon’s work. It is argued below in Appendix 1 that an Vmdakiion of the text was edited lo bolster Porphyrius' demand enunciated at the Council o f Diospolis in 415 that M aiuma and Gaza be reintegrated as a single see under, naturally, his own jurisdiction. 1Γ|* V. Porphyrii, Cap. 59. km y Porphyrii, Cap. 59. 103 V, Porpkyni, Cap. 60.

GAZA

209

n o th in g truthful. N o r is it p o ssib le for th em to see th e c erta in , b u t th ey feign sp e c io u sly to a p p ea r to th o se w h o are e n sla v ed b y th em . For h o w ca n th o se w h o are d islo c a te d from the tru th sp eak the truth? E ven if they m ig h t h a p p e n to p red ict so m eth in g , it h a p p e n s by ch a n ce, ju s t as often h a p p e n s w ith m en w h en so m e o n e p red icts co n cern in g an e v en t and it h a p p e n s by ch a n c e. W e w o n d er at ch a n c e ev e n ts th at h a p p en by c h a n c e rareiy, an d keep sile n t a b o u t c h a n ce ev e n ts th at h a p p en co n tin u a lly . T h is is h o w it is w ith the p a g a n g o d s an d their error.

This dem ythologization of pagan oracular cult> harking back as it does to Dem ocritus of A bdera’s theory (and E picurus 3 adaptation of it) about the random collision of indivisible particles (atoma) in em pty space (kenos), was perhaps form ulated for catechum ens and for the pagan critics of Porphyrius* harsh efforts at conversion. T his form ulation was m eant for anyone who had the slightest knowledge of the Greek paideia , w'here, for example, the activity of chance (τύχη) was a common them e with historians. C hristian writers more often than not attacked the theory of chance because it vitiated the idea of divine providence .106 But here the acknowledge­ m ent of τύχη had a catechetical function. Yet M ark the Deacon avoids the word τύχη, substituting a harm less equivalent (απο συμβάντος) except in com pound words like επιτυχία and αποτυχία. The pious converters of pagans would have no more truck with the term τύχη than with the Tyche w^hich the G azans and most other Hellenized Syrians w orshipped in their city’s Tychaion. This term inologically sensitive style of argum entation was quite sophisticated and equally uncom m on. C hristian pro p a­ gandists more often than not ascribed pagan dream -oracles and the resultant “ m iracles” (θαύματα) to the activity of daimones. W ith Porphyrius and M ark, however, the deities deceive but rarely act. The upshot of the polemic against the G azan cult of A phrodite was the sm ashing of the idol. This occurrcd when a C hristian procession led by Porphyrius up from M aium a entered the city. W ith the vast quantity of archaeological evidence available from other sites about the sm ashing of statues, it can hardly be doubted th at Porphyrius' followers performed this salutary service .107 M ark the Deacon provides a mythologized version of the event, designed no doubt to exculpate the G azan clergy from blam e for injuries to two pagan bystanders, one of them fatal :100 106 For a rich variety o f texts citing tyche, see: G,W . Lampe, A Palnstic Greek Lexicon (Oxford 1961), 1422. 107 See the discussion on the smashing o f the statue o f Ailat in her temple at Palmyra* Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3* iaa V. Porphym, Cap. 61.

21Ü

CHAPTER THREE A fter w e d isem b a rk ed in to the city [o f M a iu m a ], as w a s sa id , a n d as w e reach ed th e p la ce [in G a za ] in w h ich th e said id o l o f A p h ro d ite w a s (for th e C h ristia n s w ere carrying the w o rth y cross o f C h rist, that is th e sign o f th e c ro ss), th e p a g a n g o d d w e llin g in th e sta tu e (έ ν τη σ τ ή λ η ), u p on se ein g th e sig n and b ein g u n a b le to b ea r lo o k in g u p on it, d ep arted from the sta tu e in g rea t d isord er a n d ca st it d o w n and broke it in to p ièces. T w o id o l-w o rsh ip p ers h a p p e n e d to be sta n d in g by th e altar at w h ich th e idol sto o d , and u p o n its fall it sliccd off the h ead o f o n e p erson a n d broke the sh o u ld er an d w rist o f th e oth er, F or b oth m en had b een sta n d in g th ere sn eerin g at th e h o ly p e o p le .

T he author even provides the motive for the acts of m ayhem . M any other instances of a daimon supposedly dwelling w ithin a statue, cult object, or even the building blocks of tem ples are a tte ste d ,109 T he image o f the cross, the instrum ent of C hristianization p a r excel­ lence, was most often carved on statues and their faces simply knockcd off. Here, however, the m ere sight of the cross sufficed to drive out the pagan god (δαί,μων). T he motive for breaking the statue into little pieces in this instance lay in the fact th a t it had the form o f a naked woman, “ all of it appearing unseem ly / ' 110 Statues of A phrodite did, on occasion, have a truly erotic quality, as for exam ple th at of the birth of the goddess unearthed at A phrodisias in C aria, which strikes an alm ost cheesecake pose.ni W hen seen in this light. M ark the D eacon’s m yth claims exaggerated status and power for Porphyrius, and sets him above m any other well-known bishops who demolished tem ples, but whose followers 5 chisels and ham m ers had to be applied to achieve the result th a t Porphyrius got autom atically.11* The destruction of the statue of A phrodite took place on 1 M ay 402, according to G régoire’s chronology, and therefore in the seventh year of Porphyrius" episcopate. Several days later, a large im perial m ilitary force entered old G aza. It was evidently the rum ored arrival of these troops th at prevented the pagans from rioting. Kynegios, a m em ber of the im perial consistory and the holder of unknown offices and titles (and not to be confused w ith the m ore famous Praetorian Prefect M aternus Cynegius from the reign of Theodosius the G reat ) 113 (Κ υνή γιος ο ΰ τω κ α λούμ ενος του 10* Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. 110 V. Porphyrii} Cap. 59. 111 Infra, Ch. V I, n. 7. 112 This argument was dictated by the requirement of impressing the provincial bishops* synod at D iospolis in 415. It served the secondary purpose o f propping up Porphyrius5 prestige with the Christian congregation o f Gaza after the failure o f his cause at the council. C f Appendix I below. iVä Maternus C ynegius5 career is fully discussed by Gassowska, “T he Allât Temple in Palmyra,” 119-122-

GAZA

211

κωνσίστωρίου) com m anded the m en .114 W ith him were the gov­ ernor (ύπατίκός) and dux of First Palestine, with the troops of the province and a body of civil officials (most of them from the officium of the governor and no doubt o f prosaic rank such as assessors, notaries, and so forth (εχων μεθ’ εαυτου τον ύπατικόν καί τον δοΰκα καί πολλήν στρατιωτικήν καί πολιτικήν χείρα).115 Kynegios was, not surprisingly, “ an am azing m an boiling w ith zeal for the faith” (άνήρ θαυμάσιος και ζέων περί την πίστην).1"5He bore an im perial rescript which bishop Porphyrius and the m etropolitan of C aesarea M aritim a had w rung from the em peror Arcadius through the good offices of a friend of Jo h n Chrysostom , the cubiculaüus A m antius, who had gotten them an interview with the empress Eudoxia ,117 T he edict stipulated the dem olition of the tem ples of old Gaza. Its text survives neither in the Theodosian C ode nor in M ark the D eacon's life of Porphyrius. T he latter source blandly observes: “T he A ugusta sum m oned and ordered him [Kynegios] to raze all the idol tem ples to the ground and consign them to fire" (παρακαλεσαμένη δέ αυτόν ή αύγοΰστα

παρήγγειλεν αύτφ πάντα τα ειδωλεια έως έδαφους καταστρέψαι καί πυρί παραδοΰναι),11* a statem ent th at no doubt sums up the formal docum ent draw n up by the quaestor in the presence of Eudoxia A ugusta and the prelates .1145 K ynegios 5 public proclam ation of the edict created a great stir am ong the pagan G azans, who subm itted before the mailed fist of em peror A rcadius :120 After the tenth day Kynegios arrived, having with him the consular and dux, and a large body of soldiery and civil officials. Many idolworshippcrs saw ahead, and went out from the city, some to villages and others to different cities. They were the greater part of the wealthy in the city. The said Kynegios requisitioned the houses of those who had fled. On the next day, having called upon the people of the city, with the dux and consular governor present, he publicly read the imperial rescript that the idols be overthrown and idol-temples be given over to fire. As soon as they heard, the idol-worshippers lamented with a loud voice that the officials were angry and would send the soldiers against them to strike them with rods and cudgels. But the Christians praised the emperors and magistrates. 114 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 51. nb V. Porpkyni, Cap. 63. 116 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 51. 117 Bury, LRE 1, 142-148. Jones,LaterRoman Empirey344—346. llft V. Porpkyni, Cap. 51. This clause isrepeated in, Cap. 63, when the contents o f the edict, as read to the citizens of Gaza, are summarized. 119 K Porpkyni, Cap. 50. 120 V. Porpkyrii, Cap, 63 and 64,

212

CHAPTER THREE

The story th at the great part of the landed m agnates (fjactv δέ οι π λ είο υ ς τώ ν π λο υσ ίω ν της πόλεω ς) m igrated to the countryside or other cities, where they will have had villas and townhouses, is consistent with known examples of the wide dispersion of estates, which individual proprietors sometimes had in several provinces .121 T he economic side of the story makes sense, but the dem ographic part lacks plausibility. If m any pagan decurions m igrated, enough of them rem ained in old G aza to keep the reins of civil power firmly in their own hands even after the destruction of the tem ples, as the previously m entioned incident between Sam psychos and the C hristian oikonomos show s .122 The requisitioning of houses in cities for billeting troops had become common by this time, and p ro ­ voked riots at Thessalonike in 392.123 Kynegios mollified the tem ­ porarily overawed populace of old G aza by accom m odating his troops in the abandoned town houses of the landed m agnates. The later riot which resulted from the altercation between Sampsychos and the oikonomos would reveal w hat Kynegios already knew well, that the tem per of the demos required care. Im perial civil officials and m ilitary men usually exercised tact, so long as they were in control, b ut bishop Porphyrius, if left to his own devices, could not g uarantee the sam e good behavior by the lower clergy. As m entioned in a previous section, there were eight tem ples in old G aza, those of Helios, A phrodite, Apollo, K orë, and Hekate, and the Tychaion, the Heroeion, and M arneion. Except for the M arneion, these buildings had all been out of service and closed since the visit of the im perial subadiuva H ilarius, who had closed all the temples of old G aza in 393, according to G régoire’s reckoning. T he im perial commissioners had allowed the M arneion to go on functioning secretly in return for a bribe, a common form of con­ nivance at this time, none of which brings surprise .124 W hether a m ediocre C hristian or pagan, the official concerned was certainly corrupt. The im perial response now lay w ith a m an of different character, the zealous Kynegios. M ark the Deacon refers to the buildings as “public idol-tem ples” (να οί Ειδώλων δη μ όσ ιοι), a term which reflects J u lia n ’s short-lived restoration of tem ple lands to the cities and the continued use of the buildings thereafter at Gaza. T he hagiographer indicates nothing about their demolition,

121 Jones, Later Roman Empire, 781 -788, 122 Supra, Ch, III, Scct. 3. 523 έταράχθη ή πόλις b i à x à μητάτα το ν στρατού* Theophanes, Chronographie, 1 (1883). 72. line 21£ jones, Later Roman Empire, 407f.

GAZA

213

reserving the detailed narrative for the principal tem ple, the M arneion .125 M ark the D eacon’s account of the razing of the M arneion, the tem ple of the C retan-born Zeus, is the m ost detailed account of its kind from any period* An impressive building, the story of its destruction added to the prestige of Porphyrius, and therein lies the propagandistic intent of this section. T he ecclesiastically sponsored publication of the narrative provided one m ore sign of the trium ph o f the C hristian God, particularly for G aza, where the decurions, demos and rustics rem ained adam antly polytheistic .126 M ark’s narrative, then, provided some consolation to the C hristians of the old city, obstructed and hedged in as they were by the pagan m ajority in the decades after 402. T he configuration of the M arneion can be reconstructed from M ark the D eacon’s elliptical description :127 It w a s round, rin ged a b o u t by tw o sto a s o n e in sid e the oth er, a n d its ccn ter sp a ce w a s a d o m ed b a ld a sch in o u p raised to a h e ig h t, a n d th e [tcm cn osj had certain oth er [sh rin es] w h ich w ere su ited for id o ls, w ell-p la ced for the d efiled an d la w less acts p erform ed b y the id olw orsh ip p ers,

T he building probably dated from the second century A.D., and was of the dom ed Pantheon type .120 Its roundness, (ατρογγοείδέζ), the concentric stoas (περιβεβλημένον δυσ ίν σ τοα ις άλληλοεαω τέρ α ις), and dom ed central space (ανα φ υσ ητόν κ ιβ ώ ρ ιο ν κ α ί ά να τετα μ ένον εις ύψ ος) suggest a resem blance to the dom ed circular churches of the Rom an E ast like th a t at B ostra in the province of A rabia, whose dom e rested upon the inner colonnade. Around the domed space of the M arneion will have stood two concentric galleries divided by a second colonnade. T he outerm ost gallery will have been at ground level only, the inner one perhaps with a floorless attic* T here is, unfortunately, no archaeological evidence on the M arneion, bu t to judge from M ark the D eacon’s description, it appears to have had a sim ilar layout to San Stefano R otundo in R om e,l2Ç A G azan coin which purports to show the 125 K Porphym, Cap. 64.

126 Gf. the evidence of the Gazan H ellenes’ anti-Christian riot discussed m Ch. I l l , Scct. 3? 4, and 5. ιί7 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 75. l‘iB G.F. Hill, “ Some Palestinian Cults in the G raeœ -R om an Age” Proceedings o f the British Academy 5 (1912), 15, n, 1. For discussion o f the architectural features o f Santo Stefano, see: Richard Krautheimer, “Santo Stefano Rotondo a Roma c la chicsa del Santo Sepolcro a G erusaiem m e,” Rivista di archeologia cristiana 12 (11)35), 54, 55, 59, 81-85, and Tav,

214

CHAPTER THREE

tem ple indicates a conventional façade, two columns supporting an architrave block with a pedim ent above, the configuration, prob­ ably, of the tem ple’s entrance ,*30 T he effigy of Zeus M arnas was probably situated under the dome, although there seems to be no firm evidence for the siting of statues from other circular temples. Nor can a plausible scheme be developed for the location of the other statues of the gods w ithin the building. The M arneion had bronze gates (τάς χα λ κ ά ς θ ύ ρ α ς ) 131 and was roofed with wooden beams (ξύλα ) .132 At any rate, Kynegios' soldiers and a mob of C hristians from old G aza and the M aium a district 133 left the shrine of A phrodite for the M arneion, b ut the priests of Zeus M arnas frustrated their advance :134 T h e sold iers, h a v in g tu rned aro u n d w ith th e C h ristia n s o f the city an d o f its coastal d istrict, ru sh ed a g a in st th e id o l-tein p les. T h e y had b een advised first to o verth row the M a r n e io n , b u t w ere tu rn ed back. For the priests o f th at id o l heard in a d v a n ce and fortified th e g a tes o f the inner tem p le w ith in , h a v in g taken to the so -ca lled adyta (ε ις τ α λ ε γ ό μ ε ν α αένυτα) as m a n y sacred v essels as there w ore in the tem p le, and hid the sm a ll figures o f th e g o d s (τα ζ ώ δ ι α τ ω ν θ ε ώ ν ) there, an d through the sa m e adyta fled th ro u g h o th er upw ard exits* F o r th ey say th at th e adyta had m a n y su c h w a y s up to different p la ces. A fter b ein g rep elled , as I said p rev io u sly , the C h ristia n s tu rned to th e oth er tem p les an d ov erth rew th em an d co n sig n ed them to fire, after sn a tc h ­ in g aw ay all the service v essels in th em .

T he adyta were, of course, the subterranean rooms for receiving oracular pronouncem ents ,l3b The precinct itself was surrounded by a circuit wall (περίβολος) of unknown dim ensions and shape , 136 and contained cisterns (φ ρέα τα ), one of them quite deep ,137 T he T, Spencer Corbett, 4‘Santo Stefano Rotondo,” Rivista di archeologia ensiiana 36 (1960) 256Γ. The relevant photos and drawing give us some notion of the interior spaces of the Marneion, which was constructed in a similar fashion. ■30 Hill, “ Palestinian C u lts/' 15. 31 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 66. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 70. The text reads: “ its [Gaza’s] coastal district’: (καί τον Οαλαττίου αυτής μέρους), Mark thereby fails to rccognize the political and administrative inde­ pendence of Maiuma. This lino of reasoning proceeds from the argument made at the synod of Diospolis in 415 that, inasmuch as Gaza and Maiuma had been a single administrative unit, a single polis > in the years before 324. they should therefore he recognized as a single ecclesiastical jurisdiction under the bishop of old Gaza. Cf. Appendix I. W Porphyrii ^ Cap. 65, ^ Cf. the adyta of the Serapeum and other temples of Alexandria. Supra. Ch, II,.Sect. 3,

.36 j/ ρ ονρ ^ (Jap. 67. V. Porpkyni, Cap. 30.

GAZA

215

mob, swollen by soldiers and even foreigners (παρ επί δήμοι),138 spent ten days ransacking the other temples of the city139and b u rn ­ ing them dow n .140 Bishop Porphyrius wished to keep the bullion of the pagan service vessels (σκεύη τίμια) for the church , 141 anathematizing in the church every Christian citizen who took any­ thing at all from the idol-temples for his own ^ain (πάντα Χριστιανόν πολίτην λαμβάνοντα τι ποτε εκ των ειδωλείων εις ίδιον κέρδος). None of the believing citizens took anything, but the soldiers and foreign residents did. The clerics collectcd the objects along with the laymen and Porphyrius himself, and cut them up so that no one might appropriate them. T he accrual of this booty to the churches and its protection was an im portant fiscal aspect of tem ple conversions, as the parallel case of the destruction of the Serapeum in A lexandria dem onstrates .142 Bishop Porphyrius 5 jurisdiction extended technically only to the residents of old G aza. T his seems to be the m eaning of the a n a th ­ ema directed against “every Christian citizen” (πάντα Χ ριστιανόν πολίτη ν), that is of old G aza, but not of M aium a with its separate episcopal see and resident aliens, m any of them Egyptian C hris­ tians. Porphyrius and Kynegios did not get to the M arneion until some ten days later, so great was the plunder yielded by the other temples. Considerable discussion ensued as to w hat should be done w ith the building, which m ust have been large enough to house the entire G azan congregation several tim es over. M ark the Deacon refuses to tell who said what: “ Some said it should be razed (κ α τα ο κ α φ ή να ι), others that the place should be burned down, others yet that it should be cleansed and sanctified into a church of G od5' (άλλοι δέ κ α θ α ρ ισ θ ή να ι τον τό π ο ν κ α ί ά για σ θ ή ν α ι εις έκκληοία ν Θ ε ο ί) - 143 In the end, the vow of Eudoxia A ugusta to build and endow a new church m ust have decided bishop P orphy­ rius and count Kynegios to destroy the old structure and build a new one. T he victorious cross and a building of truly im perial gran­ deur would symbolize the com plete destruction— or, rather, public destruction— of the cult of Zeus M arnas. M ark the Deacon alleges that the decisive revelation about w hat to do with the M arneion came through a sort of oracular utterance by a small child after 138 1!* 140 141 142 143

V. Porphym, Cap. 65. V. Porphym, Cap. 66. V. Porphym, Cap. 65. V. Porphym, Cap. 65. Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3. V. Porphym. Cap. 66.

216

CHAP TER THREE

Porphyrius had decreed a fast and prayers. Some G azan C hris­ tians, perhaps those of Aelia’s family, evidently w anted to keep the old tem ple building as a C hristian shrine out of civic p rid e . 144 A “ C hristian oracle” was needed to turn public opinion against this idea, and to compete w ith the belief of both pagans and C hristians th a t an oracle em anated from the subterranean cham bers of the M arneion. The C hristian oracle is instructive on several counts: 145 [A ch ild sev en years o f a g e cried ou t th at the M a rn eio n sh o u ld b e b u rn ed d o w n :| ‘‘F or m a n y terrib le th in g s h ave h a p p e n e d in it, m o st o f all th e h u m a n sa crifices. Burn it in su ch a m anner: b rin g m o ist p itch and sulfur and p ig 's fa ts m ix th e three, sm ea r th e b ro n ze g a tes w ith it, cast lire u p o n th em , and th u s th e en tire tem p le w ill be b u rn ed . O th e r w ise it is n ot p o ssib le . B ut le a v e a lo n e th e o u ter p re­ cin ct w ith the circuit w a ll (τ ο ν δ έ ε ξ ώ τ ε ρ ο ν έ ά σ α τ ε σ υ ν τ φ π ε ρ ιβ ό λ ω ). A fter the tem p le is b u rn ed , cle a n se the p la c e an d b u ild a h o ly ch u rch there.

T he inflam m able m ixture of pitch and sulfur burned with an explosive heat, and relied on the pig’s fat as a com bustible m edium designed to make it adhere to the bronze gates and m arble surfaces of the propylon, (ύγραν πίσ σ α ν θειον τε κ α ί στέαρ χοίρεον). Form ulae for readily m ade combustibles are rare in ancient texts.l*G The precinct which the circuit wall (περίβολος) closed off m ust have occupied a block of considerable size in the inner city. This space would accom m odate the Eudoxiana basilica, hostel, and associated buildings endowed by the empress. The com bustible com pound was sm eared onto the inner gates of the tem ple and caused the M arneion to burn readily .147 M any of the provincial soldiers and non-G azans (ξένοι) ran into the burn­ ing building to retrieve w hatever m etal could be pulled from its walls and furnishings, including gold, silver>iron, and le a d .148 Even 144 Gf. the case of Athens in Acliaea, Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 2. Ηΰ V. Pnrpkyni3 Cap. 66. 140 T he sulfur and petroleum composition o f marine fire, often inaccurately called “ Greek fire!\ had similar properties. See: John Haldon and JVL Byrne, “A Possible Solution to the Problem o f Greek Fire,,: Byzantinische Zeitschrift 70 (1977), 14' The burning of the Marneion has an interesting contrast in the case of the Zeus temple of Apamea (Second Syria) destroyed at the order of archbishop Marcellus c. 388. In the latter instance the temple was pulled apart block by block after the destruction o f its colonnade. The columns that supported the roof of the colonnade were removed after building wooden props to lift oif the weigh Lo f the roof. Then the props were ignited, causing the gabled roof to collapse. T he stones o f the Zeus lemplc could then have been reused for other buildings projects, although we know nothing o f their final disposal. Supra, Gh. II, SecL 3. V. Porphym, Cap. 69.

GAZA

217

the baser m etals got a good price on the scrap m arket . 14,9 M ark the D eacon mentions no provision for collecting the m etals for the church. T he plunder from the M arneion evidently went to rew ard those who had done their bit over the previous two weeks to facilitate the dem olition of the other G azan tem ples. Risk and casualties accom panied the looting :150 O n e o f the sold iers' ex a rch s w a s there* w h o m th ey call a trib u n e, sta n d in g a m id st th e b u rn in g o f the tem p le. H e w a s a C h r istia n by a p p ea ra n ce, b u t b y w h a t w a s u n se e n b y the m a n y , h e w a s really an idolatur. S ta n d in g by and seein g the co n fla g ra tion a n d th e p illa g in g by th e sold iers, he g n a sh ed his teeth an d , on th e p retex t o f g o o d d iscip lin e, m ercilessly w h ip p e d o n e m a n w h o m h e fou n d carrying o ff som e o f the sp oils. W h en this w a s d o n e a n d th e w a lls w ere d estro y ed b y fire, su d d en ly a b u rn in g b e a m fell on th e trib u n e a n d b ro u g h t h im a d o u b le d ea th . F or after b rea k in g h is h ea d , it b u rn ed th e rest o f h is b od y. [T h e sold iers and p eo p le g lorified G od and recited a sectio n o f P salm 5 1 .] T h e te m p le rem a in ed sm o u ld er in g for m a n y d a y s.

C rypto paganism was, and would be through the seventh century, a com m on phenom enon. T he tribune (τρ ιβ ο υ ν ο ς)} the com m ander of an arithmos of circa 300 m en, evidently on bad term s with them , had apparently performed sacrificcs after a baptism m otivated by the hope of advancem ent and the dam ning inform ation became public in the wake of the incident. T he crow d’s recitation of Psalm 51 >3ff. at the sight of a m an burning to death is sym ptom atic of the bloodthirsty hatred which had arisen between the pagan and C hristian G azans, and M ark the Deacon thought to exploit this fully for the edification of posterity. T he ruins of the M arneion continued to bu rn and sm oulder for m any days ( ίπ έ μ ε ιν ε ν δ ε το ιερόν κ α ιό μ ενο ν έ π ί π λεισ τα ς η μ έρ α ς).Ljl It was then th at the C hristians began system atically to destroy the “ idols” found in m any courtyards or quadrangles (έν π λ είσ τα ις α ύ λ α ις ) ,152 It is unclear how m any of these effigies were sim ply free-standing statues and how m any belonged the actual shrines. M ark the Deacon was in his statem ent perhaps thinking about the courtyards of the G azan decurions" large town houses, which m ay well have contained shrines, but no doubt also had innocuous and non-religious statuary standing about as well. W e have no firm answers to these questions, as no town houses have 149 For the relative pace of different metals, see: Diokletians Preisedikt, ed. Sieg­ fried Lauffer (Berlin 1971), 15.63-66 (price o f various grades o f brrmzc), 30.1-2 (gold), 30.9 (silver), 15.31—40 (various waggons with and without ΐτοη parts). 150 K Porphym, Cap. 70. V. Porpkyriii Cap. 24-. 152 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 71.

218

CHAPTER THREE

been excavated. The m arbles were pulled down and burned, and their fragm ents cast into the sewer (εις β όρ βορ ον ) .153 T he so-called “m agic books ’ 5 discovered at this tim e m ay also have come from the decurions 5 abandoned town houses :154 T h e y also fou n d books filled w ith m a g ic , w h ic h th in g s [th e H ellen es! ca ll h o ly from w h ich th e y p erform m y steries and o th er la w less a cts, an d sim ilarly th ese b ook s h a v e an im p o r ta n ce e q u a l to th eir g o d s.

T he destruction of “ magic books” often accom panied anti-pagan riots and forced conversions.1^ One m ust bear in m ind, however, that while m any persons owned books on divination and m agical papyri, they, and the wealthy in particular, will also have filled their libraries w ith the standard works of the Greek paideia .lüö If parchm ent codices of the Hom eric poems were illustrated with drawings of divine and m ythical characters, or dcpictcd sacrifices, they too might have been m istaken for “ m agic books” , particularly as the ruffians who raided the houses will have had at best no more than an éducation in basic g ram m ar . 157 All this led to the im m edi­ ate conversion of some pagans, who ran to the churches to escapc the prevailing m ayhem .lj8 T he threat of uncontrolled m ob violence thus sufficed as the propaganda of the deed. T h e precincts of the M arneion became the site of the planned Eudoxiana basilica. At the center of the city, it was a most appropriate place to com m em orate the victory of the new religion. M ark the Deacon’s account of the Christian ceremonial that accom­ panied the transfer of the lot is consistent w ith the epigraphic and archaeological evidence for such transactions .159 Furtherm ore, the a u th o r’s selection of terminology reflects the ongoing w ar of words w ith the pagans of old G aza in subsequent years. T em ple prop­ 153 V. Porpkyriiy Cap. 71. 154 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 71. 155 This was the ease after the destruction o f the Serapeum at Alexandria in 391 (supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3), and also a conséquence o f a house-to-house search for magic books at Berytus in the 490:s (infra* Ch. V, Scct. 5). T he behavioral pattern thus remained quite consistent throughout the fifth century. 156 The books contained in a typicallibrary can be inferred from thenames of the authors read by Isidore of Pelusium (ob. c. 435), EpistulammLibri Qpinque^ PG 78: Ep. 4,91 Demosthenes (1 152D -] 153A), Ep. 2,16 (Hippocrates) (468B), Ep. 4.30 (Homer quoted, Od. 22.347) (1081C), Ep. 5.546 (Sophocles paraphrased, Elektra 153) (1633A), etc. 157 Kurt VVeitzmann, Late Antique, and Early Christian Book Illumination (New York 1977), PI. 8, where Achilles pours a libation onto an altar with a lustral bowl, praying to Zeus who is depicted in imago clipeata* V. PoTpkyni, Cap. 72 and 73. On the demographic implications o f this incident for the Christianization o f Gaza, see Ch. I l l , Sect. 5. 159 Supra, Ch, II, Sect. 2 and 3.

GAZA

219

erties, including agricultural lands, reverted to the im perial res privata when confiscated. O ne can hardly doubt that, although M ark the Deacon omits the legal technicalities, the see of G aza received the M arneion site as the gift by A rcadius and Eudoxia A ugusta of tem ple properties, now minus the cult buildings that had once stood on it. Some persons in bishop Porphyrius 1 entou­ rage, whether clerics or laymen we do not know, objected to the use of the M arneion site, arguing th at “ the m emory of the site should be extirpated” (την μνήμην της θέσεως όφείλειν περ ια ιρ εθ η να ι ).160 T hus the issue of using the site for a church prevailed in C hristian counsels only in the end. In all this there exists no hint of any fear of the fallen gods' daim onic powers, but only the pragm atic question of obliterating all m em ory of the cult, a propagandistic intent. This consideration m ust have prevailed m uch m ore often than urb an C hristians' supposed fear of haunted buildings, idols, and stones. T he exam ple of G aza is, in this respect, paradigm atic for m ost eastern M editerranean cities. T h a i m em ory did persist. It was noted above th at certain G azan pagans avoided stepping on the m arble blocks of the M arneion used to pave the m ain street (πλατεία) in front of the Eudoxiana. It was with some justification th at the critics of Porphyrius’ intention to use the site feared that the religious awe associated with Zeus M arnas would persist. Porphyrius and Eudoxia had w ithout doubt agreed in advance to annex the site of the M arneion, for it had already been planned to build the Eudoxiana in the shape of a cross (σταυροειδής) in order to m ake it fit the available space. A magistrianus} an official of the M aster of Offices, delivered the building plan (ό σκάριφος) from the empress. As donor, she would logically have had some say about its design, which evidently reflected C onstantinopolitan taste .161 T he m aster builder (άρχιτέκτων) was a certain Rufinus, an Antiochenc and probably an im perial engineer who had h an ­ dled other such projects for the res pnvata .152 It was thought best to superim pose a cross-shaped church upon the circular plan of the M arneion for m echanical and technical reasons, and because the tem enos, surrounded by other inner-city buildings, could not accom m odate a long, rectangular basilica with an atrium . 160 V. Porphym,, Cap, 75. 161 V. Porphym, Cap. 75. V. Porphym, Cap. 78- Purphyrius supposedly regarded all this as a “ revela­ tion” that explained where the basilica should be built. Emperor Arcadius* role as the co-donor with Eudoxia Augusta is suggested by Mark the Deacon's observa­ tion: “The heart of the emperor is in the hand of God,” that is, in connection with the design and siting of the church. V. Porphyriiy Cap. 75.

220

CHAPTER THREE

T he church of G aza formally annexed the temenos after the arrival of the building plan for the Eudoxiana. A detachm ent of the governor’s troops was kept behind to prevent rioting (νεωτερισμός) and lo help collect building materials for the church, but the various civil officials d e p a rted .1*3 T he troops will also have broken up any attem pts of the pagan populace to disrupt the litanies which accom panied the annexation of the tem enos. T he cerem onial began w ith a one-day fast, evening prayers, and an episcopal order for *'every Christ-loving m an to bring shovels and buckets and other such im plim ents’V *54 T he work was to begin at dawn. At daybreak bishop Porphyrius with the clergy led the proces­ sion from the church of St, Irene. He carried a Gospel book. Behind him the deacon B aruch led the laym en of G aza w ith a large processional cross (to έκτύπωμα τ ο ν τίμιου σταυροη).165 Select psalm s were recited as the litany progressed toward and entered the M arneion .166 Soldiers lined each side of the route to enforce good o rd er .167 U pon entering the temenos the m aster-builder Rufinus used chalk (γύψος) to outline the foundations of the new church according to the scheme devised by Eudoxia and her architects. The great figure of the cross was thus inscribed upon the surface of the temenos. W hen Porphyrius gave the order to begin digging, the C hristian congregation shouted the familiar: “C hrist has conquered!” (ό Χ ρ ισ τός ένίκησεν). E pigraphists have perhaps not appreciated the fact that the C hi-R ho’s, crosses, and “C on­ quer!” expressions found on converted temples derived ultim ately from the liturgies th at initiated the process, one of which M ark the Deacon records here. Such inscriptions often belong, as it were, to a c'personal · 5 liturgy of C hristian believers who sought to reassure themselves in the m idst of walls, images, and spolia in which the power of the old gods was thought still to inhere. Such inscriptions were often cut officially at the time of tem ple conversions, but all rock cuttings of this type do not lend themselves to this in terpretation .168 T he digging began with great enthusiasm , and m en, women, children, and the elderly all particip ated .169 Architects like Rufinus

163 V. Porpkynis Cap. 75. F. Porpkyni, Cap. 76. 103 F Porpkyni, Cap. 77. 166 V. Porpkyni, Cap. 7*3. 167 F Porpkyni, Cap. 77. 158 For a discussion o f this problem, see Ch. II, Sect. 2, and the analysis o f the evidence on the Isis temple *t rhilae in upper Egypt. Infra, Ch. IX , Sect. 3 and 4. iey V. Porpkyrii, Cap. 78.

GAZA

221

m ust have had special procedures for handling unskilled crews, locally recruited by bishops, but M ark the Deacon informs us nothing of this. The trenches for laying the foundation blocks of the church were excavated and dug out in a few days’ tim e , 170 Porphyr­ ius him self laid the first stone of the foundations in a separate liturgy'. M any large blocks of an unspecified type of stone used in the construction cam e from a hill called Aldiom a east of the city . 171 It is unclear w hether the place was a regular quarry for cutting stone, or if old buildings there provided spolia. The local stone will have gone for the construction of the walls. T his done, after about a year, the empress Eudoxia sent thirty-tw o pillars of C arystian m arble (στύλοι . . . Κ α ρ ύσ τιοι) for the ornam entation of the in­ terior space of the church. T heir color was green, for they were said to sparkle like em eralds (σ μ α ρ ά γδω ν δ ίκ η ν ) .172 The pillars will have gone to support either the central dome of the church, or to decorate the aisles of the arms of the cross» In the latter case, the arm s would have been quite short, with eight pillars divided into two lines of four on each wing, M ark the Deacon notes that when the ship carrying the pillars arrived, everyone ran down to the seashore at M aium a: “ And leading waggons set in order, they dragged them to the city and parked them w ithin the enclosure of the tem ple, and again returned and set each pillar in order until they were all arrayed / ’ 173 T he operation required exceptional care, lest the pillars be dam aged in transit. T he construction work entailed risks to the builders, who, as has been seen, included children. A ccidents and injuries were grist for the mill of Porphyrius’ pagan and C hristian critics, and their allegations required parrying. O n one occasion, two boys aged six o r seven fell into a deep cistern w ithin the temenos to the west of the Eudoxiana when the planks covering it collapsed .174 W hen a m an went down the cistern ropes to retrieve their bodies, the boys were found alive conversing with each other* thanks, it was said, to the prayer of P orphyrius *175 A curious m iracle was said to have accom ­ panied their discovery, for each boy bore cross-shaped abrasions on different parts of his body, an evident coincidence th at the C hris­ tians magnified into a sign o f divine approval for the work on the church (σταυροειδή σημεία . . . ώ ς από ξέσματος βελόνης):176 170 V, Porphyrii, Cap. 78. 171 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 79. 175 V. Porphyni, Cap. 84. V, Porphym, Cap. 84. 174 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 80. 175 V\ Porphyrii, Cap. 80 and 81. 176 V. Porphym, Cap. 82.

222

CHAPTER THREE T h e crosses w ere w ell-stru ck , n eith e r o b liq u e nor cro o k ed , b u t o f a sin g le m easu re, so th a t it w a s clear th a t th ese w ere d iv in e sig n s. N o r d id they cau se the b oys to suffer, n or w a s there b lo o d , b u t th ey w ere m arked as i f from cin n a b a r.

O ne can only speculate about how m any deaths and injuries accom panied the WT>rk> conducted as it was by initially inexperi­ enced crews. The story of the boys' cross-shaped abrasions perhaps countered pagan claims th at Zeus M a m a s ’ daim onic powers accounted for their m isfortunes. If so; th a t p a rt of the story has fallen out of the tradition. In conclusion, it should be observed th at the dem olition and cleansing of the M arneion occasioned bitter political in-fighting not only with the Hellenes of the dccurion class> but also inside the fragile C hristian com m unity. Porphyrius^ supported by an im perial edict, the governor of First Palestine, and some few loyal deacons like M ark and B aruch, was at pains to justify all his acts not only at the time of the events analysed above, bu t afterw ards as wrell, because the decurions and some interested C hristians rem ained critical, Porphyrius had well-defined and rath e r autocratic ideas along w ith powerful support from C onstantinople, and this threatened the existing power structure of old Gaza* His clique undoubtedly survived his death— M ark the D eacon's biography is proof of that— but no one knows if his successor as bishop sustained a policy of confrontation w ith the pagans. T his M ark the Deacon sought to justify in any case. Hi* repeats m a n y sto rie s a n d v e r sio n s of events, including alleged miracles, Porphyrius 7 circulated in the wake o f events and may derive ultim ately from the bishop’s serm ons 3 as for example the m ayhem done to the two pagan-bystanders by the sm ashing of the statue of A phrodite. Porphyrius’ need to m aintain the support of his im perial patroness required the explanation of such dubious acts, as did the need to sustain the solidarity of the tiny C hristian com m unity of old G aza in the face of pagan claims and criticism. T he average reader of M ark the D eacon’s biography m ight well have repeated the stories and argum ents against Hellenism found in the text w hen con­ fronted by a fellow citizen of the Hellenic persuasion. I f social relations were difficult in old Gaza, Porphyrius and M ark after him provided an arsenal of self-justification for their congregation, and for any bishop seeking to expand his personal power in the face of entrenched local interests.

