(Alison E. Cooley) The Cambridge Manual To Latin E (Book4You)

F R A N K R.
T R O M B L E Y
Hellenic Religion
and Christianization
c. 370-529
VOLUME 2
Hellenic Religion and Christianization c. 370-529
Volume 2
Hellenic Religion and
Christianization c. 370-529
VOLUME 2
By
Frank R. Trombley
✓ S
' / 68* '
BRILL
LE I DE N | BOSTON
First published as a hardback (set) edition as volum e 115 in the Religions in the Graeco-Roman World
series in 1993.
First paperback edition published as a set in 2001.
This paperback (set) edition published in 2014.
Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Trombley, Frank R.
H ellenic religion and Christianization, c. 370-529 / by Frank R. Trombley.
p. cm.— (Religions in the Gracco-Rom an world, ISSN 0927-7633; v. 115)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 9004096922 (set: alk. paper). — ISBN 9004096248 (pt. 1: alk. paper)
1. Christianity and other religions— Roman. 2. Christianity and other religions— Greek. 3. Church
history— Prim itive and early church, ca. 30-600. 4. Rom e— Religion. I. Title. II. Series.
BR 128.R 7T 76 1993
261.2’2’09015— dc20 92-28631
CIP
ISBN 978 - 90 -04 -27481-5 (volume 2 paperback)

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There is one god, greatest among gods and men,
who is like mortals neither in bodily shape nur in thought.
Xenophanes of Colophon, Fr. 23

(6th c. B.C.)
The abode of daimones has become the house of God.

The light of salvation shines where darkness caused concealmcnt.
Where sacrifices to idols occurred, now there are choirs of angels.
Where God was provoked, now he is propitiated.
Inscription on the martyrion
of St. George, Zorava
(515 A.D.)
For
Elizabeth
my daughter
with
love
CO NTENTS
Preface................. ................................................................................. xi
Abbreviations....................................................................................... xiv
V. The Philoponoi o f Alexandria and Hellenic Religion............ 1

1. The Social Background o f Zachariah o f Mytilene’s
Friends..................................................................................... 2
2. Relations among the Pagan and Christian
Professors and Students: Paralios o f A phrodisias.......... 4
3. Some Conversions in A lexandria.................................... 15
4. Some Alexandrian Connections with Aphrodisias
in the Reign o f Zeno (c. 488-491)................................... 20
5. The Philoponoi in Berytus and the Eradication of
M agic....................................................................................... 29
6. Conclusions........................................................................... 45
V I. A ph rodisias.................................................................................. 52
1. Hellenic Religion in Society and C u ltu re..................... 52
2. Class Status and Christianization.................................. 58
3. Christian A ph rodisias........................................................ 69
4. Conclusions..................................................................... . 71
V II. Asia M in o r................................................................................. 74

1. Hypatius of Rufinianac and the Christianization
of Rural Bithynia c. 443-446............................................ 76
2. The Christianization of Phrygia c. 3 5 0 -4 5 0 ................ 96
3. The Territorium o f Hierapolis c. 400 in Light o f the
Aberkios L e g e n d ................................................................... 114
4. The Territorium of Pessinus in G alatia S a lu taris......... 118
5. Eastern Anatolia: C appadocia and Isa u r ia ................. 120
6. Conclusions........................................................................... 129
V III. Arabs and Aram aeans in the Syrian Countryside.......... 134

1. Libanius on Polytheism in the Territorium of
Antioch in 386 ......................................... ............................ 134
2. Monks and Christianization in S y ria ............................ 143
3. Arab Polytheism in Light of the Safaitic
viii CONTENTS
In scrip tion s............................................................................ 173

4. Symeon Stylites the Elder: A Semitic V iew ................. 184
5. The Syrian Countryside, Christianization, and the
World Beyond....................................................................... 200
6. Conclusions.......................................................................... 204
IX . The Nile Valley from Canopus to P h ila e ........................ 205

1. Shenute of Atripe and the Cults of the Middle
Nile V alley.............................................................................. 207
2. The Closure of the Isis Temple at Canopus c. 487-89 219
3. The Cults of Philae in the Mid-Fifth C entury........... 225
4. Christian Philae and the Synoikism of Cults................ 235
5. Conclusions............................................................................ 239
Appendix IV: Sacrifice in Fourth-Century Oxyrhynchus...... 241
X . The Antiochene and the A p am e n e ........................................ 247

1. The Antiochene: Djebel Sim lâ n ............... ...................... 257
2. The Antiochene: Djebel H a la q ah ................................... 263
3. The Antiochene: Djebel B a rish a ..................................... 268
4. The Antiochene: The Orontes B asin ............................. 274
5. The Antiochene: The North Slope of Djebel Riha
(Djebel Z âw iyeh)............................. .................................... 279
6. The Apamene: Southern Djebel R ih a ........................... 283
7. The Apamene: Tarutia Emporön and Its Environs..... 295
8. The Apamene: Central and Southern Djebel il-‘A lâ .... 301
9. Conclusions............................................................................ 311
Appendix V: The “ One G od” Inscriptions............................... 313
X I. The Bostrene, Djebel Ilau ran and the L e d jä ..................... 317

1. The Bostrene.......................................................................... 320
2. Djebel H a u ra n ...................................................................... 339
3. The T ed jä................................................................................ 358
4. Conclusions............................................................................ 372
Appendix V I: The God o f Aumos at Deir el-Leben................ 375
Appendix V II: Tem ple Conversions and the Survival of

Cult in the Early Sixth C en tu ry ...................... 377
Epilogue................................................................................................. 380
CONTENTS ix
Bibliography........................................................................................... 387
Errata & Additamenta to Part I ........................................................ 403
General Index........................................................................................ 405

PREFACE
This volume completes the discussion o f Hellenic religion and

Christianization begun in Part I of this work, Part II is in many
respects a separate and entirely different work, as it makes very
extensive use of the epigraphy tn give the problem o f Christianiza
tion a demographic dimension. Elsewhere, the more or less proven
methods of internal criticism of texts were employed, and these
sections of the book require little comment here. It should be added
that the greater part of Part II deals with conditions in the country
side in a very detailed way. This, too, differentiates it from Part I,
which had a pronounced emphasis on the urban forms of late
Hellenic religion.
Northern Syria was by far the easiest district to treat, because the
inscriptions and architecture have been thoroughly studied in
the volumes o f the Princeton University expeditions of 1899, 1904-
5, and 1909. Here it was possible to be very precise on all points
because of the common local practice of dating inscriptions by the
Antiochenc or Seleucid eras. Georges Tchalenko’s survey o f the
material and economic life of the Limestone M assif gave the study
greater cohcrence than might otherwise have been attainable.
Greater problems attended the chapter on the Bostrene, Djcbel
Hauran, and Ledjä because many of the inscriptions are available
only in W addington’s edition of 1870, which is sound but requires
updating. The number of dated inscriptions is much smaller here.
For Asia Minor, it was not possible to produce an exhaustive
survey of the epigraphic evidence. Little of it is dated. This, cou
pled with the multiplicity of editors and disparate editions, has
caused me to prefer more of a thematic treatment of certain res
tricted areas of Phrygia that became Christian between c. 375-450.
These sections are illustrative rather than comprehensive, but pro
vide an important comparative model for what is said about Syria
and Arabia. I have generally retained the names of sites as trans
literated in the respective epigraphic collections, except in the case
of well-known sites like Umm el-Jimal (rather than E. Littm ann’s
Umm idj-Djim äl). This is intended as a convenience for non
orientalist scholars.
Some few new works have come to my attention since the text and
major propositions of this volume were largely codified. I note them
xii PREFACE
here because each in its own way touches upon questions of rele
vance to Parts I and II of this work. First, there is K.W . Harl,
“ Sacrifice and Pagan Belief in Fifth- and Sixth-Century Byzan
tium ,” Past and Present 128 (1990) 7-27, an admirable summary of
many of the issues and problems discussed in the present work.
Secondly, there is M, Tardieu, Les Paysages reliques: rouies et haltes
syriennes d ’Isidore à Simplicius (Paris-Louvain: 1990). The implication
o f the book that Simplicius went to H arrän in Osrhoene is perhaps
important for understanding the transmission of Greek philosophy
into Islam ic culture. Thirdly, there is Pierre Chuvin, Chronique des
derniers païens: la disparition du paganisme dans l'Empire romaine} du règne
de Constantin à celui de Justinien (Paris: 1991). Chuvin’s work needs to
be read in the French edition* o f which pp. 155-275 were not
included in the recent English translation. All these works illumi
nate themes developed in the present study. The points of emphasis
are sometimes a bit different, but the conclusions are generally
consistent.
Some sections of this volume go back (literally) to the first days
o f writing back in 1987. The words of thanks indicated in Part I
apply equally here, but I would also like to thank M s. Evelyn
Cornell, the adviser to Humanities readers at K in g’s College Lon
don, and her staff, for their immensely patient assistance. I would
like to thank Dr. Irene Vaslef, the head librarian at Dumbarton
Oaks, in equal measure,
I must repeat my thanks to Averil Cameron for having read two
of the chapters herein, and to Andrew Dyck for one other, and also
to Ju lian Deahl, Senior Editor at E J . Brill, whose patient coopera
tion made the final work on this all quite painless. Ex consuetudine I
claim credit for any errors that might have crept in. The chapters
on northern Syria benefited immensely from the Workshop on Late
Antiquity that met under Averil Cam eron’s sponsorship at the
School of Oriental and African Studies at London in late April
1991, and from a rather frank communication of Susan A. Harvey.
My thanks also go to Professor Han Drijvers of Groningen, one of
the editors of the Brill series, whose timely criticism saved me from
a number of errors. Professor Ja c o b Neusner also deserves a word
of thanks for having introduced me to rabbinic texts at the N EH
Sem inar at Brown University in 1988. It was Michael Morony who
suggested a brief treatment of the Safaitic inscriptions, but it was I
who elected to limit the discussion to a single site, il-'Isâwi.
Michacl Braunlin o f the Modern Greek Library, University of
Cincinnati, procured books for me, sometimes by sleight o f hand,
during my occasional visits there. I doubt that the problem of the
PREFACE xiii
Greek paideia and Christian sophistic would have occupied such a

prominent place throughout this volume, had not Speros Vryonis
reflected several times during my early days as a student on Werner
Jae g e r's greatness as a scholar*
Finally, I have benefited from the personal and professional
support of many colleagues and friends νυκτός αμολγω. I am
thinking particularly of Speros Vryonis, J r ., and of Bill McLough-
lin, O .S-M ., M adeleine Cody, and M aria Vaiou, a small group, but
a good one,
London,
23 August 1992
Additional note: I have retained all solecisms o f spelling and gram

mar in the Greek inscriptions quoted.
A B B R E V IA T IO N S
AA ES Publications of an American Archaeological Expedition to Syria in

1899, Pari 11: Architecture and Other Arts, ed, Howard C. Butler
(New York 1903}. Part III: Greek and Latin Inscriptions, ed. W.K..
Prentice (New York 1908).
AS Anatolian Studies
Bernand Etienne Bernand, Les inscnptions grecques et latines de Phiiae II:
Haut et Bas Empire {Paris 1969).
BZ Byzantinische Zeitschrift
CAM 12 The Cambridge Ancient History XII: The Imperial Crisis and Recovery
A.D. 193-324. Ed, N.H. Baynes et al. (Cambridge 1939).
CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium (Louvain 19Ü3- )
C1G 4 Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum. Ed. A. Boeck 1-4 (Berlin 1828-
11 .
DACL Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie. Ed, F. Cabrol &
H. Leclercq (Paris 1903-50),
DOP Dumbarton Oaks Papers
EA Epigraphica Anatoiica
GO TR Greek Orthodox Theological Review
Griffith Francis LI. Griffith. Catalogue of the Demotic Graffiti of the Dode-
casthoenus (Oxford 1937)»
HGM Historici Graeci Minores 1-2 (Leipzig 1870-71).
IG Inscnptiones Gratcae 1—14. Ed. A. Kirchhoff (Berlin 1873—90).
IGC-AsMin. Recueil des inscriptions grecques chrêtimnes d'Asie mineure. Ed. H.
Grégoire (Paris 1922).
IGLS Instnptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, Ed. L. Jalabert, R.
Mouterde, et al. 1-7 (Paris 1929-70),
ILCV Inscriptions Latinae Christianae Veterej. Ed. E, Diehl 1-3 (Berlin
1925—31 ).
JE A Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
JO B . J ohrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik.
JR S Journal of Roman Studies.
Lassus Inventaire archéologique de la région au nord-est de Hama. Ed. J .
Lassus 1-2 (Damascus 1936).
MA aMA Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua 1-6 (Manchester 1928-39).
ODB Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Ed. Alexander Kazhdan et aL
1-3 (Oxford-New York 1991).
OGIS Orientis Graeci Inscriptions Selectae. Ed. W. Diltenberger 1—2
(Leipzig 1903-5).
PA ES II Publications of the Pnnceton University Archaeological Expeditions to
Syna in 1904-5 and 1909, Division II: Architecture> Section A:
Southern Syria and Section B : Northern Syria. Ed. Howard C.
Butler (Leiden 1919 and 1920).
PA ES H i Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to
Syria in 1904^5 and 1909, Division III: Greek and Latin inscnptions,
Section A: Southern Syna. Ed. E. Littmann, D, Magie, and D.R.
Stuart (Leiden 1921); Section B : Northern Syna. ed. W.K. Pren
tice (Leiden 1922).
PAES IV Publications of the Pnnceton University Arhaeological Expeditions to
Syna in 1904-5 and 1909* Division IV: Semitic Inscriptions. Ed.
ABBREVIATIONS xv
Enno Littmann. Section A: Nabataean Inscnptions from the Southern

Hmtran (Leiden 1914); Section B : Synac Inscriptions {Leiden
1934); Section C: Safaiiic Inscriptions (Leiden 1943).
PG Palrologiw Cursus Completus, Series Graeco-latina. Ed, J.P .
Migne (Paris 1857- ),
PL Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina, Ed. J.P . Migne
(Paris 18β4— ).
PO Patrologia Orientalis. Ed. R, Grafiin & F, Nau (Paris 1903- ),
P. Oxy. Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Ed. B,P. Grenfell & A.S, Hunt (London
1898— ).
RH R Revue de l 'histoire des religions
Rouecht Charlotte Roueché. Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity {London 1989).
SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. Ed. P. Roussel et alii (Lon
don 1923- ).
Waddington Recueil des inscriptions grecques el latines de la Syrie. Ed. W.H,
Waddington (Paris 1870).
CHAPTER FIVE
T H E PHILOPONOl O F A L E X A N D R IA AND H E L L E N IC
R E L IG IO N
The biography of Severus, the monophysite patriarch o f Antioch

(512-518), contains detailed reports about Hellenic religion in the
milieu of the intellectual elites in the cities of the Eastern Roman
Empire c. 4 8 5 -500.1 The author, a straightforward historian called
Zachariah, a scholastikos or barrister from G aza in First Palestine,
also wrote the semi-fictional dialogue of a debate between a Hellene
and a Christian philoponos of Berytus on the creation of the world.2
He was an intellectually sober product of the Alexandrian rhetori
cal schools, later matriculating to the imperial law school at Berytus.
Zachariah knew Severus personally, and relates his story with
intense psychological insight. The author evinces a healthy con
tempt for miracles, citing only the fraudulent stories of that genre
told by Hellenes. These he debunks with rationalistic fervor.
Zachariah belonged to the zealous Christian group called the
philoponoi? The association consisted of Alexandrian laymen, many
of them professors and students, who undertook various church
duties and even nursed the sick. Their favorite task was monitoring
the activities o f the pagan professors for sacrifice and other cult
practices. The philoponoi also opposed the anti-Christian polemic of
rhetors like the younger Horapollon. M any students, like Severus
himself, had yet to receive Christian baptism , being catechumens,
and often wavered between Hellenic religion and Christianity.
T o judge from Zachariah’s statements, the philoponoi achieved
many conversions in this milieu of Greek paideia and Hellenic faith.
His narrative is restricted mainly to personal friends, but encom-
1 Zacharie le Scholastique, Vie de Sevtre, ed. tr. M.-A. Kugener, Patrologia

Orienlalis 2/1 (Paris 1903), 7-115. For emendations, cf. E,W, Brooks, “ The Life of
Severus y Journal of Theological Studies 5 (1904), 369f.
2 Zachariah of Mytilene, Disputatio de Mundi Opificio, PG 85, 1011-1144. Anton
Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur (Bonn 1922), 183f. O f late, one hears of
a pseudo-Zachariah. Susan A. Harvey, Asceticism and Society in Crisis: Jahn of Ephesus
and the Lives of the Eastern Saints (Berkeley 1990), 185, n. 23.
3 Cf. the text references collected under this rubric in GAV. Lampe, A Patnstic
Greek Lexicon (Oxford 1961), 1480.
2 CHAPTER FIVE
passes events at Berytus and Aphrodisias as well. One must first

consider the social background of the students in Zachariah’s
milieu and analyse their relations with the Hellenes on the teaching
faculty. The status and characteristics of the Hellenic cults in late
fifth-century Alexandria will emerge from this inquiry, as will the
legal measures taken for their suppression. Events further afield at
Aphrodisias and Berytus figure in this scheme as well.
/. The Social Background o f Zachariah of Myiilene’s Friends

The students o f rhetoric in Alexandria, like those studying philoso
phy at Athens, came from wealthy social backgrounds, a fact that
emerges clearly from Zachariah’s biography of Severus. His
account provides decisive evidence as to how the younger scions o f
these families accepted Christianity.
The chief protagonist of the story, Severus himself, accepted
baptism well after he had completed his education in Alexandria
and had gone on to the imperial law school at Berytus. Severus
came from a Christian decurion family residing at Sozopolis in
Pisidia.4 His father belonged to the city council and an uncle, his
namesake, had been bishop of Sozopolis at the time of the Council
of Ephesus in 43 L 6 The family estates financed his education and
that of his two brothers in Alexandria. It consisted of the tradition
al paideia in both Greek and Latin rhetoric.6 Severus remained a
catechumen, observing the common but now dying custom of
postponing baptism except in case of life-threatening illness.7 De
spite this, he and his brothers kept company W'ith several philoponoi:
the Christian sophist John Semeiographos, the Christian rhetori
cian Sopater, a certain Menas who looked after the poor, and
Zachariah himself.8 The latter suggested to Severus, who liked to
imitate the speeches of the Antiochene orator Libanius, that he
compare these texts with the rhetoric, doctrine, and philosophy
found in the writings of Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazian-
zus. Severus became the literary disciple of the Cappadocians after
carefully comparing the letters exchanged between Basil and
Libanius.9 Other Christian rhetors working in the cities of the
4 Zachariah refers to his family as “ distinguished’5, the Greek word being

axiaiogoa or more probably lamprotatos. Zachariah, V. Seven II, n. 4.
* Zachariah, V. Severiy 1L
6 Zachariah, V. Sev€tii IL
7 The parallel cast" of Augustine of Hippo is instructive. Peier Brown, Augustine
of Hippo, I06f.
8 Zachariah* V. Severii Ilf.
9 Zachariah, V. Severi, I2f,
THE PHILOPONOI OF ALEXANDRIA AND HELLENIC RELIGION 3
Roman East certainly used this method to wean catechumens and

even pagan scholars away from the paideia.
Severus remained a Christian fellow-traveller for the time being.
Zachariah adm its candidly that later on, during Severus’ legal
studies at Berytus, he was caught red-handed offering pagan
sacrifice.10 Zachariah can hardly have exaggerated an act so dis
creditable to his protagonist* The circlcs in which they moved, the
society oflaw yers with Hellenic education, freely forgave such acts
of youthful experimentation. Severus began to pursue studies of
Christian literature intensely only after the completion of the law
curriculum. U nder the influence of his friends, led by a certain
Evagrius, he agreed to accept formal instruction and become a
monk, the decision coming during a visit with his friends to the
martyrion of St. Leontius in Phoenician T ripoli.11 Fraternal affec
tion provided the impetus for the conversion of the intellectuals
much as geniality and forebearance of rural custom enabled monks
to carry out the less intellectually articulated work of converting the
countryside during this same tim e.12
Zachariah gives a biographical sketch of another student of
rhetoric called Paratios reflecting personal acquaintance and rare
psychological insight. Paralios came from Aphrodisias, the metro
polis or provincial capital of C aria. His parents had some wealth
and probably belonged to the city council, for they had the funds to
send him to study rhetoric in Alexandria and his older brother
Athanasius to the law Studium at Berytus. The family was p agan .19
Paralios had three brothers in all, two o f them pagan, who in
Zachariah’s phrase had âbandoned themselves to idolatry and
appeased evil daimones with invocations, sacrifices, incantations,
and by the tricks of magicians. ” 14 These rituals and prayers cannot
have differed much from those used by Proclus at this time in
Athens. Paralios' third and eider brother Athanasius, although
raised a pagan, had after completing his legal studies at Berytus
converted to Christianity during a visit to Alexandria, where he fell
in with a Christian sophist called Stephen. Athanasius ended up in
the monastery of Enaton, where the charismatic Solomon then
presided as hegumen.15
Zachariah, V. Severi7 9.
n The torrent of tears that accompanied Severus’ conversion bears some re
semblance to the experience of Augustine. Brown, Augustine of Hippo, 108.
12 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 352 and passim*
n Zachariah, V. Seven, 14f.
,+ Zachariah, V. Seven, 14.
lh Zachariah, V. Sevtri, I4f.
4 CHAPTER FIVE
The family found itself in this state, with three pagan sons and
one Christian, when Paralios (still a pagan) arrived in Alexandria
to begin his studies. Family divisions of this kind were common in
the fifth ccntury. Hypatius, hegumen of Rufinianae in Bithynia,
encountered a similar case of three brothers residing in Constan
tinople,16 In Paralios5 case, family relations had become embit
tered. Upon his departure for Alexandria, his pagan brothers had
urged him not to make contact with A thanasius.17 Their fears were
justified, for Paralios at length accepted Christian baptism after
talks with Athanasius, the monks of Enaton, the pkiloponoi, and
Zachariah himself.'0 Zachariah mentions many other conversions,
including that o f U rbanus, a professor o f Latin gram m ar who
eventually migrated to Constantinople.19
IL Relations among Pagan and Christian Professors and Their Students:

Paralios of Aphrodisias
Considering the Neoplatonist Proclus1 long life of Hellenic belief
and ritual in Athens, it is hardly surprising to find Hellenes of a
similar sort in other university towns [ike Alexandria* The two
cities differed, however, in one important respect. Alexandria, un
like Athens, had a large and vociferous population o f monks both
within and outside the city walls. Patriarchs like Theophilus (385-
412)> the destroyer o f the Serapeum in 391, got along well with the
monks and roused the Christian populace against the Hellenes with
ease. Their demagogic successes were celebrated in popular legend
and even art.20
Paralios of Aphrodisias began his studies with the younger Hora-
pollon, a pagan gram m arian “ full of admiration for daimones and
m a g i c T h e latter conducted sacrifices in front of images* even
inviting Paralios to join him in these rites. Both Christian and
pagan sophists at Alexandria attended to the spiritual, or as it
were, “ daim onic” welfare o f their students, working to build up a
spirit of camaraderie based not only on a personality cult o f the
professor, but also on the religious issue. It is probable that other
55 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. I.

17 Zachariah, V.Severi, 15,
18 Zachariah, V.Severi, 37.
19 Zachariah » V,Seven, 37.
20 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3.
21 Zachariah, V. Severi, 15. On this, see the recent discussion of Pierre Chuvin, A
Chronicle of the Last Pagans, tr, B.A. Archer (Cambridge, Mass. 1990), 106-111. It
contains certain details omitted here, but my own analysis follows a different
direction.
favored students besides Paralios took part in the secret rites.

Paralios became alienated from Horapollon and his student col
leagues after a visit to his brother Athanasius at the Enaton monas
tery, Their meeting ended with Athanasius’ friend the monk
Stephen making a diatribe against Hellenic religion:22
After reading many treatises of the church fathers who had opposed
the Hellenes, [Stephen] received grace from God to defeat them
utterly in his debates with them. . . . He refuted the sophistic objec
tions made by the Hellenes against Christians, Then he retorted
against the offenses of the pagans to Paralios: the infamous mysteries
of their gods, the dream-oraclcs of polytheism, the obscure and
embarrassed responses of these gods, their ignorance of the future,
and other frauds of those same daimones, Stephen persuaded Paralios
to submit his doubts to Horapollon, Heraiskos, Asklepiodotos,
Ammonius, Isidore, and the other philosophers close to them, giving
just weight to what each side [of the controversy] said, Paralios
engaged in conversations with the pagans m any days thereafter. He
found their responses weak and without foundation.
The resulting counter-arguments of Paralios5 professors, some of
them prominent enough philosophers and theurgists to rate men
tion in D am ascius’ Life of Isidore, sounded quite compelling to
Paralios5 unformed mind, perhaps more than Zachariah could
freely admit. Not much literature on the pagan-Christian dialogue
has survived from this period. It consists of one-sided attacks in
Nilus o f Ankyra’s letters (ob. c. 430), the sermons of bishops like
Asterius of Am asea (ob. 410), the Therapeuticfor Hellenic Maladies of
Theodoret of Cyrrhus (ob. 458), the dialogue Theophrastus written
by Aeneas of G aza (ob. 518), and the dialogue On the Creation of the
World o f Zachariah of Mytilene (ob. ante 553),23 The set-piece
compilation o f questions and answers between a Christian and a
Hellene appearing under the authorship of the pseudo-Justin
perhaps bears the closest resemblance to the set o f arguments
pumped into Paralios’ head by Stephen the monk.24
A temple of Isis stood in the village-town of Menouthis some
fourteen miles northeast of Alexandria, not far from Canopus,25
Although closed and partially dismantled in the year immedi
ately following the demolition of the Serapeum in 391, when the
22 Zachariah, V. Severi, 16.

2i Nilos of Ankyra, Epistolae, PG 79, 81-582. Asterius of Amasca, Sermo advenus
Kaiendarum Festum, PG 40, 215-226. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Graecarum Affectionum
Curalio, ed. Ioannes Raeder (Leipzig 1904), Aeneas of Gaza, Tkeopkrastus, PG 85,
872-1004,
24 Pseudo-Justin, Quaestiows et Responsiones ad Orthodoxos, PG 6> 1249-1490.
25 Zachariah, V. Seueri, 17.
6 CHAPTER FIVE
Tabennesiote monks took over its country estates, the Isis temple o f
Menouthis remained in use for clandestine sacrifices and incuba
tion rites under the supervision o f a local pagan priest. Paralios
became involved in this cult as a result o f his debates with Horapoi-
Ion and other pagan philosophers of the Alexandrian schools, who
cited a recent miracle supposedly wrought by Isis as proof o f the
efficacy of the old cults,
Asklepiodotos, a pagan philosopher teaching in Alexandria, had
married the daughter of another Asklepiodotos, a city councillor of
great repute then living at Aphrodisias in C aria, Paralios’ home
town.36 When the marriage proved infertile, the younger Askle
piodotos got permission from his father-in-law to remove his wife to
the Isis temple at Menouthis and incubate with her in the hope o f
producing offspring through the agency of Isis, the fertility deity
thought to assist the Nile flood.27 Zachariah tells the story with
irony:20
Asklepiodotos stayed the specified time at Menouthis offering many
sacrifices to the daimones, but this availed him nothing. The infertility
of his wife persisted even then. After imagining that he saw Isis
sitting next to him in a dream, the dream-intcrpreters in that place
who served the daimon represented by Isis declared that he should
have intercourse with the stone that represented Isis and, after the
stone, have intercourse with his wife. She remained sterile in spite of
this. At length, the priest counselled him to go alone with his wife to
the village of Asty, to live there for an appropriate period of time, and
then to take an infant for bis son born a short time before to the
priestess, who was a member of the priest’s family. ‘Tor the gods and
the fates/’ the priest said grandiloquently, ‘‘wished that he do this.”
Asklepiodotos followed this advice and took his wife alone to the
house of the infant’s mother. He gave her a sum of money and took
?6 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 4, and Ch, VI, passim.

27 Zachariah, K Seven, 16f.
28 Zachariah, V, Seven, lBf. The Isis of Menouthis is attested in a tablet
produced c* 200 A,D. and found in Rome. It reads: “ To Isis Pharia. [X . made an
offering] to the Isis in Menouthis in behalf of the safety (sotena) of our lord the
emperor Antoninus.” Syiloge înscùptionum Religionis Isiacae et Sarapiacat^ ed. Ladis
laus Vidman (Berlin 1969), no. 403. Hereinafter cited as SIR1S. Another inscrip
tion at Rome mentions a cult effigy: “ The image of the most holy god Sarapis with
the Isis in Menouthis.” SIRIS 556a. This particular image (to xoanon) was perhaps
modelled on the prototype that the younger Asklepiodotus and Paralios saw in the
480's. One last Inscription (c. 200 A.D.) certifies the Mediterranean-wide fame of
the Menouthis cults: “ For good luck. I Statius Kodratus, the most excellent
temple warden (neokoros), made an offering to Zeus Helios Sarapis and to the gods
housed in the same temple (iheoi syrmaoi), as I have often been saved from great
perils and wish to give thanks. . . . Dioskoros the temple warden of the great
Sarapis made an offering to the god in Menouthis with the small altar {to
böm ishanon)SIRIS 406.
the c h ild H e then returned to A lexan d ria, b o astin g that his infertile
wife h ad given birth after all th at time. A s a result, all those who used
to indulge in the foolishness o f the H ellenes gloried in the tale as if it
were the truth. T h ey praised Isis and M enouthis, the g o d d e ss’ vil
lage, where som eone would have done better to bury the Isis tem ple
under the san d so deeply th at no one should ever find the slightest
trace.
The story came to Paralios’ attention during religious discussions

with Horapollon, Asklepiodotos, and other pagan scholars, who
cited this “ miraculous” birth as proof of pagan miracles* Paralios
credulously accepted the tale and laid it before Athanasius and
Stephen at Enaton. Stephen demolished Paralios1 naivete with
logical argument:29
An infertile w om an who has given birth to a child should also have
b reast milk. Let the H ellenes assure them selves ab ou t the m atter
through the m ediation o f som e ch aste and honest w om an o f a distin*
guished Alexandrian family. She will see the milk, confirm the prodigy
and m iracle, an d so the d au gh ter o f a titled official [the elder Askle-
piodotos] and wife o f a philosopher [the younger A sklepiodotos] will
not have to go ab ou t with the air o f an ou traged w om an.
The philoponoi seem to have applied the same stringent and rational
istic principles of proof to claims of Christian miracles as well*
When Paralios confronted the Hellenes of his faculty with this
argument, they replied:30
You have the aud acity [to d em an d ] the im possible! T o think that you
should p ersu ad e m en unshakeably attach ed to the truth w ho w ould
not even d ream o f such things! (L acu n a) . . . as a result P aralios drew
back from the H ellenes5 doctrines*
Exchanges of this sort, which questioned the ontological reality of

pagan divination, theurgy, and miracles, must have converted
many students to Christianity in late fifth-century Alexandria.
Paralios decided to test the empirical reality o f the supposed
dream-visions of Isis at Menouthis, particularly as he belonged to
an age group in which religious experimentation was common. The
experience proved to be frightening:31
When he w as at M enouthis, he saw Isis, or rath er the evil spirit [shad)
which represents this goddess, She told him in a dream : “ Be on your
gu ard again st a certain m an, because he is a so rc e re r." Paralios kept
29 Zachariah, V. Severit 19»

Zachariah, V. Severi, 19f.
3Ï Zachariah, V. Severi, 20. This passage is far from clear as to meaning. 1 fear
something may have fallen out of the text m the process of transmission.
8 CHAPTER FIVE
at the matter [with the goddess. He learned that this sorcerer] had
come [to Alexandria] to study grammar, which he was studying with
the same teacher [Horapollon], [The student named in the dream
later told Paralios] that the evil spirit had told the same story about
Paralios when he went to Menouthis. Both disclosed the vision to
their companions in Horapollon’s school.
Zachariah sets forth the prevailing Christian demonology for such
drcam-visions: Paralios saw an ontologically real being, but not
Isis- It was rather “ the evil spirit who represents this goddess/*
Thus, no Isis with divine attributes acted in the situation but only
one o f the many nameless lower daimones whose nature Porphyrius
of Tyre describes in great dctaiL32 Less philosophical pagan theolo
gians like lam blichus (ob. c. 325-330) rejected Porphyrius' view
that such spirits were evil.33 The monk Stephen had put the issue to
Paralios shortly before his visit to M enouthis.24
Paralios found himself in agreement with the teaching of the great
Stephen, He recalled the long conversation with Stephen and Atha
nasius on the perversity of malevolent daimones. They told him about
the daimones’ habit of rousing men against each other because they
enjoyed wars and battles, and were the enemies of peace,
Paralios recalled Stephen’s teaching after the visit to Menouthis.
The spiritual tug o f war between Christian and Hellenic drifts of
thought and emotion exemplified in Paralios5 case was a common
feature o f conversion lo Christianity, which the individual educated
in the paideia achieved only through protracted rumination.35 It did
not occur to Paralios or his friends the monks that the vision o f Isis
was merely an activation o f the unconscious mind under the impact
o f the temple sculptures and new surroundings, wherein the dream
er often recalls his dreams with unaccustomed vividness,36 In the
Late Antique ethos dreams were thought to be the Schauplatz of the
gods. Thus, Isis’ warning that one of Paralios schoolmates was a
Pcirphyrius of Tyre, De Abstinentiû Bk. 2 in Potphyni Pkilosopki Platmici Opuscu-

la Süectûy ed. August Nauck (Leipzig IB86), 132-186. Cf. supra, Ch. II, Sect. ).
33 lamblichus of Chalkis composed his De Myiteriis primarily to confute Por
phyrius1 criticisms of the pagan temple cults in the Letter to Anebo. Jam blique, Les
Mystères d’Egyptt ed. tr. Edouard des Places (Paris 1966), 8, Des Places does not,
unfortunately, include the letter in his edition. C f GefFcken, The Lasi Days of
Greco-Roman Paganism t 68.
34 Zachariah, V. Seven, 20.
35 Zachariah, V. Severi> 21. For several cases of well-educated men from Con
stantinople who seem to have gone through this, see infra, Ch. V II, Sect. I.
™ On incubation, see supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4, and Ch. IV, Sect. 3. In genera), see:
Ludwig Deubner, De Incubatione Capita Quattuor (Leipzig 1900). For the earlier
phenomena of incubation at Asklepios shrines, with bibliography, see: Howard C,
kee, Miracle in the Early Christian World (New Haven 1983), 83-104.
THE PH1L0P0N0Î OF ALEXANDRIA AND HELLENIC RELIGION 9
sorcerer seemed plausible. Pagan and Christian magical papyri

reflect the constant need for vigilance against sorcery felt by per
sons from every economic and educational stratum *37 Paralios
needed to clarify the business. Otherwise he risked abuse at the
hands o f the daimon that the unnamed sorcerer had dispatched.
Paralios therefore made a second visit to the Menouthis temple,
Travelling alone, he will have taken along a small amount of
incense, wine, or some wheat cakes to offer to the deity. Her failure
to assume the usual illusion (φαντασία) of an epiphany convinced
Paralios that his Christian friends were right:38
The daimon (skid) persisted in her silence and did not let him see the
usual illusion of her epiphany. After waiting quite a long time and
offering many sacrifices (debehë}, Paralios became annoyed and no
longer doubted the evil character of the Hellenic teaching about
daimones.
Isis, “ that is the daimon who represents the goddess” ,39 refused to
appear out of a paradoxical perversity that drove Paralios into the
hands of the Christian God.
It is symptomatic of Paralios1 wavering that he had memorized a
prayer taught him by the monk Stephen “ to separate himself from
the invocation of the pagan gods and daimones > Kronos . . ,, Isis,
and similar n a m e s/’40 The prayer called upon to Christian God as
creator of the universe to “ reveal the truth and not permit me to be
seduced any longer by the combat-loving daimon, who arms men
against each other and arouses them to altercations, nor by the
other perverse daimones that resemble her.” 41 Paralios had entered
the temple this time armed with invocations to Isis and with a
Christian prayer. In the end he resolved his own ambivalence by
reciting the latter. It is not clear if he used the sign o f thecross.42 A
recommended scripture to recite in such situations was Psalm 95.5:
“ All the gods o f the pagans are daimones5 but the Lord is their
creator.” 43 After his return to Alexandria Paralios began reciting
this verse in front of his fellow pagan students and even his profes
sor H orapollon/4 the first public display of his conversion.
For some fifth-century cases of magic (ante 446), see infra. Ch, V II, Sect. L
Magical papyri are briefly discussed supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3.
Zachariah» K Sevcny 21.
39 Zachariah, V. Seven, 20, Syriac lines 4—5.
40 Zachariah, V. Severiy 22, Syriac lines 4-5.
4J Zachariah, V, Seven, 2If.
42 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. I, where Hypatîus of Rufinianae uses the sign of the
cross to rid himself of an apparition of Artemis.
44 Zachariah, K Seven, 22.
10 CHAPTER FIVE
The Christian convert often had unpleasant experiences if he

became radicalized in his new belief. Paralios not only repeated
Psalm 95.5 frequently, but ridiculed Horapollon and other repu
table philosophers like Asklepiodotos, Heraiskos, Ammonius, and
Isidore.45 Tension grew when Paralios accused the priestess o f Isis
who had supplied the infant to Asklepiodotos o f being a temple
prostitute.46 Paralios* professors probably regarded this behavior as
a sign of the times and a matter of naïve opinion, but his school
mates did not. T hey gave him a thorough beating as Zachariah of
Mytilene was going past:47
Horapollon’s students, being given to Hellenic foolishness, could not
bear Paralios5 sarcasm and insults. They fell upon him in the school
while they were studying. They awaited the moment when few
Christians were nearby and Horapollon was away. It was the sixth
day of the week (Friday). On that day the professors observed the
custom of lecturing and expounding to each other. Paralios absorbed
many blows. His head was bruised all over and so was his body. After
he succeeded in escaping their clutches with difficulty—for he had a
strong physical constitution—he sought aid and refuge among the
Christians, although a mob of pagans surrounded him and was
kicking him, I was myself present at that moment, having a philoso
phy lecture to attend. Philosophers like Horapollon observed the
custom of teaching in the school as usual on Friday,
Zachariah and his colleagues broke up the fight. With him were the
Christian sophist Thom as of G aza and a certain Zenodotus of
Lesbos, all of them philoponoi'.**
As we found ourselves in the holy churches with the so-called philopo
noi,, who are called “ zealots’1 in some place and “ companions” in
others, wc appeared somewhat frightening, We closed in on the
troublemakers and asserted the injustice of mistreating someone who
wished to bccome a Christian, for this was what Paralios had cricd
out. The Hellenes, wishing to deceive and pacify us, retorted: “ We
have no business with you. We are revenging ourselves on Paralios as
he is an enemy/'
The Christian men brought Paralios to the Enaton monastery,
where he received treatment for his injuries, but no special recogni
tion as a m artyr.49
The incident became a cause célèbre among the Christian profes-
See Chuvin’s discussion, Chronicle of ike Last Pagans, tr. B.A. Archer (London-
Cambridge, Mass, 1990), 11Of.
46 Zachariah, V. Seven, 23,
47 Zachariah, V, Severi, 23.
48 Zachariah, V. Severit 24.
sors and then entered the sphere of public policy. Solomon, the
hegumen of Enaton, reported the altercation to Peter III M ongus,
patriarch of Alexandria (482-489) > who in turn referred the matter
to the city councillors. Among them was the Christian rhetorician
Aphthonius, a man of landed wealth with many students who had
chosen to pursue a career in Hellenic learning. Aphthonius ordered
his pupils to cooperate with Solomon in lodging a formal complaint
before Entrichius, the Augustal Prefect o f Egypt (c. 4 8 2 ^ 8 3 ).50
The archdeacon and senior notary of the Alexandrian church intro
duced Paralios’ case» The prefect Entrichius, who was said to be a
cryptopagan, emptied the courtroom of everyone, including the
archdeacon, except for five of the plaintiffs:51
Entrichius was an adept cryptopagan, as was the assistant he kept as
his assessor. He was given openly to the cult of pagan daimorm. The
assessor began to insult us, had the large crowd of young men
expelled, and ordered that only a small number give testimony about
the incident. Five of us remained after the departure of Aphthonius*
students: Paralios who was a confessor before his baptism; the illus
trious Menas mentioned above; Zenodotus of Mytilene, a town of
Lesbos; and Demetrius of Sulmone, all four of them vigorous con
tenders in their fear of God. I was the fifth person after them. When
the Prefect understood the seriousness of the incident, he ordered
whichever of us desired to draft a writ of accusation in the manner
that seemed best. Paralios composed it, charging certain persons with
having offered pagan sacrifices and with having fallen upon him like
brigands.
Sacrifices in any form violated the emphatic provisions contained
in the sixteenth book of the Theodosian Code. The Prefect En
trichius clcarcd the basilical hall not to obstruct the legal process,
but, as Zachariah argues, simply in order to be able handle the
formal procedures of the action without having to contend with
shouting and hearsay statements by Aphthonius’ students, who
had not been witnesses to the incident. Verbal and physical alterca
tions accompanied even the most minor hearings in the Alexan
drian courts. The present affair was a case in point:52
The Prefect ordered the accused to come forward. When the clergy
and philoponoi learned of the insult made against men who rivalled
them in their zeal for the good, and that the latter had information
about sacrifices and other Hellenic practices that certain persons had
dared to perpetrate, they rushed against the officiais and attacked the
50 Zachariah, V. Seven, 24Γ

M Zachariah, F. Severi, 25f,
52 Zachariah, V. Severi, 26f.
12 CHAPTER FIVE
Prefect’s assessor with the cry: “ It runs against propriety that a man
of Hellenic faith be a government assessor and take part in the
administration, for the laws and edicts of the emperors protect him!”
The Prefect saved his assessor only with difficulty, once the outcry
arose against him. As for ourselves the plaintiffs, he ordered us to
remain calm. From this moment the entire populace rose up against
the Hellenes. The accused fled beginning with Horapolton, who was
the cause of the Hellenes1 being persecuted. The Prefect worried the
Hellenes least of all because of his liking for them.
The upshot of the hearing was the march of the clergy and monks o f
Alexandria to Menouthis, where they demolished and incinerated
the Isis temple.*3
The return of this strike-force became the occasion of great
celebration and rough-housing in Alexandria. The philoponoiy
clergy, and Tabennesiote monks had spent two or three days
outside the city. Their march coincided with the Easter weekend.
The leader of the philoponoi, a certain Hesychius, and his colleague
M enas roused the crowds of Christians, who milled about in the
streets screaming imprecations at Horapollon calling him Psycha-
pollon or “ soul-destroyer” in an invidious pun on his name. Pat
riarch Peter delivered an Easter homily containing a detailed
description of the idols turned up at M enouthis,54 The result was an
idol-smashing riot:55
The demos became inflamed and cartcd off all the idols of the pagan
gods, whether found in the bath-houses or private homes. They put
them in a heap and set them on fire.
A similar incident had occurred at G aza nearly a century before,
when bishop Porphyrius ordered the demolition of the Marneion.
In each instance “ carved images of the gods” were loosely defined
as cult images. Thus, ordinary statuary in the bath-houses and in
the courtyards of private houses was destroyed.56 As the bath
houses had an unsavoury reputation with the stricter monks and
clergy, the destruction of their “ idols” made these sites of alleged
vice less attractive. It is possible that the mobs singled out the
houses prominent Hellenes for the destruction of statuary.
63 The precise details of this incident belong more strictly to the survival of rural
paganism, and are therefore discussed in Ch. IX , Sect. 2. Zachariah’s description
makes it obvious how purposefully the cities dominated their territona on issues of
importance* whether it was a matter o f deracinating rural cults or exploiting to
peasantry for its agricultural surplus.
54 Zachariah, V. Sevtri, 32f
b* Zachariah, K Seven, 33.
56 Cf. the destruction of privately owned statuary as “ idols” at Gaza in 4-02.
Supra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 4.
A procession of monks, clerics, and philoponoi, including Zachariah,

himself returned to Alexandria shortly after this, carrying a rich
booty of images and service vessels from the Isis temple at
M enouthis57 and leading the pagan priest who presided over the
incubation cult there. Patriarch Peter interrogated him publicly:50
Wc loaded twenty camels with a miscellany of idols, after burning
some already at Menouthis. . , . Wc led them to the central part of
the city in accordance with the order of the great Peter, In front of the
Tychaion he convoked an assembly of the Prefect of Egypt, the local
garrison commanders* all office holders, the local senate, and the
landed magnates of the city. When all had taken seats, he had the
idol-priest brought forward and made him stand un a raised plat
form. After the idols had been exposed the patriarch began to interro
gate him.
Zachariah witnessed the inquiry and later wrote down a précis:59
The patriarch demanded to know the meaning of this idolatry prac
ticed with soulless matter, demanded to know the names of all the
daimones> and required the pagan priest to explain the cause of each
shape. At this moment the people were running forward to see. They
heard what he said and then ridiculed the crimes of the pagan gods
which the priest divulged. When the bronze altar was brought in
along with the wooden dragon, the priest confessed to the sacrifices
he had dared to perform and declared that the wooden dragon was
the one that had deceived Eve* He claimed to have gotten this story
from a tradition passed down from the first priests. He admitted that
the Hellenes worshipped the dragon, which was thrown onto the pyre
with the other idols. One could hear all the people crying out: “ Look
at Dionysus the hermaphrodite god! Look at Kronos the infant hater!
There’s Zeus the adulterer and pederast! Here’s Athena, the virgin
who loved war! There's Artemis the huntress and hater of travellers!
This daimon Arcs made war, and that one, Apollo, caused many
people tn die [of plague before the walls of Troy]! She’s Aphrodite,
who presides over prostitution! There is one among these who had
charge of theft! As lor Dionysus, he patronizes drunkenness! Among
them are even dogs, monkeys, and families of cats, for these too were
Egyptian gods!’*
The Isis priest knew well what his interrogators wanted to hear.
U sing his knowledge of the Septuagint, he told them that the
prototype of the wooden dragon was the actual serpent that had
tempted Eve, an undoubted fabrication designed to appease the
civil and church officials of the city with the mob they controlled.60
57 Infra, Ch. IX , Sect. 2.

™ Zachariah, V, Severi, 33f. Cf. Brooks, “ Life of Severus,’1 470.
59 Zachariah, V. Severi^ 34f.
60 See Carlo Ginzburg’s study based on the transcripts of Inquisition trials in
14 CHAPTER FIVE
The ordinary Christians interrupted the priest’s answers by shout

ing the Hellenic epithets o f the deities represented by the statues:
the hermaphrodite Dionysus, infant-hating Kronos (μ ισ ό π α ις),
Zeus the pederast (φ ιλ ό νεο ς), war-loving Athena (φ ιλοπ τόλεμ ος)
based on Athena Promachos, traveller-hating Artemis (μισόξενος),61
and so forth. The crowds knew something of Homer’s Iliad, as they
referred to Apollo’s legendary chastisement of the Achaeans at the
beginning of the poem. The images of personal gods were evidently
Hellenized variants of the Nilotic pantheon.
Zachariah of Mytilene denies that these idols had spiritually
animate qualities, characterizing them as “ matter without soul”
(ϋλη), that is, inanimate. His attitude contradicts the view of many
fifth-century Hellenes like Heraiskos that a numinous presence
inhered in cult effigies.62 As Zachariah has it, the matter of idols
contained neither bad daimones nor any other force (δύναμις). His
rationalistic view is also at variance with that of many bishops like
Porphyrius o f G aza, who claimed to have expelled the daimon inside
a statue of Aphrodite.63 The supposed divinity of dogs, monkeys,
and cats was a unique feature of Egyptian religion,64 but Zachariah
exaggerates their status.6'1
After the Isis priest had made these disclosures, the Christian
crowds broke the hands and legs from the images, insulted Isis in
Coptic (the Syriac text is badly garbled here), and ridiculed the
pagans, that is the Hellenic professors and the rustic adherents of
the Nile cults. The Christians then raised metric songs and
acclamations in praise of the reigning emperor Zeno (474—491),
patriarch Peter III M ongus (482—489), and the city councillors
who had assembled for the hearing at the Tychaion.66 The incident
was concluded shortly after the suppression of the rebellion of Illus,
16th—17th century Italy, which reveals similar examples of defendants5 appeasing

their interrogators by fabricating acts of witchcraft: Night Battles: Witchcraft and
Agranan Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, tr. J . and A. Tedeschi (London
1933), xvii-xviii (“ suggestive” questioning, ctc.).
61 On Artemis’ supposed destruction of travellers in Bithynia c. 443-446, see
infra, Ch. VII, Sect. 1.
™ Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3.
G* Supra, Ch. III. Sect. 4.
04 Zachariah, V. Severiy 35. Svriac lines 2-3.
05 Ibid., line 3.
66 Zachariah, V. Severi, 35. This building may be the same Tychaion that the
poet Palladas of Alexandria mentions in several of his epigrams. If so, the temple,
was converted into a tavern. Greek Anthology 9.180—183. The goddess has become a
“ tavern-keeper” (9.180). Palladas perhaps derives a certain ironic pleasure from
lecturing the Tyche on the reversal of fortune.
THE PHIIOPONOI OF ALEXANDRIA AND HELLENIC RELIGION 15
magister militum per Orientent, in 488,67 but before the end o f Peter
M ongus5 patriarchate on 29 October Φ89.*8
In the wake o f these events Peter Mongus sent a synodical letter
mentioning the incident to Nonnus, metropolitan of Aphrodisias in
Caria. It described the younger Asklepiodotos’ incubation with his
wife at Menouthis. It also named her father the elder Asklepiodo-
toSj a prominent city councillor of Aphrodisias. The monks Solo
mon and Stephen of Enaton prodded the patriarch to take action69
out of genuine antipathy for the Hellenes and partly out of sym
pathy for Athanasius and Paralios, who would now have to endure
possible ostracism at the hands of his family in Aphrodisias- Peter
M ongus5 letter illustrates the wide network of ecclesiastical con
tacts and correspondence that would enable emperor Justinian the
Great in the next century to tighten control over the cities and
crush the local pagan aristocrats still sitting in the city councils.70
In 488-89, the issue remained one of suppressing sacrifice in line
with the proscriptions in the Theodosian C ode.71
///. Some Conversions in Alexandria

A number of conversions resulted from the publicity surrounding
the Paralios incident and the destruction of idols taken from
Menouthis. Paralios received baptism not long afterward with a
large group of ex-Hellcnes. One can only guess at the spiritual
struggle that lay behind these conversions:72
Paralios offered this act to God and received saving baptism after the
Easter festival, at the same time as many Hellenes who had zeal for
idolatry and served the evil daimones for a long time and even in old
age. Baptized with him were the admirable Urbanus who is today a
professor (grammaticus) of Latin grammar in this imperial city [of
Constantinople] > Isidore of Lesbos, brother of the Zenodotus I men
tioned above, and many others.
Alexandrians deeply tied to the Hellenic faith were still accepting
conversion in the late 4805s. The conversion o f men like Isidore of
Lesbos owed something to the camaraderie of fellow citizens from
their hometowns living in the melting pot o f the Egyptian capital
and subject to its anomia.
67 Cf. Bury, LRE 1, 396ff.

68 Zachariah, V, Seven, 40.
69 Zachariah, V. Seven > 39f.
70 Infra, Ch, Vi, Sect. 1.
71 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 2, 5, and 6.
72 Zachariah, V, Seven, 37.
16 CHAPTER FIVE
Paralios confessed certain emotional problems to Zachariah of

Mytilene soon after his baptism :73
Paralios received baptism after burning the invocation formulae to
the pagan gods, that is to daimones, that he owned. These spirits had
troubled him before divine baptism, but still troubled him during the
night after the idols had been burned. He made me visit him to ask
me what needed to be donc, I went, taking with me a Christian book
and wishing him to read Gregory the Theologian's homily of exhorta
tion on saving baptism. I found him wet with perspiration and quite
discouraged after his struggle with the daimones. He said that he could
hardly breathe under impact of the Christian discourse. I asked him
if he might still have some invocation formulae to the pagan gods
lying about. He searched his memory and recalled that he owned
some papyri of that type. Then he listened as I said: ‘"If you wish to
be delivered from the obsession of daimones, cast these papyri into the
flames!’’ He did this in my presence, and was delivered from the
obsession of the daimones from that moment onward.
Zachariah suggests that Paralios had been guilty of bad faith after
his conversion, to the extent of failing to rid himself of all the
papyrus copies (χάρτης) of pagan prayers and invocations in his
library. We are left in the dark as to their contents. These texts
might have consisted of simple prayers to Isis like those found in
the papyri which Paralios certainly used himself when he visited
M enouthis.74 They might, on the other hand, have been sophisti
cated Atticized prayers like those written by Proclus in Athens as
late as the 480’s,75 or the more nefarious magical texts containing
invocations for summoning daimones in order to effect spells. The
prayers more probably belonged to the Proclan variety for one
particular reason. A catechumen who had destroyed his household
idols would inevitably have burned all the koine prayers and
magical texts in his possession, If he were well educated, however,
he might have kept the Atticist prayers (“ invocations” ) in his
library. The rules for studying the paideia set forth by Basil of
C aesarea (ob. 379) in his Address to Young Men on How to Profit from
Pagan Literature excluded the use o f such texts.7&
73 Zachariah, V. Seven, 37f.

H P, Oxy.y 1380.
75 Supra» Ch. IV, Sect. 3.
76 Basil of Caesarea makes two crucial observations in this connection: “ But
least of all shall we give attention to [the poets] when they narrate anything about
the gods, and especially when they speak about them as being many (όταν ώς
περί πολλών τε αύτών διεξίω σι), and these too not even in accord with one
another*” He adds: “ We ourselves too, if we are wise, having appropriated from
this literature what is suitable to us and akin to the truth, will pass over the
remainder (ύπερβησόμεθα τό λειπόμενον). Saint Basil: The Letters, tr. Roy J .
Zachariah o f Mytilene defined Paralios5 mental state as one of

“ obsession” (literally “ heavy care” ). It was the frame o f mind o f a
man who before his conversion had read the Hellenic texts aloud
(anagignöskein) frequently in a devotional manner and could not
after his baptism shake them from his unconscious m em ory/7
Recollections and even a tendency to pronounce whole verses with
their meters and assonances emerged in the still hours o f the night.
Such were the imagined activities of the daimones, one might even
say the daimon or inspired intellect of the Hellene, which even
Christian baptism could not erase completely. Paralios3 torment
began to ease after he confided in his friend. The catharitic of
confession gained impetus as Paralios symbolically burned the
papyrus sheets containing the offending prayers. The philoponoi
must have practiced this form of psychic medicine on recent con
verts quite often. They did not, however, understand its processes.
Even the most rationalistic Alexandrian Christian can hardly have
doubted that daimones aroused all kinds o f auditory and visual
fantasies (φαντασίαι).™ Zachariah supplemented the therapy by
prescribing that Paralios read an unnamed exhortatory homily of
Gregory o f Nazianzus.
The homily inspired Paralios to join his brother Athanasius at
Enaton and to become a monk«79 He did this after the expiry of the
eight-day period of wearing the white garment of the newly bap
tized. He also led off Zachariah’s good friend Stephen who was
studying medicine.80 Paralios eventually returned home to Aphro-
disias in order to convert his two pagan brothers»81 This sequel will
claim our attention later. As Paralios had no ecclesiastical status
but was a mere monk, he could go wherever he chose so long as he
had gotten the consent of the hegumen. The similar example o f a
young man returning to Constantinople to convert his brothers is
Defer ran, 4 (London-Cambridge, Mass. 1934), 388-391. Cf. Johannes Quasten,

Patroiogy 3 (Utrecht- An twerp i960), 2l4f,
77 A similar situation arose with Anastasius the Persian, an Iranian cavalryman
who had been born of a priestly family and in consequence had memorized many
Mazdaean prayers and invocations. After his conversion to Christianity he suf
fered from obsessive recollection of the old prayers. In order to resolve his
self-doubts, Anastasius left his monastery and sought martyrdom at the hands of a
Sassanid garrison detachment stationed in Palestine c, 628. Acta M. Anastasii
Persat> ed. Hermann Usencr (Bonn 1894), 2-8. For discussion, see: Trombley,
Survival of Paganism, 88-92.
79 Supra, Ch.V, Sect. 2.
00 Zachariah, V* Severi, 39.
81 Zachariah, V. Severi, 39fT.
18 CHAPTER FIVE
reported in the life of Hypatius of Refunianae, a monastery in

Bithynia.82
The destruction of the idols taken at Menouthis led to sharp
exchanges of opinion between Hellenes and Christians in Alexan
dria. Zachariah relates an anecdote about one such exchange in
order to refute the later Chalcedonian accusation against Severus,
the future monophysite patriarch o f Antioch, that he had partici
pated in sacrifices during his student days in Alexandria. The
philoponos Menas died shortly after the Menouthis incident, but not
before prophesying that Severus would someday become a bishop.
At this time Severus was still a catechumen hanging about on the
fringes o f the Christian religion. His only point o f contact was
friendship with some o f the pkiloponoi** Zachariah takes great pains
to exculpate Severus' indifference to Christianity at that time, but
could only develop a list of rather abstract virtues, along with the
fact o f the mutual esteem and affection that existed between Menas
and Severus.
The Hellenes made many recriminations against the philoponoi
for the destruction of the Menouthis temple. When Zachariah fell
ill after being selected to deliver the eulogy beside M enas’ grave,
his pagan friends warned that he would surely die for his role in
destroying the images, a sacrilege against the old gods:B4
A t this tim e M e n as w as afflicted with a bodily illness. T h e H ellenes
thought we would soon receive our punishm ent for w hat we had done
to their gods and for ou r burning their idols in a state o f religious
zealotry. They sp read the rum or that I too would assu red ly die at
th at time.
Zachariah used the occasion o f his recovery and the graveside

service for the deceased M enas to repay his pagan friends for their
compliments during his illness. As friends o f Menas they had
accepted the invitation to attend the obsequies. Zachariah greeted
them with the withering blows of a philoponos3 rhetoric:85
W hen I w as finally delivered from the illness through a m iracle
caused by the bcneficence o f our sav ior J e s u s C hrist, I pronounced
the eulogy in b eh alf o f the illustrious M en as in a gravesid e oration. I
m entioned the destruction o f the p ag an idols, I recalled their an n i
hilation by fire in front o f the entire urban populace. In conclusion I
recounted all that had p assed , as w as necessary , over the tom b o f a
02 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1,

Zachariah, V. Severi, 44.
Zachariah, V. Seveny 45f.
man who had gained the admiration even of the Hellenes in spite of
the zealotry he showed against them because of his great kindness
and love of neighbor, The great Severus rejoiced greatly at this
oration and gloried in the phrases I proferred against the Hellenes as
though they applied to him. He commended me immoderately· At
the same time, the Hellenes whom we had invited to come and listen,
having come without knowing what was going to be said, wept, so to
speak, over their misfortunes, and one of them cried out in anger: “ If
you had the intention of speaking against the gods why did you invite
us to the tomb of your friend?”
By relating this pointed anecdote Zachariah sought to demonstrate
Severus* satisfaction with the closure o f the Menouthis temple and
the humiliation of their pagan friends. The story reveals the exis
tence of close personal relationships between Hellenes and Chris
tians, and the lengths to which these well-educated young men
went to insult each other publicly over differences of religious belief.
The Hellenes were a captive audience and could hardly have
walked out in a fit of rage or have begun a shouting match at the
funeral service. Zachariah pronounces no sequel, as the scene o f his
narrative shifts to the imperial law school at Berytus.86
Zachariah of Mytilene’s narrative reveals a great flux in religious
values at Alexandria during the 480*5. In the end, a convinced
Hellene like Paralios of Aphrodisias accepted baptism sooner than
his elder contemporary Severus o f Sozopolis, a lukewarm catechu
men with a taste for Hellenic religion who would take over the
intellectual and political leadership o f the monophysite movement
in the next century.07 The Christian philoponoi developed a vigorous
polemic based on the writings of Basil of C aesarea and Gregory of
Nazianzus, but at the same time displayed a humane interest in the
religious doubts and cultic experiments of men like Paralios and
Severus. This approach entailed making midnight visits to dispirited
catechumens and even delivering them from fisticuffs. Alexandria
stands in sharp contrast to Athens, which had neither philoponoi nor
a strong monastic community. Fewer conversions of the kind
attested here will have occurred in Athens, a university town full of
philosophers and rhetors cast in the mold of Proclus, who per
formed sacrifices, practiced theurgy, and revived long-dead theolo
gies. A Joh n Chrysostom might have visited the philosophical
schools in Athens and escaped as a more convinced Christian, but
prospects in Athens did not favor provincials like Severus of
06 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 5.

87 See Trend's discussion of this problem: Rise of the Monophysite Movement,
202-205.
20 CHAPTER FIVE
Sozopolis, who might well have apostasized from the catechumen-

ate and become a religious Hellene for a time.
The professional interaction between pagan and Christian pro
fessors and students was not always cordial, but they conversed
with frankness and mutual respect. Horapollon was not prosecuted
for his performance o f sacrifices. Toleration remained the rule at
Alexandria after the furor over the events of 48S-89 died out. The
philoponoi eroded the Hellenic faith o f many students. As scions o f
the decurion families, the philoponoi presented the case for Chris
tianity in a rhetoric and logic geared to Atticized ears. I f they made
great inroads among Hellenes, it seems improbable that pagan
scholars lapsed into poverty for lack of student fees. The example of
Jo h n Chrysostom, who studied with Libanius at Antioch, suggests
that the criterion for selecting a professor was his professional
calibre and not his religious faith. Zachariah of Mytilene fails to
name Severus’ professors o f Greek and Latin rhetoric. His silence
suggests that they were Hellenes.
IV. Some Alexandrian Connections with Aphrodisias in the Reign of Zeno

(c. 488-491)
Aphrodisias, the provincial capital of C aria and “ holy city” of
Aphrodite, had many Hellenes among its city councillors and
landed magnates in the late fifth century, as the inscriptions recent
ly published by Charlotte Roueché demonstrate in graphic term s.08
The city may have had a school of philosophy, for the excavations
have turned up statues o f philosophers from the Late Antique
period. The final verdict awaits the full-scale publication of Aphro
d isias’ physical remains.
T he involvement o f the elder Asklepiodotos, a city councillor of
Aphrodisias, with the Menouthis incident had become public
knowledge in Alexandria.69 Solomon the hegumen o f Enaton began
to worry in monkish fashion that other persons like Paralios might
fall into the deception or “ insanity” o f propitiating Isis for favors,
as her cult was far from dead. He therefore persuaded Peter Mon-
gus to put together a praxis or summary o f the notes (kypomnimata)
taken by the defensor of the city during the interrogation of the Isis
priest at the Tychaion o f Alexandria. Solomon also got the pa
triarch to send a synodical letter to Nonnus, archbishop of Aphrodi-
Sias, to expose the role of the elder Asklepiodotos in the Menouthis
aa Infra, Ch. VI.

* Infra, Ch. IX , Sect. 2.
affair. The letter never arrived. Zachariah of Mytilene complains

that certain unnamed persons bribed the letter carrier after he
reachcd C aria*90 It seems probable that the courier, a subordinate
of the Prefect of Egypt, met with the city councillors, among whom
he will have found Asklepiodotos himself (the object of the com
munique), a certain Pytheas, and many other Hellenes,91 to whom
Zachariah refers as “ the pagans who are in Aphrodisias” .92 The
Menouthis incident with the story of the faked miracle of Isis
became public knowledge at Aphrodisias later when the imperial
judge Adrastos, a Christian advocate (sckolastikos) of C arian birth,
sent a copy o f the original praxis at the request of the Prefect of
Egypt.93 The publication of the document seems not to have
affected Asklepiodotos5 position, for he died much esteemed by his
fellow citizens in the 490’s.94
It will be recalled that Paralios of Aphrodisias joined his brother
Athanasius at the Enaton monastery only eight days after his
baptism. Paralios" first concern became the conversion of his two
other brothers still in Aphrodisias, Demochares the barrister {scho-
lastikos) and Proclus the teacher o f rhetoric (sophistes) ,95 Paralios
wrote them a discursive letter from which Zachariah o f Mytilene
reproduces extracts. It gives important information about the local
participants in Illus5 rebellion.
The pagan dccurions of Aphrodisias supported the great revolt of
Illus, an [saurian who was magister militum per Orientem, that lasted
c. 481-488,96 He rallied many symphatizers to his side from the
pagan intellectuals. These Hellenists hoped for increased religious
toleration and possibly the resumption o f public sacrifice.97 Prom
inent among them was Pamprepius of Panopolis, who had studied
philosophy with Proclus at Athens. Illus got Pamprepius a profes
sorship of gram m ar in Constantinople and later the office of quaes
tor> Pamprepius, whose enemies had succeeded in getting him
90 Zachariah, F. Seven, 36.

Infra, Ch. VI, Sect. 2.
92 Zachariah, V. Seven^ 36, Syriac line 12.
93 Zachariah, V, Severi, 36f. Entrichios belongs after Arsenios in the sequence of
Prefects, that is between c* 407-29 October 489. The latter is the date of Peter III
longus1 death, the terminus ante quem for the events at Alexandria described in
Zachariah’s narrative. See: André Bataille, Traité d’études byzantines II: Les Papyrus
(Paris 1955), 72.
" Infra, Ch. VI, Sect. 2.
95 Zachariah, V’ Seven, 39. The text reads literally: “ He was the sophist of the
dty;” kut Proclus cannot have been the only professor of rhetoric at Aphrodisias.
* Bury, LR E 1, 395-98.
97 Ibid., 398f.
22 CHAPTER FIVE
exiled to Pergamum on a charge o f sorcery, became the political

creature of Ulus and joined the rebellion as his quaestor,98
Paralios' family in Aphrodisias, including his brothers Damo-
charcs and Proclus, supported Ulus’ side in the civil war, as did
other prominent Aphrodisians. The oracle-givers in the city distri
buted a veritable flood of predictions promising the overthrow o f
the legitimate emperor Zeno, as Paralios5 letter to his brothers
reveals:99
Do you remember how we as Hellenes in Caria offered sacrifices to
the pagan gods, when we asked these purported gods every manner of
thing, while dissecting livers and examining them by magic arts to be
informed whether we would defeat the emperor Zeno, now of pious
memory, when we supported Leontius, Ulus, Pamprepius, and the
other rebels on their side? At that time we received many oracles as
promises that the emperor Zeno round not resist their attack, that the
moment had come when Christianity would disintegrate and dis
appear, and that Hellenic cuk would persist. The outcome [of the
rebellion] proved that the oracles were lies, just as it fel] out with
those given by Apollo to Croesus and Pyrrhus of Epirus.
M arinus of N eapolis’ life o f Proclus and D am ascius’ life of Isidore
agree that many oracles were in circulation at this time.100 Oracles
were easy to produce, requiring diviners capable of composing
dactylic hexameters and an interested audience of Hellenists. The
destruction o f Illus5 faction provided a decisive argument against
the reliability of oracles, a sombre fact that was evident to Hellenes
in their own paideia. Christian writers like Isidore of Pelusium used
the historical works of Herodotus and Plutarch to great advantage
in discrediting the fifth-century oracles.
An anonymous Christian writer o f the late fifth century used
radical methods in a work called the Oracles of the Hellenic Gods
(χρησμοί των ελληνικώ ν θεώ ν).10ί Produced in the reign of the
emperor Zeno, this work contains an assortment of oracles both
genuine and bogus.102 The bogus oracles contain questions ad
dressed to Apollo followed by the god's admission o f his impotence
in the face of the Christian God. Three examples will suffice. The
98 Rudolf Asmus, “ Pamprepios, ein byzantinischer Gelehrter und Staatsmann

des 5* Jahrhunderts,’5 Byzantinisch* Zeitschrift 22 (1913), 320-347,
2 s cliâriâh J7 Severi 40
t0° Damascius, Epit. Phot. 171 {Zintzcn, 236). Idem, Epit. Phot. 276 (Zintzen,
276. line 22).
10ï Karl Buresch, Kiaros. Untersuchungen zum Orakelwesen des späten Altertums
(Leipzig 1889; rep r 1973), 95-126. This text hereinafter cited as Kiaros.
1D* Buresch, Kiaros, 95, lines 14—17.
first of them owes more than a little to C h ristian ideas o f

exorcism :103
M o st wretched o f tem ple w ardens! You need not ask m e this final
question ab ou t G o d the Fath er and his only begotten an d beloved
Son, who is responsible for every divine utterance an d p resage (for
the divine p resage and prophecy is a voice that m akes m anifest that
which exists), and concerning the all-holy Spirit w ho en com p asses all
things round ab ou t like a g rap e cluster. T h is S p irit shall also drive
m e forth unw illingly from these buildings» T h e doorpost o f the shrine
that used to d isp atch persons seeking oracles to the p arts within shall
at once be left vacant. M y m an tic tripods, you groan: “ Woe! A las! I
A pollo am perishing! I am perishing b ecau se he who is come down
from heaven and becom e m an, he who is rational fire, is torm enting
an d persecuting m e!”
This instance mentions no ritual contamination of the Apollo tem

ple with the relics of the Christian dead. Instead a battle of spirits is
waged in a world unseen. The temple buildings and doorpost
leading to the oracular chamber are empty as the tripods cry out
hollow through the empty hall.
In a second instance the Mother of God or Theotokos under
mines the oracles:104
In the years o f em peror L eo [the First (4 5 7 -4 7 4 )], an idol-tem ple o f
the sam e age as the city o f C yzicu s w as on the point o f being
transform ed by the o tiz e n s into the chapel (εμ ελ λ ε . . , ε ις εύ κ τή ρ ιο ν
μ ετα σ κ ευ α σ θ η ν α ι ο ικ ο ν ) o f our m ost glorious m istress the T h e o to
kos, An oracle w as found incised on a great stone alon g the tem ple
w a ll T h e sam e oracle w as found in A thens on the gate at the left side
o f the tem ple, being identical with the one [at C y zicu s], When the
citizcns inquired o f A pollo, “ Prophesy unto us O proph et Phoebus
T itan A pollo, w hose house this m ight b e ,” he gave an o racu lar
response in these words:
“ Do as m any things as rouse one to virtue and order, for I
announce the three-in-one O ne G o d that rules on high, whose im
m ortal word [logos) shall becom e im pregnated in an innocent w om an.
H e shall offer a gift to the Father, taking the entire cosm os captive
after running through its m idst like a fire-bearing arrow . T h is shall
be her house an d her nam e is M a ria .”
The epithet of the Christian God “ ruling on high“ (ύψιμέδω ν) was

taken from the now dead Zeus. The expression “ taking captive”
(ζωγρήσας) contains a pun, having also the sense of “ restoring to
life’1 or ''converting'5.105 The temple conversion at Cyzicus was
103 Buresch, Klares, 99Γ

104 Buresch, Klam , U lf.
105 Cf. A Gmk-English Lexicon, ed, H.G. Liddell et a i (Oxford 1968), 758.
24 CHAPTER FIVE
unquestionably a historical event. Here the memory o f the cult of

the dead god Apollo had not died out even c. 457-474, another
fragment of evidence disproving the view that temples were con
verted only after their pagan cultic associations had been complete
ly forgotten. The oracle had an important function. I f the daimon
Apollo could be gotten to recognize his temple as the proper
residence o f the Mother of God, continuity o f cult between the old
and new religions was assured in the use of valuable inner-city lots
and cultic buildings.
The third bogus oracle puts a prophecy o f the incarnation of
Christ into the mouth of the Sibyl, all of it in dactylic hexam eters:106
The Sibyl pronounced this oracle about the Christ:
Then shall the flesh-bearing child of the Great God come among
men, made like mortals on earth, [his name] bearing four vowels and
twice [the same] consonant in it. I enumerate the entire series. Eight
monads, as many as there are decades among them, and eight
hekatontads will explain the name to men filled with unbelief. But
you [the hearer] are perceptive enough in your wits. This writer
about the knowledge of divine things cites the name IHCOYC as the
solution to the riddle, and does so securely, I think.
The Oracula Sibyllina^ a sixth-century Christian recension ofsecond-
and third-century oracle texts, incorporates this pronouncement of
the Sibyl as well.107
It should be obvious from the behavior of the Aphrodisian Hel
lenes during the civil war with Ulus that the animal sacrifice still
had great importance in pagan religious belief and practice. In a
certain sense Paralios could be thankful for the deeply embedded
nature o f these rites, because they offered an opportunity to prove
the impotence o f the old gods when confronted with the cross. The
oracular sacrifices during the civil war seem to have taken place at
a temenos outside the city w alls:10*
When we sacrificed in those places outside the city, we were deprived
of every sign, vision, and response [in the animals* entrails], although
we habitually grasped at some illusion of this sort. Preyed upon by
perplexity, we searched and asked ourselves what this meant. We
changed the place of sacrifice. In spite of this the beings reckoned as
gods remained silent and their cult remained without effect. We
thought they were annoyed at us. At length, we got the idea that
someone in the group had a will opposed to what we wanted to
106 Buresch, Kiaros, 123Γ

107 Frank R, Trombley and Alexander Kazhdan, “ Sibylline Oracles*55 Oxford
Dictionary of Byzantium, ed> A, Kazhdan el al. 3 (Oxford 1991), 1890Γ
108 Zachariah, V. Seven, 40f
accomplish. We questioned each other, asking if we were all of the

same outlook. We discovered that one young man had made the sign
of the cross in the name of Christ. By that act he rendered our
petition empty and our sacrifices without effect, as the so-called gods
often flee before the name oi Christ and sign of the cross. We did not
know how to explain the matter [from the standpoint of ritual].
Asklepiodotos with the other sacrificers and magicians reflected on
the matter* One of them imagined that he had resolved the difficulty:
“ The cross is a sign indicating that a man has died a violent death.
The gods justifiably have a horror of shapes of this kind.”
Paralios’ letter confounds the elder Asklepiodotos with the faction
opposed to the emperor Zeno and as one who supervised the
oracular sacrifice. By making the sign of the cross during the rites
the Christian sought to fend off the daimones thought to be attracted
by the animal blood and invocations. It was a well-accepted princi
ple that the cross caused epiphanies of the gods to vanish and
oracular responses to fail. An incident of this kind in 298 helped
precipitate the Great Persecution:109
At a sacrifice held in the presence of Diocletian and his C a e sa r
Galerius the haruspices were unable to obtain the desired omens, and
attributed their failure to Christians present, who were averting the
power of the demons by making the sign of the Cross. Diocletian, who
seems to have been a man of rather old-fashioned piety—he had
adopted the old Roman god Jupiter Optimus Maximus as his
patron—was naturally infuriated by this insolent interruption of the
traditional rites of the Roman state, and issued an order that all
soldiers must sacrifice to the gods or be discharged.
Julian the Apostate is said to have made the sign o f the cross at the
sight of an apparition during his initiation to a mystery cult in a
moment of self-forgetfulness:110
I have also heard that one day Julian descended into the most noted
and terrific adytum either for the purpose of participating in some
initiation, or of consulting an oracle; and that, by means of machin
ery which is devised for this end, or of enchantments, such frightful
specters were projected suddenly before him, that through perturba
tion or fear, he became forgetful of those who were present, for he had
turned to his new religion when already a man, and so unconsciously
fell into his earlier habit, and signed himself with the symbol of
Christ, just as the Christian encompassed with untried dangers is
wont to do. Immediately the specters disappeared and their designs
109 Quoted from Jones, Later Roman Empire, 71.

110 Sozomen, HE 5.2. Translation quoted in modified form from Library o/Nicene
and Post-Nicem Fathers, tr. H. Wace and P. Schaff, 2 (Oxford 1891), 326. The story
goes back to Gregory of Nazianzus, Centra lulianum 7.55-56, PG 35, 577C-58ÛB.
CC Quasten, Patrology 3, 242,
26 CHAPTER FIVE
were frustrated. The initiator was at first surprised at this, but when
apprised of the cause of the flight of the demons, he declared that the
act was a profanation; and after exhorting the emperor to be
courageous and to have no recourse in deed or thought to anything
connected with the Christian religion, he again conducted him to the
initiation,
Asklepiodotos> associate supposed that the cross, as a symbol o f
violent death through crucifixion, prevented all activity by the gods
through symbolic ritual pollution. Recent contact with a corpse
was thought, in fact, to invalidate priestly acts. The movement of
corpses into sacred precincts* not to mention the killing of men
(except of course in human sacrifices), defiled the temple and
necessitated ritual purification before efficacious rites could be again
performed. The Hellenes believed that the erection o f the cross by
symbolically drawing it over one's body had the same effect as
importing a corpse to the scene of a sacrifice. In temple conversions
Christians erected and incised crosses ju st for this reason: the
resultant symbolic ritual pollution weakened the power o f the
daimon formerly worshipped as a god.
Quite surprisingly, Paralios5 letter dism isses this idea. He cites
the example of the human sacrifice practiced in the “ mysteries in
behalf of the Sun-god . « . Shemshö” , 111 that is M ithra. He
observes:112
If it is true, my brothers, that the gods retire before whatever signifies
that persons have died a violent death, why did the so-called gods not
manifest themselves in the mysteries in behalf of Shemshô in front of
those about to be initiated when the hierophant produced a sword
defiled with the blood of a man who had died a violent death? The
friends of truth should take this alone into account: the sign of the
cross made by the young man over his face proved that the so-called
gods are nothing. . . . [If anything] the pagan gods greatly desire the
deaths of men, seeing that they are evil daimones. . > . This is why they
refuse to make revelations except in the sight of a [priest] who,
pursuant to their deviccs, has killed violently and calls out their
signals. This is why they prescribed human sacrifice, as the historians
of their cult say, and even Porphyrius [of Tyre].
M ithraism died out in the late fourth century, the last taurobolia
being attested at Athens in 387 and at Rome in 390.153 This
ceremony entailed sacrificing a bull and allowing its blood to drain
onto the priest or initiate. Aphrodisias has no known Mithraeum.
ul Zachariah, V. Severi^ 42, Syriac lines 2-3.

112 Zachariah, V. Severi9 41f.
n3 Gcffcken, Last Days of Greco-Roman Paganism» 174.
THE PHILOPONO! OF ALEXANDRIA AND HELLENIC RELIGION 27
On the other hand the Neoplatonist Proclus had followers in

Aphrodisias. It cannot be excluded that his interest in religious
arcana and extinct cults stimulated an antiquarian revival of
M ithraism. Paralios must have known about the excavation of
a M ithraeum in A lexan dria during the reign o f Ju lia n the
A postate:114
There was a place in that city which had long been abandoned to
neglect and filth, wherein the pagans had formerly celebrated their
mysteries, and sacrificed human beings to Mithra. . . . In the process
of clearing it, an adyton of vast depth was discovered which unveiled
the nature of their pagan rites: for there were found there the skulls of
many persons of all ages who were said to have been immolated for
the purpose of divination by the inspection of entrails.
The priests o f M ithra seem to have simulated human sacrifice by
coating the bared sword with animal blood and by placing looped
swords around the torsos o f their ostensible human victim s.115
Paralios’ demonology owed something to the second book of Por-
phyrius of Tyre’s De Abstinenlia> which argues that the gods abhor
all forms o f human and animal sacrifice.116 Porphyrius (c. 270) was
a Neopythagorean and a dissenter from the ritual of the temple
cults.117 In 448 Theodosius II had ordered copies of his book
against the Christians burned, but the De Abstinentia proved a
useful work for the Christian polemic against sacrifice.118 For exam
ple, Theodoret o f Cyrrhus cites Porphyrius many times in his
Therapeutic for Hellenic Maladies on questions related to sacrifice and
the activity of daimones.1™
T his was the tenor of Paralios’ argument in the letter to his
brothers. Athanasius and Stephen of Enaton helped him frame the
argum ents.120 The milieu of the Alexandrian monks and philoponoi
thus gave the letter its defining characteristics. These arguments
had little power to convince. Paralios’ brothers do not seem to have
114 Socrates, HE 3.2 (summary). PG 67, 380C—381C. Cf. Franz Cumont, Textes
et monuments figures relatifs aux mystères de Mithra II: Textes et monuments (Brussels
1896), 44.
115 MacMullen, Paganism in the Roman Empire, 125.
n6 Supra, Ch. II, Sect, 1.
117 Geflcken overlooks this point in assessing Porphyrius1 discussion of sac
rifices. Last Days of Greco-Roman Paganism, 68-70,
1,8 Cod. lust. 1,1.3. Cf. the reference to Constantine’s previous condemnation of
Porphyrius’ work in Cod. Theod. 16.5.66.
1 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Graecarum AJfectionum Curatio, ed. loannes Raeder
(Leipzig 1904). List of references, p. 334.
This is a reasonable supposition, considering Paralios’ relative youth at the
time, and the fact that Stephen and Athanasius had been his mentors in the
confrontation with the younger Horapollon. Supra, Ch. V, Sect. 2.
28 CHAPTER FIVE
converted to Christianity, for Zachariah of Mytilene is silent on this

point.121 The typical Hellene seldom found Porphyrius of T yre’s
arguments against sacrifice convincing, as for example the Neopla-
tonists of Proclus* circle in Athens. Those who accepted Christian
ity often did so because they liked the humane spirit and Greek
rhetoric o f the philoponoi,122 Faith in pagan oracles thus persisted
even after the failure of Illus5 rebellion despite the verdict o f histor
ical evidence and recent events, as Isidore o f Pelusium (ob. c.
435) m and Theodoret of Cyrrhus (ob. 458)124 had shown* Not
every Hellene was susceptible to conversion by argumentation, as
Zachariah silently concedes. M iraculous cures sometimes bridged
this gap* A believer in pagan oracles might accept the new religion
if its “ m agic” were superior to the old.l2S
After the death of Stephen o f Enaton, Paralios and his brother
returned to Aphrodisias to convert their brothers. This probably
happened in the mid-490>s. Paralios established a monastic com
munity, but left it under the administration o f Athanasius and their
father, who quite obviously converted to Christianity. Athanasius
outlived Paralios and is said to have converted many pagans in
C a ria .136 The monastery was evidently built on family estates,
whence came its endowment.127 It is possible that Athanasius con
vinced some well educated Hellenes to become C hristians> but will
also have converted many rustics living on the family estates by the
proven methods of building small churches and having the monks
catechize these folk. The life of Hypatius of Rufinianae indicates
that this sort o f work was still in progress in Bithynia c. 443—446.120
1ZI But their father did accept Christianity. Infra, this section.
122 On thi* impact of humane approaches to conversion in the countryside, see:
Trombley, ^Paganism in the Greek World,” 352,
123 Isidore of PeJusium, Ep. 3.23 (“ T o Asklepios the sophist.*5): “ If Xerxes (for
I have read from your [histories], O sophist!) yoked the Hellespont, he was not
able to yoke the Athenians with the yoke of slavery.” PG 78, 745D-748A. It is
evident from this that Isidore had read Herodotus* Histories, a work which men
tions the temple officials at Delphi being bribed lo produce politically biased
oracles, not to mention the response of Apollo that Croesus mistook for a promise
of victory if he attacked Persia. Isidore seems to have read Plutarch as well, as he
indicates after quoting a letter of Libanius to John Chrysostom on the subject of
Atticism. Ep. 2.42, PG 78, 484B-D. Isidore also claimed to have read Thucydides,
an author full of cynicism about oracle-mongering, Epp, 4.91, 5.497, and 5.546.
124 See the complete index of classical writers cited in Theodoret, Curatio
(Raeder, 324—338),
125 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 340,
126 Zachariah » V. Severi, 43, Syriac line 13.
127 Overlooked in John P. Thomas, Private Religious Foundations in the Byzantine
Empire (Washington, D.C, 1987).
Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1.
Jo h n of Ephesus (ob, c. 587) reveals that the Carian countryside

was still being Christianized between 536-566.129 Athanasius had
drawn his inspiration from the semi-urban monks of Enaton, which
stood at the ninth milestone from Alexandria. In the next century
Jo h n of Ephesus’ monks recruited in Syria and Armenia would
carry on this work.130 The Alexandrian connection with C aria in
the 490’s reached not only the “ holy city” of Aphrodite, but also
the soil of the countryside that she was thought to fertilize.
V. The Philoponoi in Berytus and the Eradication of Magic

Little is known about the elimination o f the pagan cults from
Berytus in Phoenicia Libanensis.131 Zachariah o f Mytilene’s narra
tive deals with the period after the final closure o f the temples.
Theurgy and magic remained important elements in Hellenic belief
and practice there in the 490’s.132 The phenomena o f cult in Berytus
closely resemble those of other localities.
Zachariah o f Mytilene had by this time completed his rhetorical
education in Alexandria and had gone on to the imperial law school
at Berytus, where he was an edictalis or first-year law student.133
Other pupils like Severus of Sozopolis arrived there as no more
than Christian catechumens after years of exposure to the pagan
scholars of Alexandria and their cult practices. M uch o f that ethos
was carried over to Berytus. Law students led unruly lives. They
consorted with pagan scholars who practiced theurgy and m agi
cians skilled in the baser forms of sorcery. Adherents of the philopo
noi like Zachariah sought to keep themselves free of taint from the
prevailing modes of their peers, but also to lure mediocre catechu
mens and even Hellenes into the churches. They effected many con
versions among the law students by purely intellectual methods.
Informal association using the methods of the philoponoi gave institu
tional structure to these activities.
Zachariah dwells at great length on the talks he had with Severus
that led to the latter’s conversion. Severus was at that time a
dupondius or second-year law student.134 The two men met on the
first day of classes in the school of Leontius, a legal scholar and
129 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 330f.

no Ibid. 336, n. 56.
1.1 Paul Collinei, Histoire de l ’Ecole de droit de Beyrouth (Paris 1925), 79-115 (on
student life in Berytus).
1.2 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3.
133 Zachariah, V. Severi, 47, Syriac line 3.
l3+ Zachariah, V. Severi, 47f.
30 CHAPTER FIVE
lecturer of high repute. Zachariah, although alienated from Seve

ru s’ quasi-Hellenic life-style, struck up a close friendship with him
and in time convinced him to accept baptism .133 Their relationship
provides the excellent example o f an intellectually inspired conver
sions. The two-fold method consisted o f getting the Hellene or
catechumen to visit one o f the local churches, and then of getting
him to read Christian texts o f high stylistic quality like those of
Basil of Caesarea* Gregory of Nazianzus, and others,
Zachariah habitually visited Christian shrines after the law lec
tures, including the church of the Theotokos, which lay inside the
old city near the harbor,136 When Severus asked him for in
formation about salvation— the upshot of some spiritual crisis—
Zachariah invited him to visit this church whose interior had
murals depicting the Genesis story.137 Severus also asked him for
some copies of books by B asil o f C aesarea and G regory o f
N azianzus.138 After getting Severus to recite prayers with him,
Zachariah recounted the story o f the Creation to him with the aid of
the church’s decorative program: * ‘While I related this, I was
showing him Adam and Eve, for they were painted in the church
dressed in skin tunics after their expulsion from p a r a d i s e . I t
speaks for the tenuous state o f Christianization even of well edu
cated catechumens that Severus lacked even the most basic knowl
edge of the Creation story written in the Septuagint, Church de
coration had a profound effect even on the cathechization of the
intellectuals. Not much had changed since the days when temple
sacristans accompanied visitors through the pagan shrines at fes
tival time, explaining the myths about the local great god from the
sculptures and paintings.,4U Seeing was believing. The display of
mosaics or murals am idst a forest of marble columns in the typical
early Christian basilica led to many conversions.141 It certainly
worked with Severus. When Zachariah told him the story of the
Incarnationj Severus accepted its miraculous character.142 It had
abolished the Hellenic faith;143

nfi Zachariah, V, Severi, 48.
137 Zachariah, V, SeveH, 49.
J30 Zachariah, K Severi, 48.
335 Zachariah, V, Severi, 49,
140 MacMuIlen, Paganism in the Roman Empire> 29-31.
141 Ernst Kitzinger provides no discussion of icons in this didactic context in:
“ The Cult of Images in the Age before Iconoclasm,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 8
(1954), 83-150.
m Zachariah, V. Seven, 50.
143 Zachariah, K Severi, 51.
Christ, after conquering the entire world through his apostles, abo
lished the oracles of Hellenic magic and the sacrifices to daimones.
Zachariah had more in mind than oracles, sacrifices, and magic.
He viewed the social customs o f student life in Berytus as Hellen
ism as well, that is, the undifferentiated secularism commonly
accepted in the cities o f the Greek East as the cultural norm.
Conversion in an intellectual sense meant abandoning this as
well:144
[Severus:] You have spoken well. , . for I am studying law.
[Zachariah:] If you wish to place your trust in me, the holy scrip
tures, and the catholic doctors of the church, you must first avoid the
shameful public spectacles, the horse races, the theatre, and the areas
where one watches wild beasts in combat with poor and unfortunate
men. Finally, you must keep your body chaste and offer evening
prayers to God in the churches every day after studying law. It is
proper for us who know God to complete our evening exercises in the
holy churches while the others ordinarily pass their time at dice-play
and drinking with prostitutes in utter self-abasement.
This is not simply a list o f vices, but a picture of the secular milieu
of the Greek cities, the haunt of diviners who took fees to predict the
victory of favorite charioteers and the places where sorcerers called
daimones down upon athletes to ensure the victory o f their clients.
The mime shows featured dram a and farce based on the myths o f
the Hellenic gods. The skits were quite ribald, at times insulting
Christ, the Theotokos, and the m artyrs.145
The accepted definition of “ conversion” in the 4905s often went
beyond the mere acceptance of baptism. It often meant asceticism and
the renunciation of ordinary secular life (κοσμικός β ίο ς ) .146 The
philoponoi showed the way: one did not have to become a monk or
cleric to accept “ conversion'5. Severus found it arduous enough just to
give up the circus and theatre. Monasticism seemed abhorrent:H7
[Severus:] You shall not make a monk out me. I am a law student
greatly attached to jurisprudence. If you desire anything else, say so,
[Zachariah:] I am in this city to study civil law as well, for I too love
jurisprudence. When you mentioned your concern about salvation, I
144 Zachariah, K Severi, 51. Cf. the opening section of Zachariah’s dialogue on
the creation of the universe, Supra, Ch. V, n, 2.
145 On the pagan mime shows, see; Franz Tinnefeld, “ Zum profanen Mimos in
Byzanz nach dem Verdikt des Trullanums (691),” Byiantina ê (1974), 321-29.
J<* This view is corroborated in Cailinicus’ life of Hypatius of Rufinianae. Infra.
Ch. V II, Sect. 1.
U7 Zachariah, V. Severi, 52.
32 CHAPTER FIVE
w as going to su bm it a project to you that will get us a know ledge o f

rhetoric, philosophy, scripture, and theology w ithout hurting your
legal stu d ies or requiring m uch o f your leisure time.
The systematic study o f Christian writers was the essential element

of askesis or discipline in this program. Zachariah went on :148
W e shall study law for the entire week except S a tu rd ay afternoon and
Su n d ay, W e sh all assist at the lectures delivered by our m asters
d u rin g the other d ay s o f the week* review the m aterial together, and
then rest d urin g the half-day preceding Su n d ay , the day civil law
prescribes that we dedicate 10 G od.
It was an asceticism without fasts, entailing only scholarship.149

The works to be read during these Sunday meetings were those
of A thanasius of A lexandria, Basil of C aesarea, Gregory of
Nazianzus, Joh n Chrysostom, and others.'50 The initial phase of
the program had an anti-Hellenic em phasis:151
W e b egan with the treatises that different ecclesiastical auth ors have
written ag ain st the p ag an s. A fter this we read the Hexaemeron o f B a sil>
then variou s o f his works an d letters, after th at the treatise ad d ressed
to A m philochius refuting Eunom ius, and finally the ad d re ss to young
m en in which he inform s them how to profit from the w ritings of
H ellenic authors.
The first group of readings seems to have included Athanasius of

Alexandria’s early work Against the Hellenes,152 Zachariah refuses to
mention the Therapeuticfor Hellenic Maladies of Theodoret because of
his role in developing Chalcedonian Christology. Even in the 490*s
Theodoret’s work was still the most learned and comprehensive
refutation of Hellenic belief and must have had a wide circulation.
It is nevertheless possible that Severus and Zachariah consulted it.
B asil's canonical letter to bishop Amphilochius of Iconium (c* 374)
contains a code of Christian ethics and discipline, but also a discus
sion o f remedies for Christians who had reverted to pagan cult
practices after baptism .*53 Basil's Address to Young Men on How To
Draw Profit from Hellenic Literature had for a long time been the

149 This scheme of asceticism was, of course, considerably more worldly than
that devised by Basil of Caesarea. Cf. W.K. Clarke, Si. Basil the Great: A Study in
Monasticism (New York 1913).
152 Athanasius of Alexandria, “ Contra Gentes*’ and “De ln£amationey\ ed. tr. R.W.
Thomson (Oxford 1971), 2-133. Cf. Quasten, Patrology 3, 24fF.
153 Basil of C aesarea, Epp. 188, 199, and 217 in: Saint Basil: The Letters
(Deferrari 3).
standard work used by Christian catechists to set the rules for

avoiding pagan error while studying the Greek paideia.154 The book
provided the schema for the rising Christian Sophistic,155 which
found popular expression in the Greek Anthology and in many surviv
ing Christian funerary epigram s.156 Basil's Homilies on the Hexaemeron
elucidated in Attic style the Creation epic ordinarily read in the
koinë Greek o f the Septuagint. It sought to replace the elegant
Hellenic theogonies, and complemented the decorative program of
the church of the Theotokos from which Severus had drawn
instruction*157 B asil’s Contra Eunomium will have established the
perfect divinity o f Christ for the catechumen.158 Behind these works
lay the prosaic but useful textbook on the Christian faith, the
Procatechesis of Cyril o f Jeru salem .159
Zachariah and Severus did not at first invite other men into their
circle. Only later did they address the problem of extirpating the
Hellenic cults among the law students.160 They soon gained adher
ents, The most important o f these was Evagrius of Sam osata, who
had studied rhetoric in the schools of Antioch. Badly injured in an
urban riot that arose during a public spectacle, Evagrius, whose
previous religious affiliation is uncertain, gave up the “ passions o f
youth,” avoided the circus, and began to attend all-night vigils in
the church of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, Evagrius wanted to
become a monk, but his father forced him to enter the law school at
Berytus instead.161 He became leader of the “ holy association” that
Severus and Zachariah had formed.162 Other men soon joined, like
Eliseus of Lycia, whose father had compelled him to study law
unwillingly as well.183 The association, which met every evening at
the church of the Resurrection, soon gained some fourth-year law
154 Supra, Ch. V, n. 76.

115 For an important example, see; Trombley, “ Boeotia in Late A ntiquity/5
225f
150 Two striking examples of the Christian sophistic are the hexameter
periphrasis of the Psalms rendered into the old Ionian dialect by Apollinanos of
Laodikea c. 361-3G3 (PG 33, 1313-1538) and Nonnus of Panopolis’ Aiticist
version of the gospel of St. John (5th c.). Paraphrasis in loannis Evangelium, ed.
Λ. Scheindler (Leipzig 1881). Cf. Quasten, Patrology 3, 380f.
157 Homiliat Novem in Hexaemeron, PG 29, 4ff. Quasten, Patrology 3, 2l6fF.
158 Basil1s five books against Eunomius, published in two separate works, are
found in: PG 29, 497-669. Quasten, Patrobgy 3, 209f.
,M PG 33, 331-1128. Quasten, Patrology 3> 363-67,
160 “ Leaving our co-dtsciples [in law] to occupy themselves as seems best . .
etc. Zachariah, V. Stveri> 53.
,ßl Zachariah, V. Severit 54f.
Zachariah, V. Severi, 56,
34 CHAPTER FIVE
students as well: A nastasius of Edessa, Philip o f Patara in Lycia,

and Anatolius o f A lexandria.164 Later adherents included Stephen
of Palestine and Zenodotus o f M am m a, the seaport of G aza and
home town o f Zachariah. The latter had great affection for his
younger countryman. Zenodotus became a talented barrister and
practiced at the imperial court in Constantinople, but died an
untimely death.165 The members o f the “ holy association” had
three things in common: education in the Greek paideia whether in
Alexandria or their home towns, legal study in Berytus, and a
serious interest in Christian theology. Evagrius their leader was
harshly ascetic.166 Severus soon became his disciple, emulating him
as his type (τύπος) and icon (είκών) by abstaining from m eat.167
The “ holy association” imitated the philoponoi of Alexandria by
investigating divination and sorcery among the law students.
M agic arts of various kinds were common am ong the law stu
dents. A series o f incidents came to the attention of the “ holy
association” shortly after its formation. Among the culprits were
three notable personalities: Jo h n Foulon, a Christian from Thebes
in Egypt; Leontius, a pagan who held the office of magister; and
Chrysaorios o f Tralies, another pagan * Zachariah admits that these
men constituted only the representative sample of a much larger
grou p.168 Joh n Foulon, although a Christian, seems to have been
one o f the chief instigators o f their im pieties.169
Joh n Foulon’s secret Hellenism did not become public know
ledge until he sought to activate a love charm through the human
sacrifice o f one of his slaves, an act of murder under Roman
law .170 Zachariah got his information from Foulon’s subsequent
confession:171
,fi* Zachariah, V. Severi, 55f.

165 Zachariah, V, Severi , 56.
15ü Zachariah, V. Severi, 56.
lf'7 Zachariah, V. Severi, 57.
160 Zachariah, V. Severi, 5?f Other participants in acts of sorcery and divination
about whom Zachariah fails to disclose further information were a certain George
of Thes salon ike, Asklepiodotus of Heliopolis (Baalbek?), who was an ethnic
Armenian, and “ many others of their ilk.”
169 άθεαι πράξεις. Zachariah, V. Seieri, 58, Syriac line 3.
170 This inference is clear from two Constantinian laws which establish the
principles for the disciplinary correction of slaves. In general the siavc-owner
should use his right of correction moderately (necuero inmoderate suo iure uiantur), but
‘ 'shall be guilty of homicide if he should kill him (the slave) voluntarily with the
blow of a cudgel or stone . . etc. {sivoluntate ,. .occident). This dictum covers all
cases of gratuitous homicide. Cod. Tkeod. 9.12.1 (11 May 319). Cf. Cod. Thtod.
9.12,2.
AH the w orld thought they would effect a heinous m urder. T h e rum or

sp read . . th at they were thinking o f sacrificin g an E th iop ian slave
belonging to the T h eb an at night at the H ip p od rom e. A ccording to
w hat they later said ab ou t this ab om in ab le crim e, abh orrent to G ud,
they wished to conciliate the daimon th at w as attach ed to them and, as
they su p po sed , to get it to accom plish w hat they planned. T h eir
general aim w as to com m it a crim e no m atter w hat. T h e ir particular
aim w as forcibly to procure a certain w om an who w as then living
chastely and with whom the sla v e ’s m aster w as hopelessly in love.
T he cau se w as erotic love and the violence o f the daimones. T h ey
therefore conducted the slave to the hippodrom e in the m iddle o f the
night as though for som e other purpose. At the m om ent when they
were ab ou t to com m it the crim e, G o d , who is concerned with what
we do, took pity on the unlucky slave an d cau sed other people to
enter that place. T h e culprits took flight, frightened as m uch by their
own au d acity as by the im provident incident. T h u s the Ethiopian
fortuitously got a chance to escap e their m urderous clutches set on
killing him.
The sacrifice to the daimon to activate the love charm was the
essential element, although animals usually sufficed as victim s.172
The hippodrome at Berytus was probably the regular spot for such
nocturnal arts, which were merely a continuation o f the curses,
incantations, and sacrifices so abominated by the church that went
on during the d ay,173
The mischance in the hippodrome led to Joh n Foulon’s exposure
for sorcery. The slave3 fearful for his life, reported the incident to
one of his m aster’s friends. The latter, a devout Christian, passed
the word to Zachariah’s “ holy association” , “ seeking Christian
help for the soul o f his friend, who was besieged by daimones
When the slave divulged the fact that Foulon owned magic books,
the association decided to pay him a visit. The visitors included
Zachariah and two men of influence and experience: Polycarp, a
soldier in the local bureau (oßeium) of the Praetorian Prefect, and a
barrister named Constantine, who knew Foulon personally.175
They concerted beforehand to adopt a friendly and humble spirit,
as though visiting Foulon to inspect his books in order to defend his
reputation from the charge of practicing m agic.176 The books were
discovered in comic fashion:177
173 Infra, this section.