GAZA

223

K Conversions and the Growth o f the Gazan Church T he propaganda w ar against the Hellenes of old G aza sought, apart from Porphyrius' desire to aggrandize the u rb an real estate of his see at the expense of tem ple properties, to enlarge the size of his small congrégation. The intransigence of the pagan decurions m ade this difficult, as they controlled m uch land and m aterial wealth, and also an extensive body of clients both urban and rural. M ark the Deacon provides a running account of the conversions as they took place to the extent of quoting figures. Previous scholars who examined the life of Porphyrius considered them fraudulent, fanciful or exaggerated .177 Yet, one is struck by the fact that, if taken literally and in toto, M ark’s d a ta suggest fe w conversions and a small C hristian com m unity, not a large one, the point being that M ark had need of all the feeble d a ta he could m uster, and that he could provide none better than what he reports. If, as argued above, M ark had a local audience initially in m ind, it would have been difficult for him to deceive. As a deacon of the G azan see, M ark would also have had access to the records of recent baptism s, the registers of contributions to the church by local C hristians, and the roster of daily bread recipients .178 T he point here is th at the hagiographer had access to vast am ounts of statistical m aterial, all of it susceptible to exaggeration, but th at the figures as provided suggest anything but mass baptisms. Let us review these data. It will be necessary in this connection to recapitulate some details discussed in previous sections. T he church of old G aza proper was quite small, most of the C hristians being concentrated instead at the seaport of M aium a, which incidentally had a considerable E gyptian-C hristian popula­ tion involved in the wine trade. M ark the Deacon num bers his co-religionists in old Gaza at the time of Porphyrius’ arrival at 280 men, women, and children, probably some seventy households .179 It is impossible to estim ate the overall population of the polis of old Gaza at this time exclusive of its territorium, bu t even a conservative figure of 15-20,000 persons would have relegated C hristian laym en to no m ore than 1.9 persons per thousand inhabitants (0.19% ). 177 See, once again, the discussion of Paul Peelers* thesis in Appendix I, 178 The deacons were, of course, the administrators of the daily affairs o f the typical urban see* Jones’s discussion of this question is decidedly disappointing in Later Roman Empire, 906, 908, 912-913, and 928. On the other hand, Lampe provides an intriguing collection of texts on deacons1 ministerial and other duties, all of which suggest a close working relationship with ordinary Christians and catechumens. Greek Patristic Lexicon, 352f. (Section II. A -C ). î79 V. Porphym} Cap. 19.

224

CHAPTER THREE

Although the G azan see had a num ber of churches , 180 M ark the Deacon, who arrived with Porphyrius, refers to only one deacon, a certain Cornelius, and B aruch, who was at th a t time a lector or subdeacon .181 B aruch and M ark received their appointm ents as deacons only la te r .1R2 T he first conversions occurred early in Por­ phyrius 5 episcopate, at the time w hen C hristian litanies and prayers were thought to have ended a drought in Ja n u a ry and February 396 th at the H ellenes 5 prayers and sacrifices to Zeus M am as, the “ m aster of rainstorm s” (ό Μ α ρ ν ά ς κ ύ ρ ιο ς . . . τα>ν όμβρων), had failed to a v ert .183 After a rainstorm of five days' duration arrived, certain pagans (τίνες δέ τώ ν Ε λ λ ή ν ω ν ), evidently impressed by the synchronism of this phenom enon and the Christian ritual, came to the church to ask for baptism . They num bered 78 men, 35 women, and 14 infants, of which five were girls, 127 persons in all. They came shouting: “ C hrist the only God has him self alone conquered 57 (ό Χ ρ ισ τό ς μόνος θεός, α υ τό ς μόνος ένικησεν ) .184 This form ula is closely related to th at of the m any “ O ne G od” inscriptions of Syria and Palestine, m ost of which belong to the late fourth and early fifth centuries .185 T he phrase as used by the G azan pagans here lends confirm ation to the view th at recent converts most often erected these m arkers as a personal liturgy. These folk were adm itted to the catechum enate at once, for bishop Porphyrius dismissed them from the church in peace and “ sealed them with the sign of the cross 55 (σ φ ρ α γίσ α ς τή του σ ταυρου σ φ ρ α γιδ ι). M ark the Deacon notes th at another 35 persons were converted (προσεχέθησαν) during the same year 396, in addition to the 127,186 bringing the total num ber of new adhe­ rents to 162. The congregation as a whole grew to 442 persons, an increase of 57% . The next significant group of conversions took place, according to Grégoire, circa 398-401. These came from the family and house­ hold of Aclia, wife of a decurion (εμφανής), whose nurse had con­ vinced her to sum m on bishop Porphyrius to pray over her during an imperiled pregnancy, this after the daily sacrifices to fertility deities and a flock of incantors and m antics had failed to effect any

180 Infra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 6. 181 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 23. 162 K Porphyrii, Cap. 25. m V. Porphyriis Cap, 19. 104 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 21. 135 Supra, Ch. II, Sect 2,and infra, Ch. X. passim. 106 V.Porphyrii, Cap. 21. This section o f the text seems to go back to a roll or list of baptisms.

GAZA

225

im provem ent in hcr condition .187 Porphyrius advised the nurse to tell the wom an in front of her husband, parents, and relatives: “Jesus Christ, son of the living God, heals you. Believe on him and you shall live!1110" Before pronouncing the words, she explained: “ A noble physician has sent me to you th a t you would h ear his word, so th at after she is healed you would not scorn him .” The baby was delivered successfully after Aelia invoked the C hristian G od ,109 T he family then repeated the form ula: “ G reat is the God of the C hris­ tians, great is the bishop Porphyrius” , and asked for the bishop’s “ seal in C h rist’1, the ritual which m arked them as catechum ens. T hereafter they cam e to the church, received instruction, and were baptized together with Aelia and her baby. T he family and house­ hold num bered 64 in a ll,liK> most of them dom estic servants and slaves. T he overall size of the G azan congregation thus reportedly rose to 506 persons circa 398—401. Although other citizens m ust have bccomc Christian as well between the termini 396-401, the first five years of Porphyrius 1 episcopate, M ark the Deacon is silent about them . T he next attested spurt of growth in Porphyrius’ congregation cam e with the arrival of Kynegios with his troops and officials for the purpose of dem olishing the eight tem ples of old Gaza, this in M ay 402 by Grego ire’s reckoning .191 The grandeur of the spectacle of burning temples, dem olished shrines, and troops everywhere triggered many conversions, bu t hardly enough to m ake old G aza a “ C hristian city” . T he first act of destruction allegedly occurred when the statue (στήλη) of A phrodite was said to have exploded autom atically as the daimon within fled at the sight of the proces­ sional cross. The m arble fragm ents decapitated one and injured another pagan b ystander.‘y* Fear of further injury probably m oti­ vated 32 men and seven women, 41 pagans in all 3 to approach bishop Porphyrius im m ediately at the church of St* Irene, receive from him the sign of the cross, and thereby become catechum ens.19* A nother factor in this set of conversions, at least among the super­ stitious, was the failure of the deity whose oracles had received popular credence to defend its own shrine. T he num ber of conver­ sions was trifling, considering the im portance of the fertility cult to 1A7 108 189 190 "l 192 ]93

V. Porphyrii, Cap. 28 and 29. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 29. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 30. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 31. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 63. Supra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 4-. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 62.

226

CHAPTER THREE

the G azan women, for only seven of the defectors were of th a t sex. The local women seem to have been angry rather th an im pressed. It took Kynegios’ troops another m onth to destroy the M arneion and other temples of Gaza. This business, of itself, produced no great num ber of converts, for M ark the Deacon m entions nothing in th a t connection, The search of houses for “ idols 55 and "m agic books ' 5 that followed did induce m any conversions, b ut fear m oti­ vated th em .194 As KynegiosJ men and the m ilitant C hristian p o p u ­ lace ransacked the houses and perhaps beat up their inhabitants, some pagans took refuge in the C hristian churches and asked for baptism. A dispute then arose inside the church, with some Chris­ tians arguing th a t persons “who approached the church out of fear should not be adm itted, bu t only those who cam e by deliberate choice” (οτι ούκ εδει δέξασθαι τούς δια φόβον προσερχομένους, άλλα τούς άγαθΐ) προαιρέσει),195 Bishop Porphyrius, who was evidently anxious to add to his congregation any way he could, sought to justify their admission. He m ust have felt some com pul­ sion to display a positive balance sheet to the pious empress Eudoxia, who had invested her money and personal prestige in the success of the enterprise. M ark the Deacon reports the justifications cited by Porphyrius, T he bishop observed th at “ m en's virtues include even those based upon critical circum stances ’ 3 (είοίν κ α ί περιστατικαι άρεταί συμβαίνουσαι τοις ά νθ ρ ώ π ο ις). U sing the exam ple of a newly purchased slave who is slapped around until he serves his m aster well, the bishop pressed his case for the admission of the refugees to the church: “ For eyen if they come doubting, time has the ability to soften them if C hrist assents5’ (ει γά ρ κ α ί

δισΐάζοντες προσέλΟωσιν, δύναται καί ό χρόνος αύτούς μαλάξαι Χρίστου έτανευοντος).196 Porphyrius’ decision did not require im m ediate baptism . The pagans probably received the initial “ seal o f the cross” or blessing laid on everyone upon his adm ission to the catechum enate. These folk received cursory in ­ struction prior to baptism , and continuous instruction thereafter as well. M ark the Deacon sums up the entire business in these term s :157 A fter p ersu a d in g th e b rothers o f th ese th in g s, P orp h yriu s received all w h o w ish ed to b e b a p tiz e d , h a v in g in stru cted th em n o t o n ly for m a n y d a y s before b a p tism , b u t afterw ard as w ell. H e ta u g h t the w ord

151 155 106 137

V.Porphym> Cap, V. Porphym, Cap. V.Porphym, Cap. V\Porphyrii, Cap.

71. 72. 73, 74.

227

GAZA

co n tin u o u sly , n o t w ishing to be re m a rk a b le by sp eak in g w ith g r a n d i­ lo q u en ce, b u t te ac h in g w ith sim ple speech an d resolving every q u e s­ tion from S crip tu re. T h e y p re se n te d th e s h e p h e rd o f C h ris t a b o u t 300 n am es th a t year, a n d from th a t tim e o n w a rd C h ris tia n n am es [in th e reg ister o f th e G az an c h u rc h ] in c re ase d a t th e ra te o f 100 p e r a n n u m .

Sim ilar procedures prevailed in the countryside when conversions occurred en m asse .190 T he statistical d a ta given in the life of Porphyrius are of the utm ost im portance because they perm it some generalization about the rate of C hristianization in old G aza over w hat was a twentyfive year period, depending on when the episcopate of Porphyrius ended. Let us tabulate the increm ents to the congregation between 396-420, working from the supposition th at Porphyrius rem ained in office until the latter date: Incident: Porphyrius5 first year Rainstorm Various Conversion of Aelia Shrine o f Aphrodite destroyed Post-Marneion house search Aftermath

Date:

Size of congregation:

Increment:

N ew

Jan. 396

280

Late winter 396 By end of 396 c. 398-401

280

127 (45%)

407

407 442

35 (9%) 64 (14%)

442 506

M ay 402

506

41 (8%)

547

J u n e-D ee. 402

547

300 (55%)

847

403-420

847

-

1,800

280

2,647 (excluding deaths and births)

T he period of the first set of conversions, during the dram atic events which led to the dem olition of the M arneion, lasted eight years, between J a n u a ry 396 and Decem ber 402. D uring th a t tim e 5 the Gazan church gained 567 new adherents, an increase of 195% over eight years, and average annual increm ent of 24% . This rapid 190 Theodoret of Cyrrhus in his Historia Pkilotheos indicates a similar method of catechization used by the monk Abraames in a village near Emesa in Phoenicia Libanensis. Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2. ,9y It is impossible to tell from Mark the Deacon’s arrangement of the material if these “ conversions out of fear” are listed separately from those o f the people who approached the church after the destruction of the shrine of Aphrodite. I suspect that they are. I have listed them separately in order to lend as much impetus as possible to Mark’s argument that “ mass conversions” took place, which argument it is the thesis o f this chapter to refute.

228

CHAPTER THREE

rate of C hristianization could not, however, be sustained in the long run, as the catechists chipped away at the hard core of G azan Hellenes. After 402, the num ber of annual conversions was about 100, as M ark the Deacon him self tells us. T he m eaning of this figure is unclear at first sight. It evidently represents the m ean annual num ber of conversions during the rem aining years of P or­ phyrius 5 episcopate. If our Porphyrius is one and the same with the bishop who attended the Council of Diospolis in 415,200 he will have presided at G aza no less th an another eighteen years. This period would have yielded another 1800 converts at a rate of 100 per annum , giving at total of 2,647 Christians by the year 420, an increase in the congregation of 945% between 395-420. It will be recalled th at anti-C hristian rioting broke out in old G aza well after the razing of the M arneion and dedication of the Eudoxiana basilica in 406, T he trouble developed after an alterca­ tion between the oikonomos of the G azan church and the decurion Sampsychos “ over some villages 15.201 T he incident suggests a large inner-city pagan population. Such an interpretation now finds statistical corroboration in light o f the conversion rates established from M ark the D eacon's data, for even in 420 the c. 2,647 C hris­ tians of the city will have been a m inority. '['his supposition raises one final question about the statistics: w hat was the dem ographic proportion between Hellenes and C hristians in th e polis by 420, the last year of Porphyrius’ episco­ pate? It was suggested above th at Gaza had some 15-20,000 citizens residing w ithin the walls, not an unreasonable guess. O n this supposition, the 2,647 C hristians indicated by M ark the D eacon's account would have am ounted to between 13.2 and 17.6% of the inner-city population in 420. M ark the Deacon wrote his biography of Porphyrius some time after 415, and the intensity of his polem ic suggests the survival of many pagans in old G aza even then. T he argum ent addressed to the local C hristian population is clear; the city was still full of pagans; let the C hristian com m unity derive great satisfaction from its past successes during the heyday of Porphyrius. Gaza lagged w e ll behind other cities in this respect. For example, Bostra, the metropolis of the Provincia A rabia, had roughly equal pagan and C hristian populations as early as 362, according to a letter o f its bishop T itus to the em peror Ju lia n the A postate (361-3 63).202 No evidence exists for the rural terntorium of

,

200 Van Dam, “ Late Antique G aza.” 6 n. 17. 201 Supra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 3. 202 Julian the Apostate. Ep. 41 (Wright 3, 132f.).

GAZA

229

G aza between 396-415 except the feeble record given by M ark the Deacon already discussed above. The countryside probably went the way it did elsewhere, a gradual but incom plete C hristianization of villages on an individual basis by c, 475 .203 O ne last consideration requires attention, th at being the cir­ cum stances o f “m ass” conversion in G aza between 396—402. T he com m unity grew 203% during that time, but could hardly have done so without certain dram atic turns of event that aided the process. Among these were: the C hristian processions during the drought o f 396, Aelia's successful childbirth, and the destruction of the G azan tem ples with the assistance of im perial troops. All this resulted from bishop Porphyrius* opportunism , a willingness to cajole the m etropolitan of C aesarea into accom panying him to C onstantinople to procure an im perial rescript for the destruction of the temples, the bellicose spirit wrhich Porphyrius inspired in the G azan diaconate vis à vis their pagan fellow-citizens, and a certain flair for showm anship in m anaging dram atic public processions. His predecessor m ight easily have attem pted the same tactics, but seems to have lacked any spirit o f enterprise. Nor, apparently, was Porphyrius 5 successor as bishop equal to this task. O therw ise M ark the D eacon’s reminiscences would have been superfluous. T he persons who accepted baptism after brief instruction had given up their old religious persuasion, but rem ained vulnerable to other influences. M ark the Deacon describes one of these in great detail, a cell of “ M anichaeans” that seems to have m ade consider­ able inroads :204 [An A ntio ch en e w o m an n a m e d J u li a arriv ed in G az a.] She w as o f the defiled heresy o f th e so-called M a n ic h a e a n s. K n o w in g th a t ce rtain p ersons w ere new ly b a p tiz e d b u t in no w ay co n firm ed in th e holy faith, she cam e ste alth ily an d d estro y e d th e m th ro u g h h e r m ag ic te ac h in g , b u t m u c h m ore by dolin g o u t m oney. F o r h av in g in v e n ted ihe sa id heresy, she w as u n a b le to entice an y o n e ex cep t by fu rn ish in g m oney. F o r anyone h av in g co m m o n sense, th e ir sy stem o f kno w led g e is filled w ith every b la sp h em y a n d ce n su re a n d old w ives1 tales, w h ich sua pagan ethos o f the villages in the territorium o f Gaza can hardly have differed too much from that o f other un-Christianized districts, except that it was more protracted. In the territoria o f Antioch and Apamea the epoch o f large-scale Christianization was c. 365-425. In the province o f Arabia, the Christianization of the Hauran plain and Djcbel Hauran covered a longer period, c. 350-550. Even after these dates there remained an occasional pagan village. In the better attested parts of Bithynia and Phrygia the process took placc between 375-450, although John o f Ephesus and his disciples claimed to have converted an additional 80,000 between about 538-566. For discussion o f the evidence, consult infra, Ch. V II, X , and X I. 204 V. Porphym3 Cap. 85 and 86.

230

CHAP 1ER THREE ca tch w om en and m ale ch ild ren w h o h a v e w ea k in te lle c t a n d in sigh t. F or they sy n th e siz e d their e v il d o c tr in e from different h eresies and H e llc n ic d o g m a s, w ish in g b u sily an d g u ilefu lly to ca tch ev ery o n e. F or th ey sp eak o f m a n y g o d s, th a t th ey w o u ld be p le a sin g to the H e lle n e s , b u t a lso o f b irth , fate, and a stro lo g y th a t th ey m ig h t sin w ith lic cn se, so that one is u n a b le to sin a m o n g th em , b u t o n ly o u t o f th e n ece ssity o f fate. T h ey con fess C h rist an d sa y he w a s in ca rn a te (enanthrôpêsai) . F or th ey call th e m se lv e s C h ristia n s b y virtu e o f appearance*

M ark the Deacon goes on to define the specifically Hellenic content o f the “ M anichaean 75 theology of J u lia :20:> I p a ss over the r id icu lo u s a n d in fa m o u s, lest I fill the ears o f th o se p resen t w ith h e a v y so u n d a n d tera to lo g y . F or th ey sy n th e siz e th eir h eresy b y m ix in g th e id ea s o f P h ilistio n th e p la y w rig h t, H e s io d , an d th e other so-ca lled p h ilo so p h ers w ith th o se o f the C h ristia n s, ju s t as a p ain ter m ak in g a m ix tu re o f v a rio u s colors se e m in g ly brings a b o u t a m a n or a n im a l or so m e th in g else for the d e c e p tio n o f th o se w h o see. . . . [B u t ehe M a n ich a ca n sJ c o llec t an d m ix p o iso n s from diffe­ rent sn ak es an d c o m p o u n d a d e a th -d e a lin g d ru g for th e d estr u c tio n o f h u m a n sou ls.

T h i s s tr ik in g s u m m a r y is h e a v ily in f lu e n c e d b y H e lle n ic r a t i o ­ n a lis m .

Ju lia had m igrated from Antioch to Gaza some years before ,206 T he description of her beliefs and practices hardly m atches the traditional picture of the cult which A ugustine of H ippo had ab an ­ doned not long before these events took place .207 M ark the Deacon indicates that bishop Porphyrius had gained a direct knowledge of J u lia ’s beliefs in an interview to which he sum m oned her ill c. 404, according to G regoire’s chronology .208 A ntioch in First Syria was at this time the melting pot of m any astrological, autom atist, and theosophical cults .209 The city had even offended Ju lia n the Apos­ tate some forty years before this for its am orality and the failure of even its Hellenes to observe traditional Greek religious practices .210 Syncretistic forms of M anichaeism like th at practiced by J u lia will have arisen easily under these conditions, as M ark the D eacon 205 V. Porpkyni, Cap. 86. 200 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 87. 207 Augustine of Hippo lost his M anichaean faith between c. .175-385. Brown, Augustine of Hippo 54—B1. On the progress o f that faith in general, see: Peter Brown, t:Thc Diffusion o f M anichaeism in the Roman Empire. ” Journal of Roman Studies 59 (1969), 92-103, 208 V. Porpkyni, Cap. 85-91. 209 These numerous religious world-views with their attendant cults still existed in Antioch 150 years later. La Vie ancienne de Syme&n Stylite le Jeune (521-592), cd. Paul van den Yen, 1 (Brussels 1962), 138 and 144. 210 Amm. Marc., R fs Gestae 22.14,1-3*

GAZA

231

observes: “ They synthesized their false belief out of different here­ sies and Hellenic dogm as” (έκ διαφόρων γά ρ αιρέσεων καί

δογμάτων Ελληνικών συνέστησαν ταύτην αύτών την κακοδοξίαν).231 Like m any Antiochene cultists, Ju lia took a mixed clien­ tele wherever she found it* To appeal to Hellenes she spoke of m any gods, genealogy, fate, and astrology (γένεσις και ειμαρμένη καί αστρολογία), but to attract the newly baptized (νεοφώτιστοι) her followers confessed C hrist and opined th a t he was incarnate (ένανθρωπήσαι), probably in an effort to ward ofl accusations of docetism. T he m ore traditional M anichaean theology would have precluded the union of the godhead with corrupt m atter. T he G azan “ M 'anichees” had a laxer system of ethics as well: “ O ne is unable to sin am ong them except by necessity of fate,” M ark's interpretation here m atches the M anichaean tenet th at the “ hear­ ers” of the cult need not avoid sin because the evil nature of m atter and thus m an ’s carnal nature operates w ithout the control of his wilL Ju lia had such great personal presence and powers of persua­ sion that her doctrine was called a “ m agic teaching” (γοητική αυτής διδασκαλία). M ore to the point of M ark’s polemic against her, it was said that adherents cam e to J u lia because of money gifts (πολλά δέ πλέον ÔLà δόσεως χρημάτων). No adequate internal evidcncc in the life of Porphyrius explains this economic dim ension of the problem , unless perhaps Ju lia recruited followers from am ong the urban poor of Gaza, a socio-economic reality of the inner city known from other sections of M ark’s n arrativ e .212 It will be recalled, finally, that M anichaeism , although the local cburchcs regarded it as a “ defiled heresy” (τής μυσαρας αιρέσεως τώ ν λεγομένω ν Μ α ν ιχ α ίω ν ),213 la y u n d e r the same legal sanctions and incurred the same punishm ents as those m eted out for the pagan sacrifice .214 This explains the alacrity w ith wrhich Ju lia *n V.Porphyrii,Cap. 85. 212 V.Porphyrii,Cap, 97-98, 21Λ V.Porphym,Cap. &rj. 214 The laws respecting M anichaeans art! all contained in Cud. Theod. 16.5. The latest law in the Theodosian Code is that of 30 M ay 428 given at Constantinople by Theodosius II and V alentinian TIL The law recapitulated previous rulings at a time when the severity of the punishments against Hellenes was being mollified. The law o f 428 forbade M anichaean religious assemblies, provided for their expulsion from chc citics, voided wills, prevented M anichaeans from building churches, and refused them positions in the army and civil service except as common soldiers or lower grades in the officia o f the provincial governors. Cod. Theod. 16.5.65.2. The death penalty laid against them came later, in the time o f Justinian. Earlier laws indicate parallels to the situation in Gaza described by Mark the Deacon: Manichaeans “attracted people to their conventicles, remodel­ ing their houses to resemble ch u rch es/5 Cod. Theod. 16,5-1 L As I have proposed

232

CHAPTER THREE

agreed to meet with bishop Porphyrius and the G azan clergy. O therw ise he m ight have sent this intelligence to the governor of First Palestine at C aesarea and brought the full force of the law down upon them . Porphyrius was doubtless anxious to preserve the partially catechized Christians who had been baptized bu t not yet confirmed in their faith, a ritual th at followed the final stage of instruction (μηπω ^στηριγμένους).215 Bishop Porphyrius’ conference w ith J u lia and her followers took place after inquiries wrere m ade about her doctrine. He held it, in part, to restrain certain pious C hristians (τίνες ευλαβείς) who w anted to attack the M anichaeans physically. These were presum ­ ably persons whose appetite for m ayhem and pillage had just been whetted by the burning of the M arneion. M ark the Deacon wrote a separate treatise on the interview in the form of a dialogue ;216 B roth er C orn eliu s th e d e a co n , n a m ed sh ortly before, k n ew th e sh o r t­ h an d system o f E n n o m o s, and sig n ified e v ery th in g said an d rep lied to [by P orph yriu s] w h ile B aru ch an d I w rote from m em ory, I d id n ot w rite ou t th e d ia lo g u e in full in th is b ook b ec a u se it wras too lo n g an d I w ish ed to p ro v id e th e p resen t work in the form o f a il ep itom e; but 1 set it forth in a n o th er book for th o se w ho w ish ed to k n ow the w is­ d om given by G o d to P o rp h y riu s, an d a lso th o se o ld w iv e s5 tales w h ich J u lia , th e teller o f m a rv els and p o iso n er, told w ith su ch fo o lish n ess. . . .

Porphyrius spoke while clutching the Gospel books and m aking the sign of the cross (α φ ρ α γίς τ ο ν σ τα υρ ο ΰ), presum ably as a precaution against M anichaean “ m agic” , b ut certainly to signify that the new’ religion would prevail there too *217 M ark the Deacon casts the events of the interview in an eerie light. Ju lia confronted the bishop, deacons, and certain laymen of the G azan see (τινες των ευλαβών κληρικών τε και λαϊκών)218 at dawn with two men and a num ber of young women at her side: “They were all young and well-shaped, and all were pale (ωχροί) . . . All of them came out with statem ents taken from the secular paideia (από λόγων τής κοσμικής παιδείας), b ut Ju lia m ost above, M anichaeans at times made inroads into newly Christianized congrega­ tion^ which were par ticularly susceptible to religious novelties because of their recent catechization: 1I f any person by a renewed death should corrupt bodies that have been redeemed by the venerable baptismal font, by taking away the effect of that ceremony which he repeats, he shall know such doctrines for him self alone, and he shall not ruin others by his nefarious t e a c h i n g . Cod . Theod. 16.5.5. Translation by Pharr. Theodosian Code^ 450, 21b V.P orphym , Cap. 85. '?Λ* V.P orph ym , Cap, 88. 2if V.P orph ym , Cap. 88. 210 V.Porphym, Cap. 87.

GAZA

233

of all.” *1* All M anichaeans presum ably had pallors in the hagiograp h er’s m ind, but for reasons th at we can hardly com prehend. T he traditional Hellenic education was, in their hands as w ith the pagans> a dangerous thing. As previously noted, M ark the Deacon worked up the transcript of the m eeting into a separate book. In his biography o f Porphyrius he largely limits him self to the weird denouem ent and dem ise of J u lia :220 J u li a b eg a n to tre m b le a n d h e r face to be a lte re d , a n d , rem a in in g in a tra n c e for a long tim e, she w as silent. She w as speechlcss a n d m o tio n ­ less, keep in g h er eyes open a n d fixed on [P o rp h y riu s]. [E v ery o n e p re se n t w as afraid .] T h e y p lay ed w ith her senses an d spoke in h e r ear, b u t she h ad no voice a n d no hearin g . [She ex p ired .] A n d so sh e d e p a rte d into th e d ark n e ss she h o n o red , after reck o n in g it to b e light. [P o rp h y riu s h im self b u ried h e r body.]

M ark's description of Julians symptom s, which resemble those of catatonic schizophrenia, is entirely unique in the literature of a n ti­ pagan polemics and m ust therefore be based on some real experi­ ence or observation, however m uch exaggerated, It is difficult to avoid suspicion of poisoning, perhaps with a lethal but slowworking drug mixed w ith opium — a product still being grown in Boeotia at this tim e221— which induced psychotic behavior until the poison took efl'ect. The alternative is some form of taboo-sickness followed by death. The “ M anichaeans” ’ rifling of Porphyrius" catechum enate for their sect was perhaps seen to justify the event, which the deacons im m ediately bruited as a miracle. J u lia ’ death led to the conversion of two m en and various women in her entourage, and to the rehabilitation of “as m any as had been corrupted by h e r,” the latter being recently baptized C hristians draw n into the “ M anichaean” cell. Porphyrius required them to anathem atize M ani, gave them extensive instruction, and “res­ tored them to the catholic ch u rch ” (προσήγαγεν vr\ άγια καθολική εκκλησία).222 Few of the converts required baptism , or M ark the Deacon would otherwise have added them to his detailed tallies. T he event did bring about some few conversions of pagans. T heir num ber was evidently not high enough to m erit record­ ing, and belongs am ong those recorded elsewhere who accepted C hristianity (προφάσει δε εκείνων καί άλλοι των αλλοεθνών

μετανοήααντες έφωτισθησαν) .ν23 21y 220

V.Porphyrii, Cap. 88. V.Porphyrii, Cap. 90 221 Trombley, “ Boeotia in Late Antiquity,’1 220. 797 V.Porpkyni, Cap. 91. 22* V.Porphyriiy Cap. 91.

234

CHAPTER THREE

The evidence analysed in this scction suggests th a t the u rban population of old G aza adhered to C hristianity only slowly, at the rate of about 100 converts per year. W hen larger num bers came in, it was usually the result of some spectacular piece of show m anship by Porphyrius, such as the procession before the w inter cloudburst or the burning of the M arneion, with the latter eventually netting some 300 persons, all of whom had suffered some kind of physical intim idation from the soldiers and C hristian m ob. T his closely resem bles the after-effects of the destruction of the Serapeum in A lexandria in 391, concerning which Rufinus of Aquileia seems to exaggerate the num ber of conversions th at occurred under the im pact of the death of the old gods ,224 A sort of blessing, the “ sealing with the cross” , adm itted the new adherents to the G azan catechum enate, a condition which norm ally— but not in this case— required a year’s instruction before baptism , after which another period of instruction followed that culm inated in the confirm ation ceremony. The G azan diaconate fully understood the risk of back­ sliding by catechum ens and the recently baptized during this p ro ­ cess of C hristianization. The role of G aza’s so-called M anichaeans in this phenom enon should not be underestim ated, for they offered a comfortable syncretism and easy ethic which m ust have appealed to some catechum ens who were beginning to understand the strict character of the C hristian ecclesiastical canons. M ark the Deacon could less easily adm it th at some catechum ens slipped back into the Hellenic cults whose old ethos lay all around them . The support of Eudoxia A ugusta had guaranteed at least a m aterial and adm in­ istrative victory for the new religion, hcnce it was im politic and bad for the morale o f the G azan diaconate to adm it even the possibility that the catechum ens defected anyw here except to the M anichacans. whose popular appeal and pertinacity am idst the flux of urban cults M ark the Deacon probably overrates. O ld Gaza was not unusual in any respect, except in the relative slowness with which the C hristian religion took root there. T he transform ation of this condition required the coercive methods which bishop Porphyrius instituted to bring his city into the m ainstream of religious thought and practice of the early fifth-century M editerranean basin, VI. Tke Local Church Establishment at Gaza

T he growth of the G azan church has been charted from the per­ spective of its new m em bers during the years c, 396—420« It rem ains ?24 Supra, Ch. II, Set:l. 3.

GAZA

235

briefly to sum up the physical growth of the church during this period in term s of personnel, buildings, and income in specie. T he diocese that Porphyrius took over in 395 owned a num ber of buildings in old Gaza. Am ong them was the bishop's residence or episkopeion th at figures so prom inently in M ark the D eacon's n a rra ­ tive, A church of St. Irene or “ Holy Peace ' 5 adjoined this building. A legend of Hellenistic origin was attached to the place that when Alexander the G reat accepted the surrender of G aza in 332 B.C., the symbol of capitulation was draw n up there and the place cam e to be called Eirënë from then onward. O ne can hardly doubt that some substance attaches to this piece of local lore. M ark the Deacon asserts th at later on, probably in the fourth century A.D., a C hris­ tian nam ed Irenion, who was perhaps an early bishop, built a church on the site “ because it was honored by the G azans ” .225 H e m ust have been a wealthy m an and have owned the lot, or else the G azans would have prevented him from erecting the church. If M ark’s research on the point was accurate— and as deacon he will have had access to the land titles in the church archive— the foundation of St. Irene provides an early example of the C hristian practice of sanctifying unused Hellenic sites, w hether holy or not, and then m erging the ancient toponym w ith a plausible C hristian one. T he episkopeion complex with this church becam e the nerve center of Porphyrius’ cam paign against the old cults of G aza and a refuge for his clergy during sporadic anti-C hristian riots .226 St. Irene was thus the katholikon or bishop's church. G aza had two other churches* O ne of these, built by bishop Asklepas during the era of the persecutions (3rd—4th century) and thus about a c e n tu r y old, lay in the w estern part of th e city j u s t outside the city gate leading to M aiu m a .227 It was evidently con­ structed at a time when no C hristian could purchase property within the walls. A nother shrine lay near it, the m artyrion of St. Tim othy, in which lay also the bones of two other m arty rs, M aiour and T h e a .^ H T he churches, those of St. Irene, St. Tim othy, and bishop Asklepas, all lay on the processional route taken by bishop Porphyrius at the tim e of the great drought of 396, after which the C hristian participants found themselves locked out of the city because they had returned “ at the ninth h o u r” or dusk. From this it m ight be concluded th a t the m artyrion of St, Tim othy, unlike the 225 V. Porphyni, Cap. 18. V. Porphym, Gap. 99. 'U1 V. Porpkyni, Cap. 20. 223 On the veracity o f Mark the D eacon’s belief in the historicity o f the martyrs M aiour and Thee, see Appendix I.

236

CHAPTER THREE

church of bishop Asklepas, lay some distance down the road to M aium a. The see of Gaza, thus had four buildings in 395: the three church­ es and the episkopeion. These topographical details perm it a re­ construction of the growth of church properties in Gaza. T he ecclesiastical structure perhaps first established itself outside the w est wall on the high road between G aza and M aium a. It was the obvious spot for a church. In this way, C hristians coming up from the seaport will have met a C hristian shrine as their first sight of the old citv, and perhaps have performed the necessary prayers and apotropaic rites before entering the pagan city. Bishop Asklepas seems, to have erected a bigger church nearer the city c, 300, A t a later date, possibly after 363, the C hristian Irenion built a church or chapel inside the city walls on his own property and perhaps adjacent to his residence. H e was m ost probably a m erchant of M aium a who had m arket spacc in O ld Gaza. He apparently willed this property to the nascent C hristian church w ithout an endow ­ m ent, for the life of Porphyrius fails to m ention rural lands from which the church drew incomc. The lack of a firm economic base would explain why the church of G aza m ade so few conversions during the fourth century. As Ju lia n the A postate points out, the C hristian churches acquired m any new adherents am ong the urban poor by doling out free b read .229 T he G azan church lacked the resources for this, and as the urban riots suggest, and Porphyrius 5 acquaintance with Salaphtha-Ircnc proves, the urban poor remained unconverted for a long time after his episcopate began in 395 , The size of the G azan church organization in 395 is difficult to estim ate. T he deacons of most sees worked closely with their bishops in adm inistering church properties, caring for the poor, arranging for processions, and so forth, while the presbyters, who acted outside the im m ediate circle of the bishop, perform ed the liturgy in the smaller urban churches .230 M ark the Deacon’s narra­ tive centers on the episkopeion and diaconate* T hus, he informs us in great detail about his own activities, and those of C ornelius 2*'1 and B aruch .232 No presbyters are known from this time, but one m ay have conducted the liturgy at the m artyrion of St, T im othy outside the walls. N or did the G azan church have a great income. Before bishop Porphyrius sailed to C onstantinople for the fateful intcr229 Julian, Ep. 22 (Wright 3, 68-71). See the many relevant text citations on the duties o f pTesbyters in G.W. Lampe, Patristic Greek Lexicon, 113OF. *31 V. Porphyrii. Cap. 22. 23. and 88. V. Porphym, Cap. 14—15, 22-24, 95, and 99.

GAZA

237

view with the empress Eudoxia in 402 (according the G rcgoire’s chronology), he ordered M ark the Deacon to bring the entire surplus of church funds for the voyage. T hese assets cam e to forty-three solidi and three books, the latter presum ably being sold off for m ore specic .^ 3 T his was not a large sum in view o f the cost of the voyage and, worse, the gratuities required by the court ushers (ό εκ α ν ο ί )·^ 4 In the end it was im perial patronage that effected the great build-up of resources for the G azan church. It is not within the scope of this analysis to treat at length the m eans by which Porphyrius secured the patronage o f the cubicularius and castrensis A m antius, m anipulated Eudoxia A ugusta, and cam c away with an endow m ent from her for the G azan church, along with an edict from the em peror A rcadius ordering the de­ struction of the temples. It suffices here to note th at the initial contact was m ade when the ship carrying Porphyrius, the m etro­ politan of First Palestine, and M ark the Deacon put in at Rhodes and the men visited the monk Procopius.2^ He advised them to speak with Jo h n Chrysostom , patriarch of C onstantinople (398404). T he latter in turn put them it touch w ith the eunuch Am antiiiSj who as cuhicularius enjoyed direct access to the em press .2^6 A m antius offered no guarantee at first th a t the interview with Eudoxia would come off.217 This proved to be only the first hurdle to the prelates’ am bitions, for em peror A rcadius hesitated to crush the Hellenic cults o f G aza for fear that revenue collection there would suffer. M ark the Dcacon gives the gist of A rcadius 5 reply to Eudoxia after she confronted him with bishop Porphyrius’ petition* Porphyrius got this bit of inform ation directly from A m antius him self :230 T h e em p eror said: “ I k n ow that th e city is g iv en to id o la try , b u t is righ t-m in d ed w ith resp ect to ta x a tio n , p a y in g a large a m o u n t o f p u b lic reven u e. I f w e attack th em su d d e n ly w ith fear, th ey w ill flee an d w e sh all lo se c o n sid era b le rev en u e, b u t if it see m s a p p ro p ria te, w e sh all a g g r ie v e th em p a rtia lly b y ta k in g a w a y the titles o f th e id o l-m a n ia c s and th eir o th er civ il offices» an d w e sh a ll c o m m a n d th a t their tem p les b e clo sed an d n o lon ger u sed . F or w h en w e tro u b le th em , w e fall sh o rt in all th in g s, an d th ey k n ow th e truth o f th is .”

V. Porphyrii, Cap. 34. 234 T he possibility of an interview with the Augusta was not certain at first. Oncc it was achieved, Porphyrius received three handfulls o£solidi, but expended most of them on the court ushers ashe left the palace. V. Porphyrii,Cap. 40. 230 V. Porphyrii, Cap, 34—36. *36 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 37. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 38. 238 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 41.

238

CHAPTER THREE

The em peror took this position despite the bishops' som ew hat am biguous allegation th a t :239 T h e idol-m an iacs. . . do u n holy things w ith o u t fear, a n d ty ra n n iz e th e C h ristia n s, n o t allow ing th e m to p a rtic ip a te in civil office o r to fa rm th e ir fields, o u t o f w h ich they assess p u b lic re v e n u e to y o u r a u th o rity .

T he entire business m ight have ended here, had not Porphyrius begun to work on the em press’ sensibilities. T he term of her preg­ nancy with the infant Theodosius II was in the ninth m onth. At another interview, after A rcadius’ hesitation, Porphyrius promised Eudoxia a son. She would in turn vow to build a church in the m iddle of Gaza (εις τ ο μεσώτατον τής πόλεως) if the prophccy proved correct .240 Porphyrius was invited to bless the baby T heodo­ sius a week after his birth. The bishop used the occasion to tell Eudoxia o f a dream he had had in which the em press, standing in the M arneion, handed him the Gospel book and bade him read M atthew 16-18: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it / '241 It seems that M ark the Deacon here had in mind a mosaic of similar them e th a t was eventually executed in the E udoxiana cathedral to com m em orate its donor. As a result of P orphyrius 5 m achinations, the im perial secretariat, probably on cubicularius A m antius 5 instruc­ tions, prepared a rescript for A rcadius 5 approval which the em per­ or read out and endorsed in the atrium (jtp00upov) of an unnam ed basilica in C onstantinople at T heodosius 5 baptism al procession .242 The docum ent (χάρτη) provided “ not only for the overthrow of the temples, but also privileges for the holy church and the C hristians, and furnished an income. For the holy church was very poor” (. . .

οι) μόνον καταστραφήναι τά ιερά των ειδώλων, άλλα καί προνόμια άγια εκκλησία καί τοΐς Χριστιανοις . * . etc.).24* T he G azan church now had the resources of wealth at its disposal to Christianize the urban poor. M ark the Deacon discusses the monies and endow m ents in de­ tail, listing the am ounts and different sources of funds. First cam e the donation of Eudoxia A ugusta :244

239 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 40. 240 V. Porphym, Cap. 42. 241 It can hardly be doubted that the “Dream of Porphyrius” became the subject of a mosaic or mural in the new church3 commemorating its dedication. 2+2 V* Porphyrii, Cap. 48. V. Porphyrii. Cap. 46. 244 K Porphyrii, Cap. 53.

GAZA

239

T a k e , fath e r, these tw o ken ten aria a n d b u ild th e c h u rc h I c o m m a n d e d to be b u ilt in th e m id d le o f G aza. T e ll m e if y o u w a n t for m on ey still an d I sh all send it a t once. B uild also a hostel for th e p u rp o se o f receiving the [C h ristia n ] b re th re n dw elling in y o u r city a n d fu rn ish th e m w ith th ree d a y s' expenses. S he gave J o h n [th e m e tro p o lita n for F irs t P alestine] 1000 so lid i an d su ita b le [ecclesiastical] vessels for b o th estab lish m e n ts. F o r th e ir expenses she also g ave th e m 100 so lid i.

Two kenienaria, equal to 200 pounds in gold or 14,400 solidi, were envisioned not as the final cost of constructing the new church, but only as sufficient to hire the stonecutters, carpenters, tool-grinders and other builders, and to procure raw m aterials (m arble, tim ber, m etal clam ps, ctc.)? but as cost was no object, m ore monies would be provided if necessary* An additional L000 solidi went to the m etropolitan of First Palestine along with vessels for the new church and hospice .245 It was evidently the practice to funnel such disbursem ents through the m etropolitan, who had cadres of silver­ smiths at his disposal in the provincial capital and could count on them to supply vessels (οκεύη) of high-quality w orkm anship w orthy of bearing the nam e of an im perial donor. Some of the vessels may also have been produced in C onstantinople.24* T he see of G aza also received an endowm ent from em peror A rcadius :247 T h e e m p ero r a t once o rd e re d the ep a rch s to pay th em tw en ty p o u n d s in gold from th e p u b lic revenues o f Palestine* H e also gave th e m one h an d fu l (drax ) for th e a c c o u n t o f th e ir expenses, w h ich cam e to 50 so lid i. [A fter th ree m ore days th ey took] th e p a y m e n t o f forty p o u n d s from p u b lic funds, a n d th ree days la te r b o a rd e d sh ip a n d sailed on th e tw e n ty -th ird o f the G a z a n m o n th X a n th ik o s, th a t is 18 A pril o f th e R o m an c a le n d a r. T h e d a r ts s im u s K yneg io s cam e w ith us, m a k in g u se o f th e p u b lic p o st system*

This twenty pounds in gold (1,440 solidi) was intended to be the annual subsidized income of the G azan church. It would seem th at the officials of First Palestine diverted the monies of the indiction directly to the bishop of Gaza. This income came as a direct grant from the im perial revenues rather than lands donated from the res privata , as C onstantine the G reat had done for the Rom an church during the episcopate of pope Sylvester (314-335). The sum of 1,440 solidi for the entire G azan church was quite m odest by

245 T he Liber Pontificaiis lists the gifts of Constantine the Great (sacred vessels, candlesticks, etc.) in the same sections as those listing the landed estates given as endowments. Infra, Ch. ITI* n. 248. 246 I argue here on the analogy o f Constantine's donations to the Roman church* See n. 248. 747 V. Porphyrii, Cap* 54*

240

CHAPTER THREE

com parison w ith the endow m ents th a t C onstantine granted to the individual Roman basilicas .248 In addition to these monies m ust be counted the plunder in service vessels (σκεύη τίμια) taken from the G azan temples during their demolition. It will be recalled that Porphyrius anathem atized “ every Christian citizen who took anything at all from the idol-tem ples for his personal g a in ”

(άναθεμιτίσας έν τη έκκησια πάντα Χριστιανόν πολίτην λαμβάνοντά τί ποτε έκ τα>ν είδωλειων εις ϊδιον κέρδος).2'19 T he m onetary value of this lucre is unknown, bu t it evidently went into a central place for weighing and disbursem ent. As the G azan church received the inner-city lot on which the M arneion stood, it seems quite probable that it also got at least a share of the bullion, if not all of it. T he great church built on the site of the razed M arneion was callcd the Eudoxiana (Εύδοξιανή) in honor of its donor. It took some five years to complete the structure, and was dedicated, according to Gregoire’s calculation, during an eight-day festival at Easter, 14-21 April 407. M ark the Deacon records the festivities whose apocalyptic fervor dism ayed the Hellenes (έτήκοντο τη

καρδία):250 A fter five years there w a s co m p le te d th e w ork o f b u ild in g th e g reat ch u rch called th e E u d o x ia n a from th e n a m e o f th e em p ress. [T h e ch u rch w as d ed ic a te d at E aster in th e p resen ce o f so m e 1000 m o n k s, b u t also b ish o p s, clcrics, a n d lay m en . j A n d a n g elic ch o irs w ere se en n ot o n ly d u rin g the ec c lesia stic a l serv ice, b u t a lso at the tim es w h en th ey took foo d . F or th e a ltar w a s n ot o n ly a p e rcep tib le o n e, b u t a lso a sp iritu al one. A p sa lm w a s su n g after th e [eu ch a ristie] m eal and a h y m n su n g after d rin k in g [ the cup ]. The idol-maniacs who saw the event were melted to the heart. F oreign ers ca m e from ev ery w h ere to see th e b ea u ty an d size o f the ch u rch . I t w a s said to be larger th a n all th e ch u rch es o f lhaL tim e.

Eudoxia A ugusta did not live to see the dedication of her church, having died of a m iscarriage on 6 O ctobcr 404,251 The church endowm ent allowed bishop Porphyrius to spend money on the urban poor and foreigners as never before. M ark the Deacon will have had access to the docum ents relating to church

24Q Liber Pontificalis, Pars Priory ed Theodor M ommsen (M on u men ta Germaniae Historical Gcstarum Pontificum Romanorum 1, Berlin 1898); 47-72. For example, the annual income of the fundi and massae of the Basilica Gonsl:antiniana alone was solidi. LP 54, lines 12-21. 2Λ9 V, Porphyrii} Cap. 65. 2A0 V. Porpkyni, Cap. 92. 2': Bury, LRE 1, 159.

GAZA

241

receipts and disbursem ents, and gives a detailed sum m ary of these transactions :252 A fter he b uilt and d ed ica te d th e said ch u rch , P orp h yriu s a rran ged to g iv e ea ch foreign er liv in g in the city th e e x p en ses o f o n e d a y , a n d h e d efrayed to every p o o r foreign er ea c h d a y six o b o ls > b esid e s w h ich he h im s e lf furn ish ed those w h o c a m c to h im w ith g a r m e n ts, silver an d m o n ey , p rov id in g to each a cco r d in g to his w orth , a n d no one w as sep arated from the b en efits for w h ich h e ask ed for. O n th e fa st-d a y s o f th e P asch , P orp h yriu s d efrayed to ea ch p o o r m an ten o b o ls for the forty d a y s, ord erin g in h is w ill th at th e sa id person s be giv en ten o b o ls for L en t, after settin g asid e th e fund from w h ich th e sum w o u ld be p a id o u t. H e fu rth erm ore d e c id e d a n d ordered in the w ill th a t, i f th e full a m o u n t o f m o n ie s w a s n ot d efrayed each y ea r, the said ex cess sh o u ld g o to th e h o ly ch u rch o f C a esa rea , T h is w as d on e later.

It was after these arrangem ents began th at the pagan riot that resulted from the altercation between Sam psychos and the oikonomos o f the G azan church broke out. These doles seem to have attracted the pagan urban poor to the churches, for M ark the D eacon observes im m ediately thereafter: “ T he idol-m aniacs, the m ore they saw C hristianity growing (όσον έθεώροον προκόπτοντα τον Χριστιανισμόν), raged even m ore and were eager to harm the C hristians and Porphyrius before all .” 253 T he figure of six obols (coppers with K on the reverse side) per day was generous but not un realistically high. I f a poor m an or m igrant failed to find employm ent over a year's time— and it is problem a­ tical w hether the deacons would have tolerated m alingering th at long— he m ight acquire 2,190 obols during a 365-day year, the equivalent of 7.6 solidi in gold per a n n u m . T h i s came to about h a lf the annual income of a skilled laborer ,2^5 and thus did not confer too m any benefits. Even in Egypt the annual cost of bread fluctuated with the supply of grain, but wras often about 1.5 solidi for 45 modii to feed a single m an .256 T hen there was the cost of clothing, some of which the G azan church supplied, bu t lodging had to be purchased, as did m eat, wine, cheese, and other comestibles. M any of the poor will have had families as well. It is difficult to estim ate the num ber of persons on the ecclesiastical dole at Gaza. At Alex­ andria, a large and crowded m etropolis, the norm al figure seems to

252 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 94. I have followed the Bonn text in this passage. 253 V, Porphyrii, Cap. 95. For a convenient equivalency table, consult Bury, LRE 1, 447, n. 1. 253 John Nesbitt, oral communication (1987). 236 Jones, Later Roman Empire, 44.>-448.

242

CHAPTER THREE

have been in cxccss of 7,500.257 The annual stipend granted to the G azan church by em peror A rcadius from the revenues of First Palestine 5 1,440 solidi, would have kept only about two hundred persons fully on the dole at six obols per diem, but the money had to cover other expenses as well, so the figure for regular recipients m ust be well under two hundred. Doles of this kind were in any case only intended to be income supplements, often for seasonally unem ployed day-laborcrs. As indicated earlier, it can hardly be doubted that a good part of the dole w ent to poor pagan G azans, and th at this was one of the factors th at brought about conversions to C hristianity, as Ju lia n the Apostate had noticed four decades earlier .258 T he figure produced by M ark the Deacon of c. 100 conversions per year betweem c. 403-420 could well have come from the urban poor and day-laborers who, to ju d g e from the riots that broke out after the com pletion of the E udoxiana ,259 skulked about the city in considerable num bers. As if this were not enough, bishop Porphyrius m ade an additional provision in his will to lure the populace to the Lenten liturgies, as quoted above. Porphyrius aim ed the expenditure of his personal funds> it appears, at the poorer pagans of G aza? the idea being to ensure the ongoing success and completion of the mission th a t began in 395. All this is consistent with the story of Irene-S alaphtha (Σ α λ α φ θ α ), the pagan girl who offered asylum to Porphyrius and M ark the Deacon during the riot triggered by the dispute be­ tween Sampsychos the decurion and the oikonomos of the G azan see. Special favors yielded special rew ards. After the restoration of public order. Porphyrius ordered the oikonomos of the church to pay out to Irene and her grandm other four silver millaresia per diem, the equivalent of 24 obols per diem, twice the per capita daily dole given to the poor and foreigners and a considerable sum. Irene’s aunt received the lump sum of a solidity the equivalent o f288 obols .260 All these disburse­ ments preceded their admission to the catechumen tate:2Gl

25' T he figure admittedly belongs to the decade 610-619 A .D ., but no reason exists to suppose any wide divergence between conditions c. 400 and that later date, as the Persian War had not yet reached Egypt:, and because die demand for Egyptian grain was, if anything, falling because o f the Persian conquest of the Syrian and Palestinian seaboard. Leontius o f Neapoîis, Vs Iaannis Eleemosynam in Leontius' von Neapolis Leben des heiligen Joannes Barmherzigen Erzbischofs von Alexandrien (Freiburg im B reis gau-Leipzig 1893), 9, lines 1-2. The population of Alexandria was c. 250—300,000- Jones, Ijiter Roman Empire, 1040. 258 Julian’s allotments to the temple o f Kvbele at Pessinus is discussed supra, Ch. IT, Sect. 5. 259 Supra, Ch. I ll , Sect. 3. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 100. 2GI V. Pnrphyni, C ap. 100.

GAZA H e m a d e the sign o f the cross o v er th em , relea sed th em , a n d e n c o u r ­ a g ed th em to sp e n d so m e tim e p r a y in g a n d in the in stru ctio n sessio n s o f the ca tech u m en s. H e se n t T im o th e o s th e p io u s p resb y ter an d c a tech ist to her h o u se, an d ord ered h im to m ak e th e sig n o f th e cro ss o v er th e girl's gra n d m o th er.

All three women subsequently received baptism . It appears that Irene eventually becam e a deaconess of the G azan see, for she took ecclesiastical garb and adopted ascetic practices ,262 H er supervisor was the deaconess P hotina-M anaris .263 Irene was still alive when M ark the Deacon wTrote his narrative about the life of bishop Porphyrius. VII. Conclusion

Gaza offers the most complete exam ple of how the C hristian epis­ copal infrastructure m anipulated the social hierarchy of the cities in the interest of accelerating C hristianization. As will be seen in Appendix I, Porphyrius o f G aza was one of the m ore politically m inded bishops of his time. It is indeed difficult to separate the destruction of the M arneion from the plans he evolved for the aggrandizem ent of his see. The appendix also reaffirms the historic­ ity and priority o f the Greek recension of M ark the Deacon's narrative. This em pirical fact wras taken as the basis for the fore­ going discussion. It should be im m ediately obvious th at C hristianization was not a herm etic phenom enon. Its progress was closely linked to the social structure, economic interests, and cultural pretensions of the cities, and thus varied in duration from place to place. T he ancient sources arc unanim ous in stating th at the M arneion ranked in im portance with the other shrines of late H ellenic religion. It was quite far from being the last tem ple of a pagan great god to be destroyed as well: the Serapeum of A lexandria went in 391, bu t the tem ple of Artemis Ephesia seems from a variety of chronological indicators to have been destroyed after the episcopate of Jo h n C hrysostom (398-407. including exile), w ith a secure terminus ante quern of about 450.264 T he Parthenon of Athens and A phroditeion of Aphrodisias seem to have been despoiled only c. 4 8 1 ^ 8 4 . T he Isis

263 Irene's diet consisted of bread with salt, soaked pulse, or chopped vege­ tables. She drank water, abstained from wine, and took olive oil only on festival days. She never tasted anything cooked. K Porphym, Cap. 102. V, Porphymy Cap. 102. 2M Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 7.

244

CHAPTER THREE

tem ple of Philae operated until c, 537 ^ T here should be nothing surprising, therefore, about the persistence of clandestine sacrifice at G aza until 4Ü2. The destruction of the M arneion cam e ten years after the com prehensive law of Theodosius the G reat (8 Novem ber 392) in a ponderous legal system that seldom acted except in response to petitions that only came to the attention of imperial officials after prolonged effort. O ne is struck, if anything, by the protracted nature of the wrangling with the court entourage of Arcadius at C onstantinople in 401/2 th a t preceded the action. C hristian em perors were bound, like all Rom an m agistrates, by the principle of equity, and weighed the consequences of tem ple con­ versions on the provincial political configuration before acting. It was a far sim pler m atter when C hristian zealots acted first with the connivance of their bishops, as at A lexandria in 391, or when Hellenes came to be identified w ith sedition, as during I lhis 3 in ­ surgency in 481—488. A nother striking feature of the destruction of the M arneion is th at it did not lead to “ mass conversions” as Peter Brown has rightly argued.2Rfi T here was often a tem porary rise in the num ber of persons seeking adm ission to the catechum enate, but this was ephemeral, as M ark the Deaeon's figures reveal when given statis­ tical projection. T he shock value of the great god^s im potence in the face of the C h ristians 5 invasion of its temenos and physical intim idation— one m ight say superstition and violence— explain these conversions, which prom ptly tailed off once the excitem ent had died down. T he clergy of G aza questioned the value of packing the catechum enate with such people, a problem whose implications became clear only in the late Ju stin ian ic period, when coercion and C hristianization of rite m asked cryptopaganism or m ore often a weak sense of allegiance to the new religion. M ark the D eacon's d a ta should m ake us deeply suspicious about Rufinus of A quileia's boast that the cults of Sarapis and the Nilotic gods fell to the ground entirely with the dem olition of the Serapeum . T here was an im m ediate rush to the ehurches and some sensational conversions took place as in Gaza, but this was no more than an cpiphenom enon. It is evident from Mark the Deacon’s detailed description that there were accepted liturgies, albeit im provised on the spot, that

265 Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3 and Appendices II and III. Cf. Ch. V I, Scct. 1-2, Ch. IX , Sect. 3-4. 266 Peter Brown, The Cults o f the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity (Chicago 1981), 17f.

GAZA

245

accom panied the burning or dism antling of temples. Am ong these was raising the shout of “ O ne G od” and brandishing the cross in the face of the idols as a device to w ard off the “daim onic rage ' 5 or hostile kratophany of the dispossessed gods .267 T here were also strictly enforced procedures for the collection of bullion from the tem ples, w hether from the images of the gods or sim ply the clam ps binding the blocks of the walls, as we also learn from the case of the Serapeum . Soldiers, public officials, and C hristians outside the range of the local bishop's anathem as would break the rules, and so stories about the dire fate of plunderers were circulated. Liturgies of the kind reported at G aza occurred hundreds of times during the epoch of C hristianization, but only some few are reported in detail. By taking different elem ents from variously reported incidents, one can alm ost reconstruct a composite liturgy that included “ O ne G od” acclam ations, the recitation of the psalm s, the erasure of the gods' names, the sm ashing of their faces, the incision of crosses, G hristogram s, and the A lpha-O m cga on tem ple walls and spolia, the degrading treatm ent of tem ple spolia, and, of course, the C hris­ tians 3 keeping a watchful eye as they prayed for the escape of the daimon which was often “seen” breaking through the stone as idols were cracked open or filtering away in the smoke of numerous fires. T here is very little in the life of Porphyrius to suggest th at “m iracles” were an overriding factor in conversions. T he safe delivery of Aelia’s child is the only convincing case. T he real “m iracles” as ordinary people saw them consisted of the bishop's defiance of the dccurion class of G aza and of the powers of Zeus M arnas and A phrodite, whose hostile kratophanies m ight have been likened to the rage of a patron or m atron at the insolent ingratitude of his or her client. Porphyrius m ade it all better by distributing church monies and bread. Little Irene-S alaphtha and her family enjoyed a privileged position in this respect because of Porphyrius’ sincerely paternal feelings for the little girl who was bereft of a father's care and protection. T he C hristian shepherd’s political rutblessncss stood in sharp contrast to the heartfelt con­ cern he could project to people otherwise in the grip of the decu­ rions, who dem anded great respect but gave little back in re tu rn .*68 In the fifth-century M editerranean the old gods rem inded ordinary people of the decurions to a rem arkable degree, m uch like X enophanes of C olophon's cows, horses, and lions .269 267 Infra, Ch. II, Sect. I. 266 This corresponds to the arguments o f R, Van Dam . Supra, Ch. I l l , n. 2. 269 Xenophanes of Colophon, Fr. 14 and 15 in Early Greek Philosophy, tr. J. Barnes (New York 1987), 95.

APPENDIX I

T H E H IS T O R IC IT Y O F T H E G R E E K V E R S IO N O F M A R K T H E D E A C O N ’S L IFE O F P O R P H Y R IU S O F GAZA M ark the Deacon's life of Porphyrius of Gaza is the most detailed account of the C hristianization of a sm aller Greek city that we possess. It is therefore necessary to deal with certain criticisms of its content as a historical docum ent. H enri Grégoire and M .-A. K ugener have addressed m any problem s of error in detail in the introduction to the 1930 text edition and tran slatio n .1 T h eir discus­ sion raises few difficulties for the phenom ena described in the preceding chapter. T here arc some scholars who m aintain, how­ ever, th at Grégoire and K ugener did not press the text h a rd enough to expose M ark the D eacon’s fraud. T he debate was seemingly p ut on a new footing w ith Paul Peeters’ discovery and edition of a late G eorgian recension of the life of Porphyrius (6th-7th century) which seemed to derive from a lost Syriac original .2 T he G eorgian version, Pccters claim ed, was shorter and “less developed” , and therefore reflected an earlier state of the text than w hat has come down to us in the Greek. Pecters regarded the latter as conflated and interpolated with all sorts of historical fictions. Peeters went so far as to argue th at the Greek was actually translated from that Syriac Urtext. He then assem bled a lengthy “ historical” introduction to his edition of the G eorgian text with his own Latin translation, and attem pted to discredit the historicity of M ark's life of Porphyrius in loto. I have gone through Peeters' argum ents in some detail, and have found them to rest on a variety of assum ptions th at are untenable. Peeters’ view that a shorter Syriac recension preceded the Greek is based on two faulty axioms: first, th a t any piece of literature arising from a partially A ram aic-speaking environm ent like G aza m ust necessarily have been composed in “ Syriac” ; and, second, that by some necessary îawTearly redactions of hagiographie texts are invariably shorter than later ones, which are subject to confla­ tion and pious em bellishm ent. 1 Supra, Ch. H i, n. 1, 2 Ibid.

APPENDIX I

247

Let us consider his first point. W hat were the linguistic realities of early fifth-century Gaza? Did Aram aic, or, as Peeters calls it, “ Syriac” , have status as an im portant literary language there? A look at the Late Rom an inscriptions indicates th at the p attern at Gaza was the same as in the other cities of First Palestine, A rabia, and the two Syrias, nam ely th a t Greek predom inated straight into the seventh century .3 Peeters seems to have been ignorant of these inscriptions, although a whole series of them has been published since the late nineteenth century ,4 m any of them dated in the era of Gaza (which began 28 O ctober 61 B,C.) with the M acedonian names of the m o n th s/ T he earliest of these, a dated funerary inscription, belongs to a presbyter nam ed Eirenaios (449/50 A>D4), who was perhaps bilingual and had Solomon (Sifleimün in Syriac) as his A ram aic name, m uch like little E irene-Salaphtha [Siflaphlha) in Mark the Deacon’s narrative .6 Persons with Semitic names con­ tinued to erect their funerary inscriptions in Greek all through the sixth century, at a time when in northern Syria Syriac inscriptions were becoming a bit m ore com m on .7 Am ong the G azan Semites nam ed are Balys (Βαλυς) (literally “ kin” or “ adherent of B aal55) (564 A .D .),0 A braam ios the deacon ÇAvrahamï, “ kin of A braham ” ) (540 A .D .),9 and Jo h n M arëabdënos (peril. 6 th century) (probably a village place-nam e ) . 10 The bilingual populace at G aza, as every­ where else, used Greek in its official transactions. Hellenistic and Rom an personal names turn up in the G azan inscriptions as well, attesting the city’s traditions as a H ellenistic polis and the Rom an Colonia Aelia Gaza. as for example Alexander (539 A .D ,) 11 and M axim us (5th century )-12 In the third century A.D ., expatriates of Gaza residing in Rome saluted em peror G ordian III (238—244) and identified their fatherland with H ellenistic titulature: “ the holy city of the G azans, a place of asylum, subject to its own laws, faithful, 3 For the Falcstines, see: Frank R. Trombley, “ The Greek Communities o f Umayyad Palestine (661-743 A ,D .) /5 Proceedings of ike First International Congress on the Hellenic Diaspora^ ed. J .M . Fossey, 1 (Amsterdam 1991). 261-269. 4 Martin A. Meyer, History nj the City of Gala (New York 1907), 139—15L Inscriptions are cited hereafter by number. 5 Meyer, History of Gaza, 125fF. I SEG 8 (1937), 270. ' Collected in: Publications of the PnncetonUniversity ArchaeologicalExperditions to Syria in 1964-5 and 1909, Division IV Section B: Synac Inscriptionsy ecL E. Littmann (Leiden 1934). 8 Meyer, History o f Gaza, nos. 1 and 3. 9 Meyer, History o f Gaza> no. 6. K1 Meyer, History o f Gaza7 no. 26. II Meyer, H istory o f Gaza, no.21. 12 Henri Ledercq, “Gaza," D AC L 6/1 (Paris 1924), no. 30 (p. 718).

248

APPENDIX I

pious, splendid, great (erectcd this statue) at the com m and of its ancestral god .” 13 T he deity was no doubt the local Baal, Zeus M arnas (του πατρίου θεοΰ), Ga/,a was bilingual, but the language of culture and adm inistra­ tion rem ained Greek. Nor have any A ram aic inscriptions of Late Rom an date turned up at G aza to dispute this conclusion. Peeters’ view th at “ Syriac” prevailed carries with it the assum ption that the Semites of Gaza would have been the im m ediately intended audi­ ence for the story of Porphyrius' deeds. T his is quite false. In reality, the principals named in M ark the Deacon's narrative both pagan and C hristian have mostly Greek nam es and m ust have known Greek because of their social status or professions. T he elites, and not the common folk, were the object of M ark's n a rra ­ tive, which has strong polemical tendencies (as will be seen). T he only suitahJc vehicle for this was the Greek language. Furtherm ore, the language of the see of Gaza was officially Greek. T he O ne God form ula th at turns up in M ark's narrative is also characteristically G reek.1* W e have epigraphic confirm ation of its use at Gaza in a funerary inscription (5th century). It begins: “ O ne God, who gave life to a descendant of Baba son of M axim us” (εϊζ, Θεός, ό ζών Β α β ά ς Μ α ςίμ ου έγγ ό νη ς).1Γ>B aba wras apparently a Semite. Even if some path should be discovered to circum vent these argum ents, Pcctcrs’ thesis comes up against an imm oveable obsta­ cle in the cultural background of Mark the Deacon. Both the Greek a n d Georgian recensions contain a statem ent by t h e a u t h o r that h e originated from the province of Asia and had practiccd the trade of calligrapher prior to his m igration to Je ru sa le m .16 The use of Syriac as a secondary lingua franca in western Asia M inor belongs to the sixth century, but certainly not to the 380’s. There is no internal evidence whatsoever to suggest th at M ark was anything bu t a Greek. It is said that Cornelius the deacon recorded the conversa­ tion between bishop Porphyrius and the “ M anichaean” J u lia .17 W e can hardly assume th at this was done in anything bu t Greek. Porphyrius is said to have sent M ark to Thessalonike to undertake the liquidation of the bishop's estates into cash for distribution to the poor in Jerusalem . M ark bore a w ritten testimonium (βιβλιον έντολής) to this effect for use in working out the apportionm ent w ith Porphyrius' brothers. T he brokerage certainly required the ]i Moyer, History o f Gaza, no, 36.

14 This problem in the inscriptions of Syria is analysed in extenso infra. Ch. X . Supra, n. 12. lG K Porphyrii> Cap. 5. ιν V, Porphym, Cap. 89, G régoiioK ugcncr (1930), 136.

APPENDIX I

249

docum ent to be in Latin or G reek *18 There is no reason to doubl the fam ily’s Greek ancestry. All M ark tells us is th a t Porphyrius’ family was “ noble” (γένος . . . έιασημον), th at is, ofdecurion ra n k .19 The Late A ntique inscriptions of Thessalonike do not suggest any largescale settlem ents by Syrians there, unlike other M editerranean coastal tow ns »20 W hatever we m ight suppose about the ethnicity of the artisan class or urban poor of old Gaza, the principal characters of M ark’s history moved in a Hellenistic milieu, and thought and wrote in Greek. Peeters proposes the argum ent that there was m uch ethnic hatred against Greeks in G aza and singles out the popular reaction to the soldiery when Kynegios the consistorianus arrived in 402 with m any troops to keep order during the dem olition of the temples. Peeters was anxious to prove the “ Syriac” character of the G azan populace, whose antipathy to “ G reeks” found full expression in the story of a soldier (a supposed cryptopagan) who attem pted to recover bullion from the burning M arneion, but was killed, this after Porphyrius had anathem atized “ every C hristian citizen” who did this. The inaccuracy of Peeters 1 argum ent stems from his failure to consider the Greek version as the original. T he problem is best solved by positing ju st this* In C h ap ter 70, the Greek text begins: 4‘T here way a m an, one of the soldiers 3 officers there, which they call a tribune, who was supervising the burning of the tem ple. H e was a C hristian by appearance, b ut was an idolator in secret for the most p a rt.” This same passage comes down to us in the Georgian version, via Peeters 5 Larin translation, as follows: “ M oreover there was present in th at place a certain m an, who possessed the title of officers, from the troop of G reeks.” The G eorgian text here is shorter but also vaguer, leaving out “which they call a trib u n e.” How does one account for these “ Greeks” ? I f we accept, as I do, that the original text was Greek, it becomes quite simple. T he key passage is “ one of the soldiers’ officers there” (άνήρ τω ν έκεΐαε έξά ρχω ν τω ν σ τρ α τιω τώ ν). W hen the word “ soldiers” was tra n s­ lated from Greek into Syriac, the am biguous word rhümayë was selected, a term which has a variety of m eanings, am ong them “ R om ans,” “ L atins,” LlGreeksy” “ citizens of the E astern Rom an 18 K Porphym, Cap. 6. 19 K Porphyrii, Cap. 4. 20 See the many citations in Denis Feissel. “Contributions à l ’épi graphie grec­ que chrétienne de R om e,’1Rivista di archeologia cristiana 58 (1982), 353-382. A single Syrian from the village of Theodeon near Apamea in Second Syria turns up in Thessalonike. Denis Feissel, Recueil des inscüptions chrétiennes de Macedoine du ΙΙ Γ au V r siècle (Limoges 1983), no. 162.

250

APPENDIX I

E m p ire /' and “soldiers”2' T he G eorgian translator, who had a Syriac version in front of him , selected the most obvious m eaning of rhümayë from the standpoint o f a Georgian and rendered it as “the Greeks ’5 rather than “ the soldiers35. I suspect that the G eorgian version contains m any other such losses of m eaning in consequence of its being based on a Syriac version whose am biguities lay simply in the fact that it lacked the precision of the Greek original vis à vis technical terms. From our standpoint here, the fact is im portant because local prejudice in G aza reserved its w rath not for “ Greeks ' 7 but rather for the soldiery. M any Syriac texts make this point quite explicitly .22 T he prejudice was thus not linguistic or cultural, but one conditioned by soldierly indiscipline and. as it seemed, am oral defiance of Porphyrius' com m and. It is w orth pointing out th a t the soldiery of this period was quite diverse ethnically and not always ‘‘G reek” . There were G othic and Egyptian regim ents ,23 not to m ention native form ations of Semites organized as comitatenses along the eastern frontier .*4 Arabs who reached officer rank often added the C onstantinian praenomen Flavius to their ethnic nam es .23 The “ G reek” soldier in M ark the D eacon’s narrative m ay thus well have been a bilingual Semite or E gyptian like the rest of G aza's populace w hether pagan or C hristian, T here is another obvious objection to Peeters' theory of transm is­ sion, and that is the fact that the process of translation in this period was, as it were, a largely one-way one. T here are m any examples of Greek secular and religious literature passing into tongues like Arabic. A rm enian, G eorgian, Syriac, C optic, and E thiopie .26 Adm ittedly some texts of exceptional m erit originally composed in Syriac were thought worthy of translation into Greek, the dom inant high-cultural language of the eastern M editerranean cities, as for example the hymns of E phraem Syrus (ob. 373) and some biographical texts about him, but this was not entirely typical .27 It should be rem em bered as well th at Syriac literature

21 J. Payne Smith, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (Oxford 1903), 531. The dislike fell by townspeople and villagers for the soldiery stemmed in part from the requirement of billeting them and baking soldier’s bread for them at their own expense. The Chronicle ofJoshua the Stylite, ed tr. W. Wright (Cambridge 1882), 58, 63, 71, 73. * Jones, Later Roman Empire7 660—668. Cl. 152. 24 See the numerous squadrons of équités indigenae at the disposal of the Dux o f Palestine in Notifia Dignitatums Or, X X X IV , 23-27, 29 (ed. Otto Seeck, Berlin 1876, p. 73). 25 Supra, n. 23. Infra, Ch. X I, n. 79. Æ lo r an extensive list of Georgian examples, see infra, n. 36. X) Anton Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur (Bonn 1922). 32f>, 35f.

APPENDIX I

251

was a phenom enon m ainly of R om an O srhoene and M esopotam ia, along with Sassanid M esopotam ia. Palestine was in the late fourth century around Jerusalem highly H ellenized, as we learn from the epigraphic ev id en ced It is easy to suppose th at Porphyrius, as a presbyter in Jerusalem , had dealt w ith his colleagues and m igrant congregation mostly in Greek, as also in G aza, and not in the least because of his decurion past. T he second axiom of Peeters’ m ethod is the assum ption th at the G eorgian text is the better and earlier variant because it is “less developed” {moins développé).29 T he analysis of select sections sug­ gests, however, th at the G eorgian version is, if anything, an abbreviated product of the original Greek (plus abrégé), Technical term s, personal names, and whole sections th at did not seem re­ levant to the G eorgian translator, if not to his Syriac predecessor, have simply been om itted. Let us consider each of these problem s in turn. Do “ m ore developed” models invariably follow in the process of transm ission? For the books of the New T estam ent this is certainly the case. T he earliest codices V aticanus and Sinaiticus have the so-called A lexandrian text type, which is shorter than the later “ B yzantine” rccension developed by Lucian of A ntioch .30 In the field of hagiography, H. Delehaye relates the intriguing exam ple of the St. Procopius m yth, which in its developed form hardly resem ­ bles the earliest variants at a ll .31 H agiographies were often rew rit­ ten to suit the needs o f later generations. T he works of the M etaphrastian series, for example, put the Late A ntique narratives in a high sounding rhetoric suited to high cultural life in eleventhcentury Constantinople, bu t om it most official and technical ter­ minology, and are in the m ain shorter than their predecessors .32 A bundant examples of this latter phenom enon can be discovered through the com parison of texts listed in F. H alkin’s Bibliotkeca Hagiograpkica Graeca and its supplem ents .33 A superb exam ple is found in the later recensions of the life of Theodore of Sykeon, Supra, n. 3. 29 Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne de Saint Porphyre de G a z a /5Analecta Bollandiana 59 (1941), 74. 3 Bruce Metzger, The Text of the New Testament (Oxford 1964·), 215Γ 31 Hippolyte Delehaye, The Legends öf the Saints, tr. D. Attwater (London 1962), 101—116. 3* For literature, see: Hans-Georg Beck, Kirche und theologische Literatur im byzanti­ nischen Reick (Munich 1959)> 570. 33 François Halkin, Bibliothtca Hagiograpkica Graecat 3rd ed., 2 vols. (Subsidia Hagiographica 8a, Brussels 1957). Idem, Auctanum Bibliothtca Hagiograpkica Gratcat (Subsidia Hagiographica 47, Brussels 1969).

252

APPENDIX I

w hich are all shorter than the original eyewitness account of George the M onk .34 In the sermons of Asterios of Am asca, the later text variants are abbreviated by the subtraction of a word here or th ere .35 W e are not, strictly speaking, dealing with such a problem in the life of Porphyrius, It is rath er a case of translation literature which, as I have argued, runs from Greek to G eorgian through the m edium of Syriac. Tw o varieties of distortion arise here. First, the translator om itted details that seemed irrelevant to his GeorgianPalcstinian monastic audience. Secondly, he avoided certain difficult problems of translation by simply omitting the offending passages from his work. He seems to have had no great capacity for rendering Hellenic philosophical and theological terms into Georgian .36 T he truly corrupt and derivative character of the G eorgian text is evident from a com parison with the Greek. O u r task is best served by com paring the three chapters pertaining to the dem olition of the A phrodite shrine. Everything wc know about tem ple conversions tells us th at the G eorgian version has a poor text, and th at the Greek could not have possibly have arisen from the hypothetical Syriac version. The Greek text of C hapter 59 reads; A s w e en tered th e city at th e so -ca lled tc tra m p h o d o n ( = te tr a p y lo n ), a m arble sta tu e sto o d w h ich th ey say w as A p h ro d ite. It is a b o v e a sto n e altar, an d the r ep resen ta tio n o f th e s la lu e w a s o f a n ak ed w o m a n p la in ly e x h ib itin g all her u n se e m ly parts.