173 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3>
174 Zachariah, V. Severi,59,
175 Zachariah, V. Severi,59f.
176 Zachariah, V. Severi,60.
177 Zachariah, V. Severi,61.
36 CHAPTER FIVE
Foulon answ ered our questions with self-assurance, becau se he had

hidden his m agic books under the seat o f his chair, which he had
m ade for them in the sh ap e o f a casket and which he had concealed
from the sight of those who stood before him : u M y friends, since such
is your pleasu re, exam ine m y books as you w ish .5J With this said , he
had all the books brought in that were norm ally placed in sight in his
house. H avin g found nothing o f w hat wc sou gh t after exam ining
them, F ou lon ’s slave again st whom they h ad plotted * . * furtively
in dicated his ow ner’s chair to us, giving us to understan d by sign als
that if we m erely lifted up the plank, the books we sought would
a p p e a r at once.
Upon the books5 discovery John Foulon confessed and begged his
accusers not to hand him over for criminal prosecution. He had
little to fear, since the “ holy association” aimed at “ healing and
saving the soul.” 178 The incident illustrates the practice of the
philoponoi, who preferred the amicable conversion of Hellenes to
legal action that might subject the offender to confiscation or even
execution.170
Proof o f conversion consisted in Joh n Foulon’s burning the magic
books that he owned. Zachariah inspected the manuscripts him-
self:180
In the books were certain d raw in gs o f perverse daimones, b a rb aric
n am es, and harm ful, p resu m p tu o us com m an ds replete with a rro
gan ce and quite fit for perverse daimones. C ertain o f the incantations
were attributed to Z oro aster the magus, others to O stan e s the m ag i
cian, others yet to M anetho.
The surviving magical papyri contain drawings of daimones grasp

ing women in line with their function as erotic charms. A fourth-
century text edited by K arl Preisendanz corresponds closely to
those owned by Jo h n Foulon:lflî
Love charm * T h e best burnt offering* o f which there is none better* It
leads men to wom en and wom en to m en, and m akes young wom en
leave their hom es in haste. T ak e a clean sheet o f p ap y ru s, write the
follow ing nam es, an d d raw the follow ing figure [o f the daimon\ with

179 Monks adopted this policy as well. Cf. the cases of sacrifice and sorcery
reported in Callinicus* life of Hypatius of Rufinianae. Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1. It
was easier to confront the Hellene or crypto-Hellene with his offense openly in the
hope of converting him than to initiate the arduous business of litigation, some
thing that the Zenonian law on sacrifice demanded, but which seems usually to
have been forgone. Supra, Ch. I, Sect, 6.
100 Trombley, uPaganism in the Greek World,” 340, where Theodore of Sykeon
gets the sorcerer Theodotus Kourappos to burn his magic books, recall his spells,
and accept baptism.
181 PGM X X X V I, (Preisendanz 2, 164E).
donkey blood. Take an article of property from the woman you

desire, smear the papyrus sheet with gum soaked in water, affix it to
the dry-heat room of the bath-house, and you will be amazed! Keep a
grip on yourself. Do not let yourself be struck with fear. This is what
should be written: “ Come Typhon, you who are sitting at the upper
gate! Iô Erbëth, Io Pakerbeth, Io Baichoseth, lo Apomps, Io sesenro,
Io bimat, Iakoumbiai, aberramentho oulerthexanax ethrelyooth
memareba tou Seth. As you bum and are consumed by fire, so too
will be the heart and soul of X., whose mother was X., until she
conies loving me, my name being X., and she damply joins her
female sexual organ to my male organ. Now! Now! Quickly! Quickly!”
The drawing accompanying the incantation depicts a daimon with a
rooster's head holding a flail in its right hand and a human figure
(the female object of the spell) in its left, Joh n Foulon admitted that
his own invocations had been without effect, as had been those of
other persons who had attempted to seduce the woman with love
charm s:182
Foulon promised to burn the books and ordered a fire to be made. He
told us that he had fallen in love with a woman. Thinking he would
triumph over her refusal to have intercourse with him by the help of
these books, he turned to magic. He added that the magicians'
artifice was impotent. Their promises were so vain that the woman
hated him even more! Not only he but many other men had become
familiar with magic for the sake of that woman. He also divulged the
names of many others who owned magic books of this type. After the
fire had been brought he cast the magic books into it with his own
hands.
Foulon blamed the law student ethos in Berytus for his error:103
He declared that he was in truth a Christian and the son of Christian
parents, but that he had fallen into error during his stay there and
had cultivated secular lusts to appease evil daimones.
With this done, the “ holy association” gave thanks to God and
sat down to eat, as the noon hour had come. They had brought box
lunches with them in anticipation of a long session with Joh n
Foulon. Zachariah and the others observed him carefully to test his
repentance:184
We had some meat with us, We watched this man eat meat with us
because it was said that those who take pleasure in magic and resort
to perverse daimonts abstain from it and consider this food unclean.
,w Zachariah, K Severi, 62.

tfi3 Zachariah, V. Severi, 62, The Syriac has a sense different from Kugener's “ et
avait adoré les idoles.”
]84 Zachariah, V. Severi, 63.
38 CHAPTER FIVE
It will be recalled that Proclus, an expert in theurgy, abstained

from animal meats except occasionally for the sake of piety, that is,
he ate sacrificial meats only.185 Iam blichus o fC h alk is (ob. c. 325-
330) indicates in the De Mysteùis in a section on the preconditions
for successful divination that contact with the bodies o f unconse
crated or non-sacrificial an im als vitiated the power o f the
minister.186 This requirement o f ritual purity implied the avoidance
o f animal meat before all acts of theurgy.
The Foulon incident thus came to an end. The “ holy associa
tion” persuaded Jo h n Foulon to accompany them to the church of
the apostle Ju d e to fortify his conversion through prayer and to get
the prayers of the clergy there in his behalf.187 The latter included
Cosm as the presbyter and paramonarios, M enas o f C aesarea in Cap-
padocia, a law student who had become a monk, and Jo h n Eu-
dranes from Palestine, The last-named w as1®8
. . . a m an w ho after stu d yin g law had taken up the “ p h iloso ph ic”
{read religious) life. H e m ad e h im self useful to the law stu dents o f the
city as m uch by his m orals as through the C h ristian books that he
ow ned, sh ared , an d loaned out.
Zachariah and his friends evidently hoped that John Eudranes

would provide Foulon with some Christian texts and generally look
after him, lest he apostasize again. As Foulon had divulged the
names o f other Hellenes am ong the law students, the “ holy associa
tion” took up the task of tracking them down and left the work o f
exhortation and instruction to their friends at the church o f St.
Ju d e . The other Hellenes were known to Severus and Zachariah
from their student days in A lexandria.189
The first opportunity to expose Hellenes came soon thereafter
when a certain George o f Thessalonike, the owner of a m agic text,
gave it to a scribe and asked him to reproduce it in the form of a
codex.190 The scribe immediately reported this to M artyrius the
lector and the previously mentioned Polycarp. These men notified
Severus and Zachariah, who in turn denounced the Hellenes to
Jo h n the bishop of Berytus. The list of culprits included George o f
Thessalonike, Asklepiodotus of Baalbek-Heliopolis, Chrysaorios o f
T ralles, and a certain Leontius, a magister teaching law in Berytus,
'®f Supra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3.

186 Iamblichus, De Mysteriis 6.1-3 (Des Places, 183-185).
ia9 Zachariah, V. Severi, 65.
all o f them on the list o f practitioners o f magic given by John

Foulon* Their caprices had been the object of public outrage in the
past, Bishop Joh n called upon the imperial notaries in the offkium at
Berytus to cooperate with the “ holy association55 in exposing their
activities:191
T h e bishop enjoined us and the m em bers o f the clergy to exam ine all
those m en ’s books. T h e im perial notaries were with us. T h e entire
city w as in a state o f u p ro ar b ccau se [the H ellenes] were spen d in g
their lim e studyin g m agic books in stead o f ap p ly in g them selves to
law, and because this L eontius did great harm through his pagan ism .
Public wrath fell particularly on Leontius because he had used his

position as magister to m anipulate the election of the city m agis
trates through Hellenic practices:192
T h is L eon tius was a m an who knew how to deceive. In stead o f
p racticin g his p rim ary profession, he constructed horoscopes and
p racticed d ivination . H e ann ounced to all who cam e to him their
election to office as prefects. H e also aided those w ho had recourse to
idols. T h e art o f his trickcry w as so great th at an im p ortan t m an
living in B yblos [becam e one o f his d u p e s].
On one occasion Leontius predicted that a m an’s wife would bear

him a son.193
The search and seizure of magic books led to street fighting
amongst the citizens. The “ holy association” deposited the books of
George of Thessalonike and Asklepiodotos of Heliopolis-Baalbek in
the center of the city. Warned by the noise, other Hellenes con
cealed their books. At this point Ghrysaorios o f Tralles, one of the
Hellenes, called in the town hooligans to disrupt the searches for
books. In reply a Christian named Constantine, who apparently
managed a large estate in the territorium o f the city, threatened to
summon the villagers and field hands of the properties under his
control to protect Zachariah and the clergy:194
C h rysaorios raised trouble-m akers ag a in st us from a grou p called the
Poroi (?) and whom the law students call the "c o m p an io n s51 (?),
people with notorious habits who live in arrogance. T h ey are often
JSI Zachariah, V. Seveny 66. Cf. Brooks, “ Life of Severus” 469.

194 Zachariah, V. Seven, 66. I have taken issue with Kugener*stranslation,in
line with A.H.M. Jones’ discussion of the management of estates, the key word
being pamasä, which has the sense of “ sie ward’ “ manager*’ (oikonamos) or “ guard
ian*’ rather than “ owner” . Cf. Jones, Later Roman Empirey781-95. The Syriac word
for "estate” , üsiyä, is simply the Greek ousia taken as a loan-word. Similarly,the
word for “ rusties" used here is qüryayê from the Greek ckdrikoi.
40 CHAPTER FIVE
m urderers an d do not hesitate to use the sw ord. B ecau se the entire

dem os feared G o d , believing he w ould rise up ag ain st these people
and had prom ised to help us, C on stan tin e o f B eyrtus, the m an ager o f
an im m ense estate, threatened to call in his rustics.
The converging bands refused battle when Leontius agreed to

surrender, after Zachariah and the “ holy association” admitted the
principle o f converting sinners rather than killing them. M any of
the “ companions” were pagans to judge from their alliance with
Ghrysaorios to stop the destruction of m agic books.195 It is likely
that the territorium of Berytus was Christianized c. 365-^20, as was
the Limestone M assif district east o f Antioch.196 In the 490’s the
rustics now entered the city on the side of the Christian bishop and
civil officials to combat the pagan remnant, much as Hypatius of
Rufinianae led an army to archimandrites to Chalcedon in Bithy-
nia to disrupt the celebration of the O lym pia.197 Even so, public
opinion, a “ holy association,” militant monks, clergy, and even an
armed peasantry could not eradicate that urban pagan remnant, as
Ju stin ian 's legislation in 529 and subsequent years demonstrates.
With the quelling of the uprising, the magic books could now be
burned. Bishop Jo h n got the cooperation of the defensor of the city
for this. He, along with the city officials, clergy, and “ holy associa
tion” erected a great bonfire in a public square lying in front of the
church o f the Theotokos. It is clear that the civil officials o f Berytus
had begun taking instructions from their bishop about punishing
the local Hellenes long before the time of Justinian , whose legisla
tion incorporated an earlier law prescribing that course o f action.
The law in question, usually dated to 529, more probably belongs
to the reign of Zeno in the years during the suppression o f Illus*
rebellion c. 481-488.m Its correspondence with the present inci
dent is precise:199
We com m an d that our officials both at C on stan tin op le and in the
provinces go with all speed an d search out accord in g to the law, both
on their own initiative and with the help o f ou r G od-beloved bish ops,
the teachers o f the atheism o f H ellenic cult, lest such acts occur any
longer an d that those who perform them w ould be punished. I f the
correction o f such acts exceeds the com petence o f the local au th or
ities, let these m atters be brought to our attention, lest accu sation
an d trial for the offenses be laid ag a in st the officials them selves.
,95 Zachariah, V. Severi, 68f.

Infra, Ch. X, passim.
Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. I.
Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 6,
i99 Cod, lust. 1.11.9. prooem.
Zachariah o f Mytilene denounces the books for their “ satanic

signs” and “ atheistic and barbarous arrogance” . H e then catego
rizes the different classes of magic spells found therein:200
How one can set cities in turm oil, m akin g the p op u lace rise up and
array fathers ag a in st their sons an d gran dchildren.
By w hat m ean s one m ight break up legitim ate m arriages and co h ab
itations.
How one m ight win over a w om an who wishes to live in chastity to
illicit love oy force.
How one m ight attem p t adultery and m urder.
H ow one m ight com m it theft.
In w hat m an n er one can com pel ju d g e s to deliver a sentence o f
acq u ittal.
Public opinion and these documents both credited sorcerers with

great powers to harness malevolent daimones for immoral, anti
social, and seditious aims. In the turbulent life o f the cities of this
period, such beliefs became a source of great anxiety. The destruc
tion of the magic books therefore served a political purpose. It was
not simply a matter undermining the position of nasty Hellenes
suffering from conceit because of their education in their Greek
paideia, but o f blocking their supposed power to summon ancient
divinities to bring down the entire social and institutional structure
of the Christian empire, in this instance thç polis of Berytus,
Zachariah o f Mytilene reports that Severus took the lead in the
work o f destruction. He gained great popularity with the demos for
this*201 T o judge from Zachariah’s analysis of the event, the magic
books’ owners were not prosecuted. The “ holy association” cer
tainly repeated its argument that conversions must be voluntary,
without civil coercion. There is no evidence that any of the Hellenes
renounced their cult and became Christian. The aim of the civil
and ecclesiastical authorities in Berytus was eradicating the dan
gers thought to be posed by sorcery rather than imposing religious
conformity.
Zachariah of M ytilene’s last example of the “ holy association” ^
sorcerer-hunting pertains to a group of itinerant magicians perhaps
of Iranian or E ast Syrian origin who, upon reaching Berytus, even
corrupted some o f the regular clergy, a phenomenon more com
mon than might be supposed.202 If the men were not themselves
200 Zachariah, V. Sevm, 69f

202 For examples of clergy corrupted by sorcery, see: Trombley, Survival of
Paganism, 102-104. There is also the very interesting case of the bishop of Tclla-
Com tantina in Osrhoene, who was condemned at the Latrocinium of 449, A
42 CHAPTER FIVE
Iranians, they thoroughly understood the marketability of bogus Per

sian magic. Zachariah dismisses their pitch in these terms:203
W hen D ariu s, king o f the P ersian s, cam e to this land an d these p laces
a long time ag o , where cities existed before our time, he hid m uch
gold, in fact m any talents o f gold. . . . T h e y [the ch arlatan s] had
gotten the story from the account o f the magi an d other P ersians.
Divination to discover hidden treasure was quite common in the

Eastern Roman Empire in the fifth and sixth centuries. T his reality
lies behind the law of 2 March 390 given by Valentinian II,
Theodosius I, and Arcadius which provided that persons “ who
discovered treasure-troves under the persuasion of some divinity or
with fortune guiding them” might keep their gains (eos, qui suadente
numine vel ducenle fortuna tkeusauros reppererinl) .21H I f the pious emper
ors were thinking of the Christian God in using the term numen, it
was sufficiently vague to legitimize any discoveries thought to have
occurred under the influence o f the sundry subterranean deities
supposed in popular magic to yield up the secrets of the earth.20’ In
this instance the Persian m agicians summoned the spirits of the
dead, who presumably knew the subsoil and subaqueous zones as
well, to make the revelations. Zachariah calls their rites the “ ora
cles of the dead” , the Syriac equivalent o f the Greek nekromanteia.
Iranian religion did, in fact, encompass a cult of the dead, the
Furdigan,206 which had nothing to do with divination. This may
nevertheless have given the entire dubious business o f the Persian
magic a more convincing air. The itinerants, knowing about Chrys-
aorios of T ralles’ interest in m agic from public rumor, approached
him and found him credulous.207
Zachariah dwells at some length on the phenomena of this cult,
into which the paramomrios of a Christian shrine called the Second
Syriac fragment of the conciüar acta goes into exceptional detail about the cult.
Ernest Honigmacm, “ A Trial for Sorcery on August 22, A.D. 449,” Isis 35
(1944-45), 2 8 1-284.
Cod♦ Theod* 10,18.3. C. Pharr renders numen as “ Divine Providence” , but the
law seems to have envisioned the cooperation of more than one divinity or daimon7
in line with pre-Christian methods o i treasure-hunting.
205 A letter of Photius, patriarch of Constantinople (9 th c.), relates how a group
of rustics sacrificed a dog to the chthonic divinity Gë in order to get the earth to
yieid up its hidden wealth. When the divination failed* the men confessed their sin
to the bishup, who passed on the story to Photius. C f infra* Ch. V II, n. 154.
^ Menander Protector, Fr. 15 in Histonci Graeci Minores, cd, Ludwig A, Din-
dorf, 2 (Leipzig 1871), 37, line 6, This festival celebrated the frawasis, the spirits
who passed judgement on the souls of the dead. In Greek the festival was called
the nekuia.
M arty non was drawn. Ghrysaorios engaged the man in conversa

tion and awakened his interest in a share of “ D arius’ treasure” .208
The magicians claimed that they needed the precious metals con
tained in the church service vessels and the corpses o f the dead
buried in the martyrion to activate their divinatory rites. It might
have been supposed that the Christian dead and liturgical vessels
with crosses inscribed on them would, if anything, have interfered
with summoning the daimones and spirits o f the dead. Zachariah’s
rationalism prevented him from supposing this:209
T hese v ag ab o n d s and m agician s declared th at they required silver
objects for their schem e, first for going to the se a nearby in order to
evoke the daimones, the g u ard ian s o f the treasure-trove, by m eans o f
these ob jects, and secondly in order to p ractice necrom ancy (“ oracles
o f the d e ad *’) a t the tom bs situ ated inside the church* T h e m inister,
driven by hope o f gain and unw orthy o f those m arty rs, yielded to
G h rysaorios an d helped them com m it the sacrilege. F or his part,
G h ry saorios gave silver objects to certain o f them [the ch arlatan s]
with which they d id not hesitate to abscond after m akin g som e initial
show o f stayin g at the w ater's edge an d evoking the daimones, the
g u ard ian s o f the im agin ary treasure-trove, with these objects. A s for
the paramonariosy he took the silver censer from am ong the sacred
vessels an d gave it to the m an who prom ised to execute the necro
m ancy, evoking the sp irits o f the d ead by force an d learning from
them where the treasure-trove w as hidden. At the exact m om ent the
m agician began this d aim on ic invocation an d w as carrying the cen
ser, G o d o f the m artyrs punished these people. H e m ade the ground
trem ble under their feet until they were h a lf d ead from fear and
w atching to see if the entire church would cave in on top o f them.
Berytus quite obviously suffered periodic earth tremors. Seismic activ

ity finally destroyed the city in the great earthquake o f 550/1.210
The publicization o f this incident resulted in the elimination of
several prominent Hellenes from the local limelight at Beirut. Poor
folk often slept in the Second Martyrion. After being awakened by
the earth tremor and the shouts o f the culprits, they quickly spread
the word about Ghrysaorios3 nefarious behavior and the sacrilege of
the paramonarios, whose name Zachariah withholds. At the festival
of Joh n the Baptist which came shortly after this incident, there
was another civil uprising in Berytus to protest the Hellenes5 con
tinued practice o f magic and sorcery. Bishop Joh n had the para-
monarios implicated with the Iranian diviners apprehended and
200 Zachariah, V. Severi, 71,

210 John Malalas, Chromgraphia, ed, L. Dindorf (Bonn 1831), 485,
44 CHAPTER FIVE
confined to a monastery for an unspecified term of exile.211 Leontius

the magister, the prominent Hellene mentioned in connection with a
previous incident, fled Berytus to save his life from the rioters» He
eventually accepted baptism at a church of St. Leontius the martyr
in another city. The populace of Berytus readmitted him to the city
when he arrived at the gate wearing the white garb of the newly
baptized and begged their pardon for his sorceries,212
Chrysaorios remained convinced Hellene, however, fancying
that, as Zachariah puts it, he had survived “ thanks to his daimones,
magic arts, and wealth.” He had resolved to return to his home
town Tralles in Caria, a city which, like Aphrodisias, seems to have
had many Hellenes in the 49QV213 I f Zachariah is to be believed,
Chrysaorios used magic to predict fair sailing weather but was
disastrously deceived:214
A fter he decided to return to his hom eland, he hired a ship onto
which he loaded all the m agic books he had acqu ired on the word o f
w ell-inform ed men at a considerable cost in gold. H e also em barked
his law books an d m ost o f the silver objects he owned* as well as his
children an d their m other, who w as his concubine. C h rysaorios
ordered the sh ip m aster to sail at the m om ent C h rysaorios and other
persons thought au sp icio u s, after he had consulted a treatise on
m agic and the m ovem ent o f the stars, and he m ade his own c alc u la
tions. H e intended to return to his hom eland by the overland route.
T h e ship sailed with the prom ise o f the daimones and astrologers that
it would be saved with all that it contained. But in spite o f the m agic
and m ag ic books, the ship w as sw allow ed up by the sea, and nothing
that C h ry sao rio s h ad em barked w as saved.
The ship evidently put to sea during the summer sailing season.215
It must have been a typical cargo-carrying roundship, Chrysaorios’
magic served not only to restrain the M editerranean storms and to
prevent the mechanical failure o f the ship’s tackle, but also to
determine the most favorable moment for sailing in light of the
vagaries of chance and destiny, He may well have wondered after
ward whether some defect of ritual had deprived him of his family
211 Zachariah, V. Seven, 73. The maintenance of private prisons was forbidden
by law, but the ecclesiastical authorities got around this. The law states: LiIf
anyone after this confines a guilty person in a private prison (« quis posthac reum
priuatu carcen destinant), he shall be guilty of treason (maitt/dj).” Cod. Theod. 9.11.1
(30 April 388). The rule seems to have been aimed primarily at powerful persons
{potentes). Powerful ecclesiastical institutions quite obviously fell into this category,
and particularly monasteries, For another example, see infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1.
21* Zachariah, V> Severi^ 73,
2.3 Zachariah, V. Seven, 74. Infra, Ch. VI, Sect, 1 and 2.
2.4 Zachariah, V. Seven, 74.
2t5 For maritime sailing, see: Jones, Later Roman Empire, 867-71.
and books. It is improbable that Chrysaorios’ departure from

Berytus left the imperial law school free of sacrifice and magic arts,
Zachariah o f Mytilene’s narrative shifts elsewhere at this point. His
object lay more in justifying Severus o f Sozopolis1 youthful be
havior. The three exemplars o f the Hellenes o f Berytus reflect many
other eases: Joh n Foulon, a Christian addicted to Hellenic magic,
was reformed; Leontius the magister accepted Christianity in order
to be able to continue his career in Berytus; and Chrysaorios of
Tralles returned to his native city because o f public outrage at his
failed magic scheme to acquire a treasure trove.
VI. Conclusion
The foregoing analysis has described the process by which the
philoponoi brought the adherents of the Greek paideia into the
framework of the Christian sophistic. The process affected both
pagans and Christians, all of whom were exposed to the “ corrupt
ing” influence of Hellenic literature, religion;, and theurgy. Looking
back at the 480’s from the perspective of 529, the philoponoi in some
sense guaranteed the survival o f the older cultural ethos by stressing
its synthetic value for the newer Christian Atticist movement.216
This synthesis was the culminating point of a struggle that had
been waged since the days of Athenagoras of Athens (ob. c. 177)
and Origen (ob. c. 254), whose Contra Celsum summed up the
Christian position on a wide range of issues, including daimones and
sacrifice.217 It had the great merit of studying Plato, and used the
allegorical method to demolish Hellenic mythology and to establish
the spiritual meaning of Christian texts.210 The greatest Atticizer of
the Christian sophistic was probably Apollinarios of Laodikea (ob.
c. 390), who not only rendered the greater part of the Old and New
Testam ents into high-flown verse, prose, and dialogue— of which
only his Psalms survive— but also wrote a treatise refuting Por-
phyrius o f T yre’s polemic against Christianity.*19 Other such
* lG Wemer Jaeger did not bring his study down past the 4th c. in Early
Christianity and Greek Paideia (Cambridge» Mass. 1961).
Supra, Ch. IV, n. 5. Daimows are dealt with principally in Origen, Contra
Celsum 8 (Chadwick, 469ff.).
218 See the précis of Jaeger, Christianity and Greek Paideia 46ff, 1270*. On allegoriz
ing Homer and other texts, see R,P. Hanson, AUegôry and Event: A Study of the
Sources and Significance of Origin's Interpretation of Scripture (London 1959), 55-62. See
aiso Charles Bigg, The Christian Piatonists of Alexandria (Oxford 1913), 185ff.
219 Metaphrases in Psalmayed. A. Ludwich (Leipzig 1912). PG 33, 1627 (Γ Jerome,
Liber de Illusiribus Viris 104. PL 23, 741-742A-B, There were two ApoLlinarti,
father and son.
46 CHAPTER FIVE
rebuttals of Porphyrius came from the pens of Eusebius o f C aesarea

(ob. 339) and M ethodius o f Olympus in Lycia (ob. 311).220 Only
the work o f the latter survives.221
Theodoret of Cyrrhus (ob. 458) was himself an exponent o f the
Christian sophistic, and set forth the param eters for all future
criticism of pagan religion in his Therapeutic for Hellenic Maladies by
drawing heavily upon the Greek philosophers, including the
dreaded Porphyrius o f Tyre.222 As we have seen above, this im por
tant work was largely or perhaps only publicly ignored by the
monophysite philoponoi of Alexandria, who could quite plausibly
have put it to good use.223 Theodoret had his own heroes in the
Christian sophistic. Among them was Didymus the Blind, patri
arch o f Alexandria (ob. 398), whose achievement was quite remark
able:224
Didymus, having been deprived of optical sense perception from
childhood onward, partook of poetic and rhetorical studies. He re
ceived the sciences (ta mathêmald) through che faculty of hearing:
arithmetic and geometry, astronomy and the syllogisms of Aristotle
and the eloquence of Plato. [He did this] not as one learning the
truth, but as one learning the weapons of truth against falsehood. He
learned not only the grammar of Holy Writ, but also the concepts.
Another favorite of Theodoret’s was Protogenes, a disciple of Eulo
gius, the hegumen of the monastery at Antinoe in the Thebaid.
Protogenes set up a gram m ar school with the aim of Christianizing
the youth o f the city. He effected this partly by making “ house
calls” on his students when they fell ill:225
Protogenes the admirable, having taught himself the grammar of
Eunomios and having trained himself quickly in the art of writing,
established himself as a teacher of boys after finding a suitable place
and declaring it a school. He quickly taught them to write and
instructed them in the divine sayings (la theia logia). He dictated the
Davidic songs to them and provided a suitable training for learning
the apostolic teaching. When one of his pupils fell sick, he went to the
boy's house, grasped the boy's right hand, and cast out the disease
with a prayer. When the fatbeTs of the other children learned this,
they brought him to their houses and begged him to aid the sick. But
250 Jerom e, Liber de fnlustribus Viru 81, 83, PL 23, 727-728A-B.

TÀX On Eusebius, see Quasten, Petrology 3,333. On Methodius; Johannes Quas
ten. Patrobgy 2 (Utrecht-Antwerp: 1953), 137,
Theodoret nf Cyrrhus, Thérapeutique des maladies helléniques, cd. tr. P. Canivet,
2 (Paris 1958), 485Γ.
Supra, Ch. V, Sect. 5.
224 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, HE 4.29 (Parmentier, 269f, ),
m Theodoret, HE 4,18.8-1 ü (Parmentier, 241).
Protogenes said he w ould not entreat G od to drive aw ay the illness

before the sick person w as deem ed worthy o f the gift o f baptism . T hey
su bm itted eagerly, for a yearning after health drove them on. T hey
got health o f m ind and body through him,
Protogenes* method had a great deal in common that Zachariah of

Mytilene practiced on Paralios of Aphrodisias. The philoponoi o f the
late fifth century placed less emphasis on the miraculous» however*
and stressed rational argument instead. The element they all had in
common seems to have been a genuine sense o f ironic good humor
and consideration for the vagaries of their younger contemporaries.
Even the Hellenists of Alexandria could look at themselves and
their cult with a bitterly detached sense o f futility. Palladas pro
vides a case in point in describing the fate of Gessios, who invested
too much faith in the oracle cult of Zeus Ammon. His shrine in the
western desert was still operating in the first quarter o f the sixth
century and was eventually closed by Ju stin ian .226 O f Gessios Pal
ladas writes:227
W hen G essios learned the fraud o f the oracle at A m m on and w as
already near death in a foreign land» he blam ed his own ju d gem en t
and science, an d those who are p ersu ad ed by irrational astrologers.
His search for high office resulted in an untimely death, although

its precise circumstances are unknown. As Zachariah of Mytilene
has it, Chrysaorios of Tralles lost his fortune and family thanks to a
fallacious oracle promising fair sailing weather.228 P alladas’ poetry
owed its survival in part and incorporation into the Greek Anthology
to the consistency of its picture of declining Hellenism with that
given by its archenemies, the philoponoi. The prevailing mood of
despair in the old cults was greater than Zachariah permits us to
see in the activities o f the younger Horapollon and Asklepiodotos,
and certainly lies behind D am ascius1 upbeat treatment of the sub
ject in his Life o f Isidore. After all, this Horapollon eventually
converted to Christianity,229
For their part, the leaders of the Christian sophistic continued
to synthesize the Greek paideia with their own religious ideas.
Isidore o f Pelusium (ob. 435), to take one example, condemns “ the
Hellenes’ invention o f the gods” (τάς [μέν] Ε λ λ ή ν ω ν θ εο π ο ιία ς)
226 Procopius, Buildings 6.2.14-20 (Dewing 7, 368C). Cf. SEG 26 (1976-77),

1763-1795.
227 Greek Anthology 7*683, 684, 687.
228 Supra, Ch. V, Sect. 5.
229 Pierre Chuvin, A Chronicle of the Last Pagans> 110.
48 CHAPTER FIVE
in the theogonies, in the Orphica, and in the works of Hesiod and

Hom er.230 Monkish opinion aside, the Christian M arcus Argen-
tarius (6th c.) begins an epigram with the observation: “ As I was
once turning over the pages o f a volume o f Hesiod in my hands.” 2*1
All could agree that the Greek epic still had an immense power to
persuade, and to give legitimacy even to the expression of Christian
opinion. The argument of a now lost book quoted in the Greek
Anthology is self-evident proof of this cultural fact:232
The book of Patricius, the God-fearing priest, who performed a great
task, composing from the works of Homer a glorious song of splendid
verses, announcing the deeds of the invincible God.
There follows a sum m ary of the New Testam ent in Epic Greek.
This sort of thing was admittedly a common exercise and rather
easy to come by, as Apollinarios of Laodikea had shown in the fourth
century. It nevertheless gave the Christian scriptures a hyper-Aoàœ
sophistication that lent comfort to recently converted Hellenes
accustomed to the expression of religious sentiment, theology, and
ritual in the ancient dialect. Nonnus of Panopolis’ paraphrase of
the Gospel of Jo h n (5th c.) provides another case in point.
The Berytus of Severus’ and Z achariah’s day perished in 551
from a great earthquake. The dam age was so great that the dead
were still referred to as being left in the ruins nine years after the
event.233 The author o f the epigrams describing this, Jo h n Bar-
boukallos, a Christian, composed another in which the pilot o f a
merchant ship tries to avoid the dry harbor because it is no longer a
place of “ hospitable gods” (ξενίοις θ εο ΐσ ίν ).234 Zachariah of
Mytilene might have taken this as a fitting compliment to the
successful eradication of the gods, or rather daimones, o f sorcery and
divination by the “ holy association” in the 490’s.235 This happy
state of affairs is put somewhat differently by Agathias o f M yrina in
another epigram (ante 551). It sums up the hopes and ambitions of
many students in the decades after Severus and Zachariah:236
530 Isidore of Pelusium, Ep. 1.21 ("T o Ammonius Schnlasticus” ), PG 78, I96B.
Surprisingly little has been done on this author’s role in the Christian Sophistic. L.
Bayer, Isidors von Pelusium klassische Bildung (Paderborn 1915). G. Redl, “ Isidor von
Pelusion als Sophist,” Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte 47 (1928), 325-32.
251 Greek Anthology 9.161.
232 Quoted from Greek Anthology 1.119 (Paton 1, 50f.).
233 Greek Anthology 9.425, 426. Averil Cameron, Agathias (Oxford 1970), 138f.
Greek Anthology 9.427.
ÎS5 Supra, Ch. V, Sect. 5.
236 Greek Anthology 1.35. Agathias studied law in Constantinople. Cameron,
Agathias 140f.
Aemilius the Carian and with him John, Rufinus of Alexandria, and
Agathias of Asia, having completed the fourth year of their legal
studies, O archangel, dedicate to you, O blessed one, your own
painted image, praying that their future may be happy* Make your-
self manifest in the direction of their hopes!
Both the legal and cultural tradition o f the Roman East was now in
the lands of the Christian sophistic to stay.
The legal tradition had come a long way since the earliest codi
fications o f Greek law. It is of interest to note one provision from
the law code of Teos (c. 470 B .C .):237
Whoever makes destructive poisons against Teians, whether he be a
public man or a private citizen, the aforementioned shall be de
stroyed, both he himself and his family.
The ancient law and the drift of events at Berytus in the 490’s A.D.
find a point of conjuncture in some sense in the person of Chry
saorios o f Tralles once again, whose family and personal fortune
perished by shipwreck after his own “ destructive sorceries”
(φ ά ρμα κα δ η λ η τή ρ ια in the phrase of the law, where φ ά ρμα κον
can mean either a maleficium or a draught of poison). Figuratively,
at least, many other families like that of Paralios of Aphrodisias
were being disrupted or destroyed, but only because of divided
religious allegiances. These schisms would eventually yield to
Christianity because of its great cultural adaptability and superior
organizational structure.258
A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions to the End of the Fifth Century B . C ed.
R. Meiggs and D. Lewis (Oxford 1969), no. 30 (23), lines 1-5.
MacMullen, Paganism in the Roman Empire, 134-37.
A homily of Severus of Antioch survives in a Coptic version that corroborates

what I sought to prove above that this eventual leader of the monophysite church
was at best an ethnophron, or “ pagan-minded" catechumen, during his student days
in Alexandria. The homily, cited herein as the Laudatio S . Leontii, is published with
text and translation in: G. Garitte, “ Textes hagiographiques orientaux relatifs à S.
Leonce de Tripoli: IL L ’homélie copte de Severe d’Antiochc,” Le Muséon 79 (1966)
335-86. It concerns the martyrdom of St, Leontius during the Great Persecution
(Laudatio 5.1) and certain subsequent miracles at his shrine in Tripoli.
Severus makes direct admission of his own preference for Hellenic literature, but
avoids mention of sacrifice: “ And I know many of the young men who devoted
themselves to Roman law in that turbulent city, that is Berytus, and they went off
to his city {i.e. Tripoli) to pray, and speedily left their vain erudition (paideusis) and
way of life, and purified their minds of Hellenic myths. They were changed for the
better and were converted from those (myths) to a life full of wisdom and to
conversation with the blessed monks. And I was one of them, For I was still at that
time in that city. I heard of many miracles and cures that the blessed martyr
made. My heart was moved in me, or rather philanthropic God moved my rational
faculty that I should run to the martynon of St, Leontius and pray. So I went out
50 CHAPTER FIVE
from the city of Berytus, I and a friend of mine who was a scholastikos yand we went
to the martyr’s holy place (topos) and prayed. Moreover, I prayed separately
because I was still a pagan (Hellen) (cum adhuc essem gentilu) , I prayed thus: 4St.
Leonti us, holy martyr, pray to your God in my behalf that He would save me from
the cult of the Hellenes and from the customs (synttheia) of my fathers/ That night
a great mystery was revealed to me of which I am not worthy and of which I dare
not speak. And so the God of the all, Christ Jesu s, converted me from the
seduction of the Hellenes through the prayers of the martyr St. Leontius and
called me to the morally pure life of monasticism” (Laudatio 4.1-6).
His need for “ purification” (kathaniein) from the Greek paideia through con
versation with monks reflects the experience of Paralios of Aphrodisias, who was
tormented by his knowledge of Greek literature, religion, and magic after his
conversion, More important yet are two reminiscences of the quasi-J ustinia nie law
on Helienic religion, which I have assigned instead to c. 481-58, the reference to
“ philanthropic G od” and to “ running to the martyrion” of St. Leontius (Cod. fusi.
1.1 L 10 prooem. and 1.1 L 10.1). This is significant, because the sermon was deliv
ered on 18 June 513, fully sixteen years before the edict of 529. These phrases and
others had been in currency for some time, and, as 1 have argued earlier (Ch. 11
Sect* 6, and in Appendices II and III), they most probably belong to a decree of
emperor Zeno during the rebellion of Illus.
There is a second story told in the homily that has a bearing on the problem of
Ritenckristianisierung: “ A certain man , . . in the villages (fiagi) around the martyrion
of St. Leontius promised to bring a rooster as a gift to the place (topos) of the holy
martyr St. Leontius. Since they (i.e. the villages) had passed out from idolatry
(-eidolon in the Coptic text) not much time before this, therefore a bird of this kind
was brought to the martyr according to ancient custom (κατά συνήθειαν in the
original Greek)” (Laudatio 12.2-3), The narrative goes on to describe the
vengeance taken on a soldier who tore the offering away from the man on his way
to the martyrion. It is said that the bird was turned to stone as the soldier prepared
to eat it, and was later left in the chapel as a sign of the martyr’s power (Laudatio
12.12)- The story may be an aetiological myth to explain the offering of a stone
rooster to the shrine, but it bears firm testimony to the fact that the rustics made
offerings to the Christian God in the same manner as to their former divinities. It
should not be surprising, then, that pre-Christian liturgies were wholly adapted to
the new religion as well (cf. supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4, and infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2). The
rustic making the offering had evidently come in from the parts of Mt. Lebanon.
As we shall see, this area still had many pagans in it straight through into the
mid-6th c. (Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2). Upon becoming a Christian, the man
continued the practice of bringing a rooster to the shrine as a gift (doron) to the
martyr (and hopefully the Christian God), the difference being that he no longer
sacrificed it on an altar, but left it to the presbyter (Laudatio 12,8) or oikonomos
(Laudatio 13.8) of the place, and so aided the clergy or peregrim staying in the
hospice there. The shepherds and farmers living round about the martyrion evident
ly became Christian under the influence of the martyr cult (Laudatio 13.1-6).
Severus' homily is thus an important witness to the Christianization of the western
slopes of Mt. Lebanon in the late 5th c.
A quasi-monotheistic acclamation associated with St. Leontius' first miracle
acquired currency during the 4th or 5th c. It ran: “ Truly great is the power of the
God of the Christians! Great is the power of Christ Jesus, the God of Leontius”
(f.audatia 8.16). Garitte’s Laûn translation of the Coptic text is rendered quite
easily back into Greek (άληθώς μεγάλη ή όύναμις του Θεου των Χριστιανών.
Μέγας Χριστός Ιησούς» ό Θεός του Λεοντίου). It will be recalled that “ the god
o fX . . is a common Semitic pagan formulary that turns up in the inscriptions
of Syria and Arabia, as for example “ Zeus Helios the invincible god of Aumos”
(Deir el-Leben, Hauran, 320 A.D.) (Waddington 2393-95) and “ the god of
Arkcsilaos” (Frikyä, Apamene, 324 A.D.) (Infra, Ch. X, Sect, 6). In the former
instance, Aumos was the priest in past time of a cult whose divinity simply
acquired the name of its adherent. Without pressing the grammatical construction
too far, it becomes evident that the “ God of St. Leontius” had displaced the
previous Baal or Hellenized divinity not only in fact, but also through his titlature.
I have not been able to discover any pagan formularies of this type in the Mt.
Lebanon district as of this writing, which is perhaps a caution.
CHAPTER SIX
A P H R O D ISIA S
Aphrodisias, the “ holy city” o f Aphrodite, provides the most strik

ing epigraphic evidence to date on the slow decline o f Hellenic
religion. As with Athens, the complete Christianization of the
decurion class came quite late, between 450-529, insofar as the
inscriptions permit us to judge. These texts concur with the state
ments o f the Christian Zachariah of Mytilene and the pagan
D am ascius, who both mention or imply the existence of pagan
sophists and decurions during this period.1 Public Hellenism as
expressed in the inscriptions died out or went underground only
after the publication in 529 o f Ju stin ian ’s law requiring the baptism
of all pagans inside the empire by the end of a three-month grace
period, under the threat of confiscating the estates o f those who
failed to comply.2 The inscriptions o f this period have now been
brought together in a single volume by Charlotte Roueché.3
I. Hellenic Religion in Society and Culture

Aphrodisias was the metropolis or provincial capital of C aria, the
southwesternmost eparchy of Late Roman Asia Minor. An inland
city, Aphrodisias maintained contact with the Aegean basin and
M editerranean beyond by way o f the fertile M aeander river valley.
The Greek fertility goddess Aphrodite gave her name to this “ holy
city” , her cult being celebrated at an inner-city temenos which the
Christian bishops succeeded in occupying only in the late fifth
century, probably as a consequence o f the failure of Illus’ abortive
rebellion against emperor Zeno between 481-88. M any urban H el
lenes o f the philosophical and rhetorical schools at Athens, Aphro
disias, and elsewhere had supported the losing side during this civil
war.4 One of the sanctions applied to these political dissidents was
1 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3 and Ch. V, Scct. 4. The inscriptions of Aphrodisias have
yet to be used systematically in assessing the decline of Hellenic religion, not
having been available to Johannes Geffcken for his epoch-making study The Last
Days of Greco-Roman Paganism.
2 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 6.
3 Charlotte Roueché, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity (London 198!)).
4 Supra, Ch. V, Sect. 4. Cf. Rudolf Asmus, “ Pamprepios, ein byzantinischer
APHRODISIAS 53
the final closure, demolition, or remodeling into churches of their

beloved temples with the removal of the cult effigies, notwithstand
ing the artistic value of the statuary and architecture. The so-called
temple-church at Aphrodisias arose inside the temenos as a con
sequence of this in the late fifth century.5 The economic motives for
inner-city temple conversions of this sort have been discussed
above in connection with events at Apam ea in Second Syria and
G aza in First Palestine.6 At Aphrodisias this saw the removal, as
well, of such sexually intriguing statuary as the “ Birth o f Aphro
d ite /’ in which the goddess assumes a cheese-cake pose.7 The city
had other cults as well. O f these, the worship of the chthonic river
deity of the M aeander had survived into the late fifth century, as
Dam ascius relates.0
The pagan city councillors, who owned extensive estates in the
fertile M aeander basin, enjoyed official toleration of their cults, if
privately conducted, from the governors of C aria, who maintained
their officium at Aphrodisias. Imperial officials o f the Hellenic faith
found particular favor amongst the local decurions. Among the
former was Flavius Eutolmius T atianus, Praetorian Prefect of
Oriens 388—392, who had been responsible for stopping the demoli
tion of temples carried out by his predecessor M aternus Cynegius,
and, it appears, the amnesty granted to the pagan rioters who had
barricaded themselves inside the Serapeum of Alexandria in 3 9 1.9
His name was erased from three great inscriptions erected in honor
of Theodosius the Great during the tenure o f Rufinus, the next
Praetorian Prefect of Oriens*10 It is unclear if the motive for the
Gelehrter und Staatsmann des 5. Jahrhunderts,” Byzantinische Zeiischriß 22 (1913),

336 and Bury, LR E 1, 398f., n. 5*
Robin Cormack, “ The Temple as C athedral/’ Aphrodisias Papers /. Recent
Work on Architecture and Sculpture (Ann Arbor 1990), Cormack prefers a date
around the middle or second half of the fifth century, based on the information of
the Theodosian Code and the style of the chancel slabs of the Christian shrine
built in the temple, Ibid., p, 84 and Fig, 6c, See also the arguments of R,P.C.
Hanson, who finds practicaHy no evidence for the conversion of standing temple
buildings into churches until after the Theodosian law o f435. “ The Transformation of
Pagan Temples into Churches in the Early Christian Centuries,’*foumal of Semitic
Studies 23 (1978), 257-267, See esp, p. 263,
6 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3, and Ch. I ll, Sect. 4·.
7 For a photo and brief description, see: Kenan T . Erim, Aphrodisias: City of
Aphrodite (London 1986), 135. The statue of the “ cheesecake” Aphrodite is found
on the pediment of the basilica. Her legs are crossed, as she holds her long hair in
widely outstretched hands. Two admiring, or perhaps leering, Tritons support the
shejl. The sculpture dates from the 3rd c. A,D,
8 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3,
10 Roueché, nos. 25-27.
54 CHAPTER SIX
defacements was political (i.e. prefectural politics) or religious*11

T his damnaiio memoriae was seemingly reversed after Rufinus’ assas
sination in 395.12 It was, however, left to a grandson to reerect an
old statue of T atian c. 400-450.13 If filial piety dictated this, the
historical memory of the Aphrodisian Hellenes, who were a power
ful force in provincial politics, condoned and welcomed it. It was
Tatian after all who had protected their shrines, temple buildings,
and statuary from Theodosius T s vengeance for four years5 time
(between 388-392). One discerns this faintly in the epigram set up
with the statue: “ T atian, who saved the cities with just adm inistra
tive rulings” (Τ ατια νός θεσμοίς χε δίκ η ς π τολίεθρα σαώσας)
and “ who drove deadly ruin from C a ria *’ as an “ advocate55
(Κ α ρώ ν εκ γ έη ς ος άπήλααε λ ο ίγ ιο ν ατην . . . ά ρ ω γ ό ς).14 Ta-
tian’s family still had power and influence in Aphrodisias c. 400-
450. There is no reason to suppose that they had become Christian.
It is probable that the fourth-century governors o f C aria were
Hellenes, like those of Achaea, because o f their need to work closely
and sympathetically with the largely pagan city council and pro
vincial aristocracy residing in Aphrodisias. We know of a certain
governor named Helladius (ante 350?) who held such titles as
“ refounder of the splendid city” J5 and, significantly, “ the pure”
(Έ λλά διο ς ό άγνός), a cultic term referring to ritual purity.16 A
later governor, one Flavius Quintilius Eros M onaxios, a good
Hellenic name, administered C aria in the last years o f Constantius
II (c. 355-360).17 With the other governors ambiguity prevails.18
The first official inscription to bear a cross belongs to 379-386,
which the Carian provincial council (composed of many landed
magnates) erected in honor of Aelia Flacilla Augusta, the first wife
of emperor Theodosius the G reat.19 It was a gesture to the family o f
the supreme legislator against paganism . No cross appears again
on any public inscription (as opposed to ecclesiastical) at Aphrodi
sias for another century. The mid-fifth century saw a governor named
Dulcitius to whom the Aphrodisians handed the civic titles of ago-
nuthete and Maiumarch (άγωνοθέτην κα ί . . . Μ αιουμά ρχην).20
11 Roueché, 50f.
12 Bury, LR E 1, 113.
13 Roueché, no. 37.
14 Ibid.
,6 Roueché, no. 18.
lfl Roueché, nos. 20-22.
20 Roueché, no. ‘H).
APHRODISIAS 55
Even Christian governors of the mid-fifth century were not above

sponsoring games of a semi-religious character like the Olympia
that seemed to condone s a c r if ic e .T h e M aium a was a sort of
water-festival involving pre-Christian fertility rites that fifth-
century bishops repeatedly condemned-27 It was celebrated in large
pools. For Hellenes there would have been private sacrificial
banquets.23 Nor does another inscription honoring Dulcitius,
erected by the chief of the governor’s bureau at Aphrodisias {prin-
ceps officii = πρώτος στρατίης) bear a cross.** We might reckon him
a Hellene or ‘‘religiously indifferent'9 pace Alan Cameron. There is
no reason to believe Dulcitius a strong advocate of the new religion,
whether in public or private.
Dulcitius’ near contemporary as governor (for both men helped
rebuild the East Agora Gate) is the first identifiably Christian
governor o f C aria c. 450. This was Flavius Ampelius, a lawyer
(σχολαστικός) who also held the title of “ father of the city" (πατήρ
τής πόλεως), one which indicates his responsibility for undertaking
urban building projects.25 It was emphatically an honorific title.
Flavius Ampelius had the distinction o f insulting the Hellenes o f
Aphrodisias in one of his building inscriptions by dedicating the
work to “ the good fortune o f the splendid metropolis of the
Staum politans.” 26 Stauropolis, “ City of the Cross,55 was the Chris
tian name of Aphrodisias used as the place-name of the see by
bishops who loathed putting down the name o f the obscene goddess
Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1.

22 The ‘'most Christian” emperors recognized the necessity for public specta
cles in the cities of the empire. The permission given for the Maiurna to be
celebrated by a law of 25 April 396 issued at Constantinople was rescinded three
and a half years later. The text of the two laws is instructive: lkh has pleased our
clemency that the joy of the Maiuma be restored to the provincials, so long, that is,
as decorum is kept and modesty is preserved by morally unobjectionable practices
( . , . iia tamen, ut servetur honestas et verecundia castis moribus persevere!). Cod. Theod.
15.6.1. These minima! requirements were not kept up, for a law of the coemperors
Arcadius and Honorius, given at Constantinople (2 October 399), ordered the
same Praetorian Prefect, Caesarius, to suppress the Maiuma in the cities under his
jurisdication: “ We allow sportive arts to De celebrated, lest dejection be caused by
overzealous regulation. We flatly refuse, however, that whicn lays legal claim to
the name of impudent license, the Maiuma, a foui and obscene spectacle’* (ßrocax
licentia . . . foedum adque indecorum spectacuinm). Cod. Theod. 15.6.2. The new law
sought the suppression of the display of women’s naked bodies in the swimming
phase of the festival. It cannot have eluded the legislators, however, that private
sacrifice accompanied the spectacle. See next note.
23 This is my own inference, based on C. Roueché1s analysis and the evidence
that has come to light in the present work,
24 Roueché, no, 4L
25 Roueché, 77, and nos. 42-44.
56 CHAPTER SIX
in their correspondence and other documents. The governor here

took responsibility for "fixing the cross” on the city gate, in the
form of nomenclature, much as the bishop performed a similar
function by erecting the cross on the site of a new church
(α τα υ ρ ο π ή γιο ν).27 The Ampelius inscription is incised with three
crosses. Such tactics might work at the city’s edge, but not on the
public buildings at the hub of urban social life in this largely
Hellenic city. In the repair work on ih t palaestra or wrestling school
that took place two years later, a governor (whose name is ju sti
fiably restored to the fragmentary text as Flavius Ampelius) offers
the good work “ to the good fortune of the splendid metropolis of the
Aphrodisians.” 28 Even a rigidly Christian governor might thus
compromise his principles for the sake of getting along with city
councillors equally adam ant in their Hellenic culture and religion.
Flavius Ampelius also remodeled the nymphaeum or fountain
complex of Aphrodisias. For this act Pythiodorus, a rhetorician o f
Tralles, composed an epigram of thanksgiving to the Christian
governor. It is addressed to him in the name of the Nymphs, who
Actively speak in the first person.29 The verses owe more to mythol
ogy than to cult, yet a small cross was incised above them when the
inscription was erected. The Christian governor of C aria knew how
to accept compliments decorously, even when given with Hellenic
style and intent. Pythiodorus, with a pagan theophoric name, was
probably a religious Hellene, although pagans often kept their old
names during the catechumenate and after baptism. Whatever
position one takes about Pythiodorus, the men of Aphrodisias
certainly required the Nymphs babbling in the waters and the
governor needed his cross.
By c. 500 the use of Christian symbols on the governor’s building
projects at Aphrodisias had become a matter of course, as reflected
in the inscription o f Flavius Palm atus.30 Yet the provincial assem
bly (οι Κόρες in their own phrase) studiously avoided it.31 Between
c, 450-500 the governors, now most often Christian, became in
creasingly frank about their own religion and that of the empire.
The Carian provincial assembly, now a declining bastion o f Helle
nism, kept correctly to the old way of doing things.
The imperial inscriptions at Aphrodisias from c. 500 onward
reflect the triumph of the new religion. For example, a group of
27 Euchologion, ed. J . Goar* 2nd ed. (Venice 1730), 485 and 488.
2fi Roueché, no. 43.
m Roueché, no. 62.
APHRODISIAS 57
acclamations addressed to emperor Anastasius I (491-518) in

cludes the significant statement: “ The faith of the Christians
conquers” (Ν ικφ ή π ίσ [τις των] Χ ρ ισ τ ια ν ώ ν ).’ 2 I doubt that its
inclusion in the Aphrodisian context is accidental and without
polemical intent toward the local pagans. As will be seen, a steep
demographic decline of Hellenes amongst the city councillors and
provincial m agnates came between c. 450-500. T he fact that such
inscriptions as the present one could be erected without insult to
the majority of C arian grandees reflects a dem ographic reality. A
somewhat later Justinianic acclamation confirms the trend. It
names Albinus the senator and citizen o f Aphrodisias (φ ιλ ό π α τρ ί
Ά λ β ΐν ε λ α μ π ρ (ό τα τε)). It begins with the phrase “ One God for
the whole world” (εις τόν (cross) κόσμον ολον ε ίς ό Θ εό ς ).33 If
stereotypically formal, this phrase fits the context of declining
polytheism at Aphrodisias. Did parties of dissenting Hellenes who
had supported Illus in 479-4-88 still survive in the early sixth
century? It is certain that Ju stin ian ’s policy of political consolida
tion aimed at crushing the provincial elites. The laws permitting
confiscation as a punishment for sacrifice in the Justinianic
codification of 532 made eliminating pagans fairly easy. Did anti
imperial cliques among the Carians trouble the imperial favorite
Albinus? The acclamation advises that “ envy fails to vanquish
fortune” (ό φ θόνος τύχηγ ου ν ίκ φ )34 and, intriguingly: “ The
whole city says this: ‘Your enemies to the river. M ay great God
provide this’.” 35 At first sight the acclamation refers to the punish
ment o f drowning in a sack administered to parricides under old
Roman customary law.36 Be this as it may, the great God of the city
” Roueché, no. 6).

as Roueché, no. 83.
Roueché, no. 83, xiv
3i Roueché, no. 83, xi.
“ The traditional Roman law on parricides was revived by Constantine the
Great in a decree given at Carthage (16 November 318), and was incorporated
into the Theodosian Code, which states the issue and penalty in dramatic wise: “'If
any person should hasten the fate of a parent or son or anyone of his affection [by
reason of kinship], which lies under the title of parricide (quae mncupatione paniddii
continent!*?), whether he achieved it secretly or openly, he shall not be subdued by
the sword or by fire or by any other customary punishment, but shall be sewn into
a leather sack, and, gripped within its deadly confines, he shall share the compan
ionship of serpents and, as the nature of the district permits, be cast into the
neighboring sea or river (et, tit regionis qualiias (ulerit, vel in oicinum mare vel in amnem
proiciatur), so that while living he may begin to do without the intimacy of the
elements, that, ju st as the skv would be taken away from him while alive, the earth
should be taken away when he is dead.” Cod. Theod. 9.15.1. This remained the law
on parricides until the Justinianic codification, when the law was renewed. Cod.
lust. 9.17.1.
58 CHAPTER SIX
(ό μέγας θεός) was the Christian one and no longer Aphrodite. Yet
the M aeander river god was still worshipped in the sixth century.37
To draw the point more finely, the acclamation had certain reli
gious undertones. The polis belonged to the pro-Justinianic Albi-
nus, the urban artisans and church, the territorium of the city to the
dissident landed m agnates, farmers, and cult o f the chthonic
deities, as Joh n o f Ephesus5 sixth-century account of paganism in
C aria strongly suggests.38 One need not be drowned in the M aean-
der’s waters to belong there.*9 But what of the city councillors o f
Aphrodisias?
//. Class Status and Christianization

The inscriptions demonstrate that the decurion class o f Aphrodi
sias remained largely pagan until the second half of the fifth cen
tury. One must allow some latitude for the random survival and
attrition of evidence through time in making this assessment. Seven
families or individual persons are attested having possible or
emphatic connections with the Hellenic faith. They continue to be
mentioned at least through the early reign of Justinian , but possibly
longer (c. 528-558).40 Christian decurions appear in smaller num
bers, a mere three. The first of the latter comes only in the late fifth
century. It is my own view that the pagan Aphrodisians* cultural
and religious views were so deeply entrenched and their local
wealth so great that the ordinary incentives of imperial titles and
career advancement had little appeal and no effect as vehicles of
Christianization. It was the return of certain native Aphrodisians
in the 490's after being educated in Alexandria and converted to
Christianity by the philoponoi who tipped the scales in favor of the
new religion. The lower classes, by contrast, had begun to accept
the new religion before this time, but not in large numbers before c.
400. Let us consider the epigraphic evidence for these propositions.
The pagan city councillors are known mainly from funerary and
honorific inscriptions. They have mostly traditional Hellenic
names. The make-up o f this group includes: Arkimos son o f
D am ocharis (4th c. or later), Zeno (c. 300-350), Eupeithios (mid-
late 4th c.), Alexander (late 4th-5th c>), Asklepiodotos (late 5th c.),
Pytheas (late 5th c.), an unnamed eighteen year-old woman (4th c,
31 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3. The daxmon of the Maeander river was compelled to
yield up its captives by the more powerful divinity of the sun.
38 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld/5 330-334.
39 Supra, Ch. V I, n. 37.
40 Roueché* no, 157.
APHRODISIAS 59
or later), and Euphemia (6th c.). One can do little about inscrip
tions that lack signs of Christian cult except presume in most cases
that the person erecting the stele saw no reason to distinguish
himself or the person honored from his surroundings on questions
of religious belief. In the fourth and fifth centuries, when the city
councillors and their families remained mostly pagan, such texts
may be safely reckoned as pagan. From c. 450-500 onward, Chris
tians began to distinguish themselves from Hellenes in honorific and
funerary inscriptions by adding inscribed crosses. From this one
might suppose that persons who avoided using the cross were either
Hellenes or indifferent to religious display. Either way, the chances
are that these latter texts represent either pagans or persons living
on the fringes o f the Christian catechumenate. These suppositions
are hypothetical rules of interpretation, all o f them subject to
modification if new evidence arises. Each archaeological site,
whether Athens, Aphrodisias, or the villages of Djebel H auran in
the Provincia A rabia, provides a unique local cultural context from
the hermeneutical standpoint and must therefore be understood in
its own terms before bringing in comparative data from other
localities.
Indications o f cult and belief exist on many of the pagan decu-
rions’ inscriptions at Aphrodisias. The earliest of these is probably
that o f Flavius Zeno (c. 300-350), an imperial count who held the
local office o f high-priest (άρχιερεύς) ,41 Emperor M axim inus D aia
(c. 311-313) had established a system of high-priests and priests to
supervise the cult and temple finances of each province and city, a
system which Ju lian the Apostate revived during his brief reign as
Augustus in the East (361-363).*2 Flavius Zeno could have lived at
any time during this period, as no reason exists to doubt the
usefulness o f these arrangements or their continuity between the
years of M axim inus and Ju lian , Flavius Zeno’s title o f high-priest
has been erased from the inscriptions.43 It is conceivable that one of
Flavius Zeno’s descendants did this after the family had accepted
Christianity, but this is speculative, Erasures cannot be dated
without external evidence. His immediate descendants were not
Christians, as they set up a second inscription cut in florid fourth-
century uncials that commemorates his high-priesthood. His will
stipulated the erection of this memorial (κατά δια θηκα ς διά των
έα υ ι(ο ΰ) παίδω ν ά νέθηκαν),44 I f his family was typical, it will
41 Roueché, nos. 11 and 12.

42 Roueché, 29.
4i Roueché, no. 11.
60 CHAPTER SIX
have accepted Christianity in the late fifth century or even later, as

will be seen below. Flavius Zeno is the last high-priest of any cult
attested at Aphrodisias.
Three other Hellenes belong to the fourth-century phase o f
A phrodisias’ religious history. The city councillors set up a statue
to “ the wise Eupeithios,” who was perhaps a local sophist or
teacher of rhetoric (τόν σοφόν . , . Ε ύ π ε ιθ ιο ν . . . στησατο),*5 a
profession beyond doubt dominated by Hellenes at this time. The
rather vacuous funerary text of Arkimos son o f Damocharis “ who
left life with honor in [public] works and all else” is doubtless
pre-Christian (4th c. or later).46 His works identify him as a decu-
rion. Another m agistrate named Alexander was praised for his
justice (’ Α λ έξ α ν δ ρ ο io δικα ίου) and god-like rule (τής ζα θέης
άρχής) when the city erected a statue to him (late 4th or 5th c.).47
None o f these inscriptions bears a cross. They reflect the presence
o f men of virtue according to the older standards of the Hellenic
cities am ong the public officials at Aphrodisias down to the
Theodosian legislation of 392.
Cultic differentiation becomes much more distinctive on both
honorific and funerary inscriptions at Aphrodisias from the second
half of the fifth century onward, reflecting to some extent an in
crease of cultural tension, if not social conflict, between pagan and
Christian. It will be recalled, for example, that two of Paralios’
brothers, all of them scions of a wealthy pagan family of Aphrodisias,
urged him to have nothing to do with his eldest brother Athanasius,
who had become a Christian monk, when Paralios went to Alexan
dria to study rhetoric.48 Zachariah o f M ytilene’s account of certain
young Aphrodisians’ participation in Illus’ civil war c. 481-488
suggests social tension as well. On one occasion, when this group
sollicited oracles about Illus’ success with clandestine sacrifices and
the rite failed to produce the requisite signs, the young men looked
about accusingly and discovered a Christian companion who had
supposedly ruined its efficacy by making the sign of the cross.49
Pride of place among the pagan decurions of Aphrodisias goes to
Asklepiodotos, whose son-in-law, the rhetorician Asklepiodotos,
had in the 480’s visited the Isis temple at Menouthis not far from
Alexandria, performed sexual intercourse with the statue o f the

48 Supra, Ch. V, Sect. 1-3.
APHRODISIAS 61
goddess, and then incubated with his wife in order to conceive a

child.50 The younger Asklepiodotos had done this only after writing
to his father-in-law in Aphrodisias to get permission for the ritual.
Two inscriptions honoring the elder Asklepiodotos survive, one
accompanying the erection of a statue, the other serving as a grave
marker. Both were erected after his death, whose terminus post quern
is c. 490. The statue base inscription reveals that a prominent
Hellene could pursue a successful public carcer even in the years
after the suppression o f U lus’ revolt. Asklepiodotos was one of
many “ who undertook many tasks in behalf o f his fatherland and
confirmed the public good” (οι π ερ ί π £τρη[ς] πολλά πονη-
σάμενοι ξυνόν έθ εντ’ δφ ελ[ος]). He also gained many benefits for
his fatherland (π α τρίδι, that is Aphrodisias), presumably in dealings
with the governors of Caria. The statue was set up next to a vaulted
chamber (θόλος) erected through his patronage.51 The funerary in
scription is more emphatic on points o f belief:32
He did not die nor did he see Acheron’s stream. No, Asklepiodotos is
on Olympus among the starry constellations, he who built so many
splendid things for his motherland.
In this sense, Asklepiodotos did not endure mortal death and
descent into the underworld, but attained apotheosis, residing
among the stars (all of which the Neoplatonists considered to be
lesser deities)53 near the Hellenic gods o f Mt. Olympus. This asser
tion contains no obvious impiety toward the new Christian order,
nor was it locally resented. The monument, a one-piece pyramidal
stone, shows no signs o f defacement other than normal wear.
Asklepiodotos was popular with the Aphrodisians pagan and
Christian alike, including the civil governor {praeses Cariae) and
perhaps even the Christian metropolitan bishop. This probably
explains why the synodal letter o f Peter III M ongos, patriarch of
Alexandria, detailing the elder Asklepiodotos' complicity in the
rites at the Isis temple at Menouthis, was simply ignored.54
Pytheas, an exact contemporary of Asklepiodotos (late 5th c.)
pursued a successful career in imperial politics, having attained the
highest rank among senators as vir illustris and magnißcentissimus ([ό

51 Roucché, no. 53.
4S Augustine of Hippo cites the belief of the Neo-platonists that the stars have
rational souls and are divinities, completely blessed in these material forms. De
Civitate Dei 4.11 and 10.29. A similar view is expressed briefly in Iamblichos, De
Mysteriis 1.17 and 1.19 (Des Places, 68f. and 71-74).
62 CHAPTER SIX
μ ]εγ α λ ο π ρ (επ έσ τα το )ς [κ α ί Ιλλ]ούσ τριος). It is unclear whether

he got these titles from a career in civil administration or from great
landed wealth.55 Pytheas erected many public buildings at Aphro
disias, including a colonnade (παστάδα) ,56 Another fragmentary
inscription from a statue honoring him reveals his frank adherence
to the Hellenic faith:57
City of the Paphian goddess and of Pytheas. She, having caused the
city to prosper in a manner befitting a goddess. . . . For he, being
unsparing of wealth, was the great builder of one work upon the other
as a first-fruit offering.
The Hellenic name o f the city, Aphrodisias, was still in use
amongst all but fanatically Christian bishops and public officials,
as was seen previously. It was quite another thing, however, to call
it “ city of the Paphian goddess” (&στ[υ] θεής Π αφ ίης). This, with
the clear references to the sacrificial offerings of first-fruits
(άπαρχόμενος), puts Pytheas am ongst the landed magnates of
Caria, along with Asklepiodotos the elder, Paralios’ family, and
others. Pytheas was apparently something of a philosopher as well, for
an epitaph found in the Greek Anthology refers to a Pytheas known for
learning and good counsel (οσσ’ ελαχές τ ’ εμαθές τε φύσει, μήτιν
πανάριατε).58 A near contemporary of his, the Neoplatonist Proclus
(ob. 485), was noted not only for philosophical erudition but also
sound advice on Athenian civic business.59 The Pytheas of the poem
may well be one and the same as ours. Like him, too, the Pytheas of
the poem was a Hellene, carried off to the Isle of the Blessed at death
(τω ρα και ές μακάρων νήσον εβης, Πυθεα).
Men and women o f Hellenic belief survived in the decurion class
o f Aphrodisias until the time of emperor Justinian, whose laws of
529 and after deprived Hellenes of full citizen rights unless they
accepted Christian baptism .60 The inscriptions are nearly decisive
on this point. The first of these, the funerary inscription of a young
woman, belongs to the late fifth or early sixth century, but is
unfortunately broken along its right edge:61
5S Roueché no. 55 and p. 94. The letter sigma is visible at the end of the second
line of the inscription. Roueché, Plate X III. Cf. the reference to his estates.
Roueché, no. 95.
“ Roueché, no. 58.
5,1 Roueché, no. 56.
58 Greek Anthology 7.690.
59 Supra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3.
60 Supra, Ch. I, Scct. 6.
APHRODISIAS 63
T h e soul leaving the body . . .

Released to the holy place of the blessed . . .
In her eighteenth [year?] and fourth [month?] . . .
All fleetingly mortal was Thea . * .
O f common birth from Rome and Alexandria . . .
Beautiful, gentle, beloved, discreet. » ♦
A mainstay of prudence, a girl . . .
Her soul dwelling with the immortals * . .
Consuming . . . to bear a mortal » . .
Many of the terms are commonplace, but express Hellenic ideas
hardly transferrable to Christianity. References to the soul leaving
the body (ψυχή σώμα λίποΰσα) abound in pagan and Christian
funerary lore, deriving ultimately from the prevailing interreligious
consensus about, and use of, Neoplatonic m etaphysics and
psychology,62 The “ holy place” or hieron of the blessed (μακάρων
ιερόν) is suggestive of an elysian sacred grove or temple precinct,
where her soul dwells with those of the immortals (ψυχή
άθαν(ά)τοισιν όμέσπος). One could refer to the “ blessed” dead in
Christian Aphrodisias, but not without affixing crosses to the
inscription.63 The familial ties of many prominent local Hellenes
have already been noted. Decisive for the Hellenic faith of the
young woman or kouri and that of her parents is the epithet “ herm”
or “ mainstay of prudence" (£ρμα σαοφροσύνης κούρην), all this
highly suggestive of the religious statuary found in Athens and
Aphrodisias depicting quasi-divine young women in the likeness of
Kore or Persephone, daughter o f Dcmetcr. The Hellenic religious
and funerary significance of these terms is unmistakable and does
not lend itself to easy Christianization, It also suggests the hyposta-
tization of the idea and virtue of prudence in the human form of the
young woman, a seemingly Neoplatonic lapse. To clinch the argu
ment, an epigram honoring the pagan philosopher Plutarch calls
him, too, a herm of prudence.64
A second inscription indicates the continued existence o f a fully
Hellenic piety amongst the Aphrodisian decurions during the times
of emperor Justinian the Great (527-565). It commemorates the
62 Supra, Ch. IV, Sect. L

Roueché, no, 164. A cross begins each of the two lines where the deceased is
given the epithet o f“ blessed” (μακάριος and μακαρία, lines 1 and 3). A cross also
precedes the name of Philosophia, daughter of one of the deceased, later called
makaria in lines 6 and 14. As this term is often used for the pagan dead in
Aphrodisias, I suggest that the crosses were inscribed to emphasize tne Christian
faith of the family in question here.
6* Roueché, no. 201.
64 CHAPTER SIX
death of a young woman named Euphem ia in frankly polytheistic

terms:65
In the reign of Justinian, in the seventh year of the indiction, on the
first of the month. . .. Here the earth hides the holy head of a girl
who had an appropriate name. She was of well-famed skill and
similarly of seemly repute, being always (engaged) in prudent tasks.
But, Euphemia, may you (now) go to the chorus of blessed gods.
Euphemia completed her life at the age of eighteen.. . .
The indiction year puts the inscription in either 528, 54-3, or 558.
Here the “ blessed ones” are neither martyrs nor heroes, but the
gods (άλλα θεών μακάρων Ε υφ η μία ές χόρον ήκοίς). The Neo
platonist idea o f the ascent of the soul is lacking. The “ here lies”
concept (ένθάδε . . . γαΐα καλύπτει) derives from the legendary
epitaph of Homer66 and not from the Christian ethos.
T he strength o f Hellenic belief at Aphrodisias declined steadily
through the second h alf of the fifth century. Although the Christian
church had had a bishop since at least the early fourth century,67
Christian decurions turn up on the inscriptions only from the late
fifth century onward. One possible exception to this rule exists. It is
the funerary inscription of Victorinus, a retired protector and former
prae/ectus vehiculorum. The inscription derives from the period of the
Tetrarchy (c. 300) and begins with the quasi-Christian “ here lies”
(ένθά δε κ ειτε), although no cross or other sign of cult is visible.68
We know from elsewhere that retired Christian civil servants and
soldiers are at times the first attested believers in the small small
towns and villages of fourth-century A rabia and Syria.69 It is not
inconceivable in this case either, as there were many Christians in
the palatine formations in the reign o f Diocletian (284-305).70
Whatever the case in this instance, the decurion class o f Aphrodi
sias as a social, economic, and cultural entity shows few signs of the
new religion until c. 500. The Christian decurions were quite active
in building operations. Philip son o f Herodian— a good Hellenic
name— helped roof the south portico of the agora “ in gratitude to
his fatherland” (ευχαριστών τη oikîçc π α τρίδ ι). His title o f rank
admirandissimus indicates the holding o f some lesser civic office,
perhaps that o f defensor o f the city.71 He was careful to have crosses
65 Roueche, no. 157.

66 Greek Anthology 7.3. Cf. Roueché, no. 204.
6? Infra, Ch. VI, Sect. 3.
69 Roueché, no. 152*
69 Infra, Ch. X , Scct. 3, and Ch. X I, Sect. 1.
70 Jones, Later Roman Empire , 54.
71 Roueché, no, 66, Cf, the pagan defensor civitatis at Gaza. Supra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 2.
APHRODISIAS 65
incised at the beginning and end of the inscription, which is cut on

an architrave block.72
Christian decurion families thereafter enjoyed upward mobility
in the public affairs and administration o f Aphrodisias. The city
council erected a statue c. 500 to a certain Joh n , who had received
the first seat in the council (πρω τόθρονον ά νέρα βουλής) in
return for donations of funds.73 It was the same case with a certain
Hermias, who donated an endowment o f lands with the annual
produce of 3000 solidi for the operation of the H adrianic baths.7*
The city erected three statues in honor of a certain Rhodopaeus,
who was active in public affairs during the Great Plague o f 541/2,
holding the offices of father of the city, supervisor of the grain
supply (σ ιτα ρ χ ία ), and apparently defensor of the city ([ά ρω γό ]ν
του όημοΰ).75 T h e three inscriptions reveal only a single cross.76 It
is difficult to reconstruct Rhodopaeus’ inner religious sentiments in
all this, but it would bring no surprise if he had originally come
from the sam e circles as the still pagan families o f the deceased girls
Thea and Euphem ia mentioned above. There was a probably
sixth-century decurion named Theopom pus, a city councillor
(πολι[τευόμ(ενος)]) and possibly father o f the city, whose frag
mentary building inscription uses the phrase “ with (the help of)
God” (öVY θ (ε)Φ» an obviously Christian formula.77
All the Christian decurions mentioned in the inscriptions have
distinctively Hellenic names except Joh n . It is probable in light of
this and of known demographic conditions that either they or their
families accepted Christianity in the second half of the fifth century.
Aphrodisias became a distinctively Christian city, then, only in the
time of Justinian , in a manner corresponding to the pattern that
developed in Athens. Even so, some Hellenes felt free to express
their beliefs in the early Justinianic period. We might suppose with
a degree of confidence that Euphem ia’s family, who prayed for her
safe journey to the “ chorus o f the blessed gods,” erected their
inscription in the seventh year of the indiction that fell in 528/9, the
” Roueché, Plate X V U .
75 Roueché, no. 73, with Christian cross.
74 Roueché, no. 74, with Christian crosses. She rightly rejects E. Patlagean’s
supposition that Hermias was governor of Caria.
Roueché, nos. 85-87.
77 Roueché, no. 89. Equivalent expressions turn up frequently in the sections of
the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor dealing with the emperor Heraclius’
campaigns against Sassanid Persia. This material probably goes back to his letters
to Constantinople from the war zone. Chronographia, ed. C. de Boor, 1 (Leipzig
1883), 319, line 22, etc.
66 CHAPTER SIX
year before Ju stin ian ’s law suppressing private belief in Hellcnic

religion and requiring the baptism of all residents o f the empire.™
After that, public expressions of poytheistic belief, even apart from
sacrifice, might have proved troublesome or even dangerous to
Hellenes, who at times took their religion underground and became
cryptopagans.79
Polemics and controversies inevitably accompanied the C hris
tianization of Aphrodisias1 city councillors* Evidence of this dialec
tical interaction turns up in the epigraphy. The central event in this
process was the conversion of the temenos of Aphrodite into the
so-called “ temple-church,” which occurred in the second half of the
fifth century.80 The last mention of the goddess* apparatus of cult
turns up in a funerary inscription dating from the late third century
A .D .:81
The sarcophagus and underlying plot are those of Aurelia Dionysia,
daughter of Stephen. If any other person wishes to be buried in it, he
shall give two ounces in gold above the usual penalty to the temple of
Aphrodite.
The public sacrifices at the shrine (τψ ίερώ τής [Ά ]φ ρ ο δ ε ιτ η ς )
once banned by Constantine the Great will have ended for all time
with the publication o f the comprehensive law of Theodosius the
Great on 8 November 392, after the brief revival of sacrifice under
Ju lian the Apostate and a reprieve during V alens’ years as emperor
of the Roman East (364—378). With the heavy concentration of
Hellenes in the city council, it would not be surprising if this state
of affairs continued for some time after 392, as happened at G aza in
First Palestine. As in Athens, the pagan Aphrodisians’ civic pride
balked at the idea of dism antling the temple of Aphrodite. This
could not be effected until a sufficient number of Christians existed
in the city council to overrule the money and influence of their
pagan colleagues,82 The epigraphy suggests the presence of many
Christians among the decurions by c. 484—500, as was seen above.
Similarly, the earliest Christian inscriptions on the temple-church
belong to this time.
It seems probable, therefore, that the local archbishop super
vised the demolition of the Aphroditeion in the wake of Illus’
ill-fated revolt against emperor Zeno that had attracted many
78 Supra, Ch. I, Sert. 6.

19 On the legal and social issues of “ cryptopaganism” , see supra, Ch. I, Sect. 6,
81 Roueché, no. 148*
02 Trombley, "Boeocta in Late Antiquity,” 222.
APHRODISIAS 67
urban Hellenes but had begun to fail in 484, when the rebel fled
with a few of his followers to the Isaurian fortress of Cherris in the
autumn o f 484,03 The Christianization of the Aphroditeion pro
vided the necessary public symbol of the “ most Christian” emper
or’s victory over the retrograde forces o f rebellion and Hellenism.
Numerous conversions will have marked the public death o f the
“ great god” Aphrodite’s cult, as reflected in the veritable stam
pedes to the churches that ensued from the closure of the Marneion
o f G aza in 402 and that o f the Serapaeum o f Alexandria in 391.84
This tendency, stemming from the real or alleged impotence of the
deity to protect her shrine from defilement by the cross and martyr-
relics, will have caused a great many pagan decurions o f Aphrodi
sias with their households to accept the new religion, along with the
solid political advantages that accompanied adherence to it. The
synchronism of the temple conversion with the emergence of many
Christian decurions at Aphrodisias c. 500 is no coincidence. It is
consistent with comparative data from other cities like Athens.
Zachariah of Mytilene mentions clandestine oracular sacrifices
outside the city walls of Aphrodisias in the 480’s.8i This datum
provides another example of the continuance of sacrifice after the
destruction o f temples. Tw o pagan families, those of T hea and
Euphemia, plus Paralios* local friends and relatives, including the
elder Asklepiodotos, made up this group, a group not to be de
spised in numbers, money, or political influence.
The Christian graffiti that invariably accompanied the public
Christianization of towns turn up in Aphrodisias as well. Among
these are: “ One God, the only one, save Constantine!” (Ε ίς Θεάς ό
μονός σώζω Κ ώ στα);85 and elsewhere a cross accompanied by the
quasi-Constantinian formula: “ This (the cross) conquers!” (τούτο
v + lkql).87 The first known cross to appear on a public inscription
in Aphrodisias accompanied the statue and inscription in honor o f
Aelia Flaccilla Augusta, the first wife o f Theodosius the Great
(between 379—386) ,ea None was to turn up again, so far as we know,
until another century had gone by.
The Christianization of A ph rodisias’ local culture did not pass
without protest. T he Hellenic aristocrats’ support o f the Illus
rebellion provides the most politically charged exam ple of local
83 Bury, LR E 1,398.
84 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3, and Ch. I ll, Sect. 4- and 5.
* Supra, Ch. V, Sect. 4.
"B Roueché. no. 23.
68 CHAPTER SIX
resentment, but not the only one. For example, the incised cross on
an honorific inscription to Vitianus, consular governor of C aria (c.
490-550?), was cut away from the stone, leaving a gaping hole.89
One could understand this if Vitianus were the governor who
implemented the Justinianic law of 529 against Hellenic belief,
which entailed forcible baptism s and the confiscation of the estates
of those who refused to comply. It is equally plausible that Vitianus
administered C aria in the last years of Zeno, after the suppression
o f Illus. If so, Vitianus will have examined local Hellenes for their
complicity in the revolt and have presided with the archbishop over
the closure o f the temple of Aphrodite. Another inscription (5th c,)3
badly mutilated, seemingly ascribes the eradication of “ city-destroy-
ing civil strife” to the goddess (,Α φ ρ ο 0 [ιτ η ]ν ένφ ύ λιο ν δ ή ρ ιν
ό λ εσ ίπ το λ ιν έξελά σ α ντα ).50 The inscription antedates the closure
o f the Aphroditeion in the late fifth century and the defeat o f Illus
in 488. It belongs to a time when the city council could still publicly
acknowledge Aphrodite as the protecting goddess of the city. Such
claims flew in the face o f the official ideology o f the Christian
empire, which saw safety and public order as tied up with the ban
on sacrifice and closure of the temples. After 488 it became difficult
or even dangerous to oppose this concept o f Christian providence in
public decrees. Thereafter in Aphrodisias the Hellenes continued to
acknowledge the gods in funerary epigrams, but it went no further.
A century later Christian martyrs such as St. Demetrius at Thessa-
lonike took over the task of officially preserving public order, as a
remarkable section of the Acta of St. Demetrius reveals.91
T o this must be added the activities of the philoponoi, the Chris
tian zealots educated in the Greek paideia who practiced law, taught
rhetoric, and entered other learned professions. They engaged in a
vigorous polemic with the Hellenes on all the theological issues
dividing pagan and Christian. Two wealthy young men o f Aphro
disias, Paralios and Athanasius, accepted conversion under their
influence in Alexandria, and returned home as monks in the 490’s
with the explicit aim of converting their brothers and other family
0a Roueché, no. 65 and Plate X V I.

90 Rouechc, no. 64. From the position of the participle m the sentence, one can
hardly attribute the supposed act to an agent other than the goddess Aphrodite
herself. The grammatical problem is solved by editing out the final tau and alpha,
whose addition was probably the stonecutter’s error, thus: {τα }.
51 In an allegory pertaining to the outbreaks of civil violence during the reign of
Phokas (602-610), St. Demetrius is portrayed allying himself with "M istress Good
Public Order” (kyna Eulaxia), whose title of address had, of course, previously
belonged to any number of Hellenic goddesses* Miraaila S . Demetrii U 0 (Lemerle,
112-116).
APHRODISIAS 69
members.92 Their example, as the two men came from the decurion
class, rcinforced the politically motivated trend to conversion sug
gested by the inscriptions. A philoponos named Loukas was active in
Aphrodisias at this time. His place inscription (τόπος Λουκά
φιλοπόνου) bears a cross and the Christian formula (“ M ary bore
Christ” ).93 It is difficult to gauge his role in the Christianization of
the city without information about his profession. Some notable
men had place inscriptions in the agora (along with many working
class folk).94 Loukas the philoponos may have chosen deliberately to
understate his learning and professional credentials for reasons nf
Christian piety. A Christian Hellenism of the kind purveyed by
Zachariah of Mytilene may thus have taken hold at Aphrodisias in
the 490’s.95
III. Christian Aphrodisias

The beginnings of Christianity in Aphrodisias have left no trace.
The new religion certainly antedated the time of its first attested
archbishop, a certain Ammonius, who attended the Council of
Nicaea in 325.96 He and the next three known bishops all had
distinctively Hellenic names, the others being Eumenios (c. 381),
Cyrus (c. 431), and Kritonianos (c. 451).97 These men undoubtedly
came from a small local Christian community, and some may have
held decurion rank with the attendant advantages of education in
Greek rhetoric. T he bishops attested in the later inscriptions have
Hellenic names as well, Theopropios (5th c, or later), O rthagoras
(6th c.?), and Euphemios (early 6th c.),98 with variants of the latter
appearing in the nomenclature of at least one noble pagan family.99
The church probably drew its archbishop— for Aphrodisias was the
metropolis o f C aria— from decurion families during the critical
period c. 450-529, whence the city emerged in its final and fully
Christianized state, apart o f course from the existence of cryptopa-
gans among the upper classes. The clergy attested in the inscriptions
have common names, suggesting a degree of social starification in
securing ecclesiastical promotion: Theodore K.odon ( “ the bell” )
the first lector (5th—6th c. or later), Stephen the subdeacon (n.d.),
9i Supra, Ch. V, Scct. 3.

95 This question is discussed supra, Ch. V.
96 Michel Lequien, Oriens Christianus 1 (Paris 1740), 889f.
97 Ibid,
98 Roueché, nos. 60, 90, 165, and 166.
70 CHAPTER SIX
Michael the subdeacon (n.cL), and Kyriakos (4th c. or later) , 100

It is axiomatic that the professional and working classes of the
Greek cities accepted Christianity before their social and economic
superiors* the city councillors and landed magnates. Conditions in
Aphrodisias were not inconsistent with that prevailing cultural
tendency. This conclusion derives from the stylistic dating of the
local inscriptions.101 Among the professional classes were Dionysius
son of Photeinos (5th c.?), the barrister Jo rd an es son o f Eulalios
(5th/6th c.), and the barrister Flavius Photius (5th/6th c.), who
rose to the rank of Father of the City and probably city coun
cillor.102Jordan es, a common Christian name, would have become
a Christian early in life, as he died young. He and Flavius Photius
were products o f the imperial law schools. Jordanes* epitaph pays
tribute to a Hellenic religious idea (“ envious, ill-omened Fate
snatched him swiftly” ), this an example o f the barristers5 proclivity
for Attic affectation in composing epigram s.103
There seem to have been many Christians workers in various
trades in Aphrodisias from the fourth century onward. Among
them were Asterios the flute-player (5th/6th c, or later), Theodore
the wax-massager (κηροματιτης) (4th c. or later), and various folk
without any trade attested.104 The latter perhaps earned their bread
as day-laborers. This rule applies to a certain Asklepiodotos, whose
pagan theophoric name is encased with crosses on his epitaph.105
Asklepiodotos was born a pagan, his given name being inconsistent
with the new religion (“ gift of Asklepios” ). Either his parents or he
alone joined the Christian catechumenate later in life. As in fifth-
century Athens, no one deemed it worth the trouble to assume a
Christian name.
So too, persons with intensely Hellenic names are attested as late
as 5 5 1> when a woman named Phitosophia, daughter of Aristolaos
and Theodoreta, died at the age o f twenty-nine. Her parents were
evidently still pagans at Philosophia’s birth on 5 April 522, to judge
from the name she received. The family evidently became Christian
catechumens in the wake o f the Justinian ic law of 529. Philosophia
married a certain Jo h n Philadelphus, a man of evident means who
erected the family’s funerary stele. He had the names o f Aristolaos,
Theodoreta, and Philosophia marked with crosses, evidently to
100 Roueché, nos, 114, 115, 120, 133, and 168.

101 Roueché deserves great credit for this venture,
102 Roueché, nos, 67, 69, 156.
103 Infra, Ch. V II, n. 59.
104 Roueché, nos. Π3, 169, and 170-172.
APHRODISIAS 71
show their unambiguous acceptance of the new religion. The in

scription on the stele ends with the prayer: “ M ay [God?] accept
their souls and favor those souls with eternal life.” 106 Jo h n Phi-
ladelphus’ memorial owes considerably less to Neoplatonic cant
than the analogously composed inscriptions found in Athens.
IV. Conclusions
The great significance of the Aphrodisias inscriptions is the light
they shed on the behavior of the Hellenists of the city in the later
fifth and sixth centuries. While tentative, the dates assigned to the
inscriptions by C. Roueché suggest a chronological pattern remark
ably similar to that found in Athens for the closure o f the temples
and for the final eradication of public polytheism between c. 481—
529. The late character of this phenomenon was not universal, but
certainly prevailed as well in cities like Harrän in Osrhoene and
Baalbek-Heliopolis in Phoenicia Libanensis, where the epigraphic
record is less revealing.107 The self-expression o f the Aphrodisian
Hellenes’ religious ideas in the epigraphy is excessive by the stan
dards of the time. The self-confidence lying behind this derived
partly from the strong local artistic tradition and partly from the
great wealth of the decurion class thanks to the fertility of their
estates in the M aeander valley.
It is rare for a local statuary to have such a consistently high
quality of naturalistic expression as that of A phrodisias.108 It was
protected under a provision of the Theodosian Code that guaran
teed the safety of religious art objects so long as they had not been
the object of sacrifice. Ju s t as in Athens, the Christian population of
Aphrodisias seems to have shared the patriotism of the local Hel
lenes for the monumental art of the city. This feeling certainly
increased when the decurion class began to accept Christianity in
the late fifth century. An important proviso to this was the mainte
nance o f the other cultural traditions that did not impinge directly
on the monotheism of the new religion. The only exception to this
rule of patriotism was the assertiveness of the archbishops, who felt
obliged to insist upon Stauropolis, “ City of the C ross” , as the
official name of the see in their documents.