T he G eorgian text is quite corrupt in this section, and cannot be the original because the configuration it sets forth for the shrine is archaeologically im probable: A s w e wert! p r o ceed in g to the p la c e o f th e M a r n e io n , th ere sto o d in th a t p lace in m a rb le (lacuna, w h ic h Peeters fills in w ith “ there sto o d ” ) a sta tu e, su p p o rted by four co lu m n s (columnis quattuor inmxum) w h o se n a m e w as A p h ro d ite.

The crucial expression in the Greek is telramphodon (τό κ α λούμ ενον τετρ ά μ φ ο δο ν), which got into the Syriac as “ the four-footed sta ­ tu e” or “ colum n” instead of “ four-footed sto a ” through the addi­ ^ Vie de Théodore de Sykéôn, ed. tr. Andre-Jean Fcstugicrc, 2 vols. (Subsidia Hagiographica 48. Brussels 1970). ^ Cf. infra. Ch. IV, n. 61. iU The Georgian language itself was capable o f translation from Greek theolo­ gical works, although I am unable to comment on the accuracy o f these transla­ tions or their consistency with the Greek text, but the exam.pl e o f the Georgian life o f Porphyrius is not encouraging in this respect. See for example: Robert P. Blake, “Catalogue des manuscrits géorgiennes de la bibUotheque patriarchale grecque à Jerusalem ,” Revue de Torienl chrétien 3 (1922—23), 345-413; 4 (1924), 190—210.

APPENDIX I

253

tion of the letter nun to the second word {*arbactä 3estünä (ατϋλος) instead of 'esfwä (ατοά)). The Georgian translator had never seen a 4'four-footed statue of A phrodite,” an archaeological impossi­ bility, and so, assum ing the accuracy of the Syriac version he had in front o f him, he transm itted the error faithfully. It is surprising that Peeters, who points out this error in the Syriac Urtext, refuses to draw the proper inference from it .37 Instead, he touches up the text in the Latin translation given above, which does not correspond to the hypothetical Syriac. The Greek text contains the very im por­ tan t detail, om itted in the Georgian, about the altar, not only as to its existence, but also th at the image stood on a platform behind and im plicitly above the altar ([στήλη] . . . ήν δε επά νω βωμοΰ λίθινου). T his is not the sort of detail that a pious C hristian would insert, but perhaps one that he would omit, as pagan altars were considered to be defiled by the refuse of sacrifices, to a ttrac t daimones, and to be a constant source of tem ptation to the catechum enate, Elsewhere the Syrian or G eorgian redactor avoided details found in the Greek th at m ight have corrupted the read er’s im agination and we should not be surprised if he had done so here as well.™ T here is another peculiarity about the Syriac or G eorgian text of C hapter 59. The Georgian version begins writh the phrase “ as we were proceeding to the place of the M arneion . . . ” (pervenientibus nobis ad locum Jani Maronii . . whereas the Greek indicates entry into the city (εις την πόλιν). T he latter makes more sense in the context th an the form er, inasm uch as the first assault on the M arneion is not dealt with until six chapters later, the intervening text discussing the destruction of the A phroditeion, the reading of A rcadius 7 edict, and the m igration o f sornc G azan Hellenes. The reference to the M arneion is thus not entirely germ ane to the subject at hand, whereas the entry into the city is. The Syriac reading or the G eorgian tran slato r’s handling of it is corrupt» T he original will have read “ into the city” w ith the Syriac object prefix la (iam'dïta as pronounced, but w ith the linea occultans beneath the nun in the root mdnt). The point was evidently m isplaced on the Syriac letter dalalh, giving resh instead, and the yudh and nun wrere transposed, giving “ to the M arneion” instead (l^mamaylä)^ literally the “ house” (baytha) of M arnas, or “ place of M a m a s” {yathrä Maranayä ), with the god’s nam e appearing in the adjectival form, which has the sense o f “ the L ord’s” or “ the M a ste r's” . W hether the 37 Peeters, “La vie géorgienne,” 173, n. 2, 38 Infra, Appendix I, Peeters, “La vie g éorgienn e/5 Cap. 85-86.

254

APPENDIX ï

Syriac translator sought to “im prove5* the text or sim ply erred in his reading of the Greek cannot be dccidcd. It is also possible that the Georgian translator m isread the Syriac out of an idée fixe about the im portance of this one temple. There are probably large num ­ bers of sim ilar errors throughout the text attributable to transm is­ sion from a Greek original. Paul Peeters* treatm ent of all the possibilities is in this respect deficient. T he Georgian text entirely omits the following C hapter 60.39 It reports the confession of certain G azan Hellenes th a t the dream oracles of their A phrodite were fraudulent., and th at the fulfilment of these prophecies, when it occurred, happened by chance, and rarely at that. T his section is in some sense a digression, bu t clearly belonged to the original narrative. T he Syrian or G eorgian tra n s­ lator had difficulty with this passage and with another dealing with Hellenic theology and philosophy. Being m ore interested in directly narrating events, he om itted C hapter 60 and went on at once to C h ap ter 61. This fact comes out through a tautology at the begin­ ning of C hapter 61. In the Greek text. C hapter 61 begins by notifying the reader o f the resum ption of the narrative; “ After we had disem barked into the city, as was said (καθώ ς εϊρ η τα ί), as we reached the place where the said A phrodite was. . . . ” T he G eor­ gian text retains traces of this, although no need existed any longer for such a phrase because the G eorgian text had om itted the digression about oracles and chance in C hapter 60. At the begin­ ning of C hapter 61 the G eorgian begins: “ Therefore, after we had passed over th at way. . . T he translator has already forgotten his erroneous observation th at the procession was moving tow ard the “ M arneion” at the beginning of C hapter 59, a m istake th a t I have dealt w ith above. A line-by-line com parison and analysis of the Greek and Georgian versions where the latter is the shorter (plus abrégé) would assuredly reveal m any more traces of the longer but now abbreviated Greek text. For the present, such a study is a desideratum . T he G eorgian version omits a second group of references to Hellenic belief in another radically condensed section in C hapters 35-86 of the Greek .40 It concerns the w om an Ju lia and her cell of “ M anichaean” youth seduced from the recently baptized. As I have indicated above, these folk were less M anichaeans than polytheists, who confessed H ellenic beliefs such as destiny, “ magic

9,9 Peeters erroneously combines Cap. 59-60. 40 Sixteen lines of Georgian as compared with 37 of the Greek.

APPENDIX I

255

teaching” , casting horoscopes, pagan m yth, and so forth *41 T he Syriac or Georgian redactor quite correctly characterizes J u lia as an “idol-w orshipper” (quae cultnx erat spurcorum idoiorum). After certain other striking omissions, he states: “ H er doctrine was full of every error, of filth, and o f fabulous malice. But I om it listing by name (nominatim recensere praetermitto) the m any forms of this blas­ phemy and defilement lest the m inds of listeners and the tongue of my readers be corrupted.” T his statem ent does not appear in the Greek text, which instead enum erates various Hellenic practices and beliefs, and names the poet Hesiod and the playw right Philistion. T he Syrian or G eorgian redactor adm ittedly knew these de­ tails by nam e (nominatim). He is quite obviously sum m arizing a list— the list found in the Greek version— for his audience, not only because of the offensiveness of these term s, b ut also on the ground of relevance. W hat need did a G eorgian-speaking m onastic com­ m unity have for such inform ation if it needed translations such as this one? Such things were of interest only to the apologists of the C hristian sophistic. T here is good ground, therefore, for supposing th a t the list of Hellenic practices given in the Greek text is the foundation for the disclaim er given in the G eorgian one. I cannot accept the view th at the list was invented during the hypothetical “ developm ent” of the text posited by Peeters. T he list is peculiar and difficult, and not topical like literary com m onplaces ( topoiy loci communes). W hy Hesiod and not Homer? W hy the otherwise unattested playwTight Philistion? Why the attem pt to construct J u lia ’s “ heresy” as M anichaeism, a well-known religious system, when it incorporated the devices of astrology into its doctrine? Even if this description is aberrant in certain respects, it is still the evident basis of the sum m ary rem arks given by the Syriac or G eorgian redactor. From the standpoint of strictly literary criticism, the Greek text contains the lectiones diffidliores. T here is another possible corruption in the Georgian text out of which Peeters m istakenly makes great capital. T his is the m ention of the guest-house (ξενοδοχειον) for whose expenses Eudoxia A ugusta had authorized m onies .42 T he Georgian text has it that: “Again, St, Porphyrius built an extensive guest-house near the church for receiving foreign travellers (rursumprope ecchsiam aedificavit sanctus Porphyrius xenodochium amplissimum ad excipiendos peregrinos) ^ The 41 This passage is translated supra, Ch. I l l , Sect. 5. 42 V. Porpkyni, Cap. 53, 43 Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne,” Cap. 94.

256

APPENDIX I

Greek text, which Peetcrs regards as more corrupted , is actually m ore complex and differs considerably: “ After the building and consecration of the said holy church, [Porphyrius] ordered the expense of one day's [sustenance] to be given to each foreigner living in the city.” T he key words in the Greek are: “ to each foreigner living in the city” (ξένω ένδημ οΰντι). The Greek words given here are susceptible to textual m isconstruction, the possible Syriac translation having been tksenüs shaken, at which the copyist evidently blundered and simply wrote lzksenodokln instead. H is eye probably skipped several letters and then alighted on the final two letters (kaph and nun) o f shaken, a slip th at m ade perfect sense in the context. T hus, “ each foreigner living” becam e xenodocheion. O r, if the Syriac was missing a letter or two (Peeters repeatedly indicates such textual corruptions in his notes), the G eorgian tran slato r will have simplified the entire business from the obvious sense of the Greek loan word at the start* Even if we should give all this up and accept xenodocheion in the G eorgian text as a sound reading, Peeters’ contention that the Greek text crim inally omits reference to the guest-house provided for by the empress is false. T he Greek author im plicitly considered this facility to be p a rt of the great inner-city building complex now callcd the Eudoxiana. T he distribution of subsistence monies is proof th at the institutional structure for receiving foreigners existed in the G azan church, a fact beyond challenge, and th at is the essence o f the m atter for the social historian (but perhaps not for the philologist ).44 There are m any other peculiarities th a t differentiate the Greek from the Georgian text in all of which the latter comes off poorly. For example, the Georgian text refers to the patriarch of C onstanti­ nople as Jo h n “ C hrysostom ” , an expression which was first certifiably in circulation in the Historia Ecclesiastica of Sozomen some decades after these events 45 By contrast, the Greek text sticks with the p a triarc h ’s official titulature, calling him for exam ple “ the m ost holy archbishop J o h n ” (ό όσιώτατος επίσκοπος ’Ιω άννης).46 T he use of the nicknam e Chrysostom is certainly a later and less au­ thentic developm ent of the text. The Georgian text contains a m ore certain anachronism in the repeated reference to “ Borilius patriarch of Jeru salem .” At this

^ T he Georgian text is perhaps unsound here, having as it does a most peculiar tautology (xenodochium amplisimum ad txdpimdm advenas peregrinos) , 43 PG 67, 1420C, 46 V. Porphyrii, G ap. 43.

APPENDIX I

257

time, of course, Jerusalem was suffragan to the metropolitan of First Palestine, whose see was C aesarea M aritim a. W hether we accept Peeters 1 assertion th at the reference is really to Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 350-386) or to Praylius (as in the Greek text) (417-422), the G eorgian text is all very stupid because Jerusalem , w hatever its claims, was not recognized as a p atriarchate until the Council of C halcedon in 45 L 47 The Urtext wrhich becam e the basis of the Georgian version thus has a discernible terminus post quem of 451, which is later than that of the Greek version. More importantly, the Greek version does not have this anachronism (e.g. “the holy Praylios, the bishop of Jeru salem / 1 όσ ίψ Π ρ α ϋ λ ίφ τ φ επισκοπώ Ιε ρ ο σ ο λ ύ μ ω ν ).48 T his gives the lie to Pcetcrs* contention th at the Greek is a “ later” and “ more developed ’ 5 form of the text. To the contrary, the Syriac or G eorgian text was “corrected” rath er carelessly in light of later conditions by someone who knew very little about fifth-century ecclesiastical history. Peeters, who does know the history of this period, passed over this discrepancy with open eyes. An endless series of sim ilar questions m ight be asked about the G eorgian text and its Syriac predecessor* Such an analysis would require a full-length study, which is impossible in the present context. For example, why does the G eorgian text refer to the consistorianus Kynegios, who supervised the closing of the tem ples of G aza, with the Iranian title dasturi? IL The Historical Context

We m ust now turn to the objections th at Paul Peeters makes against the strictly historical content of the Greek life of Porphyr­ ius. It is not possible in every instance to discuss Peeters* argu­ m ents, particularly those that are not well taken. W hat follows is rather a dem onstration of the fact th at Peeters’ understanding of the historical context of the life of Porphyrius is very narrowly conceived. He posits certain “ tests ’ 1 of historicity and assum ptions about the audience of the Greek text that fail. M ost im portant of all, he has ignored a vitally im portant passage in the Histona Ecclesiastica of Sozomen that provides an exact context for an early redaction of a Greek life of Porphyrius to have been composed, not indeed the redaction we have today in the Grégoire-K ugener edi­ tion of 1930, but a m ostly congruent predecessor compiled largely from a concatenation of docum ents and well-known facts, either 47 Jones, iMter Roman Empire, 220. 48 V. Porphyrii7 Cap. 10, 12.

258

APPENDIX I

shortly before or im m ediately after the bishops 1 synod of First Palestine met in 415 at Diospolis.4^ Peeters first confronts the reader w ith a list of objections th a t he calls differences par d e fa u lt T he first of these, concerning the plagia­ rism of the introduction from T heodoret’s Histona Philotheos5 will be dealt with later in connection with the events o f 415. The second of Peeters 5 objections concerns Porphyrius’ “ prophecy” during the interview w ith Eudoxia A ugusta when he requested an im perial cdict to elose the G azan temples, to the efl'ect th at the son born to her, the future em peror Theodosius II, “ will live and rule, which you shall see and enjoy, for m any years ( δστις ζήσεί καί βασιλεύσει σοΰ όρώσης καί άπολαυοΰσης έπί ετη π ολλά ),51 T he prophecy proved to be false, for the empress died on 6 O ctober 404, some four years after the interview .52 By contrast, the GeorgianSyriac text omits the prom ise of long life implicitly given to the empress. Peeters considers this a proof that the latter text is “ bet­ ter” because it avoids this historical “ erro r” . I find it im possible to accept this argument. M ark the Deacon did, in fact, know about the death of Eudoxia Augusta, for he m entions th at she had died prior to the dedication of her great church in 407.53 Yet, when he was preparing the Greek text for publication, he did not go back and edit out the bogus “ prophecy” . A quo fine ? O n the face of it, this is an argum ent in favor of the authenticity of the prom ise as it appears in the Greek, for Eudoxia's death proved to be a singular failure of Porphyrius’ prognostic powers. As a tendentious writer, M ark the Deacon m ight have been expected to conceal thiy fact, and yet he does not. This suggests th at the passage in question was composed before 404, the date of Eudoxia* s death (an earlier date than Peeters could possibly have adm itted) and carelessly left in the text, or that M ark was giving a literally accurate statem ent of the words that passed between Porphyrius and Eudoxia as he rem em bered them . W hen a biased w riter freely adm its criticism of his subject, it suggests th at the fact in question was so widely known th at even an encom iast could not fail to m ention it .54 It 40 I consider Peeters* assertion that a shorter Syriac recension lay behind the Greek to be impossible, and so that issue is no longer addressed herein. 50 Peelers, “ La vie g é o r g ie n n e / * 74—77* ^ V, Porphyrii, Cap. 42. Peeters erroneously puts the passage in Cap. 22. r'2 Bury, LRE 1, 159. Peeters accepts Gregoire’s chronology here in orderto make this argument stick. 53 This seems to be the point of Mark's calling her “the Eudoxia of eternal memory35 (τής αειμνήστου Ε υδοξίας), V, Porphyrii, Cap. 75. 54 I am not endreiy certain that Gregoire-Kugener’s translation or that of Peeters is accurate. The genitive absolute that expresses Eudoxia3s part (σοΟ

APPENDIX I

259

should be rem em bered as well th at Porphyrius’ “ prom ise” derives from a genre of acclam ations th a t were not intended so m uch to be accurate predictions as simply polite com plim ents to im perial of­ ficials and their m asters the A u g u stin This consideration deprives Porphyrius 5 statem ent of both its *‘m agic” and its “e rro r” . Peeters’ difficulties with the passage are, in short, im aginary. T he Greek text, like the Georgian, m entions the procession that Porphyrius organized to the m artyrion of St. Tim othy outside the walls of Gaza. It contains the additional detail th at the relics of the m artyrs M aior and Theë were also housed there. T he Georgian text adm its the existence of other m artyria, but fails to give their nam es .56 Peeters questions the existence of shrines to these two m artyrs at Gaza, despite the fact that they are m entioned in the synaxarion of the church of Constantinople. O f these, M aior was executed at G aza and Theë at Diocaesarea during the G reat Persecution .57 There is no inherent reason why shrines to these local m artyrs should not have existed at G aza, and it is simply perverse of Peeters to suggest otherw ise .58 It seems rather th at they were irrelevant to the m ind of the G eorgian redactor. T he tru th is that the names of m any otherwise unknown or seldom attested m artyrs have turned up in epigraphic finds, some of them quite obscure, and that the possibility of M aior and T heë having been interred at the shrine of St. T im othy— a well attested local m artyr, and also a well attested praenomen among the pagans and Christians of G aza— cannot be excluded .59 No one can seriously pretend that the Greek synaxaries reflect the full extent of the cult of the m artyrs, and sclcct inscriptions prove this. T he first exam ple com m em orates the foundation of a shrine at Sykourion in Thessaly (4th or 5th century): “ [Place] of the m artyrs Jo h n , Luke, Andrew, Leonidas. T he m artyrion was com ­ pleted on the 15 th day before the K alends of Ja n u ary . T h eir slave Soteria built it .” 50 These com panions arc nowhere else attested. όρώ σης κ αι άπολαυούσης) is, strictly speaking, parenthetical to the main relative clause (όστις ζήσει καί βασιλεύ σ ε ι . . . h ti £τη Λολλά). 55 See the examples in Charlotte Roueché, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity (London 1989), nos. 61, 77, 83, Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne,” Cap. 20. 57 Synaxanum Rcciesiae Conjtaniinopolitanae e Codice Sirmondiano, ed. Hippolyte D elehaye (Brussels 1902), 467Γ, 822. se Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne,” 76f. 59 Mark the Deacon mentions three Timotheoi, the martyr, a presbyter of the Gazan church, and a pagan decurion. V. Porphyrii, Cap. 20. 25, 100. Meyer, History of Gaza, nos. 8, 24. 60 Anna Avramea and Denis Feissel, “ Inventaires en vue d’un recueil des

260

APPFATD IX I

T he second example comes from Laodikea C orobusta in Phrygia and comm emorates a certain Severus: "T his m em orial contains the wise m an, expounder of the wisdom of C hrist, the noble athlete, son o f a celestial Ancestor (ουρανίου Γενέτου) Severus, the all­ surveying leader of the cities o f the sack-wearers, etc.” Bishop Eugenius of Laodikea erected the church to honor this victim of the G reat Persecution and was buried in it him self (post 340 A .D ,).61 T he third example falls closer to home, in the village of Bosana on the northeastern rim of Djebel H a u ra n in the province o f Arabia; “ Chostë, wife of Inos the m artyr, spent 14 pounds in gold for this house o f prayer” ( 4th century ).62 Inos was a common nam e at Bosana. The m an evidently converted to C hristianity and m et his death at the hands of fellow villagers. T he first reliably dated C hristian inscription at Bosana after belongs to 5 73 .63 These in­ scriptions dem onstrate that one cannot simply dismiss the possibil­ ity of the shrines of little-known local m artyrs in the regional context. Following upon this point, Peeters suggests th at the “ m arty ria ” m entioned in the Georgian text actually belonged to the com panion m artyrs Eusebius, Nestabos, and Zeno (whose nam es are, inciden­ tally, mostly Greek), In doing so Peeters does violence to the historical evidence which he cites out of context from Sozom en .64 First of all, although it is true that the three men were executed in Gaza during the reign of Ju lia n the A postate (361-63), their relics were carried in an earthen pot to Maiuma , the seaport of old G aza and a separate see since c* 324, where Zeno the bishop of M aium a (who Peeters' careless writing m isleadingly suggests was bishop of Gaza) deposited them in their own martyrion outside Maiuma during the reign of Theodosius the G reat (inter 379 395). This cannot have been the same shrine as th at of St. T im othy that Porphyrius 5 procession visited in the w inter of 395/6 because the latter was ju st outside the walls of old Gaza. Peeters has thus translated the relics of Sts. Eusebius, Nestabos, and Zeno from outside M aium a to G aza w ithout any justification either in the texts or archaeology. The Georgian version cannot thus be taken to confute the Creek one on the location of the shrine of Sts. M aior and Theë. The inscriptions historiques de Byzanz: ÏV Inscriptions de Thessalie (à l’exception des M eteores),5’ Travaux et mémoires 10 (1987), 366f. 61 Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua 1, ed. W .M . Calder (London 1923), no. 171. ™ W .H. VVaddington, Recueil des inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie (Paris 1870}, no. 2249. ii3 Infra, Ch. X I, Scct. 2. G4r Sozomen, HE 5.9.

APPENDIX I

261

Georgian redactor— for th at is w hat he was— evidently failed to see the im portance of these little-known m artyrs to his audience and sim ply left their nam es out, ju st as he left out the nam es of the six gods worshipped at G aza ap a rt from Zeus M arnas and A phrodite ,61 No critic who reads Sozom en’s account can possibly accept Peeters' interpretation, b ut there it is, in print. Peeters identifies a second group of " erro rs” that distinguish the Greek text from the G eorgian which he calls “differences par excès."™' Some of these have been dealt with above, such as the “ m issing 1’ xenodocheion in the Greek text, which is im plicitly there after all /17 Peeters adds twro details from later writers to suggest that this guest-house was built l a t e r . T h e first, which is hardly relevant to the argum ent, comes from the anonym ous pilgrim of Plaisance (c. 570) who calls the Gazans amatores peregrinorum. T he second text has a more portentious content. It is the Laudatio Marciani , an encomium composed by Chorikios of G aza c. 534. T his panegyric attributes the construction of the church of St. Sergius and a xenodocheion to the bishop M arcian. Peeters has come to the conclu­ sion that these are one and the same as the E udoxiana basilica and its xenodocheion w ithout bothering to allow for the tendentious n a ­ ture of the Laudatio Marciani (a surprising lapse in view of his criticisms of the life of Porphyrius), including the fact that other sixth-century writers claim ed buildings for the men they saluted in their panegyrics w ithout respect to historical tru th .69 The “ pro­ found forgetfulness5’ {un oubli aussi profond) into which the build­ ings of Porphyrius had fallen derives from the conscious design of Chorikios of Gaza, who sought to praise M arcian at the expense of all his predecessors. To suggest otherwise is pueril and naive .70 N either Grégoire nor Peeters was aw are of the archaeological reali­ ties of urban church construction at this time. Sites like G erasa, for 05 Peelers, 44La vie géorgienne,” 75f. Peeters, "La vie géorgienne,” 77ff. Peeters, “ La vie géorgienn e/’ 78. The Greek text is much more specific about the actual arrangements made to effect the tasks of the xenodochmn than the Georgian. 60 Thus, by Peeters1 crooked line o f reasoning, the Greek text is historically accurate for jailing to mention the existence of the xenodocheion, som ething that Peeters has no desire to prove because he puts the construction o f this building in the sixth ccntury. But I have dealt with this issue above. 09 For buildings falsely claimed for Justinian by Procopius, but in reality dating to the reign of Anastasius I, see: C. Capizzi, L^impnatore Anastasio l y (Orientalia Christiana Analecta 184, Rome 1969). 206ff. 70 Peeters did not him self apparently read ihe Laudatio Marciani in detail, but used the summary of F.-M . Abel, “ Gaza au V Ie siècle d ’après le rhéteur Chorikios,” Révue biblique 40 (1931), 12-23.

262

APPENDIX ï

example, saw the construction of m any churches in the fifth through the seventh centuries .71 T here is no particular reason why the Eudoxiana and basilica of St. Sergius need be one and the same, although it is possible. C hurches were in general nam ed for m artyrs in the sixth century. It is easy to see how the nam e “ E udoxiana3’ could have fallen out of use after the death of Theodosius II, the son of its nam esake, in 450. Eudoxia A ugusta was best known then, and still is, as the persecutor of Jo h n C hry­ sostom. Peeters seems to be absolutely ignorant of the sheer necessity of changing the nam e of such a building after 45Ü. Peeters is remiss elsewhere as well. For example, he fails to com pare the architectural sim ilarities th at are suggested in Chorikios’ description of St. Sergius and the plan of the Eudoxiana given by M ark the Deacon. N or is he right in saying th at the use of K arystian m arble colum ns in each building proves th at they were the same structure. T he life of Porphyrius indicates th a t thirty-two such columns were used in the Eudoxiana, presum ably w ith eight in each leaf of the cross, in which shape the church was built .72 Ghorikios’ Laudatio Marciani m entions the use o f only four K arystian colum ns, and not in the churchy b ut in the propylaia th a t led into the atrium , which lay in turn outside St. Sergius to the west of the actual church building .73 Peeters has built his case here by selecting scattered bits of inform ation w ithout the slightest concern for their m eaning in context. Its effect on the reader is nothing less than m isleading. It seems quite probable instead th at the K arystian columns of the E udoxiana so im pressed the locals th at bishop M arcian, in order to win the esteem of his congregation, sim ply im ported more o f th a t type of m arble to signify the im portance of the holy edifice th at he was building. It seems rather probable in the light of this th at the Eudoxiana and St. Sergius' were not one and the same building. T he third group of “ errors” th at Peeters cites are called “diver­ gences positives” Not all these objections are of equal m erit, and can be set aside if one is convinced a t this point in the discussion th a t there are serious problem s w ith Peeters’ thesis about the 1 Carl Kraeling, Gtram, City o j the Decapolis (New Haven 1938). Even a rela­ tively small coastal city like Phthiotic Thebes in Thessaly might have four early Christian basilicas. Demetrios Pallas, Les Monuments paléochrétiens en Grèce de 1959 à 1973 (Rome 1977), 42-54. Peeters demonstrates his naivete about archaeology in supposing the a city should necessarily have only a single church, Other examples abound, 75 V. Porphyrii, Cap. 84. 73 Abel, “Gaza au V Ie siècle,” 12Γ.

APPENDIX I

263

Syriac rath e r than Greek origin o f the life of Porphyrius, It is safe to say that, w hatever Peeters tries to make out of the proper nam es given in the Georgian version, they are all seriously corrupt. The statem ent of the Greek text that Porphyrius was ordained a presby­ ter by Pravlius bishop of Jerusalem (4 1 7 ^ 2 2 ) is simply wrong, ju st as is the reading th at Peeters suggests instead, th at Cyril of J e ru ­ salem (ob. 386) was m eant. His argum ent th at the hypothetical Syriac reading for the bishop's nam e Bönlös went back to Qürïlôs (for Cyril) is of course possible. But if, however* we posit that the translation of the text was transm itted orally from lector to scribe, it is ju st as easy to suppose that, as the lcctor read the first Syriac letter pe in Praylius (giving Parailös), the scribe mistook the plosive sound of the Syriac pë for the letter beth> giving rise to the Georgian Bönlös. (Here the Greek -ay- has given way to -I- in the Syriac or G eorgian.) T he confusion of plosives and diphthongs in transliter­ ating from Greek to Semitic languages is p a te n t .74 M uch of Peeters' argum ent about the Syriac origin of the Greek text rests on this one example, but it should be apparent th at a Greek original is equally plausible. As for the nam e of Porphyrius' predecessor as bishop of Gaza, Peeters has come to some very strange conclusions. H e seems to trust the Syriac H abib over the Greek Eirenion for the first of them .751 find it difficult to imagine the bishop of so Hellenized a see as G aza with such a thickly Semitic nam e as H abib at so early a date. Nor need we suppose that Porphyrius' other predecessor Aeneas is to be confused with the philosopher and epistolographer Aeneas of G aza (ob, 518). If Peeters were honest, he would adm it that m any bishops and im perial officials arc singly attested in hagiographie texts, as a perusal of M. Le Q u ien ’s Oriens Christianus (3 vols., Paris 174Ü) will reveal. Is Peeters proposing the purging of the extant episcopal lists of the hapax onomazomenoi? It seems not, and so his argum ent cannot be accepted at face value. In the preceding chapter I have given the transcription Kynegios for the name of the im perial count and consistorianus who supervised the destruction of the G azan temples in 402. Peeters sees in the use of his nam e ari attem pt by M ark the Deacon to relate these events in some fashion to the work of M aternus Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect of Oriens 384—388.76 It is, he thinks, a rather stupid forgery 74 Cf, Arabic, which, lacking the plosive Lip” entirely, transliterates all Greek words beginning with the Greek pi by using the Arabic bä instead, as for example al-batnq for patrikios and al-balrak for painarchh. Peeters. “La vie géorgienne/' 82. Supra, Ch. TI, Sect. 3.

264

APPENDIX I

to invest the ries [.ruction of the M arneion with such supernal im portance .77 But this can hardly be the case, for M ark identifies this Kynegios specifically as a comes consistorianusf* T he Praetorian Prefect seems to have belonged to the im perial consistory, the suprem e advisorial body in the em peror's presence, only when he was in comitatu and not when on detached d u ty .79 His title had in any case singularly greater im portance than consi$iorianusy and so we m ust accept th at M ark had a p articular count in m ind, and not some long-dead Praetorian Prefect .00 T here are m any attested consistoriani about whom nothing else is known, as for example the list of comités consistoriani in the com m ittee th at compiled the T heodo­ sian Code, Superantius, M artyrius, Alypius. Sebastianus, Apollodorus, Theodore, and E ro n .01 Even chief notaries (protonotarii) were honored with this title. In one instance where the Greek life of Porphyrius provides an exact synchronism w ith an external developm ent, Peeters takes it, mulatis mutandis, as a sign of inauthenticity! The event in question was the dispatch of M ark the Deacon to C onstantinople to make the initial request for the closure of the G azan tem ples .02 His report in the Greek text indicates com m unication with the cuhicularius Eutropius and patriarch Jo h n C hrysostom .03 These two men were in fact both in office in the city from 26 February 398 until some­ time after 25 Ju ly 399, a period of at least fifteen m o n th s .**4 I f I understand him rightly, Peeters considers it asking too m uch for a text like the life of Porphyrius to be so reliable. Therefore, it is not, even though it has gotten the dates exactly r i g h t s This logic is, of course, a complete inversion of the rules of historical criticism. We prefer to argue that on this one im portant test the Greek life of Porphyrius is absolutely accurate, and this affects our judgem ent of M ark the D eacon’s other statem ents in a positive way. In the G eorgian version, Zeus M arnas is alm ost invariably refer­ red to as Nonas, perhaps an O ld T estam ent epithet of the G azan god Dagon and m eaning som ething like “of the fishes ” .05 He attrin Peeters, “ La vie g é o r g ie n n e ,83. /s V. Pnrphyrii, Cap. 0L Jones, Later Roman Empire, 333. so Indeed, Libanius refers to Maternus Cynegius as 4'prefect’* (ύπαρχος) in Or. 49.3 (Norman 2, 462-465). Cod. Theod. 1.1.6.2 (20 December 435). *2 Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne,” 83f. V,; Porphym, Cap.' 26, Peeters gives the wrong date for the fall ofEutropius. Bury, LRE 1. 132, n. 1, a-r’ “Nous ne disons pas, et personne ne dira, que cette combinasion chronolo­ gique soit impossible. Mais la donner pour naturelle et vraisemblable, c’est

APPENDIX I

265

butes this divergence to the Syrian redactor, who was loath to call the deity “ M a rn a ’* because of the word*s rcscm blancc to “ Märan ” , “ our L ord” >a Christian expression (pour éviter une homophonie presque blasphématoire). Peeters convicts him self of two errors here. First, if Nonos appeared in the Syriac “ original” , how does he account for the invariable use of M arnas and M arneion in the supposedly derivative Greek text? Secondly, it seems rather likely th at the Syriac did in fact call the god by its local name. W e discover upon inspecting the Georgian text that the name “ Nonos ’ 5 often turns up in construction with “ tem ple of7'. As I have suggested above, the Syriac m ore probably referred to this building as the “ house of M arn as” , that is Marnayä or M amaytä . T his said, it seems more likely that the allusion to Dagon in the G eorgian redaction was designed simply to lend the translation a m ore authoritative air by giving it a bit of Old T estam ent coloring. T he kind of religious scrupulosity Peeters attributes to the Syrian redactor really needs corroboration, b ut as he fails to supply other examples, it seems that this argum ent is his own clever invention. I am less troubled th an Peeters is about the nam es of various civil officials, ascetics, and clerics whose nam es fail to turn up in the episcopal lists, Greek synaxaries, and other sources *37 Among the church folk are Jo h n the m etropolitan of C aesarea, Procopius the monk of Rhodes, the lector Baruch, and little Irene-S alaphtha. As their deeds were not recorded in separate biographies, there was no particular need to add them to the synaxaries. T he argum ent is not strictly relevant anyw ay, because the com pilation of the synaxaries was a late developm ent th at occurred long after the Greek tradition about Porphyrius had been codified .88 T he civil officials like H ilar­ ius the subadiuva and Kynegios the consistorianus were not such “ high functionaries” as Peeters imagines. Scores of men will have borne these and sim ilar titles between 395-420. It is not of great im port th at few of their names have survived, nor should we expect this. The real plausibility of M ark the D eacon's work is found not in the num ber of names that can be cross-checked, but in w hat it has to say about the operation of institutions and interactions of social structures and cultural groups. Even if the author gave certain beaucoup demander à Timagination de celui qui sera chargé de la justifier. Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne,” 84. Peeters demands more than chronological accuracy. He needs faith! “ Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne,” 82 and passim. Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne,” 84Γ. 8q The Synaxanum Eccelsiae Cp. contains entries about persons of the early medieval period, and is thus quite a late compilation.

266

APPENDIX I

persons “ coded” nam es, which is possible, there is no particular reason to doubt the social behavior that he describes, w hether it was the collection of bullion from the destroyed tem ples (as h a p ­ pened also at A lexandria ),09 the slow rate of C hristianization inside Gaza (a fact supported by analogous developm ents in Athens and A phrodisias ).90 or the continued existence of rural tem ples .91 I have already discussed one aspect of the encounter w ith Ju lia the “ M anichaean” above. It is quite clear that M ark the Deacon had in m ind a cult th at wras syncrctistic in character and more H ellenic than dualistic. I have shown that traces exist of a longer account by the Syriac or G eorgian redactor. T he Greek version of the m eeting between Porphyrius and J u lia is not a caricature (insignificank caricature; pace Peeters), but an attem pt to come to grips w ith a real set of practices. Both G régoire-K ugener (1930) and Peeters express the belief (it is little m ore th an that) th a t M ark the Deacon, or pseudo-M ark, cribbed some of the Hellenic termi­ nology from the Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis (ob. 403 ) } a supposition that incidentally fails to affect the early terminus post quern that I am assigning to the Urredaktion of the Greek text. Even so, neither editor can point to a specific and detailed passage th at was directly cribbed, and so their argum ent is deprived of all force .92 It is in questions of historical interpretation about the “ M a n ­ ichaean 59 episode th at Peeters runs widest of the m ark .93 He sup­ poses th at “J u lia ” is simply an allegorical homonym to represent Ju lia n the Apostate. T his argum ent is completely untenable, as there are no parallels in the Ju lianic corpus. N or did his critics ever suggest th at he had ever corrupted C hristian y o uth .01 Different varieties of the nam e turn up in the nom enclature o f the dccurion class o f Antioch, as for example Julianus.·^ It m ay have been a common rwmen there. Nor wras the locus of Julian's last period of administration at Antioch a compelling reason lor M ark the Deacon βίί Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3. 90 Infra, Ch. TV and VL 91 Infra, Ch. V II-X L 92 Peeters, “La vie géorgienne” 86. Grégoire-Kugener (1930) lxxxviif. Peeters1 argument that Mark the Deacon saw the necessity o f having a Manichaean episode does not affect the terminus post quern either. He is unable to demonstrate a positive rcliance on a supposedly similar story told about bishop Cyril of Jer u­ salem (ob. 386), and so confines him self lo a passing reference to the tale. Peeters, “ La vie géorgienne.5’ 87f. A problematical inference of this kind might have been drawn from Julian's law against Christian sophists’ teaching in the schools, but Peeters missed this argument, which is specious anyway, because the law had little time to act before Julian's death ended the problem. 95 T.ibiiriius, Or. 48.42 (Norman 2} 456f.).

APPENDIX I

267

to invent an Antiochene origin for Ju lia . The apostate em peror’s stay in th at city was anything but a political success. He found public opinion in this largely C hristian city against him, and he disgraced him self even in the eyes of adm iring H ellenes like A m m ianus M arcellinus because of the excessive num ber of sac­ rifices he perform ed .96 Peeters w ants to have it both ways, for he claims that this J u lia also resem bled H ypatia, the N eoplatonist philosopher of A lexandria who was m urdered by C hristians in 415.97 The stories are entirely dissim ilar both as regards the philo­ sophical abilities of the women (Julia had none) and the story of their deaths. This last point enables Peeters to bring in Cyril of A lexandria (412-444), whom he sees as the foil for Porphyrius of G aza in M ark the D eacon’s narrative, both as regards the destruction of Ju lia and H ypatia, and also the closure of the temples. H ere Peeters blunders crassly. He identifies Cyril of A lexandria w ith the destruction of the Serapeum , an event th at took place during the p atriarchate of his uncle Theophilus in 391, fu lly twenty-one years before Cyril became patnarck in 412?* This is not simply a slip of the pen, for Peeters repeats the error again (les deux episodes}.99 Peeters then argues th a t M ark the Deacon sought to show, in contrast to C yril’s (jiV) activities in A lexandria, th at a t G aza the closure of the temples took place “ w ithout disorder or violence 55 1 Cyril of A lexandria got all he w anted from Pulcheria during these years, including being excused for the antiJ ewish rioting and m urder of the philosopher H ypatia, all of which he tolerated or indirectly instigated .130 T he argum ent that PorphyL*7 Bury, LRK 1, 214ff. Bury, LRE I, 218-220.

APPENDIX I

277

ri us lodged his request at the Synod of Diospolis is reinforced by M ark the D eacon’s silence about the event. The point is th at M ark had good reason to be silent because, as Sozomen tells us, the G azan bishop saw his proposal rejected, as I have argued, a second time. Sozomen provides an im portant hint as to the line of argum ent Porphyrius of G aza used at the Synod of Diospolis» H e conten­ ded th at " it was unlawful for two bishops to preside over one city”

(μή θεμιτόν είναι λέγων, μιας πόλεως δύο επισκόπους προεστάναι). T he provincial synod (ή του έθνους σύνοδος) re­ jected this claim and decreed instead that “ it was entirely proper for those deemed w orthy of ju st things because of their piety . . . even though they exercised that office through the decree o f a Hellenist emperor

(διά δε κρίσιν Έλληνιστοΰ βασιλέως άλλως πράξαντας). T he G azan bishop's argum ent lay in the accepted rule th a t a polis should have only one bishop. It is apparent th a t when Ju lia n the A postate reincorporatcd M aium a w ith G aza, he m ade a specific exception to this rule, which he probably regarded as otiose* and allowed the seaport to keep its own bishop. H e probably thought it better in any case to segregate Hellenes from C hristians, as histor­ ical forces were running quite strongly in favor of the new religion. His successor in the East, Valens, did not modify this arrangem ent. T he claims of old G aza lay d o rm a n t it seems, until Porphyrius argued anew for the historical rights of his see, as we have sug­ gested, in 402 and again in 415. This has an im portant connection with the composition of M ark the D eacon’s narrative. He could hardly discuss the Synod of Diospolis directly, as it reflected, according to this hypothesis, a second defeat for the claims of the G azan see. This was not a consequence of the a u th o r’s incom pe­ tence or lack of knowledge about the career of the “ real” P orphyr­ ius, as Peeters suggests, bu t a deliberately executed suppression of the truth about a disastrous political failure. This raises the question, finally, of the date and intended audi­ ence for the life of Porphyrius. An exam ination of the Greek text reveals rather careful attention to official titulature and protocol. M ark lists all bishops and civil officials by their correct titles and is most anxious to show th at Porphyrius worked through proper channels during the legation to C onstantinople in 402 and in all else, including the use of m ilitary force to suppress the great pagan riot {post 407). T his was supposed to obviate the supposition of his critics th at he practiced the sort of schemes for which T heophilus and Cyril o f A lexandria were legitim ately scorned and distrusted* Jo h n C hrysostom ’s carte blanche for the closure of the temples gave all Porphyrius’ enterprises a certain justification. T he num ber of

278

APPENDIX I

C hristians in G aza is deliberately played down, ju st as the strength of the pagan city councillors is exaggerated, If taken at face value, it justified Porphyrius 5 resort to the force majeure of the im perial a u ­ thorities in C aesarea and Constantinople. T he em phasis on pro­ tocol, as I have said, suggests an ecclesiastical audience. To w hat end? T he bishop of G aza had gone to the provincial synod of First Palestine to overturn a special concession granted to M aium a by the “ H ellenist ’5 em peror Ju lian . It served the prelate's purpose to posture as the greatest local antagonist of the old religion since T heophilus had closed the Serapeum in 391. T his view' was in wide circulation in Palestine when, as we have seen. H ieronym us was writing his com m entary on Isaiah in 408-410, and since his testi­ mony implicitly buys into this propaganda, it reflects a fairly popular view of the situation. T he story reflects the G azans' impli­ cit claim that all the political and religious devices of Hellenic religion should be dem olished vigorously, not only the tem ples but also the ruling of Ju lian the Apostate on the see of M aium a. It is obvious who the im m ediate beneficiary would have if the provincial synod had ruled differently. T he life of Porphyrius was in all probability circulated in an early redaction a few years after the provincial synod had rejected the G azan bishop’s claims. It is difficult to say w hether this took place before or after Porphyrius 3 death in 420. It dwelt in great detail on Porphyrius’ m onastic credentials, his fictitious early asso­ ciations with the current bishop of Jerusalem Praylius (4 1 7 ^ 2 2 ), who is falsely said to have ordained him a presbyter c, 392, cind of course the closure of the temples. T he original Greek prooimion of this redaction has not survived, and the events during the last decade of Porphyrius 5 episcopate are hardly treated because of his political failures. Porphyrius' supposed association writh Praylius in the narrative is not accidental. T he latter perhaps sym pathized w ith the claims of G aza during his episcopate, which incidentally began two years after the Synod of Dios poli s. T he rapprochem ent between the sees of Jerusalem and G aza in all probability lasted beyond the deaths of Porphyrius in 420 and Praylius in 422, The latter was succeeded by Juvenal, who gained recognition for his see as the fifth p atriarchate at the Council of C halcedon after nearly three decades of painstaking political m an ipulation.l3S Prior to 451, however, the bishops of both Gaza and Jerusalem had to live w ith inherited traditions of aggrievem ent 139 209fj:

Ernst, Honigmann. “ Juvenal of Jerusalem .” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 5 (1950),

APPENDIX I

279

over denied historical claims to status and power. It would have been n atu ral for them to cooperate at some level. T he extant Greek redaction of the life of Porphyrius is a later one* It belongs to the period right before the Council of C halcedon. T he reasons for this are twofold. First, the prooimion of this redac­ tion seems to have been cribbed partly from T heodoret of C yrrhus' Histona Pkilotheos or “ Lives of the Syrian M onks,’' whose publica­ tion date Pierre Canivet has put at no earlier th an 444 .140 O n the other hand, the bishop of Jerusalem is referred to throughout the Greek as simply “ bishop” (έπίσ κοπος) (and not “ p atriarch ” as in the G eorgian), w ithout any qualification or allusion to the state of affairs after 451. T his new or second redaction, which is the present Greek one edited by Grégoire and K ugener (1930), was therefore concocted on the eve of the Council of Chalcedon in the latter p a rt of the term inal years 444-451. The new redaction saw few changes, but they were significant. T he m ore dignified prooimion was w ritten to lend force to the im portance of the subject, the closure of the G azan tem ples. It relied on the Historia Philotheos of T heodoret, who had been deposed from his see at the Latrocinium in 449, but whose theology gained stock after the sum m oning of the Council of Chalcedon in 450—451. M ark the Deacon had probably died long before this. The redactor probably lived in First Palestine, and our suspicion is th at Ju v en al of Jerusalem sponsored the work. The prooimion, w ith its allusions to a recent and popular work of T heodoret, sought to pu t its sponsor Ju v en al somewhere in league with the revisionists who would not only overturn the L atrocinium but would also make Jerusalem the fifth patriarchate. The other editing was of a m inor order. The text was generally left in its original form except in C h ap ter 103, where M ark the Deacon refers to Porphyrius as “ surviving a few m ore years” after the cons true* tion of the Eudoxiana cathedral in 407, A form ulaic statem ent giving the date of Porphyrius 3death was clumsily juxtaposed to this phrase. If this rationale is accepted, w hat motive can be assigned to the redaction of 444—451? It will be recalled th a t H ieronym us in 408-410 was inclined to think that the closure of the Serapeum in 391 and that of the M arneion in 402 were events of a sim ilar order and im portance. Juvenal of Jerusalem perhaps considered it essen­ tial to publicize the great success of a Palestinian see in the struggle against Hellenic religion. Jerusalem could then, in a certain sense, 140 Théodoret cte Cyr, Histoire des moines de Syney cd. tr. Pierre Cavinet and Alicc Leroy-M olinghen 1 (Pans 1977), 3üf.

280

APPENDIX I

even if the argum ent was not entirely cogent, boast w ith the other eastern patriarchates th at great events lay in the recent past, thanks in p a rt to Pray li us of Jerusalem , Porphyrius 5 associate and suppor­ ter, and perhaps Ju v e n a l’s m entor. C onstantinople had seen to the cleansing of the Artem ision of Ephesus sometim e after 400, Antioch the destruction of Apollo's shrine in Daphne^ and A lexandria that of the Serapeum . It seems possible th a t in the prestige gam es th at preceded the Council of Chalcedon, J u v e n a l’s agents hawked copies of the redaction about, particularly in C onstantinople, to win civil and ecclesiastical sym pathy for their cause. T he subject greatly interested the em peror M arcian who sum m oned the oecumenical council. He published an cdict later th at year, given in C onstantinople to Palladius the Praetorian Prefect of O riens (14 Novem ber 451) th at dwelt anew upon the continued use of recently closed temples for sacrifice. It cannot be entirely excluded th a t the publication of the life of Porphyrius at this time increased the resolve o f the governm ent to suppress the elem ents of Hellenic cult that had persisted despite the publication of the Theodosian Code and T hird Novel of Theodosius I I in 438.141 T here rem ains one last question to be answered: why did Sozo­ men withhold the nam e of the bishop of G aza who sought to repossess M aium a for his see? I f he had not, our Porphyrius would probably not have ended up as a quasi-historical personality* b u t either a very real one or a non-existent one- T o discover the answer, we m ust have a further look at Sozom en's personal background. As we have seen, his family was one of the first in the G azan country­ side to accept C hristianity. They had done this w ithout the coer­ cion of im perial edicts or troops, and had become m igrants during the Ju lia n ic “ persecution” , which will have taken place m ainly at the hands of the G azan city councillors. As happened w ith m ost C hristian intellectuals c. 400, Sozomen will him self have become a C hristian sophist and advocate only after m uch controversy with the conflicting claims of the Hellenic educators in the schools vis à vis the Greek paidda and sacrifice .142 Both he and his family thus had strong anti-H ellenist credentials. T hey evidently knew the decurion family from which Ajax and Zeno, bishop of M aium a c. 395-400, had arisen. T he latter had these credentials as well, having probably come from a H ellenist family and later building a shrine near M aium a for three G azan m artyrs of Ju lia n 's H ellenic revival, Eusebius, Nestabos and Zeno. 111 Supra, Ch. I, Sect, 5. 14y Gf. infra, Gh. V passim.

APPENDIX I

281

It is to be strongly suspected th at this w eii-entrenched C hristian aristocracy greatly resented the fanfare th at accom panied Porphyrius’ schemes after 395. They will have regarded him as a dangerous interloper bent on getting credit for C hristianizing G aza and, even worse, of overthrow ing the autonom y of the C hristian families of M aium a in selecting their own bishops, m en who like Zeno had risen to considerable local repute. M ark the D eacon's narrative croates any num ber of false im pressions } as for exam ple th at the territorium of G aza was entirely polytheist c. 395, a supposition contradicted by Sozom cn’s observations about the conversion of his own family between c. 340-360. T he em phasis th a t Sozomen puts on the career of Zeno and the threats to the autonom y of the M aium an see relate not only to the publicity th at accom panied the G azan bishop’s grab for power, but quite possibly as well to the circulation of the earlier recension of the life of Porphyrius that was published, as we believe, after 415. Sozomen is quite obviously trying to give the second side to an already well-known story with self-conscious irony. Everyone knew the nam e of the G azan bishop in question, w hether from his constant hankering after im perial cdicts and endowm ents, or from M ark the D eacon’s pen* T he withholding of a well-known person's nam e in a context of criticism is usually to be taken as a form of tacit insult. T here were some persons in Jerusalem who acknowledged G aza's historical claim at the time Sozomen was writing, as we have argued above. It is difficult to conclude otherwise than th at Sozomen’s bishop of G aza was in fact M ark the D eacon’s Porphyrius, Even if “ Porphyrius5’ were to be understood as an encoded nam e, it is alm ost impossible to avoid the conclusion th at a bishop very m uch like this fellow closed the temples of G aza between 400—410. I have avoided addressing Peeters’ conclusions in any detail because m ost of the prem ises contained in the “ em pirical” section of his introduction to the G eorgian life of Porphyrius seem to be questionable, if not perverse, in light of the analysis given above. I have instead offered a historical context for the Greek text th at is m ore nearly appropriate. T he basic difficulty w ith Peeters> objec­ tions to the general or approxim ate authenticity of M ark the Deacon’s narrative lies in his failure to see it in the context of ecclesiastical politics in early fifth-century Palestine, It is not really such a naive text as he supposes. T he conventions of ecclesiastical rhetoric never really allowed for such plays of free association of nam es and events as Peeters imagines when he assigns the text to the sixth century. T he ecclesiastical politics of th a t time were simply too ruthless to allow for such carelessness in m atters of

282

APPENDIX I

detail. In this respect Peeters accepts the rath er common fallacy th at Late A ntique m en were rath er sim ple-m inded com pared to tw entieth-century scholars. It seems unlikely th a t this will be the last word w ritten on the subject, b u t a provisional case relying on hitherto uncxam incd — or carelessly examined—texts was considered essential to the treatm ent given the Porphyrius text in this history.

CHAPTER FOUR

A T H E N S A N D A T T IC A T he origins of the religious transform ation in Athens has few credible witnesses. The earliest testim onia are C hristian inscrip­ tions which hardly suggest a die-hard ecclesiastical structure c. 300 th at brooked no comprom ise with the prevailing Hellenic social and religious ethos. T he A thenians prided themselves on the tem ­ ples, altars, statues and shrines of every sort. These signs of the old religion abounded not only in the narrow ly concentrated, built-up area around the Akropolis, bu t along the routes leading up from the Peiraeus, the seaport of inland Athens, and elsew here .1 T he im ­ pression of a pervasive, even an tiquarian Hellenic religiosity given by M arinus ofN eapolis’ biography of the N eoplatonist philosopher Proclus (ob. 485) suggests continuous developm ent from the days when Pausanias composed his itinerary (2nd century A .D .), not­ w ithstanding the dam age inflicted by A laric’s Visigoths in 396.2 T he typical criteria for assessing the extent and pace of the C hris­ tianization of Athens are lacking, as there exists no hagiographie life of a bishop who closed the tem ples, nor have the C hristian inscriptions been published in large num bers .3 The extant litera­ ture falls mostly into the high-cultural mode: one can hardly guess from E u n a p i u s o f S ardis’ (ob. 414) Lives o f the Sophists and M arinus of N eapolis’ Life o f Proclus th at the prim itive C hristian com m unity of Athens had m ade serious inroads into the old religious ethos, albeit at the expense of some syncretism and borrow ing of term ino­ logical and conceptual features of the old beliefs. T o our authors, hardly anyone was worthy of note except the Hellenic sophist or student of rhetoric, unless he were a shipm aster who shanghaied pupils for certain teachers, as E unapius relates about his own

1 For preliminary discussion, see: Henri Ledercq “ A th è n e s/’ DAC L 1/2, ed. F, Cabrol and H. Leclercq (Paris 1924), 3039—3104. 2 Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 2. Charles M. Bayet, De Tituiu Atticae Chnstianis Commentatio Histoùca et Epigraphica (Paris 1878), Bayet in fact prepared the editio princeps o f many o f the texts now conveniently found in Insmptwms Graecae 3/2: Inscnptiones Atticae Aetatis Romanae, ed. YV. Ditten berger (Berlin 1882). This series is hereinafter abbreviated as IG and given in brackets after the citation from Bayet’s corpus.

284

CHAPTER FOLK

arrival in A thens,4 The abject of our inquiry will be the religious transform ation o f Attica, and the continuity of cull m ade obvious in M arinus5 Life o f Proclus. T he judgem ents will, however* be of a less quantitative nature than those m ade about G aza in First Palestine. L The Christianization o f Attica and the Epigraphy

A part from the notices in the Acts of the Apostles and references to a C hristian episcopate and rhetors in Eusebius of C aesarea’s eccle­ siastical history,0 the earliest record of the C hristianization of A thens lies in the epigraphy. No early C hristian inscription bears a date, however, until the late seventh century,** T hus, a probably pre-C onstantinian funerary inscription (3rd—4th century) reads: “ M aurus by name, son ofV ictorinus * . . [an Athenian?] by birth, a faithful C hristian, rests in this place, having reached the age of tw enty-one years.” 7 T he inscriptions which securely belong to later centuries (late 4th to 6th) invariably have crosses incised around them and use the word “ place of sleep5' (κοιμητήριον) for the tom b, a dating criterion indicating the relative antiquity of the M aurus text. The expression “ a faithful C h ristian 55 would neces­ sarily derive from a time when adherence to the new religion was unusual and a m ark of differentiation. T he inscription lacks the cross and C hi-Rho christogram of the post-C onstanlinian texts. Exam ples of this phenom enon— the term Christianos w ithout the 4 Eunapjius. Lives of the Sophists (Wright* 473f* ). Ä Ευ.sc bins of Caesarea provides the vaguest hints about an early Christian community in Athens, the supposed first bishop being Dionysius the Arcopagitc, a suffragan to the archiépiscopal see o f Corinth (HE 3.4.11). The archbishop o f Corinth, another Dionysius, is said to have written an epistle cautioning the Athenian congregation against apostasy to Hellenic religion c. 136-180 after the execution o f their bishop Publius in a persecution o f seemingly local origin (HE 4.23.2). The community survived thereafter under the leadership of bishop Q uad­ ratic (HE 4,23.2-3). T he incidence of Latin names in the episcopate suggests the growth of Christianity amongst slaves and freedmen who were cthnic Greeks, but received their names from the gentüiàa nomina o f city councillors who had attained Roman citizenship and civic renown during the era of Herodes Atticus (i.e. Titus Claudius Atticus 11er odes, fl. c. 140 A .D .). the great public benefactor. The Christian philosopher Athenagoras of Athens (2nd c,) is reliably believed to have composed an apology lor his faith addressed to Marcus Aurelius (161-180) and to have published a treatise on the resurrection of the dead. Athenagûrae Libdlus pro Chnstianis. Oratio de Resunectione Cadaveromm, ed. Eduard Schwartz (Leipzig 1891). 6 A .K . Orlandos and A. Vranousë, Ta Charagmata tou Partiienönos (Athens 1973), no. 34, the earliest Christian episcopal inscription, that of Andrew dated 693. But many o f the other inscriptions in Orlandos' collection arc certainly no later than the sixth century, to judge from their letter forms (e.g. no. 25). Bayet, no. 75 (ÏG 3/2 3435). The rounded epsilon, sigma, and omega uncials are typically 2 n d -4th c.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

285

symbols—-are characteristic o f third- and fourth-century inscrip­ tions in Asia M inor and Syria as welLs U nderlying this form at lay a desire not to offend the opinion of Hellenes whose tombs and m onum ents at times shared the same nekropoleis, or to avoid provok­ ing defacement. A nother early but undated inscription with the C onstantinian symbols reads (4th century): “ Sam batis and D e­ m arche lie in this place, C hristians. P CDP A P .’59 The owners of the tom b found it necessary to advertise their cult, once again, when few C hristians were about in A thens, even after the C onstantinian victory in the East in 324. These inscriptions suggest two premises: first, that in the crucial period between c. 284—337 the adherents of the new religion were som ething of a rarity; and, secondly, th at conversions at this time were, as it were, “ com plete” , and paid little tribute to the intensely pagan ethos o f Athens. No chic Hcllcnic euphem ism s for the C hristian God appear. R ather, the dead are Christianoi pure and simple. T he dead “rest” and “lie55, but do not die, an im plicit affirmation of the C hristian resurrection which avoids the usual pagan lam entations about cruel fate and the w retched state of the d e a d .10 All this suggests a cult th at rigidly resisted the torrents of rhctoric th at poured from the high-cultural philosophical schools, funerary epigram m atic conventions, and the poetic traditions of the city of Athens. T he C hristians rath er verbalized their sentim ents from the Scptuagint and New T estam ent books.11 T his tendency had undergone some modification by c. 400. A new C hristian m ilitancy had crept into the epigraphy: “ (Cross) C hrist has con­ quered. M ay it happen. A m en.” (+ ό X(pLcrüà)ç ένύκησεν, αμήν γ έ ν ο ίτο ).12 T his expression invariably turns up in towns where the local bishop or monks engaged in converting or de­ m olishing temples, or m anifested the intention to do so.13 Parallel to this tendency, however, cam e the adm ission of in ­ creasing num bers of A thenian pagans to the C hristian catechum en­ ate who would not, or could not, forsake their ties to Hellenic culture. It is sometimes supposed th at the N eoplatonic scholars of A See, for example, the texts collected by W ,M . Calder, “ Philadelphia and M ontanism ,” Bulletin as one inscription (4th-5th century) indicates: “ Funerary m onum ent of Dionysius the silk-worker, a dom estic servant of the proconsul Plutarch the clarissimus” (+ Μ νη μ όρ ιον

Διονυσίου συρικαρίου οίκαίχη (= οίκέτου) του λαμπροτάτου Πλουτάρχου ανθυπάτου).51 G roag puts P lu tarch ’s tenure as pro­ consul of the province of Achaea c. 375-425 .52 T he governor and his extended family appear to have been pagan, if the supposed rela­ tionship amongst the different Plutarch inscriptions of Attica is accurate .53 T he proconsul, whose official residence was in C orinth, had estates and industrial shops in Attica, whose considerable work force included slaves. These facilities lay at a site outside Athens near T rachon, where the inscription was discovered ^4 The pre­ sence of C hristian slaves in pagan households had always been quite com m on ,55 T he m an's theophoric nam e Dionysius suggests, however, th a t the new religion had begun to find converts even in the rural estates of A ttica where C hristian churches and clergy hardly existed. T he m an m ay have been purchased elsewhere for his special skills, or perhaps his workshop had at one time stood in A thens where he was exposed to the influence of the new religion. I he dem ographic features of the C hristianization of A thens in the fifth century are difficult to docum ent because of the paucity of the evidence, but some generalizations are possible. In the period before the death of Ju lia n the A postate the church and its adherents were inward turning and m ade few compromises w ith the religious culture of the city, bu t after c. 365 everything was in flux. A risto­ crats, artisans, and slaves began to accept the new religion and brought their cultural baggage w ith them , enjoying an easy toler­ ance from the bishops, who had themselves probably come from E upatrid families and were themselves Hellenists in some sense, particularly after church properties began to increase, basilicas to be built, and the prestige of holding the episcopate rose. T he historian would probably not go wrong in draw ing one conclusion from a com parison betw een Athens and Gaza, nam ely that, be­ cause of the prestige of the local cults and influence of the schools of philosophy, the regular increm ent of new C hristians was no m ore than a trickle, perhaps one or two hundred per annum . T he Neo­ platonic cant and epithets of the local gods belonged to the average M Bayet, no, 102 (IG 3/2.3513).

Groag, Reichsbeamten von Achaia 59. Ibid., 59-62, 64 Bayet, no. 102. S5 C f the female Christian slave o f the pagan matron Aelia o f Gaza. Supra, Ch. I l l , Scct. 2.

292

CHAPTER FOUR

A thenian’s everyday vocabulary, and these tendencies colored the popular theology of the church. T h a t church was “ liberal” by fifth-century standards because of its Hcllenic tone, The decisive blow against the old cults certainly came c. 481—84 with the rem ov­ al of the statue of A thena from the P arthenon and the dem olition of the Asklepieion. T he closure of the tem ples in G aza in 4-02 has a paradigm atic significance for the early fifth century. Large num ­ bers of erstwhile pagans rushed to the C hristian churches as soon as workmen laid their hands on the pagan shrines, but the exact circumstances in Athens are unknown. T he dcrgy of the A thenian church, or the church itself in its official role, carried over much of the terminology of the old religion when it converted tem ples. These transactions occurred toward the end of the fifth century, probably between 481—488 as will be seen below,5* O ne example appears on the Erechtheion, a tem ple on the Akropolis which served several deities and displayed the K aryarids on its south porch: "M o th e r of God, mistress of believers, save the cross (?) and protect your suppliant Dionysius Jo h n , a hum ble m an and psalm ist of the catholic church of A thens.”5' H ere the deliber­ ately Christian vocative “ M other of G od” (θρ.οδόχε) is deliberately juxtaposed with the Hellenic “ m istress” (δέσποινα) > a nam e of Ilek ate and Artem is, but particularly of the chthonic D em eter of Eleusis .58 T he expression “ save the cross ' 5 (τό κ έρ α ς σώζε) would refer to the recent erection of the C hristian symbol on the sacred hom e-ground of Hellenism and hints at fear lest the adherents of the old religion remove the cross. Similarly the Hellenic “ sup­ p lia n t” (ικέτης) is juxtaposed with the C hristian clerical a ttrib u ­ tive “ hum ble 77 (τα π εινό ς). T he see of Athens found it necessary to express its public position in language th at all would understand, nam ely that a quasi-divine female figure, in the m ind of Hellene and C hristian alike, guarded the newly erected cross, the symbol of C hristian victory. III. Hellenic Religion c. 400

At the beginning of the fifth century Athens had to all appear­ ances undergone little or no religious transform ation. A lthough a small C hristian com m unity had been in existence for several cen™ Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. y EphemeHdes} p, 1309, no. 3467. Quoted by Ltxlercq, “A th e n s/1 3062. 1,0 Supra, Ch. Π, SexL 4. See also O r la a d o s-V r a n o u .së , Charagmata tou Panthem?ios, nos* 25, 87, 212.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

293

turies and had grown considerably since the time of C onstantine the G reat (324—337 in the East), rem inders of the Hellenic religion stood everywhere: the temples on the Akropolis dom inated by the Parthenon, the Asklepieion on the south slope, the other tem ples, and innum erable shrines dedicated to lesser deities, to the H ellenic heroes, and to the ancestors of the aristocratic families which still put up candidates for the office of archon eponymous, staffed the city council, and supervised the great public processions like the P anathenaia, which included the dragging of the sacred boat of A thena from the Peiraeus to the Parthenon. Civic rituals of this kind were strictly tolerated by the C hristian em perors .^9 O nly one significant difference struck those whose rem em bered the old days: if the air was still scented with inccnsc, the billowing smoke which carried the smell of sacrificial meats round the base of the Akropolis was lacking. The C hristian emperors had handed down successive laws proscribing public sacrifice, and so the urban poor will have presented themselves in increasing num bers at the churches for daily bread instead of w aiting for the sacrificial m eats d istributed at the festivals. So too an occasional C hristian litany led by the bishop will periodically have threaded its way through the streets in bodies of people too small to suggest the religious transform ation th at was about to take place in A thens .60 Asterius of Am asea (ob. 410) provides a full, if hostile, survey of the popular cults still practiced in A ttica probably no earlier than 390-400 in his Encomium on the Holy Martyrs , a work w hich defends the cult o f m artyrs against pagan critics who ridiculed C hristians as w orshippers of m yriad dead m en :61 Did you not reflect on Demeter and Kore in your dementia? Did you not build two temples to female deities and honor them with sac­ rifices, and make the proskynesis with every kind of rite? Is not the acme of your worship the mysteries at Eleusis, and does not the Attic demos and all Hellas assemble, that they might worship the most vain things? Is there not in that place a dark stairway, and arc there not sacred rites of the hierophant with the priestess, him alone with her? Are not the lamps extinguished, and do not the considerable and innumerable people think the acts accomplished by the two in dark­ ness to be their salvation? Do you not make proskynesis to the Theban Dionysus as a god (I speak of his fatherland, that you might know the human being [rather than supposing him a god]), a viticulturist and 39 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 2. 60 The case of Gaza between 395-402 provides a good example o f a Christian procession in a predominantly pagan city. Supra, Ch. III. Sect. 2. 01 Asterios o f Amasea, Homilia X in SS* Martyres, PG 40, 324A -D . Cf. Idem, Homilies l- X I V , ed. C, Datema (Leiden 1970), 140, for a more developed text*

294

CHAPTER FOUR lover o f w in e an d reveller w h o p la y s drunken, tricks, w h o le a d s a demos slurred w ith d ru n k en n ess, d o in g th o se th in gs w h ich m ake th em lic e n ­ tiou s profliga tes, a n d w h o b e h a v es d ru n k en ly w ith o ld m a n S ilen o s, an d sp en d s tim e w ith th e S atyrs w h o are fon d o f ca p erin g , an d w h o provid es a h isto ry o f d ru n k en n ess for a w ay o f life? D o y o u not co n d u ct sacrifices to the m a n H e r a c le s, as th o u g h h e w ere a go d , a stron g m an w h o h a p p en ed to h a v e a p o w erfu l a n d virile body? D o y ou n ot w orsh ip th a t m a n because, h e had virtue in m a n y [great d eed s] an d esca p ed from m a n y an im a ls? W h y d id y o u a d m ire an d w o rsh ip A sk lep io s, w h o carried m a n y th in gs a rou n d in a can e an d iron box? D o you n ot d e sp ise the fact th at y o u d o this? F or the tem p les every w h ere in the oikoumene— I sp ea k o f th e A sk le p ieio n s an d H erak eion s— h a v e sto o d refu ted for v a n ity .

C onspicuously absent is A thena, whose cult had becom e largely a civic function by this tim e, cxcept am ong the professors of p h i­ losophy. and had perhaps becom e so dangerous to celebrate as to ossify in the public im agination. O n the other hand, the savior, benefactor, agrarian and underw orld deities rate d high esteem am ong the A thenians: Asklepios w ith his m edical chest whose tem ple in A thens rem ained a site of prayers and incubation until c. 481—488;C2 D ionysus> whose cult was linked to the wine cycle between Septem ber and Decem ber in the M editerranean lands, and had special shrines in A thens near the Akropolis ;63 Heracles, who m ust have had a place am ong the shrines dedicated to heroes th a t the N eoplatonist Proclus v isite d ,64 along w ith those o f Achilles ;65 and Demeter, whose formal cult (but not the popular one) became extinct late in the lifetime of E unapius of Sardis (ob* 414) after the old priestly families had died off and an aristocrat from Thespiae in Boeotia received the office of hierophant .65 As te­ rms, like many other Christians, may have visited Athens as a student, although firm evidence is lacking .67 As a resident of Am asea, he m ight have railed about the w orship of the M other of the Gods and other local A natolian deities, hu t instead confined his rem arks to Attica, an argum ent that he had a different audience in 62 Infra, Appendix II and III. 63 Dionysus was still being invoked during the Brumalia, the final stage of the wine cycle in December, when the fermented fluid was poured into bottles for distribution and consumption, c, 691, when the Council in Trullo was convened in Constantinople. Frank R. Trombley, “The Council in Trullo (691-692): A Study o f the Canons Relating to Paganism, Heresy, and the Invasions/* Comitaius 9 (1978), 5f. 64 Marinus, Vita Ptocli 36 (Boissonade, 28). 6ä Zosintus of Panium, Historic, Nova 4.18.2-4. Infra, Ch. IV, footnote 111, for editions used, m Eunapius, Lives v f the Sophists (Wright, 436-39), 67 Cf. the ease o f John Chrysostom, infra.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

295

m ind, A strictly antiquarian critique of the A thenian cults would have required some m ention of A thena, Zeus, and Pan, but this is lacking, and hence the contem porary relevance of his encomium. The old cults and practices were still deeply rooted in A thenian socicty and culture c. 40Û. T his rule applies not only to the phi­ losophers and rhetors of the Academy and other schools, but also to the decurion class draw n from the Attic aristocracy. T his group provided candidates for the archonship, sat in the city council y and held the different priesthoods. A m an with suitable connections m ight at times have combined several of these offices in his own person. The post-Julianic aristocracy is known mostly from scat­ tered notices in inscriptions and literary sources. T he earliest of these turns up in George of A lexandria’s seventh-century life of J o h n Chrysostom , who is reputed to have visited Athens briefly to study ,63 The authenticity of the historical data in this text has been periodically challenged and does in fact pose m any difficult prob­ lems, which are dealt with in an appendix below .69 The time of C hrysostom ’s visit would have been between Ju ly 367 when he completed his rhetorical studies w ith Libanius in A ntioch, and Easter in 368, the earliest date at which he could have accepted baptism .70 George of A lexandria's account appears to go back to real historical evidence. His description of social relations is of the utm ost significance for und erstan d in g the C hristian izatio n of Attica. In the w inter o f 367/8 the city council of Athens consisted alm ost entirely of Hellenes. At the apex sat the archon eponym ous, whom George of A lexandria styles as the father of the city (πατήρ π ό λ ε ω ς ) ,71 The m a n was a Hellene, as were the landed m agnates (οι μεγιστάνες) that m ade up the city council .72 They are described as “ landow ners and archons of the city and of its terriiorium” (των

κτητόρων καί αρχόντων τής πόλεως και τής περίοικου αυτής).73 T he rhetors and sophists of the schools were also of the old religious opinion. Eunapius of Sardis 5 survey of their careers in the Lives o f T he relevant sections of George of Alexandria/s life are found in D ouze Récits byzantins sur Saint Jean Chrysostom , cd, François Halkin (Subsidia Hagiographica 60, Brussels 1977), 76-88, Hereinafter citcd as Vita Ckrysosiomi. 69 Cf. infra, A ppendix [1.

70 Robert E. Carter, “ The Chronology of Saint John Chrysostom’s Earlv Life,” Traditio 18 (1962), 357-364.

71 George of Alexandria, Vita Chiysostomi, 79, Une 6f. Cf. Nilos of Ankyra, E p. 2.36, who reports a certain Dem osthenes, who served as “father of the city” (πατήρ ττόλεωζ) of an unnamed polis. PG 79, 213C -D . 72 George of Alexandria, Vita Chrysostomi^ 79, Hue 28f. 53 Ibid., 78, line 29f

296

CHAPTER FOUR

the Philosophers and Sophists discloses only one C hristian am ongst the

scores of A thenian professors, a certain Prohairesios. who was incidentally Eunapius* praeceptor w hen the la tte r studied in A thens ,74 Eunapius m ust have om itted the biographies of m any m inor figures out of personal spite or political d islik e d O ne of these was perhaps a certain Anthem ius, another H ellene whom the biography of Chrysostom asserts dom inated the intellectual life during the ear)y post-Julianic period, to the extent, it is said, of having a statue w ith an honorific inscription (στήλη) erected for him in Athens and also in Rom e .76 At the bottom of the social structure lay the people, the ordinary citizens of Athens, among whom C hristianity had begun to make inroads, and the resident aliens. Am ong the latter num bered the students in the schools, m any of whom like G regory of Nazianzus, one of the founders of the new C hristian sophistic, and Ju lia n the A postate were C hristians. It can hardly be doubted that m any adherents of the new religion lived am ong the shipm asters and businessm en of the Pciraeus, ju st as they did in M aium a, the seaport of G aza in First Palestine, a city which was otherwise alm ost entirely pagan in 367. T he conditions prevailing at Athens emerge from George of A lexandria's narrative about the public reception given C hrysos­ tom by the city council. It is said that he was conveyed to the bouleutic cham ber in a spécial chariot (όχημα) reserved for cere­ m onial occasions ,77 and th a t the archon bade him sit in the m iddle (έν μέσω) where not only the local officials but also the sophists and rhetors might greet and question him . T he event is not im probable in the context of praefectural and local provincial politics, nor in the realm of late fourth-century intellectual life, Chrysostom was him self the son of Secundus, magister militum per Orientent, who had had all the m ilitary form ations of the eastern frontier under his com m and. Thu m an had acquired im m ense w ealth in the course of his career, in large m easure through his m arriage to A nthusa, a wom an of the landed aristocracy and decurion class of A ntioch .70 74 Eunapius, Lives o f the Sophists (Wright, 476ft'.). 75 For example, Eunapius makes short shrift of Libanius and Porphyrius o f Tyre, Lives of the Sophists (Wright, 5 IB—27 and 3Ö2—63, respectively). Kunapius rondcmns Libanius1 style of rhetoric as 'Treble, lifeless, and u ninspired/5 and as pre-pucrile (Ibid,, 522f,). His verdict on Porphyrius is more positive. T he reason for Porphyrius} brief treatment perhaps lay in the fact that he had rejected sacrifice to the gods in connection with his adhcrcnce to Pythagoriamsm. Apart from his polem ic against Christians, Porphyrius’ writing proved most useful to the Chris­ tian polcm ic against Hellenic cult and theology. Cf. infra, Ch. V, Sect. 3 and 4. 7G George of Alexandria, Vita Chiysoslomi, 78, lines 22-25. 77 Ibid., 79, line 8. C£ IG 14.1072. 76 George of Alexandria, Vila Chrysostomi, 73. Jones, Laker Roman Empire, 599.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

297

Sufficient money had been left to the widow after Secundus’ p rem a­ ture death to finance Jo h n C hrysostom ’s studies under Libanius, one of the most prom inent rhetors of the late fourth century .79 It was after the completion of his studies w ith th at m an in Ju ly 367 that the young scholar, still a catechum en, appears to have sailed for Athens, perhaps to overcome the taint of provincialism and to exchange views with his contem poraries, the sine qua non for ro u n d ­ ing out his somewhat H ellenistic education.aG Chrysostom was, on the other hand, well connected politically and a student of the great Libanius (of whom E unapius incidentally makes short shrift), and was h ardly travelling incognito . T h e provincial aristocracy of A thens, some of wrhom m ust have attained senatorial rank, had everything to gain by regaling the son of a senior contem porary whose political acquaintances had undoubtedly included the co­ emperors Valens and V alentinian I before their elevation to im pe­ rial power. Furtherm ore, even if Eunapius makes short shrift of Libanius in the Lives , one can hardly conclude that A thenians at large shared such sentim ents about his status as a professional. T hus, when the sophist A nthem ius reputedly com plained about the prom inent seat given Chrysostom in the bouleutic cham ber ,**1 the archon Dem osthenes reto rted :82 It is neccssary, O philosopher, that you act and speak and behave in a manner befitting a philosopher. You have neither the title nor the right to perform acts or make speeches in a manner apart from custom in the middle of this colloquium, or to do the same as the demesmen and cry oui like certain rustics who drive animals out on the plains or like those who arc set upon by brigands. Even if this wise John has been honored by us, we could not accomplish anything for him outside the customary, just because he is in the first place the son of a man who bccamc the great magister militum in Antioch and it was fitting to render him honor bccause of his rank. Chrysostom certainly had the rhetorical credentials to speak in this company as well. In the subsequent interview, the discussion between C hrysostom and his interlocutors is said to have devolved upon m atters of /9 The authority lor this datum is Socrates, HE 6.3 (PG 67, 665A), who was a near contemporary, I find A J . Festugière’s wavering scepticism on this question unnecessary, Antiocke païenne d chrétienne: Libanius, Chrysostome et tes moines de Syne (Paris 1959), 409!'. ftfï George of Alexandria, Vita Chrysostomi, 78. Such an interpretation is consis­ tent with the low esteem as a rhetorician in which Libanius was held by his peers. Supra, Ch. IV, ri. 75. George of Alexandria, Vita Chrysostomi, 80, lines 5-23. Ibid/, 80, lint3 29 to 81, line 2.