107 Jones, Later Roman Empire 939, 943. Rochow, “ Zu einigen oppositionellen
religösen Strömungen,” 233-36. Sec now Tam ara Green, The City of the Moon Gûd:
Religious Traditions of Harran (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 1, Leiden
1992) (non vidi).
108 For some examples, see supra, Ch. VI, n. 7.
72 CHAPTER SIX
As for the wealth o f G aria, it should be borne in mind that the

M aeander valley was even in the thirteenth century one of the
richest agricultural zones o f western Asia M inor.109 Landed estates
connoted political power in the Later Roman Em pire regardless of
the proprietor’s religious beliefs. Whether Hellenes or Christians,
the great magnates sat in the provincial council, as we have seen in
the case of Second Syria.110 Their close collaboration with the
governor was particularly important for the timely collection of the
annona and capitation tax. Neither he nor the emperor could be
assured of this if the provincial aristocracy were alienated by reli
gious persecution, as we learn from the example of G aza where
bishop Porphryius requested the emperor Arcadius to close the
temples in 4 0 2 .'11 Landed magnates who played the game well were
undoubtedly punctual in tax payments and in consequence earned
a degree of religious toleration. It is quite likely that the closure of
the Aphroditeion c. 481-488 was more a symbolic gesture than a
substantive reprisal for these reasons. M ore important is the im
plicit pardon that the emperor Zeno granted to Asklepiodotus and
the rest o f his coterie, who had sympathized with the rebel Illus and
had performed illegal divinatory sacrifices in the presence o f
Christians who later turned informer. T his, and Asklepiodotus’
public works, are signs o f wealth and political power that no
pragm atic emperor could afford to ignore unless bent on overturn
ing the existing political order.
The parting of the ways came only in the early years of Justinian
the Great, whose “ new politics” sought to liquidate the traditional
elites and substitute a new infrastructure consisting of the episco
pate and a parvenu imperial aristocracy made up of efficient men
who had risen through the ranks o f the clergy and civil service. The
complete annihilation o f the Hellenic faith was one feature o f this
policy, because polytheism had been a rallying point for the provin
cial elites in 481-488 and after. It would not have been expeditious
to enshrine such a pretext in the active statutes (or, as I have
argued, to have revived it) unless many Hellenes still occupied
powerful positions of local influence.112 At Aphrodisias, at least,
109 Michael Angold, A Byzantine Government in Exile: Government and Society under
the Laskarids of Nicaea (1204-1261) (Oxford 1975), 102ff.
,1B Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3.
111 Supra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 2.
m The most pragmatic recent statement on this subject is found in Tony
Honoré, Tribonian (London 1978), 14—16, etc. I am unable to discover any ju s
tification for qualifying the use of the term “ pagan” or “ Hellene” pace Rochow,
“ Zu einigen oppositionellen religosen Strömungen,” 230.
APHRODISIAS 73
there are unmistakable signs of an important historical break in

religious allegiances around 529. The foregoing analysis provides
the political explanation for it. It is more difficult to trace the
extinction of the Hellenic religious feeling and belief that went
underground in consequence o f this, because the inscriptions fall
silent and few texts shed any light on the question either.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A SIA M IN O R
The Christianization o f rural A sia M inor between 370-529 is an

immensely complicated subject. Its beginnings are exceptionally
difficult to trace. The new religion implanted itself at Ephesus on
the Aegean coast and in the towns of the interior no later than the
mission of Paul and Barnabus in the 50’s A.D. Its progression to
the cities up the M aeander and Hermus river valleys in the second
and third centuries has provoked an immense literature and the
subject need not detain us here.1 It is believed that the city of
Eumeneia on the M aeander was almost entirely Christian in 303
when Diocletian and Galerius began the Great Persecution, a
rather odd exception to the pace o f Christianization that prevailed
elsewhere in this zone.2 Substantial numbers of Christians lived in
the cities of western Asia M inor from the mid-third century on
ward, as the epigraphy decisively proves. W.M, Calder sums up
this process with precision and brevity:3
J Very extensive bibliographies pertaining to the different regions of Asia Minor

from the period of the Diocletianic reforms onward can now be found in the
different volumes of the Tabula Impeni Byzantini series (hereinafter abbreviated as
T IB ); Galatien und Lykaonien, ed. K. Belke and M. Restle (T IB 4, Vienna 1984),
Kilikiin und Isaunen, ed. F. Hild and H. Hellenkemper (TIB 5 /1 -2 , Vienna 1990),
Phrygien und Pisidieny ed. K. Belke and N. Merisch (T IB 7, Vienna: 1990) and
Kappadokien, ed. F. Hild and M. Restle (T IB 2, Vienna 1981). The literature on
third-century Asia Minor and the problem of Christianization pertains mostly to
Phrygia, and is therefore cited in Sections 2 and 3 infra.
2 Relevant texts are cited in: H. Leclercq, “ Eumenie,” DACL 5/1, 734-744.
More recently, see: W.M, Calder, “ The Eumenian Form ula/1 Anatolian Studies
Presented to William Heùbum Buckler, ed. W.M. Calder and J . K.eil (Manchester
1939), 15-26, This volume cited hereinafter as Anatolian Studies!Buckler. See also
Thomas Drew-Bear, Ncuvellts inscriptions de Phrygie (Zutphen 1978), 53-114 for
recently edited Hellenic and Christian inscriptions. A dated Christian inscription
of a presbyter of 257/8 A.D. demonstrates that Christians lived public lives vis à vis
their beliefs down to the eve of the Valerian persecution (no. 48). The ecclesiasti
cal office of the owner of the burial plot is openly stated tpresbyteros) and the
Christian term for tomb koimetirion is freely used, thus corroborating Eusebius of
C aesarea’s statements about the strength of the new religion there. Eusebius, HE
8.11. Cf. W.M. Calder, “ Philadelphia and Montanism,” Bulletin of theJohn Rylands
Library 7 (1922-23). 317f,
3 Calder, “ Philadelphia and Montamsm,” 316.
ASIA MINOR 75
The social picture which the inscriptions provide . . . is one of orderly

development, and of good feeling and accomodation between the
Christians and their pagan neighbors. We find Christians holding
municipal office, and then entering into relations with the Roman
government and the Roman state religion which must have required
careful adjustment between the claims of patriotism and those of
conscience. At the end of the third century, this district suffered
severely in the persecution initiated by Diocletian, whose policy
aimed at the extirpation of Christianity, and who attacked the
Church in its strongest positions. But throughout the third century—
as the ecclesiastical historians have pointed out—persecution
weighed but tightly on Phrygia: during those long periods when the
government was friendly or indifferent, and the initiative of persecu
tion, if taken at all, was taken by individuals, the Christians of
Phrygia enjoyed a pax ecclesiae of their own.
By the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325, most o f the cities o f
Asia M inor had bishops, and the urban Christian communities will
have increased in size according to the normal pattern.4
It is difficult to identify the first movement of the new religion
into the temtoria o f the cities, except at Christian nekropoleis ju st
outside the enceintes and in some few references to Christian
shrines in the literary sources.5 It did not always begin at an early
time so far as the inscriptions permit us to judge, but few dated
examples survive and so the point is moot. It is generally conceded
that the Christian epigraphy o f rural Phrygia begins around 350,6
and this is a plausible inference to judge from analogous conditions
in northern Syria.7 The literary sources indicate that the local
cultures of Asia M inor adapted slowly to the new religion. In
consequence, there was a strong pre-Christian stratum of religious
belief and behavior in the less accessible parts of Asia M inor that
lasted straight on into the tenth century.8 Any discussion o f the
complex pattern of cultural adaptation must begin in the late
fourth and fifth centuries, when it becomes possible to speak
seriously of a rural Christian epigraphy, and when literary sources
o f monastic provenance begin to appear.
4 Adolf Harnack, The Mission and Expansion o f Christianity in the First H im

Centuries, tr. T. Moffatt, 2 (London 1908), 182-229.
* Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2 and 3.
6 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2, n. 107.
7 Infra, Ch. X , passim.
Select aspects of this question are treated in Trombley, “ Paganism in the
Greek World,” 329-45.
76 CHAPTER SEVEN
L Hypatius of Rufinianae and the Christianization of Rural Bithynia

c,. 443-446
The life o f Hypatius, a monk o f the Bithynian countryside, (ob.
446), confirms the verdict of the epigraphic evidence that the pagan
cults flourished in rural Anatolia through the mid-fifth century. A
certain Callinicus o f Rufinianae authored the biography of H ypa
tius. The work has the characteristics o f a local chronicle inasmuch
as it frequently notes datable external political events and thereby
provides a chronological reference frame for the seemingly timeless
events occurring in the countryside of Bithynia.9 The hagiographer
was himself a convert to the new religion and the cx-notarius of a
barrister who also accepted Christianity in the early fifth century.
Callinicus seems to have lacked the educational skills for formal
Atticist composition, and wrote in the standard and simplistic
ecclesiastical Greek of the period. Another motivation for the sim
plicity of style may have been H ypatius5 own criticism of certain
ex-barristers (άπό σχολαστικώ ν . * > τ ιν ες ) enrolled at the m onas
tery who would “ philosophize in ordinary conversation by using
the art of their Hellenic education” (xfl τέχνη τής π α ιδεύ σ εω ς
α ύτώ ν φ ιλο α οφ ήσ α ι έν ό μ ίλ ίςι). H ypatius, who shared the pre
vailing negative monastic view1of education in the Greek poets and
philosophers, adjured them instead to reply to their interlocutors
“ in correct speech according to the ju st thing rather than according
to the rules of philosophy” .11 By this he meant the language of the
New Testam ent books, Psalter and Septuagint generally as well as
that of canon and civil law. The life of H ypatius is therefore rich
and precise in the terminology of everyday life. M ost o f the specific
pagan phenomena mentioned by Callinicus occurred toward the
end of H ypatius’ life (c. 443-446). We may safely infer that the
monastery first had to resolve its financial problems and the disci
plinary issues connected with the interference o f bishop Eulalius of
Chalcedon. Only afterwards was the countryside Christianized.
Callinicus* biography stands in contrast to the Historia Philotheos of
* Callinicus of Rufinianae, De Vita S. Hypatii Liber, ed. Seminarii Philologorum

Bonnensis Sodales (Leipzig 1895). All citations are taken from this edition. Cf.
Callinicos, Vie d'Hypatios, ed. tr. G .J.M . Bartelink (Paris 1971),
10 This seems to be the implication of Callinicus’ story about a certain barrister
who asked Hypatius to have his biography composed ητησεν έγγραφήναι τον
βιον τού άββά). Callinicus, V. Hypatii 35.16 (Bonn ed. 74). The unnamed barris
ter will have assigned the actual task to a familiar associate, who had already
taken up residence at Rufinianae. This supposition is borne out by the author’s
literary style, which owes a great deal to the administrative language of the period.
M CaUiiiicus, V. Hypatii 29.3 (Bonn ed> 63).
ASIA MINOR 77
Theodoret o f Cyrrhus, a collection of monastic stories, many o f

them gleaned from eyewitnesses, dealing in part with the Chris
tianization of the Syrian countryside. The latter work is, by com
parison, overlaid with a stiff Atticist rhetoric which often blurs or
conceals the phenomena described, making the survey of paganism
in the Syrian countryside more difficult.12
Hypatius was himself the son of a barrister of Phrygian origin
who resided in Constantinople and partook of the brilliant life of
the capital.13 Hypatius might have followed his father to the bar
and have received advancement himself, but instead, while still a
youth, he abandoned the study o f gram m ar to join a rural monas
tery in the Thracian hinterland of Constantinople. Its hegumen
was Ionas, an ex-guard o f Armenian origin from one o f the Pala
tine regiments.14 The district suffered grievously from Gothic or
Hunnic raids at this time (ante 384), and Ionas, using his Constan-
tinopolitan connexions, on one occasion organized a relief opera
tion funded by some illustres or senators of the highest rank to feed
the refugees from fortified villages who came to the monastery to
beg for food.15 Nor were all these villages Christianized. It is
reported that Ionas used to lead his monks into the countryside,
and cut down and burn sacred trees and other cult objects. They
thereby “ tamed Thrace and made [the rustics] Christians” (ούτως
ημέρωσε την Θρφκην καί Χ ριστια νούς έπ ο ιη σ εν).16 Hypatius
was later to adopt these tactics in Bithynia.
It was on 3 April 400 that Hypatius occupied the deserted
monastery of Rufinianae. Its name derived from Rufinus, Praeto
rian Prefect of Oriens (391—395), who had founded a monastery on
his estates in Bithynia which were confiscated after his execution
(27 November 395).17 The subsequent owner, whether the imperial
res privata or another wealthy senator, neglected to support the
monks. The place was abandoned when Hypatius and his disciples
arrived, being supposedly haunted by a daimon. It consisted of the
apostoleion or shrine of the apostles Peter and Paul, with their
supposed relics, and some residential buildings. The monastery
lacked an endowment and suffered from winter mud deposits.18
12 Cf. the case of Theodoret of Cyrrhus’ rhetoric versus and simple and straight
forward Syriac biographers of Symeon Stylities the Elder. Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2
and 4.
13 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 1 (Bonn ed. 7f.).
14 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 3 (Bonn ed. I0f.).
15 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 6-7 (Bonn ed. 36f.).
16 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 30.2 (Bonn ed. 64).
17 Bury, L R E 1, 87.
,e Callinicus, V. Hypatii 8.7 (Bonn ed. 18).
78 CHAPTER SEVEN
Hypatius used his own resources, plus money earned at Ghalcedon

(some three miles away) from making and selling baskets, sacks,
and garden goods. The monastery grew after a wealthy Christian
matron began sending supplies to the m onks.19 By 406 thirty monks
were residing at Rufinianae and the place was soon quite built up,20
Λ certain Aetius, a relative of Urbicius, a cubicularius who rose to the
rank of praepositus sacri cubiculi, provided artisans for building re-
pairs, including a new chapel and cells for the monks, after H ypa
tius healed him from insanity,21 Urbicius later provided the m onas
tery with a nekropolis for the monks,22 The monastery also had an
aqueduct nearby which it used until a cistern was donated.23 In
time the number of monks grew to fifty.24 These were often d is
patched to staff the outlying rural martyria that wealthy donors
occasionally built for the monastery (e.g., c. 430).2t John Chrysos
tom's demand that the aristocracy of Constantinople build rural
churches to aid the Christianization of their estates, which is dis
cussed below, may have motivated these measures even in the years
after his exile and death.
The life o f Hypatius mentions the widespread and probably
prevalent adherence to pre-Christian cults in early fifth-century
Phrygia and mid-fifth-century Bithynia. One can hardly doubt that
Anatolian deities like the Mother of the G ods still had a wide
following in some localities, but the historical record is nearly
silent. The exception to this rule is Artemis, the ubiquitous female
fertility deity who was often invoked by women in childbirth. The
festival called the Basket of Artemis was still celebrated in the
uplands o f Bithynia late in H ypatius’ life {c. 443-446), and its
adherents in the countryside seem not to have been Christians.
Callinicus' report is extremely detailed.26 Hypatius periodically
made inspection visits to former monastic disciples who had lo
cated their abodes in "inner Bithynia'1 (εις τη ν ένδον χώραν τω ν
Β ιθ υ ν ώ ν ) near, and probably along, the course of the Rhebas
river.27 He once made such a trip at the time of the year—
,a CalJinicus, V.Hypatii 8.14—17 (Bonn ed. 19C),

70 Callinicus, V.Hypatii 12.1 (Bonn ed. 24).
21 Callinicus, V,Hypatii 12-8-13 (Bonn cd. 26f).
22 Callinicus, V.Hypatii 15.8-9 (Bonn ed. 29C). Cf. Cod. Thud. 5.3,
23 CalJinicus, V.Hypatii 19 (Bonn ed. 32f.).
Callinicus, V.Hypatii 18.2 (Bonn cd. 3 If).
25 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 31.13 and 4-5.1 (Bonn ed. 66, 96f.). On the monastery,
see also Raymond Janin> Les églises et les monastères des grands centres byzantins
{Bitkynie, Hellespont, etc.) (Paris 1975), 36ff
Bartetink, in his discussion of V. Hypatii 45, attaches important bibliography.
He refers to the deicy as Artemis Bendis, Cf. Bonn ed, 96Γ.
27 Callinicus, K Hypatii 45.1,
ASIA MINOR 79
Callinicus fails to specify the date— of “ the defiled Basket of Arte

mis, which the countryside keeps annually” (ό κά λα θος τής
μ υσεράς Ά ρ τ ε μ ίδ ο ς , δ π ερ κα τ’ έν ια υ τό ν ή χώ ρα φ υλά ττου σ α ).
The festival lasted fifty days, and people avoided the main road
(μα κρά όδόζ) at that time for fear o f a hostile encounter with the
goddess, whom other fifth-century sources characterize as “ stranger-
hating” (μ ισ ό ξεν ο ς).28 One of the locals (ο ί έν τό π ιο ι) warned
Hypatius: “ The daimon will meet you on the road. Do not travel,
for many are caught.” One wonders to what extent wayfarers
robbed and killed by brigands had this cause assigned for their
deaths. Hypatius knew a purely local typology of Artemis’
epiphany: “ a woman as tall as ten men who went about spinning
arid grazing swine” (γυνή μ α κρ α ία ώς 6έκα ά νδρώ ν τό υήκος.
ν ή π ο υ σ ά τ ε π ε ρ ιπ ά τ ε ικ α ί χ ο ίρ ο υ ς εβ ο σ κ εν ). As Callinicus has it,
Hypatius actually witnessed her epiphany while on the road, and
ridded himself of the horrible apparition by crossing himself
(έαυτον έσ φ ρά γισ εν) and standing his ground. Then, as the story
goes, Artemis became invisible (άφανής) and the pigs fled with a
great whistling sound (μ εγ ά λψ ρ ο ίζ ψ ). Hypatius and his disciples
no doubt suggested this remedy to Christian rustics who not only
travelled during the festival— for fifty days was a long time to avoid
the main roads— but at times passed groves thought to be sacred to
Artemis with considerable fright, particularly at the hour of noon,
when the goddess was said to hold court with a group of lesser
daimones and destroy passers-by.29 Christians will simply have re
garded her as the daimon Artemis, but the survival of the Basket of
Artemis suggests that “ inner Bithynia” still has a considerable
unchristianized village population at this time.
There is an additional hint about the cult of Artemis in the parts
around the monastery. Hypatius took pains to become a sort of
country physician (ώς Ιατρός ην π α ρά τοϋ Θ εό ϋ δ ο θ ε ίς tfl χώρ<?
τ ο ύ τ η ),30 with healing powers derived from the Christian God,
with whom the prayers o f the monk had efficacy when accompanied
by making the sign o f the cross with oil on the sick person.3' On one
occasion the parents of a young woman (κόρη) brought her to
Hypatius because she could not conceive a child, but who later
bore a son after the prayer of the monk.32 The family seems to have
?s Supra, Ch. V. Sect. 2, n. 61. Thanks to herdaimonization,Artemis was

anything but the “patronne des voyageurs” noted by Bartelink,V. Hypstii 271, n. 4.
Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World," 334f.
31 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 22.21 (Botin ed. 38Γ.).
32 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 28.31-37 (Bonn ed. 59f.).
80 CHAPTER SEVEN
been Christian, but it can hardly be doubted that there still exited
primitive folk remedies and prayers to Artemis for the solution of
fertility problems and the favorable outcome o f pregnancies. It was
H ypatius1 task to displace such cult practices and reorganize them
around the name o f Christ (Ritenchristianisierung).33
Artemis’ power was at times thought to inhere in sacred trees.34
Hypatius and his monks destroyed many shrines o f this general
sort, but Callinicus fails to identify the deities worshipped there:35
[Hypatius] had zeal for God and converted many places in Bithynia
from the error of idol-worship. If he heard there was a tree or some
other such [cult object] which certain persons worshipped, he went
there at once, taking along his disciples the monks, cut it down, and
burned it. Thus the [rustics] later became Christian in part.
The people became Christian in part (κατά μέρος). The destruc
tion of the shrines thus marked only the beginning of Christianiza
tion by the admission of H ypatius5 disciple Callinicus him self The
new religion penetrated the structure o f the traditional propitiatory
rites only slowly.
The cult of Zeus Brontön is known from inscriptions at pre-
fourth century sites in the Galatian and Phrygian borderlands.36
The pre-Christian agriculturalists of many localities must have
invoked the provident Zeus who shifted rain-clouds with their
concomitant thunder and lightning to places o f need* Although
Callinicus fails to mention Zeus Brontön by name, a belief in his
powers seems to have persisted in the countryside and is implicit in
one o f the hagiographer’s anecdotes. Six men brought to the
monastery a certain Agathangelos uwho had been paralysed by
thunder, a daimon having come down and attacked him” (δς
π α ρ ελύ θη άπό βρο ντής, δ α ίμ ο ν ο ς κ α τελθό ντο ς α ύ τψ ).37 T he
incident appears to reflect a recategorization o f the cult o f sky gods,
notably the variants of Zeus, whereby the pagan deity was reduced
to the status o f a destructive daimon— a, figment of monastic pro
paganda during the earlier periods of Christianization.38 This line of
33 Supra, Ch» II, Sect. 4, Cf. Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,”
339-45.
34 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 334.
35 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 30.1 (Bonn ed. 64),
36 Monumenta Asiat Minons Antiqua V; Monummts from Dorylaeum to Nacolea, ed.
C,W, Cox and A. Cameron (Manchester 1937), xxxviii-xliv, Cf. infra, Ch. V II,
Sect. 2.
37 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 22.10-14. Hypatius used blessed oil to anoint the man
after making the sign of the cross over him.
On hostile kratophanies imposed by gods recategorized into daimones, see
ASIA MINOR 81
argument preyed upon the sense of insecurity that accompanied

changing cults and giving up the propitiatory rites connected with
the old ethos. The bodily limpness which Agathangelos experi
enced resulted, of course, from the electric shock o f the thunderbolt
which landed near him. Callinicus reports that Hypatius cured the
man by applying holy oil, making the sign of the cross, and wrap
ping him in bandages.
The pagan animal sacrifice, which imperial legislation had
sought to control since the time o f Constantine the G reat (324-337
in the E ast), still persisted in the countryside o f Bithynia. It should
be remembered that sacrifices were thought to be a solid, general
purpose method not only of appeasing the great deities at the time
of public festivals, but also the lesser beings called daimones who
reputedly assisted diviners and thaumaturgists in their arts.39 Both
types of sacrifice survived in H ypatius’ day.
H ypatius’ monks on one occasion brought him word about a
building (οίκος), perhaps an abandoned pagan temple, where forty
men (ÔVÔpeç) were living and made sacrifices to idols (θύοντες
τοις ειδώ λοις).40 This communal arrangement, as Callinicus de
scribes it, is difficult to understand and has no parallels. The men
were not Christians. When one of them, a certain Elpidius, wished
to convert to the new religion, he received a severe beating from the
others. Hypatius thereupon retrieved him, treated his injuries,
baptized him, and enrolled him as a monk in the monastery.
Hypatius failed to take civil action against the pagan “ cell” , which
possibly consisted o f landless and unmarried derelicts, It would
seem that the site in question lay outside the territorium, or rural
administrative zone, o f any nearby city, perhaps on the estate o f a
Hellene. Hypatius resorted instead to threats of divine destruction
upon the place because of the sacrifices performed there. As Calli
nicus has it, some few of the men eventually died “ because of a
daimon” (από δαίμονος), which seems to imply death by disease.
The rest then scattered. I f the men were transients, this outcome
was inevitable. The monks then desmantled the abandoned build
ing (οίκος) and left it uninhabitable. The fact that the monks, the
“ assault troops of Christianization” , did not destroy the site earlier,
as they often did with sacred groves and other sites of religious awe,
suggests that Hypatius feared a veritable civil war in the country-
supra, Ch. II, Sect. 2. Being struck by lightning was not an uncommon phe
nomenon in Late Antiquity-
39 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 1, 2, and 4.
40 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 43*16-23 (Bonn ed. 9 If.).
82 CHAPTER SEVEN
side. Although some of Hypatius' monks had artisan skills, a good

many were ex-barristers and therefore quite sedentary.41 Nor,
apparently, would the local rural population have stood behind
them in such a resolve, At any rate, the threat of physical violence
against defectors from the old religion remained a potent factor
inhibiting the Christianization o f the countryside.
Divinatory sacrifices seem also the have been common in mid
fifth century Bithynia (c. 443-446). Callinicus provides the detailed
report about a man who engaged in mantic activity (μαντεύεται)
whom Hypatius confronted and lured to the m onastery/2 Their
conversation, which goes back to a formal statement delivered by
the diviner which Hypatius ordered transcribed (ταύτας 0έ τάς
φώνας έποιησεν γρά φ εσ θα ι),43 is self-explanatory:
Hypatius: I have heard it about you that you predict the future, and if
someone loses something you tell him who took them (sic). Tell me,
please, how you do it, that upon learning how I might worthily honor
you.
The man replied with alacrity: If someone speaks to me about some
matter, it is revealed to me at once during the night, and I tell them
each to go and sacrifice a cow, sheep, or bird at the idol-temple, and
furthermore, if an angel reveals something to me, I tell.
Hypatius, or more likely his monks, then honored the man by
seizing him and locking him in a cell at the monastery, lest ' ‘Satan
teach men through you to worship idols" (είδω λολα τρειν).44 At
this juncture a group of presbyters came in from the countryside,
evidently from a Christian village, and asked Hypatius to release
the man, which was done after Hypatius had extracted an oath
from in writing (έγγραφος εξωμοσία) never to practice divination
again. The diviner, an old man (γέρων), died shortly thereafter.
41 Among those enrolled at the monastery were a stonecutter (V. Hypatii, Bonn,
ed. 94f ), a calligrapher, a mender and cleaner of clothes, an ex-gatekeeper, a mill
animal driver, an oikonomosy a sick-nurse, and a guest-supervisor [p. 85); a military
or ex-military xnniarius, who became the guest-handier of the monastery (p, 8 If.);
three ex-barristers (p. 72f.); the brother of an imperial count (homes) who later
became magister militum (p. 38); the slave of the Monaxios who was Prefect of
Constantinople in 408-409, Praetorian Prefect in 412 and again in 416-20, and
consul ordinarius in 419 (p. 34f ); an official of unstated office and rank named Akylas
(p. 76f.); and the author himself, who seems to have been the rwtanus of a
barrister in Constantinople (supra, Ch. V II, n. 10).
12 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 43.$-15 (Bonn ed. 90f.).
43 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 43.12.
4* Private prisons and acts of imprisonment were illegal under civil law at this
time: “ If anyone hereafter should dispatch an accused person to a privateprison,
he shall he held guilty of high treason/* Cod. Theod.9.11.1. The interpretatio adds
that no explanation is needed. Translation quoted from Pharr, Theodosian Code 235.
ASIA MINOR 83
The incident illustrates the techniques of the mantics, who invoked

daimones or, in this case, “ angels” (άγγελοι). The worship o f angels
as a separate class of deities is well attested in the inscriptions of
G aria and Phrygia from earlier centuries**5 but one can hardly posit
the survival o f such a cult in this instance. The “ angel” used by the
diviner here was more probably conceived as a local tutelary daimon
thought to serve diviners, The evident literacy of the man raises the
possibility that magical papyri and divination books circulated in
rural fifth-century Bithynia, as they did a century later in G alatia,*6
As Hypatius released him to the presbyters of some neighboring
village, the man may have been a lapsed or recently converted
Christian who had found his old trade too lucrative to give up.
Finally, the monastic catechists clearly subscribed to a broad de
finition o f idol-worship, which to them meant not only traditional
Hellenic cult, but also the different varieties of divination.
The city and countryside had a symbiotic relationship in the
interactions which preceded Christianization.47 U rban and rural
culture met in the diverse transactions connected by the exchange
o f specie for goods. Locally produced foodstuffs made up the bulk of
the city's subsistence, and a regular traffic in raw materials entered
the city as well, including locally cut stone and timber for the
construction of buildings. A stock in trade of religious ideas accom
panied these social and economic interactions, particularly when
rural monks crossed this cultural frontier, at times in the interest of
purifying an urban culture perceived to be tainted with Hellenic
idol-worship, at times as the guest-handlers of secular men
(κοσμικοί) who had became refugees in the countryside through
disease, fear of sorcery, the failure o f Hellenic healing techniques
both medical and magical, and disillusionment with the politics of
their professions.
H ypatius found occasion to intervene in the affairs of Chalcedon
in the years after 431 in connection with Hellenic sacrifices.48 The
45 A.R. Sheppard, 4‘Pagan Cults of Angels in Roman Asia M inor/1 Taianla

12/13 (1980-81), 77-100, with map. Iamblichos of Chalkis (ob. 325-30), the
Neoplatonist theologian, divided the celestial-spiritual world into orders (taxeis) of
beings in which archangels and angels occupied a prominent place, being beneath
the gods in excellence, but above daimones, archons, heroes, and the souls that
inhabit human bodies. De Mystenis 2,3 (Des Places 79ÉF.). Cf. Franz Cumont, "L es
Anges du paganisme," Revut dt l'histoire des religions 72 (1915), 169C
Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 340.
47 G.E. de Ste Croix, The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World (London 1981),
13—18,
48 The incident occurred shortly after the Council of Ephesus in 431, according
to Callinicus’ chronology, V. Hypatii 33 (Bonn ed. 69f.)- Cf. the chronology of
S l Hypatius* life in the Bonn edition, p. xx.
84 CHAPTER SEVEN
décision of the Praefectus U rbi (ΰτχαρχος) Leontius to reinstitute

the Olym pia (τά Ό λύμπ ια ) at the theatre of Ghalcedon provided
the occasion.49 The program o f this local festival, which Constan
tine the Great had banned, is unknown, but presumably entailed
athletic, literary, and musical competitions, all o f them linked to
the ethos of Hellenic Hochkultur and belief.50 The invocation of the
Olympian gods, burning o f incense, and consumption of slaught
ered anim als— all this within the limits suggested by Libanius
(c. 384), which were hardly strict— were necessary adjuncts to the
ceremonial, even if conducted privately. Hypatius in response to this
collected a band of twenty monks and marched on Ghalcedon with the
avowed intention o f breaking up the ceremonies. The monastery lay
under the superior jurisdiction of Eulalius, archbishop of Chalcedon.
It was to him that the monks went first to complain. Callinicus gives
the purported details of their conversation:51
Hypatius: I have heard and know that idol-worship will be performed
in the Olympia near ourselves and the holy church of God, and I
have decided to go to the theatre and die rather than allow this to
happen.
Eulatius: Do you simply wish to die if no one compels us to sacrifice?
You are a monk: sit down and let it rest. This is my affair.
Hypatius: Since it is your affair and of no concern to you, I, seeing the
Master dishonored by those who undertake these acts and the Chris
tian people wandering in ignorance and practicing idol-worship, am
come to attest to your holiness that, at dawn when the prefect is
sitting in audience, I intend to come with a force of monks and drag
off the prefect, and thus rather die than allow this to happen so long
as I live.
Callinicus admittedly reflects the typical monastic bias against the
secular ecclesiastical structure, but his accusation of idol-worship
49 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 33.1. This Leontius was an historical personality,

having in fact served as Prefcctus Urbi at Constantinople in 434—35. Cod, Theod.
14,16,3, 6.28.8, and 16.5.66, So much, then, for the critics who regard hagio
graphie literature as nothing but “ fairy tales0.
There is a good deal of source material that explicitly refers to the continua
tion of the Olympia during the period under consideration in this work, John
M alalas mentions the celebration of the Olympia at Daphne c. 500. Chronographia,
395fF, The aiytarchos of the Olympia at Ephesus is mentioned in a 4th c. inscription.
Inscr. E p h 447. Cf. Glanville Downey» “ The Olympic Games of Antioch in the
Fourth C entury/’ Transactions of the American Philological Association 70 (1939), 428
and Alexander S. von Stauffenberg, Die römische Kaisergeschichte bei Malatas (Stutt
gart 1931), 412-43. For Bithynia, p. 427. For the latest statement on the subject,
cf, Gian ville Downey, A History o f Antioch in Syna from SeUucus to the Arab Conquest
(Princeton 1961), 439fF., 455£, 482f. The Olympia were discontinued after 520
A.D. (p. 518).
55 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 33.5-8.
ASIA MINOR 85
makes sense if one subscribes to a broad definition of Hellenism,

that is the traditional public ceremonial accompanied or followed
by numerous private sacrifices.
After being dismissed with scorn by the archbishop, Hypatius
called together the local archim andrites with the summons:
“ Fight with me . . (συνα γω νίσα σθε μ ο ι).52 The threat o f stasis
worked. The prefect feigned sickness and remained across the
Bosporus at Constantinople. The business came to an end when
archbishop Eulalius saluted Hypatius as father (ώς π α τέρα ). The
incident is instructive on a number of counts. The bishops of the
larger cities often lived in accommodation with the prevailing cults,
and looked upon their own duties as primarily administrative tasks.
The civil sphere existed separately and could go its own way, as at
Chalcedon when an imperial official of the highest rank wanted to
celebrate the Olympia. The monks, on the other hand, particularly
those men of conviction who went about demolishing rural shrines,
found themselves in conflict with both civil and ecclesiastical au
thority, The monks were at times not even conversant with the
particular cult practices of festivals. In this instance, Hypatius had
a certain Eusebius explain to him the matter of the Olym pia (τό
πρά γμα τό των ’ Ο λυ μ π ίω ν ), as he knew about it only from hear
say (έξ άκοης). Eusebius presented the monk with a written
account (κ α ι έ κ τ ίθ ε τ α ι α ύ τφ èv χά ρτη δ ιή γ η σ ιν ) — one of the
many texts reported by Callinicus to be in circulation at the monas
tery. Little of Eusebius’ little treatise went into the life of H ypatius,
which sums it up tersely:53
Eusebius said that the Olympia, an outrageous festival of Satan, was
full of idol-mania, and at the same time slippery and destructive to
Christians.
Callinicus was evidently fearful of recapitulating “ pagan error” in
his own work, and thus avoided detail. This monastic squeam ish
ness about the phenomena o f pagan cults, rather than any lack of
basis for their remarks, explains the tendency of hagiographie
writers to deal in generalities.
The monastery of Hypatius had another relationship with the
cities: pagans, many of them Hellenes with lucrative government
positions, at times went to Hypatius from Constantinople and other
cities to receive baptism . These men preferred to receive it from his
hands rather than from the bishops and their subordinates, who
” Callinicus, V. Hypatii 33.10.

86 CHAPTER SEVEN
betrayed all too great a conccrn— as wc have suggested above— for

the administrative side of the ecclesiastical profession rather than
askesis and pious acts of public relief. The latter made a deep
impression on potential converts. As late as c.450, when the life of
Hypatius was written, Callinicus found it necessary to distinguish
Christian from pagan visitors to the monastery, so great was the
cultic mixture of the crowds* Thus, one hears of a “ wealthy and
very Christian woman” (πάνυ Χ ρ ισ τ ια ν ή ), who was a deaconess
and ascetic, and who prayed at the martyrion of the apostles Peter
and Paul and sent food supplies for the sustenance of the monks.54
Another visitor was a barrister who was “ quite a Christian” (καί
ών πάνυ χ ρ ισ τια ν ό ς ),55 The latter had three brothers, all of them
wealthy barristers, two of whom had not yet received bap
tism. They accepted the sacrament after Hypatius' convincing
adm onition,*5 One o f the men later returned to his wife to convert
her (σ ώ σα ι), and thereafter lived with her in ch astity /7 He later
received ordination as a presbyter and commissioned that a biogra
phy o f Hypatius be w ritten/8 this probably a reference to the
author Callinicus' work. I f so> Callinicus will have emerged from a
circle o f barristers, many of them initially Hellenes preoccupied
with worldly affairs, including composing epigrams o f the sort
found in the Greek Anthology.59 The stylistic characteristics of the life
o f H ypatius suggest that Callinicus was one o f the m an’s notaries.
Coming from this milieu, the author— if this identification holds
f ir m - h a d a definite interest in the disciples of Hypatius who came
from the urban Hellenic cultural world. The fact that Callinicus
omits names suggests that he resided in this circle and left them out
in consideration o f his friends as contemporary ascetic colleagues.
M any other urban Hellenes received baptism at H ypatius5
h a n d s/0 Among them was a ranking military scriniarius o f middle
age named Egersios (άλλος τις στρα τευόμενος σ κ ρ ιν ιά ρ ιο ς τω ν
έπ α ρχω ν ο ν ό μ α τι Έ γ έ ρ σ ιο ς , μέσην ή λ ικ ια ν εχων Έ λ λ η ν
ä4 CallînicuSj V. Hypatii 8.14 (Bonn ed. 19f.).

Callinicus, V. Hypatii 35.1 (Bonn ed. 72),
56 C allinicus, V. Hypatii 35.2-13.
57 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 35.14-16.
5G Callinicus, V. Hypatii 35.17,
55 The Greek Anthology speaks well for the high level of Hellenic culture attained
by members of the legal profession. Among the composers of pagan-sounding
epigrams are: Agathias scholastikos (fith c.) (no. 5.200), Eratosthenes scholastikos
(nos. 5.242 and 5.277), Irenaeus uferendarius (no. 5.249), Cometas chartulanus (no.
5.265), Julianus, Praefect of Egypt (no. 6.12), Isidore scholastikos of Boibytine {no.
6.58), Eutolmios scholastikos and illustris (no. 7,611), Leontius scholastikos (nos.
7.573 and 9.624), etc.
60 Callinicus, V, Hypatii 36,1-2 (Bonn ed. 74f ).
ASIA MINOR 87
ύ π ήρχ εν), who had misplaced some important documents (τα

χ α ρ τία ), and, becoming fearful for his position, offered to believe in
the Christian God if the papers could be found,61 Hypatius agreed
to arrange this with his God, ordered the man to become Christian
(γενοϋ χ ρ ισ τια ν ό ς), and, hardly surprisingly, the men from the
scriniarius1 staff met him three milestones from the monastery to
advise him that the documents had been recovered.62 One can
hardly doubt that Egersios, as a lifelong Hellene, had consulted a
miscellany of pagan diviners before calling upon Hypatius to test
the “ m agic” of the new religion, which visit providentially coin
cided with the discovery of the lost documents. He had perhaps
heard of Hypatius through the administrative grapevine at Con*
stantinople, which by this time contained some disciples of the
hegumen. Pagan diviners like the one Hypatius imprisoned at the
monastery boasted of such talents themselves. H ypatius, and C alli
nicus after him, stressed the capacity of the savior monks to do the
same, but with the rite Christianized.
The advantages of adherence to the new religion, whether as a
means of political advancement or because of popular impressions
o f its superior “ m agic” , at times attracted proselytes wrhose disposi
tion was far removed from simply Christian piety. Hypatius, or
Callinicus on his behalf, claimed the ability to pcrceivc which
prospective converts to the new religion intended to stick to the old
cults after baptism, including the magic arts. There were doubtless
many such bogus conversions. On one occasion, as Callinicus"
story goes, am idst a crowd from Chalcedon an Antiochene man
approached H ypatius' retinue and asked for baptism , but the hegu-
men was repelled by a vile odor,53 The story is worth repeating in
full:64
Hypatius: W hence are you, w hat is your bu sin ess, an d w hat arc you
w earing?
Antiochene: 1 am from Antioch and wish to becom e a C hristian.
U p on exam in in g him, H ypatiu s found on him a tattered garm ent,
a sort o f three-tailed belt an d inspected it.
Hypatius: W hat is this su p po sed to be? F or it sm elled o f a satan ic odor
d urin g the prayer.
[T he A ntiochene] confessed that it w as the garm ent o f A rtem is. At
once H y p atiu s ordered him to burn it. But upon being cast into the
bi C allinicus, V.Hypatii 40.27-29 (Bonn edL 8 1f.).

62 C allinicus, V.Hypatii 40.30-36.
63 C allinicus, V,Hypatii 43,1 (Bonn ed. 89).
C allinicus, V.Hypatii 43.3-8 (Bonn ed* 89f.).
88 CHAPTER SEVEN
fire the garment did not burn, but became as a spherically shaped
vessel, Then Hypatius made prayer with the other brothers, and
grinding with his feet, he made it thin in the manner of a coin, and
mixing it with earth* cast it into a latrine.
Hypatius'. If you wish to become a Christian, bring me your book and
all your magic devices,
Hypatius sent a brother with him, and the man went and accom
plished it.
The belt of Artemis (ώς ζώ νης τριδα κ τυ λ,ια ία ς) was presumably a
magical or apotropaic device for which no parallels exist. It was
only one dcvice among the m an’s impliments of magic, including a
book o f spells. These Hypatius ordered him to bring to the m onas
tery for destruction (φ έρ ε μ ο ι τό β ιβ λ ίο ν oot) κ α ι π ά ντα τα
π ερ ίερ γ α σου), and sent along one of the monks to ensure the
m an's compliance. Catechetical strictures o f this sort were designed
to enforce a 5‘sincere conversion” (γνησ ία μ ετά ν ο ια )65 that hedged
out syncretism or cryptopaganism.
Fear o f the magic arts prevailed in town and countryside. Men
like the diviner incarcerated by Hypatius were thought, at times, to
sell their skills to buyers. After making suitable incantations and
sacrifices, the magician could, in theory, direct the power of an
attendant daimon, often through an object, against the enemy o f his
client and cause illness or even death. It seems likely that persons
received deliberate hints that sorcerers had been hired to direct
daimones against them to create panic. This may explain some of the
magic-induced cases of mental illness described by Callinicus. The
view that daimones caused physical dysfunctions and psychoneurotic
disorders was common in Christian thought, and not only in miracle-
ridden hagiographies. The sober epistolographer Nilos o f Ankyra, a
near contemporary of Hypatius (ob, c. 430), expounds a theory of
daimon-c2i\x%td disease in great detail.66 If magicians could control
such spirits and impose them on others according to formula, the
Christ-bearing monk could expel them by the rituals of the new
religion. Hypatius often cared for the victims o f such alleged prac
tices. Let us consider some examples, most o f them relating to city
05 This expression, found in ehe quasi-Justinianic law of 529 (Cod. lust.

1.10.11.5) goes back hi fact to an edict issued by the emperor Zeno c. 481-88,
Supra, Ch. 1, Sect. 6.
Nilos of Ankyra, Epistola 2,140, PG 79, 257D-264C. Iambiichos of Chalkis
supposed on the Hellenic side that the malevolent daimones of the celestial orders
caused disease as well: “ The order of daimones weighs down the body and punishes
it with sicknesses,” (ή Ôè των δαιμόνων βαρει μέν τό σώμα και νόσοις κολάζει).
De Mysteriis 2.6 (Des Places 87).
ASIA MINOR 89
dwellers who came to the monastery o f the apostles Peter and Paul
for the prayer and seal o f Christ administered by the holy man.
Hypatius* reputed ability to counteract sorcerers1powers and the
activity of daimones was, in the first instance, circulated among the
wealthy class of imperial palatine and military officials at Constan
tinople, many of whom were Hypatius* disciples:67
Among them was a certain cubiculaHus named Urbicius, without
doubt a Christian, who learnt about Hypatius and was Loved by him.
He discovered a certain man who had been mistreated by his brother.
Being wealthy, one had used magic against the other, and made him
insane, and locked him in a certain place, and tried to kill him.
Having learned this, the good Urbicius embraced him and led him to
Hypatius and left him, Some of his children became suspicious and
said to the cubiculanus\ “ If he dies in the monastery, the monastery
will have the legal right to take over his property/* , ( * The insane
man was violently ill even in the body. His name was Aetius. [The
man could not eat by himself, so that Hypatius had to feed him.]
It is difficult to avoid the supposition that Aetius went insane
(φ ρ ενο βλα βής) because o f hysteria about leaked information that
someone was using magic against him (γοητεύσα ς). When U rbi
cius came to Hypatius to fetch Aetius in order to ensure his chil
dren’s proper inheritance o f the estate, Hypatius summed up his
own position vis-à-vis magic and the secular business of legacies in
general:68
God has made me the man’s bodyguard (σωματοφύλαξ) and I
cannot give him to you . . . If you are afraid for the sake of his
property, I’ll make it over to you in writing not to take anything
away.
Aetius eventually recovered. The relative importance o f sacrifices
as compared with incantations must have varied from magician to
magician, but they were an integral part of these activities, as
Callinicus confirms. When, on another occasion one of Urbicius'
domestics named Alkimos was allegedly troubled and became half
withered, or, in other words, suffered a stroke (π ερι,εργα σθείς
ή μ ίξ η ρ ο ς έγ έν ετο ), the man went to Hypatius to be anointed with
oil.69 As he exorcised the illness-causing daimon, H ypatius accused it
o f previously dwelling in the smell of burnt sacrifices and filth (εις
τάς κνίσοας καί ρυπ α ρια ς άναστρεφ άμενος).70 The other cases of
07 Callinicus, V.Hypatii 12.4—7 (Bonn ed. 25f.).

se Callinicus, V.Hypatii 12.8-9.
69 Callinicus, V.Mypatii 15.1-2 (Bonn ed. 28f.).
70 Callinicus, K Hypatii 15.4.
90 CHAPTER SEVEN
magic cited by Callinicus must be understood in light of this text.

Hypatius is reputed to have cured people driven insane by
daimones (φρενοβλαβήσαντες άπό δ α ι μ ό ν ω ν ) A certain Zoanes,
an imperial count who later rose to the rank of magisttr miliium,
brought his brother Athelaas- The man was tormented by a
“ daimon activated by clever m agic” (ήν δέ ό δαίμων άπό
π εριεργία ς δεινή ς),72 Refusing payment for his services, Hypatius
healed the man through prayer, which is said to have brought to
light those who had performed the magic (τούς τα π ερίεργα
ποιήσαντας) ,73 It is conceivable that, in lucid moments, Athelaas
divulged the names of enemies who had had known associations
with magicians, but the upshot is unknown, except that Athelaas
rose to comital rank after his recovery. Fits of insanity might also
grip the un-Christianized folk of the countryside. A rustic
(χωρικός) named Zeno from a village (κώμη) some six milestones
distant from the monastery was brought in, so troubled by a daimon
that he did not know where he was and spewed abusive language
upon everyone. Hypatius cured the man after four visits to the
monastery. Callinicus hints that Zeno’s village was not Chris
tianized by ending the episode with the observation that Christ
ransomed Adam by baptism* something which Zeno and his rustic
fellows evidently lacked.74 One thus risked the ill effects o f the
daimones without the protection of the Christian God.
T o return to the practice of magic: Hypatius took the view that
persons who resorted to pagan healers risked intensifying their
maladies. Callinicus reports the rituals used by these folk. When a
man came to H ypatius with a festering thigh and the monk’s prayer
failed, the man admitted previously having consulted “ a woman
who took a sword and uttered incantations over the wound53 (γυνή
τις μάχαιραν λαβουσα έπαοιδας ελεγεν έπί τό έλκος), who
evidently performed surgery on its thereafter. The man was an
urban Christian pursuing a secular career (κοσμικός).75 Pagan
healers with a reputation for guaranteed results offered sharp com-

11 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 22.16. “ Zôanës” is apparently one and the same as the
“ Ioannes” who served as comes sacrarum largiiionum c. 429-31. Cf„ Cod. Theod.
lG.fi.29, 7.8.15* It would seem that this Zoanes “ hellenized” his ethnic name. On
the daimones of magic, see the summation of Porphyrius of Tyre’s thinking (e.g. De
Abstineniia 2.45) supra, Ch. II, Sect. 1.
u Callinicus, V. Hypatii 28.38—57 (Bonn ed. 60-63). Bartelink rejects the read
ing about Adam in V, Hypatii 28.57, as it is not found in Cod, Vat Graec. 1667,
including it in brackets in the text, because of its plausibility in this context.
Callinicus, V. Hypatii 28.1-6 (Bonn ed. 56).
ASIA MINOR 91
petition to the monks, even am ong the nominally Christian. It

would seem that here the ritual prayers preceded some form of
makeshift surgery, but without success, so the man went to H ypa
tius. The monk allegedly saw the woman in a dream surrounded by
an entourage o f daimones. This mis en scène perhaps owes something
to the prevailing typologies o f Artem is.76
Callinicus presents yet another instance of m agic ritual. H e has it
that an alleged sorcerer (π ερ ίερ γ ο ς) arrived with a small boy at a
little church (έκ κ λ η σ ίδ ιο ν) some three miles from the monastery
on the pretext o f being enrolled with the monks there, but actually
to afflict them (θ λίβω ν ) and gratuitously at that. When the man
later killed the sm all boy, Eustathius, the hegumen of the place,
summoned Hypatius to witness the inquiry. Hypatius thereafter
reportedly had a vision of four daimones with the bodies of camels,
but the heads and necks o f serpents. Then the angel which alleged
ly revealed this to him showed him the sorcerer in the garb of a
slave sitting under a couch and twirling his hair (έκ εΐνό ν
ά νθρω π ον έν σ χή μ α τι δούλου ή λ ιμ μ έν ο υ την κ α π ίλ α ν α υ τ ο ί
κ α θήμ ενο ν ΰπ ό κ λ ίν η ν ) and said: “ This is the man who sent
them.” T his was evidently some ritual— whose significance eludes
us— connected with necromancy, for when Hypatius perceived it,
he allegedly directed the daimones back to the magician with the
injunction to do to him what had been intended for Hypatius. The
result was a fit which caused the man to “ gulp down his own
tongue and hands unsparingly” .77 A later, G alatian tradition sug
gests that monastic catechists were reputedly able to dism iss such
destructive spirits back to the men they served.78 The entire inci
dent has a problem atical significance, because of the oblique de
velopment o f the narrative. The visions probably represent an
embellished version of the sorcerer’s confession after he came to the
monastery and received H ypatius’ cure nf his fits with holy oil and
the seal of Christ (ά λ είψ α ς αυτόν έλ α ίφ κ α ι τη ν σ φ ρα γίδ α του
Χ ρ ίσ τ ο υ π ο ιή σ α ς ).79 The killing o f the boy had some relation to
the m an’s necromancy, which might not otherwise have been
discovered.
76 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 28.3. The text runs: “ In the night I saw the woman
sitting outside the gate a short distance away under a baldaschino in imperial
guise and having an entourage of many daimones (καί δαιμόνων ίχαντα
παράστασιν).
77 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 28.14-30 (Bonn ed. 58f.).
78 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 340 for the passage in the life of
Theodore of Sykeon (ed. Festugiere) dealing with Theodotos Kourappos.
92 CHAPTER SEVEN
Many other alleged victims of sorcery came to the monastery.

One o f them was a much-befriended illustris named Antiochus, who
believed that a rival (probably a competitor for honors at the
imperial court) had subjected him out o f envy to a daimon by magic
(’Α ντίο χ ο ς, ά γα πώ μενος ϋηά τω ν ίλ λ ο υ ο τρ ίω ν π ε ρ ιε ρ γ α θ ε ίς
υπό τίν ο ς δ ιά φ θ ό ν ο ν ) .ao “ So much did the daimon trouble him
that all who saw him felt sym pathy.5>ai Antiochus was “ of the other
cult55 (â | έτέρα ς θ ρ η σ κ εία ς ), and so probably a Nestorian C hris
tian, since he became thereafter a disciple o f Hypatius without the
requirement of baptism , becoming “ o f the orthodox belief15 and
enrolling in the m o n a s t e r y O t h e r suppliants were pagan, like a
certain M akarios who received baptism at the monastery and
became a monk. The man suffered from a certain “ aberration o f the
wits” (π α ρ α λλα ξία άσυμφανώ ς εις τάς φ ρένας) resulting from
the fact that he had lived with sorcerers (κ α ί ήν σ υνοίκω ν
π ε ρ ιέ ρ γ ο ις ).83 All this led him to practice extreme forms of askssis
and to administer overbearing criticism to the monks. Makarios
finally became delusional (έφρενοβλάβησεν) and shouted at
H ypatius:84
Rebel from Christ, the right hand of God is upon my head, and Jesus
preaches through me, and makes revelations to me, and Jesus told me
that I should grant you 1000 bishops as a gift, that you should rule
them as archbishop.
We should not err in supposing that this utterance owes something
to M akarios5 cultic predelictions before his conversion: the mantic
hand in Christianized form,85 the personal revelations made by
angels or daimones, and perhaps M akarios’ self-perceived ability to
put 1000 daimones at the service of a particularly favored client.
Hypatius had M akarios put in shackles lest he wander aimlessly,
but eventually released him. M akarios later came to grief because
00 C allinicus, V, Hypatii 22.20 (Bonn cd. 93).

ibid. (Bonn ed. 93f.).
82 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 44*23,
83 Callinicus, V H ypatii 42.1 (Bonn cd. 84ff.).
84 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 42,18.
There is considerable evidence for bronze hand«? as Hellenic religious objects.
There is, first of all> a divine hand with the image of Zeus Heïiopolitanus standing
in the palm in oriental dress, from Niha on the west slope of Mt. Lebanon in the
Beqara valley. Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syne VI: Baalbek et Beqafa , ed. J - P .
Rey-Coquais (Paris 1967), no. 2930 (with photo). It was a votive offering. There is
also a votive hand of Sabazios in Phrygian costume. Age of Spintuality, ed. K.
Weitzmann (Princeton 1979), 184f> Hugo Gressmann, Dit orientalischen Religionen im
hellenistisch-römischen Zeitalter (Berlin-Leipzig 1930), 112-14. It ts possible that
Makarios' statement had such imagery in view*.
ASIA MINOR 93
he was absent when Hypatius died.86 M akarios’ marked personal

feeling suggests that the “ m agic” of the new religion which H ypa
tius kept in his own hands partially influenced his decision to
convert to Christianity,
In some instances the Christian monk took over the functions o f
the rural sham an, particularly in localities where the propitiatory
rites of the older ethos proved impossible to eradicate. The C hris
tian monk then became the rainmaker, the diviner for ground
water, and generally master and mover of all geological and atm o
spheric phenomena.87 Hypatius* shamanism is evident, but in
muted form, for the pre-Christian elements have vanished from his
practices. The most dreaded meteorological phenomena was the
hailstorm,88 Callinicus observes:09
Another tim e he w as crossing M o u n t O ly m pu s with other brothers
and it sudden ly stood in the autum n season* F or there w as a tu rbu
lence in the air and a d ark cloud overshadow ed them on the m oun
tain. T h ey said : “ L ord , pray that the hail w ould not attack u s.”
H ypatiu s a t once opened his h an ds on the spot an d prayed to G od in
place. A lthough the cloud becam e m ost violent, the hail w as light,
and as they travelled the next two or three m ilestones, their san d als
entirely avoided being drenched. W hen they reached the m onastery,
the brothers there were am azed that there w as no w ater on their
clothes.
The record on monastic shamanism is much more precise for

sixth-century G alatia, particularly for this sort of incident, of which
parallel cases abound.90 In an ethos dominated by primitive anim
ism and the sense of awe generated by the forces of nature, all of
them spiritualized— even, indeed, dark forests in the mountains—
the powers attributed to the monastic holy man inspired confi
dence, as an incident from H ypatius5 early life suggests:91
T h ey cam e to T h race but did not reach the m onastery. T h ey stayed
upon the m ountain upon which they were caught. In one area the
m ountain w as thick with trees and the p lace w as terrifying becau se o f
the daimones which dw elt there, who cam e out to threaten them and
said to each other: “ We are u n ab le to d o anything to them, for the
a6 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 4-2.27-28.

a7 Trom bley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld,” 338f., 340f., etc.
00 Infra, C h. V II, Sect. 6. T o these exam ples m ust now be added a pre-
C hristian variant which turned up in Avignon, France. Invocation against nail:
“ Turn back every hail storm from the village and every snowstorm and as many
things as harm the lands. God com m ands it Ô A M O U T H A , and you cooperate,
O A b rasax.” IG 14, 2481.
** C allinicus, V. Hypatii 46 (Bonn ed. 97).
90 Trom bley, “ Paganism in the Greek W o rld /’ 340f.
91 Callinicus* K Hypatii 2.1-2 (Bonn ed. 9).
94 CHAPTER SEVEN
child [H ypatius] who has authority against us is with them. [The

travellers] were resting when they heard this and were terrified and
remained awake until they heard the noise of the daimones fleeing
through the trees.
M ost of H ypatius5encounters with rural paganism came in the last

decade of his life, c. 436-446. Even then the villages o f inner Bithynia
devoted themselves to the cult of Artemis, and a group of men could
publicly practice idol-worship in a building not far from the m onas
tery, It can hardly be doubted that H ypatius’ practice o f dispersing
packets o f monks in the countryside, and his destruction of sacred
trees and other cult objects, were making steady inroads against the
old cults. T his occurred apparently in default of any serious efforts on
the part of the local bishops or of the landed magnates who had
accepted Christianity during the previous decades.
It is well known that the new urban aristocracy of Constantino
ple had extensive income-producing estates in the parts of
Bithynia.92 This group received a stinging rebuke from Joh n Chry
sostom, patriarch of Constantinople (398-404), during the early
years of H ypatius’ activity in the countryside.^3 A homily of Chry
sostom criticizes the landed m agnates’ practice of building bath
houses (βαλανεΐα), honorary monuments (τιμήματα), halls
(αύλαί), market-places (άγοραί), and other miscellaneous struc
tures (οικοδομήματα) on their estates in the villages and hamlets
(κώμαι . , , χω ρία), but of neglecting to construct churches. Chry
sostom ’s demand that none of his congregation be seen having a
village without a church (ώστε μηδένα όφθήναι έρημον
έκκλησίας χωριον εχοντα)*4 is directly related to the requirement
of Christianizing the renters and smallholders in those places. He
alludes to the prevalence of the old cults with the observation:95
But, upon seeing your agricultural laborers full of thorn-plants
(άκανθοι), you fail to cut them down . . . For is it not necessary that
each believer should build a church and get a teacher to help oversee
the task in behalf o f all, that all may be Christian? Tell me how it is
that a farmer (γεωργός) is a Christian, seeing that you do not take
care o f his salvation. . . . they have to walk myriad stadia and estab
lish themselves in a foreign land in order to go to church.
92 Jones* Later Roman Empire 941.

93 John Chrysostom, Homiliae in Acta Apostolorum, PG 60, 13-384, Some scholars
view this sermon as a product of Chrysostom's earlier days in Antioch, but it was
ccrtainly circulated to the same end after he became patriarch of Constantinople.
34 Chrysostom, Horn, 2« Acta> 147.
95 From what Callinicus tells us about the slow Christianization of Rufinus’
former estates in Bithynia» it is clear that the “ thorn plants” represent paganism
and not hrTesy. The Anatolian heresies do not seem to have penetrated Bithynia to
any great extent.
ASIA MINOR 95
The excuse was often advanced that there was often a church
nearby, belonging to a neighbor, and that the expense was great,
Chrysostom condemns this view: "Su pp ort a teacher, a deacon,
and an ecclesiastical establishm ent” (ιερα τικόν σύστημα): a
teacher (διδάσκαλος) to catechize them, a village church to main
tain the congregation. The patriarch adds:
You are responsible for the catechumens there, who are in the ham
lets (χωρία) nearby. For baths make farmers soft, and taverns
wanton . . . markets and festivals [of the pagan gods] reckless,
but [churches] the opposite.
The markets and festivals here mentioned (a t άγοραι καί a i

πανηγύρεις) recall the ongoing celebration of the Basket of Arte
mis noted by Callinicus in the life of Hypatius. Chrysostom then
points out the advantages of churches to civil order: the festivals
will be more orderly, the village headmen will be more esteemed
because of the local presbyter, farm production will be considerable
(γεωργία πολλή), and all shall thus be free of evil.
The widespread survival of the old cults mixed with the new
religion in Bithynia can hardly be doubted in light of the phe
nomena described in the life of H ypatius, nor can its synchronism
with the sermon of Chrysostom be ignored. Nor can one doubt that
Hypatius traversed the estates o f the Constantinopolitan magnates
many times, A wealthy person o f his acquaintance occasionally
built a martyr chapel in the vicinity of Hypatius' monastery
(μαρτύριαν οίκοδομήσαι εις τούς π έριξ τόπους)36 in the manner
of Chrysostem ’s advice about using economical methods:07
Tell me, how great is the expense? Build a small house in the shape of
a church. Let someone alter you build a portico, and someone after
him add something else, and thus the entire will be accounted to you
[because you began the project].
The hitch came with providing salaries to clerics. H ypatius1 monks

staffed the martyr-chapels instead, after being ordained as clerics
(κληρικοί). A manpower shortage certainly existed for Christianiz
ing the countryside, and a greater financial investment would
certainly have attracted more personnel Monks had fewer needs
and were thus cheaper. They also provided hard-line catechization.
The festivals and markets (άγοραί και πανηγύρεις) mentioned
by Chrysostom will have fallen into two categories: martyr-cults
grafted onto the earlier seasonal celebrations for the pre-Christian
36 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 31.13.(Bonn ed. 66f.).

97 Chrysostom, Ham. in Acta, 147.
96 CHAPTER SEVEN
deities, and other occasions like the Basket o f Artemis which sur
vived unmodified into the fifth century. Rowdyism and excess
accompanied these festivals, but Chrysostom unfortunately fails to
specify the names o f the deities and/or martyrs honored on these
occasions. A hamlet (χωρίαν) would occasionally have its wine
press blessed, and a portion o f its first-fruits given to the Christian
G od.98 Chrysostom ’s terminology for this practice comes directly
from that applicable to pagan propitiatory rites and reflects the
mentality common to both the old and new religions (ληνός
μικρόν, Ιξ ολων των καρπών των σών τόν Θεόν πρότερον
άπόμοιραν καί άπαρχάς λαμβάνειν). It can hardly be doubted
that Dionysos, whose cult was still in evidence as late as the
Quinisextum Council in the late seventh century, was invoked in
the fifth century during the final phase o f the wine cycle" and that
wine-presses were sanctified to forstall this.100 Rowdyism and ex
cess certainly accompanied this cult. O f other festivals there is no
mention except the Basket o f Artemis— a significant datum . All this
ties in with Callinicus’ observation that “ Christianity is not a
chance thing” (ούκ εστι το τυχόν Χριστιανισμός).101
II. The Christianization of Phrygia c. 350-450

The twin provinces o f Phrygia Pactiana and Phrygia Salutaris are
generally thought to have had an exotic religious c h a r a c t e r in Late
Antiquity. T his supposition stems, in part, from the persistence o f
M ontanism in these parts through the eighth century,102 and in
part from the peculiar geomorphic formations that left the land
scape covered with pinnacle-like mountains and underground riv
ers, like the one celebrated in the Miracle o f the Archistrategos Michael
near Laodikea.103 These latter became sites of religious awe during
the pre-Hellenic epochs of Anatolian history and remained such
Ibid.
‘iJ Frank R. Trombley, “ The Council in Trullo (691-692): The Canons Per-
taining to Paganism, Heresy, and the Invasions," Comitatus 9 (1978), 5.
100 On this, sec infra, Ch. X , Sect. Î and 6,
101 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 48.1 (Bonn cd. 99). It is worth indicating that a
recently discovered inscription points to the existence of estates in Bithynia. The
dedicatory inscription of a man, who was probably an oikonomos or estate-manager,
is “ in behalf of my masters (υπέρ τών δεσποτών μου) and myself and all my own
(household)/1 Die Insckriften von Kaichedon, ed. R. Merkelbach et alii (Bonn 1980),
no. 104.
102 Theophanes, Chronographia, AM 6214 (De Boor 1, 401). The reality of there
having been Monianists active in the 8th c. is disputed by A. Sharf, “ The Jew s, the
Montanists, and the Emperor Leo I II,” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 59 (I960), 37-46.
Cf. Calder, “ Philadelphia and Montanism.”
ASIA MINOR 97
through all subsequent periods of religious transition, the Hellenic,

the Christian, and the Islam ic.104 The scholar is subjectively aware
o f the heightened sense of religious awe that accompanied the
viewing o f weird and brooding monuments like the facades o f those
at M idas City near G ordium .105 Some scholars have seen certain
kinds of religious enthusiasm in the behavior of sixth-century
Christians of the Phrygian borderlands as a survival of older
methods o f associating with the mother goddess Kybele, wherein
the person became “ possessed” or “ enthused51 by her divine
force,106 Be this as it may, the epigraphy of Phrygia suggests no
thing exotic. Rather, this region underwent Christianization along
the conventional lines seen elsewhere.107
Signs o f the ongoing Christianization of the Phrygian country
side turn up in the fifth-century life of the martyr St. Aberkios (2nd
c.). A more precise statement lies in the life o f Hypatius o f
Rufinianae. H ypatius was born in an unnamed city o f Phrygia in
384, The countryside was barely Christianized at that tim e:108
F or at that tim e in Phrygia there w as no [m onk], unless one or two
here an d there, and if a church w as to be found som ew here the clerics
were lazy b ecause o f being too close to the land, W herefrom the
people are catechum ens even until this day (post 446 A .D .). B u t
upon hearing about him [H ypatiu s] and being am aze d that such a
104 Cf. supra. Ch. II, Sect. 4.

105 C.H. Haspels, The Highlands of Phrygia: Sites and Monuments, 2 v. (Princeton
1970), 73-77, 205-254, PI. 1-7, 8, etc. Altars at Avdan-Teçvikiye, Pi. 281-287.
106 Trom bley, The Survival o f Paganism t 42 Γ.
The subject of the Christianization of Phrygia has an immense bibliography.
Scholars have, however, concentrated their efforts on the districts which showed
signs of the new religion in the third century for the most part, a period well before
the general Christianization of the Late Roman countryside, which is the object of
the present study, On Phrygia from the time of the Pauline mission onward, see:
W.M, Calder, “ Early-Christian Epitaphs from Phrygia,1' Anatolian Studies 5
(1955), 25f, On the motifs which enable the scholar to identify and date early
Christian inscriptions in Phrygia, see the introductory sections of Monumenta Asiae
Minoris Antiqua> edd. var. I, 5, 7 (Manchester 1928-56). The editors have not
always been in full agreement with each other on these questions, although I have
in general followed W.M. Calder’s dating criteria. For the northern parts of
Phrygia, see: J.G .C . Anderson, “ Paganism and Christianity in the Upper Tembris
Valley,” Studies in the History and Art of the Provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire, ed,
W.M. Ramsay (Aberdeen 1906), 183-227. This volume is hereinafter cited as
SERP. Cf. A. Petrie, “ Epitaphs in Phrygian Greek,” SERP, 119-34. On the
“ resistance” to Christianization, see: William M. Ramsay, “ The Tekmorian
Guest-friends: An Anti-Christian Society on the Imperia] Estates at Pisidian
Antioch,'’ SERP, 305-77. These and the various other studies contain vitally
important information on the dating of inscriptions by letter forms and Christian
symbols. The following discussion treats districts and villages that were Chris
tianized between c. 350-500 A.D.
100 Callinicus, V. Hypatii 1.4-5 (Bonn ed. 8).
98 CHAPTER SEVEN
m an cam e from their country, they all becam e C h ristian s within as

little time as w as necessary (i.e. for the catech u m en ate), bu t som e few
em ulated him in goodness,
M any rustics thus passed over the long provincial boundary shared
with southern Bithynia to visit the monastery at Rufinianae, which
lay not far from Chalcedon. The termini of these conversions in
Phrygia are between 406 when Hypatius occupied the deserted
monastery at Rufinianae until his death in 446. As most o f these
folk were still catechumens in the years after 446, it seems most
probable that they had accepted Christianity as a consequence of
H ypatius5 measures against rural paganism, which mostly fell be
tween 443-446, There is no reason to suppose that Hypatius did
not cross into the northern parts of the Phrygias on occasion. The
rural funerary inscriptions of Phrygia seldom give the dates of their
crection. In consequence of some possible exaggeration in this text,
I am inclined to put the conversion of the parts of the Phrygian
countryside discussed below c. 375—450, with some villages nevertheless
remaining pagan until the time of Joh n o f Ephesus’ missionary
activity between c. 538-566.10a These dates do not diverge widely
from those suggested by the epigraphists, who put the first Christian
inscriptions in these particular villages c. 375-400 at the earliest.J10
The late pagan and early Christian inscriptions of Phrygia are
largely edited in the series Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua. W .M.
Calder, the editor of the first volume, advocates caution in attribut
ing Christian religion to funerary texts that lack crosses and other
signs of cult (my italics) :ni
T h e first problem set by any group o f third or early fourth-century
tom bstones on the A natolian p lateau is “ W hich are the p agan stones
and which the C h ristian ?“ . . . Such an attem pt, if it errs, ought in
the present state o f our know ledge to err on the side of caution; the onus of
proof is in every doubtful case on the Christian epigraphisL
Calder then notes seven Christian inscriptions to demonstrate his
point, but five of them come from the city of Laodikea, a typical
sort of distribution that tells little about the countryside.112 The
cross did not become common usage on Phrygian inscriptions until
after 350.113 1 would m yself prefer a somewhat later date, c. 365, as
u>9 Trom bley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld/* 329—32.

1,0 This rule applies, strictly speaking, only to the districts covered in this
section. Cf. supra, Ch, VII, n. 107,
111 Monumenta Asiae Minons Antiqua /, ed. W.M. Buckier (Manchester 1928),
xviii (my italics). Hereinafter cited as M AM A L
112 MAMA 1, xviii-xix
,,a MAMA 1, XX»
ASIA MINOR 99
the example o f Syria suggests.114 Calder adds, in reference to the

pioneering studies of William Mitchell R am say:115
W e should further . . . expect the earliest C h ristian in scription s to
reproduce, w ith p erh ap s sligh t m od ification s, the local p ag an form u
lae. . . . L ater, C h ristian ep igraph y will strike ou t on lines o f its own.
This principle is proven definitively by analysing the epigraphy of

the Limestone M assif east o f Antioch in Syria.116
The first district in our survey is the so-called Axylon or Axylos,
a treeless steppe lying generally north of Laodikea. The eastern
part of this plain was generally called Proseilemmene,117 The in
scriptions here put the Christianization o f the nearer territorium of
Laodikea in the last quarter of the fourth century. The Axylon did
not at first feel the impact of Nicaean Christianity. The initiative
lay rather with the Novatian sect or some other heresy whose
clergy, evidently excluded from the churches o f Laodikea, seem to
have sought abodes and conversions in the countryside. An inscrip
tion at present-day Diiyer dated by W .M. Calder to the “ later
fourth century” mentions one Germanus, a presbyter of “ the holy
church of the Orthodox” . It bears no crosses.118 The shouting of
“ orthodox” (της έκλησιας των Ό ρτοδόξω ν) connotes some
Anatolian heresy.
The agricultural trades and status of the rustics o f the Axylon are
seldom given in the inscriptions. One exception is found at the village
of Aralleiôn (present-day Atlandy) where a family of tax farmers or
contractors (μιοθω ταί) Boethos and his wife Klete, erected a memo
rial for their elder son Epikletos and niece Varelliane.119 It belongs to
the third century, or perhaps later, tojudge from the mixture ofsquare
and round uncials (€, C , ω). These folk were not Christians. They
should not be confused with tenant farmers or renters (μισθω τοί), a
114 Infra, Ch. X, prooem. and Sect. 1^4.

M A M A 1, xx-xxi.
IJG Infra, Ch. X, prooem. and Sect. 1-4.
m MAMA I, xv.
Iie MAMA 1, 290. Another inscription of this type does bear a cross. MAMA I,
291.
119 MAMA 1, 292. Round uncials are quite common in Phrygia throughout the
3rd and 4th c>, but square uncials, perhaps used simply to make the task of the
stone-cutter easier, begin to turn up at the same time. A good example of 3rd c,
work is found in Anderson, “ Paganism and Christian!ty,Mnos. 22 and 23, another
in Drew-Bear, Inscriptions de Pkrygit5no> 48 (Eumeneia, 257/8 A.D.). Mixed round
and square uncials are found in the funerary inscription of bishop Heortasios of
Appia, which W.M. Caider prefers to date after 350 A.D. C.W.M. Cox, " Bishop
Heortasius of Appia,” Anatolian Studies Presented to William Hepburn Buckler, ea.
W.M, Calder and Jo se f Keil (Manchester 1939), 65.
100 CHAPTER SEVEN
sadly oppressed class that eked out a living on the steppe, seeing its
children die, and its agricultural surplus swallowed up by the
landlords.120 Christianity began to penetrate Aralleiön probably no
later than the first quarter o f the fifth century, when an unnamed
woman was buried. The inscription bears the Christian formula
“ here lies” (ένθάδε .. . κατάκειτοα), an indirect allusion to the
impermanence o f physical death. She was the “ granddaughter o f
Paul and Aurelius, wife of M arcian, and bed-partner (σύγκοι-
τος) of O restes.” 121 The fashion for the name Aurelius began to die
out in the late fourth century, as the prestige o f the Antonine dynasty
vanished and local habit changed.122 The passing o f two genera
tions and the inscription’s mixture o f round and square uncials
(€ , G, LLI) once again hint at a date c. 375. The family had roots at
Aralleiön. Otherwise it is difficult to explain the addition of the
grandparents’ names, who must have been well-known locally. The
unnamed woman had apparently been married twicc, once as the
“ bed partner” (σύγκοιτος) ofO restes (a Hellenic name), then as the
“ wife” (νύμφη) of M arcian. It is tempting to speculate that the
change of nomenclature refers to a non-Christian m arriage followed
by a Christian one. This would have been eminently possible with the
known life-expectancy for men around 2 5 -3 0 years at the time when
the countryside was being Christianized. The inscription is unfortu
nately broken at the end.
The village of Aralleiön was Christian by the mid-fifth century,
for we find one text ( “ Lord, help your servant M arkos Nekephoros
(sic)) with a large M altese cross inscribed in a circle (5th c. or
later).123 The burial o f a Christian soldier took place, it seems,
sometime in the fifth century:124
S am b atio s, an ordinaHus o f the m ighty lanaani, sh ed d in g m oaning
tears upon this m arker, built a tom b holding his beloved son K on on
while on an expedition, who yielded up beau ty and slippped into
death in this alien country by the counsel o f the greatest, all-
preem inent G od.
The quasi-monotheistic formula (μ εγί[οτ]ο υ (θ)εου πανυπιρόχο[υ]

(sic)), coupled with the son’s name Konon, a common Christian
120 Ste. Croix, Class Struggle in the Greek World, 158-62.

m MAM A 1, 301.
122 See Calder’s comment, M AM A 1, xxi. See also Anderson, “ Paganism and
Christianity,” 198 . . more rarely in the fourth” ). The latter adds that a
specifically “ Christian” epigraphic nomenclature did not begin to develop in the
Upper Tembris valley until the later 3rd c. Ibid.
,h MAMA 1, 305.
m MAMA 1, 306.
ASIA MINOR 101
name in Isauria and Cilicia, distinguish this as a Christian inter

ment. The non-commissioned officer Sam batios evidently selected
the Christian nekropolis o f Aralleiön as the most suitable burial site.
This formation of lanciarn, a regiment o f comitaknses, was evidently
in transit. One last Christian inscription, that of Aurelius M eneas,
belongs c. 375-400 because of its cross and the praenomen of its
‘ owner.123
The fullest epigraphic sam ple in the Axylon comes from the
ancient village o f Kristenos (present-day Cheshmcli Zebir).1245
Kristenos was ethnically Phrygian through at least the later third
century A.D. One inscription contains a passage in Phrygian.127
The local rustics m ade offerings to Attis, the chthonic male deity
seemingly worshipped in synoikism with the Christian archangel
M ichael at C olossae.128 Theophoric personal names derived from
that of the god like A ttas prevailed in both the pagan and Christian
nomenclature o f the place.129 There was at times intermarriage
with neighboring villages. One Aurelius Eusebis (sic) from the
village of G danm ass moved to Kristenos and wedded a woman
there named T ata , another pre-Christian Anatolian nam e.130 The
local economy was typical of the steppe environment. One funerary
stele depicts oxen yoked to a plough, suggesting wheat and barley
culture, and a pruning hook, suggesting the existence of olive
trees.131 A first-fruit offering to Attis suggests that the rustics pro
fited from marketing wool: it portrays a table, a wool-basket, a
spindle, and a distaff,132 The Axylon seems thus to have combined
pastoralism with cereals farming.
125 MAMA 1, 307. Additional Christian inscriptions suggests that Aralleiön did
not become fully Christian until sometime in the fifth century. Monumenla Asiat.
Minons Antiqua VII: Monuments from Eastern Phrygia, ed. W.M. Calder (Manchester
1956), xli and nos. 589-592. O f these, no. 591 belongs in the late 4th c., but the rest
clearly belong in the 5 th. O f the latter, no. 589 has square uncials, a cross with
three-pointed petals, and an owner named Auryllios (sic) Alexander, a rather late
occurrence o f the Antonine praenomtn. No. 590 is marked by a Maltese/trefoil cross,
round uncials, and the owner’s name Aurelios Georgios son of Konon. The names
of these martyrs do not seem to have been widely selected until the later 4th c, Aur.
Georgios was quite clearly the son of a Christian (Konon), who accepted baptism
in the later 4th c.
1M MAMA 1, 339.
127 MAM A 1, 340, 34-1. This problem is discussed supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4. On
Attis in the Roman Imperial epoch: Thomas Drew-Bear and Christian Naour,
“ Divinités de Phrygia,” Aufstieg und Niedergang der antiken Welt 2.18.3, ed. Wolfgang
Haase (Berlin-New York 1990), 1907-2044.
,3fi [τετικμεν]ος Α ττιαδειτου. MAMA I. 341.
129 MAMA ] , 340 (pagan), 356, 368.
130 MAMA 1, 339.
131 MAMA I, 340.
132 MAMA 1, 341. Cf. no. 353.
102 CHAPTER SEVEN
The chronological distribution o f inscriptions at Kristenos runs

roughly from the late third to the fifth century, and possibly
beyond. The praenomen Aurelius turns up in both the pagan and
Christian epigraphy. The latter are identifiable only by crosses,
which seem to be of late fourth-century date and after. Pagan altars
have turned up at Kristenos. One of them, dedicated by Aurelius
Vales (or Valens) to his children Aurelius M anes and Aurelia
T ata, reflects the Phrygian belief that the dead became lesser
subterranean deities (δεως ζεμελως = θεο ί κα τα χθό νιο ι).133 The
letter forms suggest a late third-century date for the offering
(squared uncials). The earliest identifiable Christian inscription,
the burial marker of Aurelius Aniketos, son o f Eugenius, has a
M altese cross (late 4th c.?).134 After this, Christian texts become
quite common, even mentioning presbyters of the local church.135
T he fifth-century inscriptions bear some kind o f Christian symbol,
either an inscribed cross or else Alpha-Chi-Rho-Omega along with
the key words “ this marker” (τόδε σήμα). One of them is a bit
illiterate, having the redundant combination: “ This marker here
lies” (APü) τόδε αήμα ένθάδε κ α τά κ ιτε).136 The other states,
more correctly:137
(C ro ss inscribed in circle) M aked on ios, son o f the g reat (?) p riest
D iom edes, fasten ed this great m arker to a tom b by w ay o f rem em
brance for his prudent wife Nonnic. . . .
This “ Homeric” priest (άρητήρ) was probably one o f the village

presbyters, his “ prudent” wife (πινυτή) a new Penelope. The
knowledge of Epic Greek suggested by this inscription reflects a
modest rise in rural literacy with the coming of Christianity. A pagan
altar carved for funerary banquets was Christianized sometime after
391 with the incision o f an Ankh cross on it.138 This symbol seems not
to have come into Mediterranean-wide currency until the closure of
the Serapeum in Alexandria, whereupon the ankh signified the
death o f the pagan great god Sarapis and the Christian “ life to
com e” . 139 How soon the ankh cross reached the isolated village of
Kristenos as the sign of the victory of the new religion will remain a
,âî M AM A 1, 343. Ci. W.M. Calder, “ Corpus Inscriptionum Neo-

Phrygiarum,” Journal of Roman Studies 31 (1911), 207f.
,3‘ MAMA 1, 357.
1,5 MAMA 1, 363, 369.
MAM A !, 371.
lîî MAMA 1, 370.
MAMA 1, 368.
l" Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3.
ASIA MINOR 103
matter of conjecture. I would suggest a date no earlier than c. 410.

The pagan Aurelius Menneas had erected the altar for his deceased
son Aurelius Atta, who thereafter became a Phrygian divinity. The
cross was added later, after the bereaved father had accepted the
new religion. The funerary banquets will have continued after
Aurelius M enneas’ baptism , but he will have met his son for a
repast in the hope that the latter now enjoyed concourse with
Christian angels.140
The other villages o f the Axylon may be dealt with more briefly.
In general their epigraphy reflects the observations made about
Arallciön and Kristenos above. At present-day Goslu, we learn of a
presbyter and two deaconesses on separate steles.141 The Christian
key words “ this marker” recur.142 The latest Christian inscription
dates from 618.1+3 The Christianization of present-day K olu K issa
began before c. 400.144
At present-day Sengen there had been an annual priesthood of
Zeus M egistos. An altar inscription records the sacrifice of an o x.145
A Christian presbyter, deacon, and deaconess supplanted this cult
probably around the same time as at the other sites.146 T he village
contains a remarkable funerary inscription with a hexametric cou
plet. The inscription combines recollections of Homeric language
with the grossest kinds of itacism and confusion between the geni
tive and dative cases. W .M . Calder observes: “ The hexameter in
11. 10, 11 startles us in such company. This inscription, on a
well-carved and pretentious monument, throws significant light on
the state of education in a Christian villages about A.D. 375 to
450” :147
140 Cf, the outlawry of funerary banquets required in the epigrams of Gregory of
Nazianzus. Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 2. On the forbidden cult of angels, supra, Ch. II,
Sect. 4. The Aurelius Menneas inscription is found in: MAMA 1, 368. The
conclusions given here about Kristenos (present-day Cheshmeli Zebir) are gener
ally consistent with the later batch of inscriptions published in M AM A 1, 562—
570. Most of the latter are characterized by square uncials, ligatures, and rather
late-looking crosses. None o f the Christian inscriptions of this group belongs before
the late 4th c.
141 MAMA 1, 324-326.
142 MAMA 1, 319.
14S MAMA 1, 323. For a correction of the date given by Calder in MAMA 1,
see: Henri Grégoire, “ Inscriptions historiques byzantines,” Byzantion 4 (1927-28),
460f.
144 MAMA I, 312.
145 MAMA 1, 373.
146 MAM A 1, 381, 383. Cf. also M AM A 7, 577, 578, 580, 585.
147 MAMA 1, 382.
104 CHAPTER SEVEN
(C ross) T h e noble (an d ) excellent sons Patrokles and Paul, like-

m inded in soul, left this sp len did (funerary) m arker. But you, being
am on g m ortals, overlook the great sayin g o f m y sons in you r s a g a
cious w its, being su b d u ed by the m ild folly o f parents. B u t my good
sons who are so d ear to my heart built this with g reat an gu ish , after I
toiled with the palm s o f my h an ds at this inscription. T h ey did not
achieve great glory with daw n com ing on (i.e. in one night’s labor).
(In consequence) they have received great glory from heaven by the
grace o f G od, and rejoice in the kingdom o f heaven with C h rist, the
king o f all. G reeting, h ap p y m an! F or the end o f life shall overtake
you. F or they d id not accom plish this (task) am on g m ortals for the
sake o f their p aren ts (alone).
The Greek paideia had to await the coming of Christianity before it

penetrated the countryside around Laodikea. The epigram con
tains many phrases from Homer’s Iliad such as “ in (your) saga
cious wits” (èvl φ ρεσι πευκαλίμυσι) which were all fairly easy to
come by. One o f the boys was called Patrokles in honor o f the
Achaean hero Patroklos, the other Paul for obvious reasons. Their
heroic character in erecting their father’s funerary monument and
epigram lay not only in completing the marker. The effort put into
the poem proved to be quite daunting. We discover Homeric ideals
of manhood in the choice of such phrases as “ great glory'1 (μέγας
κΰδος, with the first word put incorrectly in the masculine rather
than neuter gender), an allusion to Achilles. T he father can hardly
have composed this after his death, as the epigram implies. The
sons or some local rustic with a gram m ar school education con
cocted it. The authorship had imperfectly memorized certain sec
tions or phrases found in the Iliads but no one could be found to
transcribe it into proper written form. Hence most of the diphthongs
are misspelled. Even so the inscription reveals intelligent syntacti
cal variation and earnest feeling. It reflects the sort of effort one
would expect of a rural family that was well-educated by its lights
and fairly prosperous, as the stonecutting o f the monument Is quite
impressive. The synthesis of Greek paideia and Christian belief was
not a phenomenon only o f the cities, but reached the tenitorium o f
Laodikea as well.140 In none o f this does there emerge the familiar
monastic aversion to the Homeric poems because of their explicit
description of sacrificial ritual. The teaching of H ypatius of
Rufinianae that the “ju st thing” rather than the art of education
Cf. infra, Ch, X I, Sect. 3 (The Ledjä) oji the statr, of rural education in the
Provincia Arabia. More generally, see: W, Ensslin, “ The Senate and the Army,”
Cambridge Ancient Histoiy 12 (Cambridge 1939), 66f.
ASIA MINOR 105
(ή τέχνη τής παιδευσεως) should prevail in Christian discourse

was not observed in eastern Phrygia,149
The villages o f eastern Phrygia that lay farther away from
Laodikea and outside the Axylon seem generally to have had later
dates o f Christianization, perhaps well after 400, a periodization
consistent with what is said about H ypatius’ forays into the deeper
rural areas of Bithynia and probably northern Phrygia. These
villages lie toward the G alatian borderlands. The evidences of cult
apparent in their epigraphy has some interesting connections with
Late Antique local Christianity.
The most noteworthy eastern Phrygian village was perhaps
Orkistos, to which Constantine the G reat had granted a separate
urban charter because the Christian religion prevailed there. It had
previously been a village in the iemiorium of pagan N akolea.150 The
Christianization o f O rkistos’ new temtorium is difficult to trace. The
cult o f the ubiquitous Attis is mentioned through his epithet
Ouenaouias in the Phrygian part o f a bilingual funerary relief and
inscription, as is Dyounsis Iskeiket (cf. the Indo-European root o f
the English “ sky” ) or O uranios.151 The stone calls upon the two
deities to “ bless these funerary rites” . The latter divinity, cognate
to the Greek Dionysus, was the Phrygian guardian o f tombs. The
recatcgorization o f these deities will claim our attention later. A
later Christian prayer inscribed on a church pillar reflects the
growth of literacy in G reek.152
The epigraphy of ancient Appola (present-day Choghu) poses
some problems that concern the later period of Christianization in
eastern Phrygia. One local votive inscription mentions the Phry-
gian goddess G a, the Anatolian form of the Hellenic G ë or Gës, a
female chthonic deity.153 In the ninth century A.D. some Christians
at an undisclosed location sacrificed a dog to Gë, hoping that she
would divulge the secrets o f buried wealth. When the scheme
failed, these folk confessed to their bishop, who wrote in turn to
patriarch Photius in Constantinople about the incident.154 Divini
ties recategorized as daimones thus continued to receive sacrifices
when men sought to penetrate their respective spheres o f operation.
149 Supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1.

150 Jones, Later Roman Empire, 91, 358, 719. For some new inscriptions at
Nakolea, see: Drew-Bear, Inscriptions de Phrygit, 32ff.
151 MAMA 1, 413. Cf. Drew-Bear and Naour, ‘’Divinités de Phryeie,” 1944-ff.
158 M AM A 1, 428. 8
143 M AM A 1, 435.
154 Photius, Ep. 1.20, PG 102, 788. Thanks to Leslie Brubaker for this reference.
106 CHAPTER SEVEN
Another inscription o f Appola provides a link between Neo-

Phrygian and Christian attitudes toward ancient tom bs;155
M ay the god strike at the eyesight o f him. who should m istreat the
coffins or tom b or covcred dw elling or trees, an d at the life o f his
children. M ay he provide ag ain st the children (and) leave them a
widow ’s livelihood and an em pty house.
This undated text ultimately goes back to simpler Neo-Phrygian

imprecations such as “ Whoever to this tomb harm does, let him be
accursed55 (ιος τα μανκαι κακουν αδδακετ, τ ι ετιτ[τ1ε-
τυκμενος}156 The protecting deity or collective spirits of the dead
(δεως ζεμελως = θ εο ί καταχθόνιοι) w ere p o p u la r ly b e lie v e d to
carry out the task o f punishing the tomb-breakers.î57
The inscriptions of Appola have a broader relevance. Elsewhere
the terminology of the imprecation varies. For example, there is one
from the village of Polybotus in eastern Phrygia that calls upon
both Attis and the subterranean deities to punish the tomb-breaker
(Αττιη κε δεως).Ι&8 An important example comes from Iconium in
Lycaonia (n.d.); “ I f anyone injures this stele, may he have to
endure the subterranean gods’ being provoked. . . (εάν δέ τις
τ[ήν σ]τήλ[ην άδ]ικησ[τϊ] θ[ε]ο[ύς] κα]τα[χθονι]ους [κε]χολωμ-
[έν]ο[υ]ς εχοίτο).159 Such notions passed into Christian Atticist
literature, as for exam ple the epigram s composed by Gregory,
bishop of Nazianzus in Cappadocia, on tomb-breaking. One of his
MAMA 1, 437,
156 Calder, “ Corpus Inscr. Nco-Phrygiarum,” 165.
157 Calder, “ Corpus Inscr. Neo-Phrygiarum,15 207f,
158 M AM A 1, 384, Cf. nos. 405, 406,
l5y Although the inscription has many gaps, Sterret’s reconstruction is plausi
ble. John R. Sterret, An EpigraphicalJourney in Asia Minor {Boston 1888), no. 237.
The meaning of “ being tormented” will claim our attention in due course. A
similar logic is found in the inscriptions of other districts. SEG 32 1288 (Thes-
mothonion, Phrygia, lst-3rd c. A.D.). The purported unpleasantness of the state
of the dead is reflected in an undated epigram copied from a tomb in Hadrianoi in
Phrygia: “ Mother, not even there with the subterranean daimones (καταχθονΐοις
μετά δαιμοσιν) should you be without a share of our gifts it wereproper we
should give you. Therefore I Nikomachos and your daughterDionehaveerected
this tomb and stele for your sake.1' Anonymous, Greek Anthology 7.333. Such tombs
often had funerary altars, whereat foods would be burnt for the dead. For example,
see: I.W. MacPherson, “ Six Inscriptions from G alatia,55 Anatolian Studies 22
( 1972), 22. In a funerary epigram composed by Gregory of Nazianzus, the fictive
speaker calls upon the tombs and dust and bones and attendant spirits who dwell in
ihe inouiid-iomb uf the dead man (σήματα καί σποδίη καί όστεα οϊ τε πάρεδροι
δαίμονες, οί φθι μένου ναιετε τόνοε λόφον) after opening by grave-rob bers.
Greek Anthology 8.205. Elsewhere, Gregory's poems call the Furies down on the
tomb-breaker (Gk. Anth. 8.199) and query whether divine justice does not protect
the dead from this (8,190). Three others are entitled “Against Tomb-Breakers”
(8,176, 8.179 and 8.180).
ASIA MINOR 107
poems calls upon the Furies (Έρινύες) to torture the violator of the
tom b.160 The fictive speaker in another of these mentions “ the
attendant daimones who dwell in this mound of the dead m an” (oï te
πάρεδροι δαίμονες, οι φθιμένου ναίετε τόνδε λόφον).161 These
daimones were sometimes invited to partake of funerary banquets
(καταχθόνιοι. . . δαίμονες) (from an inscription at Hadriani in
Phrygia).162 These spirits, along with the souls of the dead named
in the inscriptions, were thought to feed off the offerings burnt atop
the funerary altars. In some instances large families are named. An
inscription on such an altar (βωμός) in G alatia sums up these
relationships with convenient brevity:163
T o the su b terran ean deities. S atu rm n u s son o f D oryph oros furnished
the altars an d burning p laces for h im self and his wife an d their
children. O ne o f the altars is for his broth ers by w ay o f rem em brance.
G ood w orks by good m en! G reeting, p asser-by!
T he beliefs and practices connected with the dead and subterra

nean deities thus extended across the entire central plateau of Asia
Minor, running eastward from the headwaters o f the M aeander,
Lycus, and Cayster rivers in Phrygia through G alatia, Lycaonia,
and C appadocia to the foothills o f the T aurus mountains. Each o f
these cultural zones had distinct and living local vernacular lan
guages in the late third century and beyond.’64 The funerary cus
toms derived ultimately in each instance from Indoeuropean
religious ideas about burial and remembrance.
The Christianization o f the urban ierritoria where the nekropoleis
and altars lay posed problems for persons desiring to visit and
honor family members who had died before the coming o f the
Christian catechumenate. Inscriptions rarely illustrate this point of
conjuncture between the old and new religions, except in possible
instances of C hristians’ carving crosses on pagan tombs to signify
the continuity of family solidarity across this chasm of religious
transformation.165 The souls of the Christian dead might rise into
the ether in the company of angels, but what about persons who
ιδ0 Gretk Anthology 8.199,

161 Greek Antkology 8.205.
I6V Greek Anthology 7.333.
163 I.W. MacPherson, “ Six Inscriptions from G alatia,” 222.
164 Jones, Later Roman Empire, 993f. For criticism, see: Speros Vryonis, The
Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the
Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century (Berkeley-Los Angeles 1971), 45-49, with
comprehensive bibliography.
16 As suggested supra, this section.
108 CHAPTER SEVEN
had died before this?166 The bishops and presbyters surely empha
sized the old strictures about celebrating sacrificial meals with
sundry divinities, daimones, and spirits o f the d ead ,167 but certain of
Gregory of Nazianzus* other poems suggest that family solidarity
prevailed over religious scruples that went against local custom .'68
Cutting crosses on tombs could not remove ecclesiastical odium
from these acts, but could perhaps conceal the status of the pagan
dead if done surrepititiously. In all this the rustic religious con
sciousness is exceptionally difficult to reconstruct. The village pres
byters and their bishops could most probably count on a change of
heart only with the coming of a new generation, or with artificially
induced disruptions of rural society such as plagues, barbarian
raids, earthquakes, and the like, after which a district could be
partially recolonized with Christian peasants.
Except for sporadic Isaurian raids, Asia M inor was spared such
catastrophes all through the fifth century, or more properly 370-
529.169 Hence argument is on the side o f cultural continuity, Ulti
mately, as Christianity prevailed and the distant generations were
forgotten, the local churches made effective use of the argument
that the daimones attracted to funerary altars might be “ provoked*’
(όχλεΐν and derivatives) at the approach of Christians. The
seventh-century life o f Theodore ofSykeon iterates many examples
of the dire fate awaiting villagers, for example, who used pagan
nekropoleis as quarries for building materials* This taboo,170 original
ly designed to prevent the Christian rustics* concourse with the
pagan dead by way of sacrifice, developed into an ecclesiastically
sponsored superstition that resulted in the hysterical “ possession”
of whole village populations who feared the provocation and libera
tion o f those daimones by workmen and seekers after treasure-
166 Cf. supra, Ch. II, Sect. 5, and Ch. IV, Sect. 1.
,67 Tt is worth noting that Ambrose, the archbishop of Milan, fnrbade Monica,
Augustine's mother, to bring bread, wine, and sacrificial cakes to the tombs of
martyrs on their festival days. Augustine, Confessions 6.2. It was a survival of the
pre-Christian and Christian custom reflected in the mensa inscriptions of Roman
Africa. A pre-Christian example is found in Inscriptions Latinae Chnstianae Vettres,
ed. E. Diehl, 3 v. (Berlin 1925-31), no. 1570 (Satafis, 299 A.D.). Cf. Antonio
Fçrrua, Nuove correzioni alla sillage del Diehl Inscr. Lat. Chr. Vet. (Vatican City 1981),
37. For Christian examples, see: ILC V 3706-3725.
IGS The first Persian invasion of Asia Minor after the 3rd c. came only in 575.
Trombley, “ Monastic Foundations in Sixth-century A natolia/5 53.
170 On “ taboo-sickness” and the transmission of taboo ( “ touching phobia” ),
see Sigmund Freud, Totem end Taboo, tr. Jam es Strachey (Penguin Freud Library
13, London 1985), 79-02.
ASIA MINOR 109
trove.171 Whatever the psychological reality of these phenomena,

such behavior corresponded at some level to earlier ideas of becom
ing ritually enthused or “ possessed” by chthonic deities like Kybele
and perhaps Attis, who was identified as the guardian of tom bs.172
This behavior reflected cultural habit as well as religious belief In
sixth- and early seventh-century G alatia, at least, the village pres
byters and even the bishop o f Germia summoned Theodore of
Sykeon from his monastery, whereupon he dism issed the daimones
thought to cause this “ possession” by the ritual of exorcism .173
The other sites of eastern Phrygia provide a scattered but consis
tent picture of the religious transition. The village called Nea Kome
(“ New V illage” , present-day Gershulu) has an altar erected by the
village manager (οίκονόμος Νεοκωμητών) and other benefactors
in behalf o f the local salvation to the Mother o f the Gods
(σωτηρίας Μητρί θεών ευχήν) J 74 It is difficult to say if local
devotions of this kind affected the Christian terminology found in
an inscription on the high wall o f a chapel near Polybotus: “ Mother
of God, help!” (Μή(τηρ) θ(εο)ΰ β(οήθει,)).175 N ea Kom ë became
Christian by about 400. An inscription in Epic dialect commemo
rated a local presbyter or perhaps bishop:176
(C ro ss) T h is is the m arker o f the G od-fearing high p riest Patrikios,
who w as allotted the sacred glory o f the holy fethers after p u rsu in g it
for forty-eight years. M ay he dwell anew in the heavenly palace.
Once again it was characteristic o f Christians to assign the souls of

their dead to the parts in the upper aether rather than in the soil,
and in this instance to install the cleric Patrikios (θ(εο)·υδέος
171 The discovery of treasure was considered, in any case, to be an occult art
guided by the power of the divinity or nument as a law given at Constantinople on
2 March 390 indicates. Persons were thought to discover treasure “ by the prompt
ing of the divinity or the guidance of fortune” (suadente numine vel ducente for tuna).
Cod. Tkiod. 30.18.3.
172 This evidence is collected in Trombley, Survival of Paganism, 37—46.
173 The explosions of “ possession” hysteria may be related to a phenomenon
called the “ collective effervescence” by Bronislav Malinowski, “ The Public and
Tribal Character of Primitive Cults,” in Magic, Science and Religion and Other Essays,
ed. R. Redfield (Boston 1948), 35ff. Sigmund Freud applied psychoanalytic
method to an individual case of “ possession” of the 17th c. It is difficult to say at
this stage how applicable this study is to collective behavior. Sigmund Freud, A
Seventeentk-Centuiy Demonological Neurosis, tr, Jam es Strachy in Penguin Freud Lib
rary 14, London 1985, 383£ Freud’s Totem and Taboo throws light on such subjects
as the dead as enemies. 107ff. The incident at Germia is discussed at length in
Trombley, Survival of Paganism, 44—46,
174 MAMA 1, 408 (2nd c, A.D.).
175 MAMA 1, 387.
176 MAMA 3,412.
no CHAPTER SEVEN
άρχιερήος) in a Homeric-style mansion (αυλή) that awakens im

ages of a gateway, stoa, megaron, altar, and tholos building.177
At present-day B ashara in eastern Phrygia the inscriptions tell a
story of considerable flux. The only attested local deity is “ the holy
and ju st god” , who, on a relief sculpture, wears a radiate crown and
chlamys, and perhaps holds a staff.178 The local economy had
viticulture in addition to cereal and olive farming, and so must
have worshipped the usual Anatolian deities like Attis, Dyounsis,
and Kybele.179 The characteristic Christian formula “ here lies”
(ένθάδε κιτε or [κατά]κιτε) replaces the pagan term keroeion
(ήρωειον) on the funerary markers, which date from c. 400 on
ward to judge from the use o f crosses.160 Both attested Christian
clerics originally came from other villages. The presbyter (?)
(ειερεύς Θεοΰ) M axim us came from a site o f otherwise uniden
tified location called Pazon.181 The other, a certain Domnos, had
been presbyter to the village o f Eizikon in the territorium of the town
o f Meiros in the Tem bris valley farther to the w est.192 This cosmo
politanism suggests a shortage o f ecclesiastical personnel in the
parts of Bashara. This might indicate, in turn, a relatively late date
for the Christianization of this site and others round about.103
A Hellenic cosmopolitanism prevailed in the more westerly parts
of Phrygia in pre-Christian times, before c. 300, this in the territoria
of Dorylaeum and N akolea.104 The cult of Zeus Brontön originated
at Dorylaeum and spread in all directions into the countryside. He
received worship as the god of agriculture, probably because o f the
local dependence on rainfall, ac an important and centrally loeated
shrine in the present-day village of Avdan (ancient A ouada?),
where dedications to him in behalf of villages and individual per
sons have turned up* Zeus Brontön also took over the task of
guarding tombs that was more usually assigned to Attis and the
177 The term is also used for the tent o f Achilles* the hut of Eum aios, and the
cavern where Polyphemos dwelt.
,7a MAMA 1, 398.
,79 MAMA 1, 399.
130 MAMA 1, 399,402, 403.
161 MAMA 1,402.
MAMA 1,403,
183 Cf. the manpower shortage of catechetical personnel in the mid 6 th c. during
the Christianization of Asia, Phrygia, Lydia, and Caria. Trombley, “ Paganism in
the Greek World” 330ff, This is implicit in the fact that Syrians and Armenians,
who did not speak the local dialect of Greek, had to be imported to Asia Minor.
Ibid. 332.
184 Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua V: Monuments from Dorylaeum and NacoUa, ed.
C.W . Cox and A. Cam eron (M anchester 1937). Hereinafter cited as M AM A 5.
ASIA MINOR 111
subterranean deities.185 The territonum of Dorylaeum shared a long

common boundary with that of Nakolea, which also had Zeus
Brontön as its principal deity. It will be recalled that Constantine
the G reat had allowed Orkistos to secede from Nakolea because of
great hostility to Christianity in the latter town.186 The earliest
Christian tomb in the temtorium of Dorylaeum, that of Flavius
Lorentius (4th or 5th c.), lies in the suburb of M utalip some four
kilometers to the north.187 The man had apparently begun his
career as a barbarian soldier (γεντιΛίου = gentilis) .lB& It would
seem that Christians were interring their dead on the north side of
Dorylaeum to keep them away from the routes leading southward
toward the sanctuary of Zeus Brontön at Avdan.
O ur immediate attention is drawn to Avdan, where village com
mittees and private individuals erected votive offerings to Zeus
Brontön.189 A typical inscription runs: “ The people of Masikënôn.
A prayer to Zeus Brontön in behalf of their crops and property”
(Μασικηνοί υπέρ καρπών καί των ίδίω[ν] πάντων Α ιι [Bjpov-
ΐώ ν τ ι εύχήν).190 There is also an offering by a woman named T ata
in behalf of her small children to Men Ouranios, the Hellenized
form of the celestial (as opposed to chthonic) Attis.191 It would not
be surprising if this woman, with an Anatolian name, regarded
Attis as her god, but saw him transformed into Men by the temple
priests who presided over the Hellenistic cult. No remnant survives
of the temenos. A Christian marble ambo slab of uncertain date has
turned up on the site.192 It perhaps belongs to a Christian basilica
erected after a temple conversion on the site after c. 400. The only
Christian inscription at the site runs: “ (Alpha Omega) Lord,
help!” (6th c. or later).193 From the meagre evidence, it seems that
the other rural sanctuaries in the countryside lying between Dory
laeum and Nakolea were Christianized at a later date or not at all.
Several typical votive inscriptions dedicated to Zeus Brontön
185 MAMA 5, xxxix. Cf. Drew-Bear and Naour, “ Divinités de Phrygia,” 1992-
2013.
186 Most of the Christian inscriptions at Nakolea seem to date from the 5th c. or
later. M AM A 5, 308-312.
187 MAM A 5, 77.
188 Jones, Later Roman Empire 65If.
188 MAMA 5, î 24-146,
,M MAM A 5, 126.
131 MAMA 5 132. Cf. Drew-Bear, Inscriptions de Phiygie, 29fF.
1M The editors suggest a 4th or 5th c. date for the latter. MAMA 5, 145.
,M MAMA 5, 144.
112 CHAPTER SEVEN
survive at Süpü Ören. O ne prays in behalf of the oxen.194 in

another a priestess (ε'ίερίσσα) invokes the god to protect her own
property and that of her village.195 The temenos was not occupied
by a Christian monk until the sixth century. The phrasing of his
victory inscription suggests a temple conversion at that time, prob
ably in connection with the program o f catechization begun by
Ju stin ian the G reat and executed by Jo h n of Ephesus between
c. 53&-566.196 It reads: “ Nikephoros the servant o f Christ.
Je su s Christ conquers! Jo h n ” (Νηκοφόρ(ος) δθΟλ(θζ) X(picrto)iJ.
,Ι(ησου)ς Χ(ριστό)ς νηκα. Ιωάννης).197 It is difficult to say when
the temple cult ended at Süpü Ören. A date after 400 fits the local
context. The pagans of the place will have continued to sacrifice a
long time after this date. Nikephoros the monk will, like the many
Syrian ascetics, have occupied the turf of a dying cult that needed
one last push to topple it into cultural eclipse.
The other sites in the tenitoria o f Dorylaeum and Nakolea are not
enlightening as regards the end of the local cults. Among these
places is ancicnt Scrca (prcscnt-day Kuyucak), which has nothing
but pagan inscriptions dedicated to Apollo, Herakles, Papia, and
varieties o f Zeus. M ost of the texts are votives in behalf of the safety
of villagers, personal property, and oxen.196 Large estates existed in
this area, but it is unknown whether they were imperial or
private.199 The renters and coloni perhaps went over to the new
religion between 375 -450. The church of Serea imitated the format
of local pagan prayer in its own epigraphy, as one text reveals: “ In
behalf o f the prayer and safety of D iphas the deacon” ([υπέρ
εύχ]ής κε σωτήριας Δ ιφ α δίακόνο[υ]), which seems to belong
c. 380-420.200 This phrase certainly implies many other phenomena
of Ritenchristianisierung that can only be conjectured about.
The full extent o f the transformation by which the Christian
God, his martyrs, and archangels were fitted into the schemc of old
formulae and seasonal rituals is revealed in a complete text found
at Alexandria T roas in Hellespontus:201
194 MAM A 5, 152.

195 MAMA 5 155.
196 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 329-34,
197 MAMA 5, 365. The inscription dates from 500 A.D. or later, it seems,
because of the presence of the omicron-upsilon ligature,
,9a MAMA 5, 175, 178, 181, 182.
199 MAMA 5, 185.
200 Mostly square uncials. MAMA 5, 191. The editors suggest broader termini
(4th-6th c.).
201 Henri Grégoire, Recueil des inscnptions grecques chrétiennes d'Asie mineure (Paris
1922), no. 2. This collection hereinafter cited as IGC -As. M in ,
ASIA MINOR 113
In behalf of the vow of the villages and people of St. Tryphon, and of
those who make vow offerings in it (?), and of all their households
whose names God (alone) knows. Holy, holy, holy. God help us!
Amen.
Nothing much had changed since the pre-Christian period except
for the substitution of the martyr’s name— St. Tryphon having
been executed during the Decian persecution of 250— for that of
the deity, and the subjunction of the Trisagion (ύπερί ευχής
των χωρίων καί τοΰ λαοΰ του αγίου Τρύφωνος καί των
καρποφορούτων έν αύτψ καί πάντων των ΰκων αυτών . . .). The
villages mentioned in the inscription comprised a unit on an estate
perhaps of temple lands that later reverted to the imperial res prwata
before being given to a local see or monastery, The identity of the
deity is unknown.202
T o return to western Phrygia, the rustics in the territorium of
Nakolea brought offerings to the urban temples at least through the
early fourth century. We learn of villagers from Aezënôn (Άεζηνοί
ένχώριοί) making a vow to Men, the local Hellenized Attis.20î One
cosmopolite, perhaps sometime between 212-300, came to the tem
ple of Theos Hypsistos to fulfil a vow made in Rome.204 This deity,
too, looked after oxen and personal property,205 as did the ubiq
uitous Kybele, to whose temple a committee came from the village
o f Skala (Σκαλατηνοί [Μ]ητρί Κυβέλη εύχήν περί βοών).206
Sometimes a single individual was selected to carry out this task as
curator or superintendent (έ[πιμελουμέ]νου(?)).207 The distinctly
Anatolian deities persisted in this am algam of cults ju st as they did
later, after Christianity reached the countryside.208 Tenant farmers
lived in the parts around Nakolea.209 Their attem pts to scrape a
living out of the soil coupled w ith dissatisfaction with h ig h rents
paid to pagan landowners residing in Nakolea perhaps aided the
C h r is tia n iz a tio n o f the terntonum, a s it did in northern Syria, Egypt,
and North Africa.210 The new religion first appears in the Nakolean
2M Michael Rostovtzeff, Studien zur Geschichte des römischen Kolomtes (Archiv für
Papyrusforschung, Beiheft 1, Leipzig-Berlin 1910), 288, n. 1.
io} M A M A 5, 208. Cf. nos. 209, 210.
20+ MAMA 5, 211. Cf. Drew-Bear and Naour, “ Divinités de Phrygia,” 2032-
2043.
205 MAMA 5, 212.
2“ MAMA 5, 213.
207 MAMA 5, 218.
208 C f. Kybele^ also as the “ god d ess of the four s e a so n s” (Μ η τρ Ι
Τ[ετρ]απροσώπψ ίιπέρ άνθρώπ[ων] κέ τετραπόδων). ΜΑΜΑ 5, 101.
209 μισθωτής της κώμης υπέρ των ίδιω ν Δ ιι βρονιώ ντι είιχή. ΜΑΜΑ 5, 219.
210 Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2, and Ch. IX , Sect. 1. Cf. W.H.C. Frend, The Donatist
Church (Oxford 1952), 48-111.
114 CHAPTER SEVEN
countryside in the form of a personal confession. A slab in the

Tem bris river valley southwest of Dorylaeum tells the story elo
quently. It is written in six lines of graffiti with the words “ Lord,
help!” at the beginning and end. It contains the names o f four
Christian men and one woman who endorsed this plea in terms
that rejected the old formularies about the safety o f oxen, fields,
seasons, and specialized deities, and affirmed the Christian God
with a simple, all-encompassing plea (post c. 375 at the earliest).2,1
One cannot be sure whether these folk were urban travellers or
simple farmers, but such acts o f testimony aided the transformation
o f polytheistic rural culture for anyone who could read a bit. By
way of contrast, the retention of the old formularies as in the
sixth-century inscription from Alexandria T roas began with a con
scious choice to preserve the old meanings known to the rustics.
III. The Territorium of Hierapolis c. 400 in Light of the Aberkios Legend

T he life of Aberkios, the late second-century bishop of Hierapolis
(fl. c. 160-170) is the reconstruction of a historical life and career.
It was based on a long biographical funerary inscription, which
stood in common view during the late fourth century, was later lost,
and finally rediscovered in the twentieth century.212 The phe
nomena o f social and religious life that the hagiographer used to fill
out the rudimentary narrative contained in the inscription were
drawn mostly from the experience of his own lifetime c. 350-400,
along with certain events o f the G reat Persecution c. 303-313.
Although full of anachronisms, the life of Aberkios is an important
witness for the time in which it was composed. The fourth-century
data reflect conditions in the tenitorium o f Hierapolis during the
time o f Ju lia n the A postate, who disestablished the Christian
shrines there. The reports are the only plausible fragments about
the conflict between pagan and Christian in Phrygia that can be
securely dated. The stories about troubles with the urban Hellenes
of Hierapolis seem to have been inferred from real events, but
which of course could not have happened in the second century,
when Aberkios lived. O ur concern here lies with the temtodum of
Hierapolis in the years c. 350-400, when a very real bishop, whom
we might call quasi-Aberkios, began to penetrate the countryside
211 MAMA 5, 320.