298

CHAPTER FOUR

religious opinion. It can hardly be doubted that he had already refused lo partake of sacrificial m eats and the round of polytheistic rites that the open shrines m ade available to visitors in Athens during the tolerant reign of the co-emperors Valcns and V alenti­ nian I .03 including- m any a C hristian catechum en .84 Chrysostom would thus have been well known by the time he came before his audience, and had probably already vented his views on the perva­ sive character of the A thenian cults. T o these he shows no mercy in the diatribe reported by George of A lexandria in the bouleutic cham ber. He is said to have denounced Apollo, Zeus, Kronos, H erm es. Aphrodite and H era as '"dead gods ' 3 (θεοί νεκ ρ οί), de­ spite the existence of their shrines in A thens .*1 M any Hellenes would doubtless have agreed here, for the cult of the O lym pians was dying out everywhere by this time, and had been for centuries earlier, l heir nam es persisted mostly in non-G reek cults which had adopted their onom astics during the H ellenistic period and given them to local gods that had equivalent functions. T hus at G aza the C retan-born Zeus still received ardent worship, as did a Semitic fertility goddess conveniently called A phrodite .85 So too did the E gyptian K ronos .^7 Chrysostom supposedly noted as well the con­ tinuing devotion to A thena and A rtem is, whose statues, particu­ larly the chryselephantine A thena of the Parthenon, still stood (στήλαι), and whom the C hristian rhetor called “little w hores ” .88 As has been already noted, the cult of A thena had by this tim e become a civic festival am ongst the ordinary citizens, but the philosophers, rhetors and sophists, whom Chrysostom had in mind, continued to worship her as the "philosopher goddess” . He adds th at their cults led to “acts of magic and poisoning7' (μαγεία κ α ι φ α ρ μ α κ εία )j a probable reference to the theurgy which had become popular among philosophers like M axim us of Ephesus, who had cultivated the female deity H ekate .89 Also objectionable to Chrysostom were the “ statues of every sort of wild beast, m ade of stone and wood, and by every m aterial tec h n iq u e ” (α τή λα ς Supra, Ch. IT, m 46. 34 For Christian catcchumens who performed sacrifices c. 490, see infra, Ch. V, Sect. 2-A. Among them was the future rnonophysite leader Severus o f Sozopolis. This was not an isolated instance. The survival of the Hellenic gods7 shrines in Athens until c. 4Ô4, along with the Parthenon and Asklepieion, is implicit in Marinus Vita Procli. Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. 36 Supra, Ch. I l l , Sect, 2 and 4. “7 Infra, Ch. IX, Sect. 1. ™ και ώς Θεοι; λατρεύουσιν α ν τ α ίς JtopvLKüÎç γυ να ικ α ρ ίοις. George o f Alexandria, Vita Chiysostorai, 82, line 27f. ^ Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3,

ATHENS AND ATTICA

299

κνώδαλών παντοίων καί θηρίων έν ξύλοις και λίθοις και πάση υλική τεχνουργία γενομένων) >90 H e was perhaps thinking here of the sphinxes that graced so m any Greek shrines, Chrysostom de­ nounced in fine , “ the profane literature of Greek mythology, which relates the story of indecent and licentious persons, webs of daimones, the rites of m agicians and of those who make incantations, and the soul-destroying evil a rts5’ (ή γάρ των Ελλήνων βέβηλος

συγγραφή μυθολογίας, γοητών τε και έπαοιδών τελετάς και ψυχοφθόρους κακομηχανίας),91 These words will hardly have earned the assent o f the assem bled crowd in the bouleutic cham ber, which included not only archons, councillors, sophists, rhetors, and philosophers, but also an interested portion of the populace (πας ό λαός), m any of whom had a rudim entary schooling in the Greek paideia?1 A t any rate, C hrysostom ’s invective is said to have draw n shouts of approval from the C hristians present *93 This is not im ­ possible in light of the C hristian funerary inscriptions discussed above, some of which belonged to families of high social standing. It m ust be adm itted th at Chrysostom 's contentions are form ulated in the m anner of a school-boy’s composition, and lack the sophis­ tication of argum entation already seen from the pen of M ark the D eacon, Asterius of Am asea, and even the quaestorial staff that drafted the laws of Theodosius the G reat and the co-em perors A rcadius and Honorius. The archon Dem osthenes and Anthem ius the sophist are said to have delivered rebuttals which chided Chrysostom for ingratitutde to his benefactors in the bouleutic cham ber and accused him of abom inating the local gods. A nthem ius 5 reply is a particularly forccful version of the sophistic reply to the blows of the new religion against the dying polytheism in A thens :94 Every man who comcs to the school of this city imparts honor and service to Lhe gods by going up to the temple of the great goddess Athena and, falling before her, by asking her to make his reasoning wise for excellence in the sciences. Wherefrom happening upon [this excellence] through her help, they turn back in order to acknowledge her for very many benefactions in their own affairs. This John alone, having come here, was taught thoroughly all the wisdom of grammar to the summit by the power and care of Athena, and has now been honored by your excellency and the citizens in a manner beyond all those who have preceded him in the school. He did not impart the 90 George of Alexandria, Vita Chiysostomi, 82, lines 17-19. 91 Ibid., 82, lines 10-12. 92 Ibid., 78, line 29. M Ib id ., 83, line 5f.

94 Ibid., 83, line 26 to 84? line 10.

300

CHAPTER FOUR fittin g and n ecessa ry thanks and reco m p en se to th e city a n d his b en efactors, b u t he even in su lted th e g od s o f th e city , even a b o m in a tin g the sacrcd tea ch in g s a n d reck on in g th em m y th s. A n d fu rth erm ore all th ose d ep artin g the tem p le o f the g rea t A th en a w ere carried o ffb y h im to h is tea ch in g [th e C h ristia n relig io n ]; a n d all th e a n c ic n t o b jects o f aw e sh a ll be d o w n tr o d d e n by the C h ristia n s.

The prevalence of the cult of “ great goddess A thena” am ongst the gram m arians and philosophers, including the trek up to the P ar­ thenon (εις τό ιερόν τή ς μεγάλης θ εά ς ’ Α θήνας) recurs. T he worship given her was viewed in term s of the peace of the g o d s , for w ithout her help (ε π ικ ο υ ρ ία ) the excellence of the sciences (μαθήματα) taught in Athens m ight decline. T his section of the narrative is fully consistent w ith the beliefs and practices of Proclus a century later. Elsewhere the sophist A nthem ius makes the more traditional argum ents about the pax deorum:95 C hrist d oes n ot n ou rish us, b u t the earth g iv es b loom to fruits w h en it is w ell-cu ltiv a ted a n d so w n b y farm ers. A n d the air in crea ses and n o u rish es th em b y the o r d in a n ce an d fo resig h t o f th e g o d s.

This argum ent had a p articular relevance for Attica, which had not been agriculturally self-sufficient since the early fifth century B .C ,96 A nthem ius’ peroration indicates one additional thing: Chrysos­ tom. although only a catechum en, or rhetors like him, had perhaps been proselytizing am ong the gram m arians and sophists. A nthe­ m ius’ words express the fear th at defections from the old religion and the abandonm ent of all the ancient cult practices (πάντα χά α ρ χα ία ημών σεβάσματα) m ight lead to the closure of the tem ples w ith the w aning of local support. 'The latter was already an accom ­ plished fact in cities w'here m any conversions had taken place amongst the decurion class, the preservers of the old order. Gaza. A phrodisias, and Athens were, by 367/8, three im p o rtan t excep­ tions to the tendencies of the age, so th at an A thenian Hellene c. 367 m ight well have feared this eventuality. It would be interesting to know w hat public position, if any, Gregory of N azianzus and the other C hristian scholars had taken vis à vù the old religious opin­ ions a decade earlier during their educational stay in Athens. O ne suspects th at their comm ents were rath e r m ore m uted than those of C hrysostom , particularly as m any of them came from ordinary decurion families. T he greatest danger to any local Hellenic religious establishm ent Ibid.. 35f. Trombley, “ Boeotia in Late A ntiq u ity/' 217. T his is also implicit in Eunapius, L iie s o f the Sophists (Wright, 382f.).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

301

consisted in the emergence of a cause célébré about the old religion. It might come about by anti-C hristian riots (as at A lexandria), the exclusion of Christians from local social and political life (as we saw in the case of G aza), or bitter recrim inations between the C hristian and pagan intelligentsia. W hatever drew the attention of the gov­ ernm ent at C onstantinople to local divergences from past im perial edicts against pagan cult held great danger for its adherents. These laws were held in abeyance under the co-emperors Valens and V alentinian I, but rem ained on the books. Furtherm ore, the danger always existed of new edicts. It is possible, in fact, th at the co-cm pcrors did issue edicts bearing on this question in response to local conditions th at the Theodosian codification om itted. T he archon Demosthenes is said to have reprim anded A nthem ius with this in view. George of A lexandria’s biography of Chrysostom gives the gist of D em osthenes 1 precautionary invective :97 O ur revered em perors arc Christians and have published edicts that no one sacrifice to any other god than the one Christ w hom they w orship and believe in. T hose w ho devote them selves to H cllenic worship having learned this accom plish it secretly, and those w ho do this here, if they becom e known to the em perors, are ruined and destroyed by them , since they have despised their im perial and inexorable com m and. C ease, A nthem ius, to expatiate at length, lest this discourse reach their w'orthy ears, and the lim ited and secret worship o f the gods gel not only from our m idst, but we be set upon by perils and fatal punishm ents, because each hum an being and every land that is in truth under their authority w orships C hrist and all revere him. Today their em pire and glory have even subjected m any barbarian nations. T h e latter have subm itted their necks to them from the tim e w hen the Roman em perors put their trust in Christ. Even I was associated with their faith before I cam e to this m agistracy. Be satisfied with this and keep silent in w hat you say about this.

T he existence of cryptopagans in the A thenian city council c. 367 would be consistent with the times. M any persons who converted to C hristianity in the face of C onstantius IP s harsh policies— not to m ention those who did so for the sake of political advancem ent— will have thrown off the façade when Julian received the oecumenical imperium in 361, only to lapse afterward into cautious or secret practices (ή μικρά καί κρυπτή τω ν θεών λατρεία), including sac­ rifice, in the uncertain times after his death. O ne need not have been baptized to have m aintained the façade. D em osthenes 3 phrase that he “associated” or “ com m unicated” with the C hristian em perors’ George of Alexandria, Vita Chrysostomi, 84, lines 11-29.

302

CHAPTER FOUR

faith (κάγώ Ôè αυτός έκοινώνησα χΐ\ πίστει αύτοις) before his m agistracy may simply indicate the acceptance of his catechum enate by the bishop of Athens, a practice characteristic o f m any serious C hristians at this ju n ctu re and of Chrysostom himself. Dem osthenes' adm ission hardly constitutes proof, in itself, th a t the decurion class of Athens had accepted C hristianity in any great m easure ,98 It will be seen th at this social stratu m rem ained at least partly Hellenic pagan even in the late fifth century. D em osthenes 5 statem ent reflects the fact, above all, th a t c, 367 the laws against sacrifice were only loosely enforced, and th at a discrcct person m ight continue to practice the Hellenic cults with im punity. The life of Chrysostom goes on to describe the alleged conversion o f the arch on Dem osthenes and A nthem ius the sophist. T his section of the narrative has a certain late fifth-century flavor and its veracity m ust be largely excluded." It is said that the bishop of Athens adm itted A nthem ius and his household to the catechum enate with the seal of C hrist (ή έν Χ ρισ τώ σ φ ρ α γ ίς )3 probably a blessing like th a t adm inistered by bishop Porphyrius of G aza ,100 C ontacts cer­ tainly existed between Christians who knew the Greek paideia and the pagan intelligentsia. Two generations later, Nilos of Ankyra (ob. c. 430) num bered two possibly pagan philosophers am ong his c o rre sp o n d e n ts , 101 th re e r h e to r s . 102 an d tw o possibly p a g a n sophists *103 These contacts at times led to conversions. Nilos knew an ex-rhetor become a monk who could not bring him self to give up his “ Hellenic books 3' 104 and a certain Lucian whom he found it 03 Tt is worth noting that the emperor Valeutinian 1 got credit for the successful campaign ofjovin u s, magister equitum per Gallias, against the AlamanIIi in 365/6. (Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 27.1-2). This restored prestige to the Christian empire after sundry defeats dating back to 363, and gave rise to the official claim that the Christian God had once again conferred victory on the empire. When the victories ceased in the early fifth century, this confidence was weakened again in the Latin-speaking West. Augustine of Hippo composed the De Civitate Dei expressly to fill the resulting void in Christian morale. The implicit reference to the victorious Valentinian I and Valens in the Vita Chrysoslomi with this particular synchronism, 367 being about a year after Valentinian I was acclaimed Alamanmcus, suggests thaL George of Alexandria did not invent the Alhenian interlude, but drew upon a source that had real reference points in the history of the fourth century. See also Brown, Augustine of Hippo. 299-329. 99 Cf. Appendix II. 100 Supra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 5. 101 Nilos of Ankyra, Epp. 2.264 and 2.280. PG 79, 333D (Aphrodisios Philo­ sophes) and 340C-D (Aeneas Philosophos). Nilos of Ankyra, Epp. 1.75, 1.184, and 2.291. PG 79, 116A-B (Apollodoros), 152D (Amphiktyön), 345A (Leonidas). 103 Nilos of Ankyra. Epp. 2.42 and 2.145. PG 79, 216C (Chryscros) and 268A (Eulampios). 104 Nilos of Ankyra, Ep. 2.73. PG 79, 232D-233A.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

303

necessary to address as ς‘C hristian sophist” (σοφιστή Χ ρ ισ τία ν ώ ) .105 Two statem ents m ar the historicity of George of A lexandria's narrative, however: the assertion that A nthem ius fell possessed after his attack on Chrysostom in the bouleutic cham ber ,106 and the claim that the archon, landed m agnates, and m uch of the demos rushed to the bishop's residence after this and requested baptism . T his was manifestly im probable in the preTheodosian period of the late fourth century, as the exam ple of Gaza suggests as well .107 O n the other hand, the acclam ation supposedly shouted by the archon and all present in the bouleutic cham ber after the debate requires note, w hatever its date and provenance, because it resembles the one used at G aza :108 Great is the God of the Christians, who alone performs wonders. What God is able to perform such signs as the Christ whom the Christians worship? Great is their faith! Truly wc have erred in worshipping gods unable to help or harm anyone! It is, once again, manifestly im probable th at the archons, city council, and demos should have recited this c. 367. O n the other hand, a C hristian faction in the cham ber may have done so, this at the risk of worsened social and political relations with their fellow citizens. It was certainly possible under proper conditions. There are, for the present, no firm answers to all the problem s raised by this difficult text. It suffices to say here th at m uch of the narrative is consistent with late fourth-century conditions, b ut th at it is con­ tam inated with d a ta or suppositions from a later period, c. 481 — 488.109 T he next witnesses to the state of the A thenian cults tu rn up in the writings of E unapius of Sardis (ob. 414) and Zosimus (6 th century). Eunapius composed the already m entioned Lives o f o f the Philosophers and also a Universal History , the latter of which survives only in fragm ents . 110 Zosimus, an im perial count and financial officer, sum m arized the contents of the latter work in his Histona 105 Nilos of Ankyra, Ep. 2.224. PG 79, 317A-B. ,Wi George of Alexandria, Vita Chrysostomi, 86, line 3ft' 107 It is also said that the bishop refused baptism to the archon Demosthenes because he had once been baptized (διά χό απαξ βαπτισθήναι αύτόν). The bishop is said to have allowed him to communicate after instructing him in the ecclesiastical canons. Ibid,, lines 23-27. The possibility that this Demosthenes will have become Christian for the sake of expediency during the reign of Constantius II (337-361) cannot be entirely excluded. 100 Ibid., 86, lines 30-34. 105 For discussion of the so-callcd Justinianic law, cf. supra, Ch. I, Sect. 6 and Appendices II and III. 110 Cited supra, Ch. I, n. 72

304

CHAPTER FOUR

N ova.111 As E unapius resided in Athens before the tim e of the events

c. 375-396 under consideration next, Zosim us’ work constitutes the concise digest of a secondary account. Two notices in the Histona Noua pertaining to late fourth-century Athens reflcct the continuity of the old religion. T he occasion of the first instance was the great earthquake of 375 which struck the Balkan peninsula, bu t Crete, the Peloponnese, and ccntral Greece in particular. Athens and A ttica largely escaped destruction, in contrast to some nearby districts. W hatever the explanation for their survival in term s of earth tectonics, some pious A thenians ascribed it to the city’s tutelary deities and circu­ lated a version of the story heard by E unapius :112 Ncstorius, who was at that time appointed as hierophant, saw a dream commanding him to honor the hero Achilles with public honors. For this was to be the salvation of the city. When he made the dream known lo those in office [the archons], they reckoned that he was talking nonsense such as the very old do, and did what he said in nothing. [Nestorius], reasoning what had to be done in his own manner and instructed by god-like conceptions and having fashioned a model of the hero in a small temple, set it below the statue of Athena that sits in the Parthenon, and [then] completed for the goddess the usual rites proper to himself [as hierophant]. And he performed for the hero what was made known to him according to law. After the*, prescription given in sleep was completed by a work (ergon) in this manner, it fell out that only the Athenians were saved when the earthquake struck, with all Attica partaking of the benefac­ tions of the hero. That this is true one can learn through the things the philosopher Syrianus related when he wrote a hymn on this hero. Ncstorius held the office of hierophant (ΐεμ οφ α ντειν τετάγμενος) of the mysteries of D em etcr and Persephone at Eleusis, It will be recalled th at tow ard the end of the fourth century the Eum olpids, the last of the two priestly families presiding there, died out, and th at the office of hierophant fell to a m an of T hespiae; who held the rank a ï pater in the M ithraic cult . 113 N estorius was evidently one of the last Eum olpids, who m ust have been landow ners of decurion rank. N estorius’ knowledge of A ttic religious lore and arcana allowed him to form ulate new rituals even when asleep* during the dream vision. It is unclear w hether he thought he saw Achilles or iU All citations arc taken from: Zosimus of Panium. Historia Nova, ed. Ludwig Mendelsson (Leipzig 1887). Sec also: Zosime. Histoire nouwlL·, ed. ir. François Paschoud, 3 voJs. in 5 (Paris 1971-89). 3 Zosimus, Historia Nova 4.18.2-4 (Mendelsson, 173, lines 4—20). For commen­ tary, cf. F. Paschoud, 2/2 s 367-3(39. 113 Eunapius, Lives o f the Sophists (Wright, 435-4-39).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

305

some other apparition. It m ade little difference w hether Nestorius was senile or not .114 T he cults celebrated on the A thenian Akropolis lay outside his sphere of activity in any case. T he archons and priests refused his request for public honors to the hero Achilles (τον Άχίλλέα τον ήρωα δημοσιαις τιμάσθαι τιμαις) because it required sacrifices in their official dom ain and, to judge from the upshot of all this, the construction of a small shrine. T his business hardly falls under the category of “ civic religion” , as F. Paschoud suggests; it was a civic apotropaic m easure (εσεσθαι γάρ τούτο τη πόλει σωτήριον) in the m ind of its sponsor, and required, so he thought, real religious ritual to be efficacious. T he council rejected N estorius’ petition not in principle, but ostensibly because of its im plausibility. Even if the co-em perors Valens and V alentinian I were then m aking allowances for local Hellenic religious pre­ ferences, new cult im ages, tem ples, and sacrifices m ight have trig g ered a cause célébré th a t could have led to u n fo rtu n a te conscqucnccs .115 At any rate, Nestorius accom plished in m iniature w hat the archons and priests denied him when he laid the image of the hero at the foot of the chryselephantine A thena in the P arthenon

(εικόνα ήρωος έν οικω μικρώ δημιουργήσας ύπέθηκε τω έν ΠαρΟενώνι καθιδρυμένφ της ’Αθήνας άγάλματι). Tw o sets of rituals accom panied the votive offering: the usual rites performed for A thena (τη θεψ τα συνήθη), b ut also rites m ade known perso­ nally to him in the ordinance received in the dream vision (τω ήρωι τά εγνωσμένα ol κατά θεσμόν επραττε), which came in the form of “god-like notions” or “ conceptions” (ταις θεοειδέσιν έννοιαις παιδαγωγού μένος),lir> and which he perform ed “ in his own m an­ n e r” or “ in the m anner of a personal service' 5 (κατά ταύτόν). N estorius' behavior in this instance provides decisive proof for the survival of personal religion in the Hellenic priesthoods on the eve of the Theodosian legislation, and th at the old public rites went on as usual, b ut in private or m uted form. It will be seen th at the N eoplatonist Proclus continued to visit the shrines of heroes even in the late fifth century .117 Furtherm ore, unless Nestorius him self had artisan skills, he was able to procure the services of silversmiths,

ll* The expression used by Zosimus suggests that Nestorius was acting like a senile man in raising the issue, but not superannuated (οια δή ύπέργηρων οντα). Zosimus, Historia Nova (Mendelsson, 173, line 9). ll:> Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3 on the Serapeum of Alexandria. 116 Zosimus. Historia Nova 4.18.3 (MendeUson, 73, line 11). 117 Infra, Ch. IV, Scct. 3.

306

CHAPTER FOUR

ivory-cutters, or the like to have idols fashioned .118 A second instance of the cult of Achilles is im plicit in Zosim us’ account of Alaric's unsuccessful siege of A thens in 396. His source Eunapius had it on good authority th at the ephiphany o f Pallas A thena and Achilles had at the critical m om ent in the siege fright­ ened Alaric into concluding an arm istice :119 After the Thebans had cscaped [destruction], [Alaric] went on to Athens, thinking the city would be easy to take and impossible to defend by the populace within bcrausc of its great size: and further­ more, because the Peiraeus was gripped by a shortage of supplies, the besieged would surrender after no great lime. But if Alaric was caught up in these hopes, the ancient character of the city was about to get a measure of divine providence for itself and so remain unsack­ ed, even in impious times. It would be unworthy to pass over in silence the cause (aitia) through which the city was saved, which was something befiüing the divine and called those who heard the story to piety. Upon approaching the city with his entire army, Alaric saw Athena Promachos inspecting the walls just as she is to he seen in the statues, armed as a hoplite and about to resist attackers. He also saw Achilles the hero standing in front of the walls such as Homer shows him before Troy when he fought in his wrath to avenge the death of Patroclus. Unable to bear this sight, Alaric refrained from any attempt against the city . . . (lacuna in text), but sent an embassy instead. After [the negotiators] had mutually accepted statements and had given and received oaths, Alaric entered the city with some few of his men. After meeting a friendly reception and going to the baths and having shared a public dinner with the sclcct men of the city (the archons, priests and sages), and furthermore after receiving gifts, he left the city unharmed, * . , And so just as Athens was alone saved in the earthquake which shook all Greece during the reign of Valcns in the manner I spoke of in the previous book, and now came into extreme peril once again, it escaped. Alaric left Attica unplundered out of fear of the spectral figures that had appeared and went on to the Megarid, took it by coup de main7 and kept up the march into the Peloponnese without meeting any opposition. The notion that such an apparition would have daunted a R om a­ nized C hristian Visigoth is patently a b su rd .120 O n the other hand, the great image of A thena Prom achos th at stood on the Akropolis on the way up to the Parthenon from the Propylaia m ay still have been in situ and a dom inating feature o f the skyline. Some defenders 118 Zosimus’ expression “having fashioned” (δημιουργήοας) can refer either to the artisan (efficient cause) or the donor. 119 Zosimusj Historia Nova 5.5.8 to 5.6.3 (Mendelsson. 222f.). 120 Cf. Zosime, Histoire nouvelle 3/1 (Paschoud, 97).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

307

of the wall will, as Hellenes and patriotic A thenians, have invoked her palladium . T he credulous doubtless fancied th at her image terrified the invader. E unapius’ interest in the philosophers’ sup­ posed ability to conjure theic epiphanies elsewhere makes one suspect the intellectual elite of such practices during the siege .121 T he apparition of Achilles will have justified the hierophant Nestorius’ aforem entioned personal devotion to the hero. His friends, who evidently knew Eunapius, probably invoked Achilles' power and later related the supposed effects to Eunapius. The story quick­ ly became the talk of the A thenian Hellenes, achieving a wider circulation and propagandistic intent through the pen of Eunapius, and th a t of Zosimus a century la te r .122 There is no convincing argum ent per se against the proposition that m any participants in the siege of 396 believed the story or that they sacrificed before the effigies of the hoplite gods during the poliorcetic terror. O ne can im agine Alaric m aking ironic inquiries about the city's ubiquitous statuary during his tour of Athens with his lieutenants after the conclusion of the arm istice. H is escorts, the “ select m en of the city” (τοις èv τη πόλει λογάαι) who led him to the baths and threw a public dinner on his behalf (λουσάμενος τε και κοινωνήσας έστιάσεως), were none other than the archons, m any of whom still adhered to the old religion and held priest­ hoods. O ne can well im agine the yarns spun by this crew after the Visigoth and his hordes had safely scuttled over the western hills in the direction of Eleusis and the M egarid.m IIL The M id-Fifth Century

The anti-pagan legislation of the emperors Arcadius (395-408) and Theodosius II (408-450) has left no im print w hatsoever on the surviving history of the old cults in Athens except in the sphere of the public sacrifices now abandoned. Two seldom studied texts, M arinus of N eapolis 5 Life o f Proclus and D am ascius’ Life o f Isidore^ both of them w ritten in the years after 485, indicate that the elim ination of Hellcnic cult from public life came well after 450, and that the old religion thereafter went underground, losing little of its strength am ongst true believers .124 T h e task of the historian is 121 On the supposed conjurings of Maximus of Ephesus, c f supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. 122 I cannot acccpt Paschoud:s view that the Goths destroyed “paganism*' in Greece. Zosime, Histoire nouvelle 3/1 (Paschoud, 97). 123 Zosimus, Historia Nova 5.6.4—5 (Mendclsson» 223, lines 17-29), 124 For text editions, cf. supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. Historical analyses of these texts are sparse. H.J. Blumenthal, “529 and Its Sequel: What Happened to the

308

CHAPTER FOUR

som ew hat com plicated because D am ascius’ Life o f Isidore survives only in scattered fragm ents. Λ11 the same, these texts m ust be considered together, as they cover a roughly synchronous period and m ention not only the surviving cults, but also nam e m any of their adherents. Proclus is him self known for his com m entaries on the works of P lato, Hom er. Hesiod, and for various works on physics and theol­ ogy. The object of the discussion here is not so m uch Proclus* religious thought or theology, but rath er his everyday cult practices and those of the other Hellenes in his social milieu, which included not only the A thenian philosophers and rhetors, b ut also m em bers of the decurion class, T he pagan sacrifice still existed along with other ritual acts, as did the traditional devotions to the age-old deities of Attica* including Asklepios, A thena, and Dionysus. Diffe­ rent systems of theurgy and divination survived as well. Let us consider the m ore striking cases of these phenom ena. The prevalent A thenian cult, to judge from the extent of the notices that survive in fifth-century sources, rem ained th at of the physician god Asklepios, whose shrine the Asklepieion occupied a site on the south slope of the Akropolis. T he temenos included not only the tem ple with its a lta r and images, but also a fairly extensive complex of dorm itories where persons seeking cures m ight reside until healed by the god in a dream vision . IQ5 T he tem ple certainly continued to receive suppliants of the god in the 450's, and prob­ ably through the 460’s and 470’s as well, being closed som etim e before M arinus composed his Life o f Proclus}26 This reality would suggest the continued employment of priests, assistants (διά κ ονοι), doorkeepers (θυρ ω ρ οί), physicians, surgeons, and m edical assistants as well. Proclus often invoked Asklepios and other savior deities in behalf of his friends :127 If one of his acquaintances was caught in illness, first Proclus be­ sought the gods fruitfully in his behalf with works and hymns, then visited the sick man in a caring manner and led in the physicians, urging them to accomplish their art without delay. T he “works and hym ns 35 (Ιρ γο ις te κ α ι ΰμνοις) can hardly have

Academy?” Byrjintwn 40 (1978), 369-385. Idem, ‘‘Marinus* Life of Proclus; Ncoplatoniüt Biography,” Byzantion 54 (1984), 469-494. Garth Fowden, “The Pagan Holy Man in Late Antiquity, ” Journal of Hellenic Studies 102 (1982), 33-59, 125 Gregory. “Paganism in Christian Greece.” 238. 126 Infra, Appendix II and 1IL 127 Marinus, Vita Prodi 17 (Boissonade, 14).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

309

excluded sacrifices, M arinus here uses compressed phraeology, but is more specific in the introductory chap ter to the Life o f Proclus:12* But now, being unable to compare my own [diction] with that [of Proclus], I take heart that those who approach the altars for sacred [rites] do not perform their rituals out of equal means. Some furnish themselves suitably with bulls or goats or other such offerings in behalf of communion with the gods at their altars, and complete some hymns with great refinement in meter and other hymns without meter. But others can effect none of these [works], but, sacrificing only a round-cake and a grain, if possible, of frankincense, and making the invocations with some short address, they enjoy no less a favorable hearing than the others. The writer has, in com paring his biography to a poor m an ’s sac­ rifice in the present tense, revealed the existing state of cult: a decurion m ight sacrifice an anim al to the tune of m etric hym ns (τούς υμνους , . . έν μέτρω), bu t cakes and incense with a short invocation ensured the peace of the gods for the common m an

(πόπανον ôè μόνον καί χόνδρον, ει τύχοι, λιβανωτοί θύοντες).1*9 Proclus was him self known to partake of sacrificial m eats at regular religious festivals .1*0 O n one occasion Proclus, whose house lay near the Asklepieion, visited the temenos to pray for Asklepiegeneia (a theophoric name m eaning “ born of Askle­ pios” ), daughter of his friend the archon A rchiadas and wife of Proclus’ personal benefactor the archon T heagenes .131 T he incident apparently look place in the m id-4505s when Proclus was about forty-two years o f age :132 Taking along the great Perikles, who is from Lydia, quite a man and a philosopher as well, [Proclus] went up to the Asklepieion to pray to the god in behalf of the suffering girl. For the city at that time had the good fortune of this [god's presence], and still had the temple of the savior unsacked» After he prayed in the more ancient manner, a suitable change appeared in the girl, and she was suddenly relieved. For the savior [Asklepios] heals easily, as befits a god. T he Asklepieion had thus rem ained inviolate for over h alf a century after the incineration of the M arneion at G aza in 402 (καί γαρ

ηύτύχει τούτου ή πόλις τότε, και εΐχεν ετι άπόρθητον τό του σωτηρος ιερόν). Sacrificial rites (τα ιερά) accom panied the h u ­ i2Ä Marinus, Vita Procli 1 (Boissonade, 1). IW Ibid.

130 “He tasted them only for the .sake of the holy” (μόνον άπεγεύετο m i τούτων όσιας χάριν). Marinus, Vita Procli 19 (Boissonade, 15f.)> 131 Marinus, Vita Procli 29 (Boissonade, 23). 132 Marinus, Vita Procli 29 (Boissonade, 23f.).

310

CHAPTER FOUR

man dram a, and Proclus earned the epithet “ savior” (οωτήρ) for his effort. Well m ight Proclus have accom plished this in secret, for his unnam ed enemies m ay have included C hristians of decurion rank w ith connections to the im perial governm ent who took all this badly .133 Proclus 5 ties to his patron (ευεργέτης) Theagenes, the husband of Asklepiegeneia, m ay have required a particularly d e ­ m onstrative appeal to Asklepios the savior with all the atten d an t risks of creating a cause célébré of the kind that the Hellenes o f A thens had sought to avoid during the early post-Julianic period. T here is less certainty about the cult of A thena. The priesthood of the Parthenon still seems to have existed when Proclus arrived in A thens, sometime before the death of Plutarch in 431 or 432, a holder of the chair of Platonic philosophy (διαδοχή) at A thens ,1*4 for when Proclus first reached the city he went up to the Akropolis (εις την άκραν) but found his way barred by the doorkeeper (θυρωρός), a m inor tem ple official135 who was about to lock the gates cither of the Propylaia or of the Parthenon proper (ήδη τάς κλεΐς έπιτιθέναι μέλλων ταις θύραις).1^ A law of Theodosius I and his co-emperors given on 30 N ovem ber 382 to the dux of O srhoene and incorporated into the T heodosian Code had p ro ­ vided th a t temples m ight be left open continuously and their im ­ ages available for public inspection if the effigies had high artistic v alue .137 Discretion was left to the local authorities as to w hether to lock the buildings. Pheidias* chryselephantine statue of A thena still stood in the Parthenon, being removed m uch later, probably at the tim e when the Asklepieion was sacked, shortly before the death of Proclus in 485.138 M arinus reports a tale probably circulated by Proclus him self connected with the rem oval of the great statue. It gives rather less inform ation than one would hope for about the incident :139 Thus he became beloved to the philosopher goddess. His choice of life was suitably disposed in philosophy, such being done so much as reason suggested. For the goddess made it plainly clear when her image, sdll situated in the Parthenon, was carried away by those who Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. 134 For the date, see: A,C> Lloyd, ‘'Athenian and Alexandrian Neoplatonism. The Cambridge History oj Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy, ed. A.H. Arm­ strong (Cambridge 1967), 302. Blumenthal concurs in “Marinus5 Life of Proclus/5 47 Marinus, Vila Prodi 10 {Buissonüde, 9).

136 Ibid, 137 Supra, Ch. I, Seer.

13Ù Infra, Appendix III. Marinus, Vita Prodi 30 (Boissonade, 24).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

311

move even what should not be moved. It seemed to the philosopher that a certain well-dressed woman came to him in a dream and announced that it was necessary for him very quickly to prepare a residence for her in advance. “ For the mistress of Athens,” she said, “wishes to stay with y o u /’ H e had previously shown his friendship with Asklepios, when an epiphany of the god persuaded us he was in a slate of fatal illness. Being between sleep and wakefulness, he saw a serpent creeping around his head, from which time the disease had the beginning of its remission, and thus from the time of the epiphany he perceived a certain ceasing of the disease, and, unless a willingness and much desire for death hindered it, he would have deemed his body worthy of suitable care and, I think, he would finally have become healthy again. T he incident is quite possibly contem poraneous with the final suppression of the u rb an pagan allies of the rebels Leontius and Illus, after Rom an armies shut them up in the Isaurian m ountain fortress of Cherries in the fait of 484.140 If so, it will have been the proconsul of the province of Achaea w ith the troops of his officium and interested urban C hristians who tore down the chryselephan­ tine A thena, "those who move even w hat should not be m oved” (τω ν κ α ί τα α κ ίνη τα κ ινπύντω ν, wehere ά κ ίν η τα has the sense of “ sacrcd things to be kept inviolate ” ) ·141 Im perial decree will thus bave ended the extraordinary status of the A thenian tem ples, a sequel not unlike that which occurred at Gaza in First Palestine, but where once again the text of the decree is lost. A thena was the “philosopher goddess” (ή φιλόσοφος θεός) 142 and the object o f regular cult practices am ong the N eoplatonist philosophers :113 It was evening time. While they conductcd the dialogue the sun went to the western parts and the |new] moon appeared for the first time after the conjuction. They attempted to send away the young [Proc­ lus] as a foreigner, that they might have leisure time for themselves to worship the goddess. [Proclus] came forward a little, and also seeing from the house that the moon was appearing, he unloosed his sandals while all looked on 7 and embraced the goddess» Lacharcs was struck by the boldness of the youth, and told the philosopher Syrianus that this saying was divinely spoken by Plato about great natures: “This man shall be a great good or its opposite/’ And such signs, to mention a few of the many, came to the philosopher from God while he resided in Athens. 140 Bury, LRE 1, and n. 5. 141 Marinus5 use oi this phrase is a direct reminiscence of Herodotus’ account of Miltiades’ attempt to plunder the temenos of Demeter the Lawgiver on Paros. Hist: fi.134·.

Marinus. Vita Procli 30 (Boissonade, 24). l4* Marinus. Vita Procli 11 {Boissonade, 9f.).

CHAPTER FOUR

Proclus celebrated the cult in this m anner shortly after his arrival in Athens (terminus ante quern 431/2) at the house of Syrianus, his praeceptor in philosophy. It is difficult to determ ine the im portance of the dying civic and popular cult of this tutelary deity am ongst the educated A thenian Hellenes of the non-philosophic professions. T he men here m ust have performed certain rites b ut their character is unknown. W e know from Damascius* Life o f Isidore that m etric verses were often considered a sufficient thank-offering to the gods, and this m ay have been the essence of the New M oon service .144 M any gods and daimones were thought to preside over philosophy, but A thena was considered the chiefest of them (ή τή ς φ ιλ ο σ ο φ ία ς Εφορος ) .145 Socrates probably fell among the lesser deities or daimones, for a shrine dedicated to him {ιερόν χωρίον), the Sokrateion, lay outside the city gate on the road up from the Peiraeus (επί την πόλιν). A statue of Socrates m arked the site (ή Σωκράτους στήλη), which also had a sacred spring not far away (ουδέ γάρ JToppto ήν ή πηγή). V arious rites were perform ed at the Sokrateion, M arinus of Neapolis refers to them as “ honors” (τιμαί), b u t Zosimus of Panopolis uses that expression as a euphem ism for sacrifices.14* I t was here th at Proclus drank Attic w ater ('Αττικόν ΰδωρ) for the first time upon his arrival in A thens, and entered the city after m aking the proskynesis to the deity ,147 T he evidence for the popularity of other traditional A ttic deities is less than satisfactory for the mid-fifth ccntury. O ne can at times hardly tell from M arinus’ narrative w hether Proclus engaged in antiquarian and arcane practices connected with otherwise popular cults, or w hether the cults were dead to all b ut a few H ellenic theologians and cognoscenti o f his stam p. T he cult of Dionysus provides an instance of the former, for as late as the Q uinisextum or Council in Trullo (691-692) the cult of this agrarian earth deity prevailed in the rituals connected with the wine cycle .140 The C anon unfortunately fails to indicate where these practices w ent on, If Astcrius of A m asea’s description of the A ttic cults is accurate, the T heban Dionysus still had a public following c. 400, and there is fundam entally no reason to doubt this. At any rate Proclus is reported to have celebrated certain mysteries of Dionysus “ accord­ ing to its prim ary principles” (περί, τα πρώτα έβάκχευε καί αύτόπτης έγΐνετο των έκει μακαρίων όντως θεαμάτων). H e did 144 Damascius, Vila Isidoù (Asmus, 125). l4' Marinus, Vita Procli 10 (Boissonade, 8). 146 Supra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3. l4/ Marinus. Vita Procli 10 (Boissonade, 9). Trombley, “Council in T rullo,” 5.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

313

this by avoiding the “ w an d -carry in g ” aspects of the cult (τα ναρθηκοφόρα), an allusion to Proclus 5 tendency as a Platonist to avoid the popular or apocryphal aspects of cults and to "grasp at virtue and the patterns in the divine m ind” (τα έν τω θείω νω παραδείγματα) in his practices . 149 M arinus of Neapolis provides an adm irable précis of Proclus 5 m ethod, which entailed theologizing about both A thenian and foreign cults :130 T h e philosopher, working according to this principle, easily saw into all H ellenic and barbarian theology, and all theology that is oversha­ dow ed by m ythical affectation; he led those who w ished or were able to follow him to the ligh t>and, inspired by G od, taught all and led it to harm ony. H aving traversed all the writings o f the m ore ancient authors, he penetrated as m uch as w as fertile in them w ith discri­ m ination. If he found anything longw inded, he discarded il as som e­ thing disgraceful and refuted w ith m uch inquiry w hatever stood contrary' to the good, this after investigating each thing anew and ably in the colloquia [with students and colleagues], and w riting down everything in his books.

This was, M arinus remarks* “ pious w isdom ” (σοφία).131 It ap­ pears that the knowledge of ritual which Proclus passed on to the priesthoods of Lydia during a year-long visit there (sometime after he reached the age of twenty-eight) was of the Dionysiac variety .132 A ttica and the Peiraeus in particular had always been a m elting pot for the cults of alien gods, and Proclus him self worshipped an extensive pantheon. O f these the M other of the Gods or Kybele had a prom inent place. H er cult, which was indigenous to Asia M inor, persisted long after the time of Proclus in C aria and Lydia, but cvidcnce is lacking for A ttica . 133 Proclus once again practiced a highly theologized variant of the cult: “ He strictly observed the R om an M etroaikai every m onth, and even the ascetic practices once attended to by the Phrygians .” 154 T he “ P hrygian” rituals were those practiced at Pessinus in G alatia, where the tem ple cult of Kybele had a priesthood and w aning popular following in the time of Ju lia n the A postate .133 Proclus consum ed sacrificial m eats in conncction with the cult / 56 bu t the other rituals had died out or l+!) Marinus, Vita Procli 22 (Boissonade, 17f.). iM Marinus, Vita Prodi 22 (Boissonade, 18). 131 Ibid. 1M Marinus, Vita Prodi 15 (Boissonade, 12f„). ΙΛΪ Trombley, “Paganism in the Greek W orld/5 344. Marinus, Vita Prodi 19 (Boissonade, 16), 155 Julian the Apostate, Ep. 22 (Wright 3, 66-73)* 150 Marinus discusses the Metroaikai in connection with Proclus’ consumption of animal meats “only for the sake of piety” (μόνον άπεγεύετο καί τούτων οσίας χάριν). Marinus, Vita Prodi 19 (Boissonade, 15f.).

314

CHAPTER FOUR

gone underground in Athens and elsewhere, as M arinus of Neapolis indicates in a particularly prolix section of Proclus’ biography :157 But if I wished to go into detail for everyone and tell of his love for Pan son of Hermes, and narrate fully the blessing and salvation (eumeneia kai söteria) which came from the god for Athens, and still more the good fortune (eumoina) that was gotten from the Mother of the Gods, on which he throve and rcjoiced greatly, I would be perhaps talking idly to those I met and speaking unbelievable things to some. For many and great things were accomplished and spoken to him by the goddess [Kybele] on as many days as exist, of which >. . t now have no complete memory. If anyone desires to see that capabil­ ity of his in full, let him take into his hands the book of [Proclus] about Kybele. For one can see that it is not possible to speak the entire theology of the goddess without divine possession, as well as the other myths he disclosed about her and Attis, and what was done and said philosophically, so that no longer will one's hearing be disturbed by the discordant dirges and other things spoken secretly there. Proclus 1 '‘philosophical” book on Kybele (ή μητρωακή άυτοΰ βίβλος), which is lost» perhaps owed som ething to the work of J u lia n the A postate on the sam e su b je c t .108 T he decline of the “ discordant dirges” and “other things spoken there sccrctly” (ώς

μηκέτι ϋράττεσθαι τήν άκοήν εκ τών άπεμφαινόντων θρήνων καί τών άλλων τών έκει κρυφίως λεγομένων) indicates the elim ­ ination of the threnodic and orgiastic behavior in A thens, as happened in all cities. Proclus m ust have known th at pockets of Kybele worshippers still existed in Aôia M inor, particularly in the countryside, and that they practiced ‘'possessed'’ behavior and even sclf-castration .159 These d ata, and th a t pertaining to the Dionysiac cult, suggest quite clearly that Proclus turned his a tte n ­ tion pnmarily to extant ailts . I f they had great antiquity, Proclus was careful to preserve their ritual am idst all his philosophizing and theologizing. His behavior tow ards the deities was thus not simply antiquarianism , bu t a sophisticated version of popular practice. A very considerable am ount of ritual accom panied Proclus’ celebration of these rites and m ysteries. H is consum ption o f sacri­ ficial m eats has already been n o ted , as was the existence of, and Proclus' composition of, various hym ns. H e accorded songs of praise to Semitic and Egyptian deities as w ell :160 Marinus, Vita Prodi 33 (Boissonade, 26f,). I5fl Julian the Apostate, “Hymn to the Mother of the GodsJ> (Wright 1, 442503)* 159 Trombley, “Paganism in the Greek World,” 344. 160 Marinus, Vita Prodi 19 (Boissonade, 16).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

315

The matter of his hymns included not only cncomia of the gods honored among the Greeks, but also of hymning the Gazan Marnas, the lion-grasping Asklepios of Askalon, Theandrites, another god much honored among the Arabs, and tke Isis still honored at Philaei and plainly all the others. For the god-fearing man always held the phrase ready and said that it befitted the philosopher to be a worshipper of the ancestral gods not in just a few places or his own city, but to be hierophant of the whole cosmos in common. Late evidence (late fourth through sixth centuries) survives about the ongoing cults of three of these deities. M ark the D eacon’s narrative discussed in the previous chapter dem onstrates th at the adherents of the cult o f Zeus M arnas rem ained in G aza through the first several decades of the fifth century, and Antonius of A lexan­ dria seems to have continued the cult privately into the late fifth century .161 Similarly the cult of T heandrites turns up in the rural epigraphy of the late fourth-century Provincia A rabia, in villages populated by Hellenized A rabs / 62 Furtherm ore, the cult of Isis a t Philac in upper Egypt was finally suppressed only under the em peror Ju stin ian c. 537 .163 T he priesthood erected m any inscrip­ tions there in honor of Isis in the temenos during Proclus 5 lifetime, c, 449-468.164 At the time M arinus of Neapolis was writing, after Proclus’ death in 485, only the tem ple a t Philae still rem ained in service, but knowing the longevity of the other cults, it would not be surprising if they had great operative and vestigial strength in the mid-fifth century, including the w orship of the Semitic liongrasping Asklepios o f Askalon in First Palestine ("Ασκληπιός Λεοντοΰχος Άσκαλωνίτης), which is m entioned nowhere else. T he Greek words τιμή and τιμάω, which literally refer to acts of honor, often connote sacrifices. M arinus employs this root to de­ scribe the rites at Philae (νΙσις ή και τάς Φιλάς ίχι τιμώμενη), whereas the inscriptions in the tem enos itself use the term proskynema which quite probably m eans offering or sacrifice in that context ,165 T heandrites was, sim ilarly, a m uch-honored or “ m uch sacrificed-to god among the Arabs" (Θυανδριτης άλλος Άραβίοις πολυτίμητος θεός). Like other rural cults, it probably lasted well into the sixth century . 166 T hus, the hym ns to the Greek, Semitic, and Egyptian gods were not solely academ ic exercises. Proclus 5

161 Supra, Ch. II, Infra, Ch. XI, 163 Infra, Ch. IX, 164 Infra, Ch. IX, 165

!66

I b ^ -

Sect, Sect. Sect. Sect.

3. 1. 3-4. 3.

subject is discussed in extenso in Ch. VII—XI infra,

316

CHAPTER FOUR

circlc of rhetors and philosophers, and presum ably his decurion friends as well, found suitable occasions to recite them . These occasions included not only the times designated for sacrifices ,167 b ut also personal crises such as sickness and self-doubt :168 [Proclus] ignored the pains [of illness]. Indeed, he bore them gently when they fell upon him, . . . . He made the distance of his soul frum all these sufferings quite dear, even during his final illness. For when weighed down with this [illness] and accompanied by great pains, he attempted to evade the sufferings. He called upon us every time to sing hymns. After the hymns were uttered, there occurred relief from every suffering and ataraxia. What is even more surprising than this, he retained what was recited in his memory, although hardly noticing the people nearby when the disease fell heavily upon him. When we began to sing, he completed the hymns and most of the Orphic verses. For we read even these aloud when we were present. H ym ns of Proclus or their fragm ents survive to H elios, A phrodite, the M uses, the Lycian A phrodite, H ekate and Ianos, A thena Polymetis, and Dionysus, as do his Orphica. T here is also a “ C om ­ mon H ym n to the G ods ” .169 These texts, once again, reflect popular belief and practice in variable degree, being the sort of m etric hym ns one m ight expect to hear at a rich sacrifice .170 T he state­ m ents in M arinus' biography of Proclus about the character and persistence of sacrifice seem all the m ore plausible in the mid-fifth century context, as Proclus him self wrote a work on sacrifice as well .171 Proclus m ade use of various rites of purification, some of them nocturnal. These included apotropaic acts, lustral sprinklings, and other varieties (νύκτωρ τε και μεθ3 ημέραν άποτροπαις και περιρραντηρίου καί τοίς άλλοις καθαρμοίς χρώμενος), some of them O rphic, others C haldaean. He would go down to the sea to bathe at least once a m onth. In these rituals inhered the aim of purifying the soul, th at it would achieve its end and become like unto a god (πρός τον θεόν).172 This suggests a synthesis of philo­ sophic Neoplatonism and theology. T his lustral sprinkling (περιμραντήριον) can hardly have died out any sooner than the

167 As in Marinus, Vita Procli 1 (Boissonade, 1). 168 Marinus, Vita Procli 20 (Boissonade, 16£). 16ÿ See Eudociae Augusta* Procli Lycii Claudiani Carminum Graecorum Reliquiae, ed. Arthur Ludwich (Leipzig 1897)} 115-158. Cf. Procli Hymni, ed. Ernest Vogl (Wiesbaden 1957), with scholia and commentary. 1/0 Marinus, Vita Procli 18 (Boissonade, 1). 171 Proclus, De Sacùfido el Magia, in Analecta Gmeca, etl. W„ Kroll (Greiiswald 1901), 5-11.

172 Marinus, Vita Procli 18 (Boissonade* 15).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

317

lustral sacrifices still performed in tem ples and private houses in the fourth and fifth centuries, whose continuation is reflected in a provision in the Theodosian C ode .173 C alendar custom s also belonged to the traditional round o f p r a o tices, and Proclus celebrated these as w ell :174 He strictly observed the Roman Metroakai every month, and even the ascetic practices once attended to by the Phrygians, and he kept the unlucky days of the Egyptians better than they themselves did, and fasted by himself on certain days for the sake of display. He avoided banqueting and bread the first day of the month and the day before, just as he celebrated the New Moon splendidly and in a manner beseeming the sacred, and also the most distinguished festiv­ als and ancestral rites: these he completed lawfully. He did not perform these things, as others allege, as an excuse for rest or to banquet, but with all-night assemblies and a hymnody and the like. T h e celebration of the New M oon (τάς νουμηνίας λαμπρώς έπετέλει και ιεροπρεπώς) was deeply em bedded in the Hellenic m entality. It suffered proscription at the Q uinisextum or Council in T rullo (691-692) and again in Jo h n of D am ascus work On Heresies (8 th century ) ,175 as did m any processions and rites listed as calen­ d a r custom s .176 A nother aspect of the cults practiced in Proclus 5 circle in Athens was theurgy, magic, and divination. As noted in a previous chap­ ter, philosophers regarded the m astery of these arts as a requisite part of their discipline. It will be recalled that M axim us of E phe­ sus, a friend of Ju lia n the A postate later executed for m agic and conspiracy, had gained notoriety for theurgy even among Hellenes .177 Proclus practiced all these arts as well. This often entailed his sum m oning Hekate, the goddess of theurgy, ju st as M axim us of Ephesus h a d :178 He had converse with luminous apparitions of Hekate that he saw himself, as he has recalled in his own book somewhere. He set clouds in motion after moving spells of a suitable nature and thereby freed Attica from extraordinary droughts. He imposed amulets against earthquakes y and was experienced in the man tic activity of the tri­ pod, and he cast out metric lines about his own destiny.

173 Cod* Theod. 16.2.5. Supra, Ch. I, Seel. 2. The repetition of the law in this codification indicates continuity of practice, m Marinus, Vita Prodi 19 (Boissona.de, ]6). m Canon 65 of the Council in Trullo of 691-692 in: Périklès-Pierre Joannou, Discipline générale antique (Ile-IXc s,) (Rome 1962), 203. 176 Canon 62, Joannou, Discipline générale, 19&-200. 177 Supra, Ch. I, Sect 3, 170 Marinus, Vita Prodi 28 (Boissonadc, 22f.)-

318

CHAPTER FOUR

U nlike certain other contem porary theurgists, Proclus employed his arts for the public welfare of A ttica. The practice of sorcerers driving clouds from place to place in order to m itigate the effects of drought on tilled lands (όμβρους τε έκίνησεν iv y y a τινα

:τροσφάρως κινήσας, κ α ί αύχμών εξαίσιων την "Αττικήν ήλευθέρωσεν) was common in popular m agic as well* Folk called “ cloud-drivers” (νεφοδιώκΤαι) are attested in the fourth-century Pseudo-Justin, Quaestiones et Responsiones ad Orthodoxos:179 If the clouds send rain to earth by divine nod, how do the so-called cloud drivers move the clouds wherever they wish by certain invoca­ tions, in order to cast immoderate rain and hail? R esort to cloud-drivers was condem ned once again at the Q u inis ex tu m .180 I he u n p red ictab le n a tu re o f the seasonal M e d ­ iterranean rains m eant a constant demand for these services, particularly after local tem ple cults like th at of the C retan-born Zeus at Gaza had disappeared .181 These practices becam e so pre­ valent that the monks adapted them to local needs through Ritenchristianisierung'1*2 Popular theurgy also included the m aking of am ulets (φυλακττήρια) to fend off a variety of evil phenom ena including disease and the supposed activity of sorcerers, but here Proclus received the request to design these devices to avert earthquakes like the great one th at struck central and southern Greece in 375.106 Proclus will have composed the invocations, and then have farm ed out the work of w riting the texts on papyrus or inscribing them on m etallic discs or sheets to readily available artisans, who also cut representations of the deities or daimones sum m oned on these m edia .184 Proclus 5 use of the tripod to cast oracles harks back to the debacle of the T H E O D oraclc during the reign of Valens (364 378) th a t resulted in the execution of M ax­ imus of Ephesus and m any other H ellenes .105 It dem onstrates the continuity of proscribed and potentially crim inal practices through the mid-fifth century. Proclus' theurgic activities belong to the time around his fortieth birthday (c. 450). He learned certain invocations and m antic tech179 iao 181 182

PG 6, 1277C-D. Canon 61, Joannou, Discipline générale, 196f. Supra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 2-4. Implicit in Trombley, “Paganism in the Greek World,5’ 340f. The earthquake is mentioned in Zosimus, Hisioria Nom 4.18 (Mendelsson,

imv}.

Cambell Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets Chiefly Graeco-Egyptian (Ann Arbor 1950), passim. 100 Supra, Ch, I. Sect. 3.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

319

niques from Asklepiegeneia, daughter of Plutarch, diadochos of the Neoplatonic academ y in Athens, including the use of the “ voiceless magic spinning tops” (τοΕς θαοις και άφθέγκτοις στροφάλοις έκέχρητο).186 M ichael Psellos, writing in the eleventh century, provides a description of this practice based on the Chaldaean Ora cles. Proclus himself seems to have had access to this work in some form . 187 A top o f H ek a te is a go ld en sp h ere en clo sin g a lapis lazuli in its m id d le that is tw isted th rou gh a c o w -h id e lea th er th o n g an d h a v in g en graved letters all over it, [D iv in ers] sp in this sp h ere and m ak e in v o ca tio n s. S u ch th in g s th ey c a ll ch arm s, w h e th e r it is th e m a tter o f a sp h erical ob ject, a tria n g u la r o n e, or so m e oth er sh a p e. W h ile sp in n in g them , th ey call o u t u n in te llig ib le or b ea st-lik e so u n d s, la u g h in g and flailin g at the air. [H ek a te] tea ch es th e taketes to o p er­ ate, th at is the m o v e m e n t o f th e top , as if it h a d an inefTable p ow er. It is called the top o f H e k a te b eca u se it is d ed ic a te d to her. F or H ek a te w as a go d d ess a m o n g the C h a ld a e a n s. In h er righ t h a n d sh e h eld the sou rce o f the virtu es. B u t it is all n o n sen se. T hus Proclus' interest in the m antic arts. H e also had his horoscope cast. M arinus of Neapolis reproduces it in full w ith some brief observations that need not detain us here . 188 T he study of genealo­ gy (γένεοις), astrology, horoscope-casting, and “ sky-w orship” con­ tinued and throve throughout the fifth century unabated despite the penalties attached to them in the Theodosian Code, but these practices lay outside the sphere of the traditional Hellenic cults, as the jurists who codified the law realized, and are thus om itted from further discussion here , 189 T he death of Proclus in 485 caused M arinus of Neapolis to compose a long description of the cults of heroes, ancestors, and philosophers, whose souls received honor at various sites around the Akropolis in Athens. Knowledge of the traditional A thenian funerary rites had survived until this time as well. Proclus* death moved M arinus' emotions deeply. These emerge somewhat through the veneer of A tticist convention :190

186 Marinus, Vita Prodi 28 (Boissonade, 22), 187 Michael Psellus, Expositio ad Oracula Ckaldaica , PG 122, 1133A-B. 18e Marinus, Vita Procli 35 (Boissonade, 28). m For example, in a law given at Aquileia by Theodosius II and Valentinian III on 17 July 425, astrologers (mathematici) are grouped with M anichaeans, heretics, and “ every sect inimical to the Catholics.*' Cod. Tkeod. 16,5.62 (Pharr, 462). 190 Marinus., Vita P rodi 36 (Boissonade, 28f.), The rites mentioned in this passage seem to have entailed sacrifice. Cf. Marinos of Neapolis, The Extant Works, tr. A.N. Oikonomides (Chicago 1977), 79.

320

CHAPTER FOUR H e d ied in th e 124th y ea r after th e reig n o f J u lia n (4 8 5 A .D .) , w h e n N ik agoras th e y o u n g er w a s arch on e p o n y m o u s in A th e n s, on th e 17th o f th e A th en ia n m o n th o f M o u n ic h io n , A p ril 17 a cc o rd in g to the R o m a n calen d ar. H is b o d y w a s d eem ed w o r th y o f care in a cco r d a n c e w ith the a n cestra l c u sto m s o f the A th e n ia n s an d as he h a d h im se lf o rdered w h en still alive. F or the b le sse d m a n h ad , i f a n y oth er d id , th e k n ow led g e a n d co n cern fur the e x e cu tio n o f rites for th e d e a d . A t n o tim e did he om it th eir cu sto m a ry serv ices, b u t every y e a r on th e d efin ed days he v isited th e m o n u m e n ts o f th e A ttic h eroes and p h ilo so p h ers, a n d o f th o se w h o h a d b e c o m e his friends an d a c q u a in ­ ta n ces. H e p erform ed the c u sto m a ry rites, d o in g th em h im s e lf and n ot through p roxies. A fter th e service for each , h e w en t d o w n to th e A c a d e m y and in a certain d em a rca ted p la c e a p p e a sed the fa m ily -p r o tec tin g so u ls o f his forefathers. In a sep a ra te p la c e a lib a tio n w a s p o u red for th e so u ls o f all the p h ilo so p h ers in co m m o n . T h e m o st p io u s m a n [P roclu s] d em arcated a n o th e r third p la c e an d p erform ed rites o f p u rifica tio n for all the sou ls o f d ea d p erson s, H is b od y w a s, as said b efore, c lo th ed in a c co r d a n ce w ith his d irectio n s, carried by h is c o m p a n io n s a n d b u ried in th e m o re eastern su b u rb s o f the city at L y k a v etto s w h ere the b o d y o f his p ro fesso r S yrian os lies. F or th a t m a n h a d g iv e n h im this co m m a n d w h ile still a liv e, and b eca u se o f this had h a d th e d o u b le sa rk o p h a g o s m a d e. A fter S y ria n o s’ d ea th , w h e n o n ce th e m o st h o ly P ro clu s d e b a ted w h eth er this w a s proper, h e w a s h ea rten ed b y S y r ia n o s th rea ten in g h im in a d ream , and by o n ly this. O n th e m o n u m e n t w a s in scrib ed a fou r-lin ed m etr ic a l ep ig ra m w h ich h e c o m p o se d for h im se lf thus: “ I w as P ro clu s, a L y cia n b y race, w h o m S yria n u s n o u rish ed h ere, a recip ien t o f h is tea ch in g . T h is co m m o n to m b receiv ed the b o d ies o f b o th . M a y o n e p la ce a lso receiv e their so u ls.

The funerary procession and m any of Proclus 5 devotions and rites can only have been perform ed publicly ,191 The sarkophagi and m onum ents (μνήματα) lay, of course, outside the walls of A thens in accordance with im perial law .192 The custom ary services of the dead (ή ειωθυια αυτών θεραπεία) involved sacrifices of a m inor o rd er .193 M any tombs of the A ttic heroes (τά των αττικών Ηρώων) probably still stood in the Keram eikos. O n the other hand Proclus' contemporaries, including his mentor Syrianus, w^ere interred at a nekropolis on the slopes of M ount Lykavettos. A C hristian nekropolis also grew up thcre , ,iJ4 bu t one that contained the undated m arkers of poorer folk, m any of them steles th at refer to the grave as a s'place of sleep” in the misspelled form 191 Pagan funeral processions were still public occasions in the 370’s Cf. supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. 192 Cod. Theod. 9.17,6. 193 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 2, for the evidence provided by the epigrams o f Gregory of Naziair/us ('1th c.). 191 Bayet, nos. 24-33.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

321

κυμητήριον instead of κοιμητήριον, and have small incised cros­ ses, an occasional C hi-Rho chris togram , 190 or an A lpha-O m ega.l9fi T he inscriptions are quite short, unlike the florid texts erected over the tom bs of C hristian decurions .307 O nly one stele identifies the trade of the owner: u (Cross) T om b of Atheneos (sic) the house­ builder” (+κυμητήριον Ά[θ]ηνέου οικοδόμου).1^* T he rest were perhaps hired day-laborers, including a m igrant from Thessalonike ( [Θεσ] αλονι [κέως] )— the inscription is only fragm entary ,199 Pagans and Christians had apparently begun to share the M t. Lykavettos area in the early fifth century. O n the other hand, shrines for the rites of the souls (ψυχαί) of all the dead, ancestors, and philosopher colleagues stood w ithin the city limits at the Academ y (ε[ς την 'Ακαδημίαν) in three dem ar­ cated spots. T he prescribed acts could be perform ed w ithout the ritual contam ination thought to accom pany contact w ith the dead even in the legislation of C hristian em perors .200 M arinus ofN eapolis makes it quite clear that the m onum ents and sarcophagi of Proclus 3 friends and acquaintances, the philosophers and A ttic heroes, lay in one place outside the city walls>whereas the shrines dedicated to the souls of his family and the philosophers lay at the Academy. W hen Proclus m ade his custom ary tour of the funerary m onum ents, then, he will have first gone to the nekropoleis, including M t. Lykavettos where Syrian us lay, and from there to the Academy. Proclus was a Lycian, The family tom bs, including those of his parents, m ust have been located outside his home town of X an th o s ,201 The N eoplatonic theology of the soul apparently per­ m itted one to honor his ancestors 5 and friends* souls in a special shrine distinct from the tomb, w hether the sarkophagos lay ju st outside the city or hundreds of miles away. By way of contrast, the local A thenian philosophers com m em orated in the shrine at the Academy often had their tombs only a short distance away. This theology of honoring souls, for which no evidence seems to exist outside Athens, stands in sharp contrast to the C hristian cult of m artyrs, which required the actual presence of the relics» Finally, it is of interest to know th at m em orial rites at tom bs could be p e r­ formed by proxy, although Proclus perform ed the ritual him self 195 Bayet, no. 28. 196 Bavet, no. 31. 197 Supra, Ch. IV, Sect. 1. 193 Bayet, no. 25 (IG 3/2.3454). 109 Bayet, no. 26 (IG 3/2.3529). 200 Supra, Ch. IV, n. 191. 201 Proclus' parents, although residents of C onstantinople when he was born, moved back to Xanthos in Lycia. It was here than Proclus received his early education in grammar. Marinus, Vita P rodi 6 (Boissonadc, 5f.).

322

CHAPTER FOUR

whenever possible (ού δ ι ετέρου, ά λλ’ α υ τό ς ενεργώ ν). I t is u n ­ clear by w hat arrangem ents and through w hat persons the prox­ ies acted in these situations. M arinus of Neapolis 3 biography of Proclus provides incon­ trovertible evidence about the survival of H ellenic cults at Athens in ail their forms: the num erous shrines and temples stayed open through about 481^488, private sacrifices were performed* and an entire subculture of theurgy and divinadon persisted little altered from the late fourth century* M oreover, the adherents of these practices suifered little interference from imperial officials until late in Proclus 5 life, perhaps c. 484/5, w hen the Parthenon, Asklepieion, and other temples were demolished or closed along with the elim ­ ination of their public, non-sacrificial cults. The Life o f Isidore composed by D am ascius in the early sixth century provides a corroborating picture of these tendencies. Isidore, a N eoplatonist philosopher and diadochos of the Academy after Proclus, moved in the sam e milieu in Athens as his predeces­ sor, H is biography, which survives m ainly in the form of fragm ents and extracts scattered through the Suda dictionary, is m ore discur­ sive th an that of Proclus, but differs little from it in the tenor of its rem arks about the ongoing Hellenic practices. T his rule applies in particular to the cults of the traditional Attic deities. T he Panathenaia along with the processions and banquets th at accom panied it still drew subsidies in the fifth century, although the games con­ nected with the G reat Panathenaia, which had in A ntiquity been celebrated every fourth year, had certainly disappeared by the mid-fifth ccntury .202 T he biographer of Isidore makes an oblique reference to the P anathenaia:20:i This man [Archiadas the decurion] manifested what kind of soul he had. For after much of his property had been plundered [during Attila’s raid against northern Greece in 447], when he perceived that Theagenes, then still a small boy, was grieved at wliat had been destroyed and despoiled, he said: “O Theagenes, you must dare to confess to the gods [their] saving blessings in behalf of our material bodies, and not be disheartened over money. For if Athena Polias commanded these [funds] to be expended on the Panathcnaia, how much expense would w'e have gone to? As it is, one must reckon the present contest (agon) (of financial hardship] more brilliant and pious than any other, even the Panathenaia.

202 Cf. Himerius5 account of the Panathenaia {4th c. A.D.)» Supra, Ch. 2. For the Olympia, celebrated at Chalcedon, cf. infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1. 203 Damascius, Vita Isidon, Fr, 273> (Zintzen, 217).

Sect.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

323

The sim ple past condition in which the penultim ate sentcncc is given is, of course, capable of synchronous interpretation c. 447 .^°4 I f some am biguity surrounds the extent of the cult of A thena, the same cannot be said for that of Asklepios. T he Asklepieion re­ m ained a site of Hellenic incubation as late as c. 484,20S as a detailed narrative about the philosopher Plutarch reveals :206 For A sk lep io s at A th e n s d e liv ered th e sa m e o ra cu la r cure to P lu ta rch the A th en ia n and D o m n in us the S yria n , th e la tter after sp ittin g blood . . . the form er, I d o n ot k n o w w h a t ailed h im . T h e cure en ta iled b ein g sa te d w ith pork, P lu ta rch cou ld n ot, h o w ev er, sta n d m ed icin e o f this kind even th ou gh it w a s n ot illicit for h im in a c c o r d ­ an ce w ith an cestra l cu sto m . U p o n b ein g a w a k en ed from sleep an d th en le a p in g u p u n h is elb o w on th e p a lle t, he g a z e d a t th e sta tu e o f A sk lep io s (for h e h a p p en e d to b e sle e p in g in th e forecou rt o f th e tem p le) and said: “ 0 m aster! W h a t w o u ld y o u co m m a n d to a J e w w h o w as a ilin g w ith th is sickness? Y o u w o u ld n ot ord er h im to co n su m e pork, w ou ld y o u ? ” H e said this, and A sk lep io s at o n ce sent forth out o f the statue a certain very harmonious voice a n d p rescrib ed a n o th er treatm en t lor the m a la d y .

The image of Asklepios (τό ά γα λμ α τοΰ Άσκληττι,οΰ), like the chryselephantine A thena, rem ained an object of cult perhaps as late as 484. T he Asklepieion was itself equipped with dorm itories that fronted onto an elongated central courtyard th at led in turn to the tem ple proper. T he suppliants often chose to lie instead in the forecourt beneath the gaze of the statue (έγκ α θεύδω ν τω πρ ο δό μ ψ τοΰ ιερ ο ΰ ),207 The dorm itories were quite possibly re­ served for the non-A thenians who had travelled far and spent much money to reach the shrine. O ne can hardly doubt that a share of the cooked pork given to Plutarch was offered to Asklepios in sacrifice, but it is impossible to tell from the text w hether the offerings were burnt w ithin the temenos or at a private residence. D am ascius makes no clear rcfcrcncc to the cult of A phrodite, which lackcd indigenous roots in Attica, bu t rem arks th at her statue, which he had him self seen (cm φησίν ό συγγραφευς άγαλμα τής ’Αφροδίτης ιδειν ίδρυμένον) was still standing in the Odeion. The work had been the votive offering (ανάθημα) of H erodes Atticus (2nd century A .D ,). The statue exerted a powerful influence on the observer, but in this instance not an erotic one, the latter being a factor which often triggered C hristian revulsion and 204 Herbert W. Smyth, Greek Grammar, rev. G.W . M essing (Cambridge 1956), 515 (= S ect. 2292). 203 Infra, Appendix III. 206 Damascius, Vita Isidon, Fr. 218 (Zintzen, 183f. As mus, 8 0 f), 207 For the term π ρ ό δ ο μ ο ν, cf. CIG 27.H.

324r

CHAPTER FOUR

led to the destruction of many such w orks .208 D am ascius enum er­ ates the peculiar characteristics of the statue of A phrodite in the O deion :vü9 U p o n seein g the sta tu e I perspired u n d er rhe in flu en ce o f a sto n ish ­ m en t an d surprise. A n d th u s 1 g o t m y a n im a te sou l in to su ch a sta te o f jo y th at I cou ld n ot d ism iss the m atter at h o m e, b u t often th ere­ after w ent ou t to return to the sight. I h e sculptor b len d ed m u ch beauty in to it, n o th in g sw eet or erotic, b u t d ig n ified and m a sc u lin e , m a n ­ ifestin g jo y in h o p lite arm or as if restored from a victo ry .

H ere at least Dam ascius makes no speculations about the divine “ conception” of the image causing frenzy in the m ind of the observer. IV. The Social Background to the Survival o f ihe Athenian Cults

It is unfortunate th at hardly a shred of evidence survives about the popular appeal of the A thenian cults except to the decurion class. Little inform ation even about the latter would have come down to us either, except for the interest of the scholars of m edieval C onstantinople in Proclus’ com m entaries on Plato and the hit-ormiss excerpting of the Life o f Isidore by the com piler of the Suda dictionary. T he philosophical schools thus became the key not only to the survival of m any local H ellenic cults, but to inform ation about them as well. O ne can only lam ent the disappearance of a sim ilar record in the other eastern M editerranean cities and sup­ pose that som ew hat analogous conditions prevailed. T he task of reconstructing social conditions in A thens has a 200 Cf. the destruction of a mosaic representing the “ story of Aphrodite” at sixth-century Amasea in Asia Minor: “A certain young man, learned in the craft of the m osaitist, was making one such in the house o f Chrysaphius o f blessed memory, in the city of Amasea. While he was tearing down an ancien! mosaic from the wall which had on it the story of Aphrodite (for the said man washed to make the house into a chapel o f the archangel . . .), and the mosaicist dug out the form of the unclean Aphrodite, the daimon abiding in it stuck the hand of the craftsm an/’ Eustratius of Constantinople, Vita S , Eutychii PC 86, 2333D -2336A, Cf. supra, Ch. I l l , Scct, 1, for the destruction of the Aphrodite o f Gaza. An early sixth-century m osaic inscription at Thebes in ßoeotia mentions a man who gave up the cult of the “obscene goddess’7. This should be taken as a late reference to the worship of Aphrodite, and not Artemis or Athena, as in Trombley, “Boeotia in Late Antiqui­ t y / 5 223. The editorprinceps has inexplicably accented the word for “goddess” (θεά) on the wnm g syllable, making it 1‘spectacle” (θέ(ϊ) instead. Cf. Demetrios Pallas, Les Monuments paléochrétiens en Grèce de Î959 à 1973 (Rome 1977), 16, n. 30. 209 Damascius, Vita Isidori. Epit, Phot. Fr. 87 (Zintz en, 122). There is a secondcentury A .D. example of this ''masculine-looking” but sublime Aphrodite with serene facial features from the facade of the theatre at Aphrodisias in Caria. K .T . Erim, Aphrodisias: City o f Aphrodite (London 1986), 84, On animate statues— which that seen in Athens was not— see supra, Ch. 1, Sect, 3.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

325

twofold aspect: the elucidation of the atm osphere of public freedom in which the archons and philosophers expressed religious opinion and practical Hellenism, and an inferential discussion of how ex­ tensively the public at large adhered to the old practices. Little doubt exists about the first of these groups. T he Hellenic aristocra­ cy lived m uch as it had in the days of H erod es Atticus. W e learn of two prom inent figures in this group, A rchiadas and his son-in-law Theagenes. Both men m aintained close ties with the philosophical schools and actively pursued local political careers .210 Theagenes held the office of archon eponym ous and was called the “ Herodes Atticus of his tim e ’ ',*11 A rchiadas was Proclus? elder contem porary, and already an im portant m an in Athens when the philosopher arrived there (ante 431/2). A convinced Hellene— M arinus of Neapolis refers to him as "th e beloved of the gods’T (Άρχιάδας ό τοις θεοις φίλος)— A rchiadas m ade considerable outlay for the civic and religious ceremonies connccted with the P a n a th e n a ia .212 A rchiadas held the office of archon eponymous (intra 438-45Ü). One can hardly con­ clude otherwise from the fact th at Proclus persuaded him “ to preside over the common [welfare] of his own city and to serve as benefactor to everyone by using his own [property]” (ολης τε τής

έαυτου πόλεως προίστασθαι kolvtj πμοτρ επόμενος, έκαστον ίδια ευεργετειν).213 Public munificence went with holding high local office. The vagueness of Marinus" rhetoric conceals the precise nature of A rchiadas 5 activities, which included the refurbishm ent of certain public buildings (εις ëpyov δέ δημόσιον).214 E pigraphic evidence from nearby M egara suggests w hat this m ight have en­ tailed. T he inscription dates from c, 40Q^t50 and m ust be con­ sidered typical of the period :215 T h is is the w ork o f the m o st m a g n ificen t co u n t D io g en e s, son o f A rch ela o s, w h o cared for the H e lle n ic c ities a s if th ey w ere his o w n h o u seh o ld , and fu rn ish ed even to th e city o f the M e g a r ia n s 100 solidi for th e refu rb ish m en t o f tow ers; 150 a d d itio n a l solidi a n d 2 ,2 0 0 feet o f m arb le for th e ren o v a tio n o f th e b a th -h o u se, co n sid erin g n o th in g m ore h o n o ra b le than b ein g a b en efa cto r to the G reeks an d restorin g their citics. 210 21' 212 Sect. 213 ÿ14 2Jä

Groag, Reichsbeamten von A ckaia , 75 -7 7 . Ibid., 76. Groag merely summarizes the contents of the Vita isidori. On the preparations for, and execution of, the Panathenaia, see supra, Ch, I. 2. Damascius, Vita Isidon , Fr. 273 (Zintzen, 217=Asrnu$, 96). Marinus, Vita Procli 14 (Boissonade, Ilf.)* Marinus, Vita Procli 14 (Boissonade, 12). IG 7.26. Quoted by Groag, Reichsbtamten von Ackaia , 7 7f I have taken ckrysinoi to be solidi.