2,2 For a summary o f the problem and relevant literature, see Calder, “ Early
Christian Epitaphs” 25f. Text citations derive from S. Abercii Vita, ed. Theodor
Nissen {Leipzig 1912).
ASIA MINOR 115
and set up Christian shrines that competed with those o f the rural
Hellenes,
M edicinal qualities were attributed to Anatolian hot springs
throughout Hellenic and Christian antiquity.213 The cures given
there were attributed to chthonic deities of various kinds, includ
ing, it seems, Attis. The archangel Michael seems to have sup
planted his cuit at a spring near C olossae during the era o f
C h r is tia n iz a tio n . T h is process of replacement came only after the
synoikism of competing cults.214 As the waters were considered
essential for recovery from disease, such acts o f compromise were
needed for Christians to use the sacred waters. Our quasi-Aberkios
of the fourth century found important work of this kind in the
countryside around H ierapolis:215
A gain after a few d ays St. A berkios travelled with the brothers to the
villages an d h am lets round ab o u t, esp ecially those im m ediately
neighboring his city, since he had heard th at m any persons there
were kept bed-ridden by various sickncsses. A fter going out and
treating them , he discovered that they h ad no bath -bu ild in g and
because o f this they were suffering. So he w ent to the p lace called
A gros along the river, knelt down, and prayed. . . . After he had
com pleted the prayer, there w as at once a su d den p eal o f thunder as
the air becam e clear, ju s t as all those stan d in g n earby declare, and
with the thunder a sp rin g o f hot w aters bu bb led u p in the p lace where
St. A berkios had inclined his knees. A ll present p raise d an d glorified
G od for w hat had h appened. A nd St. A berkios ordered those [dw ell
ing] in A gron to d ig deep cisterns for conveying the hot w aters and
for their being used to wash.
No one who knows the character o f the Phrygian cults can fail to
miss the pregnant pre-Christian associations of Aberkios’ minia
ture liturgy. Many shrines to chthonic deities already existed at hot
springs in the Phrygian countryside. What Aberkios and the
513 Trombley, Survival of Paganismt 48f

Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4. The thesis of Hellenic-Christian synoikism at sacred
springs has now been definitively proven, or so it seems. Phokas> Praetorian
Prefect of Oriens appointed in 532, left an annual legacy of BO soiidi to a Christian
church of the Angels, although himself a Hellene, Cyril Mango observes: “ . . . it
may be significant that Phokas, who was considered a paean, should have made a
donation to a church of the Angels, for the cult of archangels and angels was
common ground on which Christians, pagans and Jew s could all meet.” The site
receiving the donation is not entirely certain. Mango suggests the shrine at Germia
as one possibility, and that of the holy Myriangeloi outside Pessinus in Galatia as
the other. Mango favors Germia, which was the site not only of an angel cult, but
also of sacred springs. Such a construction is perfectly consistent with the thesis
argued in Ch. II, as noted above. Cyril Mango, “ Germia: A Postscript,” Jahrbuch
der osttmichischtn Byzantinistik 41 (1991), 297.
215 V. Abemi 39, (Nissen 30f.)<
116 CHAPTER SEVEN
C hristians o f his congregation needed was not a bath-house

(βαλανεΐον) per se, but one dedicated in the name of the new God
with his martyrs and archangels. Aberkios thus sought to avoid
synoikism with the associated dangers of Hellenic angelolatry or
Attis-worship, and to establish a new and independent Christian
shrine. Finding water in the subsoil was not the most difficult task.
O ur quasi-Aberkios devised a ritual that summed up the powers o f
local sky deities such as Men Ouranios (the celestial Attis) and
/e u s Brontön by his summoning o f the thunder (βροντή) and those
o f the chthonic deities like Attis again by causing the hot spring
(ή πηγή των θερμών ύδάτων) to rise up. This wonder, which the
hagiographer simply calls “ the event” (τό γενόμενον), placed the
cisterns (λάκκους) and the bath-house eventually built under the
tutelage of Christ.
It is quite probable that the villages and hamlets nearest the city
(εις τάς πέριξ κώμας καί χωρία, μάλιστα τά γειτνιάζοντα τής
πόλεως αύτοΰ) already had some Christians in them by the m id
fourth century, the dem ographic fact needed to justify the work of
construction, which the villagers of Agros perhaps undertook as
their tithe or sacred offering o f first-fruits. Thus, the seemingly
timeless events narrated about this quasi-Aberkios were closely
engaged to the ongoing religious confrontation in the territorium o f
Hierapolis. The Christianization was aided by the “ brothers” , that
is by the clergy of the see, who will have supervised the shrine and
pronounced the Christian liturgy there. A Christian “ m agic” that
controlled the subterranean waters and provided cures will have
preserved the Christian rural communities— whose members might
otherwise have frequented pagan shrines— and also have gained
conversions.216
The subsequent course of Christianization may be guessed from
the epigraphic record discussed in the previous section, which
suggests that the terntoria o f the Phrygian cities went over to the
new religion between 375-450. The life o f Aberkios mentions a
Christian vintner named Trophimion with whom the bishop took
bread and wine.217 T his report is consistent with the known agricul
ture of cereals and the vine in the parts o f Phrygia outside the
Axylon steppe. In later years the Christian spring at Agros is said
to have received an imperial endowment from the empress. I f so,
216 Hencc the occasional title of “ wondrous” (θαυμάσιος) borne by Anatolian

bishops. Cf. E.Varinioglu, “ Inschriften von Stratonikeia in Karien,” Epigraphica
Analolica 12 (1988), no. 87.
217 V, Abercii 56, (Nissen 40).
ASIA MINOR 117
this happened thanks to one of the imperial ladies of the Constanti-

nian house and not M arcus Aurelius’ wife Plotina as reported in
the text:218
[St A bcrkios] asked her to send a m aster-builder for constructing the
bath-house in the p lace called A gros-on-the-R iver, where he had
knelt down and prayed, and where the sp rin gs o f hot w ater had
bubbled up, an d even th at a provisionm ent of 3000 modii [in cereal
grains per ann um ] be apportioned to the poor o f his city.
The grain probably came from the imperial estates located in

Phrygia Salutaris:219
W hen the bath-house w as com pleted in the said A gros, it w as from
that time on w ard no longer called A gros-on-the-R iver, bu t rather
A gros T h erm on (“ A gros o f the S p rin g s” ). T h e grain provision stayed
in supply until the years o f Ju lia n the T ran sg re sso r. Since that m an
not only p ersecuted the C h ristian s but also begru d ged such gifts, he
ordered th at the grain being furnished to them be oroken on. From
that year (certainly 362) the gift has been withheld*
The gift had been modest compared with the 30,000 modii in grain
and 60,000 sextant in wine that Ju lian assigned to the temple of
Kybele at Pessinus.220 Ju lian was clearly pursuing a systematic
policy of transferring the imperial gifts previously allocated to
Christian shrines from them to his favorite Hellenic temples. After
his death, and during the years of emperor Valens in the East
(364^378), these grants were not switched back, but were rather
used for other purposes. This previously unnoticed event in the
terriiorium o f H ierapolis provides another im portant instance o f
the semipermanent character o f Ju lian 's attempt to disestablish the
Christian churches of the E ast,221
Two other Christian shrines were in existence outside Hierapolis
in the later fourth century, The first of these, probably spuriously
attributed to Aberkios, was a second Christianized sacred spring:222
It hap p en ed th at he w as one day on a high m ountain which is
opposite the city o f L ysia. W hen he and those with him becam e
thirsty, he knelt dow n an d prayed, A nd a sp rin g o f pure w ater
bubbled up an d all who had thirsted were satisfied from it, T h e
K Abercii 65, (Nissen 46, lines 14-19).

V. Abercii 66, (Nissen 47, lines 6—14),
220 Julian the Apostate, Ep. 22 (“ To Arsacius, Highpriest of G alatia” ) (Wrighi
3, 68-71). This text is analysed supra, Ch. II, Sect. 5,
221 Other instances include the reunification of Gaza with its seaport town
Maiuma and the extensive resotration of temples in the Hauran district of the
Provincia Arabia. Supra* Ch. I l l, Sect. 1, and infra, Ch. X I > Sect, 2.
222 K Abercii 75, (Nissen 52, lines 9-15),
118 CHAPTER SEVEN
p lace w as called G o n yklisia ( “ Spot o f K n eelin g ” ) from that tim e

onw ard.
The mountain in question had perhaps been a pagan “ high place”

(όρος υψηλόν). The limestone of the geologically young mountains
of Asia Minor frequently admitted torrents that forced their way
upward and could therefore be easily tapped.223 The second shrine
in question was the monumental tomb of Aberkios, a square struc
ture with a Christian altar beside it (τύμβον ίσοτετράγωνον κα ί
βω μόν).224 Here the Christian rustics will have occasionally heard
the liturgy recited am idst the tombs o f martyrs and other Christian
dead. Whatever the date o f the monument, it was the prominent
feature o f a late fourth-century Christian nekropolis. It bore a well-
known and great inscription commemorating the deeds and travels
o f Aberkios.225
The new religion took hold of the Phrygian countryside through
a gradually increasing institutional presence of the church. In an
exorcism performed by Aberkios inside Hierapolis, he is said to
have exiled the daimones of possession to a “ wild mountain” outside
the city limits (κα'ι εις άγριον όρος άπέλθατε) These daimones
will have remained there with the Hcllcnic gods of Hierapolis in
their rural shrines, which remained sites of religious awe and
sacrifice until the coming of Christian shrines like those at Agros
Therm ön and Gonyklisia.
IV. The Territorium o f Pessinus in Galatia Salutaris

The two G alatias lay directly to the east and northeast of Phrygia.
Their countryside seems to have become generally Christian be
tween the accepted termini o f 375-450. They provide a peculiar case
in that the epigraphic evidence is scanty at best, and in the fact that
the most detailed local source, the life of Theodore of Sykeon (fl.
542-613), treats the region after it was mostly, but not completely,
Christianized.227 M any pagan villages still existed in 362, when
Ju lian the Apostate donated large quantities of cereal crops and
wine to Arsakios, the high priest of the cult o f Kybele at Pessinus.
These comestibles were designed more than anything to provide for
the poor in revitalizing this important fertility cult in the face of
i23 On springs in Phrygia, cf. Ernest Chaput, Pkrygie, Exploration archéologique I'.
Géologie et géographie physique {Paris 1941), 91-94.
™ V. Abercii76, (Nissen 53, line 2Γ.).
” 5 V. Abercii 77,(Nissen 53f.). Cf. Ch. V II, n. 212.
V. Abercii 11, (Nissen 10, line I Of. ).
777 For a summary, see Trombley, Survival of Paganism, 32-50.
ASIA MINOR 119
Christian almsgiving,226 There is no reason to suppose anything

unusual, apart from local cultural tendencies, about the Chris
tianization of G alatia after the termination o f these grants, which
may have rem ained in force for some decades after Ju lia n 7s
death.229
There was a great “ high place37 outside Pessinus, the adm inistra
tive capital of G alatia Salutaris, called Mount Dindymus. Inscrip
tions, roofing tiles, and, significantly, a well have turned up here.
The a rte facts point to a date of occupation in the fifth centu ry or
later.23QThe site became a Christian nekropolis during this period.231
The Christian inscriptions here mostly have crosses and the ‘‘here
lies” (ένθάδε κατάκιτε) burial formula and sometimes “ servant of
G od” (δουλή Θ εο ύ ).732 Among the Christian dead were a woman
o f senatorial family (λαμπρότατη), a female seller of food and drink
(προπιναρέα), and M enander the presbyter. The secure Chris
tianization o f this high-place belongs in the fifth century, One
inscription belongs earlier, but its date is disputed,233 Mount Din
dymus’ relatively late occupation by Christians stands in contrast
to the town of Pessinus proper, where Christian folk using the same
formulae turn up by c, 365,™ and where a church lector is named
shortly after 400,235
At the site called Tutlu, off in the direction of Germia, was the
pre-Christian tomb of a woman, Asklepia Attönos.236 Her father
bore a variant o f the name of Attis, whose likely cult at G erm ia
was supplanted around this time by that of the archangels.237 At
Tutlu as well one finds the tombs of men with the Iranian names
Ochos and M andana. The parts of G alatia were being colonized
by Iranians during the Rom an imperial period.230 It will be
™ Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 5,

™ J.H , Strubbc, '"Inscriptions inédites de la region du Mont Dindymos en
Galatie,” Mnemosyne 34 (1981), 107-126. Hereinafter cited as Strubbe, “ Inscrip
tions. ” Mount Dindymos seems to have been another “ high place” whose tutelary
deity was Kybele, the Mother of the Gods, who bore such epithets as “ Dindymean
Mother” and “ Mountain Mother'1, For a modern sense of the religious awe
evoked by the mountain, see P. Lambrechts, “ La quartième campagne de fouilles
à Pessinonte (Turquie),” Turk Arkehji Dergisi 18 (1969), I38f.
531 Lambrechts, “ Fouilles à Pessinonte,” 138f.
232 Strubbe, “ Inscriptions,” nos. 1-4.
w Strubbe, “ Inscriptions,” no. 6.
214 Strubbe, “ Inscriptions,” no. 7.
235 Strubbe’s date, “ Inscriptions,” no. 8.
236 Strubbe, "Inscriptions, * no. 10.
257 Cf, supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4.
Strubbe, “ Inscriptions,” nos. 12, 13. There was a temple conversion c. 400,
if William M. Ramsay's conjecture is right, elsewhere in Galatia. He mentions this
120 CHAPTER SEVEN
demonstrated in the next section that colonists of this ethnic group

remained an important religious and cultural substrate during Late
Antiquity in First CappaHocia.
V, Eastern Anatolia: Cappadocia and Isauria

The Christianization of eastern Anatolia, comprising the two Cap-
padocias and Isauria, did not deviate much from the pattern found
in the central steppe or western coastlands in terms of chronology
or the methods used, except for one marked difference, In the
countryside of First Cappadocia, with its administrative capital at
C aesarea, there were many Iranians who continued to adhere to
fire-worship for the duration of the period under consideration
here, 370-529. Let us first consider the more normative features o f
Christianization before dealing with the M azdaeans,
The Christian communities in the towns o f C appadocia dated
back to the late second century A.D ., but the countryside resisted
religious change longer. C appadocia was, like the central Anatolian
plateau, a semi-arid steppe suitable for stock rearing. Relatively
few towns lay about, the principal cities being Caesarea M azaka
and T yana, the provincial capitals of First and Second C appado
cia. The local C app ad ocian language belonged to the Indo«
E u rop ean fam ily and had a close affinity to Phrygian and
Lycaonian.2*9 Many factors of local culture therefore militated
against easy Christianization. Yet by 372, the non-Iranian com
munities around C aesarea were accepting the new religion. The
lack of epigraphic data prevents a very detailed assessm ent o f this
process.
Our only evidence for the Christianization of rustic Cappado-
cians lies in the syncretistic style o f worship that still prevailed in
the parts around Caesarea in 372, in the village of V enasa, where a
young deacon called Glycerius acquired a considerable following.
Three letters of Basil* archbishop o f Caesarea, set forth the salient
characteristics of this “ cult” . At no point in the controversy,
in connection with a temple of Mannes-Men. ‘'Studies in the Roman Province of

Galatia/' Journal of Roman Studies 14 (1924), 172-75.
239 The Indo-European substrate of southern Asia Minor was a combination of
the Hittite, Luwian and Palaic languages, Vladimir L Georgiev, Introduction to the
History of the Indo-European Languages (Sofia 1981), 194 IT Lycian and Lycaonian are
related and descended from Luwian. Ibid* 206. Pisidian is unrelated. Ibid* 215.
Nothing of Cappadocian seems to have survived in the inscriptions, and it is
consequently difficult to classify. The languages of the surrounding areas were all
nevertheless Indo-European. Cf, Jones, Later Roman Empire 993, indicating that in
one of his homilies, Basil of Caesarea mentions the indigenous language as being
well known to his congregation.
ASIA MINOR 121
however, did Basil denounce Glycerius for sacrifice or apostasy,

William Mitchell Ram say makes much of this mainly liturgical
disagreement,240 taking it as a sign of eclecticism and syncretism
among the recently Christianized.
The principal complaint against Glycerius, the deacon o f V ena
sa, lay in the style o f hymning and dancing adopted by his following
o f young men and women, who roamed about the steppe perform
ing acts o f devotion that offended the village presbyter, the
chorepiskopos, the fathers o f the women, and finally Basil
himself:241
The festival of V enasa was being celebrated, and as usual a vast
crowd was flocking thither from all quarters. [Glycerius] led forth his
chorus, m arshalled by young men and circling in a dance, making the
pious cast down their eyes, and rousing the ridicule of the ribald and
loosc-tongued.
Ram say developed a detailed analysis of this business:242

Moreover, the synodos o f V enasa was one of the most ancient and
famous religious meetings in C appadocia, The priest of Zeus at
V enasa was second in dignity and power only to the priest of Kom a-
na; he held office for life, and was practically a king. A village
inhabited by 3,000 hierodouloi was attached to the temple, and round
it lay a sacred domain that brought in an annual income of fifteen
talents. . , .
Christianity directed the religious feeling o f the country towards
new objects, but preserved the old seasons and methods. A Christian
festival was substituted for the old festival of Zeus, doubtless the
occasion when the god m ade his annual exodos, or procession round
his country. Basil, unluckily, pitiless of the modern scholar, does not
name the month when the festival took place, and the sole memorials
o f it that remain to complete the account o f Strabo are, first, a brief
invocation to the heavenly Zeus, found on a hill-top, to guide us
(along with other evidence) to the situation . . and, secondly, these
letters o f Basil, to show how the C appadocian Christians developed
the pagan festival.
At this great religious ccremony o f the whole country, Glycerius
brought forth his followers, singing and dancing in chorus. Such
ceremonies were necessarily a part of the old religious festival of
Zeus, and their existence in it, though not attested , may be safely
assumed ; accordingly there is every probability that they were not
novelties introduced by Glycerius, but were part o f the regular C ap
padocian custom. . . * Hymns undoubtedly were substituted for the
pagan formulae, and not a hint is dropped by Basil that the dancing
24û μ , Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire before A.D. 170 (New
York-London 1893), 449-464,
241 Ramsay, Church in the Roman Empire, 452,
242 Ramsay, Church in the Roman Empire, 457-59.
122 CHAPTER SEVEN
and sin ging were not o f a quiet and m odest character. T h e license o f
the old p agan cerem onies h ad been given up; blit in m any respects
there w as no d ou bt a striking resem blan ce betw een the old p a g a n and
new C h ristian festival. . . . In the old p ag an festival the leader o f the
festival wore the d ress an d bore the nam e o f the deity whom he
represented. . . . G lycerius, as B a sil tells a s, assu m ed the nam e and
dress o f a “ p a tria rc h ” . T h e m eaning o f this seem s to be that the
director o f cerem onies . . . w as eq u ip p ed in a style correspon ding to
the p ag an priest, an d assu m ed the ch aracter o f the highest religious
official, the p atriarch .
Paucis verbis, early rural Cappadocian Christianity developed litur-

gically out of pagan custom. The archbishop reacted to this by
seeking to impose a more ascetic and regularized style of worship
lying in the mainstream of Greek Christianity. This new cosmopoli
tanism had little tolerance for local custom.
It is possible that the Christianization o f the territormm o f
C aesarea began in earnest only after c. 365, and that the Cappado-
cians, at least, became Christian rather quickly, thanks to B asil’s
systematic efforts to encourage correct forms of devotion, including
martyr festivals that celebrated the victory of the new religion.
Thus, the panegyris o f Eupsychios, D am as, and companions was
celebrated every 7 Septem ber in the city and territorium of Caesarea
by 376 (ών ή μνήμη Ôt5 έτους παρά τής πόλεως ημών κα ί τής
π ερ ιο ικ ίδ ο ς πάσης τ ελ είτ α ι).243 These men had been executed by
Ju lian the Apostate for demolishing the local Tychaion.24* M artyr
relics destroyed the potency o f sacrifice at pagan shrines, and their
festival swallowed up the old seasonal rituals designed to ensure the
peace o f the gods. It is not surprising, then, that Basil suppressed
Glycerius the deacon’s liturgical excesses. It is possible, as well,
that Basil opposed the Christianization of the primaeval apotropaic
rites designed to protect tilled fields from hailstorms and floods. In
a letter to a presbyter o f Nikopolis in 376, he refers to these events
as “ accidental evils” (οσα των κακών α υτοσχέδια).245 As such
they will have been susceptible neither to pagan nor Christian
rustic magic.
The fire-worshippers or M azdaeans of C appadocia belonged to a
wave o f Iranian settlers who colonized the region before the first
century A.D . They kept their religious institutions through the fifth
century. There is a remarkable correspondence between what the
243 Basil, Ep. 252 (Dderrari 4, 8-21).

2,4 Basil, Ep. 252 (Defenari 4, 18-21, n. 1). See also Ep. 100 (Deferrari 2, 185,
n. 1).
2+5 Basil, Ep. 240 (Delerrari 3, 422f.)
ASIA MINOR 123
geographer Strabo has to say about them and what later writers
tell. Strabo indicates:246
N um erou s is the nation o f the M ago i there [in C a p p a d o c ia ] who are
also called Puraithoi (“ fire-w orshippers” ). T h ere are also m any tem
ples o f the P ersian gods. In C a p p a d o c ia they do not sacrifice with the
sw ord, but with a type o f log, striking [the victim ] as though with a
club. T h ere are also fire-tem ples (pyraithcia), a num ber o f notable
sacred enclosures. In the m iddle o f these is an altar [bômos) on which
there are m any em bers, an d the M ago i keep the first unquenched.
U p on entering them daily they sin g for nearly an hour while holding
a bundle o f rods in front o f the fire and w earing felt tiaras that have
cheek pieces com ing down on either side to the extent o f hiding the
lips. T n ese rites are p racticed in the tem ples o f A n ah ita and O m an os.
T h ere are also sacred enclosures in these tem ples, T h e idol o f O m a-
nos leads the procession. T h ese things I have seen. , . .
The magoi of Cappadocia disappear from the historical record until

Basil of C aesarea notes their existence again in a letter to Epipha-
nius o f Salam is (in 377). Referring to these folk as M agousaioi, he
reports their being scattered “ nearly throughout our entire coun
tryside/ ’ or rather the Urritorium of C aesarea (πολύ έστι παρ' ήμιν
κατά πάσαν σχέδον την χώραν διεσπαρμένον):247
T he M a g o u sae a n people, whom you saw fit to m ention to m e in
another letter, is con sid erable am on g us, being scattered throughout
nearly the entire countryside and being m igran ts whom we intro
duced a long tim e ago from B abylon ia. T h ey p ractice peculiar cus
tom s and are unm ixed with the rest o f the popu lation . R eason is
wholly ineffective with them becau se they have been tam ed by the
deceiver to his own will. F or there are neither scrip tu res nor teachers
o f doctrine am on g them , but they are raised by irration al custom ,
with the boy being taught the im piety by his father. A sid e from these
things which are evident to all, they refuse an im al sacrifice as a
defilem ent, but slaugh ter the an im als they need [for m eatl through
the h an ds o f others. T h ey seek unlawful m arriag es an d reckon fire as
a god. T h ere are other such things. N one o f the magoi will tell us even
to this day th at their descent is from A b rah am , but they call a certain
Z arn o u as in stead the founder o f their race. W herefore I have nothing
else to report to your honor ab o u t them .
In the culturally isolated environment of Cappadocia the Maz-

daeans had gradually lost the use o f the Zoroastrian scriptures and
the priesthood. Little syncretism o f belief had arisen in the in
tervening centuries. “ Zarnouas” is perhaps an etymologically cor
rupted and shortened form of Zoroaster.
248 Strabo, Geography 15.3.15,

247 Basil of Caesarea, Ep, 258 (“ To bishop Epiphanius” ) (Deferrari 4, 44-47).
(= PG 32, 952C-953A),
124 CHAPTER SEVEN
One suspects deliberate irony or understatement in B asil’s words

and a degree o f ignorance about the subject. He could hardly admit
the existence of fire-worshippers (και τό πυρ ήγουνται θεόν) living
am ong his own Christian rustics with equanimity to Epiphanius of
Salam is, the arch-hunter of heretics. The magoi did not mix freely
with the rest of the population, living instead in separate communi
ties and refusing to intermarry with the Cappadocians (δμίκτοι
οντες προς τούς άλλους άνθρώπους). None of the other local
pagan cults had any meaning for them, nor did the lack of scrip
tures vitiate their cult or social fabric. Basil admits that “ reasoning
with them is wholly ineffective.” The missing element in his report
is the linguistic character of the M agousaioi. I f they had continued
to speak a dialect of M iddle Iranian, they would have remained
resilient to the very essential Hellenizing component of B asil’s
program o f uprooting the rural cults.
The fire-temples that figure so prominently in Strabo’s Geography
are now absent. The M agousaioi did not practice animal sacrifice
(ζωοθυσία), but regarded it as a defilement of earth and sky,
which along with fire had the status of divinités in Zoroastrian
ism. The missing temples turn up in B asil’s Eighty-first Canon,
where provision is made for persons “ completing pagan oaths and
tasting unlawful foods offered by them to the magian idols”
(όρκους έθνικούς έπιτελέσαντες, καί άθεμίτων τινών
γευοάμενοι τών εν έιδώλοις τοις μαγικούς προσενεχθέντων
αύτοΐς).248 If we accept B asil’s testimony in the letter to Epipha
nius, persons other than the M agousaioi were performing the sac
rifices. Apart from the C appadocian pagans still in the countryside,
it must have been the “ barbarians” , who were most certainly
contingents o f pagan Isaurians, that compelled their captives to
perform sacrifices in empty fire-temples.*49 We learn that C app ad o
cian Christians cooperated in this “ without great necessity” (άνευ
άνάγκης μεγάλης), “ grasping at the [altar] table o f the daimones
and sw earin g p agan o a th s” (άψάμενοι τής τραπέζης τών
δαιμόνιων, καί όμόσαντες όρκους Ελληνικούς). Basil prescribes
eight years’ penance for those who apostasized under torture,
eleven years for those who did so voluntarily. These will have been
mostly rural folk who could not reach any fortified place when the
lightning-like Isaurian raiders descended on their settlements,250
248 Basil, Ep. 217 (Dderrari 3, 260-63).

In an entry belonging to c. 353-54, Ammianus Marcellinus mentions Isau
rian raids in eastern Anatolia. Res Gestae 14.2. Cf. Res Gestae 27.9.6. For an Isaurian
raid against Nikopolis in northern Syria, see infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 4.
See previous note.
ASIA MINOR 125
B asil’s Eighty-first Canon accounts not only for the “ m issing”

M agousaean fire-temples (Π υρα ιθεια ), but also the cultic tenden
cies o f the recently Christianized C appadocians, some of whom
reverted to their old religious ways without much compulsion.
Unlike Ju lian the Apostate, the barbarian Isaurians provided no
new martyr cults for the territonum o f Caesarea, The chorepiskopoi o f
the archdiocese are said to have numbered only fifty. They certain
ly had their work cut out for them in these parts.
The survival of fire-worship into the fifth century is plausible in
light of all that Basil o f Caesarea has to say, and has nothing
against it for all the reasons given above. Priscus o f Panium prob
ably confirms this in his account of an embassy sent by the Sassa-
nid Great K ing Peroz to emperor Leo I in 464.251 This aggressive
monarch demanded free religious practice for Zoroastrians living in
the Eastern Roman Empire, along with the usual requests for funds
to defray the cost o f a fortress called Iuro-eipaach in the C aspian
G ates:252
There also arrived [an embassy] from the monarch of the Persians,
having as its cause those persons of their race who had migrated, that
is the magot who lived in the Roman empire from times long past.
[The problem was that the Romans] wished to draw them away from
their ancestral laws and customs, as well as from their ritual in
respect to the divine; then too, the Romans trouble them constantly
and do not allow them to kindle what they call the unquenchable fire
according to their customary law, . . . The Romans replied that they
would send someone to negotiate with the Parthian monarch, that
refugees would no longer be [admitted] from among the [Persians];
nor would the Romans harass the magoi about their religious prac
tices.
This demarche resulted in a grant of religious toleration to the
magoi of the empire. The rule evidently remained in force until the
Persian W ar of 527-532. Irreconcilable political differences with
K avad and a manifest desire to Christianize the empire will have
caused Justin ian the Great to require the baptism o f all fire-
worshippers after the renewal o f the emperor Zeno’s edicts against
paganism in 529.253 Priscus, or perhaps the excerptor o f his
251 Priscus of Panium, Fr. 31 in Histonci Graeci Minora 1, ed. L. Dindorf (Leipzig
1870), 341-43.
“ 2 Priscus, Fr. 31 (Dindorf I, 342, lines 2-10 and 22-26.
253 I can find no plausible earlier date. Zeno’s laws agains Hellenic religion c.
481--88 quickly shelved. Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 6. The Persian War waged by the
emperor Anastasius 502-507 lacked the bitterness of the later conflicts. That
monarch sought in any case to cultivate political consesus and was not inclined to
persecute.
126 CHAPTER SEVEN
histories, failed to stipulate the localities in question. They may

have included parts of Roman Armenia and M esopotam ia, but the
only known large concentrations of Zoroastrians dwelt in C appado
cia. Living in the empire “ from times long past’5 (των Μάγων των
ev xf)'Ρωμαίων yfj έκ παλαιών οικούντων χρόνων), these folk
were a settled population and not recent limitrophic settlers. This,
too, points to the Cappadocian communities. The comprehensive
legislation of Theodosius the G reat in 392 had, in time, permitted
the successors of Basil of C aesarea to restrict the M azdaean divine
liturgy {τής περί τό θειον άγιστείας) and the kindling o f the
“ unquenchable fire” (τό παρ’ αύτοΓς άσβεστοv καλούμενον πυρ)
in rural Cappadocia. The fire-worshippers had, despite this, kept
their religious and ethnic identity. Their resistance to Christianiza
tion did not pass unnoticed in Gtesiphon.
It is quite possible that the culturally resilient M azdaeans o f
Cappadocia capitulated to the Justinianic law bitterly and grudg
ingly. Historians have been hard put to explain the rise of dualis-
tic Paulicianism in the early ninth century, often searching vainly
for some mythical heresiarch called “ Paul” or some variant o f that
nam e.254 The M azdaeans of eastern Anatolia may well have pro
vided the fertile ground for a dualistic hybrid of Christianity and
fire-worship. The am algam will have begun to percolate in the
years of breakneck Christianization between c. 538—566 that saw
Joh n o f Ephesus claim 80,000 converts in western Asia M inor.555
Rapid conversions claimed for administrative purposes led not only
to Ritenchristianisierung, but to locally popular theological syntheses
as well, particularly in districts where catechetical manpower was
in short supply and local culture proved resistant.256
It rem ains in conclusion to consider the pagan Isaurian s who
com pelled, as it seem s, the sacrifices mentioned by Basil of
See the study of Paul Lemerle, “ L'histoire des Pauliciens d’Asia mineure
d’après les sources grecques/’ Travaux et Mémoires 5 (1973), 1-144, This article
does nut discuss the cultural substrate of Paulicianism.
For a defense of this figure, see Trombley> “ Paganism in the Greek World/'
330Γ
It is worth asking, as well, whether the domed, square structure of the
typical small fire-temple did not in fact become a useful model for domed Chris
tian churches in eastern Anatolia, If so, we have another important example of locally
significant Christianâtion of rite. Cf. Kurt Erdmann, “ Feuerheiligtum—
KreuzkuppelkiTche,” Neue Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte des L Jahrtausends /: Spätantike
und Byzanz (Baden-Baden 1952}, 53-70, There is no safe ground for denying the
demographic reality of Mazdaeans in Cappadocia. For the proliferation of Maz
daean communities throughout Armenia, Iberia, and Albania down to the 3rd. c.
A.D see: Marie-Louise Chaumont, “ Conquêtes sassanides et propagande maz-
déene,” Historia 22 (1973), 692-709.
ASIA MINOR 127
C aesarea to be perform ed. It is im possible to conceive o f any

circum stances under which the Isaurians might have become
Christian before 400, that is until their gradual pacification had
been achieved in about the mid-fifth century. The original Alahan
monastery seems to have played a role in this process from c. 425
onward, to judge from a Christian stone altar found there.257 The
Isaurians were a mountain folk who will have lived as pastoralists,
taking up raiding only when overpopulation forced them down
onto the plains of Lycaonia and C appadocia, and then onto the sea
and into the parts o f northern Syria. Ammianus M arcellinus writes
at length about these forays between c. 353-368.258 The ferocity o f
their organized brigand bands (vastoriae manus) suggests an un-
Christianized folk, nor were their craggy settlements easily acces
sible to prospective catechists. I am inclined to view the mass
execution of Isaurian captives in 353/4 by throwing them to the
wild beasts in the amphitheatre of Iconium as an indirect proof of
their paganism , as a law of Constantine the G reat had specifically
forbidden the execution of Christians by this method.259 There is,
finally, the evidence o f personal names. An Isaurian raiding band
reached Si$, a village in the territorium of Nikopolis in Euphratesia,
around the year 400. Symeon Stylites the Elder is said to have gone
out to remonstrate with the enemy outside the walls of the kastron.
He introduced himself with the words: “ I am a Christian.” Such an
assertion would have had no meaning except that the Isaurians
were not. We know that the names of the Isaurian leaders were Bos
and Altemdorus. O f these Bos is a barbarian, non-Christian, non-
Hellenic name, whereas Altemdorus might be a corruption of
Artemidorus.260 There is no reason to suppose that a random group
of mountaineers from Isauria were Christian at a time when many
sedentary villages of farmers were still pagan.
Jo h n Chrysostom is said to have engaged in evangelical activity
among the residents of the T aurus mountains after his deposition
from the see o f C onstantinople (20 Ju n e 404) and exile to
Koukousos.261 The cults o f the region were seemingly a mixture o f
257 Cyril Mango has come around lo the view that the Alahan site was not
initially a monastery. “ Germia: A Postscript,''Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinis
tik 41 (1991), 298-300.
2ia Ammianus Marcdlinus, Res Gestae 14.2, 19.13, and 27.8.10.
259 Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 14.2.1 and 27*9.6. Jones, Later Roman
Empire t 1017f.
“ Syrische Lebensbeschreibung des HI. Symeon,” tr. Heinrich Hileenfeld, in
Das ï*ben des ktiligtn Symton Stylites, ed. Hans Lietzmann (Leipzig 1908), 83f.
26î George of Alexandria’s life of Chrysostom is discussed supra, Ch. IV, Sect.
2, and Appendix IL I have rejected F. Halkin’s argument that George of
128 CHAPTER SEVEN
Hellenic, Iranian, and unknown indigenous religion. Koukousos

was a small fortress in the T aurus range near Arabissos in Third
Armenia, a spot that had had to endure many sieges by Isaurian
raiders. The precise ethnic character o f the local hill folk is un
known. Our source, George of Alexandria, observes:262
T h ere w as a g reat num ber o f idol-w orshippers in that land, and
others who w orsh ipped trees and grov es, and others yet who w or
sh ipped the sun. [Jo h n heals a m an who w orshipped the sun.] S o
upon seeing the p rod igious and p arad o xical event, all the m en o f th at
nation believed in the L ord o f one accord an d quite a num erous
m ultitude w as baptized. H e appointed seven bishops for them and a
large num ber o f presbyters an d d cacon s to assist the people (plitkos)
with a church liturgy and a holy an d bloodless sacrifice. H e also
arran ged hym ns o f the p salm ody for them and gave them the divine
liturgy. For he discovered by the grace o f G od that som e o f them
knew the G reek lan gu age, and so he p rep ared them to tran slate the
New T estam e n t an d p salter into their ow n lan gu age, that they m ight
have know ledge o f the divine scripture. H e enjoined them to learn the
p salter thoroughly, that they m ight sing from its odes in the churches,
saying: “ T h ey are ab le to tran slate the O ld T estam e n t in p a r t / ’ A nd
in a few d ay s they blossom ed forth into the faith o f the savior so that
they outdid m any o f those who h ad accepted the faith before them.
[Jo h n perform s m any other cures.]
There was a relatively dense rural population in the parts around

Koukousos, some o f them praying to household idols, others
praying to the tutelary spirits of trees and groves. The “ sun-
worshipper” (ήλιολάτρης) whom Joh n is said to have healed may
in fact have been a M azdaean. It is difficult to credit George of
Alexandria's story that Chrysostom, whose patriarchate had in
cluded the diocese of Pontica, defiantly consecrated seven bishops
and other clergy, although it is not impossible. T o judge from his
letters, Chrysostom ’s guards gave him a great deal o f practical
freedom. En route to Koukousos he made many local friends like
the noble woman Seleucia, widow of the Praetorian Prefect Rufinus
(ob. 395), who protected the patriarch and his retinue from Isau
rian bands at her fortified estate in the suburbs of C aesarea.263
Receiving clients and composing plaintive letters were Chrysos
Alexandria invented this episode, along with that dealing with Chrysostom’s
supposed visit to Athens.
George of Alexandria, K Chiysostomi 59 (Halkin, 237-39). The personal
onomastics found in the inscriptions of Koukousos are not helpful in resolving this
riddle. The names are mostly Greek or Anatolian. Sterret, EpigraphicalJourney, nos.
278-286. (Present-day Göksün).
263 John Chrysostom, Ep. 14 (“ To the deacuness Olympias” ), PG 52, 613.
ASIA MINOR 129
tom ’s only possible diversions once at K oukousos, hence his

catechetical work.
The local rustics were not Greek speaking for the most part, but
George of Alexandria fails to indicate their language.264 The com
position of a paraphrastic redaction of New Testam ent verses for
local use is not impossible. More important is the un-Hellenized
character o f the population around Koukousos where, in conse
quence, the new religion could be disseminated only by bilingual
catechists. The local dialect is unknown: it was either Armenian,
G appadocian, or Isaurian. The province o f Third Armenia lay in a
borderland zone where many linguistic groups mingled, and where
Syriac was a lingua franca along with Greek,
The few bits of evidence suggest that regions of great ethnic
diversity where few Hellenic cults had existed began to receive the
new religion only from the early fifth century onward. This entailed
resorting to Christianization of rite and devising local paraphrases
for Christian scripture. Where the catechists failed to establish a
cultural dialogue, groups like the Iranian fire-worshippers of C ap
padocia remained pagan until the reign o f Justinian , it seems, who
enforced administrative conversions on them. In such instances
pre-Christian ritual and belief persisted in a variety o f syncretisms,
o f which few can be positively identified. The causes of this phe
nomenon lie in the local geography as well. T he relative sparsity of
Greek cities in eastern Anatolia, a direct consequence of lack of
water supplies and thus the impossibility of intensive agriculture,
left the region less acculturated to the claims of the new Greek
religion.
VI. Conclusions
The great temples of A sia Minor suffered varying degrees of im
poverishment during the invasions of the third century, but for the
most part seem to have survived intact.26S The great turning point
in the religious destinies o f these places came with Constantine’s
destruction of Licinius in 324 and the transfer o f temple properties
to the res privata, whence they were redistributed to the new impe
rial aristocracy that was forming at Constantinople and in some
instances to the local churches. It seems quite likely that the
districts traversed by H ypatius o f Rufinianae in the mid-fifth
264 George of Alexandria, V. Ckiysostomi 59 (Halkin, 238).

265 Cf. the continued operation of the shrines of Apollo at Kiaros, Didyina, and
other sites. Robin L. Fox, Pagans and Christians (London 1986), and 575ff.
130 CHAPTER SEVEN
century had belonged to civil officials who took little interest in the
Christianization of their estates even as late as 443-446. It is
difficult indeed to say precisely when the pagan villages around
Pessinus in G alatia began to accept the new religion, but it may
also have been in the fifth century .26B
The great “ wonders” (θαύματα) or workings of the Asian divini
ties lay deeply embedded in the folk memory all through the period
370-529. One thinks of the shrine o f Artemis Kindyas near Bargy-
lia in C aria, whose horoi or perimeter markers were thought to
prevent the fall of rain inside the temenos.267 In the sixth century
Theodore of Sykeon would use stakes shaped like crosses to achieve
the sam e effect with regard to hailstorms and floods around his
monastery.260 A more discreet species of continuity is seen at the
temple of the Koloenean Artemis near Sardis, where the Basket of
Artemis was celebrated. It was a great service (μεγάλη άγιστεία)
in which the celebrants seem to have m ade the basket head-dress of
the goddess dance on their own heads (φασί δ’ ένταυθα χορεύειν
τούς καλάθους) 269 The systematic partition and reassignment of
temple lands did not prevent the rustics from keeping the tradition
of this festival in inner Bithynia as late as 443—446.270 The great
annual festivals {πανηγύρεις μεγάλαι) of Hekate at Stratonikeia in
C aria271 and Artemis Pergaia272 at Perge in Pamphylia will have
lived on in the folk culture until at least that time, but probably
lingered longer in view o f the memories o f Artemis that persisted in
mid-sixth-century G alatia.273 As Theodoret ofC yrrhus asserts, the
panegyreis of the great martyrs supplanted those of the “ falsely
named gods” , but the termini post quern for these substitutions wilt
remain the object o f conjecture unless new evidence comes forward.
The chthonic Attis, who as Men in Hellenized guise had priest
hoods, temple lands, and slaves at Antioch and Sehaste in
Pisidia,274 literally went “ undergound” , being identified and
merged with the daimonic protectors of tombs known as the “ sub
terranean divinities” , but at the same time surviving in new guise
a66 Supra, Ch. VII, Sect. 4.

267 Strabo, Geography 14.2,20.
Trombley, Paganism in the Greek World,” 340f.
269 Strabo, Geography 13.4.5.
270 Supra, Ch. V II, Sect. I.
273 Trombley, Paganism in the Greek World,” 334f.
Jli Strabo, Geography 12.3.31.
ASIA MINOR 131
in the iconography of M ichael the archangel, who had now become

the dispenser of ground waters at ancient sacred springs.375
In eastern Anatolia, sim ilar types o f flotsam permeated the new
ly Christianized ethos. The memories o f the liturgies o f the Vena-
sian Zeus in C appadocia have already been noted in connection
with the practices o f Glycerius the deacon.276 At K om ana in Arme«
nia, there had been a deeply entrenched cult of the goddesses M a,
Aphrodite, and Artemis. A great procession called the “ exodus” of
a goddess’s image took place in the presence o f many suppliants.277
This system o f rural liturgies permeated the culture of Armenia and
Cappadocia, and it is not surprising that Christian panegyreis like
that of Sts. Eupsychios, Dam as, and companions developed in a
similar fashion.278 Elsewhere, at K astabalë near T yana, the metro
polis o f Second C appadocia, it was said that the priestesses of the
Perasian Artemis used to walk with naked feet over hot embers
without feeling any pain.279 Isolated cases of this phenomenon are
known in popular Greek religion even in the twentieth century.280
The rather wide interval of twenty centuries between this and
Strabo’s report in the Geography does not significantly alter the
argument that Christian catechists bodily took over many Hellenic
liturgies during the period under discussion in this work.
The literary sources become abundant again in the second half of
the sixth century. The historian is struck by two features o f Greek
religiosity at that time. First, apart from the well-known iorays of
Jo h n o f Ephesus’ catechists into A sia, C aria, Lydia, and Phrygia,
where perhaps 1,000 villages were Christianized between 536-566,
the impression gotten is that of a recently, but nevertheless mostly,
Christianized rural society. Secondly, if one reads the sources
thoughtfully, he becomes aware of a vast array of Hellenic liturgies
that had become a seemingly natural part o f Anatolian Christian
ity, including even animal sacrifices.281 These phenomena are not
significant as examples o f “ paganism ” per se, but rather as signposts
that enable us better to understand the adaptive mechanisms o f
Christianization and how they interacted with the fears and ex
pectations o f the agricultural population. The earlier stages of this
2Î5 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4.

2,6 Supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 5.
277 Strabo, Geography 12.2.3 and 12.3.36.
278 Supra, Ch. V II, Scct. 5.
Ji0 There is no discussion of this practice in Lawson, Greek Folklore and Religion.
201 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 338-41.
132 CHAPTER SEVEN
dialectical process between c. 370-529 have been analysed in this

work. The final word on this subject awaits the systematic study of
sixth-century, medieval, and Neohellenic evidence.282 It is not incon
sistent with this prospectus to conclude with two telling examples.
In the first instance, there is a marble plaque from the iern torium
o f Philadelphia in Lydia bearing an invocation for the exorcism of
hail. Its content and letter forms are consistent with a sixth-century
date:283
Exorcism for the turning hack of hail. I adjure you, 0 daimon , who
presides over the suddenly turbulent air, when you thunder and
cause lightning flashes and send hail out from the sky! I adjure you,
O daimon , in the name of the egg of a male-begotten bird! I adjure
you> the furnace-mouthed daimon , go outside the horoi of the village o f
Ennatonl 1 adjure you by the power of the God of Hosts and of the
throne of the Lord, go outside the koroi\ I adjure you . . . by the elder
and the younger, go outside the horoi of the village of Ennaton! I adjure
you by Oupbridiel and . . I adjure you by the letters of the planets,
alpha, epsilon, eta> iota, omicron, upsilon, and omega, go outside the
horoi of the village of Ennaton! You archangels Raphael, Ragoucl,
Istrael, Agathoel, make a seal around . . . the village o f Ennaton.
The invocation relies on a peculiar melange o f Hellenic and Ju daic-

Christian powers and divine names. It would seem that the reliabil
ity o f any one of these in isolation was not entirely trusted to be
efficacious, and so all were summoned- The egg of the male bird
figures in the magical papyri, and the archangels listed here are
unknown and dubious except Raphael, There seems to be little
doubt that this exorcism (έξορκισμός) was devised in the synthetic
religious milieu posited above. It was evidently inserted on the
perimeter of the village whose tilled fields were clearly marked by
boundary stones (όροι), The “ daimon presiding over the suddenly
troubled air” ([δαίμων άέ]ρος ταρασσομέ[νου αίφνιδίως
εφι,στάμενος]), which was also callcd the “ furnace-mouthed
daimori’ (καμινόσιομος), was none other than the local sky god,
one of the variants of Zeus, whose hostile kratophany took the
shape of a black cloud full o f hailstones blasting its way toward
Ennaton and seemingly anim ated84 The rustics could not risk the
232 C f Supra, Ch. II, prooem.

233 Grégoire, 1GC-As. Min. 341 ter.
284 Cf, F.W. Hasluck, “ Unpublished Inscriptions from the Cyzicus Neighbor
hood/’ Journal of Hellenic Studies 24 (1904), no. 4. The inscription appeals to Zeus
Chalazios Sözön in behalf of good crops and the avoidance of harm to them. Zeus
is both the sender of hail and the protector from it, a perfect example of ambiva
lence and of the scope for hostile kratophanies if the god wer not fittingly propiti
ated.
ASIA MINOR 133
ruin of even one year's harvest, as they knew from bitter experi
ence, and so a great array o f heavenly powers is summoned to their
aid. It was the archangels who would fight the last battle, their task
being to “ seal around” (περισφραγίσετε). The Greek verb has the
strictly Christian connotation of raising the sign of the cross in
every direction, and we should assume that the marking of a
' ‘magic circle” with four cross-shaped stakes accompanied the
recitation of the prayer. There will have been four of them, one for
each compass direction,205 over each of which one of the arch
angels named was supposed to preside. The stage was thus set for a
great celcstial battle between the kratophany or “ daimonic rage” of
the old god and the sky-bound guardians of the new dispensation.
Even so, the prayer is darkly hedged with a provision for the aid of
the grim planetary powers thought to control the elements of the
lower sky. We cannot say for certain when or if the adjuration
failed, but crises of confidence in the Powers were doubtless a
frequent occurrence.
It seems likely that an important task confronting Theodore o f
Sykeon (6th c,) was the final Christianization of syncretistic litur
gies such as this one, which seems to have been composed and
displayed without much ecclesiastical supervision. Even so, it will
have been tolerated during the period o f accomodation that pre
ceded definitive Christianization.2^
285 There is an instance in the Latin life of St, Columban of the use of a “ magic
circle” to fend off heavy rainfall at the time of the harvest, but St. Columban used
Christian “ men full of religion” instead of cross-shaped stakes, (Hie quattuor plenos
réligione viros per quattour anguios messispraeponit * , ,) Vitae Columbani Abbatis Discipu*
lorumque Eius L13, Monumenta Germaniat Historien: Saiplores Rerum Merouingicarum
IV, ed. Bruno Krusch (Hannover-Leipzig 1902), 78.
286 The theatre of the cosmic battle is expressed in another text of uncertain
provenance: ‘‘Exorcism of the god of hail. There was lifted from Bethlehem a dark
cloud (μάβρον νέφος) full of hail, emitting thunder and lightning. And an
archangel of the power of the Lord confronted it, saying: Where are you going,
dark cloud fulJ of hail, emitting thunder and lightning? It said to him: I am going
to the parts of the place of the vineyard of X. to wither the garden, to destroy trees
and their shoots, and to destroy fruit plants and to work every evil. The archangel
of the power of the Lord said to it: I adjure you by the invisible God who made
heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. I adjure you by the four
pillars that support the throne of God and by the river of fire: do not go to the parts
o fX /s place, but go away to the wild mountains where the cock crows not and the
herdsman does nol speak, where he is not heard, by the glory of the great and
celestial God! Amen, Grégoire, IGC-As. M in . 341 ter. commentary. The import
ance of this text for understanding Theodore of Sykeon’s use of a ‘‘magic circle’ ’
against the “ wild” cloud that “ attacked” the tilled fields of the village of Reake is
patent, Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 340f, Such phenomena were
thought, once again, to be nothing more than manifestations of enraged divinities
that no longer received sacrifices trom their former rustic suppliants, as Theodoret
of Cyrrhus observes elsewhere. C f infra, Ch, VIII, Sect. 2.
CHAPTER EIGHT
AR A BS AND A R A M A EA N S IN T H E SY R IA N
C O U N T R Y S ID E
The territoria of the Syrian cities have thus far yielded the fullest
body of epigraphic evidence on the persistence o f the old Semitic
polytheism.1 H and in hand with this material goes a rich array o f
narrative texts, both Christian and pagan, that compensate for the
gaps in our knowledge that epigraphic studies alone cannot fill.
The different varieties o f evidence demonstrate conclusively that
the period between about 365—425 was the crucible of religious
transformation for the Syrian peasantry,3 These folk seem mostly to
have been freeholders, although some examples of tenant farmers
turn up in the sources as well. The preponderance o f evidence
suggests a bilingualism in Greek and Aramaic. The inscriptions of
the Syrian provinces (mainly First and Second Syria) are almost
invariably in Greek, In contrast, the number that turn up in Syriac,
mostly from the late fifth century onward, is trifling. The ancient
literature treating the phenomena o f Christianization is quite
tendentious, but regardless o f genre or religious conviction it is
emphatic about the nature of the transition, and so it is possible to
come to firm conclusions about the social and cultural factors in play»
Let us then consider the different witnesses to Christianization.
/. Libanius on Polytheism in ike Territonum o f Antioch in 386

Libanius, the rhetor o f Antioch, criticized the methods by which
the territorium o f Antioch was being Christianized in his Oration 30,
“ To the Emperor Theodosius on the T em ples.” 3 It is one o f the
1 Discussed infra, Ch. X passim.

2 H. Drijvers, “ The Persistence of Pagans Cults and Practices in Christian
Syria,” East of Byzantium: Syria and Armenia in the Formative Penod, ed. N. Garsoian et
qL (Washington, D.C. 1982), 35—43, Edmund S, Bouchier, Syria as a Roman Province
(Oxford 1916), 77fT, 117ffl, 130ff., 245-77. More recently: J.H.W . Liebeschuetz,
Antioch; City and Impenal Administration in the Later Roman Empire (Oxford 1972),
224—-42. Such brief discussion as turns up in the other literature will be noted when
relevant.
* Libanius, Selected Works, tr. A,F. Norman 2 (London 1977), 92-15L Hereinaf
ter cited as Libanius, Or. 30.
ARABS AND ARAMAEANS IN THE SYRIAN COUNTRYSIDE 135
very few Hellenic documents on the subject, and is fundamental for

understanding the religious transition that took place between
365-425 in the Limestone M assif east of Antioch, a subject analy
sed in a later chapter on a sub-regional and site-by-site basis.4
Libanius delivered the oration privately, it seem s> in 386, before its
publication. It expresses a deeply felt outrage at the methods used
by the monks who had begun to penetrate the Syrian backlands in
the years immediately after the death of Ju lian the Apostate in 363,
but particularly during the patriarchate of Flavian of Antioch
(381-4-04), who turned a blind eye to the extralegal methods used
by the monks to disrupt sacrifices at religious festivals and pull
down temples. Libanius9 account sharply disagrees with the official
Christian view o f these events that later found its fullest expression
in Theodoret o f Cyrrhus’ Historia Philotheos (‘‘Lives o f the Syrian
M onks” ),5 Libanius' picture of the monks5 aggressive acts, which
included pillage, mayhem* and even murder, is similar in some
ways to that drawn ofShenute of Atripe’s forays in the middle Nile
basin, but quite at variance with that in Asia M inor.6 Libanius
could, however, cite few specific incidents. Our concern here is with
the social, m aterial, and cultural realities of Semitic polytheism c.
386, and not with Libanius* more theoretical arguments about the
direction of imperial policy.
We are better informed about the earliest Christians than the last
pagans o f the Antiochene through the epigraphy. Identifiably
pagan inscriptions after the 360’s are extremely rare.7 It is probable
that those who accepted Christianity between 365-425 demolished
most traces of their previous belief at the instigation of the rural
presbyters (π εριοδευταί) who turn up in some relatively early
inscriptions.8 Pagans are thus underrepresented in the epigraphy
for the entire period in question. Some allowance has to be made,
as well, for the monks5 acts of destruction. By the end of the fourth
century, Christian ascetics had begun to build habitations in the
D ana valley, which lies at the geographic center of the Limestone
M a s s if9 It cannot be said whether Libanius had these men in
mind, or others who operated farther afield in Euphratesia and
Osrhoene. He is in any case our best informed witness about the
survival o f cults c. 386, Libanius mentions no rural gods by name.
* Infra, Ch. X passim.

A Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2 passim.
6 Infra, Ch. IX, Sect. 1 and supra, Ch. VII, Sect. 1.
7 Infra, Ch. X, Sect. 1-5.
* Infra, Ch. X , Sect, 1-5.
9 Infra, Ch. X, prooem. and Sect. 2,
136 CHAPTER EIGHT
but many o f them were the cognates of deities like Zeus M ad-
bachos, the local Baal worshipped at the temenos atop Djebel
Sheikh Berekat, the pagan “ high place” that dominates the D ana
plain from the north, and his female associate Symbaiytelos, the
Semitic fertility deity thought to preside over the parts around Kefr
N abo in the Djebel Sim ‘än district.10
It is certain that the rustics were still making sacrifices in 386,
although Libanius argues that these were not of the legally pros
cribed sort. In theory a type of rural m agistrate charged with
enforcing the law dealt with complaints of this kind (ot
σωφρονισται).11 They seem to have been unable to restrain
monastic bands from fanatical acts o f destruction. In defense o f the
monks3 victims, Libanius inquires:12
W ho has seen any o f these persons who have been plundered sacrific
ing at the altars as the law d oes not allow? W hat youth, w hat elder,
w hat m an, w hat w om an, w hat person living in the sam e stretch o f
country who does not agree with those who perform sacrifices to the
gods, who o f those (living) in the p arts nearby?
His question contains two important admissions about the religious

landscape of the countryside. The first is that pagan altars still
stood (τεθυκότας έπ'ι τών βωμών)13 along with the temples.
Secondly, some rustics— we cannot tell whether they lived in the
sam e villages (χωρία) or simply shared fields in the stretches of
countryside adjoining their abodes (άγροί)— disagreed about sac
rifices, that is, they had become Christians (τις τών τόν αυτόν
οίκουντων άγρόν ού συμφερόμενος τοις θύσασι τά περί τούς
θεούς). It is sometimes assumed— and there is one bit of evidence
that seems to corroborate this rather dubious point— that villages
tended to accept the new religion en masse, presumably by the vote
of the headmen. This is contradicted by the dated “ One G od ”
inscriptions of the Limestone M assif, which turn up at all different
dates in the same villages and testify to recent acts of adhesion to
Christian m onotheism /4 Libanius5 statement suggests that rural
10 Infra, Ch, X, Sect* \. Libanius is preoccupied with Hellenized urban deities

like the Tyche, Zeus, Athena, and Dionysus, Or. 30.50 (Norman 2, I46f). The
temples of these divinities were still intact in 386 {τό τής Τύχης τούτο σών έστιν
ιερόν . . etc.).
11 Libanius, Or. 30.12.
13 The perfect participle with the definite article suggests that the altars were
still standing in 386. The archaeological evidence everywhere bears this out. Cf.
Ch. VIII, Sect. 2.
Infra, Ch. X, Sect. 1-4.
solidarity prevailed over disagreements about religious allegiance,

that is, few Christian rustics were ever known to accuse their pagan
neighbors of sacrifice. Libanius’ statement should be taken as an
indirect reference to what everyone knew was going on, as it is
inconceivable that some people did not sacrifice at the altars.
Libanius’ definition o f the legally acceptable sacrifice has been
quoted above.13 The festivals of the gods were still celebrated with
sacrifice not long before 386.16 Libanius uses a euphemism to
describe these events in more recent times: “ So when the custom
ary day called (καλούαης τοίνυν τής είωθυίας ημέρας) . . . they
took heed, and honored the day and the shrine (τό Ιδος) without
risk /” 7 Altars will o f course have existed in the houses of the
headmen where the festivals (αί έορταί) were celebrated. It was
usual on these occasions to bum incense (μετά πάντων θυμια
μάτων) on altars, a practice that was still legal in 386.18 The
explicit provisions o f the law forbade other acts, specifically blood
sacrifices, the burning o f victims, the offering o f meal, and pouring
libations only.19 All other acts o f polytheistic ritual except magic
were protected by the principle that in banning a specific act the
legislator permitted every other act not explicitly forbidden by the
law (άλλ* ëv είπών δειν μή ποιείν τάλλα πάντα άφηκας).20 Other
implicit freedoms included singing hymns and calling upon the
gods by name. While the legalisms cited by Libanius are cogent, it
is not surprising that monks refused to recognize such distinctions.
If most pagan rustics submitted to the law, there were always some
few who did not, and the monks regarded the latter as the enemies
of mankind for summoning daimones with their sacrifices.
T he scholar can hardly enter the mind of the typical pagan rustic
in order to discover his subjective feelings about the violation of the
pax deorum inherent in the laws against public sacrifice. Libanius’
statements on the subject nevertheless provide some ground for
understanding, if only a tentative one. The difference between
“ popular” and “ high cultural” religious thought is less than might
be supposed. It is difficult, then, to suppose that some rustics were
not deeply troubled by these developments.21
11 Supra, Ch. I, Sect, 1.

14 Libanius uses the imperfect tense. Or. 30.17.
17 The term for “ shrine” can refer to a “ seated statue” , but perhaps also an
altar.
18 The Theodosian law of 8 November 392 definitively forbade the burning of
incense on altars. Cod. Theod. 16.10.12.2.
21 For some relevant texts, see supra Ch. I, Sect. 1. See now: K. Harl, “ Sacrifice
138 CHAPTER EIGHT
Libanius is concerned primarily with rural temples in his ora

tion, and many of his descriptions have parallels in the other
literature about temple conversions. His main argument begins
with a sort of anthropology about primitive man and the founda
tion of temples in the “ high places” (τα μετέωρα) selected for
habitation.22 Elsewhere he cites specific examples of temples being
destroyed. He observes: “ So many temples have been destroyed in
so many stretches o f country (άλλ* έξήρηται τοσαυτα τοσούτων
άγρών ιερά) by the monks' insolence and drunken violence and
greed and their not wishing to keep self-control.” 23 These charges
are difficult to substantiate from extant evidence, and the first
example cited by Libanius is apparently that of an urban temple,
that of Asklepios at Bcroia ju st east o f the Limestone M assif. He
argues with vehemence that the statue of the god had received no
sacrifice. The principle was established later in 399 that statues
that had not been the object o f sacrifice could not be indiscrimi
nately destroyed.24 The law came too late for Libanius (ob. 391)
and was in any case issued to the governor of Africa Proconsularis,
becoming widely known in the Roman East only after the publica
tion of the Theodosian Code in 438. Libanius generalizes from this
one case to affirm that “ no one has sacrificed a victim, yet temples
great and small alike in which persons who are ill rested themselves
(i.e. the shrines of Asklepios) are destroyed’3 (τέθυκε μέν ίερεΐον
ούδεις, . . «)·25
It is certain that Hellenes grudgingly approved the conversion of
temples to civic uses rather than see them destroyed.26 Libanius
frames a similar argument, advising that the typical temple be
converted into an officium for tax collection in order to preserve it as
the focal point of urban traditions.27 He then goes on to criticize
those who execute the destruction of temples5*
. , . as an arm y w agin g w ar on its own stones (i.e. those o f the
tem ples) an d a general in com m and su m m on in g it again st (build-
and Pagan Belief ici Fifth- and Sixth-Century Byzantium,19 Past and Present 128
(1990), 7-27.
21 Libanius, Or. 30.4 (Norman 2, lQ2f.).
23 Libanius, Or. 30.21 (Norman 2, 120f,).
24 Supra, Ch. \ } Sect, 2. Cod . Theod. 16.10.18.
25 Libanius, Or. 30.23 (Norman 2, 120-123).
^ The pagan poet Palîadas rued the transformation of a certain Tychaion into a
tavern, but other Hellenes might have dism issed the act with a sigh of relief. Greek
Anthology 9.180.
27 Libanius, Or. 30.42. Libanius" statement is perhaps a bit ironic, as the right
of taxation had been taken away from the cities in large measure. Jones, Later
Roman Empire ^ 732-34.
28 Libanius, Or. 30,43 (Norman 2, 140f.)<
ings) stan din g to a great height (and erccted) long a g o with great
zeal, whose com pletion gav e the excuse for holding a festival under
p revious em perors.
This contemporary and pointed reference alludes to archbishop

M arcellus’ destruction of the Zeus temple at Apam ea and his
subsequent war against the rural shrines of Second Syria some
years before his death in 388.29 It is not apparent, however, that
M arcellus5 fighting bands included monks.
Libanius treats the case of one certifiably rural temple “ on the
Persian frontier” .30 It was of such size and strength of construction
that rustics took refuge in it during the wars with Persia and the
Lakhmid Saracens. Libanius— who had not seen the building—
reports that the interior decoration o f the ceiling and its statuary
rivalled that o f the Serapaeum in Alexandria.31 It is not difficult to
dissociate the hearsay and special pleading from the facts as given,
Libanius felt unable here to accuse the monks o f direct complicity
in the demolition of this building.
What then o f the monks’ behavior? Libanius5 characterization of
it is at variance with the received Christian tradition as exemplified
in Theodoret's Historic, Pkilotheos. Not only were the latter’s monks
sober and pious, but they generally operated alone or in small
groups when they entered the shrines of Semitic polytheism,32
Perhaps Theodoret5« monks displayed more respect for the law
than the more common sort, but definitive evidence is lacking on
this point. Libanius' report contains a mixture of precise detail and
exaggeration:3*
These black-robed Furies eat more than elephants and by the size o f
their drinking cups create toil for those who accom pany the drinking
with hymns, and they hide these acts with a pallor devised by their
craft. While the law, O emperor, remains and keeps its forcc, they
attack the temples carrying beam s and stones and iron bars, and
those without these impliments apply their hands and feet to the task.
Then, after unhampered plundering, after the rooves are torn down,
29 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3. Libanius thus seems to be giving a terminus ante quem of
386 for the destruction of the temple at Apamea. The principle enunciated in
Libanius1 remarks here had already been recognized in a law of 382 addressed to
the dux of Osrhoene, but was being applied inconsistently, Cod, Tkeod, 16,10,8,
Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 2. It is not apparent from the other sources, however, that
Marcellus of Apamea’s fighting bands included monks. Supra, Ch. II, Sect 3,
10 For reference, see next note. I cannot accept A.F. Norman's suggestion that
the temple lay in Edessa, for Libanius is emphatic about its being ouiside the
fortifications and hard against the frontier.
33 Libanius, Or* 30.44-4-5 (Norman 2, 140-143).
32 Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2.
33 Libanius, Or. 30.8-9 (Norman 2, 106-109).
14Ü CHAPTER EIGHT
walls overturned im ages pulled down, and altars tipped over, the
priests must keep silent or be killed. With the first temple lying in
debris, there is a rush to the second and the third, and trophies are
strung together with trophies in violation o f the law. If these acts are
ventured in the cities, they are much more common in the country
side. . . .
Libanius probably overrates the ferocity of these attacks, but apart

from this his words ring true. The monks invariably recited the
psalter during temple conversions, and in particular the verses that
celebrated the supremacy o f the God of Israel over foreign gods.34
Secondly, and more important, Libanius affirms the survival of the
rural pagan priesthoods in 386 (τούς ιερ είς δέ ή οιγαν ή τεθάναί
δ ε ι),35 This fills an important gap in our knowledge about
continuity of cult in the Antiochene and Apamene, where the
epigraphy suggests the existence o f a pagan rural population well
into the fifth century. For example^ the dates o f known temple
conversions around Djebel Sim 'än are relatively late, and so it
seems that the pagan priesthoods survived here until the 390's.36
Libanius is at pains to stress the close relationship between the
Semitic temples and the productivity of the estates. He resorts once
again to the anthropology he established earlier in the oration:37
T he temples, O emperor, are the soul of the countryside, being the
true beginning of its settlement and having been passed on through
many generations to the people o f today. In them [reside] the hopes
o f the agriculturalists, those in behalf of men and women and chil
dren and cows and the earth when it is sown and planted. The stretch
o f country suffering this [rapine] has lost the eagerness of the farmers
aiong with their hopes. For they reckon that they shall toil m vain if
they are deprived of the gods who lead their toils for a needful
purpose.
Libanius adds that a demoralized peasantry will cause the decline
of the annona or tax in kind on agricultural production. The pious
hopes of the peasantry expressed here closely resemble the petitions
in behalf of animals, crops, and people that turn up in the pagan
and even Christian votive inscriptions of Phrygia,38 and are thus an
authentic reflection of the farmers1 attitudes in the Limestone M as
sif. The refusal of great landowners to Christianize their tenants for

35 Libanius, Or. 30.8 (Norman 2, 108f.).
36 Infra, Ch. X , Sect. 1.
37 Libanius, Or. 30.9-10 (Norman 2, 10&-111).
38 Supra, Ch. V II, Scct. 2.
fear o f reduced productivity caused by despair in the “ peace of the

gods” is attested even in late sixth-century Sicily.39
It is a well known paradigm that temple conversions led to brief
episodes when large numbers of pagans converted to Christianity, a
type of behavior contingent on the perceived impotence o f the local
great god to protect his shrine«40 Libanius denies the existence of
this tcndcncy in a way that suggests a certain blindness to reality:41
But if conversions could be effected by these ac ts o f destruction, the
tem ples would have been dem olished long ago by your edict. For you
would have taken a p leasu rab le view o f this conversion long ago. But
you knew you were unable, F or this reason you kept h an ds off the
tem ples,
Elsewhere he adds:42
W hat indeed are they seeking? T h a t those who honor the cult of the
god s would be excluded from them and be converted to the cult o f the
m onks? B u t this is all quite stup id . F or who does not know that those
who have suffered [persecution] feel m ore awe than before for the
cults in which they were [en gaged ]?
There is some truth in the mechanism described here, which some

Christian writers called the “ hardened pagan mentality.” 43 It turns
up among the wealthy Hellenes of the middle Nile basin, the
sophists o f Aphrodisias who supported the rebellion of Illus in
481-488, and in G aza after the closure of the Marneion in 402 .44 It
permeated the countryside of these places as well, and also Bithy
nia, where a group of pagan men living in a house temple near
the monastery of Rufinianae were known to attack Christians.45 Put
another way, temple conversions mostly affected men and women
already wavering between the old and new religions, but had little
effect on the hard core. Tem ple conversions were not as easily
arranged as Libanius imagines. It was necessary to have a measure
of local public opinion on one’s side, as Marcellus of A pam ea’s
abortive attack on the rural temples around Aulon reveals. The
39 This problem, which lies outside the period of the present study, is discussed
in Trombley, Survival o f Paganism, 1930'
40 Cf. the case of the Marneion in Gaza and the Serapeum in Alexandria.
Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3 and Ch, III, Sect. 5.
41 Libanius, Or. 30,27 (Norman 2, 124f.).
42 Libanius, Or. 30.26 (Norman 2, L24£).
43 Cod. Tkeod. 16.10.25.
Supra, Ch. III, Sect, 2 and 5, and Ch. V, Sect. 4. Infra, Ch, IX , Sect. 1.
4S Supra, Ch. VII, Sect. 1.
142 CHAPTER EIGHT
reasons for this are easy to sec, for otherwise the monks could not
have succeeded at certain acts o f cynicism and insolence:46
They say they are making war on the temples, but this is a m eans of
expropriating the lands around the temples, while others seize the
property of the impoverished peasantry and the produce from the
land they cultivate. « . . For others this does not suffice, but they
usurp the land, saying it was the sacred land of some god) and many
are deprived o f their ancestral lands through a false title,
Libanius complains that the dispossessed pagan farmers appealed

to the bishops who had jurisdiction over the monks, but in vain.
Flavian of Antioch is accused of condoning these violations of
property rights*47 It is possible that some pagan villages selected
Christian monks to be their patrons to forestall the less scrupulous
from encroaching on their lands,48 I f so, this will have led to the
Christianization of some places where superficial conversion was
exchanged for protection,
Libanius knew well the dislike of Christian bishops for half
measures of this kind, and shrewdly argues that it was not in their
interest to accumulate coerced converts and consequent problems
with cryptopaganism :49
But if they tell you that certain others have been converted by these
[coercive] acts and are now of the sam e religious opinion as them
selves, do not let it elude you that they are speaking o f seeming converts,
and not of factual ones. For they have put off nothing of their [belief],
but only say they have. This is not to say that they honor one set of
cults instead of others, but that the [Christian authorities] have been
fooled. For they go with the crowds through the other places where
they go for the sake of appearances, but when they assum e the mien
o f men praying, they either call upon no one or else upon the gods, it
not being proper to call upon them from such a place, but they do it
all the same.
Libanius implies that forcibly converted Hellenes were using
Christian churches as places o f prayer to their gods.50 He adds that
only persuasion and not coercion ensure genuine conversions.51 If
the different varieties o f Ritenchristianisierung were concessions to
local cultural patterns, the Christian presbyter could not always
46 Libanius, Or, 30,11 (Norman 2, 11 Of).

47 Libanius, Oi. 30.15 (Norman 2, U4f.),
40 C f the examples of patronage to pagan villages in Ch. V III, Sect* 2,
49 Libanius, Or. 30.28 (Norman 2, 124-127).
M This somewhat confirms an hypothesis earlier expressed that Hellenes who
visited a shrine of Kosmas and Damian, two Christian martyrs, really envisaged
the Dioskouroi. Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4.
51 Libanius, Or. 30.29 (Norman 2, 126Γ).
know the mind o f the rustic in his posture of prayer,52 and this is the
point o f Libanius’ criticism. This ambiguity was certainly present
in the villages Christianized by Abraam es, Thalaleios, M aro, and
the other monks celebrated in Theodoret’s His toria Philotheos. Here
the author had little interest in getting past the barest phenomena
o f rural Christianization, but read all things on the surface, and
lent an even more facile appearance to events by Atticizing his
work for the adherents of the Christian sophistic.53 It is quite
possible that the persons who had “ One G od” inscriptions incised
on their door lintels in the villages o f the Limestone M assif did so to
assert their “ genuine conversion” (γνήσια μετάνοια) vis à vis the
threat of m arauding monks. The apotropaism will thus have
worked simultaneously against the daimones of Semitic polytheism
and their enemies the Christian monks.
II. Monks and Christianization in Syria

The Historia Philotheos of Theodoret o f Cyrrhus published c. 444
describes the interaction between the monks and rustic village
population of Syria between c. 380-420.M Theodoret identifies
villages by name and by distinctive geological features, unlike
CaHinicus of Rufinianae, who represents the pagan cults of the
Anatolian countryside as a sort o f amorphous phenomenon which
extended over whole districts such as “ inner Bithynia” .55 The
corporate structure of the Syrian villages, the body of received
custom, and the influence of the headmen kept many of the rustics
polytheistic until the monks converted them to the new religion on
a village by village basis. M any of these sites lay on old temple
lands. This will have retarded Christianization inasmuch as the
effigies and symbols of the old deities stood in clear view. Theodoret
makes no specific references to idols in the temples, nor does he
mention the names of the gods whose abodes the monks entered.
Like many other Christian writers he degrades them to the status of
daimones.
The social structure of the pagan villages of Syria emerges more
clearly in Theodoret’s account than in that of Callinicus of
w Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4.

s> Cf. supra, Ch. I ll, Sect. 4.
54 Text: Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Histoire des moines de Syrie, ed. tr. P. Canivet and
A. Leroy-Molinghen, 2 vols. (Paris 1977-79). PG 82, 1284ff. For a discussion of
the contents, see: A. Adnès and P. Canivet, “ Guérisons miraculeuses et ex
orcismes dans l’Histoire Philothée,” Revue de l ’Histoire des Religions 171 (1967),
5Î-82, 149-79.
144 CHAPTER EIGHT
Rufinianae, as do the economic processes that accompanied the

mass conversion of some villages, but this is given at the expense of
fuller information about their religious beliefs. This fact represents
Theodoret’s administrative preoccupations as bishop of Cyrrhus in
Euphratensis, a town which had pagan villages in its territorium.
The typical urban bishop, troubled with the supervision of church
estates, basilica construction, and the politics and theology of the
Christological controversies, will have welcomed the initiative
taken by the monks in Christianizing the countryside.
The Syrian monks often sought the precincts of pagan temples for
the practice ofaskesis, ju st as Daniel the Stylite had done in Thrace
near Constantinople.56 The aim o f these incursions was threefold:
to challenge the daimones o f polytheism on their own turf, thereby
demonstrating the power of Christ and his holy men; to convert the
villages on former temple estates; and to procure building materials
from the spolia of the temples for the planned basilicas and chapels
that gave institutional form of Christianization. The rationale of
converting rural temples differed somewhat from that o f urban
shrines. The civil authorities of the towns in whose terriloria the
temples lay were quite lax in policing these places, and turned a
blind eye both to pagan sacrifices and to the Christian solitaries
who occupied the precincts.57 The monks then insinuated them
selves into village society through cures, exorcisms, and acts of
patronage in behalf of the rustics.
The earliest career cited by Theodoret is that o f the monk
Ammianus, who lived during the patriarchate o f Flavian of Antioch
(381-404). Ammianus ventured into the Limestone M assif and
occupied a glen on the south side of Djebel Sheikh Berekat atop
which lay the great temenos of the pagan gods (τέμενος δαιμόνων)
Zeus M adbachos and Selmanes overlooking the D ana plain from
the north. The periodeutai or travelling presbyters of the see o f
Antioch as well as individual monks had already been actively
Christianizing the villages on the slopes surrounding the plain
(which are collectively called Djebel H alaqah) for several
decades.50 Theodoret fails to mention any pagans living in the
village near which Ammianus built his hut, a site called Teledan
*6 “ Vita S. Danielis Stylitae,” ed, H, Delehaye, Analecta Bollandiana 32 (1931),

]34f. The Greek text refers to ihc building as a naos, which should be taken to
mean “ temple” rather than "church” , as it was said to be infested with daimones.
Cf. the incorrect translation in Three Byzantine Saints, tr. N. Baynes and E. Dawes
(1948; repr. Crestwood, N.Y. 1977), I4f.
” Supra, Ch. V III, Sect. 1.
ie Infra, Ch. X, Sect. 2.
(present-day Deir Tell-‘Adeh). The epigraphy here is too scanty to

give a precise date for its Christianization.59 Perhaps Ammianus
had gotten there too late to play an active role in this process.
Theodoret concentrates on d e sc rib in g the topography of the
temenos:60
There is a high mountain lying to the east of Antioch^ but west of
Beroia. It rises above the surrounding mountains with its highest
peak being of conical shape and getting its name from its height. The
residents round about customarily call it Koryphe (“ the peak” ).
There was formerly a temenos of the pagan gods on that ridge which
the neighboring rustics honored greatly. To the south extended a
plain shaped like a bay closed around on each side by shallow
mountain glens (the Dana plain). These glens extended as far as the
post road [running between Antioch and BeroiaJ and they have paths
on either side that are cut from north to south. There are hamlets on
it on either side both large and small and adjacent to the mountains
on every side. On the fringe of the high mountain is the large and
populous village which they call Teledan in the local dialect.
It seems clear from this description that the rustic population was
well on its way to Christianization when Ammianus arrived on the
scene. Theodoret seems to have inspected the site himself to judge
from the detail of his description.
After he became bishop of Cyrrhus in 423, Theodoret took pains
to discover what he could about the monks living in the territorium of
his see, the so-called Cyrrhestica (έν ifj Κ ύρου χώρςι). One of
them was a certain M aro, who occupied an unnamed pagan “ high
place5' between c. 406-423:βΐ
Having embraced the celestial life, Maro reached a certain mountain
peak formerly honored by the impious men of old. He dedicated the
temple of daimones upon it to Goa» dwelt in it, and marked out the
floor plan for a small chapel
The chapel will have been either in the cella o f the temple or
opposite its doorway to the east. The villages round about were in
this instance still pagan. Like many other clerics and monks, M aro
knew the rudiments of sacred architecture well enough to supervise
the construction o f a small church. The marking out o f a church
inside the temenos generally completed the conversion of the site to
the worship of the Christian G od.62 The villagers later built a large
s9 Infra, Ch, X, Scct. 2.

6t) Theodoret, Histona Philotheos 4.2 {Canivet 1, 29Iff.).
51 Theodoret, Hist. Phil 16.2 (Canivet 2, 29£).
62 Cf, the marking out of the Marneion of Gaza. Supra, Ch. I ll, Scct. 4, and
that of Alypios the stylite’s church in a pagan nekropolis near Hadrianopolis in
146 CHAPTER EIGHT
basilica which housed the body of M aro after his death,63 The local
panegyris in his honor definitively replaced the remnant o f polythe
ism that his “ high place” evoked, Theodoret seems to have made a
contribution from the funds of the see to this end.64 The exact
location of the temenos is unknown.65
Another monk known to Theodoret was Symeon the Ancient
(so-called to distinguish him from Symeon Stylites the Elder) who
seems to have died before 400. He began his career by Christianiz
ing Arabs in the eastern parts o f Syria. After that, he settled
somewhere in the Amanus M assif in the Cyrrestica and converted
the rustics. As Theodoret puts it: “ The place was formerly full of
polytheist mania, but Symeon farmed it with many and various
miracles and implanted the piety which is now practiced there.” 66
The pre-Christian religious life of the Amanus is not well repre
sented in the epigraphy. The votive inscription on a basalt altar at
present-day Q ara Tash mentions the local great god, which was
either a B aal ([βήλ]φ ) or more probably a Semitic equivalent of
Helios (θεφ μ[εγάλ{μ Ή η λ ί] ψ )67 T he horoi or boundary stones of
several independent villages, but also of estates, suggest that much
of the western Amanus had been Christianized by the end of the
fifth century.68 Theodoret's report enables us to argue for a much
earlier date than this for the beginning of the process, A boundary
stone dividing the lands o f the villages of Kikönön and Kidimoerios
in the eastern Amanus has a Chi-Rho Christogram after each
place-name, as if to signify “ Christian villages” . The markers could
have been cut and emplaced anytime between about 365-490, as it
seems.69 In contrast, the horos stone o f Charax or Charakeitön
(present-day Eshmeshek) in the eastern Amanus lacks a cross or
other Christian sy m b o l70 These all seem to have been independent
villages o f freeholders. T his was probably also the case with Del-
phiönos and Barochou, both o f them small villages (χωρία) out
Paphlagonia (6th c.). F. Trombley, “ Monastic Foundations in Sixth-Century

Anatolia,'* 53-55.
63 Multiple churches did occur in the Larger villages, as lor example at Bräd in
Djebel Simlän. Infra, Ch. X, Sect. 1.
64 Theodoret, Hist. PhiL 16Λ (Canivet 2, 32f).
65 Theodoret of Cyrrhus. A History of the Monks ofSyna. tr. R. Price (Kalamazoo,
Mich. 1985), 119, n. 2.
66 Theodoret, Hist. PhiL fi.4 (Canivet 1, 352f.).
b7 Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie III: Regions de l'Amanus. Antioche, edd. L.
Jalabert and R. Mouterde (Paris 1950), no. 743.
Cf. IG L S 735, which divided the lands of the villages of Kikönön and
Kidimoerios.
IG L S 735. It was cut on (he back of a stone bearing a Phoenician inscription.
70 IG LS 740.
side Rhosos in the western Am anus whose koroi and boundary road
were dem arcated by Asprenas the sckolastikos.7] T he local economic
life in the Amanus consisted partly of grain production, whose
fruits the freeholders winnowed on communal threshing floors.
Theodoret reports that one such facility burned down after being
struck by lightning while the early summer harvest was being
processed. This was said to have been a punishment due to one of
the villagers’ having pilfered more than his fair share of the uncut
grain.72 Symeon characterized the thunderbolt as “ daimonic rage” ,
that is the kratophany (“ display of power” ) o f one o f the old Baals
recategorized as a daimon, which will have had free rein unless the
villagers practiced communal justice.73 The monks embellished
such animistic superstition elsewhere in Syria and Asia M inor.74 A
church inscription at present-day Arsous and dating from after 500
suggests that the. Christianization of villages in the western Ama
nus went on straight through the fifth century:75
Julian, who began this splendid work in part, died on the 17th of
Loos in the first year of the indiction. And ne was deemed worthy to
be with God in his [. . . lacuna]. The beloved of God Dioskoros who
completed the work [did so] by the providence of God at the behest of
the most holy bishop John in behalf of the salvation of the fruit-bearing
(rustics) but also in behalf of the repose of Julian the penodeutës.
It will be recalled the M aro the solitary initiated the process o f
Christianization at a temenos by implanting a small church there.
In the present case, however, it was the work of Ju lian the periode-
utës, of the class of rural presbyters who brought the new religion to
isolated villages. The formula describing the first-fruit offerings o f
the rustics (italicized above) turns up quite commonly in Hellenic
inscriptions (επ ί σωτηρίας τ[ώ]ν καρ[ποφο]ρούντων).76 Its re
tention in the church inscription at Arsous indicates the Chris
tianization of a pagan liturgy of recent memory. It is evident, then,
that the periodeutat still had plenty of work to do in the Cyrrhestica
in the later fifth century.
Another monk known to Theodoret was Abraam es (ob. c. 423),
who became a converter of pagans in Mount Lebanon, a great and
rugged m assif that lies hard against the M editerranean coast and
71 IG LS 734.
72 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 6.5 (Canivet 1, 352f.).
75 Supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1 and 6.
74 Supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1, and infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 4.
71 IG LS 733.
76 Supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2, and Ch. II, Scct. 6.
148 CHAPTER EIGHT
divides the coastal province of Phoenicia from Phoenicia Liba-

nensis.77 Except on the narrow coastal strip, this area was little
Christianized even in the late fifth century. Abraam es grew up in
the Cyrrhestica and evidently learned a great deal about eradicat
ing Semitic polytheism from the monks there, It was perhaps
around 400 that he invaded “ a certain large village in the Lebanon
m assif after learning that it was gripped by the gloom o f idols.” 70
Abraam es was evidently bilingual and so was the village, which
goes unnamed. It lay in the terriiorium o f Em esa in Phoenicia
Libanensis.
Abraam es is said to have employed a ruse to enter the village by
disguising him self as a mat trader. After three or four days, he
began to recite the psalter. This offended the pagan rustics because
of the invocations o f the God o f Israel, lord over the gods and
daimones of the Sem ites,79 The villagers were assembled by their
crier (κήρυξ), tore off the roof o f A braam es5 rented house* and
dumped dirt on him and his companions (θύλακοι), who seem also
to have been monks. These latter were all ordered to leave, but
chance then seemingly intervened on the side of the new religion,
Abraam es had apparently set his arrival to coincide with the new
year o f the indiction. Thus, by prearrangement, tax collectors
(πράκτορες) arrived on the sam e day as the monk revealed his
identity to collect the annona (α ΐ είοφ ορα ι)· After checking the store
o f produce and calculating the arrears, the villagers could not pay.
In consequence, as Theodore: tells the story, some were tortured on
the spot. At this juncture, Abraam es intervened and secured a
postponement of the collection for a few days in order to find
guarantors for a loan of the required sum of 100 solidi (χρυσινον
εκατόν).8*
Abraam es insisted upon the villagers’ acceptance of Christianity
as the price of his intervention. The village had perhaps been
impoverished by a poor harvest. It evidently lay on fairly high
ground above the Orontes river and B eqa‘a valley. I f so, it had few
resources to support a presbyter and small church at that time. It
seems that the ptnodmiai o f the see o f Em esa had gotten a bad
reception whenever the approached the village, and hence the need
for A braam es’ ruse. Abraam es had to use fiscal coercion and succor
77 Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syne VI: Baalbek et Beqa a (Nos. 2711-3017), ed.
J.-P . Rey Coquais (Paris 1967), cartes A and B.
70 Theodoret, Hist, PhiL 17.2 (Canivet 2> 34-37).
79 For the contents of a typical anti-pagan recitation, see infra, Ch. IX , Sect, 2.
*i} Theodoret, Hist PhiL 17.3 (Canivet 2, 36-39). Theodoret’s round figure for
the taxes owed evokes suspicion.
in the end to achieve his aim. Such methods undoubtedly explain

other conversions of villages to Christianity, but the sources are
silent on this. The place was an independent village of freeholders
and not on an estate, for the people are called “ farmers and
owners” (γεω ργοί κα ί δεσπόται). They thus had no significant
patron. As part of the scheme the villagers had to recognize
Abraames as their patron or headm an (επιστάτης), the loan
(δάνεισμα) evidently having been contracted in his name without
interest. The monk delivered the tax monies to the ojficium of the
Praetorian Prefecture in Em esa in due course. This done, the
villagers paid their “ interest” by building a church whose founda
tions Abraam es had marked out. H e stayed in the village three
years thereafter, until the rustics were thoroughly catechized, and
then turned over the church to another, who was probably a
presbyter sent out by the see of Em esa to perform the liturgy in the
new church. T h e place was thus formally Christianized by the
implantation of a regular ecclesiastical structure.81
In consequence o f this success, Abraam es was consecrated
bishop o f Carrhae-H arrän (fl. c. 410-423?), a city whose large
pagan population survived intact down to the Arab conquest in the
mid-seventh century. This assignment required a tough m anipula
tor of religious opinion. H e evidently made a fair number of conver
sions there, although Theodoret certainly exaggerates:82
This city was clad in the drunkenness of impiety, and had given itself
to the frenzy of the pagan gods. But being deemed worthy of his
agriculture, and having received the fire of his (Abraames’) teaching,
[the city] stayed free of the earlier weeds.
In cities where Christianization lagged, manpower had at times to
be drawn from the countryside. At Carrhae-H arrän, at least, the
Semitic cults were too deeply entrenched to permit a single C hris
tian bishop to overthrow them in the manner of Porphyrius of
G aza. The eventual decline o f these cults is variously reported by
Ja c o b of Sarug (ob. 521) and Nonnus of N isibis.83
91 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 17.4 (Canivet 2, 38-41).

82 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 17,5 (Canivet 2, 40f.). Trombley, “ Paganism in the
Greek World” 346. Rochow, “ Oppositionelle religöse Strömungen” 235-236.
Harrän was perhaps at a relatively early stage of Christianization even in the
mid-sixth century, to judge from an Arabic inscription of 568 A.D.: “ I, Sharahil
son of Zalina, built this martyrion in the year 463 (of the local era), one year after
the destruction of K haibar.” Répertoire chronologique d’épigraphie arabe, ed. J .
Sauvaget et alii 1 {Cairo 1931), no. 3. The donor belonged probably to (he first
Christian generation to judge from his name.
83 J.P . Martin, “ Discours de Jacques de Sarroug sur la chute des idoles,”
150 CHAPTER EIGHT
There is little doubt that Theodoret’s observations are sound.

Yet the question remains: how typical of conditions in Mount
Lebanon and the Emesene was A braam es’ experience? The epigra
phy strongly corroborates a relatively late date for the Christianiza
tion of the villages of this district.
As broadly defined by the editors of Inscriptions grecques el latines de
la Syrie, the Emesene consists of the stretch o f country running
along the middle and upper course of the Orontes river that lies
between Epiphaneia in the north and M aurikiopolis in the south.
The only considerable cities along this route are Emesa itself,
Arethusa, and Laodicea ad Libanum .84 These towns were C hris
tianized along normal lines during the fourth and fifth centuries,
but the countryside appears to have lagged behind other parts o f
Syria, and particularly the Antiochene, in accepting the new
religion,05 The more northerly sites along the Orontes will be
considered first, and then those to the west and south. Inscriptions
useful for charting the Christianization of villages are sparse in
comparison to their great proliferation in northern Syria and the
Hauran district in A rabia.66 The relative shortage of dated texts
crcates a considerable margin for error, but it can safely be said
that few signs of the new religion appear in the rural Emesene until
the sixth century. The few inscriptions of an earlier date suggest the
complete absence of its institutional presence.
Let us first consider the northern villages of the Emesene* At
K räd ad-D äsiniya> a lintel dated to 346/7 lacks a cross.97 Christian
ity first turns up in a sarkophagos inscription that mentions the
presbyter and archimandrite Samuel with several companions and
artisans.00 It belongs in the sixth century, along with another
Christian inscription from probably 529.89 Nearby Tisnin accepted
the new religion sometime after 390, but we cannot say when* Here
a lintel without a cross indicates: “ Tib(erios?) Zenon (?) set this in
place” 390 A .D .).90 These personal names are not distinctively
Christian. A later undated lintel inscription advertises the radical
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 29 (1876), 107—47. Nonnus of

Nisibis, Traité apologétique^ ed. A. van Roey (Louvain 1948), X X I .58*.
84 IG LS V and V II> maps at end of volumes.
For the Christianization of the Antiochene, see infra, Ch, X, Sect. 1-5.
B6 The criteria for assessing the value of the epigraphic evidence arc more fully
established infra, Ch, X,
87 Inscriptions grecques et latines dt la Syrie V: Emésène (Nos. 1998-2710), edd. L.
Jalabert, R, Mouterde, C. Mondésert (Paris 1959), no. 2142.
*8 ÏG LS 2143.
fl9 IG LS 2144.
w IG LS 2130..
monotheism of the householder with “ (Cross) One God and Christ

(C ross).” 91 Tisnin lies closer to the Orontes river than the previous
site, and so perhaps accepted the new religion at an earlier date
than 500.
In the same area there is the site tentatively identified as the
ancient Garion. Its epigraphic record is rather more complete and
indicates a preoccupation with the early stages of Christianization.
First, as regards the remnants of the old religion, there is a pre-
Christian funerary stele with the crude portrait of Bernike daughter
of Silvanus (290/1 A .D .) and another undated one having the
portrait o f the man M aros son of M ozaios with a wreath in his
hand. Both contain the same formula: “ Hail to you, who died an
untimely death” (&ωρε χαΐρε).9Ζ G arion’s pagan nekropolis was
still in use in 423, as we learn from a sarkophagos that was
completed at the time of the new moon in the month Dios (μηνός
Δίος νεομηνίςι ετελιώθη).9’ The mention of a pagan religious
festival and the absence of a cross make it a pagan burial. All this
began to change, it appears, between c. 490-510. One badly dam
aged house stone has been plausibly identified as belonging to a
baptistry. It is badly dam aged but legible: “ [The bapt]isterion was
com pleted by the] chorep[iskopos N]oum en[ios].” The square
letter forms suggest a date after 500 (E M JJP Y M C ), but the
omicron-upsilon ligature commonly employed at that time was not
used.94 The institutional presence of Christianity at Garion began
with the catechization of the rustics by the chorepiskopos and the
construction of the sort o f building most urgently needed, a place to
carry out the baptism of the people of Garion and probably of other
sites in the vicinity. An undated house stone records a similar
theme: “ (Cross) The Lord is [my] illum[ination and the body
guard] of [my] life (C ross).” 95 The word chosen for “ illumination”
(φωτισ[μός)) often takes the sense of “ baptism ” . The dated in
scriptions at Garion, from 519/20, 524/5, and 566/7, are enlighten
ing to the extent o f showing that the village had been Christianized
well before the Justinian ic program came into force.96 The earliest
exclaims: “ (Cross) Christ, it was completed in your nam e.” An
undated victory formula seemingly turns up on a loose stone: “ The
faith of the Christians conquers” (ν(ικ)φ (ή) π(ίσχις) [χ(ρι-
91 IG L S 2131.
1,2 IG L S 2165, 21G6.
** IG L S 2167.
94 IG L S 2159.
95 IG L S 2158.
96 IGLS 2154-2156.
152 CHAPTER EIGHT
(Π ιάνω ν)?]).97 We should not err in putting the arrival o f the new
religion at Garion no later than the first decade o f the sixth century.
There is a fourth village in the parts northwest of Em esa, Burdj
el-Q ä‘i, whose name and inscriptions suggest that it was a veterans’
settlement in the third century A .D .98 Latin names predominated
at that tim e ." The only known local deity was M istress Semea, who
turns up in the inscriptions of northern Syria as well. The Council
of Six of Burdj el-Q a‘i supervised the construction o f a temple
dedicated to her in 196/7 A.D. (tfl κυρίςι Σ η μ έςι, . . ο ί εξ τον ναον
έπ οίησ α ν).100 The first known Christian tomb was built in 457,101
but a house lintel without a cross turns up in 531/2102 am idst many
Christian inscriptions o f similar d ate.103 A church building or
martyrion was in existence by 539/40. It was erected from the funds
o f the bishop Peter through the oikonomoi and presbyters Isaiah and
Leontius. These latter were not posted to the village, but were
rather the episcopal officials who supervised the construction work.
A prosmonams seems to have staffed this local f a c i l i t y . I n light o f
this evidence, it is difficult to suppose the existence o f a regular
church structure at Burdj el-Q ä‘i in the first half o f the sixth
century. Possibly the Christians of this village were attended to by
the same chorepiskopos who visited Garion in the early sixth century.
There were both pagans and Christians in Burdj el-Q ä‘i between
457 and 531/2.
There arc two villages to the north o f Arethusa on the Orontes
river, Deir el-Ferdls and K far BuhQm. Neither o f these was certi-
fiably Christian until the 540,s .'05
The villages o f the southwestern Emesene lying around the Lake
o f Em esa seem generally to have become Christian in the second
half o f the fifth century. They lie generally on the plain as it
approaches the northeastern foothills of Mt. Lebanon. The monk
Abraam es probably passed through this area on his way to the
large village that he Christianized, and so Theodoret’s assertion
that the rustics of this area were still pagan after 400 is entirely
plausible.
97 IG L S 2168
98 Cf. the nekropu'is stele; “ G. Fullonius Severus the veteran.” IG LS 2096,2097.
95 Cf. the funerary stele of 214 A.D. ofG . Maximus, son of Dometianus. IG L S
2095.
ΙΛί> IG LS 2089.
101 IG LS 2090.
103 IG LS 2093.
,M IG LS 2091 (door lintel, 528/9 A.D.), 2092 (door, 530/1).
104 The inscription is broken here (εύλ.α[β. παραμον]αρίου). IG L S 2098.
105 IGLS 2070, 2071, 2079 (Deir ci-Ferdis, and 2064, 2065 (Kfer Buhüm).
O f these sites, Liftaya contains the most revealing inscriptions,

most of them on lintel stones. The householder Palladis attested in
449/50 was doubtless a pagan, as his or her lintel bears no cross.106
The moment of Christianization was probably the early 460’s,
when lintels both with and without crosses turn up almost simul
taneously.107 These are the first signs of a process that reached
fruition in the first decade o f the sixth century, when lintels with
crosses turn up in large numbers, four of them for the years 508-
510, which is a remarkable concentration o f dates for such scattered
evidence.108 It was perhaps at this time that a village church was
constructed and the presbyter Jo h n installed in it.109 Inscriptions
signifying recent conversions may belong to this crucial time as
well, one of them “ This (cross) conquers” (τούτο + νικφ), the
other “ One G od” .110 Liftaya has three Christian inscriptions from the
mid-sixth century. To sum up the course of events, some villagers
began to accept the new religion c. 461-464, but Liftaya did not
become culturally and institutionally Christian until c. 508-510.
Less can be said of the other villages in the southern Emesene.
The first Christian inscriptions turn up at Qizz el-Akher in 479/80,
at Tairin in 480/1,Ul and at H arb a‘ära in 480/1.1,2 These rather
remarkable synchronisms are discussed below. The last-named site
received its first church only in 547/8, its dedication being recorded
by a Syriac inscription. By contrast, the latest pagan inscription at
M aurikiopolis Gausithôn was cut in 425 on a stele with the bust of
a w om an.113 It seems that all these places had Christians in them,
but that shortages o f personnel left them marginally Christianized
until as late as 550. T his can be deduced in part from the onomas
tics. For example, at Djubbaniyeh, a Christian funerary stele was
erected for a man called Astros K astës son of A d das.114 He quite
obviously belonged to the first generation o f converts in his family
with this concatenation o f Hellenic and Semitic n am es.115 The
outward forms o f the old culture thus persisted after the conver
sions of the 480’s. At Kneysseh, a sarkophagos dated 258/9 A.D.
,oe IGLS 2641.