326

CHAPTER FOUR

A rchiadas practiced old-fashioned public munificence, if not em ulation, on this model (ημιώτερον ούδέν ήγοΰμενος τοΰ τούς Έλληνας εύεργετειν άνανεοΐν τε χάς πόλεις).216 A rchiadas’ acti­ vities in behalf of citizens (αστοίς) and foreigners (ξένοις) can only be conjectured, b ut the am ount of expenditure was said to be so great that “he displayed him self superior to the ownership of m oney / '217 Archiadas assigned certain lands of his extensive estates (κτήματα) to the public dom ain of Athens and also to th at of his city of origin, X anthos in Lycia ,218 A lthough it was common for landed m agnates to draw income from estates scattered throughout m any provinces ,210 one can hardly doubt th a t A rchiadas had con­ siderable holdings in Attica, or th a t the villages thereon can hardly have undergone C hristianization at the initiative of the owner or his bailiffs (οικονόμοι), as analogous conditions in rural Bithynia, Syria and Egypt prove .220 T he income from city-owned lands went not only to the repair of walls, cisterns, and aqueducts, b ut to the m aintenance of the tem ples, their priesthoods, and cultus. The Asklepieion and Parthenon appear not to have been closed until c, 484·, and the im perial governm ent can hardly have tam pered with them before that date. This being the case, A rchiades 5 heter­ ogenous donations will probably have strengthened the economic underpinnings of the A thenian cults, and have postponed the C hristianization of the colonate and renters on the estates m en­ tioned in the legacy .'^1 A rchiadas supposedly drew inspiration for his acts of piety and public munificence from Proclus 7 teaching. T he philosopher, at that time preoccupied with the Politics of Aristotle and the Republic and Laws of Plato, had little time for urban politics (πράττειν . . . τά πολιτικά), b ut tried to inspire A rchiadas with the political virtues and m ethods (αι πολιτικαί αρεται καί αί μέθοδοι) treated in these texts .222 Civic and religious virtues were closely allied in the 216 Groag, Reichsbeamten von Achaia , 78. 217 Marinus, Vita P rodi 14 (Boissonade, 12).

218 ταΐς πόλεσι καταλέλοιπε κτήματα, πατριδι τε τή έαυτοϋ καί ταις "Αθήναις. Ibid,, 12. 219 Cf. the example of Paulinus uf Pella, who had estates scattered through the provinces of Achaea, Epirus Vetus. and Epirus Nova. Jones, Later Roman Empire , 782. 220 Infra, Ch. V IE-IX . 221 The Christianization of rural Lycia was still in progress in the early and mid-sixth century. Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W o rld /5 337—331). Idem, “ M onastic Founaations in Sixth-century Anatolia and their Role in the Social and Ixonom ic Life of the Countrvside,9’ Greek Orthodox Theological Review 30 (1985), 55-58. Marinus, Vita Procli 14 (Boissonade, 11).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

327

Hellenic m ind. Speaking of that m an ’s son and nam esake, M arinus observes :22:1 A rch ia d a s [the you n ger] on the w h o le differed n ot a little from his father and th e m a n y in virtu e by ta k in g up th e stu d y o f p h ilo so p h y . In a sm u ch as h e w a s u n lea rn ed a n d n ot lia b le to fla ttery b ec a u se o f his an cestral p ro p erties, he d isp la y e d a h o ly life as m u ch as a n y o n e else [ever] did , an d a cq u ired by p ra ctice g rea t e x p erie n c e in sa cred w orks and w ords, b u t n o th in g greater th a n his fath er [h a d a c c o m ­ p lish ed ].

The younger A rchiadas flourished in the period down to 484/5. Proclus him self took a hand in urban politics after the death of the elder Archiadas, having received the requisite rhetorical educa­ tion at A lexandria and experience at the b a r in C onstantinople by the age of twenty (c. 430).224 He sat in the city council or bouleutic assembly of Athens, and perhaps served as archon eponymous. M arinus of Ncapolis sums up the political phase of Proclus 5 career in these term s :225 T h e p h ilo so p h er h im se lf so m etim es took u p p o litic a l co u n sels, b e in g p resen t at the p u b lic d is c u ssio n s in b e h a lf o f th e city an d in tr o d u c in g o p in io n s sen sib ly , m eetin g w ith th e a rch o n s a n d so llic itin g th em n o t o n ly in b e h a lf o f ju stic e b u t c o m p e llin g ly and in a hold m a n n er for a p h ilo so p h er the a p p o rtio n m en t o f w h a t w a s fair to cach p erson . H e cared for the d eco ru m o f his professors and m a d e so b riety a w a y o f life for th em , tea ch in g n ot w ith m ere reason but being capable o f the actual task th rou gh all h is life, as if b e c o m in g the p ro to ty p e o f sob riety to th e others. H e d isp la y e d th e H e r c u lia n form o f c iv ic v irtu e.

Proclus rnadc enemies who compelled him to leave Athens and reside in Lydia for a peiod o f one year. T he nature of the dispute is unknown. M arinus’ biography merely indicates th at the philoso­ pher got into a difficult situation w ith certain predatory m en (έν περιστάσει τινών γυπογιγάντων).226 Although the city council certainly contained m any C hristians and m ust have taken a hand in the deportation, the act can hardly have been the result of local prejudice against Prolus 5 well-known religious Hellenism, for the old religion prevailed everywhere and the C hristian decurions of Athens sym pathized w ith it, to judge from their funerary inscrip­ tions discussed above. O n the other hand, there was always a risk of local political enem ies 5 trum ping up charges about Proclus' zeal and thereby attracting an investigation. I f such were the case. 22λ Dam ascius, Vita h idori , Fr. 353 (Zintzen, 287f.). ™ Marinus, Vita P rodi 8 (Boissonade, 7).

Marinus, Vita Prodi Id (Boissonade, 12), Ibid.

328

CHAPTER FOUR

w ithdraw al would have been prudent. If this was the case, it is ironic th at Proclus spent his time in Lydia officiating at pagan rites .227 To clinch the argum ent, Proclus while there is said to have observed the Pythagorean maxim: “ Live and escapc notice” (λάθε βιχί)σας).22δ Proclus may have attained the office of archon epony­ mous after his return to A thens, as he reportedly gave orders to the board of archors regarding the apportionm ent of grain allowances and other public duties (και τούς άρχοντας άπαιτών σιτηρέσιά τε καί τάς αλλας κατ' αξίαν άπονέμειν έκάστω τιμάς).229 H e was known for a harsh tem per which could however change to m ild­ ness, for it was said th at his anger “was turned to wax w ith the spinning of an o stra k o n '\ (και οστράκου περιστροφή κήρινον άπεδεικνυ τον θυμ όν).230 Proclus’ adm inistrative talents and prestige as a philosopher enabled him to effect his policies w ithout any m arriage connections to the influential A thenian families of preferred birth and w ealth (γένος τε καί πλούτος) th at offered him their daughters in m ar­ riage. I f Proclus provided his good friend the elder A rchiadas with theoretical inspiration, A rchiadas schooled him in practical affairs. The philosopher's urgent sense of justice and love of m ankind ( t o φιλάνθρω πον) exceeded that of m any of the decurions, for he perm itted his m ore capable household slaves (οι έπιτηδειότεροι τών ο ικετών) to inspect his provision for them in his w ill .231 His properties were probably not small, as his father Palrikios had apparently risen in law' and the im perial adm inistration at C on­ stantinople before the family returned to X anlhos m L ycia .^2 Proclus becam e known in his later years as the “ ornam ent of the city-state” (Πρόκλος ο κόσμος τής πολιτείας) having the friendship of the gods (Οεοφιλεια), a m an blessed in all things (ό τά πάντα ευδαίμω ν).23* This view spoke as m uch for Proclus’ profession of philosophy and Hellenic theology as it did for his political career. 227 Marinus. Vita Procli 15 (Boissonade* 12f ). 22a Marinus. Vila Procli 15 (Boissonade, VS). Ibid. Marinus, Vila Prodi 16 (Boissonade, 13f). 231 Marinus, Vila Prodi 17 (Boissonade, 14), Marinus, Vita Procli 6. 8 (Boissonade, 5, 7 Ilis parents1 affluence also explains Proclus’ éducation in Alexandria with such luminaries as the snphisl Leonas and the grammarian Orion (who carm: from an Egyptian priestly family). Proclus’ wealth also enabled him to make the acquaintance of a certain Theodore, who held a magistracy in Alexandria, Ibid., 6f. Proclus thereafter studied in Athens with the Aristotelian philosopher Olympiodorus and the god-fearing (θεοσεβής) Heron. Marinus Vita Procli 8 -9 (Hoissuriade, Gf.). Marinus. Vita Procli 32 (Boissonade, 26).

ATHENS AND ATTICA

329

V. Conclusion

T he rem ainder of Greece and the Aegean islands became C hris­ tianized in rather obscure circum stances between c, 300—600.234 It is nearly impossible to set a chronology for these events of the kind that exists for northern Syria and A rabia, w'here one can often date the arrival of the new religion at towns and villages w ithin about a quarter of a century .235 This is due in p art to the local convention in Greece about funerary inscriptions that forbade including the clumsy dates of local eras. O ne therefore has to fall back on the analysis of themes and letter forms, which is often a rath e r am bi­ guous procedure. Still, it is possible to m ake a few conclusions and generalizations by taking the epigraphy of A ttica as the standard. At Melos, an island lying to the southeast in the Cyclades, the new religion had gained a foothold by the beginning of the fourth century, as we learn from the funerary inscription of a family that supplied three presbyters and a deacon to the local church. All of them have Hellenic names including theophorics like Asklepis and Asklepiodotos. 'These folk were the first C hristian generation for all the fam iliar reasons .236 T he stone-cutter adjures the passer-by in the name of the presiding C hristian angel to leave the tom b in­ violate (ένορκίζω ύμα ς τον ωδε εφεστώτα ανγελον), He has of course replaced the nam e of the katachthonic divinity or local tem ple god in the form ulary. T he inscription begins “ in the L o rd ” (έν κ(υρί)ω) and invokes C hrist to help the stonecutter and his fam ily .237 Tw o of the daughters either died young or else em braced C hristian virginity (παρθενεύσασα). T his clergy all came from a single family, and may well have been the entire clergy of the island at this time. According to this schcme C hristianity will have be­ come dom inant at Melos town only from the late fourth century onward, bu t not in the countryside, whose C hristianization is a historical blank. Som ewhat later in time comes a funerary inscrip­ tion at Patras at the northw estern corner of the Peloponnesc th at cails upon “ those who are C hristians and fear G od” (Χριστιανοί ον[τ]ες καί τον [θ](εό)ν [φο]βούμενοί) not to disrupt a tom b (koimëtërion).23(i l he stress on this distinction puts the burial in the 234 Gregorv, “The Survival of Paganism in Christian Grcccc,” passim, and Trombley, “Bocotia in Later Antiquity,” 221-226. Cf. infra, Ch. V III, X , and X L Cf. infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 1. M. Guarducci, Epigrafia Greca IV : Epigrafi sacrepagane e cristiane (Rome 1978), 368Γ IG 12/3 Inscriptiônes Insularum M a m Aegaei,Fasc . I ll: Inscr. Symes . . . M eli, ed. F, Hiller von Gaertringen (Berlin 1898). no.1238. C IG 4 9298.

330

CHAFFER FOUR

first half of the fourth century when Hellenes still dom inated the seaport and its territorium* Large C hristian com m unities of the fifth century are difficult to identify because of the lim ited epigraphic evidence. One exception to this is Aidepsos on the island of E uboia .230 O utside Athens the tem ple conversions and other epigraphic testim onia to the C hristian victory seem to be chronologically in step w ith developm ents elsewhere in the oikoumene. O ne thinks here of bishop Iovianos and his church at Palaiopolis on the island of K crkyra which contains a ringing proclam ation composed in the language of the C hristian sophistic :^0 (Crass) I, Iovianos, having the confidence of the emperor as the helpmate of rny purposes, built this sacred church (Cross) for you, blessed Ruler on high, having sackcd (Cross) the altars and temple preempts of the Hellenes, a wedding gift to the Lord from my own worthless hand.

T he language is alm ost entirely Epic. C hrist has the tirulature of the now dead Hellenic gods: “ blessed" (μάκαρ), the “ruling on high” of Zeus (ύψ ιμέδον), and “ L ord” (άναξ), also of Zeus. The church had replaced the old shrines (Ε λλή νω ν τεμένη καί βαθμούς) as the new “ sacred tem ple” (ιερόν έκτισα νη ό ν).241 At Lindos, where the pagan priest Aglochartos dedicated a grove of olive trees to A thena c. 300, various pagan dedications were built into the walls of the church that displaced the tem ple .242 T he signs of the new religion began to appear elsewhere as well. A C hristian of Sparta in the Peloponnese incised a cross and a six-leaf in a circle over the face of a very early S partan decree .243 O n the island of Delos, the home of Apollo, C hrist becam e the “ new D ionysus” with the incision of his name on the base of a wine press: “ (Cross) Christ, help your servant (Cross) P eter ,” 244 This replacem ent of the old gods of the olive harvest and the wine cycle was taking place in northern Syria and N orth Africa as w ell .245 Acts of substitution 259 IG X I 1/9: Inscriptiones Insularum M aris Aegaei prater D elum i Fase. I X , cd. Eric Ziebarth (Berlin 1915), nos. 1232-1241. 240 Guarducci, Epigrqfia Greca 4> M IL 24] Iovianos was not, of course, the emperor Jovian (ob. 363), but the bishop of ihe city, as a newly discovered inscription reveals. Ibid., no. 6, 212 Inscriptiones Graecae X I 1/1 : Inscriptiones Insularum M a n s Aegaei Praeter Delum , ed. 1\ Hiller von Gaetriiigen (Berlin 1895), nos. 851, 855, 777, 847. Cf. supra, Ch. ΙΓ, Sect. 1. Inscriptiones Graecae 5/1: Inscriptiones Laconiae Messeniae Arcadiae , ed. Walthcr Kolbe (Berlin 1913), no, 1. w SEG 34 (1984), 789. Cf. supra, Ch. X , Sect. 1.

ATHENS AND ATTICA

331

went on during the Greek m iddle ages. "Thomas of M alea seems to have expelled such tutelary divinities* It is said th a t his prayer oncc m ade a new C hristian spring gush from the ground on M ount M alea in the Peloponnese .246 T he direction was sometimes re­ versed. T he A thenian inscription of Askleparion and H csychia had its cross deleted. The stone was evidently reused in some fashion and the offending sign erased .247 Hellenic religious ideas were deeply em bedded in the psyche of native Greeks, as the examples cited by Jo h n C uthbert Lawson reveal* They seem to have comc down to the Neohellenic period largely intact by oral transm ission in the folklore w ithout any great distortion by literary anachronism* But even if this were not the case, it is difficult to explain the popular interest in the old divini­ ties that still prevailed in the late nineteenth century. It quite obviously m et im portant cultural needs. Although m uch of Greece had been formally C hristianized by c. 529, the indigenous religious traditions had great strength. It would therefore be dangerous to regard Proclus' beliefs and practices as a sharp exception to the popular religiosity .248 The most notable feature of this is the surviv­ al of the Late A ntique recategorization of the Hellenic divinities into a whole variety of daimones,249 This groping C hristianization is reflected in the funerary inscription of a certain Euphem ia who was interred at Panaiania in A ttica (5th-6th c .?):2:>0 (C ross) E u p h e m ia ’s p la ce o f slee p (koimëlëdon). I f a n y o n e sh o u ld at any tim e or in any m a n n er p la ster o v er (th is in scr ip tio n ) an d set a foreigner or loca l p erson or rela tiv e o f hers (in this p la c e ), he sh all h ave to deal w ith G o d the P a n to k ra to r a n d w ith the p ow ers in h e a v en and w ith th o se in the air and th o se in the earth and w ith the su b terran ean p ow ers, a n d th ey sh a ll take a c o n tr ib u tio n (iirom h im ), w ith th ose w h o told , and crucify h im . (C ross) A nd th e G o d -lo v in g clcrgy sh a ll also h a v e to d ea l w ith th e aforesaid p o w ers if th ey a llo w (an y act) ag a in st th is sea) an d h a v e so m e o n e bu ried as y o u say (?) or transfer those ly in g h ere to a n o th er p lace.

The critical phrase, which is full of solecisms, is the reference to “ the powers in heaven and . . . those in the air and in the earth and . . . the subterranean powers” (κέ πρό[ς] τά ς έν ούρανώ 24δ M enologion , PG 117> 529B-C. SynaxaHum Ecclesïae Conslantinopolitanae e Codice Sirmondiano, ed. Hippolyte D eleh zve (Brussels 1902). 803. 247 IG 3/2 3521. 248 See my own definition o f “ popular religion” in Oxford Dictionary o f Byzantium , ed. Alexander Kazhdan et a i , 3 {Oxford 1991), 1698£ 249 Lawson, M odem Greek Folklore m id Ancient Greek Religion, G6—69. SEG 29 (1979) 250. See also the commentary: Denis Feissel, “ Notes d ’épigraphie chrétienne (I V )/' Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 104 (1980), î 59-1 75.

332

CHAP 1ER TOUR

δυνάμις, [κέ] π ρος τάς έν αέρι κέ έν [γή] κέ κ α χα [χθ]ονια ς Ö u ( v a ) u L g ) , T he formula is pre-C hristian. It has som ething in common with the Neoplatonic taxonomies th a t put the gods in the firm am ent, and the angels and daimones in the lower air.2jl Indeed the word “ pow er" (δύναμις) had a certain currcncy in H ellenistic times as a synonym for daimon.252 But the powers in the earth can only have been the underw orld deities D em eter and Persephone, and the katachthonic powers the furious divinities thought to stand guard over tombs P 6 O ne would expcct some anachronism and Hellenic color in an Attic funerary inscription, as was seen previously ,254 b ut the present text expresses real belief. T he curse is applied to the local C hristian clergy as well. A w ell-taught C hris­ tian might have been expected to regard the cross, Christogram, and "O n e G odM form ula as superior to these powers, which the new theology degraded to m ere daimones. Here at least the idea of the “ life to come ' 3 as symbolized by the use of the term koimëtmon is subordinated to Hellenic taboo fears th at had rem ained quite strong. T he old gods m ay have bccome daimones, b ut their localities of operation were still discreetly rem em bered. Proclus speaks best for the H ellenic faith of the intellectuals. O f the less sophisticated folk, some revised their earlier beliefs in light of C hristian teaching, but others failed to make the transition to the new religious culture in tolo. D uring the m illenium th a t followed, it was the people of the Hellenic hom eland who reflected this trait most strongly.

^

lamblichus. D t M y s tm is , Bks, ] - 2 (Des Places 38ÎT). A Greek-English Lexicon o f the N ew Testament and Other Early Christian Literature,

ed. 5th/2nd ed. (Chicago 2{m W. Bauer, tr. W.F. Arndt and F.W, OinSric:h3 * 5 1957)? ** Infra, Ch. V II, Spot. 2. ^ Supra. Ch. IV, Scct. 1,

APPENDIX II

D ID JO H N C H R Y S O S T O M V IS IT A T H EN S IN 367/8? George of A lexandria’s life of Jo h n Chrysostom , w ritten c. 620, m entions a visit by the latter to Athens after he had com pleted his studies in gram m ar and rhetoric with Libanius in A ntioch ,1 C hry­ sostom B aur disregards the supposed incident, taking it as som e­ thing that George simply invented as an encom iastic appreciation of Jo h n C hrysostom 's rhetorical brilliance^ T his interpretation is difficult to understand. For one thing, as B aur him self adm its, George of A lexandria was little m ore than a compiler, and so the invention of such an oddly detailed account with a certain A ttic flavor about it is rather surprising. The second objection is that George has fitted the incident quite precisely into a perfectly plausi­ ble space in the established chronology of Jo h n C hrysostom 's life. Let us consider the chronology first, and then the content of the narrative. R obert E. C arter in a 1962 article worked through the chronolo­ gies of C hrysostom ’s early years proposed by C> Baur, S. Schiwietz, A. M oulard, and others, and established convincingly th at the saint finished his education w ith Libanius in Ju ly 367, and received baptism at Easter 368.3 In between was a period of about nine m onths which cannot otherwise be accountcd for. It is here that George of Alexandria inserted the narrative about C hrysostom ’s visit to Athens. T here can be strictly speaking no objection to it on the ground of m aterial possibility or m otivation. For one thing, J o h n ’s visit was quite short. T he sailing season was still suitable for a swift passage from Antioch to Achaea in late Ju ly or A ugust, although a return would not have been easy until the westerly M arch tradewinds. It is said th at he left not long after the attack on Hellenic religion m ade in front of the archon Dem osthenes bccause

1 T he relevant sections are found in Douze récits byzantins s u t Saint Jean Ckiysostom, ed, François Halkin (Brussels 1977), 76-110. Hereinafter cited as K Chiysostomi. * Chrysostomus Baur, “Georgius A lexandrinus,” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 27 (1927), 3. 3 Robert E. Carter, “The Chronology o f Saint John ChrysosLorn’s Early Life,” Traditio 18 (1962), 357-364.

334

APPENDIX II

the bishop of Athens w anted to ordain him .4 But if Jo h n left “ secretly” (λάθρα), as George of A lexandria’s narrative indicates, the young scholar m ay have returned to A ntioch by an unplanned route on land or sea or b o th /’ George of A lexandria's biography indicates that C hrysostom w ent to Athens “ wishing to complete the rest of his education ' 5 (πληρώ σαι θέλω ν τα λείπ ο ντα τής π α ιδ εύ σ κ ω ς ).6 His m onastic biographer Palladius knew him only in later life* R obert G arter has shown th a t his account of Chrysostom 's youth is hazy about chro­ nology and not entirely trustw orthy .7 Even if Palladius had known of the visit to Athens, he W O uld have found it difficult to believe th at the m ature C hristian intellectual that Chrysostom had become had ever harbored the desire to improve upon the rhetorical skills that had m ade him one of the most prolific Greek writers of the C hris­ tian sophistic. The young m an often has ambitions that the old man looks back upon with a spirit of disdain or am usem ent. It would be naive to suppose th at Chrysostom was a m ature C hristian hom il­ ist and exegete even in his youth, or to deny th at youthful am bition inspired by Libanius' teaching once glowed w ithin him. H e m ay, in fact, have been under considerable family pressure to em ulate the career of his father Secundus, who had attained the rank of magister militumper Onentem. As A .H .M . Jones has pointed out: “T he service was often in practice hereditary, . . *,?8 By 367, to be sure, w ith the demise of Ju lian the Apostate in the past, C hristian sophists will have been m ore common even in Athens, although it was the professional competence of the teacher rath er than his religion that decided students to study with him ,9 Basil of C aesarea's studies in Athens are proof of this, as is the fact th a t E unapius of S ardis’ tutor, Prohaeresius, was a C hristian (ante 363). T here is nothing, strictly speaking, against C hrysostom ’s having gone to A thens on the ground of plausibility. T he problem lies, rather, in the seeming lack of veracity of George of A lexandria's narrative* We m ay safely regard the story of the pagan rhetor A nthem ius’ possession by a daimon in front of the A thenian council for affirming the Hellenic peace of the gods as a later invention, although it is not impossible that Hellenes riding the fence over their religious alle­ giances sometimes suffered the physical sym ptom s of taboo hysteria

4 Supra, Ch. IV , Sect. 2. V. ChrysosUmi, 8 7 f 01 V. Ckrysostomi, 88, line 12, b V. Ckrysostomi^ 78, line 12. * Carter, “Chronology.5’ 357. 8 Jones. Later Roman Empire y 599. 0 Infra, Ch. V, Sect.. 3.

APPENDIX II

335

inflated by the evident power of the new religion and its G od .10 But it is difficult to disconnect m any of the other details as entirely im probable. The criticisms of Hellenic religion put into C hrysos­ tom 5s m outh by the hagiographcr arc quite weak, as for example his calling female divinities “ little w hores” . O n the other hand, the early years of the co-emperors Valens (364—378) and V alentinian I (364—375) were quite free from the religious persecution of H el­ lenes, and this will have perm itted some rather brusque exchanges of viewpoint in Athens, where Hellenic culture and belief were still strongly entrenched. T he pagan sophists and city councillors were mainly anxious to avoid some cause célébré that m ight result in the demolition of their temples* George of A lexandria’s narrative is accurate in attributing such anxiety to the city m agistrates and a degree of fanaticism to the pagan sophist A nthem ius, T he problem with our source is in reality the lurid light in which the description is given and certain anachronism s th a t point to a date of composi­ tion in the late fifth century not long after the law against Hellenic religion th at I have attributed to the em peror Zeno in the years 481—484, when the living m emory of Jo h n Chrysostom was a thing of the past. T here are certain peculiarities oflanguage and content in George of A lexandria’s narrative th at correspond to realities of life in A thens as attested in the Rom an Im perial and Late A ntique in ­ scriptions. Some of them are sufficiently striking to m erit more than passing noticc. There are, first of all, very precise allusions to the co-emperors Valons and V alentinian I and their inscriptions. T hus the archon Demosthenes avers that “our august emperors happen to be Chris­ tian s” (οι σεβάσμιοι ήμώ ν β α σ ιλείς Χ ρ ισ τια νο ί ύ π ά ρ χ ο υ σ ιν ) .11 George of A lexandria quite correctly infers the existence of coemperors in 367/8 through the use of the present tense. It is im probable that he was improvising here. In fact, the surviving inscriptions of Greece nam e both co-em perors during their jo in t reign and th at of successors , 12 as for exam ple at Thespiae not far from Athens in Boeotia: “T he city (set up statues of) our m asters the August! Flavius V alentinianus and Flavius V atens” (in [Ci This is what Sigmund Freud describes as “ taboo sickness15 in Totem and Taboo, published in The Penguin Freud Library 13: The Origins o f Religion, ed, Albert

Dickson (London 1985), 79f. 11 V. Chrysostomi, 84, line 11. 12 IG 4, 674: “ In behalf of the emperors Claudii Valentii Caesares” (in Greek). IG 4, 1109: “Valentinian and Valens Augusti” (in Greek) (Nauplion) IG 4.674. Later emperors: IG 7, 24 (M egara). Alison Frantz, “A Public Building o f Late Antiquity in Athens (IG 2 S2 5 2 0 5 V Hesperia 48 (1979), 198.

336

APPENDIX II

G reek ) .10 Only a person knowledgeable about the official nom en­ clature, and perhaps of Achaea, would have been aw are of this practice, George of A lexandria cannot have simply invented this at so late a date as c. 620. Dem osthenes also observes that “ each m an and every land” under their authority worships C hrist (έκαστος άνθρωπος καί π άσα χώ ρα), and again th at they had conquered m any barbarian nations {πλειοτα βάρβαρα εθνη ).14 Chrysostom concurs in his reply th at C hrist is w orshipped “from the farthest point of the oikoumene to its (opposite) boundaries .” 15 T his som e­ w hat cchocs known inscriptions of A thens and M egara from the jo in t reign of the sons and grandsons o f Theodosius the G reat. O ne prologue iterates :10 In b e h a lf o f the sa fety and v ictory a n d etern al p e rm a n en ce o f th e m asters o f the ôikoumenê, F la v iu s A rca d iu s and F la v iu s H o n o riu s an d F laviu s T h e o d o siu s (th e y o u n g er ), th e etern a l a n d tro p h y -h o ld in g A u g u sti.

Jo h n uses the term oikoumene known from the im perial inscriptions, restating Dem osthenes’ “ each m an and every' lan d ” with a painful précision that turned the minds of his listeners to the im perial edicts. T he “victory” of V alentinian I and Valcns was spelled out quite em phatically in their titulature, which included the names of conquered enemy nations .17 George of A lexandria has also gotten the chronology of the Parthenon's closure right. T he pagan sophist A nthem ius observes that “ every m an who comes to the school of this city im parts honor and service to the gods by going away to the tem ple of the great goddess Athena . . . (ά π ιώ ν εις τό ιερόν τή ς μεγάλης θεά ς ’Α θηνάς), and falling before her> asks her to make his reasoning wise for excellence in the sciences .55,8 This is a direct reference to Phcidias’ chryselephantine statue of A thena in the Parthenon. The description of the ritual is all quite accurate, b u t the procedure, im plicit for example in M arinus 3 biography of Proclus, is explicitly stated in no other source, George of A lexandria nowhere m entions the closure of the Parthenon, as he m ight have been tem pted to do, nor is there any anachronism in his treatm ent of the subject. This 13 IG 7, 1849 (Thespiae). See Infra, n. 15. Η V. Chryxô.ïtôinî, 84-, lines 11, 22f., 25. ,!> K Ckiysostomi, 84f, Jb IG 7, 24 (as above). Also: ‘O u r master the unconquered Flavius Constantine A u gu stu s/5 where the last word is Σεβ [α σ τό ν], IG 7, 1843 (T hespiae)* 17 Hermann Dessau, Insc rip Hones Latinae Selectae (= IL S ) nos. 762, 763, 765, 770, and especially 771, 1E* V. Ckrjmiïomi, 83, line 27f.

APPENDIX II

337

circum stance seemingly puts the date of the account he used before the actual closure of the Parthenon. T he most striking feature of George of A lexandria’s account is a series of faint echoes of, or allusions to, the two quasi-Justinianic laws th at I have dated to the reign of Zeno. A nthem ius is told: “ Go ίο the church before uur holy father the bishop. And he will teach you w hat is necessary for your own benefit.” O r again: “ A nthem ius returned to his house and took his wife and children, boys and girls, and went to the b i s h o p And then: “ Delaying nothing, he (the bishop) catechized them all and deemed them worthy o f holy baptism, teaching them to keep the com m ands of the Lord and no longer to approach the unclean idols, but rather to spend time (σχολάζειν) in the holy church and read the divine s c r i p t u r e s A nd finally: “T he eparch and landed m agnates . . . and m uch of the demos . . . went at a run (δρομαίω ς) into the church to the bishop and persuaded him to make them C hristians.” Since Dem osthenes had already been baptized, the bishop “ instructed him in following the ecclesiastical canons.” 19 T he phrases italicized are all of them logical or literal echoes of the two quasi-Justinianic law s.20 Since George of A lexandria's source had no knowledge of the closure of the Parthenon, but knew seemingly more than a little about the law in question, it is probable th at this source upon which he drew belonged to the brief period between the beginning of Illus1 rebellion in 481 and the closure of the Parthenon in about 484. If so, it was a tendentious docum ent suggesting that tolerance of Hellenic belief and practice, and the leniency about sacrifice that prevailed in V alens’ early reign, perhaps guaranteed some conversions, but th at in the end only coercion and the strict enforcem ent of the im perial edicts could destroy the grip of the old religion; in the context of the civil insurrection of 4 8 1 ^ 8 8 , only harsh m ethods could ensure the survival o f the C hristian em pire. I f this hypothesis be accepted, it is one m ore bit of corroboration for the host o f synchronism s pointing to 481-484 for the tw o.quasi-Justinianic laws* George of A lexandria was draw ing upon a source not entirely lacking in political sophis­ tication. It was perhaps intended, as well, to lecture the fifthcentury patriarch of C onstantinople, the politically pliant Acacius (4 7 1 ^ 8 9 ), on the evils of complacency tow ard Hellenic religion by contrasting the present state of affairs w ith his predecessor C h ry ­ sostom 's youthful defiance of propriety before the A thenian C oun­ cil of 300. 19 The passages are scattered over K Ckiysostomi, 86f. ™ Cod. lust. 1.11.9 prooem. and Cod. lust. 1.11.10, clauses 1, 3, and 5,

338

APPENDIX II

T here are some other historical points in George of A lexandria’s life of Chrysostom that have an A ttic color. Am ong these are bits of inform ation about the A thenian constitution. It is known from the inscription honoring Rufius Festus, the proconsul o f A chaea (324 or later), th at the Council of the A reopagus, Council of 300, and demos of the A thenian people were still recognized civic bodies.21 There seems little doubt th a t the office of archon eponym ous sur­ vived along with these institutions. Dem osthenes will have held this office, although George's text styles him as the “ eparch o f the city” .22 His nam e was incidentally quite a com m on one a t A thens (2nd-3rd century A.D.),23 T he civil officials who m et Chrysostom are styled as “ archons” , and it is indicated th at they had ju risd ic­ tion over the territorium of A ttica (τής π ε ρ ίο ικ ο υ ).24 George m en­ tions nomotkeles elsewhere in a general context.25 M en holding this office are m entioned in the inscriptions of the Rom an Im perial period26 and were, of course, m em bers of the archontal college 27 T he city councillors are characterized as land owners (xebv κ τητόρω ν) and m agnates (ot μ εγισ τά νες).28 M ost striking of all is G eorge's use of the A ttic technical term “dem esm en” (δημ όται) for the ordinary' folk.29 T hese constitutional term s have considerably greater significance through their associadon in the strictly A the­ nian context o f George's narrative. It can hardly be accidental. T he story of the rhetor A nthem ius3 argum ents and supposed possession evoked the contem pt of François H alkin, the editor of George of A lexandria’s text: “Personnage inconnu. Tout ce long chapitre, d'ailleursy esl propre à Georges d'Alexandrie— et suspect”*0 T here is no A nthem ius m entioned in Eunapius of S ardis’ Lives o f the Sophists t bu t this is hardly relevant because E unapius seems to have left Athens after the Ju lian ic law banning C hristian Iccturcrs from expounding the Greek paideia , for his tu to r Prohaeresius was a C hristian. E unapius is thus not well inform ed about the later 3G Q \ when A nthem ius is supposed to have taught. Like the m ajority of sophists there, A nthem ius was a foreigner, inasm uch as his nam e is

21 IG 3/2 635. 22 V, Ckiysostvmi) 79, line 6f. 2i Eighteen examples in IG 3/2. 10313 1040, 1052, 1077, etc.

24 J7. Chtysostomi, 78, line 29f. 25 V. Chrysosiomi, 82f. 26 IG 3/2 1085, 3849. *7 V. Chiysostomiy 78, line 29. 2â V. Chrysostomi, 79, line 28f. 29 V. Chrysostomiy 80, line 32. 30 V. Chrysostom^ 78, n. 7.

APPENDIX II

339

entirely unattested in the Attic epigraphy.31 T here are certain plausible details given, as for exam ple that “ a stele (i.e. a statue) had even been erected for him in A thens and in R om e” (καί στήλην αύτω άνεγειραι εν τε Άθήναις καί έν 'Ρώμη).32 T he term “stele” is quite common in Attic epigraphy, but the honor is less significant than George of A lexandria implies- For example, in the third or fourth century, a group of students (οι σχολάσαντες) erected a stele of their professor (6 κ α θη γη τή ς), Alexander of Phaleron.33 T he only steles of sophists in Italy that I have disco­ vered belong to funerary m onum ents, those of Sekkios T rophim os of Side (Aesquiline Hill, Rome), Herkleitos of L aran d a (in vinea M oroni), and probably H erm okrates of T arsus (R om e).34 These instances certainly prove th at easterners m igrated to Rome to teach the Greek paideia, and Anthem ius probably belongs in this categ­ ory. The single largest group of foreigners attested in the A thenian epigraphy of this time are m igrants from Antioch. Even in the fourth century a person like Jo h n Chrysostom could have counted on finding the friendship of young Antiochenes, like him self aged eighteen. This hom etown bond helped unify the C hristian students who confronted the Hellenes of A lexandria a century late r.3* Fore­ ign residents in A thens (called xenoi by George of A lexandria) were invariably known by their city nam es,36 whereas locals were iden­ tified by their deme nam es.37 George of A lexandria’s use of the term δη μ ότα ι hints that this nom enclature lasted until the fourth cen­ tury A.D., as does E unapius of Sardis5 invariable m ention of the professors5 cities of origin in his Lives o f ike Sophists. The practice began to die out only w ith the increasing C hristianization of the city and its territorium,38 T he rush of the Hellenes to the churches to receive baptism in George of A lexandria’s life of Chrysostom is exaggerated, as this sort of behavior really belonged to the period of violent tem ple conversions in the 38CTs and later.39 T here was nevertheless a drift towards henotheism or perhaps m onotheism in A thenian religious life. This is ap parent from the foundation o f a tem ple of M en S] The occurrence of the name “Anthimos” in the lists of the ephebes is certainly not a relevant phenomenon, IC 3/2 1112, 1119, 1132, etc. 32 V. Chysotomi, 78, line 24f. 33 IG 3/2 773. 34 IG 14 1702, 1928, 1589. 35 Infra, Gh. V, passim, 36 IG 3/2 2202, 2959. *7 IG 3/2 1471-2201.

30 Infra, Ch. IV, Sect. 1. 39 Cf. supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3, and Ch. I ll, Sect* 4.

340

APPENDIX II

T yrannos c:. 200 A .D .,40 various offerings to the “ H ighest G od” ,41 and those to Isis as well.42 T he taurobolici celebrated in honor of M ithra in the later fourth century are relevant to this trend as w e ll43 M ore than a few A thenians in the late 3603s discovered a capacity to identify the C hristian victory confessed by D em os­ thenes the archon w ith their own deities, particularly if the latter went by the nam e of “ highest” or “ unknow n” G od.44 T he m ythical beasts of A thenian statuary like sphinxes were still standing in 367/8 (στήλας κνώδαλών παντοίων καί θηρίων) 45 bu t were being degraded to the status of daimones through both N eoplatonist and C hristian recategorization. Yet even the C hristian confession p ut into the m outh of A nthem ius was derived from H cllenic polytheism: “ I confess that there is no god either in heaven or in the earth except the God of the C hristians” (ομολογώ μή εΐναι θεόν μήτε έν ούρανφ μήτε έν τχ\ γή πλήν του θεοΰ τών Χριστιανών) ,46 There is a parallel and m ore com plete exam ple of this form ula cited above at the end of C hapter IV , the funerary inscription of E uphe­ mia at Panaiania in Attica. This latter inscription shows that A nthem ius’ confession derived from an originally longer list of gods or daimones. Tt included not only those in heaven and in the earth, but also those of the lower air and the subterranean ones as well. W e have a polytheistic form ula here th at was reduced in scope to m ake it suitable for the confession of the C hristian God. T his text is one m ore corroboration of the hypothesis that George of A lexan­ dria's account of C hrysostom ’s visit to Athens was taken from a literary source whose author had authentic knowledge of the A the­ nian milieu. This seems quite certain, even if the historicity of the story is rejected.47 T he story was concocted between 481—484 for the tendentious purpose of rousing Acacius of C onstantinople to cooperate with the governm ent by ordering his bishops to advise the civil authorities as to the identity of the Hellenes in the cities of the p atriarchate like 4Ü IG 3/2 73, 74. *l IG 3/2 152-155. 42 ÏG 3/2 140. Cf. Trombley, 118Prolegomena to the Systemic Analysis of hate Hcllenic Religion,” passim, IG 3/2 172, 173.