107 IGLS 2642, 2643.
IGLS 2629, 2634, 2636, 2639.
109 IGLS 2649.
,,e IGLS 2645, 2647.
1.1 IGLS 2623, 2180.
1.2 IGLS 2650.
1.3 IGLS 2693.
114 IGLS 2659.
115 The Christian-Jewish name Daniel turns up in an inscription of 552/3. IGLS
2653.
154 CHAPTER EIGHT
was taken from the pagan nekropolis and reused in later time by
Christians, who took care to inscribe the various formulae of the
new religion, including; “ (Cross) It conquers. . . . ” ( + νικφ,
e tc .)."6
The critical period for the Christianization of the southern
Emesene came much later than in northern Syria. It seems likely
that the bishop of Em esa sent out monks or chorepiskopoi in consider
able numbers between 460-480 and that many conversions took
place, as the first Christian inscriptions of several villages turn up
at that time. For financial reasons, however, the new congregations
were not put on a secure footing until between 500-550, when
churches and presbyters turn up in the epigraphy. It seems quite
clear that all the effort went into Christianizing the large village
that is present-day Liftaya (between c. 460-510). Thus, Abraam es,
one of the heroes of Theodoret’s narrative, was truly a pioneer
when he entered this area to preach the new religion in the early
fifth century. The case of Liftaya suggests, on the other hand, that a
policy of energetic Christianization existed in the southern
Emesene from the time of emperor A nastasius I onward (491—518).
Once again the so-called “Justin ian ic” methods are shown to have
had a prior origin.
Abraam es the monk ended up somewhere in Mt. Lebanon after
traversing the southern Emesene. It remains to examine religious
conditions in the m assif proper. The Christianization of the eastern
slopes of Mt. Lebanon was dominated by the fact that the
polytheistic cults o f Baalbek-Heliopolis died out rather slowly. The
great temple in that city was closed during the reign of Theodosius
the Great (379-395), an act entailing the demolition o f two great
altars in the temple courtyard. The larger of the two was a m ag
nificent affair, having four stories above the ground level with
several stairw ays.117 A Christian basilica replaced these edifices. A
smaller temple nearby did, however, remain intact of perhaps even
in use thereafter.118 The Christians here were an economically weak
and politically disadvantaged group which did not break the grip of
the pagans in the urban magistracies until 579/80, when an impe
rial official named Theophilus arrived, made arrests, and per
formed some executions.119 The end of the religious conflict at
i,s IG LS 2179.
117 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 2. Deichmann, “ Kirchen in Heiligtümern” ll5f. Cf.
Paul Collart and Pierre Coupel, L ’autel monumental de Baalbek (Paris 1951).
1,8 Deichmann, “ Kirchen in Heiligtümern,” 116.
119 Joh n of Ephesus, HE 3.27 (versio p. 114). Trombley, “ Religious Transition
in Syria” Sect. 2.
Baalbek was celebrated by an undated Christian victory inscrip

tion: “ (Cross) Christ conquers in this sign” (Χ ριστός τούτφ +
νικ ςι).1™ It can hardly be doubted that there were numerous
pagans among the freeholders and tenant farmers on the eastern
slopes of Mt. Lebanon where it descends into the B eqa‘a valley.
The epigraphy bears this out in dram atic fashion.
The largest village along the eastern slope of the Lebanon m assif
was the ancient Nihata (present-day Niha in the upper Litani
valley). Three temples have been discovered there.121 A sculpture of
Zeus Heliopolitanus cut in high relief and Semitic style survives, as
does an altar with various dedications on it.122 The only dated
Christian inscription at Nihata, a basalt lintel, mentions the laying
of a church m osaic floor in 539. Three or four oikonomoi, all o f
them deacons, supervised the work at the behest of the bishop
M ichael.123 The absence o f presbyters is peculiar. There is no
reason to suppose that Nihata had any Christians in it before this
time or for that m atter that a particularly large congregation ex
isted thereafter. It is difficult to say whether Michael held the see o f
Baalbek-Heliopolis or Chalkis ad Libanum , but the Christianiza
tion o f Nihata clearly belongs to the Justinian ic period.
Self-conscious polytheists seem to have lived in the village o f
Boudai to the northwest of Baalbek in the same year. An inscrip
tion records:124
M agnus, son of Anes Icssaa, completed the cistcrn on the day of the
Moon at the third indiction in the year 850. The gods.
The Seleucid date given here equals 539 A.D. The editor expresses
some doubt about the readings (“ Lecture très douteuse, et restitu
tions plus incertaines encore” ). The religious meaning hinges on
Rey-Coquais’ restoration of the last two words, “ the gods” (οι
θ(εοί)). As will be seen below, neither this reading nor the date
have anything against them if rightly understood in the Beqa'a
valley context. Latin personal names are relatively common in all
parts of Syria and Arabia under the late em pire.125 It is certain that
some families at least sought to distinguish themselves from the
prevalent Christian-Hebraîc nomenclature by holding onto rather
1W IG LS 2835.
121 Daniel Krencker and Willy Zscbieczschmann, Römische Tempel in Syrun
(Berlin-Leipzig 1938), 105-116, ll8f.
122 IG LS 2939.
123 IG L S 2945.
1,4 IG L S 2915.
125 Infra, Ch. X and X I passim.
156 CHAPTER EIGHT
archaic sounding Latin and Semitic names like these. The date and
onomastics are thus consistent with a reading like “ the gods” . Who
these gods were is possibly answered by a votive offering found at
Yammouneh some 25 kilometers northwest of Baalbek, another site
on the eastern slope o f Mt. Lebanon having a temple. The inscrip
tion runs: “Ju lian u s son o fju lia n u s, sculptor, (m ade this) with his
own hands, to the god Eresem O p .” (τώ θεφ Ε ρεσ εμ Ω [π ]),126 a
divine name deserving fuller study.
Any compunctions about the readings of the Boudai inscription
are obviated by another from the site of M u'allaqat-Zakhleh west of
Nihata. The village has no dated Christian inscriptions, but there
is one text on a pagan altar:127 “ In the year 851 on the fifth day o f
the month o f Dystos. Borkeos and S ab as brothers.” The date
corresponds to 540 A.D. The familiar, culturally resistant, non-
Christian names are present once again. The style o f the monument
is late and consistent with the date given.IÏB Offerings o f incense
and probably animal sacrifice still engaged the polytheists o f Mt.
Lebanon, therefore, in the mid-sixth century. This conclusion is
ineluctable and fully consistent with Joh n o f Ephesus’ report about
the pagan trials of 579/80 at Baalbek.129 This altar bears the latest
known pagan cultic inscription o f the Eastern Roman Empire, and
speaks worlds for other nameless rustics of the Lebanon m assif who
have left no trace behind. The most striking feature of the altar is its
temporal context, for Borkeos and Sab as felt capable of making a
public display o f their cult in a time of anti-Hellenic repression.
Ju stin ian ’s ultimate failure to come to grips with the Hellenes o f
Baalbek affected the countryside in turn, whose serious C hris
tianization must have been deferred through the late sixth century.
It seems certain that M u'allaqat-Zakhleh lay in the terrilorium o f
Chalkis ad Libanum . The city was perhaps dominated by Baalbek
in matters o f religion, ju st as the pagan city councillors reigned
supreme in Baalbek itself.
One must nevertheless exercise caution in generalizing, as a look
at two villages in the B eq a‘a valley proper reveals. At Dakoueh, a
village lying on the Litani river quite close to Chalkis ad Libanum,
the tomb o f the pagan Nikeos (τόπος Ν ικέου) was reused by the
Christian deacon Silön at an apparently early date, 313/4 A .D .130
126 IGLS 2916.

127 IG L S 2962.
128 IGLS V II, Plate XLV I (3 photos).
129 Supra, Ch. V III n. J 19-
130 IG LS 2985.
The reading o f the date 625 in the Seleucid era is absolutely certain,
but strikes the editor Rey-Coquais as too early. The square uncial
letters of the script seem to belong to a later time ( E , S , LU ),
perhaps c. 380-420, when they became a passing fashion.131 The
editor posits the use here of some Hellenistic era like that o f Sidon
or Berytus, but this seems impossible in view of Dakoueh’s close
proximity to Chalkis. A suggestion more consistent with the letter
forms would be that the stonecutter mistakenly incised Chi (=600)
instead o f Psi (= 7 0 0 ) in recording the date because of some difficul
ty with his sketch, for little of the inscription makes gram m atical
sense.132 This would yield a date of 413/4 A .D .,S3
If this view is accepted, then it seems that the bottomlands of the
B eqa‘a valley were being Christianized in the early fifth century, a
periodization consistent with other parts of Syria such as the
Apamene. Some support for this chronology turns up at Serin, a
village in the eastern Beqa‘a not far from Baalbek. The site perhaps
had the temple of a female fertility deity in earlier time, for its name
derives from the Semitic Serr el-‘Ain, “ the mystery of the source.”
A pagan tomb previously owned by Boukeros son of Bourkeos (its
first proprietor) and M axim us (the second proprietor) was reused
for a Christian burial in 457/8.134 The person interred this time was
the lady Dioclia (τής κυράς Δ [ιο ]κ λία ς). The Evagrios Ioannes
who erected the monument was evidently her husband. These folk
were perhaps prosperous free farmers or estate owners residing in
the countryside, much like the church historian Sozomen’s ances
tors. The displacement of the tomb’s pagan owners with their Latin
and Semitic names by Christians with Hebraic-Hellenic names is
consistent with the pattern discernible elsewhere.
To return to Abraam es and his companions once again, it seems
that they trekked up Mt. Lebanon because it offered a real chal
lenge to their ascetic tenacity. In contrast to the uplands o f the
massif, the B eqa'a valley was simply too tame a spot to engage
them, being perhaps partly Christian already in the first decade of
the fifth century. It is quite evident that the Christianization o f one
village in Mt. Lebanon could not offset the polytheism of those in
the B eqa‘a valley inside the Umionum o f Baalbek. This evidence,
when combined with that of the southern Emesene, bears out the
lîl Infra, Ch. X passim.

132 Rey Coquais, the editor, does not give a full transcription.
139 Earlier aates of Christianization are not out of the question, as for example
the tomb inscription of Silon the deacon at Dakoueh in the south Beqa‘a valley
(313 A.D.). IGLS 2985.
134 IGLS 2974.
158 CHAPTER EIGHT
commonly expressed view that mountainous areas tended to be

Christianized later, but the unique character of Baalbek is partly
responsible lor this phenomenon in the local context.
It is necessary to look into one other area before concluding the
discussion of A braam es’ venture into M t. Lebanon. T hat area is
the southern tip of the Nosairi mountains which run southward
along the Syrian coast from the mouth of the Orontes river to
Arados. A great temenos lay in the southern Nosairi at a site called
Baitochichi (present-day Hosn Soleiman). The “ great holy god’* o f
the place derived his name from the toponym ([θεφ ] ά γ ίψ
[έπη]κό(ρ ΒαΙιτοχιχι]).135 He was the local Baal, a “ hearkening”
deity (έπήκοος) of the lower air who hurled thunderbolts (κεραύ
ν ιο ς )136 and presided over the movement of rain clouds. A camel
sacrifice to him is recorded on a bronze tablet from the site.137 The
last dated votive offering to him is dated 257 A.D. (from the era of
A rados),138 but the cult probably lasted another two centuries to
judge from the regional context. The remains o f the temple are
considerable and quite impressive.139
Neither the literary sources nor the archaeology suggest a temple
conversion. Christianity grew up, rather, on the fringes o f the
temenos at different sites over time. At Hebbeh near Saita, an
inscription mentions a sacrifice “ upon the sacred altar of Baal in
behalf of the salvation of Pyrrhus and K astor and Publius” (έν
ίερ ψ βω μφ Βήλου ύπέρ σωτηρίας Πύρρου κα ι Κάστορος καί
Π ο π λίο υ ). It is undated and earlier than the fifth century, and
gives the more common name of the Theos M egistos Baitochichi,
whose adherents characteristically have the older Hellenic and
Latin nam es.140
For reasons difficult to explain, monotheism penetrated the vil
lage ofJuw eikat near Baitochichi at a very early date, in 287/8 A.D.
The inscription stands on a basalt lintel and reads: “ One God only
(εις Θ εός μόνος). Aurelius Demetris made (this) in the year
599. . . .” 141 It is the earliest “ One G od ” inscription, unless we
suppose that the editors have gotten the era wrong and that
Juw eikat used the era of Arados rather than the Seleucid era. In
135 Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie VII: Arados et régions voisinât (Nos.
4001-4061), ed. J.-P. Rey Coquais (Paris 1970), nus. 4033, 4038, 4041, etc.
IG LS 4041.
,î? rG LS 404].
136 IG LS 4033.
139 IG L S V II, PI- IX - X III.
140 IG L S 4049.
141 IG L S 40.42. Peterson, E IC QEOC, 23f.
that case the year would be 390 A .D .142 The praenomen Aurelius is
much more likely in the third century A.D., but not impossible
through the late fourth, A monotheistic inscription is quite early for
this region at either date. The inscription bears no cross, but the
name of the dedicand suggests conversion to Christianity rather
than Judaism . The Christian formula incised on the stone (Alpha-
Chi-Rho-Omega) was added later, certainly after the sole rule of
Constantine the G reat began in the Roman East in 324.143
There was a temple conversion at the village of Saisaniyeh near
Saita probably in the early fifth century. A church was built inside
the enclosure of a small temple (not that of the larger one of
Z eus-B aal).144 The church lintel inscription is quite revealing about
the local religious psychology:14’
Je su s Christ the son of God dwells here. Nothing evil shall enter!
(Alpha)(Cross)(Omega) Iordanes. (Cross) Help!
Jo rd an es’ words suggest a pervasive fear of the daimonic powers of
the old Baal thought to dwell in the larger temple. One could be
safe from its kratophanies like thunderbolts inside the Christian
church where no evil thing might enter ([μ]ηδέν έσίτω κακόν).
Iordanes’ title is not given. He perhaps served as the prosmonarios o f
the Christian shrine. He and a small congregation possibly feared
the experience o f daimonic kratophanies like those that Thalaleios
the stylite was said to have endured in a temenos near G abala some
60 kilometers up the coast, hence the invocation: “ H elp!” (βο ή θι).
Iordanes may well have been a near contemporary of Abraam es,
but chose to confront the pagan gods in their shrines rather than
their adherents in the villages of the southern Nosairi.
G abala lay along the coastal plain well to the west o f the central
Nosairi. Although a relatively small city, its terrilorium probably
extended up the western face of the mountain chain. It was here
that Thalaleios, another of Theodoret’s heroic converters of pagans,
invaded a “ high place” on a hill where lay a temenos of Semitic
polytheism (fl. ante 423).146 The site of the temple and martyrion
has not been discovered.147 Theodoret dram atizes the kratophany
,4a As in IG L S 4033.
141 IG LS 4042 bis.
144 Krencker-Zschietzschmann, Römische Tempel in Syrien 101. For the site in
general, pp. 65-101.
143 IG L S 4050
146 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 18 (Canivet 2, 224ff.). -
147 Theodoret, Hist. PhiL 18.1 (Canivet 2, 225, n. 2.).
160 CHAPTER EIGHT
o f the local Baal, which was thought to resist the intrusion o f the
Christian holy man into its sacred sp ace:140
T h ala leio s m arked out a sm all hut for h im self upon reach ing a
certain hill on which there w as a tem ple reserved to the p ag an g o d s
an d form erly honored by im pious m en with m any sacrifices, It w as
about twenty stadia from G a b a la (this city is sm all b u t sp len did ).
T h ey say that the [rustics] served the wretched [deities] with m uch
sav agery, attem p tin g to soothe them with sacrifices. F o r the daimones
destroy m any p erson s, both those nearby and also their neighbors,
not only m en but also m ules an d asses and cattle and sheep. T h e
daimones do not m ake w ar on an im als, but plot ag a in st m en trirough
them. T hen, when they saw this m an T h alale io s arrive, they a t
tem pted to strike, but were un ab le [to effect anything] becau se his
faith fortified him and grace protected him . Being struck by m ad n ess
an d rage, they rush ed again st the trees grow ing there, and m any fig
and olive trees on th at hill were weakened. T h ey say th at m ore than
five hundred o f them were torn down. I heard this from the neigh bor
ing farm ers who tell the story. T h ese folk form erly em braced the
gloom o f im piety, but received a know ledge o f G o d through the
teaching an d m iraculous acts o f that m an.
The dam age to the orchards, which made up a sacred grove,

evidently came from a freak storm with gale-force winds. The Baal
was thought to have contrived this, but Thalaleios’ obduracy
proved to be the beginning of Christianization. This is the only
occasion on which Theodoret mentions sacrifice in the Historia
Philotheos. They were thought in the local context to “ sooth”
(έθεράπευον) the alienated gods of the soil and sky. Thalaleios is
also said to have witnessed their epiphanies through bright lights
and screams in the night. It is difficult to say whether these were
phenomena of the mind or of human provenance through the
obdurate polytheists o f the nearby villages who feared the lapse of
the peace of the go d s.149 Thalaleios seems to have blessed and cured
the rustics' domesticated animals as a sign of the power o f the
Christian God, much as Hypatius of Rufinianae did in Bithynia.150
As a native o f Cilicia, Thalaleios did not know the Aram aic
dialect spoken in the hinterland o f G abala. He compensated for this
through extreme forms of askesis. He ensured the victory over the
pagan gods o f the temenos by erecting a cramped wooden cage for
himself. Theodoret describes the carpentry and adds: "[T h e cage]
148 Theodoret, Hist. PkiL 18.1 (Canivet 2, 224-27}.

149 On the physiological origins ofluminous phenomena experienced in states of
sleep and partial wakefulness, cf. Carl Jung, On the Psychology and Pathology o f
So-called Occult Phenomena (Leipzig 1902) in Psychology and the Occult (London 1987),
61-63. Theodoret, Hist, Phil. 18.2 (Canivet 2, 226f.).
150 Supra, Ch. VII, Sect. I,
had a height of two cubits inside. Thalaleios spent ten years sitting
in it, or rather hanging. Since he had a large body, he was unable to
sit with his neck straight. Rather, he always sat bent forward
having his knees nailed to his face.5’ 151 If words were insufficient to
convert the rustics, perhaps actions might. As in other places, a
martyrion arose am idst the ruins of the temenos:152
I went to him and found him collecting the profit o f the divine
gospels, I ask ed , desiring to discover the cau se o f that novel life-style.
H e answ ered in G reek, for he w as a C ilirian by race. . . . T h e dw ell
ers round abou t relate th at m any m iracles are effected through his
prayer not only in b eh alf o f men but also on cam els and m ules and
donkeys which enjoy his cures. T h e entire population o f that p lace
w as gripped by im piety, b u t d espised an cestral folly an d received the
rad ian ce o f the divine light* By m akin g use o f these services* he
abolished the tem enos o f the p ag an god s (daimones) and raised a great
precinct to the splendidly victorious m artyrs, su bstitu tin g the divine
d ead for the falsely nam ed gods.
The prayer of the holy man and martyr relics completed the
conversion of the site, ju st as they did at the octagonal martyrion at
'E zra in the Ledjä in the Provincia A rabia.153 M any of Theodoret’s
phrases here are echoed in his Therapeutic for Hellenic Maladies,
where he again celebrates the triumph of the splendidly victorious
(καλλίνικοι) m artyrs:154
T hey have obliterated the m em ory o f the so-called gods from the
m ind o f men. F or their tem ples have been utterly destroyed, so that
no trace o f their configurations survives, nor d o m en now set up the
replica o f their altars. Rather, their m aterial rem nants are sanctified
by the shrines o f m artyrs. F or the m aster [C h rist] h as in troduced his
own d ead in substitution for your gods. . . . F or in stead o f the P an dia
and D iasia an d D ionysia and your other festivals, there are now
celebrated the public festivals o f Peter, Paul, T h o m a s, Sergiu s, M a r
cellus, L eon tius, A ntoninus, M au rice, and the other m artyrs. And
instead o f the ancient processions and obscene acts an d w ords, m od
erate festivals are celebrated, not having drunkenness, m erry
m aking, and laughter, but divine hym ns and the recitation o f sacred
texts, an d prayer ornam ented with praisew orthy tears,
This victory was celebrated in other parts of the Syrian country

side, wherever the monks overturned the temples of polytheism.
The endemic exploitation of agricultural labor by the landed mag
nates sitting in the city councils gave the monks another avenue
151 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 18,3 (Canivet 2, 226-29).

152 Theodoret, Hist. PhiL 18.4 (Canivet 2, 228-31).
153 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. L Infra, Ch. X I, Sect. 3.
154 Theodoret o f Cyrrhus, Therapeutic 8.68-69 (Canivet 2, 334f),
162 CHAPTER EIGH T
o f attack on the old religion through the coloni and tenant farmers.
This lies behind the activity o f monks like M aisym as (fl. ante 423?)
who operated in the Cyrrhestica on the estates of Letoios, a well-
known Antiochene city councillor.IS5 Letoios remained a Hellene
and was known in Libanius’ cirle. Like other great landowners
pagan and Christian alike, he exacted too great a share of rent from
his tenants (σφοδρότερον ή εδει τούς γηπόνους είσπράττεσθαι
τούς καρπούς) whom Theodoret calls “ workers on the land” ( ol
γηπόνοι.) to distinguish them from the freeholders (γεωργοί και
δεσπόται) mentioned in his account of Abraames. I f Christian
landowners neglected the Christianization of their tenant farmers,156
men like Letoios will have positively discouraged it. Even patriarcli
Flavian of Antioch (381-404), known from Libanius’ oration “ In
Behalf of the Tem ples” for overlooking monastic raids on ex-temple
lands, knew, as a landowner himself, the plausible limits o f interfer
ence with other men’s property. It therefore fell to monks like
M aisym as, a native speaker o f the local Aram aic dialect, to pene
trate the estates o f the Hellenes, win adherents to the new religion,
and appeal to the landlords’ sense o f humanity. All this created
many new Christians, but did little to alter rural social and eco
nomic relations. Even so, there were minor triumphs when the holy
man asserted his mastery over the peasantry to the disadvantage o f
the wealthy.
A seemingly trivial incident mentioned in Theodoret’s Historia
Philotheos ties in with these realities. It is said that Letoios used to
inspect his estates by riding about in a splendidly appointed mule-
drawn waggon or chariot. When it got stuck on one occasion, it is
said, the rustics were unable to dislodge its wheels with rods and
levers. The rustic most friendly to Letoios, who was perhaps his
bailiff, then advised him to send for M aisym as, who demanded that
the Hellene prostrate himself before him and embrace his rags.
Notwithstanding Theodoret’s implicit denial, it seems quite prob
able that the monk had incited a common form o f rural noncoop
eration. The tenant farmers could hardly go on strike when it came
to agricultural production, as their own subsistence depended on
this directly. They could, however, perform corvees along with the
other non-agricultural and extra-legal tasks required of them—
including the dislodgement o f Letoios’ mired vehicle— without en
thusiasm or even with gross incompetence in order to make an issue
o f their grievances. Letoios’ bailiff, as it seems, knew this much,
155 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 14 (Canivet 2,

156 Supra, Ch. VII, Sect. I.
that M aisym as had influence great enough to overcome the

peasants’ sullen behavior. He effected this without church build
ings or the ckoupiskopoi of Cyrrhus behind him. As a rustic himself,
M aisym as was probably born of a family that had suffered its share
o f exploitation, and personal loyalty coupled with shared economic
hardship will have earned him many converts. The typical solitary
was no great economic burden, surviving as he did on less nourish
ment than the most impoverished renter. The difference was that
the monk could raise his voice in defiance with impunity, because
anyone who harmed him risked the rebellion of an exploited
peasantry led by the archimandrites and solitaries, a rebellion that
might in time come to the attention o f the “ most Christian” emper
or. Even if one rejects the historicity of Theodoret’s statement that
Letoios made the proskynesis to M aisym as, there is a strong element
of truth in the social and economic mechanisms that Theodoret
describes.
The accumulated evidence suggests, then, that the countryside of
early fifth-century Syria was in many places hardly Christianized.
The sam ple o f pagan villages given by Theodoret is geographically
diverse: Teledan in the Limestone M assif between Antioch and
Beroia, the slopes o f M ts. Amanus and Lebanon, the territorium of
G abala on the western face of the Nosairi mountains, and the
estates of the Hellene Letoios in the Cyrrhestica. The list is not
exhaustive: it represents only the sites where monks known to
Theodoret resided. Nor was the terrain described always difficult of
access in the craggy mountains, although the urban sees must
surely have neglected such localities. The epigraphy demonstrates
the existence of other such communities that resisted the coming o f
the new religion well into the sixth century.
One other o f Theodoret’s narratives requires analysis, that per
taining to Symeon Stylites the Elder’s purported conversion o f
pagan Arabs who approached his stele at Q alat Sim ‘än. Ram say
M acM ullen’s remarks thereon make additional comment oblig
atory.157 The site, midway between Antioch and Beroia, lay in the
heart of the bilingual Greek and Aram aic speaking areas that
comprised the Landschaft o f Theodoret’s Historia Philotfieös. Symeon
was, however, a famous monk around whom a Mediterranean-wide
cult had accumulated, Theodoret observes:158
157 Ramsay MacMullen, Christianizing the Roman Empire (A.D. JOO-400) (New
Haven 1984), 1-3.
,5,, Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 26.11 (Canivet 2, 180-83).
164 CHAPTER EIGHT
Thus, with every kind o f person arriving from every conceivable

place and every road becoming like a river, a sea of men was seen
standing together in that place receiving rivers from every direction.
Not only did those who lived in our oikoumene accumulate, but also
Arabs and Persians, the Armenians subject to the latter (Persarme-
nians), Iberians, Himyarites, and others. Many arrived who live in
the farthest parts of the West, including Spaniards, Britons, and the
Kelts who live amidst them, and from Italy, too, it is superfluous to
say. For in the Greater Rome the man is so well known that in all the
vestibules of the workshops the [artisans] set up small images to him
in order to provide protection and security for themselves.
The events at Djebel Sim ‘än were an extraordinary phenomenon
when compared with the more prosaic activities of the solitary
monks in the Syrian countryside, for whom the sincere conversion
of a pagan village might constitute a life's work. Furthermore, the
common rural economic background and Aram aic linguistic ties
between catechist and polytheist, vital factors in the permanent
Christianization of the countryside, were absent at Sym eon’s stele,
A seemingly different ethos prevailed here, where a polyglot reli
gious tourism resulted in a veritable babel, in which the linguae
francae must uniformly have been Greek and A ram aic.159 The con
versions reported, particularly those of the Arabs, must therefore
be regarded in a different light from what has been seen thus far of
Bithynia and northern Syria, In other words, the text chosen by
Ram say M acM ullen to introduce his discussion in Christianizing the
Roman Empire relects phenomena entirely atypical to the real, but
seldom so dram atically told, story of the conversion o f villages that
often took as many as three years to effect. The example of Symeon
on his stele thus fails for the purpose of generalization. M acM ul-
len’s question formulated in light of this, to wit, whether these folk
“ had really joined the church55, is probably to be answered in the
affirmative, as they had probably become members of the
catechumenate. The mechanics o f this process will become evident
when we turn to the mission o f St. Euthymius»160
T o return to Theodoret’s account: many diverse foreigners re
sorting to the shrine were pagan, 5‘being sick with unbelief55 (τών
την άπιοτίαν νοσούντω ν),161 among them many A rabs:162
[Symeon’s] standing on the column causes the baptism of the
Ismaelites, many myriads of them enslaved by the gloom of unbelief.
159 Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 4, where the Syriac biographers of Symeon suggest
strong Aramaic and Arabic cultural roots for his methods and religiosity.
161 Theodoret, Hist. PhiL 26*12 (Canivet 2, 190f.).
162 Theodoret, HisL PhiL 16.13 (Canivet 2, I90f.).
ARABS AND ARAMAEANS IN TH E SYRIAN COUNTRYSIDE 165
F or ju s t a s when the brightest o f lam p s is set on a lam p stan d , it sends

out rays everywhere o f the equivalen t intensity o f the sun. O ne can
see Ib erian s, A rm en ian s, and P ersians com ing to enjoy the divine
b ap tism . T h e Ish m aelites arrive in clan grou ps* 200 in one, 300 [in
another], at tim es 1000 strong, and scorn their paren tal error with a
shout, sm ash in g the idols they revere in front o f that g reat light-
bearer [Sym eon ], T h ey put asid e the orgies o f A phrodite (for until
that time they had accepted the w orship o f th at p a g a n god ), and
enjoyed the divine m ysteries. H avin g received law s from that sacred
tongue and having spoken farewell to their an cestral custom s, they
d esp ised the m eat o f wild asses and cam els.
Theodoret was present at one o f these assemblies and was nearly

trampled in the stampede to approach the stele:163
I w as an eyew itness to these events and heard [the A rab s] when they
put asid e their an cestral im piety an d assen ted to the evangelical
teaching, T h ere rem ained one very great peril. H e ordered them to
com e forw ard an d receive the priestly blessin g from m e, sayin g that
they would be yielded a great profit from it. 1 hey, running together
in b a rb aric fashion drew forw ard, som e from behind, others from the
sides, others yet stan d in g back, w alking upon others an d extending
their han ds. Som e pulled on my beard, while others took hold o f my
garm ents. I w ould have been asp h y xiated by their vehem ent a d
vance, had [Sym eonj not scattered them with a shout.
Theodoret’s claims for the conversion o f Arabs at Symeon’s stele

are at first sight untenable. The Arabs took many an idol of el-‘Uzza,
the Arab equivalent of the Greek Aphrodite, from their baggage
train and smashed it in a state o f religious exaltation, but ancestral
customs (εθη τα πατρφα) of a transhum ant tribal society could not
have been altered without fundamental changes in its economic life
and means o f subsistence, in other words the partial sedentariza-
tion of the tribe in agriculture or its voluntary cantonment near the
residence of a catechist. Theodoret claims, in this connection, that
the Arabs “ received laws from that sacred tongue . . . [and] con
temned the diet of wild asses and cam els.” 164 This would meet the
economic requirements for the conversion of the group> but no
information is provided about the site of their association with
sedentary communities,165 Theodoret had seen enough of the bed
ouins' culture to doubt that this transformation o f their social and
economic order could be achieved expeditiously:156
153 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 16,14 (Canivet 2, 192f.).

164 Ibid.
By way of contrast, see the following section on St> Euthymius* work with
the Arabs of the Parembole.
166 CHAPTER EIGHT
I saw another such event. One tribe approached the divine man that
he would send up a prayer for their phylarch, but another tribe that
was present contradicted this, saying that the prayer should not be
offered for him but for their own chieftain. For one was unjust, but
the other was the opposite of unjust. After great contention had
arisen and a barbarian skirmish ensued, they finally went against
each other. I used many words and encouraged them to keep peace,
indicating that the holy man had sufficient blessing to impart even to
both chieftains, but the former said it should not be done for the
latter, while the latter’s men attempted to deprive the former of it.
From above [on his stele] Symeon halted them and called them dogs,
but this hardly extinguished their contention. I say these things to
demonstrate the faith of their intention, for they would not have raged
against each other except that they believed the blessing of the
law-giving man had great force.
Symeon thus became a sort of animate tribal totem that each group
wished to keep exclusively for itself.
Two other instances of A rabs’ conversion at Djebel Sim ‘än re
quire mention. In the first, a phylarch of Saracens brought in a
man struck by paralysis on the Roman road near Callinicum. The
invalid foreswore his ancestral cults and acknowledged the Christian
Trinity prior to his cure.167 The Arab leader was evidently the
sheikh of one of the recently converted tribes. The sick man was
perhaps a long-distance trader, for otherwise his own clan o f pas-
toralists or village community would have cared for him. He may
well have been an Arab. In the second instance, a “ queen of the
Ishm aelites” , that is the wife o f a sheikh or phylarch, sent certain of
the tribal notables to Symeon to request his prayer to grant child
birth. Her prayers to el-‘Uzza-Aphrodite had evidently failed, so
she acknowledged Christ. After her confinement, she sent this
first-born child to Symeon for his blessing (ευ λο γία ).168 These
services produced a yearning for the person of Symeon reserved for
the closest o f kinfolk, as is described in the Safaitic inscriptions.169
As was seen, at other times it roused the competitive instincts of the
sheikhs who visited Djebel Sim ‘än.
It is quite probable that Symeon had assistants at Djebel Sim 'än
who effected the instruction of the A rabs on a tribe by tribe basis.
Each will have received a catechist, but the record is silent on this.
Another text, Cyril o f Scythopolis’ Life of Euthymius, provides cor
roboration about the method used to Christianize Arab tribes that

168 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 16.21 (Canivet 2, 202-205}.
169 Infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 3.
probably reflects fairly typical practice.170 Euthymius, born at

Melitene in the Armenian borderlands c. 377, had the qualifica
tions to convert Arabs, for his native town lay in a trilingual district
where Armenian, Greek, and Aram aic were spoken.171 Having
risen to the rank o f presbyter at the see of Melitene, he supervised
the monasteries in the territonum o f the city where a dialect of Syriac
m ust have been spoken. After arriving at Jerusalem at the age o f
twenty-nine c. 406, Euthymius worked silk (έργάζεσθαι σειράν)
outside the laura at Pharan some six miles outside the city. Here he
made the acquaintance o f a local farmer, for whom he performed a
cure, and probably many others. It is quite possible that a mixed
Arabic- and Aramaic-speaking resided in the countryside east o f
Jeru salem .1’2 Thereafter Euthymius migrated with his ally Theok-
tistos to a wadi where shepherds from the nearby village or estate of
Lazarion grazed their flocks.173 These folk may well have been
Arabs. The monastic group, its reputation, and presum ably its
ability to converse in Arabic, or, failing that, Syriac, the lingua
franca o f the Fertile Crescent, began to spread.
Euthymius m ade contact with pagan Arabs thereafter, c. 420.174
An Arabic chieftain, who had held the Sassanid title o f Spahbedh
(“ army leader” ) and was generally called Aspebetos, the Semitic
form of the word in Greek transliteration, approached Euthymius,
asking him to cure his son Terebon, who had suffered a paralysis of
the right side of his body.175 Aspebetos now held the title o f phy-
larch by a treaty with the Romans, having defected from the
Sassanids with his entire clan (σ υγγένεια ) and moveable property
(ο υ σ ία ). The magister militum per Orientent Anatolius had assigned
them abodes in the Provincia A rabia, which lay to the east and
across the Jo rd a n from Euthymius’ small community.176 Aspebetos
had with his clan perhaps resided previously near Ctesiphon (ΰπο
των κα τά πόλιν μάγων, where πόλις is perhaps M ad â’in or
C tesiphon),'77 and had no doubt lived in close contact with a
sedentary Aram aean Christian population. Although still a pagan
1,0 Cyril of Sc.ythopolis, Vita Eulhymii in Kyrillos von S.kythopolu, ed. Eduard
Schwartz (Texte und Untersuchungen 49/2, Leipzig 1939).
m V. Eulhymii 2 (Schwartz, 9).
nî V. Euthymn 6 (Schwartz, 14, lines3-16).
173 V. Eulhymii B (Schwartz, 15f.).
174 V. Eulhymii 10 (Schwartz, 18, note).
175 V. Eulhymii 10 (Schwartz, 18, line 12fF.).
176 V. Eulhymii !0 (Schwartz, 18f.).
177 V. Eulhymii 10 (Schwartz, 19, line 1).
168 CHAPTER EIGHT
(Έ λλη ν), he felt pity for them when the Zoroastrian magi initiated
a persecution against them and got Yazdigerd I (399-420) in 420 to
order his allied A rabs to block the routes leading toward the
Roman frontiers to forestall any Christian m igration.178 Aspebetos’
motive for defecting to the Romans lay partially in the feelings o f
pity which the persecution aroused in him. This is, at any rate,
Cyril of Scythopolis* assertion.
The hagiographer is silent about the characteristics of
Aspebetos* cult, naming no deities or specific cult practices. The
latter are simply referred to as “ pagan rites passed on by his
ancestors” (ΐπό συμπαθείας κινούμενος καίπερ τα Ελλήνων έκ
προγόνων θρησκεύων).179 Furthermore, upon bringing Terebon
to Euthymius for the cure, Aspebetos admitted the failure of
“ physicians’ science and magic practices” to restore the boy’s
health (δια πάσης Ιατρικής έπιστήμης καί μαγικής περιε-
ργείας).1*0 Other aspects of their cult were, in the words of
Euthymius, “ the invocations and fictions of the astronomers and
astrologers . . . incantations and m agical folly” (αί έπικλήσεις καί
αι μυθοποιίαι, τών αστρονόμων τε καί άστρολόγων , , . αι
έπαοιδίαι καί αί γοητικαί έρεσχελίαι).1“1 All this flowery but
vague terminology seems to reflect the cult practices relating to
al-'U zza, the Arabic goddess embodied in the evening star whom
Theodoret calls Aphrodite after the Greek fashion. There were, at
any rate, persons am ong the clansmen of Aspebetos’ tribe skilled in
the interpretation of celestial phenomena, which must have in
cluded setting the date for the festivals o f al-‘Uzza by the phase of
the moon.182 The so-called “ incantations and magical folly” pos
sibly reflect the work o f the kähins, tribal sham ans reputed to be
able to communicate with spirits and find lost objects, and “ poets”
,?B Bury, IR K 2, 4. '

179 V. tu t hymn 10 (Schwartz, 19, line 3f.).
140 V. Euthymii 10 (Schwartz, 19, line 23f.).
ιί1 V. Euthymii 10 (Schwartz, 19f.).
,8Î Cf. the report c. 575 A.D. of the pilgrim Antoninus, who records the new
moon festival of an unnamed divinity. His story is quite obviously based on
hearsay evidence while passing through the Sinai peninsula: “ On a part of the
same mountain the Saracens have set up their ownidol,white assnow.Their
priest resides there, clothed in a dalmatic and a linenpallium. When the time
comes for their cult festival, when the new moon arrives, it is said that before their
festival day the marble begins to change color. The moon comes, whereupon they
begin to worship the idol, and the marble becomes black as pitch. When the time
for the cult festival has been completed, the idol returns to its original color,
whence all are wholly amazed.” Antoninus Martyr, Perambulalio Loconttn Sanctorum
in Itinera et Descriptions Ttnat Sanetat. ed. T. Tobler, 1 (Geneva 1877), 113.
{shä‘irüna)i who supposedly uttered their verses in an elevated state

inspired by spirits (jinn).m
The occasion of Aspebetos’ conversion was the cure which the
monk Euthymius administered to his son Terebon by making the
sign o f the cross. The Arab chieftain invoked "the great and fearful
G od ” o f the Christians (ό Θεός ό μέγας και φοβερός) in supplica
tion before the miracle, then sought out the monk in the desert ten
miles east of Jerusalem in the wadi north o f the Jericho road. The
formula that Aspebetos pronounced may have had roots in Arab
polytheism. The “ conversion” of the tribe followed, this the result
o f the chieftain's adhesion to the new religion (παρεκάλουν λα βείν
τήν έν Χ ριστώ σφραγίδα)»104 Cyril of Scytholpolis relates the
procedure in d etail:1*5
Euthymius surmised that they believed in Christ from the soul and
ordered a small baptismal font to be built at the corner of the cave. It
is preserved until the present day. Having instructed them he bap
tized them all. He changed the name of Aspebetos to Peter. [Euthy
mius] baptized him first, and after him a certain Maris, his cousin on
his mother’s side. Both men were suitable in sagacity and long in
distinction of wealth. [Euthymius] next baptized Terebon and the
rest. Having kept them with himself for forty days and having en
lightened them with the divine word and having given them a suit
able foundation, he sent them away no longer as Agarenes and
Ishmaelites, but as descendants of Sara. . . .
Some important considerations emerge from this description. First
and most important, the tribe was baptized after very little instruc
tion. This came during the following month or so. The adherence of
Aspebetos-Peter and M aris to the Christian God sufficed to ensure
the catechization and good conduct of the clansmen thereafter. The
workings o f tribal society, which gave the individual little safety
outside the group, would have turned dissidents into renegades at
risk for their lives. The great men of the tribe whose wealth must
have been in animals, precious metal objects, slaves and coins, had
undergone sincere conversion. O f Peter we shall hear more later.
M aris enrolled himself with Euthym ius’ monks and placed his
own considerable property at their disposal for the building and
183 This view is necessarily speculative. Irfan Shahid’s Byzantium and the Arabs in
the Fifth Century (Washington, D.C, 1989), has no comment on this subject. For the
identification of al-‘Uzza with Aphrodite-Phosphoros, see: idem, Byzantium and the
Arabs in the Fourth Century (Washington, D.C. 1984), 28&-90, with bibliography. Cf.
MacMullen, Christianizing the Roman Empire, 2f
184 V. Euthymii 10 (Schwartz, 20, line 26).
IW V. Eutnymii 10 (Schwartz, 20f.).
170 CHAPTER EICHT
expansion of the m onastery.186 This act will, among other things,

have provided Euthymius and the monks with inestimable intelli
gence about the cultural workings and social structure o f the Arab
tribes, and have added a spokesman to the group who could
converse idiomatically with all future comcrs. It is impossible to
assess whether all Aspebetos-Peter’s relatives and clients accepted
Christianity “ from the soul” (έκ ψυχής), but the conversion o f
their leaders along with their tribal group dynamics sufficed to
achieve the effect.
To return to Theodoret’s account of mass conversions at the stele
o f Symcon Stylites the Elder, it can hardly be doubted that the
great monastery at Djebel Sim ‘än had the personnel and deter
mination necessary to effect the kinds of conversion, including that
of whole tribes, practiced by Euthymius in the Ju d aean desert. This
required an initial impression of great emotional intensity. Sy-
meon’s commanding and striking presence atop the pillar, together
with an askesis that matched the privation of a trek by the bedouin
across a difficult stretch o f desert, produced the desired effect.
Theodoret’s narrative takes us this far, but no further. The Arabs
nearly pulled him apart in a veritable stam pede toward the stele, as
a text quoted above describes with scarcely concealed amusement.187
The tribes’ allegiance to the holy man was funneled through the
chieftains, who at times held the title of phylarch from the govern
ment at Constantinople.188 Symeon could apparently converse in
Arabic, and knew well how to use to common insult of “ dog” in
order to keep his client in line.189
Symeon, like Euthymius, effected conversions by means of cures.
Theodoret cites only one example, but phenomena of this sort must
have occurred constantly at the monastery. In one instance, an
unnamed phylarch o f the Saracens carried in a man who had
become paralyzed at or near Callim cum , the great frontier fortress
on the Euphrates river that lay in the province o f Euphratensis
some 110 kilometers from Djebel Sim ‘ân .190 This datum gives us
some idea of the distances trekked by the Arabs, who lived on the
,BG V. Eulhymii 10 (Schwartz, 21, lines 13-15).

187 Supra, this section, n. 163.
,80 Supra, this section, n. 166.
199 Cf. the insult administered by an imperial sakellarios to the allied Arab
border guards in 631/2: “ The emperor gives hardly enough pay to the soldiers.
How much more can he give to these dogs?” Theophanes, Cktonographia A.M . 6123
(De Boor 1, 335f.).
190 It might be possible to establish the identity of the phylarch from the
districts of his campsites.
desert fringe, to reach Symeon’s stele. Theodoret summarizes the

affair in this wise;191
I saw a splendid miracle that occurred at another time. A certain
phylarch of the Saracens asked the divine head to aid a man whose
limbs had been paralyzed on the road. He said this illness had struck
him at Callinicum, that great fortress. [Symeon] commanded the
man, who was brought into the midst, to foreswear the impiety of his
ancestors. When he assented gladly, and hearkened, and fulfilled the
command, he was asked if he believed in the Trinity. When the man
confessed that he believed, Symeon said: “ For believing on these
names, stand up!” . . . All persons present moved their tongues in a
hymnody to God.
The basis of Theodorct’s conversion stories was the experience of a
short visit to the monastery, perhaps during a time o f heavy traffic
from the eastern frontier. I f so, the picture is somewhat distorted, as
many Syrians and Greeks will also have frequented the place. Sy
meon’s pourparlers with the Arabs made a sensation with the learned
author, and these he chose for the substance of his narration.192
It has been suggested that enthusiastic conversions, especially
those which accompanied cures, were but the beginning of the
process of Christianization for the limitrophic Arabs, Theodoret
had much to say about this, but little on what came afterward. T o
understand the subsequent process more fully, it is necessary to
return to the biography of Euthymius, which documents the post-
baptism al catechization o f Aspebetos-Peter’s tribe in great detail.
Peter returned on another occasion with more A rab men, women
and children, who received baptism. The hagiographer leaves the
issue o f their membership in Aspebetos-Peter’s tribe open. The
people were perhaps recently acquired tribal dependents. The
chieftain saw in this case the merit of religious uniformity in his
tribal group. Euthymius imposed a period of instruction both be
fore and after the administration o f baptism , the latter lasting for
seven days. The monk had transferred his abode to the hills of the
desert, but returned to the monastery to Christianize these folk.
They resided in that spot for an indeterminate period of tim e.193
Euthym ius’ monastery became thereafter a fixed shrine fre
quented by Peter’s Arabs. The chieftain hired artisans, who con
structed a number of buildings:194

192 Cf. the other cases discussed infra', Ch. V III, Sect. 4.
193 V. Euthymii 15 (Schwartz, 24, line ; Iff.;.
184 V. Euthymii 15 (Schwartz, 24, line 17ff.). Cf. D.J. Chilly and A.H.M . Jones,
“ The Church of St. Euthymius at Khan el-Amar near Jerusalem ,” Palestine
Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement (1928), 174—178.
172 CHAPTER EIGHT
[They] built a great cistern with two entrances which is preserved

until today in the garden, built a bakery nearby, and made three cells
for the holy man [Euthymius] and a church in their midst. T he
jackals of A rabia thereupon called upon him and came to stay near
him because of the rational flock-tending o f Christ.
This resulted in the establishment o f a central shrine “ at a place

between the two monasteries” , which I take to mean somewhere
between the new monastic buildings and the cave of the “ desert-
loving” (φιλέρημος) Euthymius. He marked out the foundation
plan (χαράξας) of the church on the site and instructed the Arabs,
who seem from now on to have come from outside Aspebetos-Peter’s
group (being called the “jackals of A rabia” , οί ποτέ λύκοι τής
Αραβίας), to erect their tents in a circle around the precincts
of the church. They built the church and stayed there under
Euthymius' close catechetical supervision (και έπεσκέπτετο
αυτούς πυκνότερον) until he procured a presbyter and deacons for
them. The patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem (421-458) either sent
them out, appointed them from the monks or ordained them from
the newly converted A rabs.195 Euthym ius5 method resembles that
used to Christianize pagan villages in Anatolia and Syria, which
consisted in having monks who knew the rustic ethos and local
dialect conduct the initial catcchization and baptisms, and then
having regular clergy under the jurisdiction o f the local bishop take
charge.195
The final phase o f the Christianization of the phylarchic border
tribes of the Provincia A rabia came about through the formation of
an ethnically Arabic episcopate. This became necessary as large
numbers of encampments (διαφόραι παρεμβολαί) of recently bap
tized Arabs— probably differentiated into kin-groups of various
sizes— began to accumulate. Juven al of Jerusalem , acting on
Euthym ius1 request, appointed Aspebetos-Peter “ bishop of the En
cam pm ents55 (τών Παρεμβολών έπίοκοπος) J 97 The geographical
limits of this ad hoc diocese arc unknown, but it may well have
spanned the Jo rd an river, which separates the ecclesiastical prov
ince o f First Palestine from Arabia. Nor can the importance of an
ethnically Arabic episcopate and regular clergy be underrated in
the Hellenization o f these kin-groups.190 As a chieftain with many
clients, the bishop Peter could impose the twin requirements of
195 Euthymius was himself a presbyter.

Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek W orld/’ passim.
V. Euthymii 15 (Schwartz, 25, line iff.).
198 Cf. infra, Ch. V III, Sect. 4.
Christianization and Heilenization on all comers. T he bishops of

the Encampments represented their sees at the Oecumenical Coun
cils of Ephesus (431) and Ghalcedon (451) thanks toJuvenaPs need
for a strong retinue there* Euthymius continued to instruct and
baptize Arabs who straggled in from the limes even after this
time, “ a multitude o f barbarian A rabs’* (βαρβάρων πλήθος
Σαρακηνών).199 This phrase distinguishes between the partially
Hellenized Arabs of the Encampments and their non-acculturated
pagan countrymen from the desert fringe. The monastic church at
this time received ornamentation at bishop Peter’s expense.200 The
use of Greek scriptures and inscriptions will have aided the process
of Heilenization. It can hardly be doubted that after a few genera
tions a bilingual clergy emerged from this process, or that many
Arabs acquired the sedentary trades associated with village life,
including stone-masonry, baking, carpentry, and so forth. The
epigraphic record bears out this hypothesis in graphic term s,201
III. Arab Polytheism in Light o f the Safaitic Inscnptions

The presence o f so many Arabs accepting Christianity on the desert
fringe o f Syria necessitates a closer look at their religious beliefs.
This is not the place to undertake a detailed analysis o f pre-Islamic
Arab religion. On the other hand, the discussion about the conver
sion of many tribes will have little meaning unless their religious
attitudes are briefly examined. There is practically no microinstitu-
tional analysis of this question available. Robertson Smith’s Reli
gion of the 1Semites is still useful, but fails to address the Arabs as a
unique cultural group and makes little use of the numerous Safaitic
inscriptions of the first through third centuries A.D ,, which provide
important empirical evidence on the question at hand.202 This
m Supra, this section, no. 197.

200 V. Euthymii 16 (Schwartz, 26, line 15ff),
201 This argument is consistent with the discussion below in Ch. X and X I. I.
Shahid has, however, argued strongly in favor of the existence of an Arabic
Christian liturgy in Byzantium and the Arabs i>z the Fifth Century (W ashington D,C.
1989), 196-99, 422-29, 515f.
202 For recent comment on the Safaitic inscriptions and an up-to-date bibliogra
phy, sec: J.T . Milik, "Epigraphic safaitique/3Hauranl/l: Recherches archéologiques sur
la Syrie du Sud à l'époque hellénistique et romaine, ed J.-M . Dentzer (Paris 1985),
183-88. The term “ Safaitic” comes from the so-called Safe» a lava region southeast
of Damascus where most of the inscriptions have turned up. Their main area of
concentration is on the eastern side of Djebel Hau ran. The inscriptions date
mostly from the 1st-4th c. A.D, Their disappearance after this time is attributed to
the Tanükhid migration into this zone, whereafter the Safaitic tribes lost their
distinctiveness, J .S . Trimingham, Christianity among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times
(London 1979), 91-93. There is a considerable number of coHcctions of Safaitic
174 CHAPTER EIGHT
analysis is undertaken in the sam e terms as that o f Hellenic, Syrian,

and Egyptian polytheism. The site o f il-lIsawi near Nemarah on
the eastern fringe o f the Provincia A rabia has been chosen as the
primary example from Enno Littm ann's collection of Safaitic in
scriptions because of the very large number of inscriptions found in
the place.203 This discussion should put the observations o f
Theodoret of Cyrrhus and Cyril of Scythopolis into a more realistic
reference frame.
A rab religiosity arose out of the material, economic, and social
circum stances o f a life led on the desert fringe of eastern Syria and
Arabia. The region was usually arid, and in consequence these
Arabs had become alm ost exclusively pastoralists.204 Unless more
perilous problems intervened, their usual needs were water and
abundant grazing fodder for their animals. Disputes and intertribal
wars at times arose over the territoriality implied in this mode o f
subsistence. It was a life o f chronic uncertainty and deprivation, yet
one in which joys both melancholy and refreshing sometimes
emerged in the written record. The Arabs attributed functions to
their divinities that could aid them in every arduous and unpredict
able circumstance.
The Arab pantheon was quite numerous, but in practice most
persons invoked a single deity when feelings o f distress overcame
them. The most commonly attested deity is the female Allât, who
seems to have been associated with the Greek Athena, and is not to
be confused with al-‘ U zza or the Greek Aphrodite. Yet she was far
from being a fertility deity in Arab popular belief. In the inscrip
tions at ancient Oriza (present-day iP Isâw i) Allât is invoked in a
roughly equal number of times to ail the other divinities combined,
inscriptions. Enno Littmarm, Zur Entzifferung der Safa-lnsckrifUn (Leipzig 1901 )►

F.V. Win nett, Safaitic Inscnptions from Jordan (Toronto 1957). Idem and G. L.
Harding, Inscnptions from Fifty Safaitic Cairns (Toronto 1978). W .G. Oxtoby, Some
Inscnptions of the Safaitic Bedouin (New Haven 1968). Cf. especially G .L. Hardine,
An Index and Concordance of Pre-Islamic Arabian Names and Inscnptions (Toronto 1971).
For the edition used in the present chapter, see next note. Cf. also Hubert
Grimme, Texte und Untersuchungen zur safaitisch-arabischen Religion (Paderborn 1929).
203 Publications of the Pnnceton University Expeditions to Syria in 1904-5 and 7969,
Division IV: Semitic Inscriptions, Section C: Safaitic Inscriptions > ed, Enno Litlmann
(Leiden 1943), nos. 281-518, 931-1117 have been considered for the following
discussion. A comparative discusion of other sites would have been of interest, but
is impracticable in light of the aims set for this study. Littmann’s collection is
hereinafter cited as Littmann, PAES IV C. The Nabataean inscriptions arc also
relevan t . I have confined my discussion of the latter to the footnotes of Ch. X I
infra.
204 For the sedentary Arabs of the Provincia Arabia, see infra, Ch. X I, passim.
about twenty-five times in 423 inscriptions. It is striking that the

other deities are all male, as for example the N abataean D ushara or
D usares (attested twice), Baal-Sham in (twice attested), and Shai
(twice attested), but particularly the true A rab god R udai
(attested ten times). Practically every known tutelary function o f
war and peace was attributed to Allât. She was clearly predomi
nant in the deserts around Nemarah east of Djebel Hauran. Let us
examine her role in alleviating the urgent concerns of the limi-
trophic Arabs, for it was she that many clans renounced when they
accepted Christianity at the foot o f Sym eon’s stele in the mid-fifth
century.
T he economy round about O riza was predominantly pastoral.
The camel was, as it were, the stafTof life. The inscriptions mention
or depict them more frequently than all other animals combined.
These animals provided meat and sure conveyance from one water
source to the next. A m an’s wealth was measured by the number of
camels he possessed. Hence, Allât witnessed documents of sale and
ownership in which the transaction was recorded on stone and the
camel depicted. Allât was called upon at times to curse anyone
who effaced the contract with deafness, ejection from the tomb,
and so forth.205 T he male divinity Rudai also witnessed these
transactions.206 The ownership of two-humped dromedary camels
was considered a sign o f particular wealth and status.207 When his
camels gave birth to foals and produced abundant milk, a certain
’Akh b. Sa'd gave special thanks to Allât for the “ spring camels”
(murbi(ät) with a formula that recurs often in the other inscriptions:
“ So, O Allât [give] peace!” 208 Il-‘Isâwi was called “ the valley” ,
perhaps after its ancient name O riza,afW to which the bedouin
would pass after watering their camels at Nem arah (the han-
N am ärat o f the Safaitic inscriptions).210 The neglect o f camels led
to ostracism, as a man named Ward b. IJibb discovered. He
recorded the bitter experience for posterity:211
205 Littmann, PAES IV C, 282, 317, 448, 449, 931, 1002, 1021, 1039, 1061,
1076,1)14.
206 The male divinity Rudai also witnessed these transactions (“ And, O Rudai,
help!” ), as did Radu. Littmann, PAES IV C, 482, 442.
Littmann, PAES IV C, 325.
208 Littmann, PAES IV C, 357.
299 Littmann, PAES IV C, 326, 374.
176 CHAPTER EIGHT
And he encamped at this place; and he tended the flocks seeking

green fodder at the expense of the community- And he rushed forth in
the year in which he was grieved by the scoff of the people: he drove
together and lost the camels. So, O Baal-Shamin, [give] rest to him
who leaves this untouched. » . .
This hireling escaped and relieved his disgrace by a written confes
sion. Here Baal-Sham in the N abataean sun god witnessed the act.
The Arabs had other domesticated animals. The most common
after camels were goats.212 The bedouin stopped at il-‘Isâwi in the
birthing season.213 A small number o f sales contracts for donkeys
exists and also one for a horse.214 As will be seen, horses were quite
precious and were reserved primarily for fighting. Goats cut from
flocks seem to have been used for feasts and perhaps for religious
sacrifices.215 This meat supply was periodically supplemented by
hunting wild gazelle, which roamed the area in small herds.216
Agricultural products were a small but essential part of the
bedouin diet at il-Tsäwi. Contrary to Theodoret of Cyrrhus1 sup
position, wheat was sometimes imported and ground for baking.
The A rabs’ dependence on this comestible for basic subsistence is
suggested by the inscription of a Gum ain b. ’An'am, who en
camped at il-‘Isawi “ in the year of the famine. ” 217 It was evidently
purchased on the nearby and fertile Ruhbeh plain. Dates on the
other hand served both human and animal consumption. On one
occasion date stones seem to have sickened a flock of she-camels.
Here the male divinity Racju was invoked to grant them restored
health.210
The sickening of the camels reflects the constant need for good
fodder. Il-Tsäwi was considered a reliable site for this.219 The
autumn and winter rains left the parts around Nemarah full of
verdure,220 but were sometimes torrential. A shepherd called D ä ’if
b. Säkhir, driven away with his flocks by the autumnal rains, called
upon Allât for relief with the usual formula: “ So, O Allât, [give]
peace!” 221 This was, strictly speaking, a job for the local Baal, but

213 Littmann, PAES IV C. 281, 419, 1064.
214 Littmann, PAES IV C, 457, 464, 514.
Littmann, PAES IV C, 290, 297.
216 Littmann, PAES IV C, 481, 488, 489.
217 Littmann, PAES IV C, 950 and 386.
The inscription may also be read as “ during his absence1’ instead of “ by
their date-stones” . Littman, PAES IV C> 335.
220 Littmann, PAES IV C, 355, 406,
ÎZI Littmann, PAES IV C, 355.
the Arabs had in time transferred many functions to the goddess.

D ä ’if went elsewhere to graze his sheep or perhaps came back after
the storms had ended. The terror of immoderate rains is reflected in
the words o f one man who “ walked the whole night in the mire.” 222
When torrents filled the wadis it caused great terror. Two men who
escaped such a flash flood (sail in Arabic) at a watering place for
camels recorded the experience and invoked Allât against future
harm.523 One of them prayed: “ So, O Allât, peace to him who
remained [safe]!” 224 Men and animals must have been swept away
in these disasters. Allât, more than any other deity, was charged
with protecting men from the unpredictability of these floods,
which came racing down with no clear meteorological warning
sometimes many miles away from the actual site of the rainfall.
Men experienced the uncertainty with great emotional pain. One
’An'am b. Tam àthan escaped a torrent at R ass, and came to
il-‘Isäwi looking for friends and kin after a torrent, but they were no
longer there: “ And he found traces of his fellows and longed [for
them ].” 225 The A rabs’ terrible longing for friends and kin who left
inscriptions, tombs, and drawings behind will concern us later. In
contrast, the best season at il-‘Isäwi was the springtime. The
impression o f peace and verdure caused men to indicate the season
of their stay.226 K h alaf b. B a ‘ir adds: “ So, O Allât, [grant] protec
tion from adversity and cunning.’*227
Permanent buildings were rare in the ethos o f the il-‘Isäwi be
douin. Only one house {ha-bit ) is mentioned.228 Even the placement
of tents lent authority to claims o f territoriality: “ This tent (qubbah)
and this place [belong] to Sariy b. Bunän.” 229 T he man seems to
have come down from Nabk between Homç-Emesa and Dam ascus.
The absence o f ground water frustrated any scheme o f permanent
habitation: “ And he sank a well in a place where water was not
found.” 230 There were two commonly identifiable structures at
il-'Isäwi and other Safaitic sites: the long circular stone barriers to
corral flocks, and tombs. Inscriptions on the tombs of dead rela
tives and allies are by far the most common type o f Safaitic text.

2J3 Littmann, PAES IV C, 435.
m Littmann, PAES IV C, 436.
r2b Littmann, PAES IV C, 438.
178 CHAPTER EIGHT
The typical tomb was simply a pile o f stones. Friends and kin who
returned to il-‘Isawi and other sites would lay stones on the familiar
tombs and sometimes record the act with an inscription. One
writer named Nashshal b. M uqlm who laid stones on the tombs o f
his father and three other men calls upon Allât to strike blind
anyone who effaced the inscription.231 The inscriptions also men
tion grandfathers, maternal uncles, mothers, brothers and friends.232
The bedouin regarded Allât in some sense as the guardian o f
tombs, as also the avenger of any who defaced the intentions
expressed on the markers. Relatively few o f these inscriptions men
tion the goddess (some twenty-two at il-‘Isâw i). Sometimes tombs
served merely as convenient reference points for encampments.233
There is an important exception to this rule at il-'Isäwi, where a
member o f the N abataean tribe o f ‘Awïdh constructed a low wall o f
stones around several graves and made it a sanctuary {hamly):ri*
And he found the inscriptions of his fellows and was sad. In the year
in which he united tombs and made them honored as a sanctuary of
the tribe of ‘Awïdh. So, O Gad-‘Awidh and Düshara and Allât,
[grant] help of protection to him who leaves [them untouched] and
freedom from want and enmity! But dumbness and lameness to him
who destroys this inscription! And booty to him who leaves [it
untouched] !
The triadic invocation includes the tutelary tribal god G ad-4Awïdh,
the N abataean D usharä, and the ubiquitous Allât. As every Arab
invoked and feared the powers of the last-named divinity, it was a
wise addition. The rewards for piety consisted of the help o f protec
tion, freedom from want, freedom from envy, and rich booty, all of
them tightly bound up with the urgent social, economic, and poli
tical concerns of the bedouin. Hamly is also the Arabic word for
temenos or sanctuary.235 Yet religious sanctuaries seem to be quite
rare at Safaitic sites. The tomb sanctuaries have no religious signi
ficance apart from the curses laid on their violators. The “ tombs o f
the ‘Awldh” probably remained a prominent topographical feature
2il Littmann, PAES IV C, 308.

S9J I.ittmann, PAES IV C, 368, 371, 405, 1101.
'•i:” Littmann, PAES IV C, 361, 369.
235 J . Wei!hausen, Reste arabischen Heidentums (Berlin 1927), 105-109. The author
discusses several o f the divinités named in the Safaitic inscriptions, but from the
standpoint of the Islamic sources mainly. Among these are Allât (29ff.), al-‘Uzza
(34ff.), Dhu Schara (i.e. Düsharä) (48ff.), and Ruda (58f.). The Safaitic word
hamïy corresponds roughly to the Greek temenos or “ enclosed space” sacred to the
divinity.
and is apparently noted as a cam psite in a later inscription.236 The

common tomb of another extended family once stood at il-‘Isaw i as
well:237
And he laid stones on the tombs of his father and of his mother and of
his brothers and of his maternal uncle and of ’Uwais. So, O Allât,
peace to him who leaves them untouched. But blindness to him who
effaces this inscription, and ejection [from the tomb] !
The tomb sanctuary inscriptions o f the ‘Awidh reflect an intense
sense of personal loyalty to kin and friends. The harsh life o f
bedouin on the desert fringe gave rise to deep feelings of friendship,
fear, and vengefulness among the men o f this society. The Arab
divinities and Allât in particular held an important place in the
minds of these folk when events tested their attitudes.
Intertribal wars brought out terrifying feelings of insecurity
brought on by night marches and lonely vigils keeping watch for
friend and foeman alike that the literate bedouin wrote down. Allât
served as a special protector in these crises, 'Amm b. Hunn writes:
“ And he m ade a hasty journey; and he was looking out for (the?)
M alikat (?) until this time. So, O Allât and Rudai, [give] peace!” 238
The idea o f peace (salam) is charged with special meaning here,239
as it is in the instance o f M un’im who begs for it while “ on the
lookout for the enemy.” 240 A third text puts it even more succinctly:
“ And he [M äti b. Qashish] was on the lookout under the protec
tion of Allât.” 241 W ars disrupted pastoral life. *An‘am b. ‘Abd
writes:242
And he tended the goats by himself, in the year of the war of the tribe
of Dä’if, with the utmost difficulty. So, O Allât, [give] peace, and be
cursed he who destroys this inscription.
The tribal fighters evidently threatened to make off with ’A n'am ’s
sheep as booty, even though he belonged to neither group. Kinfolk
became separated and died in the fighting, producing grief and
terror. One o f the ‘Awidh wrote:24®
2S6 Littmann, PAES IV C, 361.

2,7 Littmann, PAES IV C, 405.
730 Littmann, PAES IV G, 353. The meaning of the proper name is uncertain.
Littmann’s suggestion that it wag an allied tribe seems plausible.
239 For a similar text, Littmann, PAES IV C, 354.
*“ Littmann, PAES IV C, 469.
243 Littmann, PAES IV G, 306.
180 CHAPTER EIGHT
And he was heavy-hearted on account of his brother and on account

of his father and on account of his uncle. And he was afraid of the
enemy. So, O Allât and Gad-‘AwIdh, [grant] protection! And he
found the traces of his fellows and longed for them.
Men feared for themselves, too. 'Asyab b. Ganth observes: “ And,
O R adu, [grant] security from being stabbed!” 244 In the tribal wars
and in trouble with the Roman authorities, who had forces based at
N em arah,245 men usually fought on horseback and with lances.24^ It
is worth noting that even men cncamped in front of Nem arah felt
insecure: “ And he [Q adam b. ’An'am ] spent the summer in front of
han-Nam ärat, and he was afraid of the enemy, So, O Allât, [grant]
protection.” 247
The camping ground at il-‘Isäwi became a refuge for any and all
fleeing from intrafamilial and tribal disputes, and from the Roman
government. V agrants without familial or tribal affiliations address
the god or goddess anonymously: “ By R ab'an and Y as‘ad and
M ush‘im. And protection be [granted] to them, these from the
enemy.” 248 Allât, like Allah on the Arabian peninsula, was thought
to guarantee the rights o f asylum to refugees. A man named Käm il
b. G auth got his sister, married to one of his friends, to shelter him
from some trouble. Kâm il prays: “ So, O Allât, peace to him who
ran aw ay!” (i.e. “ and sought asylum ” ).249 Public criminals,
whether brigands or soldiers in the Roman auxiliary forces who
had deserted, made their way to il-‘Isäwi as well. M alîkat b. ’Abân
was perhaps a highwayman: “ And he went astray and m ade a
hasty journey. And, O Dusares, protect him against the
government!” 250 Another man “ escaped from the government”
(has-sultân), that is the Roman. H e was probably a deserter.251
Amidst all this social flux, friendships with reliable men were
essential. The feelings evoked by these relationships born am idst
struggle aroused grief and vengefulness if misfortune destroyed
them. The inscriptions at il-‘Isäwi reflect such views with varying
degrees o f intensity. Shâmit b. ‘Abd expresses inveterate grief upon
244 Littmann, PAES IV C, 418. Other possible readings are “ from calumna-
tion” and “ from T a'an at” .
245 Glen Bowersock, Roman Arabia (Cambridge, Mass. 1983), 140.
247 Littmann, PAES IV C, 330. More general expressions of fear turn up as
well: “ O Radu, deliver us from adversity, and may we be saved!” Ibid. 495.
coming across the markings and tomb of an old friend:” 2

And he found the inscription of Kämid and longed [for him] vehe
mently. And he laid stones on the tomb of Qadam and of Kämid and
of Sa'id. So, O Allât, peace to him who leaves [this inscription
untouched]! But blindness to him who effaces [it]!
More typically, the bedouin simply recorded finding “ traces” of
their fellows and longing for them.253 One man “ cried over those
who were lost” after finding their inscriptions.254 Another
“ mourned, overshadowed [by grief]” and invoked the peace of the
divinity Sh ai1 haq-Q aum .25S Another man yet expresses his feeling
with restraint: “ And he laid a stone on the tomb of H abib (or “ a
friend” ) in friendship.” 256 True violence of feeling comes forth from
men dem anding blood revenge, whose thunderings and screamings
the epigraphy transmits only faintly:257
And he found this inscription of Mann-’ël and the inscription of
Taim-’ël and the inscription of Sâkhir, who were deceased! So, O
Allât, peace to him who has remained safe, and vengeance un him
who has killed! And he laid stones on the tombs o f’Aus and of Wadi1
and of all the deceased. And, O Baal-Shamin, strike blind him who
effaces this inscription!
Others are more specific:258
And he laid stones on the tombs of Mätik and of Khärig and of
Gamm and of ’Iyâs and of Zann. So, O Allât and Düsharä, grant
blood-vengeance! And strike blind him who effaces [this inscription].
And may the lion alight upon the effacer! Wäqi‘ of the tribe of
Zaid’el,
We deduce from these and other texts that Allât was thought to
hear and act upon pleas for blood vengeance.259 On one occasion, a
man called upon Radu and Allât together to collaborate in aiding
him on a punitive raid setting out at sunset to avenge his father.260
Many bedouin died in past time without obvious murderers. In
these instances pleas for vengeance to Allât might have seemed
pointless and were thus omitted.261
2M Littmann, PAES TV C, 391.

253 E.g. Littmann, PAES IV C, 399, 408.
Littmann, PAES IV C, 409.
255 Littmann, PAES IV C, 415. Cf. no. 416.
25i Littmann, PAES IV C, 398.
182 CHAPTER EIGHT
The hardships and risks o f all raids and expeditions, whether by

brigands, revengers, or whole tribes, made booty essential for the
fighting men. For example: “ O R udai, [grant] booty to him, in the
year in which he directed his steps towards the hard and barren
ground(?)” (perh. 152/3 A .D .). 262 Rudai is named elsewhere as a
provisioner o f booty,263 but so is Allât: “ So, O Allât, [grant] peace
to him who leaves this inscription [untouched] (and) booty!” 264 In
the latter case, the goddess is supposed to grant booty to the man
who observes piety toward the inscription and the tomb of its
author’s father.
The implicit desire for peace and freedom from hardship was at
times gratified when the parts of il-sIsäwi came under strong rule.
An inscription cut in a late script, perhaps of the fourth century
A.D., sums up the ideal of secure pastoralism , supra-tribal justice,
and peace under Allât:16*
By Mäsik b. ’Ibriqän b. Mäsik. And he tended the sheep in the year
in which the king travelled in this valley (?). So, O Allât, give peacc!
Various suggestions about the identity o f the “ king” have included
the Roman emperor H adrian on his visit to Palmyra in 129, a
N abataean king who reigned before the formation of the Provincia
A rabia in 105 A.D., or Im ru’ al-Qays, “ king of all the A rabs” (ob.
328), who is regarded by some scholars as having been a
Christian.266 It seems improbable that late Roman rule c. 370—529
necessarily brought a quantifiable reduction in hardship for the
bedouin who encamped at il-'Isäwi.
Allät’s powers are thus summed up in the epigraphy of il-‘Isäwi.
I f the bedouin expressed some hope or belief in the efficacy of their
invocations, they found empirical results harder to come by. What
ever certitude existed was derived from the religious experience of a
few men, some of whom cut testimonial inscriptions at this cam p
site. One man had a dream-vision of his father, and thereafter
watched for a waking one of his brother:267
By Matar b. ‘Amm b. Matar b. ’An‘am b. Qadam of the tribe of
‘Awidh. And there appeared to him [a vision of] his father, and he
looked out for him with his brother from the desert. So, O Allât,

s<* Littmann, PAES IV C, 344.
306 Shahid, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fourth Century, 31—53.
pcace and favor to him who leaves this inscription [untouched]. But
blindness and dumbness to him who effaces this document,
A picture accom panies the inscription. It contains five figures: a
man on a horse with a lance, a two-humped Bactrian camel, a
dromedary, a dog, and an indistinct human figure. The last was
evidently the father for whom M atar was looking. It is hard to say
whether his father was thought to be dead or alive, but the tableau
represents the content of the dream as described in the inscription,
with the fuzzy shape o f the spectre. Another man had a vision of his
paternal uncle and invoked the curse of Allât in a similar
manner.268 In recording the event on stone, the author Ghauth b.
Ghauth drew a picture probably o f Allât, the fulfiller o f his curse.
The goddess stands with her arms outstretched, holding her long
hair in her hands. It is difficult to say whether the drawing is based
on a dreamlike epiphany or an artistic typology o f the avenging
Allât.2fii) The acts of “ divine” blinding mentioned here were
perhaps no more than the acute phases of periodic overexposure of
the eyes to the sun which many bedouin endured. The individual
might attach a retributive significance to his ailment if he were
guilty of breaking open a grave having a curse attached to it. There
were other ways of "seeing the gods” . One could, for example,
make pilgrim age to the great temple o f Baal-Sham in at Si‘ in the
Djebel H auran. ‘Izzuhum b. ’An‘am reports: “ In the year in which
he betook him self to the house o f Baal-Sam ln (sic). And he spent
the night in this place (il-‘Isaw i).” 270 The author added a rough
drawing which could be the sun-disk or a plan o f the great temenos
at Si‘. Once again the author felt compelled to give a representation
of the divinity as he literally saw it, whether in its cosmic aspect or
that of its “ house” .
How did men from this harsh religious milieu discover a better
answer to their material and spiritual longings in the words, but,
more particularly, in the person o f Symeon Stylites the Elder? The
solution lies partly in Theodoret’s account and partly in the Syriac
life of the pillar saint composed by Simeon bar Apollon and Bar
C h atar.271 The latter provides data of an entirely different order of
2(58 Littmann, PAES IV C, 403.

269 Cf. Littmann, PAES IV C, 143, from il-Bifneh,
2,0 This statement is followed by a “ low jest” in the phrase of the editor. The
Arab writer adds: "A nd he was the first to break wind. Littmann, PAES IV C,
350.
271 A German translation of the Syriac text is found in: “ Lobrede auf den Herrn
Simeon das Haupt der Eremiten,” tr. Heinrich Hilgenfeld, in Das Leben des heiligen
Symeon Stylites, ed. Hans Lietzmann (Leipzig 1908), 80-180. Hereinafter cites as V.
184 CHAPTER EIGHT
significance from that contained in Theodoret’s rhetorically con

trived treatment, which omits or blurs the phenomena of everyday
life.
IV. Symeon Stylites the Elder: A Semitic View

The Semitic Symeon Stylites the Elder (381-460) depicted in the
Syriac biography is almost unrecognizable when compared with
Theodoret of Cyrrhus’ Atticized persona of the man. Furthermore,
the varieties of religious experience and the material realities o f
everyday life expressed in the Syriac version bear more than a little
resemblance to some of those mentioned in the sam ple o f Safaitic
inscriptions discussed in the previous section. Symeon’s ability to
win over polytheistic Arabs to the new religion derived largely from
the cultural affinities o f a man who had grown up in a Christian
Syrian village that had intercourse with pagan Arabs who periodi
cally came in from the desert fringe east of the Limestone M assif
to trade animal products for artisan goods and bread» Symeon
himself translated and expressed the powers of the Christian God
in terms that struck the Arab and Syrian religious consciousness to
its depths. The Syriac biography contains any number o f dated
events that permit some chronological analysis of Christianization.
Symeon was himself a son of Christian shepherds from the village
of $i§ in the territorium o f Nikopolis, which lay in the afternoon
shadows o f the Amanus m assif some 50 kilometers north-northwest
o f Cyrrhus in the province of Euphratesia.272 He and his brother
Symeonis. There is a considerable literature on Symeon Stylites the Elder, but none of
it has systematically dealt with this role in the Christianization of the countryside.
The debate and discussion has focused more generally on the precise nature of the
work of the “ holy man” in the territoria of the cities as the rural patronus of the
dispossessed peasantry, and as a catalyst in the “ assimilation ” of Mediterranean
culture by the non-Heilenic populations of the hinterlands. O f particular relevance
are: Peter Brown, “ The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity,”
Journal of Roman Studies 61 (1971), 80-101. Idem, “ Town, Village and the Holy
Man: The Case of S y r i a Society and the Holy (London 1982), 153—65. Idem, “ The
Saint as Exemplar in Late Antiquity/* Representations 1/2 ( 1983), 1-25. M. Whitby,
“ Maro the Dendrite: An Anti-social Holy M an?” Homo Viator: Classical Essays for
John Bramble, ed. M, and M, Whitby, and P, Hardie (Bristol 1987), 309-317,
Susan Harvey* “ The Sense of a Stylite: Perspectives on Simeon the Elder," Vigiliae
Christianae 42 (1988), 376-94, J . Nasrallah, “ Survie de Saint Syméon Stylite
l’alépin dans les gaules,” Syria 51 (1974), 171-97. See also: A. Ad nés and P.
Canivet, “ Guérisons miraculeuses et exorcismes dans l'Histoire Philothée,” Revu*
de l ’histoire des religions 171 ( 1967)» 53-82> 14^-79. There is* finally Pierre Canivet,
Le Monachisme synen selon Theodoret de Cyr (Paris 1977). The analysis which follows
in the next section owes relatively little to the previous scholarship.
272 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Pl. X X X IX . K Symeonis 2 (Hilgenfeld, 80).
Shemshi (“ Like the Sun” ) received a rich legacy from their aunt
that perhaps consisted of arable land,273 but they both elected to
pursue asceticism instead. It cannot be excluded that part of the
family line had descended from Arabs who wintered with their
flocks on the leeward side o f the Am anus range and intermarried
with the agriculturalists living outside Nikopolis in the valley o f the
present-day K ara Su river. Such a supposition is consistent with
Symeon’s religious experiences and with the diverse modes o f Riten-
ckristianisierung that he invented in a synthesis o f Arabic and Syriac
cultural forms. This will be seen in due course. Symeon spent the
first five years o f his monastic career at the convent of St. Euse-
bona, which accomodated about 120 monks in the late fourth
century.274 He later migrated southward through Cyrrhus to a
mountain top in the Limestone M assif east o f Antioch that even
tually came to be called Djebel Sim 'än. He enjoyed close relations
with the Christian clergy and populace of a nearby village called
Telneshil (in Syriac) or Telanissos (in Greek) from 409 onward.275
The monastery built around the site o f Symeon’s ascetic endeavors
dated from 413. Symeon at first stood in a corner of the enclosure,
but later mounted columns of increasing height, steles o f eleven,
seventeen, and twenty-two feet. The last thirty years o f his career
between 430-460 were spent atop a forty-foot column.276 The
standing space at the tip is said to have been only one foot wide.277
The important pagan temenos had for centuries been the shrine
of Zeus M adbachos, the local Baal, high atop Djebel Sheikh
Berekat.278 By the time of Symeon’s arrival at Telanissos in 409,
many of the villages in the immediate vicinity had begun to accept
Christianity. With some few exceptions in the D ana plain, the
villages o f the Limestone M assif had gone over to the new religion
by c. 425.279 There are no specific references to local pagan villages
in the Syriac life of Symeon, and this picture is borne out by the
epigraphy.280 Such o f them as converted to Christianity in later
years are covered by generalities:2fil
~7! V. Symeonis 11 {Hilgenfeld, 86f.).

ln V. Symeonis 11 and 22 (Hilgenfeld, 86f., 92).
?7S The dale is computed by the local era of Antioch. V. Symeonis 24 (Hilgenfeld,
93).
*76 V. Symeonis 116 (Hilgenfeld, 162).
277 V. Symeonis 83 (Hilgenfeld, 130). Some discrepancies of chronology exist in
the Syriac text. This issue is not central to the present discussion.
278 Infra, Ch. X, Sect.1.
279 Infra, Ch. X, Sect.1-4.
280 Infra, Ch. X, Sect.1.
181 V. Symeonis 56 (Hilgenfeld, 108).
186 CHAPTER EIGHT
How many barbarians, Armenians, Urtaeans, and pagans, and peo

ples of all tongues came in constantly and received baptism in large
groups day after day, and became acquainted with the living God!
This rule applied particularly to Arabs, as was seen in the previous
section of this chapter. Remnants of the apparatus o f conversion
are still attested, however, as for example in the work o f penodeutai
in the villages that did not yet have permanent churches with
presbyters and deacons.282 Nearby Telanissos had at least one
presbyter, named Daniel, by c. 409.283 The Syriac life o f Symeon is
perfectly consistent with with the epigraphic evidence, which sug
gests the nearly complete Christianization of the Limestone M assif
between 370-425.284
The social and economic picture o f the district as described in
the Syriac life of Symeon is consistent with that in the epigraphy. At
Telanissos, an executive committee of three headmen, M arinis,
Demetrianos, and M aris, presided over the village council.285 The
production of olive oil was an important feature o f the economy,286
a fact stressed by G. Tchalenko in his study of the material culture
of the Limestone M assif.287 Symeon’s native village had a popula
tion o f c. 400 men and women,288 giving it perhaps an overall
population of 700, making it quite typical.289 No such figures are
given for Telanissos. The present-day K ara Su river, which ran not
far from Siç, seems to have provided considerable supplies of
fresh water fish, for one could support a family on the living it
provided.29“ The pagan Isaurians disrupted local economic life by
raiding Sis on at least one occasion.991 In consequence, fortifica
tions were constructed there and a detachment of soldiers guarded
them. Two of these men, Silvanus and Bar Shabta, had families
with them, and so must have belonged to a muster of limitanei or
282 V. Symeonis 98 (Hilgenfdd, 144), referring to Gindarus in First Syria. Cf. the
example of a certain Bassus, who came from the parts of Edessa in Osrhoene. V.
Symenus 26, 27 (Hilgenfeld, 94—96).
A second presbyter is attested not long after this. V. Symeonis 26, 38 (Hilgen
fdd, 95, 99).
294 Infra, Ch. X, passim.
285 V. Symeonis 27, 53 (Hilgenfeld, 95, 105).
296 V. Symeonis 27 (Hiigenfeid, 95).
297 Infra, Ch. X, prooem.
2B® V. Symeonis 7 (Hilgenfeld, 84).
299 For the demography of rural villages in Late Antiquity, see the author’s note
in Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 330f. and n. 25.
290 V. Symeonis 8 (Hilgenfeld, 83f.). One fisherman had a daughter named
Maria. One night’s catch weighed well above the three pounds that Symeon asked
for.
291 V. Symeonis 7 (Hilgenfeld, 83f.).
landed m ilitia.295 They will thus not have injected much specie into
the local economy. Cam els were the common beasts o f burden at
both §iç and elsewhere, even for the Syrian villagers.293 A pagan
Arab trader from a place called Seba once visited Symeon at Djebel
Sim ‘än, and resided there with five slaves for an entire year,
evidently bringing enough capital with him to make the visit worth
while both financially and religiously. H e ultimately accepted
Christian baptism .294 All this suggests the existence o f a year-round
bazaar at the monastery. It was this economic milieu that con
fronted the pagan Arabs and Syrian villagers when they came in
from their respective abodes for healing and sustenance.
The flora, fauna, and climate o f the Telanissos district corre
sponded closcly to that of the nearer deserts where the pagan Arabs
made their encampments, and in bygone times cut the Safaitic
inscriptions, relating their longings for kith and kin, cursing their
enemies by calling upon Allai for vengeance, and describing vi
sions. Although at best a sedentary Arab, Symeon well knew the
harshness o f the desert. The lethal fauna included lions, scorpions,
and snakes, all o f which turn up in the Safaitic texts, and more
benign vermin like rats, worms, and mice, all part of the horrors of
the desert.295 H erds o f gazelle, an animal hunted on the desert
fringe as well, roamed near the monastery. Symeon made their
tameness to being touched an object of exhortation in connection
with the perversity of human will,296 an analogy that pagan Arabs
well understood from their desperate tracking o f gazelle in the wilds
of the desert. Symeon spoke o f apparitions o f daimones in the shape
of lions,297 and and at other times demonstrated the submission of
very real killer beasts to the Christian God in front o f “ magic
circles” furrowed around villages and having crosses pegged into
the perimeter.298 Both the fauna and the spiritual realm of the pre-
Christian Arabs thus fell defanged before the holy and and the
cross. It was even said that wild animals became “ servants of the
truth” after tamely gazing at Symeon, an am using but improbable
observation to set before those iniured to the desert,299

595 V. Symeonis 13, 73 (Hilgenfeld, 87, 120).
29’ V. Symeonis 66 {Hilgenfeld, 114f.).
295 V. Symtonis 45, 75 (Hilgenfeld, 101f., 121).
297 It comes down to us as “ Satan” in the Syriac. V. Symeonis 43 (Hilgenfeld,
101).
V. Symeonis 75 (Hilgenfeld, 121Γ.).
188 CHAPTER EIGHT
The sedentary Syrians and Symeon too shared the same climatic
terrors as the Arabs. Extreme heat battered the land during the
Syrian month o f Tam m uz (Ju ly ).300 Winter rainfall was essential to
village cisterns and desert wells alike. Symeon’s prayer might at
times avail, but the difficulty was common.301 Perhaps the most
frightening and least foreseeable event was the wadi torrent, a
recurrent subject in the Safaitic inscriptions. Set off by torrential
rains miles away, it often caught travellers and campers, who
followed the wadis down from the plateaux and up again because of
the residual water they sheltered and the gradual declivity they
gave between the high escarpments. Preceded by a sudden roar, it
was a deadly menace that left few survivors. The life o f Symeon
alludes to this danger, but does not provide a specific exam ple.302
There was, finally, a certain amount o f literacy in the parts
around Djebel Sim 'an and further afield.30* The Christian church
was the principal locus o f Greek literacy in the Limestone M assif,
as the inscriptions confirm,504 there being no Syriac inscriptions
until the late fifth century.305 We learn o f a presbyter from Sam osa-
ta in Euphratesia who had come to ask Symeon’s prayer for a
village whose well had gone dry. The man recorded the details of
his conversation with Symeon in a writing tablet (π ιττά κιο ν).306 In
another instance, Gindarus, a large Christian village in the terrilo-
rium of Antioch, saw its spring go dry. The presbyter and permdeutai
of the place trooped off to Djebel Sim ‘än, where the stylite advised
them to compose a written statement listing their sins along with
the remedy of casting three small stones marked with crosses into
the spring.307 Nor was literacy confined to Christian ecclesiastics.
The manager of a rural estate (έπιχροπος) organized some chil
dren who had been studying Greek gram m ar out o f books to recite
the “ Kyrie eleeison” for the crowds that assembled at the
monastery.308 The prevailing literacy resulted in part from the
requirement of olive oil producers to keep the inventories o f sales to

302 V. Symeonù 73 (Hilgenfeld, 119f.).
503 S.A. Harvey has disagreed with me on this point, but the evidence is specific
and irrefutable. Oral communication. 7 April 1988.
304 Infra, Ch. X , Sect. 1-4.
305 Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904-5
and 1909, Division IV: Semitic Inscriptions, Section B : Syriac Inscriptions, ed. Enno
Littmann (Leiden 1934), passim.
307 V. Symeonis 98 (Hilgenfeld, )43f.).
their Antiochene distributors. It was also necessary to be able to

understand the imperial edicts, which were read out publicly in all
the cities309 and in the larger villages as well.310
This was the social, economic, and cultural milieu in which the
pagan cults o f the Limestone M assif were eradicated. The epi
graphic evidence suggests that the main period of Christianization
came between 365-425.311 This explains why the authors of the
Syriac life of Symeon refer to no nearby pagan villages between
409-460. The two that are mentioned lay quite far off. The first
instance has a terminus post quern of 442,312 It concerns some villages
lying in Mt, Lebanon, which lies a good 200 kilometers south of
Djebel Sim ‘än. These places were supposedly being overrun by
man-eating wild animals that were presumably lions. A large dele
gation of these folk gathered beneath Symeon’s stele and begged
for his aid.313 They had evidently begun to despair o f the “ peace o f
the gods” after sacrifices had failed to avert the danger. The stylite
called upon them to give up their “ dumb idols’1, become members
of the Christian catechumenate, and accept baptism .3'4 Here once
again the rural congregations “ became Christian” prior to their
actual baptism through the expedient o f receiving a blessing and
pledging to accept instruction, They reputedly petitioned Symeon
in these term s:315
I f you will pray for us and remove the rod of anêr from us, we
promise an a bind ourselves in wnting before your holiness to become
Christians and to accept baptism and to repudiate our idols and to
destroy our temple (ναός) and to sm ash our im ages. Only let this
necessity be removed from us!
The quid pro quo in this transaction was a fine bit of Ritenchristiani
sierung that came directly out of rural m agic:316
[Symeon said:] In the name o f Christ take some of this blessed dust
and carry it off, and bury four stones on the boundary o f each village.
And if there are [any Christian] presbyters there, mark three crosses
on each stone and hold a nightly liturgy for three days. Then you will
309 V, Symeonis 130 {Hilgenfeld, 174).

310 Jo h n o f Ephesus, “ Lives of the Eastern S ain ts,*5 ed. tr. E.W . Brooks in
Patrologia Onentalis 17 (Paris 1923), 95f. and notes. Cf. Trom bley, '‘Religious
Transition in S y r ia '\ Sect. 1, n. 44.
311 Infra, Ch, X , Sect. 1-4.
312 V. Symeonis97 (Hilgenfeld, 140ff.),
313 K Symeonis 97 (Hilgenfeld, 140).
314 V. Symeonis 97 (Hilgenfeld, 141),
3li V. Symeonis 97 (Hilgenfeld, 141).
316 V. Symeonis 97 (Hilgenfeld, 141t).
190 CHAPTER EIGHT
see that God performs a great sign, in order that the [animals] would
never again kill a human being,
The fact o f pagan villages in Mt. Lebanon at this time is o f course

confirmed by the epigraphy.317 It was said that no wild beast,
although many o f them howled pathetically, could pass within
these “ magic circles’' marked with the incised stones. The villagers
fell upon them, killed them, and brought them to Djebel Sim ‘än as
a sign of victory, Christian magic was thus thought to fend off wild
anim als in exactly the same way as the ubiquitous daimones and the
forces of nature. In thanksgiving for the apotropaism , a great
number of villagers accepted baptism and then stayed at the
monastery for a week. They continued to bring their children to
Djebel Sim 'an thereafter for baptism, While some villages on M l
Lebanon already had presbyters, new staff could not be provided
for them all immediately, and hence the continuing importance of
the distant monastery in the scheme of Christianization.31® The
incident provides another example of rural literacy, as found in the
villagers1 written pledge to overthrow their temple and household
images. The animal skins and papyrus could evidently still be seen
at Djebel Sim ‘än some two decades after the event when the Syriac
life of Symeon was composed.
The second instance of a largely or partly pagan village occurred
between 4 1 3 ^ 4 2 in the region o f Dalok.319 It concerns an under
ground torrent that was forcing the earth upward into a gigantic
mound that threatened the unnamed village. The incident once
again embodies the use of the 1‘magic circle5’ to convince the pagan
rustics of the Christian G od ’s power over the ground water, which
to them still belonged to the domain of Atargatis or some other
female fertility deity:320
Another presbyter came from the district of Dalok. There was a
mountain [caused by subterranean water] two miles from their vil
lage which crept and came closer and closer until it reached the edge
o f the village. One could hear the roar o f a powerful water torrent
beneath it like a tidal wave. In their fear, all the residents abandoned
their village and fled. It was frightening to see as the mountain crept
up and came closer to burying them because they were pagans . When
they saw that disaster was inevitable and expected help from no
quarter, the presbyter set out, taking the entire village along, young
317 Su pra, Ch. V II I, Sect. 2.

310 T h e “ magic circle” was recommended for sim ilar problems on at least two
other occasions. V, Symeonis 75. 96 (Hilgenfeld, 122 and 140).
3I* M anuscript A contains the additional explanatory clause, “ because they
were p ag an s'1, V. Symeonis 73 (Hilgenfeld, 120, n. I).
320 V, Symeonis 73 (Hilgenfeld, 1191.).
and old, and they went to the holy lord Sy m eo n *. < . [Symeon said:]
“ In the name of our lord Je su s Christ, take three stones and incise
three crosses on them. Go and insert them in front of the mound and
hold three d ays’ liturgy and offer sacrifice. I hope to the Lord that it
will not creep any closer to your village.” . . . On the third day they
suddenly heard a powerful crash like thunder under the mountain,
and the mountain collapsed and sank. M uch water gushed from
under it and inundated the entire countryside. It pleased our lord
[Symeon?]. After three days all this water seeped into [the ground]
and did no kind o f harm. The mountain became flat as the earth and
was like a plain. T h at year they sowed peas upon it and reaped 200
koroi [a Sem itic unit of dry m easure]. After loading some o f it upon
camels and beasts of burden, they brought it and distributed it in the
monastery and to the poor, and gave thanks before everyone for the
goodness that had been done for them,
The village was evidently situated near a spring. Another channel
of ground water invaded the geologically young subterranean rock,
forcing the earth upward as it passed beneath the local subsoil. The
pagan rustics of the place took this geological event as a sign of
the failure on their part to maintain the “ peace o f the gods” with
the local fertility deity. In consequence, they took the presbyter’s
advice and availed themselves of the powers of the Christian God
thought to be channeled through Symeon. All prior acts of propitia
tion had failed, and not even Symeon felt quite sure what was in
play, expressing no more than hope that the “ magic circle” would
work. The incident provides a compelling example of the psycholog
ical mechanisms of “ atheism15— a turning away from the local
cults of the soil— that preceded conversion to the new religion. It is
not entirely clear, however, that the village became immediately
Christian, but only that the first fruits of the windfall harvest went
to the monks at Djebel Sim'an and the poor, a sensible decision
consistent with a pre-Christian ethic.
Symeon distilled the essence o f the ancient religiosity into Chris
tianized forms. T his rule applies not only to “ magic circles” , but
also to the typologies of the Semitic divinities which not surprising
ly became daimonic. The same deities often received worship from
both the pastoralist Arabs and sedentary Syrians, as for example
Baal-Sham m , the propeller o f rain clouds and caster of thunder
bolts. Pagan Arabs made pilgrimage to his shrine at S i4 in Djebel
H auran.321 Symeon’s dream visions reflect the daimonization of the
ancient gods and Baal-Sham ïn in particular. The vividness o f these
religious experiences is certain enough. O f Baal-Sham în:322
331 Supra, Ch, V II I, Sect. 3.

322 V. Symeonij 40 (Hilgenfeld, 100).
192 CHAPTER EIGHT
When [Symeon] bolted the gate and was by himself, there suddenly
appeared the Foe, and fought with the holy man, and began to fight
with him openly. The Foe came before him in the shape o f soldiers
riding on horses. Their swords were drawn and their bows strung.
They allowed their horses to run before the holy man impetuously.
It will be recalled that the divine triad painted in the Baal temple at
Dura Europus wore armor and carried weapons.323 Sym eon's vic
tory over the daimonic soldiers affirmed his power to eradicate the
Baalim in armor still worshipped in some villages. These divinities
or daimones were thought sometimes to abuse the Christian village
clergy with lightning bolts, another attribute of the Baalim:*2*
They brought before the holy m aster a presbyter from the north who
lay in bitter and painful torment. For when he was sitting in the
atrium of the church reading the scriptures, he saw something like a
cloud pass him by. The evil one, the hater o f mankind, struck him in
the face and cast him to the ground. He lost his eyesight and all
understanding. H e was withered like wood, his lim bs became weak,
and his faculty o f speech was inhibited.
Symeon claimed all rain-bearing clouds as the province o f the

Christian God. In times o f drought the holy man summoned them
for the people of the Christian villages* One witness reported;325
As soon as [the child in a vision] had spoken to me and passed in

front o f me, I heard the thunder roll, the wind to blow, and rain to
pour down in torrents. I thanked and praised God that he had not left
the prayer of his servant unheeded.
The Christian God was even said to provide the ground dew,326 In
the first instance, the moving shadow of a passing cloud is concep
tualized as a murky vision of a daimonic Baal that evidently cast a
thunderbolt* In the second, it seems that the winter rains had
failed. Special measures were needed to restore the confidence of
the farmers in the Christian God lest they seek as o f old to propiti
ate the Baals once again,327
A targatisj Symhaitylos, and other chthonic fertility goddesses
still survived in the folk memory. Their supposed epiphanies were
323 M acM ullcn, Paganism in the Roman Empire 8 0 f

324 V, Symeonis 76 (Hilgenfeld, 122).
^25 V, Symeonis 110 (Hilgenfeld, 159).
126 V, Symeonis 109 (Hilgenfeld, 158).
327 V. Symeonis 109 (Hilgenfeld, I56f.). As was seen inthe case ofGaza, the
failure of rain to come during the winter season caused a crisisof faith for the
pagans of the city. Supra, Ch. Ill, Sect. 5.
reduced to daimonic manifestations. One case certainly derives from

the hypnopompic hallucination of a man just prior to awakening:328
A man came to [Symeon] who was tormented by an evil daimon.
Something slept in the bed beside him in the shape of a woman, and
he was in consequcnce troubled and annoyed. When the holy man
saw him, he told nim: “ Rub yourself with some o f this in the name of
Je su s Christ and make three crosses with it on your house, and you
will not see her again ,f1 He did as he was told and never saw the
hateful thing again to the day of his death.
The implicitly sexual content of the dream suggests a fertility deity.

The cross was o f course the Christian symbol par excellence to
dislodge pagan divinities, Symeon himself was said to have suffered
through the vision of a goddess whose typology somew hat resem
bles the Artemis exorcised by Hypatius of Rufinianae.329 Her strik
ing appearance evidently derived from a local cult effigy:330
The filthy one, the malfactor and friend of torment, appeared to the
holy man at noon in the form of a beautiful woman, while he stood in
prayer. She was attired in golden vestments and adorned with splen
did robes. She laughed and approached him. When the holy man saw
her, he m ade the sign o f the cross upon himself, turned around, and
blew upon her in the name of Je su s Christ. She was at once in the
form of an anim al whose hands and feet had been cut off. She rolled
over and lamented as if many persons were pursuing her, until she
came to the corner o f the enclosure and vanished like smoke.
Symeon is said to have concealed the content of most of his
visions.331
T h e S y ria c a u th o rs su m up the p o sitio n o f the C h ristian O ne
G o d vis à vis the su b d iv isio n o f the co sm o s into a m u ltip licity o f
o v e rla p p in g sp h eres th at the p a g a n g o d s w ere in recen t tim e
th ough t to ru le :332
We all well know and are convinced that God is in all places, in the
firmament and upon the earth, in the heights and in the depths, in
the seas and abysses, under the earth and above the firmament.
There is no place where his divinity is not, except in men who do not
do his will.
328 V. Symeonis 34 {Hilgenfeld, 98). Dream s o f thissort are discussed inexcep

tional detail from a psychoanalytic standpoint in Ernest Jo n es, "T h e Connections
between the Nightm are and Certain M ediaeval Superstitions” in On the Nightmare
(1951; repr. London 1971), 55-239.
529 Supra, C h, V II, Sect. 1.
330 V. Symeonis 44 (H ilgenfeld, 101).
331 V. Symeonis111 (Hilgenfeld, 160),
V. Symeonis 117 (Hilgenfeld, 163).
194 CHAPTER EIGHT
This thinking has something in common with the principles o f

monotheism expressed in the Third Novel of Theodosius II,333 and
has as its backdrop the earlier polytheistic idea of the material
world as expressed in the funerary inscription of Euphemia at
Panaiania in A ttica.334 The position of the old gods am idst the
clouds that gathered around mountain peaks, in caves with deep
chasms, and at springs whence ground waters rose and blessed the
soil with their fertility were now presided over by the One God
through the prayers of his holy man Symeon.
As Theodoret of Cyrrhus described it. Djebel Sim'än became a
pilgrimage site for the Arabs of the desert fringe. M any tribes and
clans accepted baptism, but Theodoret fails to describe the social
and economic mechanisms in play. These are laid bare in Cyril of
Scythopolis* life o f Euthym ius,335 But what of the cultural affinities
that aided Symeon? There is, to begin with, the rather strong
likelihood that he descended from a family of Arab pastoralists that
had married into the Syrian peasantry outside Nikopolis in Euphra-
tesia. I f so, he will have been trilingual in Arabic, Aramaic, and
Greek. His Syriac life reveals an understanding o f the thought
processes of pagan Arab culture and religiosity. Some of these have
been noted already, as for example the occasional pilgrim age of
Arabs to the temenos of Baal-Sham in at Si' in the Djebel Hauran.
Wc cannot exclude the possibility that Arabs of past centuries had
observed pagan stylites in the Syrian temples. Symeon knew the
insecure and frightening conditions o f desert pastoral life; the risk
of lions, heat exhaustion, the visions and illusions of divinities that
came under the battering rays of the sun, divine epiphanies in
dream s, the need felt by migrating clans and individuals for the
protection of such divinities as Allât, fear o f armed raiders (whom
Symeon experienced in early life when the Isaurians raided his
village) or sudden encounters with enemies at watering places, and
so forth. Symeonis steadfast nightly vigils atop the stele will have
reminded them of the desperate midnight watches for friend or
enemy, when the barren terrain merged with the illusions wished
for and feared* Here was a man who daily endured it alt. The Arabs
of Theodoret’s account seem to have discovered in Symeon the same
terrible longing that lonely Safaitic campers felt upon seeing the
inscriptions of long dead friends and relatives. At Djebel Sim ‘an, as
was seen, some clans nearly fell into armed combat over the issue of
333 Su pra, Ch. I, Sect. 5.

331 Su pra, Ch. IV , Sect. 5,
Su pra, C b. V III, Sect. 2.
who should receive Symeon’s blessing first. He tried to silence their

clamorings with the well known insult of calling them “ dogs” ,336
He also knew the “ camel culture” quite well, having himself as a
semi-sedentary villager and pastoralist employed these useful
animals. T o judge from the Safaitic inscriptions and drawings,
pagan Arabs spent a great deal of time and toil finding fodder,
establishing titles o f ownership for anim als, and romanicizing the
days when a man could tend his newly bom camels peacefully
amidst a mantle of verdure along the wadi beds of the desert fringe.
Symeon also practiced the curse, a device frequently attested in
the Safaitic inscriptions, wherein the A rabs called down the sup
posedly potent wrath o f their divinities, but particularly the femi
nine Allât, for blood vengeance upon those who had killed friends
or relatives. Allât was also the bringer o f peace to men who heeded
the commands etched out on the Safaitic stones. Symeon certainly
evoked peace in the relations between tribes and clans in lieu o f
the harsh Allât, a transference o f function that seems obvious. The
curses in the name of Allât frequently call blindness down upon the
violator of burial grounds and peace for the respecter o f tombs in
the broadest sense. “ Blindness” , temporary, partial, or otherwise,
must have been a common ailment in the desert. It reduced one’s
physical security, especially in the night hours, when it was suf
ficiently cool for raiders and other peace-breakers to stalk their
prey, or, for example, to climb over village walls and monastic
enclosures, Symeon knew the psychology of the religious curse well,
a phenomenon having its roots in sedentary Syrian religion as
well.337 His curse is said to have withered the hand of the Isaurian
brigand B os,338 but in particular to have darkened the vision o f a
member of a raiding band that perhaps consisted of Arabs and to
have m ade another dum b.339 Allât was thought to preside over both
these m aladies in the Safaitic inscriptions.3'*0 A unrepentant brig
and who went blind would be at an obvious disadvantage in his
profession.
A man from the territorium of Bcroia east of the Limestone M assif
whose fields had been plundered was advised to take some of
Symeon’s “ holy dust” and erect three crosses around his estate in a
“ magic circle” . Violators would then receive “ a blow from which
3,6 Supra, Ch. V I I I , Sect. 2, n. 189.

337 Trombley, “ Religious Transition in Syria,” Sect. 1.
339 V. Symeonis 46 (Hilgenfeld, I03f.).
340 Supra, Ch. VIII, Sect. 3.
196 CHAPTER EIGHT
there is no cure” . It is said that two o f the thieves died o f separate

causes: one o f elephantiasis, the other of a torn abdomen after
falling from a donkey. The third is said to have suffered from a
daimon, Upon being approached for a cure, Symeon said: “ God has
taken vengeance upon you for your crimes. For that reason it was a
blow without mercy.” 341 Such were the penalties for transgressing
one o f Sym eon’s circles o f crosses. They somewhat resemble the
curses attached to pagan A rab burial sites, whose shallow barriers
of stone marked the boundaries. Curses were attached in the name
of some god lest anyone dismantle the tombs. Sacrilege and divine
retribution thus attended the violation o f sacred perimeters. The
curses of Arabs and Syrians alike were designed to strike real fear
into offenders against justice, but the frequency o f their occurrence
suggests more than a little disbelief in such sanctions,342
Symeon’s curse directed against the Sassanid G reat K ing be-
cause o f a persecution demanded by the m agian priesthood some
time before 451 was perhaps designed to inspire awe in the recently
Christianized pro-Roman A rabs who lived along the eastern desert
fringe. His letter to the Persian monarch, probably Yazdigird II
(438-457), began with the ringing words: “ So speaks Symeon, who
stands upon the stele in the land o f the R om ans.” 34* Such an aim
would have been consistent with the genuine difficulty of maintain
ing the new congregations o f Christian Arabs, for their conversion
will have partly necessitated their abandoning formerly freewheel
ing raids designed to win much booty, in behalf o f which Allât and
other divinities had been invoked. From now on their plunder
would have to come from Sassanid Persia, whose western frontiers
were admittedly full of Christian agriculturalists and pastoralists.
Curses might thus have supported an imperial Roman policy o f
reducing Arab brigandage along the eastern frontier and o f export
ing it to Sassanid M esopotam ia.
It remains to have a look at the demographic scope of the
conversions that took place at Djebel Sim ‘än. Symeon’s monastery
evidently possessed no reliable figures for the numbers o f clan and
tribal members who received baptism. These migrant pastoralists
paid neither the capitation tax nor the annona, and had their
names recorded nowhere in village tax registers, nor did they
contribute a regular tithe to the presbyter o f any rural parish. In
consequence, one gets the impression that they were “ as number-

342 For other curses, see V. Symeonis 92-95 (Hilgenfeld, 135-38).
343 V. Symeonis 102 (Hilgenfeld, 147-51).
less as the sands o f the sea” from both Theodoret and the Syriac
biographers of Symeon. The latter do not give such a full
picture:344
How many far-away Arabs who knew not what bread is, but fed
themselves on the flesh of animals, came and saw the holy man and
became catechumcns and Christians, renouncing the images of their
fathers and serving God! . . . The Arabs are impossible to number,
[except] their kings and sheikhs, who receive baptism there and take
up faith in God and profess Christ and also build churches among
their tents at the command of the holy man!
The second h alf o f the passage is given in the present tense,
suggesting that new contingents o f pagan Arabs continued to mi
grate to Symeon’s monastery straight through to the late fifth
century when this work was composed. They came from the outer
desert, having no knowledge of the bread-baking practiced in the
villages of northern Syria, Their images certainly consisted of
statuettes,345 but also included the sort o f drawings that turn up at
encampments like il-Tsäwi, where a probable picture of Allât, the
fulfiller o f a curse, is depicted with arm s outstretched and holding
her long hair in her hands.346 The churches built by the Arabs were
probably central shrines that sedentary Christian Arab artisans
constructed at the well-watered camping grounds where the pasto-
ralists seasonally set up their tents, all this in a similar manner to
the chapel erected and supervised by Euthymius and his monks in
eastern Palestine.347 These establishments enabled interested pas-
toralists to adopt agriculture or learn artisan skills. With this came
a reduced dependence on animal meat and the consumption of
grain instead in the form of bread. This is the evident socio
economic meaning o f Theodoret’s observation that the Arabs “ de
spised the meat o f wild asses and cam els” after their acceptance o f
Christianity.348
Direct attestations o f pastoralist A rabs’ views about the renun
ciation of polytheism and acceptance of the One God of Christian
ity hardly exist in the sources. The authors o f the Syriac life of
Symeon vouch for one such story, on the good word of Antiochus
son of Sabinus, who served as the dux, or commander of the
provincial cavalry aritkmoi, of Phoenicia Libanensis, whose metro
polis was D am ascus. The conversation took place when N a‘man, a
,4+ V. Symeonis 56 (Hilgenfeld, 108).

34> Su pra, Ch. V III, n. 162.
** Su pra, Ch. V II I, Sect. 3, n. 269.
3,7 Su pra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2.
34* Su pra, Ch. V II I, n. 162.
198 CHAPTER EIGHT
sheikh who later turned against Rome, encamped on the eastern

fringe o f the province and invited Antiochus to dinner. The A rab's
Semitic style of speaking and religious experience are authentically
transm itted:349
Once we were at dinner, [N a£man] brought the conversation around
to M ar Symeon and asked me: “ Is he whom you call M ar Symeon a
god?” I answered “ He is not a god, but a servant of G o d .”
N a‘man said to me again: “ When people among us heard of the
repute of M ar Symeon, and the A rabs on our side began drawing
over to him, the sheikhs o f my own cam p (Hirta) came to me and
said: T f you let them go over to him, they will do so and become
Christians and depend on the Rom ans and become rebellious again st
you and desert you.5 Then I sent for them and assembled the entire
encampment and told them: *I f anyone has the audacity to go over to
M ar Symeon, I will strike off his head with the sword and those of his
entire fam ily/ After these words I gave them the command and let
them go. In the middle of the night, when I was sleeping in my tent, I
saw a splendid man whose like I had never seen before, and with him
there were five others, When I saw him, my courage failed and my
knees quivered and I made the prokynesis to him out of awe. Then he
spoke to me angrily with harsh words: 'W ho are you to keep the
people of God back from the servant o f G o d ?’ Upon [the splendid
m an ’s] comm and the four men tied my hands and feet> and the other
gave me a hard and painful chastisement, and no one delivered me
from their hands until he took mercy on my [suffering] and ordered
me to be released. He then drew the sword that he carried, showed it
to me, and affirmed to me with terrible oaths: "If you dare again to
stop even one person from praying to God, 1 will strike your limbs to
pieces and those of your whole family with this sword! Thereafter I
got up early in the morning and asem bled the entire encampment
and said to them: "Whoever wants to approach M ar Symeon in order
to receive baptism and to become a Christian, he may do so without
anxiety and fe ar/ ”
N a'm an also said to me: “ I f I were not a subject o f the Persian
king, 1 too would have approached [Symeon] and have become a
Christian, But I felt the fear and chastisement [of the dream-vision]
for more than a month, and could not stand up and go about* Look,
at my command there are churches and bishops and presbyters in my
encampment, and I said: "Whoever still wants to become a Christian
may do so without anxiety; but if someone want to be a pagan, that is
his affair.’1
Symeon Stylites the Elder’s repute as a friend and advocate of the

Arabs before the Christian God thus reached the lower Euphrates
valley, These folk had begun to accept the new religion without the
example or injunction of their phylarch or quasi-king, but eventu-
3+9 V, Symeonis! 01 (Hilgenfeld, 146C).

ally did so with his tacit, consent. The journey from the encampment
(.Ijirla), circa 1000 Roman miles, indicates the vast distances
traversed by Symeon’s Arab clients. The dream-vision seen by
N a ‘man is not incompatible with the religious experiences reflected
in the Safaitic inscriptions and drawings. Some reveal men bran
dishing weapons in a threatening way.350 The “ splendid man” of
N a'm an’s dream did not identify himself as Symeon, but the bitter
ness of the dispute over the growing number of converts in N a‘-
m an’s jurisdiction and a sense of religious awe conditioned by
stories about the wonders performed by the stylite caused the Arab
phylarch to identify his assailants with the Christian monk (“ Is he
whom you call M ar Symeon a god?” ). All sorts of divinités lurked in
the desert sky, but especially Allât. Na'man simply added Symeon
to his list of gods after the disruptive dream, but remained a pagan
on the ground of political necessity. The intensity o f the dream
suggests, once again, hypnopompic phenomena.351 The narrative
shows no signs of contamination from official Roman sources, for
the family and clan structure o f N a‘m an’s subjects is evident.
Furthermore, the A rab leader refers to Symeon as the “ servant” or
“ slave o f G od” , that is ‘Abd-ullah, an Arabic theophoric name.
The Syriac life o f Symeon provides a typologically accurate
glimpse of the varieties of Semitic religious yearnings and experi
ences that made Djebel Sim ‘än a locus for conversions all through
the fifth century. Some of the phenomena of Arabo-Aramaic re
ligiosity expressed in this work bear a superficial resemblance to
those of the Hellenic faith, such as “ magic circles” and the dream
epiphanies o f gods and daimones, but these styles o f defining reli
gious awe and the need for ready apotropaic devices were deeply
grounded in local Semitic culture. Symeon and his monastic disci
ples, as the interpreters of the new religion, translated these norms
into monotheistic formularies. Otherwise Christianity would have
endured great difficulty in penetrating the Syrian highlands and
deserts beyond. This reality demonstrates, in turn, the problems o f
discovering the mechanisms o f Christianization in Theodoret’s
treatment of Symeon, which reflects the Christian sophistic of the
Hellenized cities whose literary conventions at times unconsciously
distort even eyewitness testimony.
550 Supra, Ch. VIII, Sect. 3.

3il It is hardly possible to account for the seeming reality of the bruises and
pain felt by Na'man thereafter. On the nightmare, cf. supra, Ch. VIII, n. 32Ô.
200 CHAPTER EIGHT
V. The Syrian Countryside, Christianization, and the World Beyond

M onastic settlements like Djebel Sitt^än and those o f solitary
Christian hermits exerted an influence beyond the local contexts o f
pastoralism and agriculture, A rab and Aram aean, tribe and village
commune. In time monks of repute extended their work of Chris
tianization past all cultural frontiers. This work passed inside the
fortifications of the Greek cities and outside the cultural unity that
constituted the so-called Fertile Crescent. More precisely, in word
and deed the monks reached the non-Semitic world of Hellenes,
Iranians, and even the Turkic peoples o f central Asia. No survey of
Christianization would be complete without a brief look at the
cultural possibilities inherent in this tendency. The cultural bar
riers and limitations o f viewpoint that affected the historical records
compiled in the Syrian countryside did not prove to be imperme
able to the wider world. It is hardly possible in a discussion of
Christianization to deal with the full extent of the pilgrim traffic to
Djebel Sim ‘än, but Symeon and the aura of awe surrounding him
certainly led to conversions in the cities and eastern steppe lands.
Some few examples of the phenomena o f intercultural conversion
and the dissolution o f Hellenic sorcery require notice.
Symeon’s repute extended to the cities o f Palestine in the years
after his arrival at Telanissos in 409. We learn of a pagan city
councillor from an unnamed town there who suffered from a severe
degenerative dysfunction o f the spine that left his head resting
against his chest. The man went to Symeon only after the physi
cians had failed to discover a remedy and then after he had tested
the powers of sorcerers to produce a cure as well.352 His case
corresponds to the “ two stages of atheism ” , wherein men gave up
on the healing powers of their gods first, turned to magic, and only
then, after passing through this “ second stage” of disillusionment,
had recourse to the Christian God and hisagents.353 In this in
stance, the man sought to carry out the transaction by cash pay
ment, but Symeon refused the offer, first requiring his acceptance o f
the new religion.354 The Hellene thus looked upon the stylite as the
repository o f quasi-m agical healing until the latter demanded a
firm change of religious allegiance. This behavior was probably not
atypical.
The monk M acedonius (c. 380-^400) once crossed over from
countryside to an unnamed city because o f a case o f sorcery, to wit,
3i2 V. Symtonis 64 (H ilgenfeld, 112).

351 Supra, Ch. II, Scct. 5, and Ch. I ll, Scct. 2.
354 V. Symeonis 64 (H ilgenfeld, Π 3 ).
ARABS AND ARAMAEANS IN TH E SYRIAN COUNTRYSIDE 201
the supposed activity o f a daimon in a young unmarried woman

caused by the application o f a m agical device (μαγγανείςι βια-
σθήναι γοητευτική) to generate carnal love in her for the owner
of the charm (καί Ιρωτα είν α ι την της γοητείας α ιτία ν ).355 The
device was administered to the victim in the form o f an herbal
potion of some kind (ό κυκεών) after the recitation of incantations
(ταΐς γοητευτικαΐς φδαΐς) to compel the daimon. A prostitute
(παιδίσκη) is said to have provided the requisite formulae.356 It
seems quite probable that the users of love charms somehow con
veyed the source and “ fact” of the spell to their victims, who at
times responded with panic, that is, simulated states o f possession
by the daimon. In consequence, the young lady, or, according to
Theodoret, the daimon, revealed the name o f the man and the
nature of the device to Macedonius when he tried to expel the
‘!daimon” ,357 The implementation o f love charm s was vigorously
condemned in the imperial statutes.350 The principals in this case
seem to have been men of decurion rank, for the girl’s father called
in the provincial governor to hear his arguments. He also wrote
to the perpetrator, who called the accusation blackmail.359 The
woman was taken to M acedonius’ monastery, where the holy man
pronounced the view that the daimon itself would be adequate as a
witness. Unless we take this literally, it is clear that the young
woman was considered competent to give testimony despite her
psychoneurotic state. She was transferred to the praetorium perhaps
of Antioch, where the governor sat as an observer while M acedo
nius conducted the interrogation. Regular procedure was allowed
to lapse in the interest of establishing the truth, with the woman
unable to communicate except with the monk. M aking use of “ the
indwelling faculty” (τη ένο ικούσ ^ δ υ ν ά μ ει), the holy man ex
tracted the relevant facts for the public record. The daimon in
question is said to have admitted its activity in other sorceries,
including the destruction of one m an’s house, another m an’s beasts
of burden, and much else.360 The woman in all probability already
knew something about the perpetrator’s past acts of criminal
magic, for the decurion class of most smaller cities formed quite a
restrictive social, economic, political and cultural circle. After these
testimonies were given, Macedonius expelled the daimon from the
Theodoret, Mit. Phil. 13.10 (Canivet 1, 492f.).

356 Theodoret, Hist.Phil.13.11 (Canivet 1, 494Γ.).
327 Ibid.
Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 13.11 (Canivet 1, 492-95).
360 Theodoret, Hist.Phil.13.11 (Canivet 1, 494-f.).
202 CHAPTER EIGHT
woman and from the city (και παραυτίκα πόρρω που κα ί της κόρης
κα ί του άστεως γίνεσθοα).*61 This exorcism symbolized the expul
sion not only of the daimones of magic, but also o f the recategorized
or “ falsely named gods” of Hellenic religion from the urban zones
where the temples had been closed or demolished, out into the
territoria or deserts beyond, where the pagan rustics had continued
up to this time to sacrifice to the gods of sky and soil. Put another
way, the countryside was seen as the abode of the pre-Christian
ethos with all its divinités, including the daimones of magic except
where the monks had set up Christian shrines, but the polis had
become a free zone where the new religion should of necessity
always prevail.
The special procedure employed in this case is surprising, but
our source, Theodoret o f Cyrrhus, well knew how the civil courts
operated. It would seem that a degree of flexibility was allowed in
this case because of the peculiar circumstances: the accused party
had refused to present himself and contest the charge, and so had
defaulted on his defense. The statements of the “ daimon” , that is the
psychoncurotic personality of the woman, therefore carried greater
weight, if only because a prima facie case of criminal sorcery could
thereby be established, even if the competence of the victim was
somewhat questionable. The public confession is said to have
alleviated the woman’s disorder (μα νία ).362 The judge imposed the
death penalty on the accused. M accdonius thereupon exercised the
prosecutor’s right to appeal for clcmency. As a monk, he cared
more for the m an’s conversion than the strict enforcement o f the
sentence.363 Theodoret fails to disclose the religious affiliation of
the accused. To judge from the date of the trial c. 380-400, he and
the purveyor of the love charm may have been Hellenes.,C4
Zoroastrians bent on conversion to Christianity periodically ar
rived at the monasteries of northern Syria. An Iranian noble called
Aphraates reached the parts o f Edessa between 361-378. Although
well schooled in the tenets of M azdaean theology, he accepted
Christianity while still in Persia and eventually set up a hut ju st
381 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 13.11 (Canivet I, 494C ).

ibid.
363 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 13.12 (Canivet 1, 496f.).
364 C hristians nevertheless practiced sorceries. Cf. the detailed account of the
accusations against Sophronius, bishop o f C onstantina-T ellâ in O srhoene in:
Ernest Honigm ann, “ A T rial for Sorcery on A ugust 22, A .D . 449,” his 35
(1944—45), 281-84. E. Peterson argued that this incident was merely a topos in
“ Die geheimen Praktiken eines syrischen Bischofs,” Fräkkircke, Judentum und Gnosis
(Freiburg 1959), 333-45. H. Drijvers rejects this preposterous thesis out of hand in
“ The Persistence of Pagan C ults in C hristian Syria,” East of Byzantium, 40.
outside Antioch. Aphraates never learned more than a few words of

Greek.365 It is not known if he succeeded in Christianizing other
migrants from Sassanid Persia whose position, like his own, had
become politically untenable.
One o f the Persian G reat Kings, perhaps Yazdigird II (438-
457), sent an em bassy to discover more about Symeon Stylites the
Elder. It may have sought to ascertain what precisely explained the
devotion of many Syrian Christians inside the Sassanid realm to
this Roman monk, as Yazdigird was particularly anxious to stop
the flow of converts to this foreign religion. Be that as it may, his
wife, who may have been a Syrian Christian, requested an ampulla
of oil with Symeon’s portrait on it. This act led to many denuncia
tions by the M azdaean clergy (παρά τών μάγων ).*66 Symeon’s
monastic disciples collected many stories about the persecution of
Christians by Sassanid noble families.367 It is said that a Christian
chorepiskopos visited Symeon and secured the cure of a Sassanid
royal prince from paralysis after the M azdaean priesthood’s at
tempts at this had failed. In this instance the young man was
allowed to accept baptism .368 Such personal consideration de
pended on the attitude o f the reigning monarch.369
A group o f people whose point of origin and ethnic character are
unknown arrived at Djebel Sim ‘än and asked for baptism. They
had travelled overland, probably from the parts east of Transox-
iana, having been in transit for thirteen months.370 Their travelling
kit struck the onlookers as unusual. Their claim to having travelled
the great distance without deviation suggests that they were experi
enced steppe traders or nomads. Some of them were suffering from
a skin disorder taken to be leprosy and others had “ evil spirits” .
They will in all probability have been practitioners of the shaman-
istic rituals of central A sia.371 Symeon’s cure induced them to
accept baptism. It is unknown what happened to them after this.
Djebel Sim ‘än thus became a mecca for urban Hellenes and
ethnically diverse pagans. T he reports of Sym eon’s monastery,
like those of the monks’ huts that lay scattered all through Syria
and Palestine, turned these places into the focal points of cures,
365 Theodoret, Hist. Phil, 8.1-2 (Canivet \, 372ff.).

366 Theodoret, Hist. Phil. 26.20 (Canivet 2, 200fF.),
367 V. Symeonis 102, 154 (Hilgenfeld, 147-51, I54f.).
ir’9 V Symeonis 67 (Hilgenfela, 115).
36î S e c J. Bury’s brief discussion, LRE 2 1-5.
370 V. Symeonis 69 (Hilgenfeld, U6f.).
371 M enander Protector, Fr. 20 in Historici Graeci Minores, ed. L. Dindorf, 2
(Leipzig 1971), 50.
204 CHAPTER EIGHT
miraculous drcam-visions, and states o f religious exaltation, all of

them interpreted in light of the different non-Christian native cul
tures from which the pilgrims had sprung. The monastic phase of
Christianization in northern Syria affected all the ethnic groups
that passed along the Roman roads between Antioch, Apam ea, and
the desert fringe.
VI, Conclusions
T he Christianization o f the Syrian countryside is of archetypal
significance for understanding that process elsewhere. This is part
ly a consequence of the abundantly detailed narrative sources and
numerous dated inscriptions which permit analysis down to the
village level. It is thus possible to set up a rudimentary chronology
and to assess the demographic character of the transition in Syria,
which was typical of that found in other regions in certain respects.
This rule applies to rural Asia M inor, where the primary period o f
Christianization ran c. 350-450 and where a bilingual population
existed in districts where Phrygian, Cappadocian, and even Ira
nian were still spoken,372j ust as bilingualism in Greek and Aram aic
remained an important feature of Syrian rural culture until the
early sixth century. The Christian liturgies o f Syria seem to have
been marginally more “ Christianized” than those o f Anatolia by
this time, but the divergences are not great.
One significant difference between these two regions was the fact
that, whereas Asia M inor saw little linguistic change except in the
direction of Heilenization, Syria met with a constant influx of Arab
tribes and clans that traded with the peasantry and whose mem
bers on occasion took up agriculture and artisan skills. The entry o f
A rabs into the Syrian countryside went hand in hand with Helle-
nization and Christianization. Even so, Symeon Stylites the Elder
seems to have adapted his catechetical methods to the world-view
of Arab pastoralist culture, a subject on which he was well-informed,
having probably descended from ethnically Arab parents himself.
This situation, coupled with contacts with Iranians and even Turks
from central Asia, gave the Christianization o f Syria a cosmopoli
tan character missing from the central plateau of Asia Minor. It
will be seen that the Egyptian peasantry had a much more inward-
turning view of religious life that also called for special methods
when the new religion was introduced.
3,2 Supra, Ch. VII, Sect. 2 and 5.

CHAPTER NINE
T H E N IL E V A L L E Y F R O M C A N O PU S T O PH I LAE
The first stages of Christianization in Egypt followed a course

similar to that elsewhere in the eastern M editerranean areas. The
new religion took root at the great metropolis o f Alexandria by the
end o f the first century and gradually spread to the smaller cities of
the Nile basin. It m ust be remembered that the catechetical school
of Alexandria, where Clement and Origen gave shape to the Chris
tian sophistic as a definitive movement, was oriented to an urban
population and had no influence whatsoever on the spread o f
Christianity to the territoria o f the cities.1 The evidence for its
presence in the Nilotic towns before 324 lies largely in the appear
ance of papyrus fragments o f New Testam ent codices, although the
provenance o f these texts is often unknown. The earliest o f these is
P . Rylands 457 (perhaps as early as the last decade of the first
century), along with other texts o f third-century date.2
A critical turning point was reached with the closure of the
Serapeum of Alexandria in 391, for from that time onward the
Christian patriarch, his clergy, and the monks pursued a system
atic campaign against the rural temples o f the Nile basin» From this
time onward, the Christianization o f rural Egypt followed a chro
nologically similar course to that in most of the other districts of the
Roman East. Roger Rémondon has summed all this up with
brevity:3
It is quite difficult, and im possible without a degree o f doubt, to
estimate the real force o f Christianity in the Nile valley at the begin
ning o f the fifth century. It was assuredly considerable, nor can we
deny that in the second century Christianity had already become
manifest in Egypt with some force, nor that there were at this time
active groups o f Christians. But even late in the third century these
groups did not make up more than a weak minority: the new religion
1 The earliest history o f the Alexandrian see is conveniently reported in Bigg,

Christian Platonists of Alexandria^ 63—73. On the origins of the catechetical school,
see for exam ple: Francesco Pericoli-Ridolfini, “ L e origini della scuola di A lessan
dria, ” Rivisti degli studi menlaii 37 (1962), 211-230.
2 Bruce M . M etzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible (Oxford 1981), 62-69.
3 Roger Rém ondon, “ L ’Égypt et la suprêm e résistance au christianisme (V e-
V I I I e siècles), "Bulletin de l'Institut Français d 3Archéologie, Cairo 51 (1952), 67f.
206 CHAPTER NINE
spread slowly in the countryside. In the epoch of Constantine, pagan

ism probably kept its numerical superiority. It does not thus seem
perm issible to argue that Christians were dominant in Egypt and
that their reiigion w as ‘'trium phant” : for it is dangerous to put one's
trust in the negative testimony o f the papyri to assess the decline o f
paganism in a time when discretion was a rule o f prudence- It was
hardly until the end of the fourth century that Christianity became
manifest as a powerful phenomenon. . . . In Egypt, the first affirma
tion of the force of Christianity may well have been the destruction of
the Serapeum o f A lexandria in 391; it was the signal, in any case, for
the harsh struggle of the fifth century from which the new religion
emerged triumphant, but in which paganism also survived.
Rémondon goes on to show that the critical years in the religious

transition were 400 -4 5 0 .4
This is not to say that the new religion failed to penetrate the
countryside at all before 391. Seemingly crypto-Christian docu
ments arc always turning up, as for example a recently published
letter of unknown provenance (3rd-4th c.).5 It is nevertheless clear
that the examples of rural paganism discussed below are not excep
tions to some arbitrary rule. For every group that abandoned its
village and migrated into the desert with its idols, there were others
that stayed and resisted persecution.6 Several striking examples of
resistance to Christianization emerge in the sources from the period
c. 450-489, and these speak for many otherwise unknown local
contexts submerged by want of evidence from the eye of historical
inquiry. It is unfortunately not feasible to give rural Egypt the
detailed demographic and chronological interpretation done for
northern Syria and the Provincia A rabia because of an almost
complete lack of datable inscriptions.
The evidence for Egypt suggests conditions in the countryside
parallel to those in Asia Minor and Syria-Palestine. Although the
indigenous population o f the Nile valley generally spoke Coptic, the
population of the towns and the educated elements in the villages
were all Hellenized to a great degree, as the tax records, wills, and
letters in the papyrological collections indicate.7 The Christianiza
tion of the countryside in Egypt too fell to the monks, who appealed
to the rustics3 sense o f outrage at their economic exploitation by the
landed magnates and possibly to their sense of ethnic differentia-
4 Rémondon, “ Résistance au christianism e” 68f.

5 G .H , H orsley j Documents Illustrating Early Christianity 2 (M acquarie 1982)>
no. 103.
6 Rémondon, “ Résistance au christianism e” 74,
7 For some convenient exam ples, see: Sélect Papyri I: Pnvate Affairs and II:
Official Documents, ed. tr. A .S. H unt and C .C . Edgar (London 1932-34).
THE NILE VALLEY FROM CANOPUS TO PHILAE 207
tion as Copts from the landlords, who were often Hellenes in

religion as well as culture.8 The fullest record of the religious
transformation occurs in the writings of Shenute of Atripe, and in
the life of Shenute written by his disciple Besa.9 A later stage of
Christianization is reflected in Zachariah o f M ytilene’s life of
Severus:10 by the late fifth century many villages even within walk
ing distance of Alexandria were only nominally Christian. These
conditions stand in sharp contrast, in turn, to those at Philae, a
town on the U pper Nile close to the imperial frontier, where an
ethnically Egyptian priesthood continued to practice the cults o f
the Nilotic deities publicly, despite the existence of a Christian
bishop and churches there.11
/. Shenute of Atripe and the Cults o f ike Middle Nile Valley

Shenute, as the son of a wealthy farmer o f the village of Shenalolet
in the lemtorium of the city (IIO A IC ) o f Shmin, knew the basics of
farming and the propitiatory rites connected with the agricultural
cyclc.12 H is economic status enabled him to acquire an education in
Greek gram m ar and literature— the paideia—which he cites or
alludes to occasionally. Among the texts known to Shenute were
the Birds and Frogs o f Aristophanes, and the Platonic dialogues.13
e This is the obvious inference from the work of Ioanncs Leipoldt, Schenute von
Atripe und die Entstehung des national ägyptischen Chnstentums (Texte und Unter
suchungen 25, Leipzig 1903). The Marxist analysis presented by G.E.M. Ste
Croix has particular relevance to the Egyptian context in The Class Struggle in the
Arwient Greek World (London 1981), 446Γ Citations from Shenute* s works given
below derive from the translations of H* Wiesmann, Corpus Scnptorum Chrislianorum
Onentalium 96, 108, 129 {Scriptores Coptici 8, 12, 41, Louvain 1931-51). Indi
vidual volumes are cited below* See also: Oeuvres de Chenoudi, ed. tr. E. Amélineau,
2 v. (Paris 1907-11).
9 Besa, Sinuthii Vita Bûairice, tr. Hermann Wiesmann (Corpus Scriptorum
Christianorum Orientalium 129, Scriptores Coptici 16, Louvain 1951), and
Sinuthii Archimandntat Vita et Opera III, tr, H. Wiesmann (CSCO, Scr, Coptici, Ser
2, v. Paris 1931). Cf. GefFcken> Last Days of Greco-Roman Paganism, 238f.
10 Infra, Ch IX , Sect. 2.
n Infra, Ch. IX, Sect. 3-4.
12 Besa, Vita Sinuthii 3 (Wiesmann, 1).
13 Leipoldt, Schenute von Atnpe 71. A Coptic version of Plato's Republic has turned
up in the Nag Hammadi library dating from the mid-fourth century A.D. or
earlier. The translation is characterized by erroneous readings, misunderstanding
of Platonic languaçe, and ignorance of context. One cause of the alienation
between the Hellenic towns where the landed magnates lived and the Christian
Coptic population of the temtoria thus lay in afundamental inability even of
bilingual Copts to draw correctinferences about the nature ofHellenic high
culture. Louis Painchaud, Fragment de la République de Platon (Bibliothèque copte de
Nag Hammadi: Section 'T extes” 11, Quebec 1983), 109-161 (Republic 5886-
58896),
208 CHAPTER NINE
Shenute’s links with high and popular culture enabled him to enter
the towns and carry out his programme there as w ell Shenute’s
most dram atic act in this connexion was the conversion of the
temple o f Pan at the village of Pieuit, The incident is the subject o f
two chapters in B esa’s biography and of two sermons by Shenute
himself. Let us consider these texts in turn.
B esa’s straightforward account indicates that word of Shenute’s
intention to cleanse the temple at Pieuit leaked out while he was en
route. T he pagans of Pieuit, among whom there were makers of
charms, emplanted some of these devices under the road to forestall
the monk’s entry into their village. These objects consisted o f curses
written on papyri and m aterials which the hagiographer calls
“ drugs51 or “ poisons11 (Φ Α Ρ Μ Α ΓΙΑ ) thought to be activated by
an incantation/4 The formulae, both literary and chemical, were got
from magic books either in the temple archive or by some local
sorcerer, who may have read them in either Greek, Coptic, or even
the demotic Egyptian tongue,15 The villagers inserted the curses in
vases, dug shallow trenches in the roadway, and implanted the
objects there. It was considered standard technique to install a
charm such that the intended would step on it.16 Shenute was either
warned o f this, or else surmised this as the Pleuitiotes* most prob
able reaction to his coming. It was probably considered sound
strategy for the curse-maker to notify his victim somehow to create
emotional stress and thereby to deter him .17 The efficacy of charms
belonged more to the psychological world than the material, and it
was better for sorcerers if the material potency of their devices was
never tested empirically« At any rate, Shenute, as something of a
rationalist, walked up the road, and later circulated an amusing
t4 Besa, Vita Sinuthii, Cap, 83 (Wiesmann, 23).

15 The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leyden, cd. Francis LJ. Griffith and
H. Thompson (London 1904).
16 On the supposed necessity of the victim of the charm making physical contact
with this object, there is an example from Sicily (8th c. A.D.). The exorcists
supposedly got the daimon of the spell to admit this; “ A certain young man who
wished to taxe her in marriage went to a certain sorcerer in Sicily who lived in a
place called Marathodae. He made a solemn oath with me [the daimon] and bound
me to a fig leaf, brought it and cast it into the road. When the young woman went
to the bath and stepped on it involuntarily, the same bond entered into her, and I
began to play with her and shake hen” Acta M< Anastasii Persae (BH G 84), ed.
Hermann Usener (Bonn 1894), 16.
17 Oral communication, David R. Jordan, who has made unpublished materials
available to me and discussed his findings. See, for example, his “ Deiixiones from
a WTell near the Southwest Corner of the Athenian Agora,” Hesperia 54 (1985),
205-255. The social context of these documents still requires thorough study.
animat story about his success for the edification of his rustic
congregation:18
Shenute dismounted his ass, but when he began to lead it forward on
the road, however many times the ass came through to the place
where the m agic devices (pharmagia) were buried, it stood still and
scraped with its hooves. At once the m agic devices appeared, and
Shenute ordered a boy: “ Collect them, that you might hang them
from their neck.” As many times as the boy who accompanied him
E rodded the ass, Shenute told him: “ Leave him [the ass] alone! For
e knows what he is doing.” Again Shenute told the boy: “ Lift the
vessels [containing the m agic devices] and restrain him with the
hand while we enter the village, and let us hang the m agic devices
from their neck." The pagans saw him entering the village and the
magic vessels carried in the hands of the boy. A t once they fled and
vanished. Father Shenute entered the temple and sm ashed the idols
which had been cast down one after the other.
Shenute’s ass had, as it were, a more acute sense for the hidden
instruments of the sorcerers than most Christian rustics!
B esa’s account o f this incident is suggestive in one respect and
disappointing in another. Whatever the prevalence of sorcerers and
their magic devices in the Christianized towns, the pagan villagers
and hierophants of Pleuit found them a ready expedient to the holy
man’s coming. The subculture of sorcerers and m agic books be
longed, it would seem, as much to the rural pagan ethos as it did to
the cosmopolitan, syncretistic modes of great cities like Constanti
nople and Alexandria. B esa’s datum is of great significance. On the
negative side, the hagiographer has little to say about the temple
and cults of Pleuit. He observes simply: “ Father Shenute entered
the temple and smashed the idols which were cast down one after
the other.” 19 We shall see what images and liturgical furnishings a
rural Egyptian temple might have in due course, as described in
Zachariah of Mytilene’s life of Severus.20
Besa did not bother to treat the upshot of this idol-smashing
foray, probably because Shenute had himself set it forth in the
sermon entitled “ On the Idols of the Village Pleuit” .21 These
documents, presented as transcriptions of Shenute’s words, suggest
a different course o f events and one more credible than that re
corded by Besa, to wit, that Shenute led the Christian rustics in an
attack on Pleuit. Shenute’s words preserve the tenor of an argument
1B Besa, Vita Simlhii, Cap. 84 (Wiesmann, 23).

19 Ibid.
21 Shenute, Opera (CSCO 96: Scriptores Coptici, Ser. 2, vol. 4), 47-50.
210 CHAPTER NINE
that C opts in isolated hamlets m ust have heard often during the
era o f Christianization. It is phrased with rhetorical violence,
categorically denies the power o f the Nilotic deities, and plays
upon the anxiety of town and village dwellers over the timely
arrival of the Nile flood, which, as popular credence had it, de
pended on the peace o f the gods acquired through the traditional
propitiatory rites.
Shenute received a summons to appear at the qfficittm o f the dux at
Antinoe on the day he smashed the idols at Pieuit. The plaintiffs
were the priests o f the temple o f Pan.22 The prologue to the first
sermon reveals that many Christians had participated in the action
and were now under indictment.23 Shenute had shrewdly timed the
raid on the temple to coincide with an unusual failure o f the Nile
flood to rise to sufficient height to inundate all the nearby fields,
which had been sown sometime before. Shenute affirmed before the
m agistrates and priests of Pan that the Christian God had withheld
sending the waters over the plain “ because of our sins” . This
argument appealed to the assembled crowd, which had driven to
Antinoe in waggons from the surrounding villages and estates (ex
mulHs vicis multisque coloniis)— men and w om en standing around the
officium shouting “ Iesu! Iesu!” — to support their local hero the
monk. Their presence offered Shenute the occasion to deliver a
withering attack on the old cults and their supposed efficacy. The
proceedings thus became a sort o f anti-trial, whose object was less
the legal vindication ofShenute’s actions than rallying the rustics to
the new religion.24 The Copts, many of them coloni and all of them
resentful of the fiscal apparatus controlled by the civil bureaucracy
and of the rents collected by the m agnates who owned the temple
lands, would achieve a new sense o f solidarity from this, particular
ly with any backsliders am ong them who doubted the new religion.
Shenute was, in fact, practicing a form of aggressive civil disobedi
ence. He appealed to the Copts rather than the magistrates for
judgem ent. Imprisonment for tcmplc-bashing was, of course, out of
the question because the case would certainly reach the ears of the
coemperors Theodosius II (408^150) and his colleague, not to
mention the patriarch o f Alexandria Cyril (412—444), who on short
!S Ibid., 47 and 50.

23 Ibid., 47.
24 On the anti-trials of revolutionaries, which sought to reverse the process and
put the tribunal itself under the scrutiny and judgement of public opinion, see: The
Great Purge Trial, ed. Robert C. Tucker and Stephen F. Cohen (New York 1965),
xL-xIviii, but esp. xliii.
notice could mobilize the sailors o f the grain fleet and thousands of
monks, and send them to Antinoe*25
Shenute sought to discredit the old cults and their adherents, but
in particular the “ idolatrous priests” of Pan.26 The apparatus o f
their cult is well attested:27
And the plunder [from the temple] which you [the priests] say we
divided, behold, we have kept with us from our god Pan, whose mind
is sim ilar to their stink because o f its harshness, and sim ilar to the
sword by which they kill and consume what God has procreated [the
sacrificial anim als], and by the scroll full o f all the m agic arts and on
to the idols and all else which they are accustom cd to offer them, and
the vessel full o f bread and all the first-fruits ( Α Π Α Ρ Χ Η ) and
candelabrum . . . But cares come to me in great number, since I wish
to see to these sanguinary people who cannot be satisfied even with
the crimes committed against the Christian people with every per
verse device.
The Pleuitiotes at least partly attributed the success of the Nile
flood to their Pan. Shenute had, since youth, resisted the riverine
cults. One can hardly otherwise interpret his practice of immersing
himself up to the neck in an irrigation canal during the Egyptian
month o f Tybos and praying with his hands in the orant position.28
In the hearing at the officium o f the dux, Shenute cited Psalm
X V II. 14-16 as proof that the Christian God, and not the Nilotic
deities, had sent the Nile flood: “ Springs o f water appear, and the
foundations o f the world are revealed.’* The holy man could not
resist adding texts which expressing the daimones’— that is of pagan
gods like the Egyptian Pan— fear of the Christian G od.29 Shenute
moreover vilified the Pleuitiotes5 cult practices and proclaimed his
own program m e:30
You need not fear, for I do not hide in concealment. I fight against
m agicians, poisoners, interpreters of hours, those who make calcula
tions on the basis of the stars of heaven, and idol·worshippers.
Shenute observes: “ Even if you finally submit to the emperors, you do not
fear and understand God. PH make sure that you understand them, those emper
ors who subjected you to the church and to its illuminator, our most holy father
and witness CyriL Otherwise, the sword will extinguish the greater number of you,
and the rest will go ab road /5 De ldolis Vici Piuutil 11 in Opera, 50. It is of
comparative interest that the pagan decurions of Alexandria and Gaza retired
from their cities after the closure and destruction of the Serapeum (391) and
Marneion (402) respectively. Supra, Ch. II, Sect, 3 and Ch. I l l , Sect. 4, note 121.
2É Shenute, De ldolis Pneutit //, 47.
Ibid., 50. This passage describing the instruments of cult ends with a lacuna.
28 Besa, Vita Sinutkii (Wiesmann, 2).
29 Shenute, De ldolis Pnemit II, 48,
30 Ibid., 50.
212 CHAPTER NINE
The magic devices allegedly implanted in the road to Pleuit have

already been noted, and the other cult practices are certain in light
of the magical papyri thus far discovered.31 Shenute rejected the
claim of the Plcuitiotcs that “ wc pay our taxes” :32 the coemperors
had already subjected them to the church and its illuminator Cyril.
Finally, Shenute revived the Gnostic expressions “ sons of darkness
and gloom ” for the pagan inhabitants o f Pleuit, and “ sons ofligh t”
for the Christian rustics,33 The possibility cannot be excluded that
Gnostic texts such as those discovered in the N ag H am m adi library
circulated in Shenute’s group.34 Shenute may well have gotten
some of his knowledge of Plato, for example, from a Coptic transla
tion like a fragment of the Republic found at N ag H am m adi.35
The upshot of the hearing at Antinoe is unknown, but a legal
judgement can hardly have been laid against Shenute for the
reasons enumerated above. The documents related to the Pleuit
incident demonstrate that, during the archiepiscopate of Cyril o f
Alexandria, the pagan temple priesthoods vigorously maintained
their cults against the monastic opposition, albeit with the half
hearted support of the civil government, which apparently toler
ated Shenute’s antics in the hearing room. The extent o f popular
backing for the old cults is unknown. The holy man and his
biographer Besa claimed in this instance the rising of a universally
Christian peasantry in behalf of Shenute, but this can hardly be
more than Shenutian propaganda. It is difficult to doubt the exis
tence of unconverted freeholders and coloni near and on the temple
lands at Pleuit, for whose conversion the monks concocted the
entire affair.
T he incident at Pleuit belonged to a wider campaign o f over
throwing the cults of the middle Nile valley.™ Another sermon o f
Shenute entitled “ On the Injuries Done to Shenute” mentions that
the people of Atripe, where the holy m an’s White Monastery lay,
burned down the village temple.37 The m agistrates at Antinoupolis
31 A vast array of these texts is collected in Papyri Graecae Magicae, ed. Karl
Preisendanz et al., 2 vols. (Stuttgart 1973-74). A study of their social context is for
the present a desideratum.
32 Shenute, De Idolis Pleueit II, 50.
33 Ibid., 49.
34 The cartonnage of the Nag Hammadi texts suggests provenance from, and
their use by, the Pachomian monastic community. Jam es E. Goehring, “ New
Frontiers in Pachomian Studies,” The Roots of Egyptian Christianity, ed. B. A. Pear
son and J.E . Goehring (Philadelphia 1986), 248ff.
3i Supra, Ch. IX , note 13.
36 Cf. F. Van Der Meer and Christine Mohrmann, Atlas of the Early Christian
World, tr. M .F. Hedlund and H.H. Rowley (London 1958), Map 17.
3? Shenute, De Iniuriis Sinuthii in Opera, 5 If.
TH E N ILE VALLEY FROM CANOPUS TO PHILAE 213
and Hermopolis haled large numbers o f the Christian incendiaries

into court at the request of the temple priests.38 The sermon also
refers to an incident in Coptos, whence the idols were dragged
away. The text has a lacuna at this point, but indicates that seven
monks and perhaps Shenute himself were involved in some way.39
Finally, Shenute’s letter ‘O n the Dux Theodosius” mentions an
action against the cults and possibly the temple of Kronos at
Panopolis, which lay on the east bank o f the Nile opposite Atripe.40
This Kronos was probably a hellenized version of the Egyptian
Petbe,41 but the Graeco-Roman Saturn-Kronos is also attested.42 In
this last instance Shenute was brought before the m agistrates and
the dux Theodosius, but escaped without penalty and with a certain
sense of glee. Shenute asserts that the summons came only because
Theodosius had received a bribe. The pagan landowners thus
retained a considerable influence with imperial officials, many of
whom remained Hellenes in the mid-fifth century, and kept firmly
entrenched with their cults*43
The outcome of these separate incidents was, in all probability,
the same as that at Pieuit— the temples perhaps recovered some of
their plundered statuary and service vessels, but, apart from this,
the priests will have made repairs at their own expense and can
hardly have recovered their magical texts, which the monks certainly
burned. Little could be seized as compensation from a patriarchally
protected institution of the stature of the White Monastery. If She
nute’s resultant prestige grew among the Christian rustics in the
zone of the middle Nile valley because of this, and even if he gained
Ibid., 51.
39 Ib id , 52.
40 Supra, Ch, IX , note 36.
41 Leipoldt, Sckenute von Atripe, 176.
42 There was a dismantled temple of Kronos not far from the fifth milestone of
Alexandria in Egypt {late 6th c.), not far from where criminals were executed. A
murderer about to be executed is said to have taken an oath in the name of the
Greek deities when asked in what direction he wished to face upon being gibbeted,
The man reputedly said: “ By Sarapis, make me face K ro n o s,5 a reference to the
temenos. Being a resident of Alexandria, the offender probably had the Greek
Kronos in mind. John Moschus, Praium Spiritualef PG 87, 2924D-2925A. Moschus
calls the man, who was evidently a Hellene, a kosmifos. The Hellenic Kronos is not
noted in H.I, Bell, *‘Popular Religion in Graeco-Roman Egypt I: The Pagan
Period/’ Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 34 (1948), 82-97. On questions of syncre
tism and purely Hellenic gods, see 84-89. There is a useful sequel of this article:
B.R. Rees, “ Popular Religion in Graeco-Roman Egypt II: The Transition to
Christianity/* Journal o f Egyptian Archaeology 36 (1950), 86-100. Bonneau* La Crus
du Nil, does not touch on Kronos-Saturn.
43 Cf. the decurions of Aphrodisias. Supra, Ch. V I, Sect. 1-2, and Ch. V,
Sect. 4.
214 CHAPTER NINE
many new converts for the Christian God, there is conversely no

evidence whatever to suggest that the cults of Isis, Pan-Min,
Kronos-Petbe, and the other deities had vanished along this stretch
o f the river, which extends some 300 kilometers,44
Shenute found the position o f the pagan landed aristocracy
which held the priesthoods intolerable, but well-nigh unassailable
in view of the local imperial officials’ support for them. Rousing the
Copts and their monastic allies had proved to be an effective
method of weakening the grip of the temples. Shenute’s arsenal
contained other weapons as well, including epistolography. The
letter “ on the Dux Theodosius” has been mentioned. Shenute wrote
two other such works, both of them entitled “ Against Kronos,” who
was probably a pagan priest, the name Kronos perhaps being
pseudonymous.45 The audience o f these epistles was clearly in
tended to be much wider than the addressee. In the first letter to
Kronos, Shenute hurls invective, curse and insult at the man,
whom he accuses of practicing the magic arts— a common skill
among the Egyptian priesthoods, as we have seen— and of claiming
to exert control over the Nile fertility cycle, a function of his
supervision of the rites.46 Kronos practiced the cult of his name
sake, Kronos-Petbe,47 and so perhaps superintended the temple
which Shenute destroyed at Panopolis.48 The second letter provides
the history of an acrimonious exchange between Shenute and K ro
nos in which the latter accused the holy man of brigandage, a
reference to the plundering o f temple lands.49 Shenute sums up his
own legally questionable position with the dictum: “ It is not brig
andage for those who possess Je s u s .” 50 On one occasion Shenute
even tacked an accusation written on papyrus sheets to the door
posts of K ronos’ house, whereupon Kronos cut them into little
pieces with a scalpel and ostentatiously cast them upon burning
em bers.51 The fact that Christians went to the temple for oracles
44 The patriarchate of Alexandria had contact with the middle reaches of the
river mainly in connection with collecting the produce from its estates with boats.
Cf. the “ boat of the catholic church of Alexandria” and other examples listed in
Friedrich Preisigke, Wörterbuch der griechischen Papyru.turkunden, vol. 2 (Berlin 1927),
324 (under the rubric of ploion),
45 Shenute, Opera, 42-47.
46 Ibid., 43, lines 3-5, 15-18.
47 Ibid., 44, line 15.
48 Su pra, Ch. I X , n. 19.
49 Sinuthii Archimandnlae Vila et Opera Omnia I: Textus, edd. Iohannes Leipoldt
and VV. Crum (CSCO , Scr. Coptici, Ser. 2, vol. 2, Paris 1906), 79, line I6f. Coptic
text is hereinafter cited by principal editor Leipoldt and page number.
“ Shenute, Opera (Wiesmann, 44, line 9f.).
51 Ibid., lines Ilf. and 17-21.
THE NILE VALLEY FROM CANOPUS TO PH I LAE 215
intensified Shenute’s concern, but he resolutely repudiated Kronos'

suggestion that his monks and property managers52 had carried off
fragments of meat from the place.53 Christian rustics obviously
found it difficult to break ties with the old ethos, for one can easily
imagine persons who received oracles also leaving the temple with
sacrificial meats* Only men directly affiliated with the White
Monastery, the monks and their agricultural supervisors, were free
from taint of accusation.
Shenute’s second letter to Kronos enumerates many recrimina
tions against him. After the passing of the Lenten fast and celebra
tion of the paschal mysteries, the pagan complained: “ I f you were
really a monk, you would not have performed these slaughterings
[of animals] during those forty days.5554 Kronos thus taunted She
nute with a higher standard of asceticism than practicable for his
congregation at the White Monastery, Shenute brushed aside the
objection with an obvious reference to the “ killing of pigs and cows
which are slaughtered in the house of the p a g a n s/955 an oblique
reference to pagan sacrifices. The proscriptions collected in the
Theodosian Code had little efficacy in the upper Nile valley at this
time. It was one thing, however, to kill animals for nutrition, and
quite another to slaughter them ritually in front of a cult effigy.
This distinction, as the Pro Templis of Libanius indicates, was
observed.56 Shenute took pains to justify his action vis à vis the frank
paganism of K ronos:57
I f I did not behave rightly b ecause I gave [b ad ] exam p le to idol-
w orsh ippers, how m uch [m ore] a crim e is it for you th at you you rself
com m itted a crim e within those forty d ay s and on the solem n and
holy day o f the P asch , while all celebrate, even the ju s t em perors. . . .
Kronos, provoked by fear that the charge of sacrifice would be laid

against him, was at pains to justify himself: “ Come and search my
house if you may find any idol there.58 Shenute’s reply reflects the
uncompromising nature of his mission:59
After searching your house Ï found no idoL A re there no other idols
for you except those which I m ight carry off? O r if I carried off your
household idols, could I really hide the sun in the sky an d the m oon
Shenute, Opera, Textus Copticus (Leipoldt, 80, line 5),

53 Shenute, Opera {W iesm ann, 44f.).
M Ibid., 45, line 19f.
55 Ibid., 45, line 2 1 f
57 Shenute, Opera (Wiesmann, 45, lines 23-26).
M Ib id , 45, line 29f.
Λ9 Ibid., 45f.
216 CHAPTER NINE
an d the stars which you w orship? O r sh all I build w alls in the west,
lest you m ake p ray ers in the direction o f the setting [of the heavenly
sp h eres]? Shall I stan d w atch at the river an d [every] canal, lest you
pour a libation o f lotiones over the w aters? C e ase these lying, crafty
w ords! M ay you fall into great eviJ!
The locally worshipped deities were thought to have the same

power over the fertility cycle as the “ fam ous” Egyptian gods Sara
pis and Isis, hence the pouring of sacrificial libations to Kronos-
Pethe into the irrigation canals* Shenute’s polemic reveals the basic
futility of the legislation against sacrifice and idol-worship in a
rural religious culture activated by an animistic world-view where
in idols stood everywhere. Genuine conversion (γνήσια μετάνοια)
required a change of heart that no imperial law could supply.60
Shenute’s struggle against paganism in the countryside was to a
large extent one against the high-handed and exploitative tactics of
the pagan landed m agnates as w ell Freeholders and coloni thus
became dependent on the patronage o f the monk for the recovery of
impounded moveable property*61 The second epistle “ Against K ro
nos” berates the addressee for a series o f incidents:62
For ju s t as you are im pious, you o p p ress the poor with injuries* Is it
not som e [great] insult that you pursue people, particularly p resby
ters o f the church, when you drive drive them from their houses. * . *
Y ou invade their dom iciles, although son nor fath er nor anyone else
o f them is there, becau sc they h ave ned, and you cart off their d rau gh t
an im als, w aggons, an d sad d lery, and com pcl to be included in your
estates w hat w as carried off, to the ad v an tag e o f your own property.
M any presbyters, deacons, and subdeacons were landowners who

farmed smallholdings* They found it expedient to complain to
Shenute and join the Rachezüge against the pagan landed m agnates,
particularly when the bishops as the administrators o f the ecclesias
tical fundi silently supported the interests o f the pagan upper classes
rather than the Christian sm allholders. Kronos also imposed corvées
on these folk* The man interrupted the local Paschal liturgies and
compelled the rustics unwillingly to drag some newly constructed
river boats down to the water*63 The synchronism was perhaps an
unfortunate coincidence, but possibly not* Whatever the case, She-
60 On the use of this term, cf Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World/’ 328.
61 The most formidable statement of this thesis is found in: Peter Brown, uThe
Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity/’ Jo umal of Roman Studies 61
(1971), 80-101,
Shenute, Opera (Wiesmann, 46, lines 3-10).
53 Ibid., 46, lines 11-14,
nute saw it as an impious attempt to disrupt the most important

Christian festival o f the year.
Shenute expounds a series of other social and economic abuses in
the Second Epistle Against Kronos. Landed magnates o f Christian
persuasion undoubtedly had similar failings, but the argument
proved particularly effective against the pagan Kronos in the short
term interest of Christianizing the countryside. One abuse which
evoked complaint was the selling o f meat parts from a calf that was
about to die to widows, the aged, and travellers at an inflated
price.64 Another instance occurred when the pagan Blemmyes
raided the U pper Nile:65
Y ou collected people to watch over your b o ats for you at that time
when you were wont to flee the b arb arian s. But d id not the b arb arian
pursue them? T h ey fled to other p laces to save them selves after their
wives and children an d a little furniture had been p u t on the beasts o f
burden an d w aggons from their houses.
It is unknown if any Christians went into captivity because of this.

Finally, Kronos extorted payment in kind to meet the expenses o f
fuelling a bath-house:66
Y ou d em an d ed from som e the su pply o f w heat in in dividu al houses,
from others (since such things ab ou n d am on g m en) 25 modii, from
others yet one artaba [o f grain] on the occasion o f you r w ashing in the
baths, alth ou gh the people begged an d said : 4‘We d o not wish to
bathe. W e care for nothing [except] the bread which we consum e [to
the last crum b]* F o r ou r children are hungry an d n ak e d .” T h e
greater p a rt o f them professed: “ We are not accustom ed to go to
the b a th s.1' But the bath s them selves d id not vex them , bccause the
people built them an d houses for you. W ere the coloniae till now
villages? H ave you erected their houses in them ? T h ese h ard sh ip s are
the sam e, by which you inflict upon them your vexations, all the
corvées and injuries.
Shenute’s works typify the bitterness of the Coptic peasantry at the

landed magnates and priesthoods with their temple estates who
forced the hard-pressed farmer to hand over his agricultural sur
plus and to expend the labor which his own buildings and canals
needed to accomodate the luxurious tastes o f the wealthy. It is
ironic that, while Shenute’s efforts helped to generate a Coptic
Christian self-consciousness in the face of age-old Hellenic
6* Ibid., 46, lines 15-21. Another similar action; Ibid., lines 22-30.
65 Ibid., 46, lines 31-35.
66 Ibid., 46f. Shenute avoids using the terms “ corvée'5 (άγγαρεία) and “ im
pressed workman” (άγγαρευτής)5 both of which turn up in the papyri.
218 CHAPTER NINE
exploitation dating from Ptolemaic times, the real abuses were

endemic to the Egyptian cconomy, and remained a permanent
feature of life in the U pper Nile valley, despite the great religious
transformation then in progress, whose proponents thought they
espied better days ahead.
Shenute’s two epistles against Kronos have a unique signifi
cance. They constitute the only extensive record of the verbal
confrontation between the entrenched pagan aristocracy of the
countryside and a Christian catechist. The battle lines lay far
removed from the Neoplatonic and Atticist predilections o f the
learned polemicists at a kosmopolis like Alexandria.67 The religious
preferences of the competing sides were irreconcilable and non-
negotiable. The battle was fought am idst an intense backdrop of
social and economic exploitation wherein the monks, who like
Shenute arose from the sam e farmers o f the Nile green belt as their
congregations, became the advocates o f the Copts, whose language
they spoke, whether it came to repairing canals or explaining the
workings o f divine providence. This Shenute removed from S ara
pis, Isis, Kronos, Pan, and a host of other deities, and placed it in
the hands o f the Christian God. The monks had the task of abetting
that providence through litanies and liturgies, but also by helping
the peasant to keep more of his agricultural produce. A good monk
was surely a sign of the workings of providence. Thus, Shenute
identifies the economic exploitation practiced by landed magnates
like Kronos with the oppressions of Pharaoh in the Old Testam ent
books familiar to the Copts.68 The pagan Gesios upon whom She
nute laid a curse for being impious (& .C EBH C ) and insulting
Christ was perhaps o f K ronos’ class as well.69
Besa relates one last tale which illustrates the economic spolia
tion of Christians, this time by the residents on the island o f
Paneheu, which was situated within sight o f Hermopolis-Shmin.
The island had many vineyards whose owners coerced the Chris
tian farmers o f the district every year to purchase their wine, which
Besa calls “ putrid” . It is not clear whether the price was too high,
or the vintners used extortionate practices to sell wine that no one
wanted. A committee of farmers lodged its complaint with Shenute,
who advised them to go to their houses and away from the ju dge
ment o f God. The sequel is worth quoting in full:70
b' Isidore of Pelusium (ob. 430) is typical in this respect. Epistulae, PG 78.
Shenuce, Opera (Wiesmann, 47, lines 13-28).
Besa, Vita Sinuthii, Cap. 88 (Wiesmann, 24).
70 Ibid., Cap. 86 (Wiesmann, 23f.).
At night [Shenute] crosscd to that island which sticks up from the

waters and was planted with vineyards. He struck the earth of the
island with a blow o f a small baculus of a palm which he carricd in his
hand. He said: “ I tell you, O island of Paneheu, transfer yourself to
the middle o f the river and subm erge into the depths, that they [the
pagans] would cease to annoy the needy. The island with the
vineyards and cabins (casae) gradually went over to the center of
the river, and before dawn they [the houses] were entirely covered by
the waters, and the swift-sailing vessels (actuariat) sailed over it. T hus
was the name o f God brightened by [Shenute].
The economic and social d ata are undisputable. As for the “ sink
ing” of the island, it is likely that a shift in the river bed eroded it.
Alternatively, Shenute perhaps awaited the onset o f the Nile flood
before cursing the island and its vineyards. Then, a severe innunda-
tion will have flooded not only the island, but the flatlands round
about. At any rate, Besa remembered the incident differently as a
piece of Christian “ m agic” or heard the story in this form. It was
more than magic. Shenute thereby established the claim of the
Christian G od to control the Nile flood, a viewpoint already being
expressed by the patriarch of Alexandria after the destruction of the
Serapaeum in 391, but one that took longer to ascend the remoter
districts of the Nile basin. The suppliants of Isis carried palm
branches, as Shenute did here, in the rites and processions o f the
Sem asia, an ancient festival celebrated in Ju ly when the flood gave
the first signs of starting.71 Papyri report expenses for these cere
monies as late as the second or third century A .D .72 The incident
bears some relation to the increasingly prevalent tendency to
Christianize rite in order to establish the claims o f the Christian
God irreducibly and thereby aid catechization.73
II. The Closure of the Isis Temple at Canopus c. 487-89

It can hardly be doubted that Shenute’s patronage o f the Coptic
peasantry aided the spread of Christianity in the towns and villages
of the U pper Nile valley. The Shenutian literature is striking
mainly because of the aggressive spirit shown by the monks,
who brooked no interference from the civil authorities when they
violated the public peace. But Shenute’s biographer Besa, who had
every reason to exaggerate this achievement, remains remarkably
71 Bonneau, I.a Crue du Nil, 375.

72 Ibid. An Egyptian papyrus of il6 6 B.C. describes the ancient custom of
making offerings of palms and roses at the festival of the Nile, and calls them
“ plantes d'Isis pour k m ain.” Ibid. 397.
220 CHAPTER NINE
silent about the conversion either of prominent dynasts or farmers:

the villages o f Pieuit and Paneheu remained adam antly pagan to
the end, as did the magnate Kronos and the temple priesthoods.
Thus, the definitive Christianization of this district, which con
sisted o f the provinces of First and Second T hebais between Anti
noe and Koptos, a stretch o f some two hundred miles, must have
come well after Shenute's death in 466. There is, in support o f this
argument, compelling evidence about the survival of paganism at
two other sites on the river, Canopus-M enouthis at the western
most mouth o f the Nile near Alexandria (province of First Aegyp-
tus) (c. 482-89) and at the extreme other end o f the river, at Philae
on the southern border of Second Thebais (c. 450-537),74
The life of Severus o f Antioch written by Zachariah of Mytilene
gives a detailed description of conditions in the Nile delta during
the episcopate of Peter III of Alexandria (482-489).75 Canopus-
Menouthis lay a mere fourteen Rom an miles from Alexandria. The
road from the city ran through the Canopic gate past the hippo
drome and nekropolis in an east-northeasterly direction. The temple
at Canopus-M enouthis had been a prominent site for the worship
of Isis, and in the fifth century received visitors from such centers of
Hellenic religion and thought as Athens76 and Aphrodisias in
C aria.77 The place accomodated the sick, who after sacrificing
incubated at the shrine until Isis appeared in a dream vision and
cured their m aladies.78 The patriarchate, outraged at the presence
o f a virulent cult close by, secured the closure of the temple in the
wake o f the d e stru ctio n of the S e r a p a e u m in Alexandria in 391 and
procured the baptism o f the rustics living in the environs o f the Isis
temple.
The impression of a Christianized countryside was deceptive, for
the cults at Menouthis went on in secret and the nearby villagers
still worshipped Isis, or at any rate believed in her daimonic
powers, that is hostile kratophanies,79 T his revelation came after
7* On the background of continuity for the cult at Menouthis, cf. supra, Ch. V,
Scct. 2. On Philae, Ch, IX , Sect. 3 and 4.
73 For the full particulars on Zachariah of Mytilene, cf. supra, Ch. V, Proleg.
76 Supra, Ch. VI, Sect 3.
11 Supra, Ch. V, Sect, 2.
7a This is the obvious purport of Zachariah’s narrative. Infra. Eunapius of
Sardis emphasizes the numerous pilgrim traffic to both the Serpaeum and to
Canopus, observing that it equalled the size of the demos at Alexandria. Lives o f the
Sophists (Wright, 420f.). It is certain that incubation was practiced at Canopus,
but Eunapius is not specific on this question. He indicates “ rites5* (τελούμενα)
and “ mysteries” (άρρητα ιερά). Ibid. 416f. and 4I8f.
79 On the daimonization of the Hellenic and Semitic gods, see supra, Ch, II,
Sect. 1.
the formal accusation o f performing sacrifice against certain pagan

professors at Alexandria in the circle of the Hellenic sophist H ora
pollon the younger, Stephen, a monk o f the Enaton monastery, who
heard the story about this from Paralios, a student of rhetoric in
Alexandria, induced the latter to tell all he knew to the patriarch
Peterj who thereupon authorized the formation of a striking force to
march on the temple and destroy its altar and idols. The task was
assigned to members of the regular clergy and to the Tabennesiote
monks who had a convent at Canopus.80 The author Zachariah and
some philoponoi of Alexandria, as friends o f Paralios, went along as
w ell Zachariah is thus a unique witness. His account is fully
consistent with the archaeological and epigraphic data found at
other sites.
The hand from Alexandria must have reached Menouthis to
ward the end of the day, as they had to cover fourteen miles and
round up the Tabennesiote monks at Canopus* The sense of awe
which gripped Zachariah that evening retains that character even
for the modern critic. He writes:81
We arrived at a building which was completely covered with pagan
[hieroglyphic] inscriptions. In one corner there was built a double
wall. The idols were hidden behind this wall. A narrow entrance in
the shape of a window led there, and it was by this means that the
priest got inside to perform the sacrifices. Hoping that our investiga
tion would come to nothing, the pagans got the help of the priestess
who lived in the building—they were au courant concerning the up
heaval that had taken place in the city—and blockcd the entrance
with stones and lime. Moreover, lest anyone perceive the recent
character of the masonry and discover the artifice, they placed di
rectly in front of it a small stand (σκευάριον) full of incense
(λίβανος) and round-cakes (πόπανα), and they had suspended a
lamp (κανόήλα) which burned as bright as broad daylight« As a
result, Paralios was a bit upset and perplexed, not knowing what had
become of the entrance, wnich was shaped like a window. He finally
discovered the trick* but not without difficulty. He made the sign of
the cross, put down the lamp, moved the stand, and pointed out the
entrance, which was blocked with stones at that moment and fresh
masonry. He next asked the Tabennesiotes accompanying us to lend
a hand and bring an ax* and then he charged them to open what had
been freshly walled up and make apparent the original shape [of the
opening]. A Tabennesiote then went in* When he saw the array of
idols and observed the altar covered with blood, he cried out in
00 Zachariah, Vita Severit 27. These are presumably the same monks who,
according to Eunapius, imported relics into the temples of Canopus shortly after
the destruction of the Serapaeum in 391. Lives of the Sophists (Wright, 424f).
Zachariah, Vita Seven* 27-29,
222 CHAPTER NINE
Coptic: “ One G od!” {had JAläha), as he wished to say by that that it was
necessary io extirpate the error of polytheism.
Zachariah here confirms the survival o f a pagan priesthood well

beyond the time o f Shenute of Atripe (ob. 466), but within a day’s
walk of Alexandria, Few texts from this period reflect com parable
psychological insight in an author, or catalogue the objects found in
a building with such attention to detail. Hieroglyphics and low
reliefs commonly covered the façades o f Egyptian temples, as we
know from the shrine o fls is at Philae,82 The question as to whether
the priests at Menouthis could any longer have read the inscrip
tions is problematical. Knowledge of the hieratic texts was falling
into desuetude even in the time of Horapolion the Elder, an ances
tor of the pagan gram m arian o f the same name who figures promin
ently in Zachariah’s narrative.93 The elder Hoapollon wrote a work
entitled Hieroglyphica in the fourth century A ,D., in which he inter
prets the “ im ages” , that is the hieroglyphic letters, symbolically
and reveals a complete lack of understanding of the old language,04
but his ignorance was not shared, as the latest known dated hiero
glyphic inscription was cut in 394, during the reign of Theodosius
the Great (379-395), and the latest demotic inscription—-a sim
plified but analytically identical script to the hieroglyphic— in 476,
during the reign of the emperor Zeno (474—491 ),05 Knowledge of
hieroglyphic texts probably extended later than the chronological
limits of the evidence, and may well have lasted until the time of the
Menouthis incident.
The monk's exclamation ‘O n e G od !” (had ’Alähä — εις Θεός)
appears frequently as a monotheistic expression in fourth- and
fifth-century Syrian in s c r ip t io n s ,a n d suggests what formulae
might have been inscribed over the hieroglyphics during the subse
quent cleansing of the temple. Zachariah’s account suggests that,
apart from being an expression of Christian militancy vis à vis the
old cults, it was also thought to have a certain apotropaic force
which obviated the daimonic powers ascribed to the old gods and
thought to reside in idols, altars, the blood o f the victims sacrificed
thereon, and even the stones o f the sanctuary.87 Zachariah himself
E;ienne Bernand. Les inscriptions grecques el latines de Pkilae II: Haut et Bas Empire
(Paris 1969). Plaies at end of volume.
03 Supra, Ch. V, Sect, 2, and infra, Ch. IX , Sect. 3.
04 Horapolion the Elder, Hieroglyphica, ed, C. Leemans {Amsterdam 1835).
Idem* The Hieroglyphics of Horapollo Nilous, tr. Alexander T. Cory (London 1839).
86 Supra, Ch. II, Sect, 2, and Ch, X , passim.
On the question of ''daimonic” ritual contamination, cf. supra, Ch, II,
Sect. 2.
was too rationalistic to subscribe to such superstitions. The Taben-

nesiote monks will, on the other hand, have had the occasion not
only to shout “ One G od!” often, but also to incise it on the walls o f
temples along with other sundry expressions. One can hardly
doubt that the temple at Menouthis subsequently received this
treatment as well.
The secret chamber yielded a large cache of idols, including a
wooden (ξύλον) image o f the ubiquitous Kronos, who stood in the
pose of holding out a serpent to the suppliant. The apotheke also
contained a menagerie of animal idols, including those of dogs,
cats, monkeys, crocodiles, and other reptiles. Zachariah was reli
ably informed that a priest had in recent years transferred all these
objects from the temple at Memphis “ when he apprehended that
paganism had lost its force and was about to be abolished.” 88 The
work begun by Shenute of Atripe in the middle reaches of the Nile
basin seems thus to have begun to bear fruit by the early 480’s. A
ship could easily have sailed down the Nile from M emphis at the
southern angle of the delta and have landed the idols at Menouthis
without detection or any serious interference. The landed magnates
who staffed the local priesthoods seem thus to have remained in
touch and to have cooperated on matters o f common interest.
Zachariah adds that many of the idols were o f great antiquity and
consequently in a state o f great deterioration. These were con
signed to a huge bonfire.89 The monks did this, as Zachariah
admits, to convince the pagan inhabitants of the adjoining village
that the incarnation o f Christ had deprived “ the pagan gods and
daimones” of their power. Unlike most critics of the Hellenic cults,
who considered the gods and daimones to be one and the same,
Zachariah drew a distinction between the two.90 The officials o f the
patriarch then drew up an inventory of the objects that had not
been destroyed:91
As for the other idols, we m ade a description o f those which were o f
bronze and those which were fabricated with a certain ingenious art,
as also of those which were of m arble, and of all their shapes, without
forgetting the altar and dragon o f wood. We then sent this inventory
into the city to Peter the patriarch of our lord C hrist Je su s and asked
him to apprise us of what we had to do [next],
Zachariah leaves the purpose o f the registry unstated, but allows

the inference that the objects became the property of the Alexan
89 The text here is not completely certain. Zachariah, Vita Severi, 29.
90 Zachariah, V.Severi, 30, Syriac line 4.
224 CHAPTER NINE
drian see. Some of them might have been preserved because o f their
artistic worth and catechetical value, but the rest would certainly
sold off on the bullion market. Pillaging temples was a profitable
venture, and the inventory would perhaps stop the clerics from
pilfering some of the metal objects.92 Zachariah differs from certain
Christian writers in one other respect: he freely gives the names of
the deities, as did Shenute of Atripe, and felt no compunction about
mentioning the instruments of pagan cult.
Menouthis, the village which adjoined the temple, had been
formally Christianized for some time, but the new religion had not
taken firm root. The place was one of thousands of such sites listed
in the ecclesiastical registers as ‘'converted” , or rather as “ Chris
tian villages” , having a small church, a presbyter to perform the
liturgy, and a number of deacons, but the pro forma administrative
fact differed radically from the cultural realities o f the countryside.
Zachariah explodes the myth about Menouthis succinctly:93
Those who passed for Christians at Menouthis and those who made
up the clergy of the village church were, with the single exception of
their presbyter, all of them weak in their faith, to the point that they
were enslaved by the money that the pagans gave them, lest the
[villagers] hinder them from offering sacrifices to the idols.
Sacrifices at idol-temples had long ago been proscribed, but* as in
rural Bithynia, it was still possible to slip into such places and
perform the forbidden rites, in this instance directly under the nose
of the immense bureaucracy o f the Alexandrian see in the 480’s.
The rustics dreaded the daimonic powers of the old gods, that is
their hostile kratophanies, whose propitiation these folk seem never
really to have renounced:94
The evening of the day on which we did these things having arrived,
after the inventory had been drawn up, in order to prevent us from
leaving, the [villagers] dcdarcd that they feared suffering some
daimonic vexation if they kept custody of the idols [in their houses,
where Christians wanted to store them], and reckoned that it was our
job to do so. For their part, the pagans living in Menouthis thought and
said that we would infallibly die during the night.
The presbyter, impressed by the Tabennesiotes’ zeal for askesis
and the enthusiasm of the philoponoi, thereupon invited the party
from Alexandria to deposit the idols inside the church, to have
q2 Cf. the cases of the destruction of the Serapaeum of Alexandria and of the
Marneion at Gaza. Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3, and Ch. I l l, Sect. 4.
94 Zachariah, V, Severi, 3L
dinner, and to spend the night. The upshot resembled something

that must have happened thousands o f times in villages throughout
the Greek lands.
The monks recited the psalter throughout the night, concentrat
ing on the passages which expressed the power of the Christian
God over all idols: “ All those who adore works of sculpture and
glorify themselves with their idols are confounded” (Ps. 96.7), and:
‘ ‘The gods o f the pagans are daimones, but the Lord is the creator of
the heavens” (Ps. 95.5); and finally: “ The gods o f the pagans are of
silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have neither a
mouth nor power of speech” (Ps. 113.12—13) The Tabennesiotes, to
the surprise of the pagans, survived the night, and consequent upon
orders given by the patriarch began dismantling the Isis temple.
They made no attem pt at this juncture to install relics and a
martyrion in the temenos, probably because of the virulence of the
local cult, which had o f late drawn visitors from Aphrodisias and
Athens, and had many sardonic local adherents. The Tabennesiote
monks were apparently not available for permanent duty at the
site. This bespeaks a shortage o f monastic personnel capable of
catechizing villages, even within a day’s walk of a great ecclesiasti
cal center like Alexandria. Zachariah reports nothing more about
the disposition of the village. Some rustics may have transferred
their allegiance to the religion of the monks who had confuted their
idols, but such an outcome seems unlikely for Menouthis as a
whole. Zachariah’s silence about the sequel suggests that no great
result was achieved in terms o f Christianizing the place.
III. The Cults of Philae in the Mid-Fifth Century

The temple complex on the island of Philae on the U pper Nile in
the province of Second Thebais provides the decisive example of a
site at which the local cult— in this instance the worship of the
Egyptian fertility goddess Isis— persisted throughout the fifth cen
tury. It was only in the time of the emperor Justinian c. 537 that the
priesthood was suppressed and the temples were converted into the
Christian shrine o f St. Stephen the Protomartyr.96 The evidence for
continuity of cult at the site lies almost exclusively in the epigraphy,
including fourteen inscriptions and graffiti in hieroglyphic and the
late Egyptian demotic language.97 Ulrich Wilcken long ago argued
Cf. the Hellenic devices and deceptions revealed when the Serapaeum was
closed. Ch. II, Scct. 3,
96 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 34-2, n. 93, and infra.
ql Francis LI. Griffith, Catalogue o f the Demotic Graffiti o f the Dodecasckoenus
226 CHAPTER NINE
that after 435 the priesthood of Isis no longer resided at Philae, but
with the Blemmyes, an independent Nubian tribe to the south o f
the Roman frontier that made an annual pilgrim age to the temples.
H is mistaken inferences on this question stem partly from factors
external to local conditions in and around Philae, and should be
rejected in any case because of a philogical oversight in his analysis,
as will be seen. No fundamental reason exists to derive obscure
explanations for the persistence of the phenomena o f pagan cult,
which were everywhere about in the fifth-century empire.
T h e cult and priesthood of Late Roman Philae contracted con
siderably through the fourth and fifth centuries, but remained
comparatively strong in an institutional sense. M any of the demotic
inscriptions were cut in connection with the festival o f Isis that fell
in the month of Choiak, that is 27 November-26 December, after
the Nile flood had finally receded and the river returned to its
normal level.98 The precise nature of the ritual cannot be deter
mined from the fourth-century epigraphy, which refers simply and
cryptically to an act o f obeisance in the demotic (wste) and Greek
(προσκύνημα) which seems to have entailed sacrifice." This ter
minology goes back to the third century, so we must assume that
cult activity retained its distinctive, if to us imprecise, character
through 373 A .D ., the date o f the fourth-century inscriptions,100
and beyond into the fifth century, when the terms reappear.101 The
four inscriptions of 373 all relate to the festival o f Choiak, which
was also called the “ cleansing festival” in which the “ services o f
O siris” , the brother and consort of Isis, were perform ed.102 The
suppliant in one of the inscriptions, a certain Sensnaw, the chief
baker of Isis, petitioned Osiris “ that he would give him cool water,
namely to my father Sekhet and Sekhet-Khêm my brother.” 103 Peti
tions for the next year’s flood, which crested the following Septem
ber, were evidently laid before O siris during the Choiak festival.
The bread produced by Sensnaw served the cult, it appears, in the
processions in which the symbols o f the Nile valley agriculture,
(Oxford 1937), 42-130. The inscriptions of Philae are hereinafter cited by

Griffith’s Ph. number-
90 Bonneau, La Crue du Nily 368-70,
95 Griffith Ph. 366 and 368.
1CWGriffith Ph. 369-372.
101 Bonneau’s list of Greek terms does not include τό προσκύνημα: La Crue du
Nily 487-495.
10* Griffith Ph, 370. Cf. Ph. 371, where the "services of the king'’ appear to be
thuse of Osiris,
103 Griffith Ph. 372,
THE N ILE VALLEY FROM CANOPUS TO PHILAE 227
bread and water, were carried.104 Another official of the place,

Petësenufe, the pterophoros of Isis, overlaid the figure of Cleopatra—
perhaps a low-relief sculpture— with gold as part o f his service at
the Choiak festival.
An undated but late Greek inscription records the ceremony
which preceded that of 15 Thoth (September), on which “ the most
sacred Nile” (ό ίερώτατς>[ς Ν ε]ΐλος) received offerings from its
votaries as it rose to its annual flood crest. The festival seems to
have begun at Philae when the waters reached the G ate o f Diocle
tian (είσήλθεν ε ’ι ςτο [ν ] πυλώνα τής [π ό ]λεω ςΦ ιλ[ώ ν]). The date
of the inscription in this instance, 5 Thoth (= 2/3 Septem ber),
was recorded in the name o f a non-sacerdotal official called the
pilot of the Nile (κυβερνήτης Νεί[λου])> a certain Pasenis sur-
named Nopheros. Nothing is known about the identity of this office
at the time, sometime after 300 A .D ., although it has been surmised
that the man navigated the sacred craft which carried the priests of
Isis during the festival of 15 T hoth.105
The temple at Philae had a diverse set of cultic officials both
priestly and secular in the fourth and fifth centuries. Among these
were the prophets (where προφήτης = hm-ntr), who announced the
arrival and depth of the Nile flood with the help o f those who made
the usual seasonal astronomical calculations and those who m an
aged the nilometers.106 The temple at Philae had several degrees of
prophet, for one hears of a second prophet in 394 and later, as well
as a first prophet in 373 and later.107 The term protostolist
(πρωτοστολιστής) used in the fifth-century inscriptions o f the site
appears to be synonymous with first prophet.108 The fourth century
saw a sacred scribe or hierogrammateus of Isis, who cut at least one of
the demotic Egyptian inscriptions (November or December 373),
and possibly a pharm acist,109 who seems to have supervised the
composition of amulets and hymns, as well as various rites con
nected with harnessing the m agical powers ascribed to the flood-
waters.110 A baker of votive bread-loaves has already been noted, a
certain Sensnaw, the chief baker of Isis of Philae and the Abaton.111
The office of pterophoros (md-ntr), men who traditionally wore the
104 Bonneau, La Crue du Nil, 388f.

105 Bernand 2, no. 187.
106 Bernand 2, no. 191. Bonneau, La C m du Nil, 388f.
107 Griffith Ph. 159, 365 (452 A.D.?), 369, 375, 376, etc.
loe Bernand 2, no. 196.
109 Griffith Ph. 371.
110 This is conjectural. For magic, see: Bonneau, La Crue du Nil, 285-294.
Griffith Ph. 372.
228 CHAPTER NINE
hawk's wings on their heads, also existed through 435-112 A possible

librarian o f Isis will have kept papyrus prayers to Isis and perhaps
the inventories (404 A .D .).113 Literacy was important in the cult of
Isis. Philae had a “ lord of writing divine words” (27 November
435)114 and a “ (chief) of the secrets of Isis" (4 0 7 /8 )/15 the former of
whom presumably copied manuscripts. Both could presumably
read and interpret the lore found in ancient texts and on hiero
glyphic inscriptions. The knowledge of writing and translating
hieroglyphics had not died out c. 400. A scribe erected such a text
on 24 August 394 in thanksgiving to the chief god of the Blemmycs,
a Numidian kingdom in alliance with the Eastern Roman Empire,
over whose territory called the Abaton (literally, “ the Im pass
able” ) Isis was thought to preside, as well as over the temenos at
Philae. Other inscriptions represent Isis* temple as a central shrine
not only for the Hellenized Egyptians of Philae, but also for the
Blemmyes and Nobadae, in prayers, for example, to “ Isis of Philae
and the Abaton, the great goddess” (373 A .D .)'116
The aforementioned hieroglyphic text o f 394, the latest example
of the ancient hieratic language thus far discovered, reads:1J7
Before M erul son o f H oru s, by the han d (?) o f (?) Esm ct-A khöm (?)
son o f Esm ët, second prophet o f Isis, for ever and ever. W ords spoken
by M erul, lord o f the A bato n , great god.
The scribe who cut the hieroglyphic inscription left a record o f his
act written in dem otic:11*
I Esm ët-A khôm , scribe o f the house o f record (?) o f Isis, son o f
E sm ët-Panekha te the second prophet o f Isis an d his m other Esw ë-re.
I perform ed work on this figure o f M an d u lis for everlasting, becau se
he is kindly o f face (?) unto me. T o -d ay , the d ay o f the Birth o f O siris,
his (?) dedication festival, year 110. [24 A u gu st 394].
The scribe Esmët-Akhôm was qualified to cut low reliefs as well, in

this case the figure o f Merul (in hieroglyphic) or M andulis (in
demotic), the great deity o f the Blemmyes, to whom Esmët-Akhôm
had a personal devotion of some emotional intensity, this in spite o f
the fact that he had descended from a line of Isiac priests and was
himself a non-sacerdotal official of the Isis cult.119
m Griffith Ph. 366 and 369 (27 Nov. 435 A.D.).

m Griffith Ph. 366.
115 Griffith Ph. 364,
U6 Griffith Ph. 372,
117 Griffith Ph. 436. Griffith's line numbers are omitted here.
118 Ib i d ·
119 Theological commentary is lacking in Griffith's analysis of the inscription.
TH E NILE VALLEY FROM CANOPUS TO PHILAE 229
Etienne Bernand has analysed the genealogies o f the priestly

houses o f Philae, basing his work on the Greek and demotic inscrip
tions of the site*120 The continuity of the family unit through 20
December 452, the date o f a long Greek inscription, suggests that
the Isis cult at Philae suffered few decisive interruptions during the
first half of the fifth century. The inscription reads:121
The act of adoration (προσκύνημα) of Smetchem (=Esmêt-Khôm)
the protostolist, whose father was Pachomios the prophet, his mother
Tsensmet. I became prolostolist in the 165th year of the era of
Diocletian. I came here and performed my function together with my
brother Smeto ( = Esmët), successor of the prophet Smet, son of
Pachomios the prophet. We give thanks to our mistress Isis and to
our master Osiris, for the good, today, 23 Choiak in the 169th year of
the era of Diocletian. [20 D ecem ber 452]
Ulrich Wilcken supposed that the priesthood of Isis at Philae had
abandoned the temenos and resided with the Blemmyes at this time
because of Smetchem’s statement “ I came here” (ήλθα ένταΰθα).
Obviously Smetchem did not reside at the site. This situation,
coupled with the fact that a treaty made between Diocletian and
the Nubians c, 295-305 noted in a fragment of the historian Priscus
of Panium, guaranteed a condominium over the site between the
local priesthood and that of Rom e’s indispensable allies, the Blem
myes, who policed the southern approaches of Second T h eb ais.1*2
Diplomatic and military expediency required toleration o f both
groups’ sacrifices at the site, although this contradicted the policy
set forth in the Theodosian Code, which became effective in 438.
Priscus describes the arrangements m ade by M aximinus, probably
the magister militum per Qnentem, during the reign o f the emperor
M arcian (450-457):123
After the Blemmyes and Nobadae had been defeated by the Romans,
envoys were sent to Maximinus from both nations, desiring to make a
peace treaty. And they said they would keep peace to the degree that
Maximinus would remain in [Second] Thebais. When he did not
welcome making a treaty for so much time, they said they would not
lake up arms again in his lifetime. As he did not opt for the additional
talks in the embassy, they made a one hundred year peacc.
Its articles provided that Roman captives be restored without
ransom, whether [the Blemmyes and Nobadae] had then taken them
or in earlier raid, and the herds (βοσκήματα) once taken away were
120 Bernand 2, nos. 239-245,

121 Bernand 2, no. 197.
122 Bury, Later Roman Empire 1, 23 7f.
123 Priscus of Panium, Fr, 21, Histonci Graeci Minores, ed, L. Dindorf, I (Leipzig
1870), 332f.
230 CHAPTER NINE
to be returned to them, an d com pen sation (ά π ο τιμ η σ ις) w as to be

p aid for the [an im als] expended. T h irty h ostages o f good birth were
to be handed over by the [b arb arian s] as a token o f good faith in
beh alf o f the treaty.
T h e [B lem m yes an d N o b ad ae] were to be perm itted unrestricted
access accordin g to ancient custom (κατά τον παλαιόν νόμον) to the
tem ple o f Isis, with the E gy p tian s h aving care o f the river boat, set on
which there was to be tran spo rted the effigy o f the god d ess. T h e
b a rb arian s were to be allow ed to tran spo rt the statu e to their own
country for a stip u lated period o f tim e and, after m aking use o f it,
they were su p p o sed to restore it to the islan d [o f Ph ilae]. T h is
arran gem en t being suitable* M ax im in u s saw fit that the treaty be
ratified in the tem ple on Philae.
The Blemmyes and N obadae will thus have had their own priest·
hood of Isis in the fifth century, composed o f a scion of the family of
Pachomios, namely Smetchem the protostolist mentioned in the
Greek inscription o f 20 December 452, who accompanied the statue
(άγαλμα, ξόανον) of Isis to the land o f the Blemmyes and N oba
dae, that is, the Abaton of the demotic inscriptions* This much
agrees with Wilcken's argument. He failed to observed, however,
that Smetchem came to Philae alone, that is to say “ I came here”
(ήλθα ένταϋθα). His brother Smeto, as the son and successor
(διάτοχος, sic) o f the prophet Pachomios, evidently resided at Philae
continuously and was joined by Smetchen, who came there only
periodically for the obligatory sacrifices. After Smetchem arrived,
he performed his own good work (έποίησα το εργον μου) at the
same time as his brother Smeto (άμα καί τού άδελφοϋ μου Σμητό,
διά τοχος),124 The men then made a thank offering together
to Isis and Osiris (ε[ύχ]αρ ιστού μεν). Rather than Bernand’s
hypothesis that a member o f the family retired to the Abaton “ at
the moment when paganism was threatened at Philae . . . to serve
the goddess,” 125 it seems more probable that Smetchem had merely
Abaton and attending to the cult in the barbarian temenos in order
to maintain the goodwill of the Nilotic gods. But the priesthood at
Philae remained in the hands of his brother Smeto and kept its
influence over the cult even when it was practiced among the
Blemmyes and N obadae,
The expediency o f allowing the cult to persist at Philae lasted
even after Florus, the augustal prefect of Egypt, defeated the bar
barians once again in c. 452,126 for later inscriptions appear at the
The correct spelling is διαδόχου. From its position in the sentence,

διάτοχος can only be the appositive of Smeto. Bernand 2, no, 197.
123 Bernand 2, 243f.
126 Remand 2, 244.
site, one by Smetachates, son of Smeto (454/5).127 The Blemmyes

and N obadae also returned to celebrate the sacred meal with the
goddess after Florus’ victory, as a mutilated inscription of 456/7
suggests:128
In the time o f Smet the archprophet. Parnous, son o f Pachomios, in

the year 173 [of the era o f Diocletian], I am first president of the
sacred dining association (ΐίμω τοκλίναμχος) . . . they did not cross
over. . . . T he god until the . . . it did not cross over until the 173rd
year [of the era o f Diocletian].
As the expression “ president of the dining association” (κλίν-

αρχος) commonly turns up in the Nubian inscriptions, one is
inclined to suggest that the sacred repast implied by the term
belonged to the ritual connected with the visit o f the Blemmyes and
N obadae to Philae, when they removed or returned the Isis statue
o f the temple there. Bernand has suggested, with due caution, an
emendation to the text, allowing it to read “ the god did not cross
over until the . . .” (ούκ έπέρασεν ό θεός εως . . .)> thereby
confirming this hypothesis. Such a supposition has the merit of
historical plausibility in its favor, as the shrine remained open with
a priesthood, and with the barbarians maintaining access to it as
well, until c. 537, when the bishop Theodore converted it into the
martyrion o f St. Stephen the Protom artyr.129 Barbarians who
adhered to the Isis cult and Hellenes from Egypt and other parts of
the M editerranean may still have made the pilgrimage to Philae
after this, for some o f the personal graffiti dating from after the
Christianization of the temenos lack the Christian symbols that
other such inscriptions possess. Some examples include:130
I am Theodosius, a Nubian.
I am Dioskoros.
I am Sophonias.
A Nubian.
Other evidence confirms these suppositions.

Relations with the Blemmyes and N obadae did not always re
main stable, and this affected the temple cult at Philae. It will be
recalled that the “ great pharm acist o f the workshop,” Patsinamre
by name, recorded his obeisance, that is sacrifice, in a demotic
157 Bernand 2, no. 198.

128 Bernand 2, no. 199.
129 See the sixth-century inscriptions discussed in Bernand 2, nos. 200-204.
130 Bernand 2, nos. 205, 207, 209, 210.
232 CHAPTER NINE
inscription in the month o f either Athyr or Choiak in 373 A .D .131

He adds:
In the year named (sic) the Belleu (?) attacked the N ubians and gave
hostages (?) (took prisoners?) in the year 90 o f D iodes. In the year
named, the skyboat of Isis was far away for two years, and it reached
the Abaton,
It has been conjectured with justification that the Belleu and
N ubians, the Blhm-w and Nwbe-w in demotic spelling, were none
other than the Blemmyes and N obad ae.132 The conflict between the
two nations developed outside the immediate compass o f Roman
territorial interests, being confined to the Abaton. The “ sky*boat of
Isis” seems to have been the carriage, perhaps constructed in the
shape of a Nile river boat, in which the priests o f Philae delivered
the statue of the goddess to the barbarians. Troubles in the desert
prevented its safe return for two years, rather than the normal
interval prescribed by ancient sacred law (κατά τόν παλαιόν
νόμον ).133
The promulgation o f the Theodosian Code, with its proscription
of sacrifice and other cult practices on 15 February 438, was
perhaps felt at Philae as well.134 A synchronism in the demotic
inscriptions passed unnoticed by F, Griffith:135
Esm ët senior, son (?) o f (?) the pUtophoros Pachöm, first prophet of
Isis: his obeisance before Isis; in the year named an abom inable
command (in?) the Abaton, Phanenoth day i, year 155.
The date was 25 February 439. Esmët seems to have intended to
list two events known to all who read this graffito: trouble with the
Blemmyes in the Abaton and an “ abom inable command” . The
“ abominable command” , namely the edict which accompanied the
publication of the Theodosian Code, took time to reach its assigned
destinations. For example, the Senate in Old Rome officially recog
nized the new codification on 23 December 438. Esmët took note of
the “ abominable com m and” almost exactly two months after that
date. Florianus, Praetorian Prefect o f Oriens, had the task of dis
seminating copies nf the document to “ all peoples and provinces.”
It is not impossible to suppose that a backwater like Philae in
Second Thcbais will have received full notification nearly a year
after the dispatch o f texts to the provincial melropoleis because o f the
m Griffith Ph. 371.

Griflith Ph. 371.
133 Supra, Ch. IX , n. 123.
,M Bury, Later Roman Empire 1, 232-34.
1M Griffith Ph. 332.
Nile flood/36 The sailing season in the Mediterranean did not begin
until m id -M a rc h . I f bureaucratic sn a rls delayed the dispatch of the
documents from Alexandria up the Nile to Philae, the officials of
the Praetorian Prefect would have had to sit out the rising of the
Nile, whose current and widespread inundation o f the Green Belt
would have resisted all traffic upstream, both by boat and waggon,
until perhaps December, when the great river finally returned to its
normal banks» The distance to Philae was in any case interminable,
being some 500 Roman miles.137 Hence the delay in promulgating
the edict there until February 439.
Another feature o f the cults at Philae was the regular pilgrimage
of Hellenes to the site from the M editerranean lands. These visitors
at times carved the names o f their friends and testimonies to their
acts of adoration to the Egyptian gods on tem ples.138 M arinus of
Neapolis, author of the biography o f the Athenian Neoplatonist
Proclus, could write after 485 that ‘Tsis is still worshipped at
Philae55 f lo iv την κατά τάς Φ ίλα ς εχι τι,μωμένην).139 More to the
point are actual cases of pèlerinage. For example, the historian
Olympiodorus of Thebes visited the region c. 421 with a view to
exploring the cults o f the Blemmyes and N obad ae;140
The historian says that, having stayed at Thebes and Soene for the
sake o f historical study, he became greatly interested in the phylarchs
and prophets o f the barbarians at Talm is, that is to say the Blem
myes, in his record o f events. . . . They took me, he says, as far as
T alm is itself, so that I might write even the history of those places,
conducting me a distance o f five days* journey [south] from Philae as
far as the city called Prima, which was of old the metropolis (πρώτη
πόλις) o f the barbarian part o f the Thebaid . . . He says he learned
that there was emerald stone in those places, wherefrom the emerald
abounded among the kings o f Egypt. These things, he says, the
prophets of the barbarians permitted me to observe, but this could
not have been accomplished without an imperia] command.
136 Thus Griffith Ph. 332, who needlessly inserts “ (in?)” . He observes: “ The
pagans were probably much harrassed at this time, and the Blemmyes were
perhaps raiding Egypt.” Bury, LaUr Roman Empire 1, 232 and 234, The province
was divided into rirst and Second Thebais in the latter half of the reign of
Theodosius Π (408-450). Bury, Later Roman Empire 1, 237, n. 8.
ia7 Danielle Bonneau’s discussion is not entirely helpful in resolving this ques
tion. La Crue du Niit 96-101.
138 On this tendency, see the letter (s?) of Nearchos (2nd c. A.D.). L. Mitteis
and Ulrich Wilcken, Chrestomatkie der Papyruskunde 1/2 (1912), 147f.
135 Marinus, Vila Procli 19 (Boissonade, 16).
ΙΛ0 Olympiodorus, Fr, 37, Hisiorici Graeci Minores 1, 465f. The date is determined
by the preceding Fr. 34 o f Olympiodorus, which covers the period between the
joint consulship of Honorius and Constantius III in 417t and the death of the
latter in 421.
234 CHAPTER NINE
The point of all this is that the Hellene Olympiodorus made

contact with the prophets (προφήται) o f the Blemmyes, who not
only en joy ed close relatio n s with the p riesth o o d a t Philae in con
nection with the itinerant cult effigy of Isis, bu t drew their mem
bership partly in later years from the family of Pachomios, as in the
case of Smetchem (Esm et-Khöm ), the protostolist or first prophet,
who recorded the performance o f his obligation to Isis and Osiris in
the previously mentioned inscription of 20 December 452.141 The
priests of Philae will have served as intermediaries in arranging for
Olym piodorus’ transit to the Abaton.
There is, finally, a testimonium about the prophets of the Blem-
myes in a somewhat illiterate fifth-century Greek inscription at the
Blemmyan city of T alm is.142 It agrees with much of what Olym
piodorus has to say about the Abaton and confirms the close
contact between Philae and T alm is implied in the demotic Egyp
tian and Greek inscriptions already discussed. The T alm is inscrip
tion is dated by the name of a single phylarch, two prophets, and an
official called the “ president o f the people’s dining association”
(δημοκλίναρχος). Olympiodorus m ade contact with the prophets
himself during his journey to Talm is. Tw o o f the previously dis
cussed Philae inscriptions make it clear that the Blemmyan
prophets visited the Isis temple there as well: Smetchem the proto
stolist on 20 December 452,143 and Smet the archprophet
(άρχιπροφήτης), who was also president of a sacred dining asso
ciation (πρωτοκλίναρχος) in 456/7.144 Only Blemmyan sacral
officials held the last-named office in this region. The inscription at
T alm is concludes with an oath: “ And we swear before witnesses
l’adês son of Bök and Menrü son of K alau priests, and before
Hatre, at the temple” (καί έομνήομεν έπ ι μαρτύρων Π αδής Βώ κ
κα ί Μ ενρ[ού) Καλαύ ούέεπ καί 'Α τρέ κατ’ ίρ ώ ).145 The temple
was that of Merul in Talm is. It will be recalled that the latest
hieroglyphic inscription at Philae, cut by Esmët-Akhôm, second
prophet of Isis, and dated to 394, commemorated “ Merul son o f
Horus . . . lord of the Abaton, great god.” 146 M erul, like Isis, re
ceived worship on both sides of the political frontier of the Roman
Empire, which proved to be something less than a cultural frontier.
141 Supra, Ch. IX , n. 121.

142 Ulrich Wilcken, “ Heidnisches und Christliches aus Ägypten,” Archiv fü r
Papyrusforschung 1 (1900—1901), 4-IJ—419.
U3 Bernand 2, no. 197.
,44 Bernand 2, no. 199.
145 Ibid., lines 14-17.
The strength of the cults at Philae, seen from this viewpoint,

depended to some extent on religious, ethnic, familial, and possibly
even economic ties with the Blemmyes and Nobadae of the Abaton,
who must have made donations to the Hellenic-Egyptian temenos
at Philae.
IV. Christian Philae and the Synoikism of Cults

The Egyptian cults of Philae did not survive in isolation during the
period under consideration. Various inscriptions and a papyrus
document indicate, to the contrary, that the priests of Isis lived in a
convenient synoikism with Christian ecclesiastical officials on the
island, who gradually increased their authority as the fifth century
progressed. As holds with many rural sites in the Eastern Roman
Empire, the first signs of Christiani 2 ation do not begin to appear
until c. 425. The historian is fortunate in this instance because data
survive about both the old and new religions, and one can thus
trace parallel developments with a degree of certainty, rather than
speculate about the fate of the Egyptian cults in an evidentiary
vacuum.
The earliest evidence of the Christian religion at Philae comes
from a letter of petition and complaint addressed to the coemperors
Theodosius II and Valentinian III (inter 425-450) by Appion, who
is styled “ bishop of the region o f Syene and Kentrasyene, and of the
Elephantine eparchy of the U pper T hebaid.” T he bishop com
plains about the lack of military protection for his “ diocese”
against the inroads of the Blemmyes and N obadae, whom M axi
minus later brought to heel in the reign of the emperor M arcian
(450-457).147 The prelate writes in a manner that indirectly reveals
the state of the churches at Philae:148
Your love of mankind has accustom ed you to extend your right hand
to those who bring petitions. H aving learned this plainly, I have
come with these petitions, as it is an im portant matter in these times,
especially as I am in the m idst of offensive barbarians with my
churches, between the Blemmyes and the N obadae [. . .] we are
unable to bear their [. . .] raids with no soldier in comm and of our
places. Because of this [. . .] I undergo misfortune with the churches
and those who are unable to defend those who flee to them. I utterly
prostrate m yself before your divine and undefiled feet, that you
would see fit to order my holy churches to be fortified (φρουρεϊσ-
[θ]α ι) by the soldiers with us, and that they be compelled [ . . .J to
heed all, that the soldiers stationed in the fortress called
147 Supra, Ch. IX , Sect. 3.

146 Wilcken, "Heidnisches und Christliches,” 399f.
236 CHAPTER NINE
Philon K a stra (έν Φίλφ [κά]ςη:ρα καλουμέν[φ] φρουρίψ) in your

own Upper Thebaid assist the churches of God in Philon.
(ύπουργοΰσεν ταις έν Φ ίλψ αγίας του θεού).
The troops lay under the command of the comes and dux of the
T h ebaid .149 The Christian churches at Philae appear to have been
located on the northern part o f the island.’™The demotic Egyptian
inscription of 373 already cited mentions that trouble between the
Blemmyes and N obadae interfered with the movement of the “ sky-
boat o f Isis” for two years.151 The troubles seem to have remained
endemic until the treaty negotiated by M axim inus c. 450-457. The
priests of the Isis cult at Philae may thus have felt the barbarian
threat in equal measure, but evidently relied on the Christian
bishop to relay the petition of the entire community to the coem
perors, Bishop Appion appears to have dwelt at Philae, the only
site of civil habitation named in the letter, amidst the diffuse
districts under his jurisdiction. The terminus ante quem for the estab
lishment of an episcopate at Philae thus falls between or before the
termini 425—450, a date consistent with conditions in the villages of
northern Syria, those o f Bithynia, and the parts of the middle Nile
visited by Shenute of Atripe.
It is impossible to tell whether bishop Appion*s petition received
a favorable response. The wall at Philae was at any rate repaired
sometime between 449-468, perhaps in connection with the em
peror M arcian’s treaty with the Blemmyes and Nobadae. The dux
o f the Thebaid, a certain Flavius Damonikos, a count of the impe
rial consistory, authorized the work, but the actual task o f supervis
ing the workmen and procuring the materials for one part of the jo b
fell to the Christian bishop o f the island, Daniel (σπουδή και
έπιεικείς» του εύλαβ(εστάτου) έπισκόπου *Απα Δανιηλιου
άνενεώθη καί τούτο τό μέρος του τείχους άπό θεμελίων εις
τέλος),152 as did the outlay of the monies (τών άνα[λω]μάτων
παρεχομ[ένων] παρ(ά) τοΰ εύλαβ(εστάτου) έπ[ισκόπου] "Απα
Δανιήλ) .153 The date o f the inscriptions falls somewhere between
449-468, a time when a family of Isis priests still flourished at
Philae, and while the delegates of the Blemmyes and Nobadae con
tinued to arrive annually for the transportation of the goddess’ statue
to the Abaton. One can hardly deduce from this evidence what
149 Wilcken, “ Heidnisches und Christliches,” 399f, line 13f.

150 Wilcken, “ Heidnisches und Christliches,” 403.
151 Supra, Ch. IX , n. 128.
Isa Bernand 2, no. 194.
113 Bernand 2, no. 195.
relations existed between bishop Daniel and Sraeto the prophet c. 452,
both men being near contemporaries in office. The latter will have
enjoyed imperial protection in line with the maintenance of the temple
under the terms of the treaty with the barbarians. On the other hand,
the support of the dux of the limes, Flavius Damonikos, who must have
been a Christian in view of his Constantinian praenomen, and the fiscal
vigor of the see of Philae, must have induced some conversions among
the local population on the island.
If the Egyptian priestly and non-sacerdotal personnel of Isis
were numerous during the first half of the fifth century, no epi
graphic evidence exists at all for ordinary pagan folk. On the other
hand, the pre-Justinianic Christian inscriptions yield the tell-tale
signs of recent conversions. Among these is a pair of “ One God”
inscriptions, one of them incised on the second pylon of the Isis
temple: “ God holy and good, one in number” (9Ις ψήφος Θεός
άγιος αγαθός), an unprecedented formulation.154 The other, a
fragmentary text, introduces the building inscription of a bishop
whose name is missing with the phrase 'O n e G od who helps (Εις
Θεός ό βοη[θών], etc.).155 These divine names stand in contrast to
the numerous deities often named in pairs in the pagan inscrip
tions, such as Isis, Osiris, Horus, and Merul. It is difficult to avoid
the inference that the synoikism of cults at Philae motivated the use
of these formulae in a Christian monotheistic sense. The earliest
Christian inscription, on the so-called kiosk o f T rajan , an Alpha-
O m ega with the Constantinian Christogram (A f CO), suggests the
existence of the new religion on the island in some form as early as
the mid-fourth century.156 The graffiti suggest, or indicate directly,
conversions am ong the local population, among them one Peteèsis
the deacon { + Πετεήσις διάκ(ονος)) on the temple of Im hotep.157
The local church drew its staff partly from recent converts or their
children, for “ Peteësis” is an indigenous theophoric name meaning
“ that which Isis has given” .15" On the Gate of Diocletian, we meet
an Apa M akarios and a “ Peter, son of Iasios, of Philae” (. . . καί
Πέτρος ’Ιάσιου, Φιλών), the latter a Christian resident of the island,
the former perhaps a monk or presbyter, but of unknown origin.159
Another such graffito mentions Pachöt son of Pres Epiphanios
Bernand 2, no. 240.

Bernand 2, no. 227.
156 Bernand 2, no. 243.
157 Bernand 2, no. 235.
Bernand 2, no. 235.
159 Bernand 2, no. 237.
238 CHAPTER NINE
(Παχώτ Πρής ’Επιφάνιος), a single person with indigenous

names common am ong C hristians.160 Another trace o f recent con
version lies in the unaltered appropriation of local Egyptian cultic
terminology for the purposes o f the new religion, as for example:
“ The act of adoration (τό προσκύνημα) of K alasiris, son of Pate-
noue. (Cross) Panachatis, the father of K alasiris.” 161 Panachatis
evidently cut a cross on the inscription, lest it be regarded as the sign
of a pagan προσκύνημα, a Greek term deeply rooted in the cultic
epigraphy of Philae.lba The use of this latter term necessarily belongs
to the earliest generations of Christians on the island, if not the first.163
Such expressions, a common feature of the local religious lore,
could not he easily eradicated and had in the end to be left alone.
By the sixth century, some of the terminology was being Chris
tianized. The great act of adoration o f Smetchem the protostolist o f
20 December 452 contains such a phrase and bears repeating for
illustrative purposes:164
We give thanks to our m istress Isis and to our m aster O siris, for the
good, today 23 Choiak in the 169th year of the era o f Diocletian.
The expression "we give thanks” (ευχάριστουμεν) turns up as a
cultic expression at Philae only in Late Antiquity.165 On the other
hand, the phrase “ for the good” (επ’ άγαθψ) is deeply rooted in
the cultic terminology of the island,166 and so deeply annoyed the
Christian catechists who eradicated the cult and converted the Isis
temple c. 537 that it was given a new, rather heavy-handed Chris
tian annex:167
(Chi-Rho Christogram ) By the love for mankind of our m aster
Christ, the most God-beloved bishop A pa Theodore transformed this
temple into a place o f St. Stephen. For the good in the power o f Christ.
(Cross) By the most pious Posios, deacon and rcctor. (Chi-Rho
Christogram )
The work (ëpyov) was completed “ for the good” , but this time in
the power of Christ (èv δυνάμει Χριστού), Christ “ our m aster”
(τού δεσπότου ημών Χριστού) had replaced the old master
(δεσπότης) and mistress (δέσποινα) of the site, Isis and Osiris, as
160 Bernand 2, no. 238.

ΙΛΙ Bernand 2, no. 234.
162 Bernand 2, Index, 441 f.
,&3 Bernand regards the men as converts to Christianity. Ibid., no. 234-.
164 Bernand 2, no. 197.
165 Bernand 2, no. 246.
166 Bernand 2, no. 130.
167 Bernand 2, no. 203.
well. These terminological continuities and adaptations are hardly

accidental, but rather belong to the phenomena o f Ritenchristiani
sierung which emerged in fifth- and sixth-century Asia M inor as
well,168 a tendency that marked a later phase in the Christianiza
tion of the e aste rn M editerranean cults. It should be noted as well
that Greek was apparently the language of Christianization at
Philae, for no known Christian inscription survives in demotic or
Coptic. The site thus stands in analogous relation to other sites
which have yielded numerous inscriptions, including the many
villages of the Limestone M assif east of Antioch in First Syria, and
also the villages of Djebel Druze and the H auran plain in the
Provincia A rab ia.159 Although the local dialects o f demotic Egyp
tian, Aramaic, and Arabic prevailed in these places, the literary
language, Greek, provided the channel for the importation of new
religious ideas.
K Conclusions
The eases of ongoing pagan belief and practice analysed in the
previous sections have never been given systematic treatment, and
in consequence produce a striking refutation of the view that
polytheism had vanished like some evanescent spectre into Coptic
Christianity, The Nilotic gods continued to he revered by persons
who continued to speak the old Egyptian tongue and to record their
prayers and offerings in the demotic script. It is difficult in light of
this to accept the facile generalization that all Copts were Chris
tians and that all ‘'p agan s'1 were merely cultural Hellenes,170 There
was, furthermore, a long continuity of native polytheism after 489.
R. Rémondon has summarized a good deal of this evidence. Sites
retaining their pagan character included such diverse localities as
the Libyan oasis settlements of Baharia and Farafra (7th c .)3
Omboi (6th c.)s and others,171 One sorcerer continued to invoke
Horus, Isis, and Nephthys even in the eighth century, as polythe
ism slipped into the world of folklore and popular religion.172 The
historian Olympiodorus, at least, understood the cultural strength
of the old faith am ong the indigenous Egyptians when he journeyed
to T alm is in the first quarter of the fifth century.173

109 Infra, Ch. X and X L
170 Infra, Appendix IV.
,7J Rémondon, “ Résistance au christianisme” , 72, 75.
172 Rochow, “ Zu einigen oppositionellen religösen Strömungen” , 242.
173 Rémondon, “ Résistance au chriscianisme” , 76.
240 CHAPTER NINE
The final victory o f the new religion is perhaps best summed up

in a sixth-century document mentioning the rise of the N ile:174
(Cross) T o the most honored K alos, chartularius o f the glorious house.
I now also send the good news to your honor that the blessed, fertile
river of Egypt has begun to rise by the power of Christ.
There follow the measurements o f the daily rise of the flood. T he

name of Christ has definitively replaced that Sarapis (τη δυνάμει
του Χ ριστού), and the cross was added to the letter to underscore
the point.
1,4 P. Oxy. 1830.

APPENDIX IV
S A C R IF IC E IN F O U R T H C E N T U R Y O X Y R H Y N C H U S
The analysis of the relevant provisions o f the Theodosian Code and

any number of direct references in fourth- and fifth-century sources
have demonstrated to my own satisfaction that the sacrifice re
mained an archetypal feature of Hellenic religion, even in its
Christian variants, until the end o f this period and beyond.1 It has
nevertheless been argued from time to time that Hellenes, pagani and
gentiles were no more than adherents to the cultural norms o f the
Greek paideia and that, for example, this was the only real cultural
issue that separated Shenute of A tripe and his rustic followers from
the landed magnates and city dwellers o f the Nile basin in the
mid-fifth century. Such notions fail to provide an adequate ex
planation for Shenute’s rabid behavior and disregard the phe
nomena o f pagan cult noted in the Shenutean corpus,2 Further
inquiry suggests this to be a reductionist hypothesis.
Even a cursory glance at the little-studied and voluminous cor
respondence o f Isidore o f Pelusium, a monk o f the Nile delta (ob. c.
435), reveals the author to be steeped in the Greek paideia rather
more th a n . Shenute. Isidore repeatedly assails the late pagan
sophistic with language and examples borrowed from the Hellenic
literature that he abhors.3 This manner of proceeding amounts to
little more than posturing with the aim of creating a new Christian
sophistic. Isidore had no trouble distinguishing between literary-
cultural behavior on the one hand, and cultic activity on the other,
and his condemnation o f sacrifice and the other features of pa
gan ritual is emphatic and uncompromising,4 One should credit
1 S u p ra , Ch. I, Sect. 2, 5> and 6. Cf. Trombley, Survival of Paganism, 214—21, and
“ Paganism in the Greek World1\ 347.
2 For a different view, see: J . Tim be, “ The State of Research on the Career of
Shenoute of Atripe,” Roots of Egyptian Christianipr, 267f. It is difficult to believe that
the apparatuses of cult noted by Timbe were simply antiques, as it were, and had
no religious function. In the foregoing discussion,1 have attempted to straddle the
two extreme positions by arguing that class struggle was one of several features of
the process of Christianization in Egypt, but that rural and urban polytheism and
sacrifice were very real features of 5th c, religious life.
$ Supra, Ch, V, Sect. 6,
4 Cf. “ the shameful rites of veneration” practiced in the temple of Artemis
242 APPENDIX IV
Shenute o f Atripe and disciples with a sim ilar discernment.

A brief appendix can hardly provide an adequate venue for an
examination of the survival of sacrifice in fourth-century Egypt, but
there is suggestive evidence from Oxyrhynchus and other sites that
requires mention. Thus, a letter of Psais and Syra to their son Ision
(4th c.) mentions preparations for his arrival on a visit. His parents
indicate in part: “ Since the new year we have been quite ill, but we
gave thanks to God that we have recovered. U p to this time we
have not sacrificed the pigs” (άλλα εΐιχα ριοτώ [μ]εν τφ θεφ öxi
έπαυμένην έσμέ<ν>, κα ί μέχρι τουταΰ σγκ έθύκαμεν τά χ υ ρ ίδ ια ).5
The domestic animal sacrifice at meals and special occasions had
hardly died out by this time. The term “ G od ” refers in this instance
to the concourse o f the life-giving Nilotic deities.
Another letter of fourth-century date from the female landlord
(γεοΰχος) Klem antia to her bailiff in charge o f an estate at Sadalou
indicates preparations for a religious festival (διά την ιορτην).6 No
mention is made of the deity in question. It would not be surprising
if the six artabae of wheat and lentils mentioned were intended for
the festival, but we are on surer ground with the honeycakes (τά
μ εικ ιρ ίό ια ), as sacrifices, and particularly the poorer sort, often
consisted of such confections.7
Theodoret o f Cyrrhus suggests in his Therapeutic/or Hellenic M ala
dies that all notions o f how to build altars had eluded the folk
memory by the first quarter o f the fifth century.8 On the face of it,
this argument is im probable.9 A magico-medical prescription from
Ephesia. Isidore of Pdusium, Ep. 1.55 ("T o Hierax the CJarissLmus” ), PG 78

217B-C. This passage seems to offer a terminus ante quem for the dismantling of the
Artemision of Ephesus, as it mentions the bodies of Hellenes found buried there in
connection with some imagined rite, Isidore died, once again, c. 435. The author
al&o had some skill for literary polemic: “ For Hellenism, strengthened by many
many things, ages and labors and discourses and weapons, has vanished. But our
cult, having been taken up by the outsiders and poor and unlettered, has every
where struck in a short time in the fashion of lightning, illuminating not only eyes
but also minds, because it does not lie in false myths but in heavenly dogm as.'5Ep.
1.270 (“ To Agathodaimon” }, PG 78, 341D-344A. Literary paganism is here
called Helknismos. For discussion o f this term, see for example: Polymnia
Athanassiadi-Fowden, Julian and Hellenism: An Intellectual Biography (Oxford 1981),
1-12, Isidore is here seemingly mindful of the many conversions that took place
after the closure of the Serapaeum of Alexandria, He was evidently unaware of
developments further up the Nile in the parts around Shenute's White Monastery
and at Philae, or else chose not to admit these realities.
5 P. Oxy. 1299,
6 P. Oxy. 3406.
7 Cf. supra, Ch. IV, Sect. 3, and Ch. V, Sect. 2.
8 Supra, Ch. V III, Scct. 2, n. 154.
9 Cf. examples supra \u Ch. I, Sect. 2.
APPENDIX IV 243
Antinoupolis (5th-6th c.) strongly suggests the use of an altar (βω μ

[— ]) at the time of the new moon (τήν νεομηνί[αν]) in order to
ensure the efficacy o f the compound. I translate the identifiable
words of the papyrus:1“
Concerning blind-rat. Blind rat an anim al. . . . (a remedy?) for the
sacred rage (rabies?). . . . the festival of the new moon. . . . an
altar. . , ,
A fourth-century fragment o f the martyrdom o f St. Dioscorus

during the G reat Persecution (post 307 A .D .)— the earliest surviv
ing recension— provides the telling example of how from the fourth
century onward an education in the Greek paideia was linked to the
performance of sacrifice. I quote the entire text, because it was read
in fourth-century Oxyrhynchus and helped all who heard it to
understand that connection:11
. . . of Diocletian. . . . Dioscorus, a city councillor, after being re
moved from U pper Kynopolis, was brought before Culcianus the
m agistrate. Culcianus said: Dioscorus, we have heard that you have
become quite sagacious in the paideia. Sacrifice and subm it to the
commands of the A ugusti.” Dioscurus said: “ I will not sacrifice to
such gods, nor will I submit except to God only. . . . ”
Dioscorus could not perform the sacrifice even though he was a

Christian Hellenist, but in the mind of the magistrate it was incon
ceivable (at least in the formal pretext given) that a well-educated
person could possibly fail to observe the cultic apparatus described
in such detail in the Homeric poems and other literature
(Δ ιό σ κό ρε ήκούσα[μεν ότι. λίαν συνετός γέγονας έν τη π α ί-J
δ<ε>ίςι θΰσον).
It is worth noting that four temples are attested in Oxyrhynchus
in a document arranging for the distribution of guards in the streets
of the city in 295 A.D. These buildings were dedicated to Sarapis,
Isis, Thoeris, and C aesar. There was also a tetrastyle or stoa o f
Thoeris, which was perhaps similar to that o f the G azan Aphrodite
mentioned in M ark the Deacon’s life o f Porphryius. Incidentally,
the town also contained two Christian churches which also gave
names to streets. The new religion will quite obviously have gained
recognition as an accepted civic body for its buildings to have been
recorded in such a fashion. The Christians controlled half as many
sacred edifices as did the polytheists, and in consequence were most
10 The Antinoopolis Papyri Part III, ed. tr. J.W .D. Barns and H. Zilliacus (London
1967), no. 140.
" P. Oxy. 3529.
244 APPENDIX IV
probably a minority of the urban population c. 300* The Nilometer

was of course still in the hands of the priesthood of Sarap is.12
As to the contents of the temples, we have an exceptionally
detailed inventory taken from the sacred buildings o f Oxyrhynchus
proper and of those in the Oxyrhynchite and Cynopolitan nomes
(213-217 A .D ,),13 The objects included statues and statuettes of the
gods, including one of Demeter partly made of Parian marble and
partly of wood* Other divinities represented included Neotera,
Typhon, Harpokratcs, Aphrodite, Zeus, Hera, Korë, and Bubastis,
Among the cultic apparatus were two altars, one of bronze, the
other of silver. The document lists all sorts of other objects and
provides a good notion of the bullion in precious metals on hand
when the temples were sacked in the later fourth century* The
temple of Augustus at Oxyrhynchus was still standing in 363.14 It is
not precisely known when the other temples of the town were closed
or demolished, nor for that matter can we say for certain that the
process of Christianization was a coercive one. It is quite possible
that the cults of the old gods became otiose and melted away in the
fifth century. This tendency does not seem to have affected the
status of the Greek paideia.
It is also worth pointing out the persistence o f the oracular cult
of the god Besa in the fourth century and beyond* His temple
at Abydum in the Thebais was in active operation in 359, as
Ammianus M arcellinus reports:ls
T h ere is a town called A byd um , situated in the rem otest part of the
T h eb ais; here the oracle o f the god called in th at place B esa in the
d ay s o f old revealed the future an d w as wont to be honoured in
the ancient cerem onials o f the ad jacen t regions. And since som e in
person, a p art through others, by sendin g a w ritten list o f their
desires, inquired the will o f the deities after definitely statin g their
requests, the p ap ers or parchm en ts containing their petitions som e
tim es rem ain ed in the shrine even after the replies had been given.
Som e o f these were with m alicious intent sent to the em peror [C on -
stan tiu s l i ] who (bein g narrow -m in ded), alth ough d e a f to other very
serious m atters, on this point w as softer than a earlobe, as the
proverb has it. . . .
The “ ancient ceremonials” certainly included sacrifices {priscis

circumiacentium regionum caeremoniis solitum coli)4 It is significant as
well that, although some persons were punished because o f sundry
12 P. Oxy, 43, verso,

13 P. Oxy. 1449.
14 P. Oxy. 1116.
Mostly quoted from Ammianus MarcellinuSj Res Gestae 19.12,3-5 (Rolfe 1,
535f.).
APPENDIX IV 245
incriminating documents (ckartulae sive membranae), the temple itself

seems not to have been closed. The god Bes is reported to have
returned to his temple in the sixth century.16
O racular questions and lists of them have turned up in consider
able numbers in the papyri. It was from similar documents that
came the evidentiary basis for the trials of 359, a reflection of the
priesthood’s habit o f keeping them on file. It is worth a brief look at
some of these documents to establish their character. Those from
Oxyrhynchus have a particular relevance, but those which survive
address the prosaic concerns of ordinary people. The first of these
concerns a business transaction (2nd c. A .D .):17
T d great Zeus H elios S a ra p is and the gods sh aring the sam e tem ple.
Nike ask s if it is expedient for me to buy from T a sa ra p io n the slave
whom he h as, S arap io n , also (called?) G aion . G ive m e this (oracle).
Another such document concerns some family matter (1st c.

A .D .):18
M y lord and benefactor S a ra p is H elios! Is it better for my son
P h an ias and his wife not to agree with his father, bu t to o p p ose him
and m ake no Contract? B rin g m e this (oracle), an agreeable one.
Farew ell.
The habit o f questioning the divinity had passed into local Chris
tian usage by the sixth century:19
(C ross) (C ro ss) O G o d o f our p atro n saint Philoxenos, do you com
m and (us) to b rin g A nouit to your infirm ary? Show your pow er and
let this prayer be accom plish ed.
As with the pagan variants, the Christian God is addressed, the

question is posed, and the plea for an answer is voiced. The
terminology has been carefully reworked, however, as a conse
quence of the Christianization o f the rite. The divinity is no longer
addressed as “ benefactor” (ευεργέτης), but through the medium of
St. Philoxenos, the spiritual patron of the family (6 θεός του
προστάτου ήμών). The concepts of patronage and benefaction
were inextricably related, and the difference between the old and
new usages is purely formal and one o f gradation.
The Oxyrhynchus papyri provide other evidence of recent con
version and Christianization of rite* For example, the Christian
16 Rémondon, “ Résistance au christianisme/5 69,

17 P. Oxy. 1149,
10 P. Oxy. 1148.
19 Λ Oxy. 1150.
246 APPENDIX IV
God turns up in a fifth-century prayer as “ God of the sheepfold’s

baptism al font” (ό Θ(εο)ς τής προβατικής κολυμβήθρας), an
obvious reference to recent initiation into the new religion by
adults.20 Its date is consistent with the main sequence of Christ
ianization during the fifth century as described in the preceding
sections of this chapter.
O racular questions required sacrifices, ju st as other kinds of
petitions did.21 They were addressed to gods besides Besa and
Sara pis, as for example the “ great god” Sakanobkoneus and the
Dioskouroi.22 The widespread nature o f the practice explains the
need to carry it over into C h ristia n liturgies, but without the now
forbidden sacrifices.
20 P. Oxy. 1151.
21 P. Oxy. 923 (late 2nd-early 3rd c. A.D.).
28 F ayum Towns and Their Papyri, ed. A.S. Hunt and D.G. Hogarth (London
1900), nos. 137, 138.
CHAPTER TEN
T H E A N T IO C H E N E A N D T H E A P A M E N E
The cultural mechanisms of Christianization began to operate in

Syria with the migration o f the monks into the krritona o f the cities
in the mid-fourth century. The new religion could not take root,
however, without the establishment of permanent village churches
staffed by presbyters and deacons. This second stage of Chris
tianization did not get under way until the second half of the fourth
century. The Limestone M assif to the east of Antioch provides
striking evidence for this process in the form of archaeological
remains that permit the historian to trace the advance of the new
religion through this district. These consist o f the ruins of churches,
baptistries, martyria, and dated Christian inscriptions which in
different ways proclaim the victory o f the new religion, and quite
often using the “ one G od” form ula.1 These documents turn up on
the door lintels of dwellings, in the nekropoleis, and on the church
buildings. None of these predates the fourth century, the earliest
dating from 336/7, the last regnal year of Constantine the Great.'2
They turn up in small but increasing numbers between 337—363.
The main period of Christianization for the villages of the Lim e
stone M assif was, however, c. 363-425, with a trickle o f conversions
continuing thereafter until down to c. 500. It is important in this
connection to avoid the supposition that some few Christian in
scriptions here and there reflect the religious allegiance of the whole
district. It will be necessary rather to examine the evidence on a site
by site basis, and to attem pt generalizations only thereafter.
The central point of the Limestone M assif is the D äna or Serma-
da plain, through which the Roman post road running from Anti
och to Beroia goes. The m assif is divided into roughly four separate
1 See the previous scholarship by J.H .G . Liebeschuetz, “ Epigraphic Evidence

on the Christianisation of Syria,” Akten des XL internationalen Limeskongresses
(Budapest n.d.), 485- 508. Idem, “ Problems Arising from the Conversion of
Syria,” The Church in Town and Countryside, ed. D. Baker (Studies in Church History
16 [Oxford 1979]), 17-24.
2 Georges Tchalenko, Villages antiques de la Syrie du Nord; Le Massif du Bélus à
l ’épuque romaine, (Paris 1953), 145f. This work (3 vols., Paris 1953-58) is herein
after cited as Tchalenko, Villages antiques,
248 CHAPTER TEN
areas, which are known by the names of Djebel Sim 'an, Djebel
H alaqah, Djebel Barïsha, and Djebel R ïlia. We shall examine the
late pagan and early Christian sites on and around each o f these
eminences in turn. The D ana plain, like many smaller depressions
in the M assif, had well-watered bottom lands that produced cereal
grains and the vine, whereas the hillsides abounded in olive
plantations,3 According to G. Tchalenko, the fourth century proved
to be an era of agricultural and demographic expansion in the
Limestone M assif, the accumulated wealth coming largely from the
marketing o f the olive-oil surplus.4 The profits seemingly went into
the construction o f impressive buildings of locally cut stone, includ
ing churches and multi-storey houses. These were first examined
by H ,C . Butler during the Princeton University archaeological
expeditions o f the early twentieth century.5
This period o f economic growth coincided with the spread of
Christianity into the Limestone M assif, Some twenty-one pagan
temples or local cults have been identified in the district,6 M ost of
the temples were erected in the early centuries o f the Christian era,
and most probably resembled in one way or another the typical
small Syro-Roman temple, with a rectangular cella and a col
onnaded porch.7 The extant list of temples and cults is certainly
incomplete. These structures underwent systematic destruction
during the era o f Christianization, and the structural and epi
graphic remnants are disappointing with some few exceptions.
The pre-Christian residents of the D ana plain had constructed at
least three temples on the heights round about in the previous
centuries* O f these, the temenos o f Zeus M adbachos (the local
Baal) atop the pinnacle of Djebel Sheikh Berekat dominates the
plain from the north. The monk Ammianus and his colleague
M arianus occupied a glen near the temple and the village of
Teledan (present-day Deir Tell "Adeh). Theodoret of Cyrrhus, who
records the event in his Historia Philotheos, fails to indicate whether
the village was yet Christian, nor is there any definitive epigraphic
evidence on that question*5 The event seems to have occurred
before or during the patriarchate of Flavian of Antioch (381-404).
3 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, PL X X X I, X X X I I , X LV .

4 See the summary in Liebeschuetz, “ Conversion of Syria.”
1 Publications of the Pnncetm University ArchaeologicalExpeditions to Syria in ]9 0 ^ 5
and 1909y Division U: Architecture, Section B: Northern Syriay ed.Howard C. Butler
(Leiden 1920), passim. This volume hereinafter cited as Butler* PAES II B.
G Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Ph VII.
7 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Pl. V III,
B Supra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2.
THE ANTIOCHENE AND TH E APAMENE 249
Monks continued to migrate into the D äna plain through the end of
the sixth century. Georges Tchalenko has identified twenty-eight
sites occupied by hermits, stylites, or monastic communities either
adjoining the plain, on the hills above it, or along its approaches.9
There can be no question that these settlements affected the religious
allegiances of the district, but the sources tell us nothing except for
Theodoret’s narrative about Ammianus. It is at this point that the
epigraphy becomes an essential source of information.
T o the northeast of Djebel Sheikh Berekät lay the monastery o f
Symeon Stylites the Elder at Telanissos. Being on a high hill, the
site had probably once had a temple, but no trace of one survives.
Symeon’s three biographies attest his work of Christianization well,
but they seldom bring the local villages of Djebel Sim ‘ân into the
picture, concentrating instead on pagan pilgrims from more distant
sites and particularly the Arabs who had few fixed abodes apart
from seasonal encampments beside wells or wadis, and, later on,
near central Christian shrines.10 The local epigraphy becomes the
predominant source once again. It suggests that the monastery oper
ated in something of a cultural vacuum. Many of the nearby villages
had begun to accept Christianity well before Symeon’s arrival at
Telanissos in 409. Some few others, however, did not begin to move in
that direction, so far as we can tell from the inscriptions, until after his
death in 460.11 This fact provides a striking exception to the rule that
monasteries necessarily brought Christianity to the countryside first
and in quantifiable proportions.
The first signs of Christianization come, along with inscriptions,
in the construction of churches. The archaeology is specific on the
point that, o f the twenty-nine churches listed in Tchalenko’s sur
vey, only seven of them date from before c. 400. O f these seven,
only two were three-aisled basilicas suitable for large congrega
tions, the Ju lian u s basilica at Brad in Djebel Sim 'ân and another at
Simkhar (mid 4th c .).12 The rest were small, single-aisle churches
suitable for small or slowly growing congregations.13 By way of
contrast, nine churches belong to the fifth century, three of them
three-aisled basilicas. Those to which dates can be assigned on the
basis o f inscriptions and architectural style are surprisingly late:
Ksejbeh (414), D ar Q ita (418), Q asr IbKsu (431, baptistry only),
9 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, PI. CCIV.

10 Supra, Ch, V III, Scci. 2.
" Infra, Ch. X , Sect. 1.
13 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, PI. IX , X I.
13 Qirqbize, Nuriye, Ba'üde, Rb'ca, and Scrdjilla. Tchalcnko, Villages antiques 2,
PI. X , X III, X IV .
250 CHAPTER TEN
Taqleh (mid-5th c.), Qalblozeh (end o f 5th c.), and Rehyo (mid-
5th c ,).14 In many instances these structures represent the earliest
and only Christian buildings in the villages. It seems likely in light
of this that the earliest congregations had no presbyters or deacons,
but relied on the visits of the periodeutai, presbyters who made
circuit tours o f the rural districts to celebrate the liturgy and to
impose discipline on clergy and laity. It should be borne in mind as
well that monks often declined ordination to the lower clerical
orders as a gesture o f self-abasement before the Divinity. They were
often neither temperamentally suited nor legally authorized to
supervise rural congregations. It was rather by their ascetic exam
ple and the various techniques of Christian thaumaturgy and Riten-
chnstianisierung that they gradually got the rustics to acknowledge
the superiority o f the new religion over the cult o f the Baals and
fertility goddesses.15 Emotional conversions became ascertainably
firm only with the administration of baptism , the registration o f
tithes, and the regular activity o f the village clergy. The evidence
suggests that this system became widespread in the Limestone
M assif only by about 450, It should be added that the largest
number o f churches was constructed in the sixth century, a total o f
thirteen buildings, Only then did Brad and Rehyo receive their
second basilicas.16
The adm inistrative subdivisions o f northern Syria to some extent
explain the pace of Christianization in the different parts of the
Limestone M assif. The most extensively populated areas. Djebels
Barisha, H alaqah, Sim 'än, il-A ia, Dueili, and W astani, lay in First
Syria and for administrative purposes in the territorium o f Antioch,
with the eastern fringes of these eminences in that of Beroia.17 The
northern half of Djebel Riha also lay in this zone. The south
ernmost boundary of First Syria ran below the southern tip of
Djebel W astani, then eastward across Djebel R ïh a or il-Zäwiyeh,
just below the villages of Kferhâya, Ruwëha, and R a y ä n /a The
inscriptions of the villages north o f this line are dated according to
the era o f Antioch, which began in 48 B.C. South o f the line lay the
province of Second Syria, whose metropolis Apam ea lay on the
Orontes river below the southern tip of Djebel R ïh a or il-Zäwiyeh.
The archbishops of Apamea, and M arcellus in particular (ob. c.
J4 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Pl. IX -X I,

15 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4, and, in particular. Ch. V III, Sec. 4.
16 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Pl. IX , X , X I, X III.
17 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Pl. X X V , and 3 Map 7,
10 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, Map 7.
THE ANTIOCHENE AND THE APAMENE 251
388), conducted a cam paign of Christianization in the territorium of

the city that briefly developed into a veritable civil war in the
countryside replete with incursions by the church’s gladiators and
archers.19 One might expect that, once the eastern Orontes plain
had been cleared of rustic paganism , M arcellus would have turned
his efforts to the southern parts o f Djebel Riha. The epigraphy
bears this hypothesis out to some extent, not only in Djebel R ih a
but also in the flatlands on its eastern quarter that were dominated
by the large village o f T arutia Emporön. The rural inscriptions of
Second Syria are dated according to the Seleucid era, which began
in 311 B .C . Further up the Orontes lay Epiphaneia (present-day
H am a). To its east lies the basaltic stone Djebel il-‘Ala (not to be
confounded with Djebel il-A‘la in the Limestone M assif!. It con
tains a small number o f villages whose inscriptions suggest no
serious attem pt to Christianize the temtmum until the later fifth
century.20
O ther p arts o f northern Syria have yielded fair num bers
of inscriptions, as for example the parts around Chalkis, Lake
D jabulla, and Djebel H ass, all o f which lie between the Limestone
M assif and Euphrates river, but the sparse concentrations of dated
texts are insufficient to yield unambiguous conclusions about the
Christianization of this zone.21
There are some general principles for interpreting the epigraphy
o f the Limestone M assif and other regions that require brief enun
ciation. The first is that, all other factors being equal, one cannot
posit any change o f religious allegiance at a site unless it be spe
cifically obvious by an inscriptions dated from either the provincial
era or on the basis of letter forms, or else from a Christian building
whose architectural style can be attributed to a precise quarter- or
half-century. So, for example, the proximity of monasteries like
those at Teledan or of Symeon Stylites the Elder at Telanissos to
sites exhibiting no signs o f Christianization cannot always be taken
as prima fad e evidence that all the surrounding villages became
Christian soon after the arrival of the holy man, although such an
inference is often plausible.22 For the sake of empirical accuracy, it
is best to treat such assumptions with skepticism, as there is plenty

20 Infra, Ch. X , Sett. 8.
21 Inscriptions grecques et latines de ta Syrie II: Ckalcidique et Antiochene, edd. L.
falabert and R. Mouterde (Paris 1939), nos. 257-354. This scries hereinafter cited
as IG LS.
22 This point has been argued in Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World."
252 CHAPTER TEN
o f evidence for un-Ghristianized villages near monasteries all

through the fifth century.2* If the epigraphy of a given site fails to
reflect any signs o f the new religion until a certain date, it is best to
presume the continuity o f the old religious forms until the firm
attestation of the arrival of the new religion. Tom bs that fail to
reflect such local changes may be taken as pagan as well. Christian
epigraphy often advertised the idea that death was mere sleep,
hence the use o f expressions like “ here lies55 (ένθάδε κειται) or
“ cemetery” (κοιμητήριον) for tomb, that is, a "p lace of sleep15
until the expected resurrection of the dead. Christians had every
reason to emphasize the differences o f their eschatological view
point from that of the Hellenes, and often did.
There are, in addition to this, the “ One G od 55 inscriptions, which
use the monotheistic formula often associated with temple con
versions.24 Its local usage and temporal context in the Limestone
M assif varies from village to village, but it appears most often in
the late fourth and early fifth centuries c. 38CM30, when a great
many rustics had begun to go over the Christianity. The formula
had an unmistakeable significance in the otherwise polytheistic
Syrian society, with its Baalim, fertility goddesses, and other deities.
Its significance for Christian theology between c. 380-420 is
minimal, for semi-Arianism had been discredited well before the
Second Oecumenical Council in 381, and the monophysite critique
of the supposed Nestorian “ splitting’' of Christ into two persons
was hardly on the horizon until the Council of Ephesus in 431, The
only meaningful and traceable context for the “ One G od” formula
in the Limestone M assif between 380-420 was the repudiation of
the Semitic gods and their supposed acts in behalf of men. Hence
the view of the Christian God as “ one who helps” (ό βοηθών), a
direct assertion that the ancient ' 'peace of the gods” was defunct.25
Erik Peterson has interpreted these texts as exorcistic and apotro-
paic without proper attention to their geographical and chronolog
ical context, that is, the rise o f monotheistic Christianity in the
Lim estone M assif between 365-450,26 Yet his thesis has important
implications, for the old divinities, now reduced to malevolent
daimones by the Christian catechists, were often seen as the source of
“ evil” (τά κακά) in village society, as for example destructive
lightning bolts and variations in the rainfall thanks to the villagers’
20 Supra, Ch. V II, Sect, 1, and in particular Ch. IX , Sect. 2.

24 Infra, Appendix V.
See especially supra. Ch. II, Sect, 4.
Infra, Appendix V .
failure to placate the Baalim. The rustics seem to have lived in fear
o f the “ daimonic rage” of the divinities and in consequence erected
the symbols and phrases of the new religion everywhere, on the
lintels of their houses, at the nekropoleis and over funerary tunnels,
on oil presses of recent construction, and in the churches. By c. 450
the symbols of the new religion were almost everywhere: the “ One
G od” inscriptions, the quasi-Constantinian τούτο + νικφ (“ This
(cross) conquers.” ), the Chi-Rho Ghristogram ( -P ), and different
varieties of crosses that were often incised in circles on house lintels
and other monumental features o f buildings.
I f the new religion was not everywhere, the old polytheism was
hardly in evidence any longer except in the spolia incorporated into
public and Christian buildings. Here and there stood a temple or
olive oil factory with the old invocations incised on it. The Hellenes
of the countryside fulfilled their allegiances by visiting the old
places with prayers and sacrifices, and by simply omitting the new
symbols and formulae from their houses and newly hewn or con
structed tombs. The new style and ideology became so prevalent
that “ religious indifference” can hardly explain all the omissions.
Each of them has to be understood in its own local and chronologi
cal context. Often, but not always, the omissions indicate a rejec
tion of Christianity or a failure to consider the spiritual, political, or
economic advantages o f accepting it.
I. The Antiochene: Djebel Sim‘än

An inquiry into the conditions affecting Christianization in the
Antiochene, that is, the lerrilorium o f Antioch, will necessarily begin
with the monastery of Symeon Stylites the Elder at Telanissos atop
Djebel Sim 'än. His stele with the adjoining buildings was one of
two important religious foci for the villages north of the D ana plain,
the other being the temenos o f Zeus M adbachos atop Djebel Sheikh
Berekät or Koryphë (the “ Pinnacle M ountain” ), as it was called in
Greek,
Symeon reached Telanissos in the year 458 of the era of Antioch,
that is 409/10 A .D .27 The place had become Christian in the
preceding decades, for a board of presbyters and deacons was
already running the local church at the time o f the stylite’s arrival.
The site is surprisingly deficient in dated inscriptions. Christianity
reached the village during the half-century after a certain Rufinus
erected a house lintel in 334/5 that lacks the cross or other symbols
31 V. Symtonis 24· (Hilgenfeld, 93).

254 CHAPTER TEN
of the new religion.28 T elanissos’ location atop a high hill made it,
like Koryphë, a typical “ high place” suitable for the shrine o f one of
the local Baalim, The inscriptions concur. A common Christian
victory acclamation used in temple conversions occurs: “ Christ
conquers!” (Χ (ρ ισ τό )ς νι(κφ) ),29 followed by an enigmatic quota
tion from one of the Psalms which can be m ade to say: “ (Cross) An
kagiasma suffices for your house, O Lord (C ro ss),” hagiasma being a
term often used for the springs known to break through limestone
sediment and become shrines of the fertility deities thought to
preside over sac re d ground w aters ( + τ φ οϋκφ σου π ρ έπ ι
[ά]γιασμα Κ [ύ ]ρ ιε + ) . The Christian buildings ultimately con
structed at the monastery were impressive, particularly the great
cruciform basilica that enclosed Symeon’s stele. Its construction
siphoned off labor from all over Syria probably between 450-470.30
Another building was a pilgrim hostel (πανδοχείον) that was
completed only in Ju ly 479, some nineteen years after Symeon’s
death.31 The site remained a mecca for Christian city dwellers,
Syrian villagers, and Arabs straight through the sixth century.32
The periodeutès Jo h n from the village o f Althaka (present-day Deir
el-Lathaq between Resafa and Isryeh) commissioned a mosaic in a
chapel calling upon Christ to remember him and all his kin (και
ιΐά ντα των διαφερώντων αυτού).33 Congregations still perhaps in
the midst of Christianization on the fringes o f the Limestone M assif
drew some inspiration from the great shrine, where the locals
erected many Christian buildings in a cooperative spirit.34
The other great shrine of the district was the temenos o f the
ancestral deities Zeus M adbachos and Selmanes (Διί. Μαόβάχω
κα ί Σελμάνει. πατρφ οις θεοις) constructed between 80-120 A.D.
high atop Djebel Sheikh Berekât.35 The former was the local Baal o f
The inscriptions discussed below are cited from Inscriptions grecques et latines de
la Syrie, edd. L. Jalabert et alii, 7 vols. (Paris 1929-70), but also from the editions of
W .K. Prentice in Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to
Syria in 1904-5 and 1909, Division III: Greek and Latin Inscriptions, Section B: Northern
Syria (Leiden 1922), nos. B07-1213. This work hereinafter cited as PAES III B.
Inscriptions are also cited from W.K. Prentice, Publications o f an American Archaeolo
gical Expedition to Syria in 1899-1900, Part III: Greek and Latin Inscriptions (New York
1908). The latter collection is cited as Prentice, A AES III. The Rufinus house
lintel of 334/5 is published in: PAES III, B 1153 and IG L S 420.
29 IG L S 414. PAES III, B Π60.
30 Butler, PAES II, B 261-284.
31 PAES III, B 1154, 1155. IG LS 416, 417.
32 Suggested by a sixth-century inscription, IG LS 415.
33 IG LS 421.
34 IG LS 413, 418, 419.
35 Prentice, AAES, III 100-108a. IG L S 465-475.
the Altar (from the Aram aic madbakh, “ altar” ), corresponding to

Zeus Bômios, who was perhaps a baitylos stone.36 There is no
precise information about when the cult died out. The place may
have been abandoned by the time the monk Ammianus settled near
the village of Teled^n during the patriarchate of Flavian o f Antioch
(381-404), but, conversely, it may have remained sacred for de
cades thereafter to judge from other cases.37 No Christian church
was ever erected inside the temenos. A single undated inscription
belongs to its last days: “ Help, (cross) O Lord!” 38 Two villages lay
on the slopes of Djebel Sheikh Berekät (the ancient Koryphë). O f
these K harab Sheikh Berekät, which adjoins the shrine directly to
the west, had a regular clergy, but no known church, by 407, when
the presbyter Rufinianus handled the erection o f a monotheistic
inscription on a house lintel with the ringing phrase: ‘O n e God
and his C hrist.” 39 It expressed the renunciation o f polytheism and
had the apotropaic power to repel the gods of the old religion now
cast as malevolent daimones and generally every evil.4” The epi-
graphic remains at Teledan (present-day Tell ‘Adeh, properly lying
on Djebel H alaqah) suggest no date for its Christianization.11 The
Christian clcrgy of K h arab Sheikh Berekät led by the presbyter
Rufinianus presumably desecrated the temple by the usual means
and tried to restrict access to it from c. 400 onward, but this will not
necessarily have prevented every sacrifice.
In the heights above the northern D ana plain, therefore, the cult
of the great local Baal had begun to come asunder before Symeon
Stylites the Elder’s arrival at Telanissos in 409. It became the task
of his monastery, as it seems, to clear away the last vestiges of the
old polytheism, whose continuing presence presence can be no
more than inferred from some few sites in the vicinity. For the
purposes of discussion, we shall consider these villages in two
groups: the four sites in the rolling hills northwest o f a hypothetical
line drawn between Koryphë and Telanissos, and, secondly, the
very large number o f places on the plateau to the east of the shrines.
T he ancient names are unknown o f the four villages northwest
M IC L S 465. Prentice AAES, III 100.

3? Supra, Ch. V III, Scct. 2. Infra, Ch.X , Sect. 4.
38 IG L S 475. Prentice AAES, III 109.
35 IG L S 477. PAES, III B 1126. The last pre-Christian inscription here dates
from 236 A.D.
40 Peterson in E !C QEOC stresses this feature of the Syrian “ One God”
inscriptions, but without connecting them to the era of Christianization (pp.
2-46), which inference was perhaps not integral to the theme of his book.
<l E.g. “ Emmanuel for the aeo n s.. . .” IG LS 479.
256 CHAPTER TEN
o f the Koryphe-Telanissos line, Q a{üra, Refàdeh, Zerzïta, and

Fidreh. Q atüra, which lies closest to Koryphë, was the scene of
considerable religious flux and contrast in the fourth century, hav
ing a mixed pagan-Christian population down at least to the late
fifth century. The site abounds in tombs. O f these, the most im
pressive and detailed has the bilingual (Latin and Greek) funerary
inscription o f Flavius Ju lian u s:42
T . F lavius Ju lia n u s, veteran o f the V I I I A u g u sta legion, dedicated
his perpetual tom b to the su b terran ean deities an d to the daimoms o f
him sen an d his wife, for his heirs and their offspring, that they should
allow no one in any m an n er to alien ate the sam e tom b. A nd you. . . .
Ju lian u s' interment will have most probably come in the decades
after the conquest o f the Roman East by Constantine the G reat in
324, whereafter his veterans who had taken the fashionable praeno-
men or nomen “ Flavius” in honor o f the victorious dynasty had
had time to finish their careers, buy lands, and acquire heirs.
Julian us was a Hellene, but as a veteran was not entirely repre
sentative of the local rustics, He dedicated the shrine to the well-
known subterranean divinities (θεοίς καταχθονιοις) thought to
guard such monuments from violation. It was a perpetual memo
rial (μνημειον . . . διηνεκές) for his soul and that of his wife, here
called daimones, a rare testimonial to pagan views o f an afterlife.43
House lintels without crosses suggest the existence o f pagan fami
lies for at least another century, including one Flavius Phileon (391
A.D .) and the unnamed proprietor o f another building {476
A .D .).44 One o f the very earliest and most unusual Christian in
scriptions of the Antiochene turns up at Q atüra as well on a house
lintel:45
C h rist o f G od, help! O ne G o d only. T h a la sis built (th is). A s m any
things as you say, friend, m ay it be d ou ble for you tool (D ate) Enter,
C hrist!
The date is 336/7. This text corresponds splendidly with another

on an undated pagan lintel:46
Jo y . Z eus. H ealth . A s m any things as you say, friend, m ay it be
double for you too!
A man erecting a house had to pay tribute to the local lore of
42 IG LS 4-55. PAES III B, 1127,

43 IG L S 447, PAES III B> 1134.
44 IG L S 440, 444. PAES III B, 1135. Prentice, AAES III 117.
45 IG L S 443, Prentice, AAES III, 116.
46 IG L S 446. Prentice, AAES III, 114.
hospitality, over which Zeus had presided in the past. But as a

believer in the new faith, Thalasis had to concoct a suitably
monotheistic formula which left no ambiguity (Θ (εο)ΐ) Χρηστέ. . .
Ε ίς Θεός μόνος). Many of his esteemed neighbors were Hellenes at
this early date, and the substitution of divinities is precise. From
this obvious correspondence we deduce the real purpose of the
“ One G od” formula, whose local context elsewhere is not so clear
because of the random nature of the survival of inscriptions. T h ala
sis’ greeting to his neighbors demonstrates that new Christians
lived, or sought to live, in accommodation with their former coreli
gionists. No fourth- or fifth-century church has turned up at
Qafüra. The village may well have gone under the care of a
periodeutes during this time. With religious allegiances divided even
later in the fifth century, local funds were insufficient to construct a
Christian building. The next Christian house inscription was not,
in fact, erected until 466/7 A.D. by a Syrian named B arap sa.47
At Zerzlta, the periodeutes Peter was active in 375/6, constructing
a stoa that was part o f a church.48 He evidently supervised the
congregations of the other nearby villages, including Q a îüra, who
assembled at Zerzîta for the Christian liturgy. By 423 an Aram aic
speaking clergy had finally been installed at Zerzita (M aras the
presbyter and Nonnos the deacon).49 H alf a century thus elapsed
between the first signs of the new religion there and the firm
organization of the local church.
There is no firm evidence for the Christianization o f Fidreh and
Redäfeh until the 420’s. At Fidreh, the last inscription with no
crosses was cut in 411, and the first Christian inscription, bearing
the One God formula, in 421.50 A deacon turns up at Fidreh, but
the inscription is undated.5’ The story at Redäfeh is quite similar.
The earliest Christian inscription, with a Trinitarian formula and
cut on a balustrade, was set up in perhaps 427.52 The second one, a
house lintel o f 439, bears the words: “Je su s (Chi-Rho) Christ,
beginning of the newly created m an” (άρχή του νεω κτίστου). As
an adaptation of a New Testam ent text, it suggests the recent
baptism o f the household, which thus became “ newly creatcd” .53
The beginnings o f Christianization at Fidreh and Redäfeh thus
47 IG L S 441. PAES III B, 1136.

46 IG L S 460. PAES III B, 1118.
49 IG L S 459. PAES III B, 1119.
iD IG L S 432, 437. PAES III B, 1138, 1139.
51 IG LS 436. PAES III B, 1143.
52 IG L S 426. PAES III B, 1146.
53 IG LS 425. PAES III B, 1147.
258 CHAPTER TEN
belong to the first decade Symeon Stylites’ sojourn at Telanissos.

This is hardly an accidental correspondence, with Redäfeh only
some 3»/2 kilometers from the monastery and Fidreh six. This
proximity enlivened the activities o f the pemdeutai, who often con
sulted Symeon and made great publicity of his subordination o f the
natural forces and their divinities to the Christian God.
There is, finally, an example of Christianizing a pagan liturgy at
Redäfeh. There is an epigram of Diogenes Laertius that runs:
“ Herakles the splendidly victorious son of Zeus lives here. Let
nothing evil enter!” (ό τού Δ ιό ς παις καλλίνικος Ηρακλής
ένθάδε κατοικεί, μηόεν είσίτω κακόν). An undated window lintel
at Redafeh makes Christ in efTect the new H erakles:54
Je su s the Nazarene, who was born o f M aria, the son o f God, lives
here. L et nothing evil enter here!
T he Hellene of some literacy who owned the house carried over the
old liturgy and gave it Christian form perhaps not long after his
conversion. The inscription is undated, but is consistent with the
early fifth century in this village.
Som e twenty villages occupied the plateau to the east o f
Symeon’s monastery at Telanissos. The epigraphy is not specific
enough, however, to indicate the trends in each individual village.
The polytheists o f the early fourth century worshipped three Se
mitic deities, Seimios, Symbetylos, and Leon, as we learn from the
dedication on an olive press found at Kefr Nabo (Σ ε ιμ ίψ
καί Συμβατΐιλω και Α έοντι θεοίς πατρψοις).55 W .K. Prentice
erroneously reckoned these to be the local equivalents o f the so-
called Baalbek triad of Zeus Heliopolitanus, Aphrodite, and
Hermes. Seimios was the Baal, the principal male god who con
trolled the natural forces in the sky. Symbetylos1 identification with
various fertility goddesses like the Syrian Atargatis (Dea Syria) has
nothing against it. The male Seimios was evidently a baitylos in the
local cu lt because Symbetylos, his female consort’s name, breaks
down into the Greek “ with baitylos” (συν βετύλω ). The “ triadic”
cult seems logically to have gravitated around that of a single
baitylos. Leon, the third divinity mentioned, whom Prentice iden
tifies with Zeus Gennaios, was not always worshipped with the
others. The temple at nearby Qal at Kalôta accommodated only the
first two ([Σ ειμ ίψ (?) κα ί Σ υ μ β ]α ιιύ λ ω θεοίς πα|τρφοι,ς]), as it
Μ IG LS 424.
Μ IGLS 376. PAES III B, 1170.
seems.56 Dedicatory statues of these deities in aediculae probably

survived until the late fourth century ([τόν] ναόν κα ί τό χρυσοΰν
ξόανσν).57 A church consisting of spolia from this temple was
erected in perhaps the late fourth or early fifth century, for the
village ol'K alôta below the hill where the temple stood had Chris
tian householders by 387 A .D .58 Polytheism persisted in the neigh
borhood for some time, for a church completed in the village c. 492
still laid heavy stress on monotheism with a One God inscription.59
To return to Kefr Nabo, the olive press with the gods’ names on
it was erected in 224 A.D. It was “ dedicated . . . with every provi
sion of funds coming from the gods” (τό έλα ιο(τ)ρόπ ιον συν
κατασκευή έκ τών θεών π ρ ο σ ό δω ν. . . ά φ ιερώ θη);60 that is to
say, sacred monies from the temple supported the expansion of the
cash crop in olive oil as early as the third century A.D. T his is an
important corrective to the view sometimes expressed that the
spread of Christianity was causally linked to economic growth and
architectural innovation in the Limestone M assif in the fourth
through sixth centuries.61 The inscription suggests instead that this
development originated in pre-Christian times and that the temple
treasuries capitalized the growth of the olive-oil industry. T o all
appearances, the olive press of Kefr Nabo remained in use all
through the period of Christianization. No one thought to deface
the names o f the divinities now become daimones under the Chris
tian dispensation. House lintels without crosses persisted at Kefr
Nabo until 445/6 A.D,ea The Christian inscriptions are all quite
late. The earliest of these invokes the Trinity and adds: “ Through
56 IG LS 383. PAES III B, 1193. Seimios does not, in fact, belong in the
lleliopoli tan triad. One scholar has remarked that Seimios was “ un ancien Baal
coelésyrien, du nature solaire, devenu un dieu de la végétation et du re
nouveau. . . Voussef Hajjar, /> Triade d ’Héliopolis-Baaibck (Leiden 1977), 456f.
H ajjar discusses the other members of this “ triad” as well, but his analysis here
seems to be more speculative. He suggests that Symbetylos may not in fact be
female, there being no serious evidence on this point, and that “ Leon” ( = “ the
lion” ) might be Allât in theriomorphic guise. Ibid., 155f.Zeus Heliopolitanus turns
up in the Antiochene, Apamene, and Emesene. Ibid., 188-94, 197-206.Henri
Seyrîg, Antiquités syriennes 6 (Paris 1966), 90, regards Seimios as most probably an
equivalent of H adad. Cf. ibid. 96, n. 3.
57 IG LS 383. PAES III B, 1193.
59 IG LS 381, Prentice, PAES III B, 1191. H.C. Butler dates the “ temple
church” to the fourth century generally by criteria of style. Early Churches in Syria
(Princeton 1929), 55f.
59 IG LS 382. PAES III B, 1192.
60 IG LS 376. PAES III B, 1170.
61 Liebeschuetz, “ Conversion of Syria,” 19-21.
“ IG LS 375, 377. PAES III B, 1171, 1172.
260 CHAPTER TEN
the prayer of St. Acheos” ([Ô]Let ευχής του άγιου ^Αχέου).6* The
man was perhaps a local monk who led many villagers from the
Semitic divine “ triad’1 to the Christian one. Another Christian
inscription of 525/6 written in Syriac mentions the completion o f a
martyrion by the presbyter A bha.b* I f H .C. Butler's stylistic argu
ments are accepted, Kefr Nabo had a fourth-century church.55
Even so, the suspicion persists that many o f the locals offered the
first-fruits of the olive harvest to the old gods until the late fifth
century, whereupon complete Christianization came with the dis
persion of monophysite clergy into the Limestone M a ssif The
communal use of the olive press, some of whose fluids went as
first-fruit offerings to the gods, may have divided Kefr Nabo along
religious lines, with the Christians at times refusing cooperation.
Augustine, whose congregation at Hippo Regius in Num idia placed
a similar reliance on the olive cultivation, sums up the scruples that
rustic clergy imposed on their congregations in villages of mixed
religious allegiance:66
Likew ise* if anything is accepted [for consum ption ] from a threshing
floor or from a wine- or oil-press for sacrifices to daimones^ and the
C h ristian knows this, he sins if he perm its it to be done where he has
the pow er o f preventing it. B u t if he ascertain s w hat has been done,
but does not have the pow er o f preventing it, he [m ay legitim ately]
m ake use o f the rem ain ing good fruit, whence these ac ts are to be
tolerated, ju s t as we m ake use o f sp rin gs from which we know m ost
certainty that w ater is draw n off for use in sacrifices. T h e rationale is
the sam e in the bath s. For we do not hesitate to draw breath from the
air into which we know th at sm oke goes from all the altars also
kindled in b eh alf o f the daimones.
The Christian villagers of H ass in Djebel Riba found the appropri

ate solution to the problem by dedicating an oil factory in 372 A.D.
with the “ One God only” formula at a time when the village was
not entirely Christianized (Εις Θεός μόνος . . . συνετελέσθη τό
ελεοτρ[ι]βΪον).67 The single Divinity o f the new oil press replaced
the earlier Semitic Baal and A targatis in this fashion.
The Christianization of the other villages of the northeast
plateau is discernible in the pattern o f the “ One G od ” inscriptions.
61 IG LS 378. PAES III Ë, 1173.

64 Publications o f the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904-5
and 1909, Division IV : Semitic Inscriptions, Section B : Syriac Inscnptions (Leiden 1934),
no. 52. Hereinafter cited as Littmann* PAES IV B.
Butler, Early Churches, 34.
66 Augustinus, Ep. ad Publicolami PL 33 185.
67 Infra, Ch. X> Sect. 6. IG LS 1509, 1506. Prentice, AAES III, 152,154, The
latter is dated 378 A.D. and is not discernibly Christian.
The second earliest was incised in August 372 on a church at

Fafirtin: “ For Antiochos, M aris (the) periodeuiis, One God and his
Christ, who helps” ([Έπι Άν]τιόχο[υ] του C M IC [—] Μάρις
περιοδευτή[ς]. Εις Θεάς καί ό Χριοτός αύτοΰ, ό βοηθών
(D ate)).68 This act connects the Christian periodeutës with one of the
earliest Christian communities o f the district. The appearance of
the same formula at nearby Batuta in 363 perhaps reflects the same
thing.69 There are three other ‘O n e G od” inscriptions on lintels at
three widely scattered villages all dated to 406/7, at Sheikh Sleman,
Burdj il-Qäs, and Surqanya.70 M any conversions had evidently
been completed ju st before this date, which must be accepted as the
local terminus for the creation of widespread Christian communi
ties in these parts. T h at found at Sheikh Sleman is of Trinitarian
format (Εις Θεώς καί Χριστός αύτον και τώ "Αγιον Πνεΰμα)
and was perhaps devised to undermine the local Semitic divine
“ triad” . This periodization o fc. 363—407 most likely applies to the
two “ One G od ” lintels at Burdj H aidar (“ (Cross) One God who
helps the fatherland for alh an argument for the new Christ
ian dispensation o f benefits to village society and its fields.71 A
church was built here sometime in the fourth century»72 A state
ment of benefits also turns up on an inscription at Baziher (“ One
God who helps all. Life, health.” ).73
There is one exception to this rule, the village of Simkhär, where
the new religion took root at an earlier date. A well-preserved early
Christian church here is ascribed to the fourth century,74 A “ One
God I X 0 Y C ” inscription dated 349/50 A .D É stands on a house
lintel there, with the pre-Christian greeting: “ Double to you as
many things as you say .” 75 It represents a relatively early stage of
Christianization, when the older style Hellenic greetings were still
68 ÎG LS 389. PAES III B, 1199. I have reedited the inscription on the basis of
\V\K. Prentice’ photograph, Prentice’ reading of TO VC M IC as τού (έπ)
ισ[κ 07ΐου] is untenable and improbable.
It was erected in behalf of one Marianos and his children by the Christian
architects (surprisingly) Mariades and Saakonas. IG LS 391. PAES III B, 1201.
Prentice cannot tell if the date should be read as 363 or 563 A,D,, but the formula
is certainly of common 4th-5th c. usage, and the script is much closer to a 363
date.
70 IG LS 373, 386, 400. PAES III B, 1189, 1196, 1210.
75 IG LS 405, 406. PAES III B, 1168, 1169.
72 Butler, Early Churches, 32. A laler lintel inscription of 487 A.D. leaves out the
“ One God*4 formula in favor of a simple Chi-Rho before the building details, the
sign of a more completely Christian society. IG LS 404. PAES III B, 1167,
M IG LS 390. PAES III B, 1200-
74 Butler, Early Churches> 29-31. Tchalenko, Villages antiques > 2 Pl. IX .
75 PAES III B, 1206.
262 CHAPTER TEN
considered essential in village life. At another house, two Christian

“ One G od” formulae were added, perhaps a century after its
construction, but in the late fourth-century form (c. 363—407, to
ju d g e from other local exam ples): “ One God who helps.” 76 The
householder thought it necessary to raise these testimonials to his
conversion despite the fact that the house already had a foundation
date of 272/3 A.D. on its lintel. At Simkhär, then, conversions
continued between c. 350-400. The householder’s two “ One G od”
inscriptions carry over an expression used in the pre-Christian
foundation text of 272/3: “ M ay he who wrote (this) be remem
bered.” The villages of the Antiochene did not go over to the new
religion en m asse, in a single sweeping act of conversion, as
Theodoret of Cyrrhus sometimes suggests, but more slowly, by
individual households, each o f which made its own choice and
expressed it on lintels in a familiar way to remind the visitor that
the sam e family possessed the house before and after its conversion.
The ultimate example o f a village going Christian is found at
Brâd, a large site where the great Ju lian u s basilica, with three
aisles, a martyrion, and courtyards, was constructed by c. 399-
402.” The traces of late fourth-century conversions (“ One God and
his Christ, who helps Theodotus and his household” )78 and a
temple demolition (“ (Cross) This conquers.” + τοΰτο ν [ικ φ ])79
are in evidence. It was a place capable of large scale communal
building projects even in pre-Christian times.80 All the same, a
recent convert is attested in an inscription of August 496 (έπί
Σεργω να(?) [του] νεω κτ[ί]σ του.81
There are, finally, two badly documented sites whose epigraphy
indicates Christian building activity in the early sixth century,
although earlier dates of Christianization cannot be excluded. At
Göl-Djibrin, a Christian church (ναός) was constructed by about
521 A .D .82 At Kefr Antin, a Christian lintel was erected in 523.83
The parts around Djebel Sim 'än were undergoing Christianiza
tion between the termini 336/7 to 496, to cite the earliest and latest
inscriptions that hint at conversions. The main sequence ofconver-
76 IG L S 393-395. PAES III B, 1203-1205.

77 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Pl. X I.
70 IG L S 360. PAES III B, 1186.
74 IG LS 365. PAES III B, 1181.
80 Cf. IG L S 359 (=P A E S III B, 1175) (207/8 A.D.), where the locals were
aided by the residents of three other villages, Kefr Nabo, Rhezitha, and one other.
·' IG L S 372. PAES III B, 1177.
82 IG LS 355.
85 IG LS 392. PAES III B, 1202.
TH E ANTIOCHENE AND THE APAMENE 263
sions seems to have come, however, during a more restricted

period, between 363 to 407, when the periodeutai were active in the
countryside and the majority o f the “ One G od” inscriptions was
cut. A scattering of later inscriptions (with the formulae “ One
G od” or “ the newly created person” on them) suggests that this
business was hardly complete by 407. Indeed, the strident charac
ter of the “ One G od” confession down to 407 suggests that many
Hellenes lived in the villages then and in the decades after, as does
a small number of lintel inscriptions without religious markings
done in accordance with the pre-Christian custom of Djebel Si-
m ‘än. Symeon Stylites the Elder’s arrival at Telanissos in 409,
then, came after the Christian church had established a firm insti
tutional presence with many impressive buildings and presbyters in
more than a few villages. One can hardly say what percentage of
the rustics had accepted the new religion at that point, my own
conjecture being well over fifty percent at the very least. Symeon’s
miraculous feats and acts o f Christianizing rite belonged to the last
stages o f the transition, and provided a public advertisement o f the
wealth and persuasive power of the new religious ideas and institu
tions. The last polytheists trickled in to receive baptism at Telanis
sos and the other local churches through the last decades of the fifth
century. When compared with other parts of the Roman East,
Djebel Sim 'ân saw this transition come off rather quickly.
II. The Antiochene: Djebel Halaqah

Djebel H alaqah lies directly to the south o f Djebel Sim 'än. It is not
a massif, but the oval-shaped high ground that surrounds the D ana
plain on all sides.84 Numerous monastic houses came into existence
here during the fifth and sixth centuries. Among these was the
habitation established by Ammianus near Teledan (present-day
T ell-‘A de).e5 One would have expected Djebel H alaqah and the
D ana plain to have been Christianized at a relatively early date,
but the epigraphy does not entirely support such a construction.
The dominant cult in pre-Christian times was certainly that of
Zeus M adbachos and Selmanes at the temenos atop Djebel Sheikh
Berekät at the northern tip o f the plain. Another temple lay atop
the small eminence called Djebel Srir at the southern end o f the
plain. There was, finally, a third temple in the village o f Scrm ada.
84 The features of Djebel Halaqah are best studied using the map in Tchalenko,
Villages antiques 2, PI. C C IV . See also PJ. X X V and X L I (northern part).
"5 Supra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2.
264 CHAP TER TEN
T he deities worshipped at the last two sites are unknown. Their

cult had fallen into decline by the end of the fourth century A.D .,
but many pagans still lived in the villages of Djebel H alaqah at that
time, as the epigraphy suggests. It will be necessary first to consider
the villages lying in the D ana plain, and then those on the north
western ridge of Djebel H alaqah.
The villages of the plain show surprisingly late dates of Chris
tianization, but the inscriptions are sparse here in comparison to
Djebel Sim ‘än. Teledan, the most famous site in the D ana plain
thanks to Theodoret’s account of Ammianus the solitary, has no
inscription of any real interest.86 The next village to the south,
Hezreh, provides a striking exception to the general Christianiza
tion taking place elsewhere in the Limestone M assif in the fifth
century. Two house inscriptions cut by the artisan Herodis in 480/1
A.D. lack crosses. Herodis and the householder seem both to have
been Hellenes, for the patronymic of the former seems to have been
Phaladonias, derived from the Semitic divine name Aphlad.87 An
illiterate and undated “ One G od” inscription marks the begin
nings o f Christianization at Hezreh, which seems to have come in
the last decades o f the fifth century.m Such is the chronology
suggested by the remains of D ana, the next village to the south.
The only significant pre-Christian inscription here mentions the
consecration of a pagan tomb in 324 A .D .89 The epigraphic record
is then completely blank until 483/4, when a “ One G od” formula
was cut on the lintel o f the village church (“ One God and his Christ
and the Holy Spirit helps.” ).90 It celebrates the reorganization of
the peasantry under the monotheism of the new religion. A later
inscription suggests recent baptism s as well: “ (Cross) Christ help
everyone! Eusebius having renewed (it)” (494 A .D .).91 The “ hav
ing renewed” (άνανεώσας Ε υσ έβιος) is perhaps a double enten
dre, indicating the raising of the lintel, but also suggesting
baptism .92 An even later inscription (550 A .D .) reflects this and
other preoccupations: “ (Cross) When the cross is present, the
enemy has no strength.” 93 It reflects in equal measure concerns
86 IGLS 479, 480.

87 IG L S 496, 497.
“ IG L S 498.
w IG L S 491.
90 IG L S 490.
gi IG LS 495.
9? G.W.H. Lampe, A Patristic Creek Lexicon (Oxford 1961), 114,
95 IG L S 493. Prenticc, AAES III, 91.
about the daimones thought to cause disease and hardship, and the
Persian invasion of 540.
Farther to the south lay the ancient village of Tillokbara or
Tillokbarinön (present-day Tell ‘Aqibrm), the closest site to the
pagan temple on Djebel Srîr. We gain rare insight into pre-
Christian notions of the afterlife in a sarkophagos inscription o f 222
A.D .:94
I, Gaianos, son of Gaianos, while still alive and present, made
provision for an eternal dwelling-place. I made it long enough for
myself when death lay close at hand.
A notion of the tomb as a house for aeons to come (έωνίου θ [ΐκ ]θ υ )
formed a part of polytheistic belief. The first impact of Christianity
came in the late fourth century when the deacon Cyril performed
some undisclosed building work in behalf of his bishop M agnus of
Chalkis sub Belo, which lay on the plain to the east of the Lim es
tone M assif.93 The destruction of the temple on Djebel Srir prob
ably took place at this time, but Tillokbariniön itself was not
demonstrably Christian until the sixth century.96
Serm ada, which lies at the southwesternmost point of the D ana
plain, stands in sharp contrast to the other villages o f the valley by
virtue o f its early Christianization. The place had a temple (ναός),
but the name o f the god is missing from its fragmentary building
inscription,97 An ancient nekropolis is in evidence as well.98 Chris
tianity first appears with a house lintel having a very early “ One
God and his Christ” inscription (341/2 A .D .).99 It is difficult to
judge by how much this phenomenon was an isolated case at
Serm ada. A martyrion was eventually built here, for a paramonanos
is recorded to have renewed a church building of some kind.
Unfortunately the inscription is undatable.100 The Christian burial
of a certain Eutyches took place in 436/7.101 There is, however, a
later lintel inscription without a cross (482/3 A .D .).102 All things
considered, it seems that a small Christian shrine was built and
94 IG L S 505 (ed. pr.).

95 IG L S 508.
96 Cf. IG L S 506. PAES III B, 1112. The inscription has a cross and the
omicron-upsilon ligature (6th c.).
95 Prentice, AAES III, 81.
98 Prentice, AAES III, 86, 87. from 112 A.D. and 132—4-1 A.D., respectively.
IG L S 511. Prentice, AAES III, 85.
101 IG L S 512. Prentice, A AES III, 79.
266 CHAPTER TEN
staffed in the fifth century to accom modate a small number of

believers in Serm ada, but that the village lacked a sufficient num
ber o f adherents to the new religion to justify sending in a presbyter
and building a church.
None of the villages of the D ana plain except Serm ada had
churches and clergy in the fifth century. The epigraphic record
suggests quite strongly that Christianization began here in earnest
only in the last two decades of that century. The valley provides a
notable exception to the rule that lowlanders tended to accept the
new religion before mountain dwellers. The memory o f the Baals
and Astartes will have lingered among the people of these villages
for nearly a century after the three temples surrounding the plain
were dismantled. It is quite evident as well that Am m ianus’ m onas
tery near Teledan had little impact on the Christianization o f the
D ana plain through the later fifth century. This is true of Symeon
Stylites the Elder as well, whose influence extended mostly to the
villages in the immediate vicinity of the monastery at Djebel Si-
m‘an and to the great cities of the Roman East, but not to the Dana
plain. Theodoret does not claim a role for Am m ianus’ monastery in
the Christianization of Syria, and the epigraphy bears this out
graphically.
In the high ground on the northwest bank of Djebel H alaqah,
Christianization came much earlier. The village o f Ksedjbeh saw
the construction of a church in 414/5 and its occupation by the
presbyter Bizzos, who was evidently bilingual in Aramaic and
Greek.103 There is evidence o f earlier Ju d aism or Christianity in the
house lintel of a certain Samuel. It bears no cross.1<H Another
village, Serdjibleh, acquired a small single chamber church only in
the sixth century.105 As the first Christian inscriptions do not turn
up here until 471 at the hands of Nonnus the housebuilder, it is
difficult to put Serdjibleh’s Christianization before the later fifth
century.106 The villagers were still converting to the new religion in
the sixth century, as the “ One G od ” inscription of Eustathius the
numerarius (a type of public accountant) reveals.107 Elsewhere the
new religion came at the late date characteristic of the D ana plain.
Burdaqli seems to have been a veterans’ settlement. A tomb was
'° 3 IG LS 509. Prentice, AAES III. 73.

I(M IG LS 510. PAES III B, 1091.
105 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Pl. X , X III. Butler, Early Churches, 59.
106 IG LS 486, 487. Prcnticc, AAES III, 93, 94.
107 IG LS 485. Prentice, AAES III, 95. It has the characteristic omicron-upsilon
ligature (γ) that is first attested c. 500. Cf. the undatable “ One God who helps”
inscription, IG LS 484=Prentice, AAES III, 96.
THE AN TIOCHENE AND THE APAMENE 267
made for the pagan Valerius Romulus, who had served in Panno-
nia Superior, and his wife in 310 A .D .108 The first Christian inscrip
tion, cut on a lintel in 497, reflects a m artial spirit and recent
acceptance o f the new religion:109
(Cross) We have put on Christ. We have been armed with the
breastplate. The Holy Spirit is with us. Whom shall we fear? (This
lintel) was renewed by the command of holy God.
As the army was not generally Christianized until the later fifth
century, this inscription might be taken as a sign of the first stage in
the religious transition at B u rd aqli.110 There is, finally, the village
of Kfellusln, which lies to the north o f Serdjibleh. At Kfellusin is a
colonnade inscribed with the Trisagion prayer in 473. It perhaps
belonged to a church building.111 Yet there is a later house lintel o f
487 lacking any Christian sym bol.112 The first cleric, Sabatios the
deacon, is attested only in 522.113 The Christianization of the
northwestern shoulder o f Djebel H alaqah was long protracted, but
this stretch o f country seems nevertheless seems to have become
largely Christian before the reign of Justinian the Great (527-565).
The few Christians in the vicinity will have gone to the church at
Ksedjbeh for 414/5 onward. Only in the sixth century was the
additional small church at Serdjibleh built. A third church at Deir
Rehshän staffed by M aras the presbyter was also a sixth-century
foundation.114 The Christian congregations were still quite new
even in the 520’s.
T o summarize, Djebel H alaqah resisted the impact of Christian
ity for approximately a century longer than the villages of Djebel
Sim 'än and those on nearby Djebel Barisha, as will be seen in the
next section. It should be quite obvious from this that the agricul
tural communities o f the Limestone M assif were quite inward-
looking in religious matters. The D ana plain set the standard for its
own immediate vicinity. Its people will have continued to invoke
the old gods, whose high places rose visibly around the skyline of
the plain where the monks dwelt passively. Symeon Stylites the
Elder had no effect on this at all, for it was only after his death in
,0B IG LS 523. PAES III B, 1107.

1CB IG LS 524. PAES III B, 1108.
110 There is also a Christian lintel of 517. IG L S 525. PAES III B, 1109. On the
army, see infra, Ch, X I, Scct. 1.
11' IG LS 482. PAES H I B, 1103.
m IG LS 483. PAES III B, 1104.
113 IG LS 481. PAES III B, 1105.
114 IG LS 489, The laterstyle square uncials with the invocation of the Mother
of God put the church in the sixth century.
268 CHAPTER TEN
459/60 that Christian inscriptions began to turn up in the villages.

The rustics clearly preferred their own time-tested prayers and
rituals to the seeming innovations o f the new religion.
IIL The Antiochene: Djebel Barisha

Djebel Barisha lies to the west and southwest of Djebel H alaqah,
and south of the Antioch to Beroia sub Belo highway that bisects
the D ana plain. Djebel Barisha was in consequence more suscepti
ble to Christian Antiochene influences at an earlier date« The area
of habitation consists of some fifteen densely concentrated villages
and has many dated inscriptions. The Christianization of these
villages began well before the reign o f Ju lian the Apostate (361—
363) in the two larger villages of B abisqa and D ar Qïta. Elsewhere
it was more protracted, but not nearly so much as it was in Djebel
H alaqah. Let us begin with the larger villages first, as they each
have distinctive epigraphic histories.
D ar Q ïta, whose ancient name is unknown, was one of the largest
and wealthiest villages of the Limestone M assif. No pagan temple
has been discovered there. The only dated pagan inscription of
relevance was cut on House 10 in 295/6 A.D. (“ As many things as
you say, it shall be double for you.” ) .115 After that comes a series of
eleven ‘O n e G od” inscriptions running from 339/40 to 515,
Ongoing conversions and local fashion seem to have dictated this
theme. It is quite impossible to distinguish one factor from the
other in D ar Q ïta’s epigraphy.110 The earliest Christian influence
on D ar Q ïta came from outside the village at the hands o f a certain
Flavius Eusebius, who had served as singularius, a subclerical grade
o f official with the Praetorian Prefect, The man seems to have
paved the agora of the village:317
O ne G od and C h rist, be a helper to F lav iu s E u seb iu s, son o f C yril,

the buyer (and) builder. H e bough t it in 339/40 A .D . and built on it
with the help o f G o d in 350.
He built a gate in 355 with the aid of his wife’s funds:110
O ne G od, who h elps F lav iu s E u seb iu s the singularius and his wife
A lexan d ra K alo p o d in a. T h e g ate w as built. . . .
115 IG L S 550. PA ES ΓΙΙ B, 1073,

116 IG L S 535-552.
117 IG L S 542. PA ES III B, 1074.
na IG L S 543. PA ES III B, 1075.
Flavius Eusebius had apparently acquired holdings in the village

which formed a single estate and retired there at the end of his civil
service career. He unquestionably dominated the affairs o f the
village between 339-355, during which time it grew in population.
Eusebius had evidently accepted Christianity during the later years
of Constantine the G reat in the E ast, and took the fashionable
praenomen Flavius as the sign o f his politics and religious faith, and
then brought it with him to D ar Q ïta as its first Christian citizen.
His frank affirmation o f monotheism in these early times perhaps
prodded some o f his fellow villagers to consider conversion, but
firm evidence of its effect is lacking in the epigraphy of D ar Q ïta for
another three generations. It was only in the first quarter of the fifth
century that D ar Q ïta acquired ecclesiastical institutions. Until
that time the periodeutai o f the patriarchal see of Antioch will have
ministered to Eusebius’ family.
The first church o f D ar Q ïta, that of St. Paul and M oses, was
erected in 418 and staffed by the presbyter D iodoros.119 It is quite
possible that the village became an estate of the patriarchate of
Antioch by legacy and that domiciles were let to settlers from the
D ana plain who accepted baptism into the local church. It is
otherwise difficult to explain the sequence o f “ One G od” inscrip
tions which turn up on house lintels and gates in 451/2, 456, 462,
and 485.120 The lintel of a church courtyard built in 431 has the
Trinitarian “ One G od ” formula (‘O n e God and his Christ and the
Holy Spirit. The place gives the impression of being part of an
eccelsiastical estate that served as the mecca of Christianization for
the surrounding countryside. This argument is clinched by the very
late inscription on the baptistry added to the church of M oses and
St. Paul in 515/6 (“ (Cross) One God and his Christ, help the
cosmos!” ).122 It is one of the very few baptistries attested in the
Limestone M assif. There was quite evidently much work still to be
done with the adult polytheists o f the area in 515/6. The repeated
advertisement of Christian monotheism makes no sense in the long
term unless a partly polytheistic milieu be supposed to have existed
down to this time. The formula came into use again when the
church of St. Sergius was erccted in 537 A .D .,2S A baptistry was
added to this church in 566/7. By that time the local college of
"â IG LS 535. PAES l it B, 1076.

120 IG L S 540, 538, 547, 544. PAES III B, 1080, 1081, 1082, 1089,
121 IG LS 536. PAES III B, 1077.
122 IG L S 537. PAES III B, 1085,
125 IG L S 545.
270 CHAPTER TEN
presbyters had grown to five, all of whom seem to have been

bilingual speakers of Aram aic and G reek /24 an unprecedented
number for a village with only two or three churches.125 The use of
the 'O n e G od” formula no longer seemed necessary by that time.126
What can be concluded about the Christianization o f the Lim es
tone M assif from this? Quite clearly the “ One G od” formula had
passed out of local usage between the work on St. Sergius5 church
in 537 and its baptistry in 566/7, The number of pagans coming in
for baptism quite obviously went into radical decline sometime
after 337. It may have been before 551, when a fortified tower was
built “ in the name of the holy T rin ity /’ 127 It seems evident that the
district around D ar Q ita was thought finally to have been purged o f
“ Hellenic error5’ towards the middle of the sixth century, a perfectly
acceptable date from the standpoint of the epigraphy and of the
literary sources.128 The number o f rustic pagans was thus still
noticeably significant in 537, but by 566/7 no remnant seems to
have survived.
The relationship between the construction o f baptistries and the
first stages o f Christianization is dramatically revealed at the other
large village of Babisqa, which lies about two kilometers east-
southeast of Dar Qîta. B abisqa had its own temple, but the name of
the principal deity is unknown.120 Spolia from this building were
built into the East Church or M arcianus basilica, whose first lintel
was laid in 401.130 Among the spolia from the temple are pier
capitals and a block with an inscription of 143 A .D .131 The work on
the M arcianus basilica went on until 407/8.132 The deacon Eusebis
supervised the work locally in behalf of the presbyter M arcianus,
who served as the architect.133 Regular clergy were thus in place by
401, but this was not the earliest stage of Christianization at
124 Their names were John, Sergius* Danos, Bachchos* and Ramlys. IG LS 544.
PAES III B, 1089.
125 A third church, that of the Trinity, is undated, but the fact of its having a
Syriac inscriptions suggests a sixth-century date.
126 The hypothesis that Dar Qita was part of a patriarchal estate is reinforced
by the citation of emperor Justin II (565-578) and patriarch Anastasius (559-70,
593-98) as donors of the bapdslry of St. Sergius in IG LS 546.
127 Prentice, AAES III, 60,
t2a This is roughly consistent with the chronology for the Christianization of
western Asia Minor given by John of Ephesus in the Lives of the Eastern Saints, The
final stages of the process are said to have lasted between c> 536-566. Trombley,
“ Paganism in the Greek World,” 330f.
VÂ PAES III B, 1092.
130 IG LS 559. PAES III B, 1096
l:!l Butler. Early Churches, 48f.
IG LS 557, 558. PAES III B, 1097, 1098.
,33 IG L S 559. PAES ΠΙ B, 10%.
Babisqa. T h at came a decade earlier with the construction of a

baptistry in 390. The presbyter K yris supervised the work and cut
the inscription with its militant assertion of Christian monotheism:
“ One God who helps us and his Christ. Amen. Chi*Rho. M ar
Kyris the presbyter made it.” 134 The M arcianus church was built
subsequently, being added to this baptistry, whose foundation in
scription takes account of the polytheistic ethos.
The house lintel o f one of the first families at Babisqa to accept
the new religion has survived. It is a unique docum ent:135
Cherillos son of Gabronos, Eusebis the architect, and Athenis, in the
year 437, on the seventh day of the month Xandikos, Jacob son (of
Cherillos). (= April 389 A.D.).
The lintel has various crudely cut Christian symbols on both sides
of the inscription that look almost like graffiti, with two Chi-Rho’s,
a cross inscribed in a circle, and an eight-petalled cross in a square.
These signs were added later, because one of them is cut over the
first word o f the inscription. They were quite clearly intended to
advertise to conversion of the household by gaudy display. The
family will have been initiated into the new religion sometime after
the completion of the M arcianus church baptistry in the following
year, 390. These folk all had pagan or neutral Aram aic and Hel
lenic names except the son Jaco b (Ίάκουβος), whose name pos
sibly had some currency outside Christian or Ju d a ic circles. No
Christians turn up before this date (389 A.D.) at Babisqa. The
lintel of an earlier house dated 352 A,D. need not be taken as
Christian. Erected by a certain Aurelius Antiochus, it is
ornamented with an eight-petalled cross inscribed in a circle that is
certainly not Christian.136 There is little reason to doubt that the
village was largely Christian from the early fifth century onward,
what with the disappearance of the “ One G od ” m otif after 390. A
presbyter named Moreos served the village in 480.137
The village o f Baqirha lies not far south of D ar Qïta. The
temenos used by these two villages lay atop an eminence called
Burdj Baqirha and contained the temple of the local B aal who went
by the name of Zeus Bömos the Great, the Hearkcner ( Δ ϊί Βωμω
μεγάλω έπηκόω).138 A nekropolis grew up on the hill near the shrine
IG L S 561. PAES III B, 1095.

135 IG L S 555. PAES III B, 1094.
136 IG L S 554. PAES III B, 1093.
157 IG L S 562. PAES III B, 1099.
138 IG L S 569. Prentice, AAES III, 48. This divinity is the same as Zeus
Madbachos.
272 CHAPTER TEN
in pre-Christian tim es.'39 The cult seems not to have survived long
after the death of Ju lian the Apostate, for a deacon named M ikalos
resided in his own house at Baqirha village by 384.140 The local
church staffed by the presbyter Symeon was not built until 491 or
501. Its lintel bears a Trinitarian formula with the expression “ One
God” .141 It therefore seems that recognizable numbers of polytheists
still lived in and around Baqirha at the end of the fifth century, ju st
as they did near D ar Qîta. Here at least we know the name o f the
divinity they worshipped.
A similar deduction is borne out from the inscriptions o f four
villages around the northern and western fringes of Djebel Barisha.
At Khirbet Tezin, a house was erected with no cross on its lintel in
402.142 Its Christian church was built only in 585.1+3 Sometime
during the era of Christianization a large, rude cross was cut on an
inscription honoring the emperor M arcus Aurelius near Q asr el-
Banat on the Antioch-Beroia highway.144 An undated church was
built in this village, probably during the fifth century.145 At Khirbet
el-Khatib, an imperial count possibly named Flavius Paulus
funded the construction o f a church in 473/4. It may have stood on
an estate that he owned.1"“ To the southwest o f the Baal temple at
Burdj Baqirha lay the village of Bashmili. Its baptistry was erected
only in 536/7 and lacks the “ One G od ” formula on its foundation
inscription.147 By that time there were perhaps few pagan rustics in
the area. The northern, heavily populated part o f Djebel Barisha
was thus being Christianized throughout the fifth century. It was
only at the large villages of D ar Q îta and Babisqa that the new
religion had taken root before 400.148
Djebel Barisha has a number of small plains lying one south of
the next along the eastern part of the massif. These seem to have
been Christianized generally during the fifth century. Tem ples
have been identified at D ar Seta and at the ancient Ichchënis
(Ιχχηνις, present-day M e‘ez). At D ar Seta a house lintel was
m IG L S 570. Prentice, AAES III, 49.

140 IG LS 568, Prentice, AAES III, 50.
143 IG L S 534. PAES III B, 1102.
l4> IG LS 533. Prentice, AAES III, 54.
",s IG LS 531. Prentice, AAES III, 76.
l4e IG LS 553. PAES III B, 1101.
147 IG L S 571. Prenuce, AAES III, 46.
1411 There were also temples at Benebil and Bashmili. These shrines have been
identified by building fragments, but not by inscriptions. Tchalenko, Villages
antiques 2, Pl. V II.
erected in 412 with the words “ One God who helps all” on it.149
Conversions were thus going on in the early fifth century, The
divinity of the temple at ancient Ichchënis is unknown, but the
village was probably being Christianized around the same time. A
stone basin has been discovered there with the quasi-Constantinian
victory formula: “ This (cross) conquers!” 150 A presbyter possibly
named Euphremios supervised the construction o f a martyrion
with the help o f a woman of Apam ea named “ G idra” ,151 The
rounded uncial letters o f the lintel inscription suggest a fifth cen
tury date. Ichchënis was perhaps an estate owned by this “ G idra” .
It is harder to trace the Christianization of K afr ‘Arüq, but this too
lies in the fifth century.152 The emperor Ju stin I subsidized the
construction of a martyrion o f Sts. Eias, Andrew, and Dometios
“ for us” in 521/2. The receivers were quite obviously Christians
and presumably resided on an imperial estate.153
T he western parts o f Djebel Barlsha by comparison began
accepting Christianity at quite an early date, undoubtedly because
o f their relative proximity to Antioch. The best example is the large
village of K okanäya in the southwestern part of the massif. The
introduction of the new religion came early in the reign of emperor
Constantius II. The latest inscription without a cross was cut on a
pedestal in 335 A.D. and later built into a Christian church.154
After this, militant Christian inscriptions become quite common,
beginning with a house lintel of 349: “ One God only” (εις Θεός
μόνος).155 A Christian named Eusebius or his relatives reused a
pagan tomb for his burial in 369. Lest his internment be confused
with a pagan one, they wrote a long Christian title:156
(Cross) For Eusebius. (Cross) A Christian.
(Cross) Glory to the father and Son and Holy Spirit.
This identification ( + Ε ύ σ ε β ίφ + Χ ρ ισ τ ια ν φ + ) would have been
unnecessary except that the local pagans had continued to use the
nekropolis. Christians were therefore something o f an exception at
Kokanäya in 369, but this changed in about two decades. A house
lintel with “ One God and his C h rist” was erected by D am as the

150 IG L S 583.
lsl IG L S 586. T he readings are somewhat doubtful.
152 Cf. the invocation of the Trinity in IG LS 587. Its rounded uncials suggest a
fifth-century date.
,si IG LS 589.
154 IG LS 600.
,s® IG LS 598.
274 CHAPTER TEN
housebuilder in 378.157 The lack o f monotheistic formulae after this

time suggests that the village was mostly or entirely Christianized
in the decade immediately thereafter. The transition is marked by
an undated church cornice with the affirmation: “ One God who
completed it. M agnus erected it” (ις Θεός ό τελι,ώσας. [Μ]άγνος
άνήγιρε).158 The personal name “ M agn us” is typical of the pre-
Christian Latinate nomenclature of the area, and so this inscription
marks the moment of transition quite precisely. From 384 onward
the “ One G od” is dropped from the Christian inscriptions, but the
“ erected” (άνηγιρεν) is retained as a regular feature. It was writ
ten the same way over a tomb in 384 and on a house lintel in 431:
“ The power of God and Christ erected it.” 159 By using the dis
appearance of the “ One G od” formula as the criterion and the
“ erected” as the element of continuity, it seems quite clear that the
village became mostly Christian between 378 and 384. The M ag
nus inscription apparently falls between these termini.
There is less to be said o f the other sites in western Djebel
Barisha, except that the Christian inscriptions all come quite early.
At M a ‘arräta (or M a'arrat Cheulf) on a plain below the west face
of the massif, a fragmentary lintel inscription has “Je su s C h rist”
and is dated 336/7.180 At Turlaha the lintel of a large building has
“ Christ help!” in 363/4.161 And at ‘Arshin near the southwest tip of
the massif, a sarkophagos cover has the words: “ One God and his
Christ, the help of the unfortunate m an!1’ in 363.162 The Chris
tianization of western Djebel Barïsha thus began well before the
demise of Ju lian the Apostate.
It should be obvious from this analysis that the progress of the
new religion in the different parts o f Djebel Barisha depended on
localized conditions such as easy access to Antioch and the outside
world generally, the ownership of land, and the cohesiveness o f
village society in the face of external pressure for religious change.
The pace of Christianization varied throughout the massif, but the
proccss was very nearly complete in some localities by c. 400.
IV. The Antiochene. The Orontes Basin

The “ Orontes basin” for the purposes o f discussion here includes
Daphne and the three mountain chains of the Limestone M assif
157 IG L S 595. Prentice, AAKS III, 35.

158 IGLS 599.
119 IG L S 602 and 597.
160 TOT 's 544
162 IGLS 621.
that rise immediately to the east o f the river. They lie in staggered
sequence: Djebel W astani in the southwest hard against the course
of the Orontes; Djebel Duaili in the center; and Djebel il*A‘la to the
northeast facing Djebel Barisha. The epigraphic remains in this
group of hills are sparse by comparison with the rest o f the Anti
ochene, but are nevertheless very important.
The most important Hellenic shrine o f the Orontes basin was of
course that of Apollo at Daphne, a suburb of Antioch to the south
o f the city as the river flows on to the sea. The destruction of the
temenos in the fourth century is well-known and need not detain us
here.163 More to the point is the religious allegiance o f the wealthy
Antiochenes who lived there. The useful inscriptions are few and
none can be dated except by letter forms. It is best to put two
important Christian inscriptions in the second half of the fourth
century. The first bears the formula: “ (Cross) One God and his
Christ who help Romyllianos with his wife and children,” a prayer
offering. His Latinate name suggests a conversion between 360-
400.164 T he other Christian text is the funerary inscription o f a
certain Kalliopios. He was probably a Hellene whose family, or
who himself, converted to the new religion around the same time.
Libanius’ letters mention five persons of this name, including his
disciple Kalliopios son of Bassos, who died in 364. One of the
others was a city councillor.165 The Christian K alliopios’ family
was well educated and expressed its hope for his immortality in
mildly Homeric language. The inscription runs:166
Here lies Kalliopios, who lived for twenty-six years. He had quite a
faithful soul and with prayers regularly praised God, the giver oflife
to mortals who has provided you with a city in the sky.
These sentiments are reminiscent of those expressed in the Athe
nian inscriptions of the sam e period.167 The Christian Antiochcnes
of Daphne thus had much in common with their coreligionists in
Athens and Aphrodisias.
The Orontes basin was rapidly Christianized in the late fourth
century, but nevertheless contains an inscription commemorating
one of the latest temple restorations known. The work was done by
the highpriest (ά ρ χ ιε[ρ εύ ς ]) and city councillors (β[θ]υ (Λ ευ τ]α ί)
ofT ouron (present-day il-Hoçn), a small town in the Djebel Duaili,
163 Deichmann, “ Kirchcn in Heiligtümern,” 116. Cf. Ammianus Marcellinus,

Res Gestae 22.12-13, etc.
164 IG LS 991
J.H .G . Liebcschuetz, Antioch (Oxford 1972), 176, 180.
166 IG L S 103Q.
167 Supra, Ch. IV, Sect. 1.
276 CHAPTER TEN
in 367/8. The restorations to the text are in some instances

problem atical;160
For good luck. T h e five (?) city councillors o f T o u ro n , in com pleting
(?) (their duty) to the an cestral Z eus, Z eu s K o ry p h eos, accord in g ίο
com m an d (a sm all portion (?)) with their read y h an ds, restored the
propylon and stoa and ap se of the d oorw ay and the images, in the time
o f A urelius M arim in eos (?) the high p riest in the year 416 (of the
A ntiochene era).
Aurelius M arimineos (Αύριλ(ίου) Μ[αριμ]ινεου) was the archi-

hiereus o f Antioch established under the Ju lian ic schcme of having
high priests in provincial capitals and ordinary priests in the cities.
Touron was evidently not recognized as an urban corporation, for
no local priest is named. Aurelius M arimineos thus continued to
exercise direction over the rural temples and cults of the Anti
ochene in accordance with the tolerant policy o f the coemperor
Valens, who did not initially overturn the recent arrangements
made by Ju lian the Apostate in the Roman E a st.li>y The word
“ im ages55 is heavily restored (τάς ε[ικ]ό [να ς]), but it has nothing
against it, as imperial edicts long after this date confirm the sur
vival of cult effigies in their tem ples.1/0 There were plenty o f city
councillors who remained Hellenes after 367/8 as well.
The temple at Touron was eventually closed. The terminus post
quem for this event is provided by the spolia built into the Christian
church on the site that include dated inscriptions, the latest being a
building inscription of 396 A .D ,171 The monks that Libanius
loathed and feared so much did not reach this temple in his
lifetime, as he is thought to have died in 393.172 The divinity named
in the inscription, the ancestral Zeus Koryphaios, was of course the
Baal of the local high place, and is probably identical to the Baal
worshipped at Koryphë (present-day Djebel Sheikh Berekät) in
Djebel Sim'ân under the name of Zeus M adbachos.173 One of the
inscriptions built into the church contains an apparent reference to
this divinity in 351 A.D ., quite a late date for such testimonials. It
has no cross and affirms: “ The only lord, the immortal” (ώ κύριως
μονός, ώ άθάνατος) .174 Zeus Koryphaios was the sole lord of this
160 IGLS 652,

169 Su pra, Ch. II, n, 46. The inscription confirms Theodoret of Cyrrhus on this
point.
1/(1 Su pra, C h. I, Sect. 2 passim , C f csp. Cod. Theod. Î 6 .10,12, prooem. and 1-2.
Also: Cod. Theod. 16.10.8.
171 IG L S 655.
172 Liebeschuetz, Antioch 6.
1/3 Supra, Ch. X, Sect. 1, and n. 138.
IG L S 653.
temenos until after 396, the Greek kyrios being a literal translation
of the Aram aic rab. The inscription provides an important witness
for the local Semitic polytheistic origin of the late “ One God only”
formula that turns up in the Christian inscriptions of the Limestone
M assif.175
The personal names of the residents o f Touron were mostly
Hellenic through the end of the fourth century. M ost of them are
attested in inscriptions with the recurrent verb “ he m ade” (έπο-
ιησεν) or “ they m ade” (έπόησαν (sic)),176 many o f them built into
the church. This recurrence suggests votive offerings, that is sac
rifices, to 7.eus Koryphaios. We do not know the names of the town
councillors of Touron who refurbished the temple in 367/8, but
some of the persons named in the various inscriptions must have
been locals. M ost have Hellenic, Latinate, or ethnic pagan names.
Among these was a certain Hêdêmôn, who made the last recorded
offering in 396.'77 Others were Flavius Theodoros and his son Römy-
los (a local variant of Romulus?), who saluted the Baal as “ the only
lord, the immortal” in 351.178 The father’s prayer reveals that not
everyone who took the Constantinian praenomen became a Christian.
The temple became a mecca as well for pagan soldiers serving in
the imperial guards formations attached to the coemperor Valens
in Antioch and others. Among these was a soldier of Illyrian
extraction named T aulas serving with the palatine legion “ the
divinely honored Ioviani” (tôv θεο(τίμω ν) Ίοβηνώ ν) who visited
Touron in 36Φ/5.179 Another group appeared on the scene in 395.
They came from a formation of lanciarii (another palatine legion)
whose names are recorded as “ Akylas, Antiochos, of the sons o f
Domnios (?), Domnionos, and all the divinely honored lanciarii.” >a<)
It is quite significant that the officers sacrificed for their men, as it
proves the existence of many pagans in the elite guards formations.
These offerings prove the truth of the complaint constantly reiter
ated in the imperial edicts about persons who continued to slip
away to rural temples and perform sacrifices.1®1 This went on at

176 IG L S 653-656.
IG L S G.W.
170 IG L S 653
179 IG L S 656. Cf. Jones, Later Roman Empire, 53, etc.
100 IG LS 654. Cf. JoneSj Later Roman Empire, 52— The restoration “ sons of
Domnios” given in IG L S is certainly incorrect, The men named were evidently his
officers*
lfil Activities such as this are clearly alluded to in a law of 399 addressed to the
Praetorian Prefect of Oriens. Cad. Theod. 16.10.16, The Jaw is practically synchro
nous with the last days of the temple in question, and its destruction may be
directly related to action pursuant to this»
278 CHAPTER TEN
Touron until 396, and perhaps for years to come. The site lacks
Christian inscriptions, the sole monument to the new religion being
the church, It was probably staffed by a m onasticparamonams who
had experiences not unlike those endured by Thalelios and the
other monks who turn up in Theodoret’s Historia Philotheos.
The best documented village in the Orontes basin is Djuwaniyeh
in eastern Djebel A ‘la. Signs of Christianization begin here begin in
the post-Julianic years182 with a Christian inscription of 374: “ One
God who helps those who fear him.” 183 There are many “ One God”
inscriptions in the village, but only one other o f them is dated, and
that to 398 (“ One God only, who helps all his friends” ) .184 One of
the other inscriptions on a house lintel gives the names o f the
householders, Domnos, Eusebius, M aron, and Alexandra, who
were recent converts to ju d ge from their Latinate, Aram aic, and
non-theophoric Greek names. The inscription is written in early
square uncials and thus belongs c. 380-420.185 We may take c. 420
as the latest possible date for the Christianization o f Djuwaniyeh,
which is thus quite typical for the district. The only known church
here was the martyrion of St. Stephen the protomartyr, commemo
rated by boundary stones (öpot) in 554.186
K w aro at the southern tip of Djebel Wustaneh was Christianized
somewhat earlier. It seems to have been nothing more than an
ancient nekropolis. The “ One G od” inscriptions begin with a funer
ary text of 361/2 (Ε ις Θεός μόνος I X 0 Y C ) .187 The locals were still
accepting the new religion c. 380-420, as another tomb with the
same formula indicates. It identifies the dead as Aptaios, Boalas,
M arion, and Dometios, a familiar set of late pagan-early Christian
n am es.188 There is also a comparatively late pagan tomb built by a
certain Archas in 359. The Christian Alpha-Chi-Rho-Omega on
the stone does not seem to be part o f the original inscription, and so
was added later, probably by family members who had in the
meantime become C hristian.189 The “ One G od” formula over the
door o f the tomb of 361/2 seems to have been dictated also by an
182 The tomb of Antiochus built in 340 lack a cross. IG LS 612. Prenticc, AAES
III 20.
]h IG L S 611. Premice, AAES III, 21.
,8+ IG L S 617. Cf. also IG LS 614, 615, 619.
185 IG L S 616.
186 IG L S 618, 620.
187 IG L S 662.
188 IG L S 659.
189 PAES III B, 1069. The editors of IG L S 660 arc quite skeptical about W .K.
Prentice’ restoration.
THE ANTIOCHENE AND THE ΛΡΛΜΕΝΕ 279
urgent concern about monotheism.190 The site has no attested

church or martyrion. Its early date of Christianization, prior to the
patriarchate of Flavian of Antioch (381—404) resulted from its
proximity to the Orontes valley and the need of villagers in neigh
boring places for an exclusively Christian site for burying their
dead.
There is little else to be said about the Orontes basin. The
periodeutai of Antioch were certainly active in this region.191 The
Christianization o f other villages like Dcrkoush lying hard against
the Orontes came after 352, when a pagan burial was recorded.192
While the three mountains of this area are poorly documented in
the epigraphy, they decisively contradict Libanius’ account of the
monks’ forcible Christianization o f the parts lying closer to Anti
och. The process lay in the hands of the regular clergy, and was
begun in many places before the patriarchate of Flavian. At least
one rural temple, that found at Touron, remained a site where
Hellenes continued to sacrifice until at least 396,
V. The Antiochene: The North Slope of Djebel Rïha (Djebel Zäwiyeh)

G. Tchalenko has demonstrated that the southern border of the
Antiochene, that is First Syria, enclosed only the northern slopes o f
Djebel R ïh a.193 T o the south lay the Apamene, or the parts o f
Second Syria administered from the provincial capital at Apam ea.
T he inscriptions above and below the boundary are dated by
different local eras. Those o f the Antiochene used the era of Anti
och, which began in 48 B .C ., whereas those o f the Apamene
employed the Seleucid era, which began in 311 B.C . This adminis
trative fact enables us to judge whether the different attitudes
prevailing towards Christianization in Antioch and A pam ea had
any appreciable effect on the speed with which the different territoria
were Christianized. Let us first consider the Antiochene portion o f
Djebel Rïha.
Northern Djebel Rïha was sparsely populated in comparison
with the parts to the south. Only one pagan temple has been
identified, that at Urim el-Djüz. Only building fragments sur
vive.194 It seems that the population of this site remained partly or
largely pagan until the mid-fifth century, as a tomb without crosses
190 IGLS 663.

191 IG L S 634 at M a’sarteh in Dieb«] il-A‘la.
m IG L S 665.
193 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, M ap 7.
194 Tchalcnko, Villages antiques 2, PI. V II.
280 CHAPTER TEN
has the dates 354—444 A .D . on it.195 An early “ One G od” inscrip

tion is badly dam aged ([Ε ι]ς <Θε>ώς μόνο]ς) and is not incontest
ably Christian. It belongs to 376/7 A.D., but has a six-pointed cross
or star on it, suggesting Jew ish authorship. Nor are the names of its
authors distinctively Christian: M oskos, Dekios (?), M arinos (?),
Bosanos (?), and Palladios.'96 Definitively Christian inscriptions
turn up on tombs, but are undated. They probably belong to the
fifth century. The proprietors mentioned on them seem to have
been recent converts to judge from their names, such as Basos,
Audos, and Baulos on one of them, which has no sign o f cult except
a cross inscribed in a circle.197 The porch of the pagan tomb of
Bassos, seemingly reused by a certain Athrëlos (Ά θρ<η>λ(θζ)?),
has “ C h rist” and possibly I X 0 Y C cut on it.198 These signs o f
earliest Christianization are quite peculiar, suggesting that this
border district was a true cultural backwater. This holds true with
the distinctively Christian tomb of Astërona, whose inscription is
written in miserably spelled Greek. The monument is called a
temple (τώ είρέω ν), a memorial (τό μ[νη]μεΐον), and a hero’s
tomb (τό έροειον), terms that usually went out of use with the
coming of Christianity. The monument has the “ One G od” formu
la and various symbols such as the Christogram , Alpha-Omega,
and palm leaf.199 It seems safe to date ail this to the last quarter of
the fourth century to judge from a certain similarity of its formula
“ in behalf of salvation” (ύπέρ σ[ωτη]ρίας) to another example
found at Ruweha,200 but the tomb of Astêrona may in fact be later.
U rim el-Djuz has no church. It is quite possible that the temple
precincts became a Jew ish and Christian nekropolis after the decline
of the pagan cult in the post-Julianic period, but the old religion
persisted in the parts round about for a long time.
Riha, a village at the northernmost edge of Djebel Rîha, has a
sim ilar character to Urim el-Drüz. The earliest reference to C hris
tianity is a funerary inscription of 386:201
One God only. In memory of Bassos. Bassos began (this tomb).
Theosebis his wife completed it. With their help Secundinus the
housebuilder finished (the work).
195 IG L S 670.
IG L S 668.
195 IG L S 672.
1M IG L S 666, 667.
199 IG LS 671.
so° Prentice, AAES III 263.
i0' IG L S 689. Prentice, AAES III, 278.
The same tomb had an apparently pagan burial in it at the same

date:202
The sons of Pamanos, Theoteknos and Artebanos brothers, com-
pleted the tomb* Secundinus the housebuilder finished (the work).
In the first instance, Secundinus the artisan used the “ One G od ”

formula and the neutral term “ memory*5 (μνήμη) to characterize
the burial, but in the latter case he omitted all signs of cult and used
the rather more Hellenic “ hero’s tom b” (ήροείον), a term that had
a very limited currency in Christian burials. In 386, it seems, the
village was in religious transition. Old-fashioned Latin and Syrian
names prevailed among pagans and Christians alike. Village soli
darity lasted despite religious differences. At a later time, an addi
tional ‘O n e G od ” inscription was incised on the communal
tomb.203 It was perhaps the descendants o f Pam anos who did this
after their own conversion. Another pagan tomb was completed in
421/2. It belonged to M alchos son of M enander.204 It is practically
synchronous with a Christian tomb of 422:205
(Cross)(Date)(Cross) The place of Alexander, cancdlaùus of the pre
fects, son of Aidesios, (built) through Gorgonius the jobber.
The religious character of Rlha was thus in flux for an entire
generation (36 years) after the first “ One G od ” inscription was cut,
(that is between 386-422), It must be borne in mind, however, that
Alexander had pursued a career in the officium o f the M agister
Officiorum as a glorified door keeper or attendant (cancellanus) .20fi
He either bought lands at Rïha or else returned to an ancestral
holding after his retirement from the civil service. He may have
accepted Christianity only after his appointment, as his father
Aidesios has a Hellenic name. His profession o f Christianity is not,
therefore, a perfect gauge of local religious conditions through 422,
except to say that the profession of monotheism did not seem
essential to communal life at Rlha. This is a sign of cordial relations
between the pagans and Christians of the village.
202 IG L S 690, Prentice, AAES III, 279, The men named cannot possibly be
“ monks” , as W.K. Prentice supposes. Artebanos and Paman appear to be Persian
names. They were seemingly migrants to this place, but pagans still turn up at
□f p r fliltP C
IG LS 691. Prentice, AAES III, 280.

IG LS 688. Prentice, AAES III, 283. The numerals at the start of this
inscription have been taken as dates. W>K. Prentice expresses some doubt about
this, but the editors of IG L S do not*
206 Jo n es, Later Roman Empin , 582.
282 CHAPTER TEN
The ancient village o f K aper Lata (present-day Ktelläta) lies

some three kilometers to the south o f Rïha» It has only one relevant
Christian inscription. It was cut on a four-column vault erected by
a certain Antoninus son of Philip in 449.207 The onomastics and
date suggest the Christianization of the site in the second quarter o f
the fifth century.
T o the southeast lies the large village of Ruwèha, It stands 0 1 1 a
bluff above the old Roman military road between Beroia and
Chalkis sub Belo. Christianity arrived here no later than 384/5.
The place has a fourth century church.208 It is attested by an
inscription on a reused block from a pagan funerary temple:209
O ne G o d only who helps! In b e h a lf o f the salvation and rem em
b ran ce o f the living* B a ssim as an d M a th b ab e a rebuilt it.
These folk with barbaric-sounding Syrian names were local land

owners. The “ living55 prayed for here are in fact the Christian dead
(υπέρ σωτηρίας κα ι μνήμ(ης) των ζόντων). A great Christian
m agnate constructed a villa not long afterw ards in 396.*lü T h e
Christian named Bizzos son o f Pardos, who is associated with the
construction of the North Church, seems to have lived in the sixth
century.21' Ruwëha was quite plausibly a suburban residence for
reasonably wealthy farmers whose precise urban connections are
difficult to demonstrate more precisely. Their names and the date
o f the uOne G od ” inscription suggest a local aristocracy that
accepted Christianity in the late fourth century. Ruwêhâ thus
difTers considerably from the villages further to the east and north,
which seemingly had fewer contacts with the agents o f the patri
archate o f Antioch.
The trend was thus for the wealthier villages to become Christian
earlier, This is borne out by the excavations conducted at Rayän
and reported by G. Tchalenko. The village lay well to the east of
Ruwëha. The church at Rayän received its mosaic floor in 417. The
funds came from the patriarchal treasury during the episcopate of
Alexander o f Antioch (414-424). The penodeutês Mokimos super
vised the work with the help of the local clergy, which consisted o f a
presbyter, deacon* and psaltës all of wrhom have Semitic names
(M ari, Zaccheos, and Ja c o b ),212 Flavius Libanius, an imperial
aov IG L S 684. Prentice, A A E S III, 273.

200 Butler, Early Churches, 27fF. This is the South Church,
Prentice, A A ES 111,263.
y10 IG L S 675, 677, 681.
231 IG L S 673, 674. Prentice, A A E S II I, 265, 266.
ϊ,ΰ Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, no. 39b.
official or local magnate, met part o f the expense,213 as did a cer

tain Eusebius, son of the “ blessed” or deceased Raphphouseos
(Εμσεβίου του 'Ραφφουσεου τού μακαρίτου ).214 It is likely that
this Raphphouseos came from a pagan family and accepted Chris
tianity in the very late fourth century. It is thus the second Christian
generation o f Rayän that is recorded in the epigraphy. By its time
the new religion was well established in the village with the new
church and celebration of the liturgy by M ari the presbyter.*15 We
are unable to tell whether the local freeholders or tenant farmers
took the lead o f the wealthier families in this connection. Rayän
probably first saw Christianity not long after Ruwëha, that is, no
earlier than 384/5.216
The Christianization of the Antiochene portion of Djebel Riha
suggests a great diversity of local conditions. The wealthier land
owners adopted the new religion in the late fourth century, but the
underclasses of their villages, as it seems, and the poorer places in
general took longer to do so. Aram aic and Latinate names persisted
longer here than in the northern parts of the Limestone M assif. The
new religion made headway from the early fifth century onward
thanks to the efforts o f the the bilingual periodeutai.
Let us now consider the parts of Djebel Riha lying under the
jurisdiction o f A pam ea in the south to see if substantial differences
existed in the rapidity and character of Christianization.
VI. The Apamene: Southern Djebel Rika

Apam ea, the metropolis of Second Syria, lies to the south-
southwest of Djebel Riha. A series of valleys leading down in that
direction open the central part of the m assif to traffic coming up
from the provincial capital. It was a consequence o f geography that
Christianity should have entered Djebel Riha from Apam ea and
that Christianization should have begun in the south.
The most aggressive proponent of the new religion in the
Apamene was archbishop M arcellus, whose episcopate lasted
through the mid- and late 380’s. The church historian Sozomen
indicates that M arcellus ordered the destruction o f all the pagan
temples in the countryside o f the Apamene, and died in the act of
carrying out an assault on a temenos at Aulon.217 One might expect
Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, no. 39d.

214 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, no. 39c.
215 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, no. 39b.
ïle The mosaic inscriptions cited here provide good examples of the early
square uncials that turn up fairly often in the Syrian inscriptions c. 380-420.
2,7 Supra, Ch. II, n. 121.
284: CHAPTER TEN
signs of temple demolitions and dated inscriptions as proof of this

historical “ fact” , but the traces of pagan shrines in southern Djebel
Rïha are quite rare. A mere two are attested, one at Kefr Rüm a, the
other at Khirbet î i äss. The foundations o f the former are in situ, but
the latter has been identified only by building fragments,218 Neither
is identified by an inscription or stratified ruins suggesting a de
struction date in the 380’s. Pierre Canivet has posited the exis
tence o f a temple at an ancient site where the ruins o f a monastery
lie whose architecture imitates the style of the “ Theodosian renais*
sance” c. 400, but no archaeological remains have survived. The
site lies on the plain southwest o f Djebel Rïha and has been
plausibly identified as the ancient Nikertai,219 There is thus nothing
in the area directly to connect these temples to the forays of
M arcellus of Apamea.
There is no reason, either to believe that M arcellus o f Apam ea
was chiefly responsible for the introduction o f Christianity into
Djebel Rïha, although the first signs o f the new religion in some
villages are synchronous with his episcopate. The process of Chris
tianization in the Apamene was too protracted to have been the
work of one aggressive archbishop, and in any case began before his
known floruit in the 380’s, The villages o f Djebel Rïfoa have yielded a
less detailed epigraphic record than those of the Antiochene, but
nevertheless reveal much that is new and interesting. The hand o f
M arcellus is directly visible only in the construction of the church
at Khirbet M uqa, which lies east-northeast o f A pam ea and is
well to the south of Djebel Rïha. The mosaic floor was laid in 384/5.
The inscription is devoid of any ideological statem ent about
Christianization:220
By the will of God the deacon Kyriades restored the church in behalf
of bishop John of blessed and noble memory. And the same Kyriades
made the mosaic in behalf of the most holy bishop Marcellus and
Mareas the presbyter in the year 706 {of the Seleucid era).
The previous archbishop Joh n had already established this rural
church, and M arcellus simply provided the funds to adorn it* The
latter’s episcopate did not evidently begin long before 384/5 as well,
an important date to consider in looking at the inscriptions o f
Djebel Rïha proper. The systematic building of churches really
preceded M arcellus' time. The periodeutai of the see seem to have
218 Tchalenko, Villages antiques, P). V II.

219 M aria-Theresa and Pierre Canivet, "Sites chrétiennes d ’Apamène,” Syria 48
(1971), 296-314.
220 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, no. 39a,
carried this out along with an Aramaic-speaking clergy, as hap

pened at Q asr el-Abyad. Here the mosaic of the apse was laid
under the direction o f Eulogius the periodeutes, Basos and Daniel the
presbyters, and Rapsönios the deacon. A laym an named Kaiüm
son of M alchos, a man o f Arabo-Syrian parentage, contributed to
the work as well.221 The inscription is unfortunately undated.
The introduction o f Christianity into the villages having temples
cannot be dated with precision. At Kefr Rüm a there was a pagan
burial in 349, a date well before widespread Christianization
began.232 The site has no Christian inscriptions of any kind, and so
it is impossible to suggest the date for a temple conversion. At
Khirbet H âss, on the other hand, pagan and Christian tombs
provide plausible termini. Thirty-three years elapsed between the
burial of Basileus son o f Boubogeos in 367 (certainly a pagan
interment) and that o f an unnamed Christian in 430, whose tomb
has many crosses incised upon it.223 The latter’s intense advertise
ment of his cult suggests the Christianization o f Khirbet H äss
towards the end o f the first quarter o f the fifth century. There is also
an undated “ Christ, help!” inscription and a Christian house lintel
belonging to the sixth century.224 H .C. Butler believes that a
Christian church was built at Khirbet H âss in the fourth century.225
I f such a dating is accepted, it must be put in the last two decades
before 400. I f M arcellus’ troops reached Khirbet H ass and de
stroyed its temple, they may have built the church without refer
ence to the rustics’ initial religious allegiance.
The other villages of southwestern Djebel Rïha began to accept
Christianity well before this time. The new religion entered Kefr
Ambil by the mid-fourth century 226 The village has a crypto-
Christian funerary inscription whose date is c. 340-348. It is an
important example of this genre:227
Joy! In the year 65[.] (of the Seleucid era). In (the month) of
Pamenos. Seleukos son of Zobon, our father, completed this tomb
(koimëtêrion) as a visible memorial of his children.
The inscription has no crosses or other symbols of Christian belief.

The word “Jo y !” (χάρα) belongs to the conventions o f pagan
221 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, no. 39f.

222 IG L S 1539. Prentice, AAES III, 172. The tomb is called akeroton (sic) and
lacks a cross. It was completed by Auxentios, his son Seleukos,andtheir slaves.
223 IG L S 14-95, 1501. Prentice, AAES III, 179, 181.
224 IG L S 1497, 1505. Prenticc, AAES III, 180, 185.
225 Butler, Early Churches, 37.
22β Butler, Early Churchts, 37.
227 IG L S 1529! Prentice, AAES III, 147.
286 CHAPTER TEN
funerary epigraphy, but the term koimëtërion (κοιμητήριον), the

term used for “ tom b” , is characteristically Christian, for it alludes
to the resurrection of the dead by reducing the sepulchre to a
“ place o f sleep” .228 Seleukos was probably one of the very few
Christians in the village at this time. The others seem to belong to
the late fourth and fifth centuries, A pagan tomb o f third-century
date reused around this time by a Christian physician named
Abram os (Ά β ρ α μ ο ς + ια τρός).229 There is also a Christian
lintel,230 At nearby Dahr el-Kebira there is a “ One G od” inscrip
tion (εις Θεός ό μόνος) o f 377:231
One God the only one. (Date) The stoa was completed by the
a rtisan s H erm ogen es and M a rath a io s and M arin ios.
It probably belongs to the episcopate o fjo h n , M arccllus’ predeces

sor at Apamea.
T he village o f Hâss saw the new religion even earlier. An oil
factory bears the formula: “ One God only. The oil press was
completed in November of the year 683 (of the Seleucid e ra )” (372
A.D .) (εις Θεός μόνος . . . συνετελέσθη τό έλεοτρ[ι}βΪον).232 It
was customary to inscribe the names of the local gods on oil
presses, as was seen in the case of a similar installation at Kefr
Nabo in Djebel Sim ‘än.MS The press at H âss reveals that some of
the oil producers had broken with the old gods by 371/2 A.D. It is
possible that these early Christians constructed their own facility to
avoid having to invoke the daimones of the old religion during the
harvest. H ass was at this time in a state o f religious flux, for at least
one pagan burial is recorded after this. A tomb o f 378 was com
pleted by the family of Agrippa son of M arinos and Domna the
m an’s wife. The inscription is not discernibly Christian.234 A “ One
God only. Chi-M u-G am m a” was added to this tomb at a later
date, when the descendants of Agrippa became Christian.235 This
probably happened before the end o f the fourth century, There is
one other inscription o f H ass that may be crypto-Christian, It
stands on the lintel of a tomb:236
îje Supra, Ch. IV, Scct. 1.

259 IG LS 1528. Premice, AAES III, 145.
23n IG LS 1529, Prentice, AAES III, 147.
231 IG L S bis. 1532.
232 IG LS 1509, Prentice, AAES III, 152.
233 Supra, Ch. X , Sect. 1.
*** IG L S 1506. Prentice, AARS III, 154.
i35 IG L S 1507. Prentice, AAES III, 155,
(Date) Baradönes son of Bachchilos and Marinos and his sister

together completed the memorial, and also the son of Agripinos and
the son of Zeôras. And they shall live with those who are long-lived
(or “ the ancicnts” ).
The tomb bears no crosses. It is called a “ memorial place”
(μνημΪον), a religiously neutral term. On the other hand, the
reference to the builders’ living in aftertime with “ the long-lived
ones” (ζήσουαιν πολυχρονίοις) could be either pagan or Chris
tian, the reference being either to the “ blessed” gods and heroes
(μάκαροι) or to the Jew ish prophets and Christian martyrs.
Dated to 376 A ,D., the inscription signifies flux in religious ideas.
The Christian notion o f “ eternal life” had perhaps gotten into the
thinking o f the pagan rustics before their formal rejection of
polytheism. On the other hand, the formula may be crypto- or
proto-Christian. On balance, it appears that H ass was divided on
matters o f religious opinion during the 370’s, and that the next
generation became Christian, The Christians of the 3705s set up
their own oil press, but used inoffensive language in the inscriptions
of the nekropolis, where family ownership of the tombs predated the
advent o f the new religion. Within a generation, there was no
longer any need either for “ One G od” or crypto-Christian formu
lae, because the place had accepted the new religion.
In 388 the village clergy of H ass supervised the ornamentation of
a church:237
U n d er the supervision o f B artjeousos the presbyter, an d T h a la sio s
and M arin os an d D ios the deacons» in the year 700 (o f the Seleu cid
era) in the second indiction, the C ouncil o f T e n , T h eod ore, M a raö
( . . . ) , D iogenes, M arin o s, M okim os, Signônës, (an d ) M arcellin u s
( . . . ) > and M arcellu s the tile-layer, com pleted the laying o f this
m osaic in C h rist. C h rist help!
The village had a church and regular clergy by 388. Archbishop

M arcellus o f Apam ea had quite evidently sent these men out in the
last years o f his episcopate. This is one example of the less sensa
tional side of his efforts to Christianize the city’s territorium. The
Latinate and Aram aic names M arinos and Scgnas-Signönes
appear in the pre-Christian inscriptions mentioned previously. The
greater number o f village headmen making up the Council of Ten
(δεκάπρωτοι) were Christian in 388, with only seven being named
here. The rest presumably remained pagan. T he “ One G od” for
mula had become otiose by this time, and so all things were done
237 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, no. 39.

288 CHAPTER TEN
“ in Christ” (έν Χ ριστώ ). The seven Christians in the Council of

Ten may well be the mean index of the percentage of Christians in
H ass in 388.
The Christianization of H âss, except for some die-hard poly
theists, came about in half a generation, between 372-388» T his
“ Christianization” did not require the baptism o f everyone in the
village, but rather the domination of the village council by a
majority o f catcchumens. If the village were prosperous, local
monies and labor helped to finance the construction o f the church
and the salaries o f the clergy. Within a generation, the older
personal nomenclature of Latinate and Aram aic names will have
died out.23â H âss is in a way a “ textbook” example o f the pragm atic
style of Christianization that went on behind the scenes of M arcel
lus o f A pam ea’s destruction of the temples, and comes closer to the
realities of this business than do the stories about him recorded in
the ecclesiastical histories of Sozomen and Theodoret.259 It is one of
the few archaeological attestations of Marcellus* work, along with
the church mosaic inscription at Khirbet M uqa,240 The archaeolog
ical evidence once again provides an important corrective to the
contemporary historical narratives.
We must next turn to the villages of central Djebel Riha ju st
inside the frontiers o f the Apamene, It is difficult to say here
whether the Christian influence came predominantly from Apam ea
or from Antioch in the north. In either case, this district was
marked by great religious diversity well into the fifth century. We
learn o f the presence o f the periodeutes Olympios from a sarkophagos
inscription o f ancient M egara (present-day M edjara) J241 At Snan in
the borderland between the Apamene and Antiochene a tomb
reveals a quasi-Constantinian formula of militant Christianization:
“ This sign conquers” (τό σημιων τούτο νικφ), a reference to the
cross.242 The military nekropolis at Q alat il-Mudiq shows signs of
Christianization, but probably only in the later fifth or sixth
century.243
The village of Frikya, although lying in the extreme north of the
Apamene, was linked topographically to the central m assif of
Djebel Riha and to the plain of Apam ea. Some extremely impor-
230 Cf. the tomb of Eusebius and Antonius. IG LS 15Î0—1522. Premice, AAES
I IL 157-170.
Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 3.
240 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, no. 39a.
241 IG L S 1405. Prentice, AAES III, 276,
242 IG L S 1404.
243 Prentice. AAES III 141, 143.
TH E ANTIOCHENE AND THE APAMENE 289
tant pre-Christian inscriptions illustrate the religious mentality

that preceded the conversion of the rustics in the mid-fourth cen
tury. They stand on the mausoleum of LAbd R abba, a great build
ing constructed of large blocks on a hillside to the south o f the
village. His name, given in the epigraphy as A bcdrapsas
(\Α βεδρά ψα ς), is the pagan theophoric of an unknown god, “ slave
of the lord5’ ('abed d'-rabä in Aram aic). It was not the God of
Ju d aism and Christianity:244
A b e d ra p sa s son o f D ionysios an d A m a th b ab e a his wife, d au gh ter o f
Eu polem os, com pleted the tom b. H av in g partaken cheerfully o f life,
they offered p rayers to the an cestral gods. Be o f good cou rage, my
soul. N o one is im m ortal·
The invocation was o f the local Baal, sun god, and female fertility
deity. The inscription was cut in M ay 324. Another inscription tells
of A bcdrapsas’ personal gratitude to an unknown god who benefit-
ted him throughout his entire life:J45
A b e d ra p sa s sp eak s, giving thanks for these things. When I cam e o f
ag e, my an cestral god, the god o f A rkesilaos, ap p eared to m e clearly
and conferred m any benefits on me. W hen twenty-five y ears old, I
w as given over to the study o f an artisan trade, an d I fully acquired
the sam e trad e in a short time, and furtherm ore, through m y own
provision, I p u rch ased a village for m y self with no one knowing it,
and so I freed m y self from h aving to go down to the city. A nd I w as
ju st and w as ju stly guided.
Biographical statements are seldom given in such detail in pagan

fu nerary e p ig rap h y . T h e unknown god bestowed m an y favo rs on
A bedrapsas (έν πολλοις με εύεργέτησεν) after granting him an
epiphany (δήλω ς μοι φ |ε]ν ό μ εν ο ς ). A fairly wealthy artisan
might thus have the sam e expectations as a philosopher like
Proclus*246 A bedrapsas1 trade was perhaps that of stonecutter,
although positive proof is lacking. W .K . Prentice conjectures that it
was A bedrapsas who created the relief protraits o f himself, his wife
Am athbabea, a daughter of the same name, and their slave
Irene.247 Abedrapsas' sense o f satisfaction in leading a life of justice
under the guidance of the deity (κε έ(γ)ώ δικέος ήμην., κέ δικέω ς
όδηγήθην) has a seem ingly Ju d a ic or C hristian ring, but the
other mausoleum inscription is entirely polytheistic,248 The god of

24' IG L S 1410. Prentice, AAES III, 242.
24i On the corrcct identification of the phantasms of the gods, see: lambJichus,
De Mysitriis 2JO (De Places 93-96).
247 IG LS 1411. Prentice, AAES III, 243, with photo on p. 208f.
24fl IG LS 1409. Prentice, AAES III, 241.
290 CHAPTER TEN
Arkesilaos belonged to a Semitic pantheon. The inscription teils the

story of a manumission. Abedrapsas began learning his trade quite
late in life, thanks to his owner Arkesilaos’ investment, and earned
the price of his freedom. On the day of A bedrapsas’ manumission,
his owner will have sold him to the god, hence the freedman’s
doulo-theophoric name (‘Abed plus the name or title of the divin
ity). In time he would own a domestic slave of his own. The
mausoleum is that of a fairly wealthy man, one who had bought a
village (χωρίον) and lived off its rents. Abedrapsas’ acquired freedom
from having to go down to the city (μή καταβένειν αυτόν ει(ς) την
πόλιν) reflects not economic necessity, but rather deliverance from the
obligations of service and gratitude that freedmen owed to their
former owners. It was Arkesilaos’— his owner’s—god-given wealth
that permitted this. The city was evidently Antioch or Apamea, which
lay down-river and down-land, respectively, from Frikya.
T he religious culture of Frikya was evolving toward Christianity
in the 320’s thanks to the protomonotheism of its principal citizen,
Abedrapsas, whose sense o f justice will have motivated him to
collect fair rents from the tenants of the place. It would not be
surprising if a temple dedicated to the god R abä had been built in
the first quarter of the fourth century, but the archaeological record
is silent. If so, the divinity was forgotten within two generations.
The first “ One G od ” inscription was cut on a house in August
364.249 It was perhaps around this time that the relief sculptures in
A bedrapsas’ mausoleum suffered mutilation.250 A second “ One
G od” inscription naming the Christian Trinity is undated.251
Another inscription yet alludes to the hardships o f the agricultural
ists of Frikya: “Je su s the Christ, God above all things, a physician
and a release from evils” (. . . ιατρός και λύσις κακών Ίασους ό
Χριστός ό έπ ι πάντων Θε(ός)).252 A sharp religious transition is
evident from the fact that the Christian God is nowhere called
“ lord” or “ m aster” (κύριος), the Greek translation of the name of
R abä, A bedrapsas’ god. There seems also to have been a discon
tinuity in rural social and economic relations, with less o f the
traditional justice displayed by A bedrapsas’ successors toward the
tenant farmers of Frikya.
It is difficult to say how typical the Christianization of Frikya
was as compared with the other villages of the northern fringe of
1,49 IG L S 1415. Prentice, AAES III, 248.

210 Prentice, AAES III, 243, with photo on p. 209.
JA1 IG f.S 1417. Prentice, AAES III, 250.
252 IGI.S 1418.
25i Prentice, AAES III, 215.
the Apamene, as the epigraphy of these places is deficient in quality

and quantity. At Babuda in the northwest, the first Christian
inscription belongs perhaps to 474, but does not have a typology
suggesting recent Christianization (Alpha-Chi-Rho-Omega. Chi-
M u-Gam m a. I X 0 Y C ) .253 The picture at ‘Allarüz in the west,
overlooking the Orontes valley, is similar (572 A .D .).254 At D ana in
the extreme northeast, however, it is somewhat different. A broken
inscription names a certain Eusebius who carried out some build
ing activity at the expense of the village in 428. The stone has a
cross on it and is the only dated Christian inscription at D an a.*”
The phrase about the expenditure has an old-fashioned ring to it,
being the sort o f expression one would anticipate from a fourth-
century pagan builder ((ά)πό του άναλώματος τής κώμης). The
name Eusebius is, on the other hand, quite “ modern” when com
pared with the onomastics of the earlier pagans of Dana, who have
the usual run o f Latinate, Semitic, and Hellenic names (Rufinus,
Gouros, O lym pianë).256 Local culture was still in transition at
D ana c. 428. The village probably began to convert to Christianity
sometime in the first quarter of the fifth century.
The final area of Djebel Riha to be considered is the central part
of the massif, which is open to penetration from the south via the
plain leading north-northeast from Apam ea. It becomes clear at
once that the protomonotheism and early Christianization at
Frikya was something exceptional. Deir Sam bil, a village lying not
far to the south, has a group of unexceptional Christian funerary
inscriptions dating from 399, 408/9, and 420.257 The undated texts,
however, reflect ongoing Christianization perhaps in the last two
decades of the fourth century: a tomb with “ This conquers” (τοΰτο
vucqt), the cross being peculiarly missing.258 The inscription on a
tomb dated to 420 reads:259
T h e heavens belong to the L ord (C ro ss), (as do) the earth an d its
fullness. H e who perform ed the bu rial wrote this (C ro ss). T h e earth
an d its fullness are o f the L o rd , an d so are all who dwell upon it.
(C ro ss) (C h i-M u -G am m a)
The author perhaps uses Psalm 23.1 here to contrast the Christian
view of the cosmos with the polytheistic one dominated by some
ÎM Prentice, AAES III, 214.

IG LS 1426. Prentice, AAES III, 256.
257 IG LS 1431, 1432, 1436. Prentice, AAES III, 225, 226, 228a.
î5fl IG LS 1434, 1435. Prentice, AAES III, 228, 229.
292 CHAPTER TEN
“ lord” (κύριος or raba) of the old religion,253 on the analogy of the

divinity seemingly worshipped at Frikya. Elsewhere the point is
made more explicitly: “ (Chi-M u-Gam m a) The victory of Christ!
Flee, Satan !” {XY τό νικος. φεΰγε, Σατανά),260 a possible refer
ence to the local god, now recategorized as a daimon in the language
of the Septuagint. T o clinch the point, there is an undated inscrip
tion containing elements of the old and new religious cultures in
juxtaposition: “ (Cross) In this sign every (?) holy man conquers
([πάς (?)] οσιος νικφ). M ay whatever you wish me, friend, be
double for you.” 261 It seems that the Christianization of Deir Sambil
went on during 380-420. The ideology of the struggle was formu
lated in language quite out of the ordinary as compared with that
used in the Antiochene, where the terminology is more stan
dardized. This philological fact conceals the administrative reality
that the Christianization o f the Apamene was less tightly regulated
than that of the Antiochene, notwithstanding archbishop M arcel
lus’ attempts to obliterate the rural temples by force.
The well-attested ancient village o f K apropëra (present-day il-
B ära) was being Christianized around 412-417. The local god was
perhaps again a variant of the R abä seemingly worshipped at
Frikya and Deir Sambil, for a Christian inscription invokes the Lord
of Powers (κύριος των δυνάμεων).262 The pagan burial ofM alchos
son of Gouras is dated 417, and the graffito on a house with a cross
falls in 4 12.263 There was a Christian burial in 416, with Alpha-
C ross-O m ega cut on the inscription.26* T he village was quite
clearly divided on questions of religion at this time, but the charac
teristic “ One G od” inscriptions do not turn up. There are, howev
er, some rather subtle allusions to the replacement o f polytheism by
Christian monotheism in the other inscriptions, as for example this
text on a house lintel: “ (Cross) Great is the power o f the holy
Trinity! (Cross) Priskos the (imperial) count conquers in this sign
(Cross) !” 2W The first formula derives from the acclamation of
Artem is in Acts 19.28: “ G reat is Artem is of the E p h esian s!”
(μεγάλη ή “Α ρ τεμ ις Έ φ εσ ίω ν ) T h is Priskos may well have
accepted Christianity during his adult years. Around that time he
got a position at the imperial court, and thereafter retired to
K apropëra. A second monotheistic inscription is more emphatic
260 IG L S 1443. Prcntice, AAES III, 234.

261 IG L S 1444. Premice. AAES III, 235.
262 IG L S 1453.
263 IG L S 1465, 1480. Prentice, AAES III, 188, 189.
2M Prentice, A AES III, 190.
about a series of unities, and perhaps derives from a baptistry:

“ One Lord, one faith, one baptism . . ( + ΕΪς Κ (ύ ρ ΐθ )ς, (μ )Ca
πίστις, εν βάπτισμα) ,266 While monotheistic in format, this text
may allude to controversies aside from Christianization. A door
lintel has a third inscription vaguely related to monotheism:267
(C ross) C h rist alw ays conquers. (C ro ss) Faith , hope, charity (C ross),
H e lifts the b eg g ar from the earth an d raises the d ay -lab orer from the
dung-hill.
Expressing his ideas once again in phrases drawn from the Sep-
tuagint, the author celebrates the Christian victory in the country
side, where the solidarity of the Christian monk and agriculturalists
brought the latter over to monotheism and to some extent trans
formed rural social and economic relations.268 The inscriptions
post-date the dated ones by perhaps a quarter of a century, and
therefore belong c. 425-450, at a time when Christianity was well-
established but certain remnants of the old polytheism and its
symbols still lay about. The existence of a villa at K apropëra
indicates that by the mid-fifth century some residents were city-
dwellers who came to spend their vacations or retirement here (like
Priskos the imperial count). The village was becoming Christian
before this, but had not yet been entirely converted.269 This may
explain why the church was outside the village rather than in it, an
investment in the building coming only with the infusion of urban
wealth after about 425.270
Midj leyya lies immediately to the south of Kapropëra (present-day
il-Bärah), and had a church in it by the late fourth century.271 There is
nevertheless a rather late “ One God” inscription on a sarkophagos of
February 463 (“ One God, who helps him who wrote this and him
who reads it.” (Cross)).272 The Christian who found it necessary to
advertise his monotheism was a convert or had family and friends who
were polytheists. On the other hand, an undated Christian olive oil or
wine factory bears the innocuous “ Lord Christ, help Julian and
Demetrius because they completed this!” along with the Alpha-
Omega, Christogram, and cross.273 There is, finally, an intriguing
866 IG LS 1458. Prentice, AAES III, 204.

267 IG LS 1460. Prentice, AAES III, 201.
i6a Supra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2.
269 For example, Pantaleon the commemarias, a revenue official, made a pious
offering to the church here in 525/6. IG LS 1473.
J7U IG L S 1481.
271 Butler, Early Churches, 27.
Prentice, AAES III, 207.
273 Prenticc, AAES III, 209.
294 CHAPTER TEN
graffito written in Greek, but from right to left and with the letters
reversed, as in Aramaic: “ Let (the cross) conquer!” (+ Νικαε)
(3 IΆ ).274 The author was not used to writing Greek, as the
retrograde script and spelling indicate. The victory formula had no
real force unless expressed in Greek. The periodeutai who introduced
the new religion and the presbyters who consolidated its gains
enforced Greek cultural values to such an extent that no Aram aic
equivalent ever gained currency in the epigraphy.275 The monks
and clergy negotiated many conversions in the local Semitic dia
lects, but the liturgical language o f Christianization was Greek,
even for those who could barely write and understand it.
There are other indications o f Christianity in Djebel Riha in the
late fourth century with the churches at Serdjilla, Dalloza, and
B a ‘üdeh. Only the last one is dated, belonging to 392.276 It was
probably begun after the death o f archbishop M arcellus in 388 on
the strength of the fiscal infrastructure he had created to aid the
Christianization of the Apamene. At Serdjilla, the construction of
the large church there277 accords well with one o f the inscriptions:
“ Emmanuel. (Chi-M u-Gam m a) Christ conquers!” ,278 a sign of
recent Christianization. The arrival of the new religion at ancient
A rra (present-day M u'arret en-Nu'män) at the east central edge of
the m assif belongs to the time after 325, for none of its earlier
Christian inscriptions are dated.279
Djebel Rïha was not Christianized solely in the time o f M arcellus
of Apam ea, as his sons probably argued after his death. T h e dates
of the Christian inscriptions are too broadly dispersed through the
fourth and fifth centuries to bear such a construction. He did,
however, invest considerable sums in churches and clerical salaries
during the 380’s, and this put the Christianization o f the northeast
ern hinterland of Apam ea on a new footing almost at once. There
after, the new religion progressed at a pace comparable to that in
the parts of Djebel Sim ‘än and Djebel Barisha in the Antiochene
(but not Djebel H alaqah , where there were serious delays). It

275 Prentice, AAES III, 210, with photo, As the edict of 14 November 435 puts
it, temples were to be “ cleansed by the erection of the reverend sign of the
Christian religion (conlocalione venerandae Ckristianae religione expiait). Cod. Theod.
16.10.25. There is no equivalent expression in the rather ragged-looking Syriac
inscriptions collected by E. Littmann in PAES IV, B.
276 Butler, Early Churches 26f., 35f., 37.
279 IG L S 1545, 1546, 1549. The pagan burial attested in IG LS 1547 may date
from the reign of Julian the Apostate.
remains to be seen, however, how quickly this occurred in the more

isolated parts of the Apamene,
VIL The Apamene: Tarutia Emporon and Its Environs

East of Djebel Rïha/Zawiyeh lies a plain dotted with numerous
villages. The stand at the southern edge of the basin in which
Chalkis sub Belo sits some 100 kilometers to the north. T o the
south rise the foothills of the basaltic m assif Djebel il-‘ Ala (not to be
confused with Djebel il-A‘la in the Limestone M assif).280 T arutia
Emporön (present-day Kerratm ) lies astride the road network
between Djebel Rïha and the towns and fortresses of the so-called
limes o f Chalkis among which were A nasartha and Androna»281
T arutia Emporon got its name from an Aram aic and Greek com
bination having the sense o f “ Second Town of the M erchants” , this
because of a great rural market where the olive-oil o f Djebel Rïha
was exchanged for the animal products of the nearer Syrian
desert.2*2 As with other merchant communities like M aium a, the
seaport of G aza, Christianity made early inroads at Tarutia. On
the other hand, the diffusion o f the new religion into the smaller
villages on its periphery took much longer, sometimes even a period
of two or three generations.
Only the earliest stages of Christianization require notice at
T arutia Emporon, round which smaller villages radiate in every
direction except to the north.283 The new religion first ascertainably
appeared in the years immediately after the death o f Ju lian the
Apostate. The earliest Christian inscription was cut in 363 on a
house lintel and predictably incorporates the conventions of both
pagan and Christian epigraphy:284
(D ate ){C h i-M u -G am m a ) A s m any things as you say , it sh all be
double for you, C h rist, help those dw elling (inside) and those who
read (this).
Another lintel o f 368/9 reflects a slightly later stage of Christianiza

tion, where the pagan formulae are entirely omitted in favor o f an
uncompromisingly monotheistic statement:285
200 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 3, Fig. 7.

281 Tchalenko, Villages antiques 2, Pl. I ll,
202 Two Tarutians ended up in Odessos on the Black Sea coast. Veselin
Beshevliev, Spâtgneckische und spätlaieiniscken Inscriften aus Butganen (Berlin 1964),
nos, 97, 117.
A large epigraphic sample: IG L S 1613-1647. PAES III B, 970-1002.
204 IG LS 16)4. PAES III B, 970,
235 IG LS 1625. PAES III B, 971,
296 CHAPTER TEN
One G od. T h e building o f Silvan os w as erected through J ( e s u s )

C h (rist) S(o n of) G (o d ) S (a v io r). (Date).
This “ One G od” inscription speaks alone for the many persons
who became Christian between about 365-400 who, as usual,
strove to differentiate themselves from the polytheists of T arutia
and of the desert hinterlands who came to the village market.
With the passing of the first Christian generation the formularies
began to change. The next Christian inscription in the sequence, a
lintel with the Chi-M u-Gam m a (“ Christ born of M ary” ), falls in
408/9 and omits the “ One G od” expression,236 as do all the suc
ceeding ones (from 408/9, 420, 436/7, and so on).287 The last o f
them makes the plea: “ Lord Christ, help your servant Eugenios
with his household (C ro ss)” (436/7 A .D .).288 The choice of the
terms “ Lord” (κύριος) and “ servant” or “ slave” (όοΰλος) reflects
some traces of the earlier Semitic divinities whose adherents at
times had names like the A bedrapsas or ‘Abed de R abà o f Frikya in
Djebel R ïha.389 The first inscription at T aru tia to name a regular
cleric comes quite late, the sarkophagos of Antoninos the deacon, in
486/7.290 Random loss and survival certainly explain why earlier
clerics fail to turn up in the epigraphy. The large church that W.K..
Prentice calls the “ cathedral” had its first lintel laid only in 504/
5.291 A second lintel was laid in 510/11 under the supervision of
Joh n the presbyter.292 These dates are much too late to be taken as
the occasion of the periodeutai finally transferring their authority to
the presbyters, an event that certainly took place well before 400. It
will be seen in due course that the main church serving T arutia
lay well outside the village. The inscriptions within it simply illus
trate that a Christian village might have to wait over 100 years
before it acquired its first large basilica.
T arutia Emporön remained an ethnically and religiously mixed
village throughout the fourth century. There were Christian mi
grants like the Arab Theophilos whose tribal roots were commemo
rated on his tomb in 465/6 (Θ εοφίλου τών Φ ω θλα).293 A Christian
Aram aean named Joh n Barsëneas built a house in 477/8.294 Some
286 IG L S 1624 PAES III B, 973.

287 IG L S 1633, 1626, 1628. PAES III B. 974, 976, 977.
286 IG L S 1628. PAES III B, 977.
289 Supra, Ch. X, Sect. 6.
290 IG LS 1643. PAES III B, 986.
291 IG LS 1617. PAES III B, 987.
298 IG LS 1619. PAES III B, 988.
293 IG LS 1644. PAES III B, 982.
291 IG LS 1642. PAES III B, 985.
local merchants or settlers were not Christians. T his is borne out in

the case of two neighboring villages, Umm Wilât and Sera4.295 This
perhaps explains two lintels without crosses at T arutia, one of
411/12, the other o f443/4.296 It is hardly to be expected that a fairly
cosmopolitan village like Tarutia would be entirely homogeneous
in religion even by the mid-fifth century, but Christians did certain
ly predominate by that time. Some families were recently con
verted, as for example a certain Eusebius whose sons Kalliopos and
Agripinos erected a house in 455.297 Their Hellenic and Latinate
names suggest that the men were not born Christians. But other
families, like that of the Paul who built a house in 444, had been
Christian for at least a generation and a half.298 There will have
been few pagans inside T arutia in the time of Justinian the Great
thanks to the presence of the monks. The archimandrite Aninas
was buried here at the age of 90 in 531/2.299 He was doubtless made
o f the same stuff as the Syrian monks whose exploits of Chris
tianization are recorded by Joh n of Ephesus (6th c,).3D0 It is not
surprising that the monotheistic formula was revived when the
large basilica was completed between 504-511 (“ God is one” , ις ό
Θ εός).301
The earliest important church in the vicinity was not at Tarutia,
but at ‘Idjäz some three kilometers to the south. This, the basilica
o f the Apostles, was constructed during the reign of the coemperors
Theodosius the G reat and Arcadius, before Honorius was asso
ciated with them as the third Augustus (383-393). A construction
site outside T arutia had to be choscn during the early decades of
Christianization because few lands inside the village-town lay in
Christian hands, or so it seems. The inscriptions make propaganda
in behalf of the imperial house that was issuing comprehensive
edicts against Hellenic religion and its temples:302
Prayer o f the ap ostles in b e h a lf o f the victory o f o u r m asters, em peror
Flaviu s T h eo d o siu s and A rcad iu s C aesar.
Renew al an d life to our m asters T h eo d o siu s an d A rcad iu s and to
their affairs.

246 IG LS 1623, 1637. PAES III B, 975, 978.
w IG L S 1627. PAES III B, 980.
298 IG LS 1638. PAES III B, 979.
259 IG L S 1632. PAES III B, 994.
,oil Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 329—334.
501 IG L S 1620. PAES III B, 9Ö9.
302 IG LS 1587, 1588, 1592. PAES III B, 1006, 1007, 1011. The chanccl screen
across the bema was not added until 429/30, under the supervision of Salernos the
presbyter. IG L S 1586. PAES III B, 1005.
298 CHAPTER TEN
Prayer o f the ap ostles in b eh alf o f ou r w an dering and scattered

brothers, w idow s, and orphan s,
Euphresios the presbyter apparently supervised this work,303 In

these prayers, which certainly belonged to the local liturgy, one can
see an attempt to widen the consciousness of the residents of
T arutia in a sense favorable to the new religion. The argument is
addressed not only to the authors of the imperial edicts, but also to
the sector of the local population that had slipped into poverty:
widows and orphans, but particularly the migrants of the Syrian
diaspora scattered throughout the cities of the eastern and western
M editerranean coastlands.304 This consciousness belonged to the
ethos o f Christianization. If the less successful migrant folk of
T arutia had in the past seen the local Semitic gods of the sky
and soil break their covenants, they now belonged to a trans-
M cditerrancan community spiritually linked by prayers now re
cited in the church of the Apostles, a sublime conception which
demonstrated to everyone the philanthropic and organizational
superiority of the new religion over the old.305
The “ One G od” inscriptions at T arutia in the 360’s and the
erection of the church of the Apostles at ‘Idjâz between 383-393
mark the beginnings of Christianization in the tightly constricted
group of villages round about. A church was built at Abü Hanlyeh
in 406/7 and staffed with a presbyter and a deacon.306 The inscrip
tion names a bishop as the originator of this work, but the surviving
letters o f the town of his see are too few for firm identification
(χρόνοις του κυ(ρίου) Μο[--]εο[-] του έπισκό[που —]κεων). He
may have resided at ‘Idjâz. If so, this will have hastened the
Christianization of the district. Conversions in the villages went on
all through the first half of the fifth century. At M ir‘ayeh, there is a
“ One G od” inscription on the lintel of the house o f a certain
Eulalios of 402/3.307 At O d je h in the southeast, serious Chris
tianization came more slowly. Here the latest pre-Christian inscrip
tion belongs to 375/6.300 There is also a Christian lintel of 394/5,
but a “ One God help!” inscription turns up as late as 441/2, if W.K..
Prentice’s reading of the stones is correct.3“9 Private donors built a
503 PAES III B, 1010.

J<)4 D. Feissel, “ Coniributions à l’épigraphie grecque chrétienne de Rome,"
Rivista di arckeologia cristiana 58 (1982), 353—382.
305 See R. M acM ullen’s remarks in Paganism in the Roman Empire (New Haven
1981), 135-37.
306 IG LS 1605. PAES III B, 1003.
307 IG LS 1649. PAES III B, 968.
30B IG LS 1663.
309 IG LS 1653, 1654. PAES III B, 958, 959.
martyrion around this time (c. 400-450), one o f whom was the
Semite Anapsones.310 The presbyter Symeonos is attested on two
chancel posts (5th c.).3M
Further to the east, however, there is no sign of the new religion
until the sixth century. T o judge from the case o f O d jeh , the
catechists of the local see had their hands full in the immediate
vicinity o f T arutia until c. 450. Um m Wilät was perhaps never
Christianized. A single inscription o f 475/6 names Barathön,
Abrammios, Barlaqos, and Eugenios as the owners of a house or
other building. It has no cross.312 Sera', lying well away to the
southeast, has a sixth-century Trinitarian inscription.313 The ear
lier tomb of Ebidborouchos, built in 419, was certainly for a pagan
interment.314 The Christian house lintel of Azzizos son of Hermes
reflects the first or second Christian generation, but is undated.315
The fortress o f Adrona (present-day el-Anderin), lying some
twenty-five kilometres southeast o f T arutia, tells a similar story.
The Christian site grew up around the sixth-century fortress. All its
inscriptions are Christian, with nothing before 507. By constrast,
the surrounding villages contain no significant Christian inscrip
tions. Those who converted perhaps settled in the environs of the
fortress, which the emperor Anastasius I founded.316 The Chris
tianization o f this stretch o f country thus probably predates the
program of Christianization pressed by Justin ian the Great. It
would seem that the consolidation of the empire’s defenses in the
wake of the Persian War of 502-507 aided the conversion of the
limitrophic agriculturalists, who reestablished their abodes closer
Adrona and thereby came under ecclesiastical pressure to accept
the new religion.
T he local episcopate concentrated its efforts during the fifth
century toward the west instead, in the direction of Arra (present-
day M u‘arret in-Nu‘man). Thus, Hesychios the presbyter was
active at Herakeh in 418/9 where he built a Christian stoa.317 The
village seems to have been thoroughly Christian thereafter,
although former Hellenes were about. A Christian lintel of 523/4
invidiously parodies a pagan epigram of apotropaic force:31®
3,0 PAES III B, 961, 962.

311 IG L S 1658. PAES III B, 963, 964.
312 IG L S 1651. PAES III B, 967.
313 IG L S 1668. PAES III B, 949.
3,4 IG L S 1667. PAES III B, 948.
315 IG L S 1671. PAES III B, 952.
316 IG L S 1676-1713.
3.7 IG LS 1582. PAES III B, 1026.
3.8 IG LS 1579. PAES III B, 1029.
300 CHAPTER TEN
T h e m aster Je s u s C h rist, the son an d L o g o s o f G od, dw ells here.

N oth in g evil shall enter, and it w as built. Jo h n son o f D om nos built it.
The earlier Hellenic variant ran :319

H erakles, splen didly victorious son o f Z eu s, dw ells here. N oth in g evil
sh all enter.
Christ thus became the new Herakles here and in another inscrip
tion of 496/7, which asks: “ I f God be on our side, who shall be
against us?” 320 The Jo h n o f the first inscription, along with his
parents Domnos and Sosanna, had been Christians since at least
517/8, as the lintel of the family tomb reveals.’21 Perhaps they had
neighbors who were not, but the point is moot through lack o f
evidence.
The parody of Hellenic fashion seen here also turns up at the
large site of M a‘rata, which has no pre-Christian phase. An un
named builder saw fit to make a cross on a structure of unknown
type in 392.322 A pyramidal tomb which lacks a cross and has a
high-sounding Hellenic inscription is nevertheless Christian by
virtue o f certain encoded key words. The gram m ar and spelling are
not perfect:323
An eternal dw elling p lace, but for those who live piously it is a
gatew ay o f sacred p arad ise. F or w ithout this (gatew ay) no one sh all
be a p artak er o f th at (dw elling p lace). B a sso s, Jo h n , and A lexan d er
ornam ented this (sacred p arad ise) for the sak e o f good m em ory.
Joh n and the others were of course Christians, The composer o f the
epigram alludes to Christian paradise by his “ gateway of sacred
paradise” (ιερού προπίιλεα παραδίσσου), which could equally be
taken for the entrance to the sacred grove or park of a pagan temple
like that o f Apollo at Daphne. Another tomb at M ä'räta lacks a
cross, but is called the koimitirion or “ place o f sleep” of M alchos.
The man who supervised its construction bore the name of the
Christian martyr of Cilicia, K onon.324 The trades practiced at
M a ‘rata are unknown, but the Christians there quite obviously felt
sophisticated enough to dispense with the usual symbols and to use
allusive language instead. Like some Phrygian rustics, they had a
finer sense of the Greek language than that possessed by the ordi-
3,9 Ibid.
320 IG LS 1576.PAES III B, 1027.
321 IG LS 1578.PAES III B, 1028.
322 IG LS 1560.PAES III B, 1036.
323 IG L S 1558.PAES III B, 1043.
524 IG LS 1565.PAES III B, 1041.
nary merchant folk of T arutia, and so produced a nekropolis with a

crypto-Christian flavor.
Elsewhere the signs of the new religion are more conventional.
Among these are a “ One God” inscription of 418 at ‘Aiban and a
“ One God only” at il-Ghadfeh (5th c.).î25 The definitive Chris
tianization of the countryside west of Tarutia was marked by the
completion of the chapel o f the Archangels at F a ’lul in 526/7 with
funds provided by Diogenes, a member o f the senatorial order.326 It
evidently lay on an estate of his.
T arutia had militant Christians in it from the 3605s onward. The
era of Christianization for the parts round about was later, c.
390-450, with a fair amount of local variation. The presence of a
local bishop at ‘Idjäz, as it seems, accelerated the process to some
extent, but even he was compelled to accept some limitations. The
villages east and southeast o f T arutia were Christianized much
later, in the early sixth century, but in some cases not at all, as for
example Um m Wilät. The conversion of the villages on the desert
fringe came last o f all in the set o f local priorities, much as they did
in the eastern parts of the Hauran plain in the Provincia A rabia.*27
VII1. The Apamene: Central and Southern Djebel il-'Ala

Christianity entered th e so u th e a ste r n Apamene more slowly than
elsewhere. Djebel il-‘Ala is a basaltic m assif having villages scat
tered everywhere. It received less initial attention from the
archbishops of Apam ea than Djebel Rïha. The southeastern part
of Djebel il-‘Alä lay in the territorium o f Epiphaneia on the Orontes,
whereas— for want of fuller information— the central m assif seems
to have been under the direct administration of Apamea. Dated
inscriptions have not turned up in numbers sufficient for a detailed
chronological analysis of Christianization here. A preliminary look
at the evidence suggests the presence of the new religion in a small
number of villages in the last decade of the fourth century. There
after it began to spread slowly, but did not gain real force until the
sixth century.
The villages of central Djebei il-‘Ala showing clear signs of
religious transition lie generally around the northern and eastern
rim of the massif. The pattern o f Christianization has little geo
graphical coherence. One gets the impression that villages of
polytheists lay mixed with Christian ones straight through the first
523 IG L S 1552, 1554. PAES III B, 1049, 1045.

326 PAES III B, 1050.
327 Infra, Ch. X I, Sect. 1.
302 CHAPTER TEN
half o f the sixth century, It is best to trace the process of Chris

tianization by examining the larger villages first.
There is hardly any evidence about the pre-Christian religious
life of central Djebel il-'Ala. It has all turned up at Q alcat el-
Hawäys, where the principal deity was Kronos-Saturn,328 Three
inscriptions tell us all we know about how the polytheists under
stood the workings of their god:329
In the year 564 (o f the Seleucid e ra ), when men stood firm ag ain st
N em esis, this hero called upon K ro n o s, and victory w as given to him.
N either b a rb arian s nor anyone in the neighborhood w as h arm ed
because he, claim in g the honor, entered (and) gave. . « .
R ead the things written an d believe.
T h e all-virtuous god loved right vision and sanctified (?) the sam e
in front o f him (the hero).
The dated inscription belongs to 252/3 A.D. It is unfortunately

broken at the end. The actual events in question will remain a
matter of conjecture,330 as will the precise nature o f the religious
experience lying behind the “ right vision” (όρθόβλεψις) that the
divinity Kronos sanctified (σ ε[μν]είνει) for the unnamed hero. The
“ barbarians” were certainly the pastoralist Arabs who periodically
exchanged animal products for the fruits o f the land from the
agriculturalists of Q al‘at el-Hawäys and its vicinity. The ‘‘hero”
was either a wealthy landowner who defended the district during
the military crisis of 253, when Sassanid Persian armies invaded
Syria* took many captives, and sacked Antioch, or, more probably,
Sulpicius U ranius Antoninus, the priest-king o f Em esa who orga
nized the defense o f the upper Orontes valley.331 The person read
ing the inscription is called upon to “ trust in” (πιστευσον) the
operation of the god’s virtue or power after the deliverance from the
terrors of 253. Nothing is known about the more prosaic operation
of the “ peace of the gods” in connection with the local agricultural
regime. Q al’at el-Haways has no Christian remains. The locals
perhaps accepted the new religion only in the sixth century, if
indeed el-Hawäys is the Christian successor o f the site. In the latter
place is the dated Christian inscription of the Arab K aiüm (558/9
A .D .)·" 3
326 J . Lassus, Inventaire archéologique de la region au nard-est de Hama 1 (Damascus

1936), 132-36. This work hereinafter cited as Lassus, Inventaire.
329 Lassus, Inventaire, nos. 75, 76, 77.
330 Cf. Lassus’ discussion, Inventaire, no. 75.
3ΔΙ A . Alfbldy, “ The Crisis of the Empire (A.D. 249-270),*’ Cambridge Ancient
History, edd. var., 12 (Cambridge 1939), 169Γ Idem, ' ‘Die Haupteregnisse der Jahre
253-261 n. Chr* im Orient im Spiegel der Münzprägung,” Berytus 4 (1937), 53ff.
Lassus, Inventaire, no, 79 and p. 137f,
The earliest site in central Djebel il-‘Alä with clear signs of an

organized Christian community is el*Hazimeh, the southernmost of
the villages under consideration here.333 The village has a small
Roman-style temple inside a rectangular precinct wall, but the
deity worshipped there is unknown.*34 A church was built by 390/1
whose atrium was apparently dedicated to the Mother o f G od.335
Two Christian men, Symeon and Joh n , erected a house lintel
around 400.336
The presence of a church at el-Hazimeh led very gradually to the
Christianization of the neighboring villages. Its northeastern neigh
bor, Rabdeh, has two “ One G od ” inscriptions that probably be
long to the fifth century.337 The final transference o f prayers for the
good harvest into the care of the Christian God is suggested by a
mill with a cross and the date 510 A.D. inscribed on it.338 The cult
o f St. Sergius became popular with the sedentary A rabs living in
Rabdeh in the sixth century as well.3*9 The large and important
village of Ruweida lying north of Rabdeh shows no signs of Chris
tianity at all until the sixth century,340 although the place perhaps
had less significance before then. The site has a church, defensive
towers, and tombs, all of them undated. The first cleric attested is
T hom as the deacon, who seems to have founded a chapel of the
Virgin around 539/40.341 The lintel of a larger church of the same
name was laid in 554/5 A .D .342 Ruweida was thus one of the many
villages Christianized at the instigation of Justin ian the Great.
Even so, a pagan liturgy survives in Christianized form on a stone:
“ In behalf o f the prayer and salvation. . . . (ύπέρ ευχής κ(α ι)
σο[τηρίας]) God himself affixes (?) the doorposts and fram e.” 343
This survival is consistent with a rather late date for the village’s
acceptance of the new religion. The countryside round about was
not Christianized before the last quarter o f the fifth century either,
333 Lassus, Inventaire, 160-64.

ä3+ Lassus, Inventaire, 165-68.
335 IG L S 1825.
33R IG L S 1826. Lassus, Inventaire no. 94. The inscription has the square uncials
common in the Antiochene and Apamene between c. 380—420.
337 IG LS 1834, 1835. Lassus, Inventaire, 176-79.
838 IG L S 1832.
339 IG L S 1831: “ (Cross) St. Sergius, help those staying here! Amen.” The
combination of the invocation of St. Sergius and the use of square uncials, which
came into fashion again after c. 500, puts this inscription in the sixth century.
341 This is the presumed consensus of IG L S 1789 and 1791.
345 IG L S 1790.
343 IG L S 1794. Cf. supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2, for many examples of this pre-
Christian invocation of divine help.
304 CHAPTER TEN
to judge from two inscriptions at Q asr Shteb.344 The first names a

barrister with the pre-Christian name Arksilas; the second is a
stone fragment with the Seleucid date 776 or 876 on it and no cross.
The latter was most likely cut in 464/5 A .D .345 It is doubtful that
Q asr Shteb was ever Christianized.
There are three villages in the north of central Djebel il-‘Alä that
have more complete epigraphic sam ples. These are Sheikh Barak,
Umm el-Halakhil, and Um m er-Redjim. One would have expected
these sites and their neighbors to have been Christianized earlier
than the sites to the southeast because of their close proximity to
T arutia Emporon and T djäz, where the new religion took root in
the last quarter of the fourth century, and where a regular clergy
had been installed by the first decade of the fifth century.346 Let us
consider the three sites more closely.
At Sheikh B arak347 the new religion took root at an early date by
local standards. There is a Christian lintel o f 410.348 More signifi
cantly, an inscription of 412/3 records the name of the bishop
K ouros, at whose behest some Christian building was erected
thanks to the vow of two local people, the Arab ‘Abd el-Malik and
his wide Andreaê.349 The location o f the bishop’s see is unknown,
although it may have been at T djäz not far from T arutia
Em poron.350 There seem to have been pagans still living at Sheikh
Barak until c. 450/1, as an inscription with no cross suggests,351 but
Christianity was firmly established by the first quarter of the sixth
century to judge from the inscription of Protoudios the deacon in
525/6.352 The village still had a large component of A rabs around
that time (“ Abraam son o f ’Amrat completed it” )(502 A .D .).353
Um m el-Halakhil underwent the sam e process sometime in the
fifth century. This village had three small three-aisle churches and
a fortress with a tower at each corner, all of which are unfortunately
undated.354 The last known pagan lintel inscription was cut in
344 Lassus, Inventaire, I! 5-18.

}4S IG L S 1787, 1788.
346 As was seen in the case of Djebel Halaqah, the argument of proximity does
not always hold. Supra, Ch. X , Sect. 2.
347 This site is somewhere in the vicinity o f present-day Umm er*Redjim.
Lassus, Inventaire, 41-46.
34a IG LS 1734.
349 IG L S 1739.
331 IG LS 1737.
352 IG LS J735.
353 IG L S 1738. Cf. the more typical "koinuterion belonging to Joh n and Pela
gia.” IG L S 1742.
356/7.355 Thereafter conversions seem to have been going on as late

as c. 450, to iudge from a lintel inscription that invokes Christ as
Victor:356
(C ro ss) B e the help o f your servan t R om an o s (?). (C ross) L on g live
R om ilos. C h rist conquers alw ays. (D ate) (C ross) (A lp h a-O m ega)
This inscription, belonging to 453/4, is perhaps not far off from

another undated one suggesting recent conversion with the “ One
God only” formula.357
There is, finally, Um m er-Redjim.35S Found there was a lintel
without a cross or any other sign of Christianity and dated 416
A .D .359 An undated Chi-Rho “ One G od” inscription carved in
round uncials typical of fifth-century types seems to put the C hris
tianization of the village in the mid- or late fifth century.360 A retired
civil servant [primiscrinius) named M am as erected a house in 519
A.D. after purchasing an allotment there.361 By this time the village
was completely Christian and requires little further comment, ex
cept to note that, as with many other villages in central Djebel
il-'Alâ, Um m el-Redjim had mostly gone over to the new religion
well before the time of Justin ian the Great. There were apparently
still pagans in the countryside, or at any rate villages that lacked a
complete ecclesiastical structure in the form of personnel and build
ings, for the penodeutis Thom as is reported to have been active in
562/3 A.D., having supervised the construction of a tower in near
by Tell Khazneh.362
It is far from ideal to sum up complex questions with the aid o f
tables, but the epigraphic remains at the other sites of central
Djebel il-‘Alä are so sparse as to limit serious discussion. The
chronological dimensions of the problem may be stated briefly,
with the first Christian inscription o f sites given here below:
Site: Date: Remarks:
1. E l M a k sa r el-A h d ab 398-407 “ Wich the help
(L a ssu s 128f.) o f G o d .”
(IGLS 1796)
IG LS 1760.
356 IG L S 1752.
357 IG LS 1756.
55i Lassus, Inventaire, 34-41.
358 IG L S 1731.
360 IG L S 1730.
561 IG L S 1729.
365 IG LS 1726. Lassus, Inventaire, 28-32.
306 CHAPTER TEN
2. E l-Q scy r mid-öth c.? “ O ne G o d only, who helps

(L a ssu s 87-90) B aso s and D an iel the
( I G L S 1766) deacon.5’ (Round uncials)”
3. El-Ekhw ën 463, 471
(L a ssu s 109-113)
( L a ssu s nos. 61, 62)
4. T eil Ferdjeh 471/2
( L a ssu s no. 29)
5* Q errateh 500
(L a ssu s 17-20)
( I G L S 1721)
6. K aproiken ön 499 or later O m icron-upsilon
(prcscnt-day K efr ligature
ez-Zita)
( I G L S 1781)
7. R asm el-4A bed 510/3
(L a ssu s 84-87)
( I G L S 1763)
8. Soran 510
(L a ssu s 182^84)
(L a ssu s no. 109)
9. U m m et-Tin 516 Lintel o f im perial
(L a ssu s 25-27) count A ntiochenos
( IG L S 1725)
10. Q a sr B ayt Aii 524 3-aisle church in
(L a ssu s 170-75) village
(L a ssu s no. 97)
1 1 .H a w a 528 T ow er
(L a ssu s 91-100) ‘O n e G o d and his
(I G L S 1768, 1772). C h rist.” (rnid-5th c,?)
12. Q a sr A bu S a m ra 530 H ouse
(L a ssu s 151-59) C h urch
(L a ssu s no. 87) R elief scu lptu re o f
stylite (L a ssu s 153)
13. Q a sr cl-M h arram ’ 551 3 towers
(L a ssu s 143-51)
(L a ssu s nos. 81-84)
14. M a 4an 554/5
(L a ssu s 140)
15. A bu M ekkeh 567
(L a ssu s A S )
( I G L S 1717)
16. 'A jsh än 567
(L a ssu s 103-107)
( I G L S 1785)
The overriding significance of the tabulation of these inscriptions

lies in the fact that the Christianization of most sites was well
underway before thetime of Justinian the G reat’s reissue of the
emperor Zeno’s law against Hellenic religion. Only four o f the
sixteen villages in question had their earliest Christian inscriptions
cut after 550, and in the latter instance it is difficult to discover

anything at all about a pre-Christian population. It is possible,
although not empirically proveable, that these places were newly
founded during the economic expansion of the 520’s and 530’s, and
that they were originally populated with Christian settlers. The
real work o f Christianization thus seems to have been done between
about 450-500. It is difficult to find the exact chronological context
o f the undated “ One G od” inscriptions (sites no. 2 and 11 above),
but they seem to belong best around 450.363
It is quite obvious from the table and from the previous discus
sion in this section that the archbishops of A pam ea concentrated
their efforts at Christianizing the countryside first on Djebel Rïha
between about 370-400, and only got around to central Djebel
il-'Alä thereafter. Local churches existed in a few localities by c.
400, but the new religion made its greatest inroads only later, and
took place in a political and cultural vacuum unaffected by the
imperial edicts of 8 November 392 and those that followed.
An analogously corroborative pattern emerges from the epigra
phy o f southeastern Djebel il-'Alä, which lay in the ienitorium of
Epiphaneia on the Orontes. The bishops there seem to have made
no serious attem pt to Christianize the rustics before the third
quarter of the fifth century. Once begun, the process was pro
tracted down to the mid-sixth century, all o f this in perfect corre
spondence with Jo h n of Ephesus’ statements about the survival of
rural pagans in all the provinces of the empire in the early decades
of J u s t in ia n ’s reign.
For the sake of brevity and clarity, it is best to represent the
epigraphy of southeastern Djebel il-‘Alâ schematically:
Si le: Date: Description:
1. Tell Snän( = Isnan) 439/40 Lintel.Cross.Omega-Alpha.Cross
( I G L S 1978)
471 H ypogeu m lintel. N o cross.
(IGLS 1977=Lassus no. 134,
for correct date)
2. Il-M ishrifeh 344 Inscription o f village official
(kômarckos) et alii. Pre-
Christian (Prentice 881 =
IGLS 1908)
453/4 Lintel with cross. C h ristian .
Prentice 882=IGLS 1901)
n.d. Cross. “This conquers.”
(Prentice 886= IGLS 1907)
363 These texts represent, once again, conversion to Christian monotheism and
the rejection of the previous Semitic divinities.
308 CHAPTER TEN
n.d. C h ristian presbyter

(Prentice 8 8 3 = I G L S 1903)
3. T ell ed -D ah ab 469/70 C h ristian church
(Prentice 8 4 9 = I G L S 1922)
489 Inscription o f phrourarch.
C h ristian .
(Prcntice 8 5 0 = I G L S 1924)
4. S a ‘n es-S e‘n 477/8 L intel. C hi-R h o, C ross
( I G L S 1849)
5. T ell ‘A bd e l-A z iz 492/3 Lintel. C ross
( ^ A r d e A notera?) n.d, (I G L S 1987)
n.d. uO cross, conquer alw ay s!”
C ross* A lp h a-O m ega.
(I G L S 1984)
6. Sheikh Ali K a sû n n.d. S a la m a n is the periodeutes.
( —ancient (Prentice 8 1 8 -8 1 9 = I G L S
Zeboudis?) 1935)
506 Lintel. C ross.
(Prenticc 8 1 0 = I G L S 1937)
7. E r-R uh aiyeh 373 H ouse, Pagan. Spolia in church.
(Prentice 8 9 6 = I G L S 1877)
529/30 L intel. C ross.
(Prenticc 897 = I G L S 1882)
8. T a m a k 540 C astle gate. C ross. “ H oly M aria,
be the help o f S e rg iu s!"
( I G L S 1957)
9. Korne O lban ön 362 “ . . . o f H cliodorus alw ays
(presen t-day co n q u ers.” Pagan.
H alb an ) (Prentice 869 = IG L S 1890)
n.d. 'O n e G o d only, who helps
the hum ble m an ,”
( IG L S 1891)
541 or 543 T ow er. C h ristian ,
(Prentice 871 = I G L S 1889)
10. S a b b a 4 494/5 or L intel. C ro ss.
578/9 (Prentice 823 = IG L S 1970)
543 No cross.
(Prentice 8 2 1 = I G L S 1971)
547 “ (C ro ss) . . . T h e L ord
o f this house will g u ard
the entrance an d exit.
For when the cross lies
exp osed j the evil eye will
have no pow er.”
(Prentice 8 2 2 = I G L S 1969)
The earliest of these villages to be Christianized, so far as the

evidence permits a judgem ent, was Tell Snän before c. 439/40, but
there were perhaps Hellenes in the place thereafter because no one
thought it expedient to incise a cross on the lintel of the kypogeum or
subterranean tomb laid in 471. What with the general lack of

Christian inscriptions in the tenitonum o f Epiphaneia before that
date, there is no objection to there being pagans at Tell Snàn on the
ground of plausibility. There is no sign of Christianity at all in the
fourth-century epigraphy at il-Mishrifeh, er-Ruhaiyeh, or Körne
Olbanön. The coming of the new religion was a late development in
the district, and so it is best to put the undated Christian inscrip
tions after 450, and particularly those that express militant ideas
like the quasi-Constantinian “ (Cross) T his conquers!” at il-
Mishrifeh (after c. 453/4?), the Chi-Rho of 477/8 at S a ‘n es-Se‘n,
and “ O cross, conquer always!” at Ardê Anötera (after 492/3?).
This formula quite obviously replaced the personal victory state
ments of the sort proclaimed by Heliodorus at Köm e Olbanön (362
A.D.). Monotheistic formularies are almost entirely lacking except
at Kôm ê Olbanön. This suggests a blasé attitude to Christianiza
tion that came partly as an act o f political subservience during the
persecutions o f the emperors Zeno (c. 481—4-88) and Justinian
(from 529 onw ard).364 Few Christians felt the urge to distinguish
themselves from the polytheists because the latter were formally
under ban and most or all had formally become Christian catechu
mens or accepted baptism at these sites,
A firm Christian institutional presence is only indicated at il-
Mishrifeh by the presence o f a presbyter (c. 453/4?) and at Tell
ed-Dahab, where a church was in operation by 469/70 and a
Christian fortess commander named Besson made a personal
attestation o f his adherence to the new religion in 489 ( + επ ί
Βέσσωνος φρ(ουράρχου). It is uncertain when the church at
er-Ruhaiyeh was built, but it belongs in all probability to the
beginnings o f the Justinianic suppression of paganism . Military
men also supported the official cult at T am ak in 540 and apparent
ly at Kôm ê Olbanön in 541 or 543. These men without much doubt
provided coercive support as heavily armed exemplars of the
Christian polity being implemented by Justin ian after 529.365 Yet a
periodeutes like the A rab Salam anes (Suleiman) attested at ancient
Zeboudis (c. 506?) certainly played an important role in the earlier
stages of this process.
The crosses erected on house lintels indicated not only Christian
monotheism but also an abiding hope in their apotropaic power, as
Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 6.

Cf. the pu blit: baptism of a soldier priur to the sailing of Bclisarius' expedi
tion against Vandal Africa in 533. Procopius, Wars 3.12.2.
310 CHAPTER TEN
Erik Peterson has argued.366 The most convincing example of this

tendency in all the inscriptions surveyed so far is found at Sab b a‘,
where fear o f the evil eye is expressed (του σταυροί) γάρ
προκι,μένου ού(κ) ισχύ [σει όφθαλμός βάσκα]νος). Anxiety about
this activity was common among pagans and Christians alike, but
the extant inscriptions usually stipulate other weapons than the
cross against the “ eyes of those who possess the evil eye”
(φθονερών δμματα).367 For example, a column in a presumed
church in the territorium o f ancient Dokimon in Phrygia supplies a
prayer for the reader to memorize that will dismiss the sorcery (0
φθόνος) in the name of the Christian God “ who exhibits no evil
eye (0ς άφθόνως παρέχι,) towards those who hope in him.” 36a The
force of the cross is summed up elsewhere in a literary fragment
attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria:369
A m ulets an d m agic ritu als are vain helping devices. I f anyone has
m ad e use o f them , let him know this plainly, th at he has m ade h im self
an unbeliever in stead o f a believer. . . . F o r if an old m an spew s out
an in can tation o f the serpent for the sak e o f 20 obols or for a q u art o f
wine, an d you stan d there like a donkey with its m outh g ap in g open,
w earing on your neck the filth o f an im als an d avoid m akin g the sign
of the cross, [yuu are a poor Christian], Nut only do sicknesses fear this
sign, but also the entire array o f daimones fears it and is astonished at it.
W herefore ever)’ m agician is also unsealed [by the sign o f the cross].
A thanasius’ quaint cautionary tale has the sam e force as the in
scription of 546/7 at Sab b a1. It is once again the sign of the cross,
whether on one’s door lintel or made over his face, that deprives the
daimones of their power in acts of sorcery (την σφραγίδα του
αωτηρίου σταυρου).370 The village o fS a b b a 1 may have been only
recently Christianized, as there is another lintel inscription o f 543
that has no cross, and the date o f its other Christian inscription is
far from certain (494/5 or 578/9). The need for this kind of display
seems to have been felt keenly in communities recently C hris
tianized as a safeguard against the “ daimonic rage” or hostile
kratophanies of the dispossessed gods, but in equal measure against
the daimones thought to activate the evil eye.*71
The Sab b a1 inscription of 546/7 has perhaps one other connec
tion with the polytheistic ethos, that being the expression “ the Lord

357 H. Lcclercq, “ Amulettes,” DACL 1/2 1845.
369 Ibid. 1843Γ
369 Ibid. 1789. Cf. PG 26. 1319.
370 Cf. supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1.
;,7‘ Supra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2.
THF. ANTiOCHENE AND THE APAMENE 311
o f this house” ([τοΰ o îk o Jv τούτου κύριος). While the phrase is

Christian by intention, it seems to hark back to the title of an earlier
deity who was the “ lord of the house” Çrabb al-bqyt), that is, the
master o f a temple somewhere in the southeastern part of Djebel
il-'A la.372 It is impossible to suggest an entirely satisfactory identity
for such a divinity simply because the local epigraphy is silent. The
single altar noted in J . L assu s’ survey o f Djebel iPAlä, found at Ras
el-‘Ain and dated 165 A .D ., seems to have been for funerary
sacrifices at the tomb o f a certain Zoilos.37’
IX. Conclusions
The evidence of the epigraphy permits an expansion o f the gener
alizations about Christianization into coherent and empirically
grounded chronological and demographic dimensions. T he new
religion spread through northern Syria at rates that differed from
m assif to m assif and from village to village. Some local contexts,
like that round Djebel Sim 'ân, were mostly Christian before 400. It
is striking that the foundation of the monastery o f Symeon Stylites
the Elder was really posterior to the process, and so Symeon
concentrated instead on Syrians from other districts and allogenous
folk like Arabs, Turks, and Iranians. It was the regular clergy of
Antioch that Christianized the rest o f the Limestone M assif be
tween 365-425, beginning with visits by the periodeutai and ending
with the construction of churches and the installation of presbyters.
The exception to this rule seems to have been low-lying Djcbcl
H alaqah, which remained mostly pagan in the fifth century except
at Serm ada, where Christianity began at quite an early date. It is
quite evident that the new religion grew up in isolated pockets in
some districts, and that polytheism survived in analogous circum
stances elsewhere.
Furthermore, there do not seem to have been “ m ass conver
sions” at the village level, as the protracted series of dated “ One
G od” inscriptions at many sites indicates. The agriculturalists quite
obviously made their own decisions about forsaking the ancient
Baals and Astartes on an individual basis and on the seemingly
objective merits of the case. There is really no justification for
disdaining the reflective powers o f the seemingly inchoate mass of
rustics. T o the contrary, their funerary and lintel inscriptions
37î Cf. supra, Ch. X , Sect. 6 (several examples). Cf. the probable use of an
analogous expression, supra, Appendix I, Sect. 1.
375 Lassus, Inventaire, 202-204, no. 124·.
312 CHAPTER TEN
reflect an individuality of approach that is quite striking, as for

example that of Abedrapsas, a villager of fourth-ccntury Frikya in
the Apam ean part of Djebel Rïha.374
The existence of rural literacy in Syria demonstrated in a pre
vious chapter provides decisive proof that the expressions of piety
found in the inscriptions were not simply formulaic statements
imposed on the householders by an aggressive clergy.375 A partial
exception to this rule may exist in the case of D ar Q ïta in Djebel
Barisha* Here the “ One G od” formulary was renewed continuous
ly down to 515 A,I). I f one had doubts about the monotheism of his
neighbors elsewhere, there could be no question o f it in this village,
which was perhaps an ecclesiastical estate and mecca for recently
converted rustics.
The patriarchs o f Antioch displayed great efficiency in the
Christianization of the countryside. It was somewhat different in
Second Syria under the metropolitans of Apam ea. Here the record
is a bit more fragmentary and has been subject to historical distor
tion. Some villages of the Apamene were turning Christian well
before M arcellus of Apam ea began his search and destroy missions
against the rural temples. It is furthermore evident that, for all his
panache, this bishop relied a great deal on the sound adm inistra
tive practice of implanting churches and presbyters in villages
where the rustics were becoming Christian. It should be obvious,
finally, that the terror of the 380’s did not ipso facto guarantee the
eradication o f polytheism from the A pam ene. The first traces of
Christianity do not turn up at some villages in Djebel Rïha until the
first quarter of the fifth century and even later. This tendency is
even more pronounced at Djebel il‘Ala in the south, where the
main period of transition was the third quarter of the fifth century.
Sites lying on major traffic arteries like T arutia Emporon experi
enced this first (later 4th c,)> but it took a century longer for the
many backwaters of the Apamene.
Additional note: For the formula “ One God and his Christ” in the
context o f fifth-century conversion from polytheism, see the life of
St. Sharbil in Ancient Syriac Documents, edd. W, Cureton and W.
Wright (London 1864), 63. For the date, see Segal, Edessa, 82.
374 Supra, Ch. X , Scct. 6.

375 Supra, Ch. V IU , Sect. 4.
APPENDIX V
T H E “ ONE G O D ” IN S C R IP T IO N S
There can be little doubt that the Christian use o f the “ One G o d "
formula in the inscriptions of the Limestone M assif and elsewhere
is to be understood as a statement of monotheistic belief ins à vis the
villagers5 abandonment o f polytheism. This is emphatically the
case, if only because their dated sequence in the different local
contexts invariably puts them among the very earliest Christian
inscriptions. It seems inevitable that scholars looking for obscure
heresies will lay a different interpretation on these texts,1 Sim ilarly>
the henotheistic use of the formula in such phrases as “ One Zeus
Sarapis” is bound to raise other questions about the origin and
peculiarly varied proliferation of the ‘O n e G od ” idea. Be this as it
may, the Syrian Christian use of the formula can be explained as a
conveniently brief adaptation of a significant passage from the New
Testam ent (I Cor. 8.4—6) which contrasts Christian monotheism
with the Hellenic multiplicity o f gods, veneration o f idols, and
c o n su m p tio n o f sacrificial meats:
So concerning the eatin g o f m eats offered to idols, we know that there

is no idol in the world an d that there is no G o d unless he is O ne. F or
even if there are so-called god s, whether in the sky o r on the earth , as
though there were m any gods an d m any lords, yet for us there is O n e
G od the father from whom all things arc and wc arc in him , an d there
is O n e L o rd J e s u s C h rist through whom all things are, an d we
through him .
Origen cites this passage twice in his polemic Contra Celsum (4,29
and 8.4) in contexts that refute polytheism. A number of texts has
been cited elsewhere in this work that emphatically underscore this
particular usage of the Christian “ One G od” formula. Among
these are the statements incised on the Isis temple at Philae during
its conversion to a Christian shrine after the synoikism of cults had
1 Jacques J a r r y ,<‘Da tiemngsproblemc in Nordsy rien/* Tycht3 (1988)> 12ÎM34,

It is worth noting here that the use of the ‘O ne G od” formula by Christians
précédés both the Arian and Monophysite controversies» Cf, the Christian “ One
God only” inscription of Aurelius Demetris which is dated to 287/8 A.D. It was
found in the village of Juweikat near the great temenos of the Baal Baitochichi in
Mt. Lebanon. IG L S 404L Cf. supra, Ch, V III, Sect. 2.
314 APPENDIX V
ended there;2 the exclamation o f “ One G od ” by a Christian monk

upon beholding an array o f idols and a bloody altar at the Isis
temple o f Canopus (“ He cried out O n e G od’ in Coptic, as he
wished to say that it was necessary to extirpate the error of polytheism.");3
and the deliberate juxtaposition of “ One God who helps” with
crosses next to a pagan prayer for a cure to a triad o f divinities in a
temple at Deir el-Bahari in Egypt.*
One gets little sense of this as a primary contextual usage of the
“ One God” formula from Erik Peterson’s E IC QEOC\ Epigraphische,
formgesckicktliche und religionsgeschicktliche Untersuchungen (Gottingen:
1926). It is a fine piece o f work, but shares one weakness of the
Form-critical school in its formal disregard o f the pragm atic side of
the question, that is, the ordinary adaptive use to which the village
clergy and their congregations put the phrase under discussion
here. Peterson’s work is a mine of information about the different
applications of the “ One G od” formula, including liturgical con
texts (130ff.), acclamations (141ff.), its use in amulets and other
small objects (81ff.), and the problems connected with the “ One
Zeus Sarap is” formula (227ff,). It emerges that the Christian “ One
G od” is quite rare in the epigraphy of Asia Minor, but is used there
more often in pagan henothcistic contexts (77f.). While quite
numerous in Egypt, the Christian variants are mostly undated and
are therefore of little help in working out the problems o f conver
sion there (47-77). We are thus thrown back on the dated Syrian
texts, and so it is hoped that the foregoing chapter will clarify this
question to some extent. Tw o of the more interesting examples
cited by Peterson require brief notice. The first of these is a “ One
God who helps” text from Deir el-Bahari. It is accompanied with
incised palm leaves and an Ankh cross, symbols of the old polythe
ism now integrated into the Christian scheme (56). Another text,
from the Aegean island of K os, refers simply to the “ One God in
the sky” (εις Θεώ^ς] έν θύρανώ[ΐ])(78). It has a clear relationship
to other Christian texts and inscriptions that reject a multiplicity of
divinities in sky and sea and earth.5
There was in any case a clear distinction between Hellenic
henotheism and Christian monotheism. On the former Cam pbell
Bonner observes:6

* Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 2.
5 Cf. supra, Ch. IV, Scct. 5.
6 Campbell Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets Chiefy Graeco-Egyptian (Ann Arbor
1950). 174f. Bonner cites several examples of this, including a miracle
APPENDIX V 315
W hen used o f a p a g a n god, ε ις exp resses the great pow er or the

preem inence o f the deity, rather than definitely m onotheistic belief.
On the latter:7
Ε ις Θ εό ς in a strictly religious sense m ust be reg ard ed as an exp res
sion o f m onotheistic faith, an d is rightly held to be o f Je w ish origin. It
w as taken over by the C h ristian s an d ap p e ars on a g reat num ber o f
bronze p en d an ts, m ainly o f Syrian an d P alestin ian origin, which have
on one side the R id er sain t with the m otto “ O ne G o d who conquers
evil,” and on the other, u sually, som e ap o tro p aic device directed
ag a in st the evil eye.
Yet Xenophanes of Colophon’s famous dictum rather closely resem

bles the Psalm ist’s view that the God o f Israel is the God o f gods:8
T h ere is one god, greatest am ong g od s and m en, who is like m ortals
neither in bodily sn ap e nor in thought.
In conclusion, it is worth quoting two poems composed by Basa-

vanna (1106-1167), a devotee of Siva in medieval India whose
rejection o f the formalism of Vedic ritual caused him to affirm
monotheism in the name of his god. The first refers to images o f the
gods:9
H ow can I feel righ t ab ou t a god who eats up lacqu er an d m elts, who
wilts when he sees fire? H ow can I feel righ t abou t g od s you sell in
your need, an d god s you bury for fear of thieves? T h e L o rd o f the
M eeting R ivers, self-born, one with him self, he alone is god.
The monotheistic statement of the second poem rejects the vanity

of lesser divinities:10
T h e pot is a god- T he w innow ing fan is a god* T h e stone in the street
is a god. T h e com b is a god. T h e bow string is also a god. T h e bushel
is a god an d the spouted cup is a god. G o d s, g od s, there are so m any
there’s no p lace left for a foot. T h ere is only one god. H e is our L o rd
o f the M eetin g rivers.
B asavanna’s latter statement is thematically consistent with Au

gustine’s criticism o f the lesser beings of the Roman pantheon in
the City o f God.
supposedly worked by Sarapis in P. Οχγ.> 1382, and such variants as “ One god
Sarapis” , “ One Zeus Sarapis9’, “ One Zeus Asklepios'\ etc.— all from Petersons’s
E IC &EOC,
7 Bonner, Magical Amultis, 174.
ß Xenophanes of Colophon, Fr. 23 in G.S, Kirk and J.E , Raven, The Pmocratic
Philosophers (Cambridge 1983), 169.
9 Basavanna, ΜαΙίΙνατα, 558, in Speaking of Sivay tr, Λ.Κ. Ramanujan (London
1973), 84.
10 Basa vanna, Mälthara, 563, in Speaking of Sva> 84.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
T H E BOSTRENE, DJEBEL H A U R A N , A N D T H E LEDJÄ
The large number of early Christian inscriptions found in northern

Syria is paralleled by conditions in the Hauran, a district that
included many of the areas formerly belonging to the N abataean
Arab kingdom which the emperor T rajan incorporated into the
empire in 106 A .D ,1 The province of Arabia, which had its metro
polis at Bostra, survived little modified as an entity in the Later
Roman Empire, and consisted of several topographically distinct
zones which lie generally east-northeast of the Jord an river valley
on the far side o f Djebel Ajlün. Among these zones are the H auran
plain, on which Bostra lies, the Djebel H auran (also called Djebel
Drüz), the Batanea to its north west, and the district called the
Ledjä or Trachonitis.
T he inscriptions collccted by the Princeton Expeditions of
1904-5 and 1909, and those of W addington’s collection, make up
the principal evidence for any analysis of the decline of polytheism
and Christianization of the countryside in the H auran.2 The rules
of analysis vary considerably, however, from those encountered in
northern Syria, For one thing, the “ One G od” inscriptions turn up
in smaller numbers. Christian inscriptions are, in general, rarer in
the rural Hauran, particularly those from the fourth century. Even
with the cautionary dictum of avoiding too broad a generalization
because of the random survival o f inscriptions, it appears that the
new religion hardly penetrated the countryside before the fifth
century and that many villages remained unconverted in the sixth
century.
Another consideration is the ethnic character o f the Hauran. The
1 On the formation of the province, see Bowersock, Roman Arabia. On the

material culture: Rudolf E. Brünnow and Alfred von Domaszewski, Die Provincia
Arabia 3 (Strasbourg 1909). Cf. J.-M . Dentzer, Hauran I: 1-2 (Paris 1985-86).
2 Publications of ike Princeton ί /niversity Archaeological Expeditions to Syna in 1904-5
and 1909yDivision III: Greek and Latin Inscriptions, Section A\ Southern Syriaj Parts 2-7,
edd. Enno Littmann, David Magie and D.R. Stuart (Leiden 1921). Hereinafter
cited as Littmann, PAES III A. Recueil des inscnptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, ed.
W.H, Waddington (Paris 1870), nos. 1826-2724. A smalt number of additional
Inscriptions has come ta light, and are published in SEG 7.
THE BOSTRENE, DJEBEL HAURAN, AND THE LEDJÄ 317
great majority of persons attested in the epigraphy, apart from

those with Greek and Latin names, came from Arabic-speaking
stock, this a direct result of the sedentarization of the N abataean
A rabs and the subsequent arrival of new contingents which seem to
have practiced pastoralism and lived in symbiosis with the villages.
The ethnically Arabic character of the rustic population of the
H auran is much more strongly pronounced than that of northern
Syria, where the Aram aic-Syriac dialects prevailed. Even so, the
majority of the Late Roman inscriptions of the Hauran are cut in
Greek. It can hardly be doubted that the villages had undergone
rudimentary Hellenization from N abataean times onward, even if
the level o f literacy was not high. Finally, and this is an important
factor in adjusting the chronology of Christianization, dedications
to the various Arabic deities turn up with much later dates than in
northern Syria, even in the late fourth century. The axiom that
cultural formations persist beyond the temporal limits of the evi
dence finds application here as well, particularly as very many
fifth- and sixth-century inscriptions contain not the slightest trace
of the new religion, neither crosses nor the other symbols which
accompany the Christian epigraphy of other districts.
The metropolis of the district, Bostra, which lies west of Djcbel
H auran on the H auran plain, had a Christian community from the
earliest times and its own bishop at the time of the Council of
Nicaea in 325.3 Em peror Ju lia n the Apostate estimated that c,
362/3 the city had a population half-Christian and half-pagan,4 as
he might well know, for his agents were active in restoring the
temples and traditional sacrifices not only at Bostra, but in the
villages round about as well.5 Christianity had begun to radiate
outward to some of the larger communities well before the time of
Ju lian . The very large suburban kdmopolis or village-city of Umm
el-Jimal, whose ancient name is unknown, had a Christian nekropo-
lis at an early date, by 344, as a very agram m atical inscription
records:6
3 On the period up to c. 400, see: Maurice Sartre, Bostra, des origines à i'Islam
(Paris 1985), 99-108.
* Julian the Apostate, “ To the Bostrenes,” Ep. 41 (Wright 3, 132f.).
1 Sartre, Bostra 106 and n. 64. Infra , Ch. X I, Sect. 1—3. We learn of the temple
of an unnamed divinity being constructed “ from the foundations up” in 320 by the
duumviri or urban executive board of Bostra. Waddington 1910. The temple
treasurers at Damascus engaged in some construction work not long after Julian
became sole emperor. Waddington, 2551a. Cf. Waddington 2549.
6 Littmann, PAES III A, 262. I have departed from Littmann’s translation of
several key words.
318 CHAPTER ELEVEN
T h is is the m em orial o f Ju lia n o s, weighed dow n by long sleep, for

whom his father A gath os built it while shedding a tear beside the
boundary o f the com m unal cem etery o f the people of C h rist, in order
th at a better people m ight alw ays sin g o f him openly, being form erly
the beloved faithful [son?] o f A gath os the presbyter, aged twelve* In
the year 239 [o f the era o f the P rovincia A rab ia]. (344 A .D .)
The inscription carries several hints which suggest that Um m

el-Jimal was far from being completely Christianized at this time.
The cemetery of the “ people of Christ” (κοιμητήριον λαοΰ
Χρειστοΰ) had a delimited boundary (τέρμα)— the lintel block of
the tomb was not, unfortunately, discovered in situ— and was com
munal (κοινός), and thus set apart. One can hardly doubt that a
pagan nekropolis also existed somewhere extra muros, but the epi-
graphic finds reveal little on this point- The expression “ a better
people55 (άμείνων . . . λαός), which repeats the term for “people5’
(λαός) used in “ people of Christ” , can hardly mean “ better folk” in
an ethical or economic sense, as Enno Littm ann implies, but must
be taken in the sense that the people of Christ were the “ better”
people o f corporate body in the komopolis because of their religious
allegiance, in other words Christians as opposed to Hellenes. Such
terminology in no sense implies a real conflict, although later
sources suggest possible militancy between the competing cults at
Bostra at the instigation of Ju lian the A postate’s agents.7
The cults o f Umm el-Jimal lasted into Late Antiquity, as the
altar inscriptions attest. One o f the more popular deities named is
Dousares (Δουσά ρει Α αρρα),0 a descendant of the N abataean
D ushara A ‘ra, whose idol lay in Bostra before the incorporation o f
Arabia into the Roman Empire in 106 and whose Hellenized typol
ogy resembled that of Zeus*9 Another deity was the god Selem
(θεω Σ ο λμ ω ),10 about whom little or nothing can be said ,11 These
and other altars derive perhaps from the third century,12 The
process by which these cults died out and how long they persisted
is unknown.
The Julianos inscription demonstrates the presence of a Christ
ian cemetery and presbyter to officiate at the liturgy by 344, an
early example of the phenomenon compared with rural northern
7 This is directly stated in Julian 's letter to the Bostrcnes (1 August 362), For
citation, supra, Ch, X I, n. 4.
0 Littmann, PAES III A, 238.
9 Javier Texidor, The Pagan Cod (Princeton 1977), fl5f. Dominique Sourd el, Le.r
Cultes du Hauran à Vépoque romaine (Paris 1952), 59-68.
liJ Littmann, PAES III A, 239.
n Sourdel, Cultes du Hauran, 87,
12 Other altars: Littmann, PAES III A, 240-242.
Syria. A certain Bassos the primicerius, an agent o f Flavius Pelagius,

the dux or supreme cavalry commander of Arabia, who held senato
rial rank (clarissimus = λαμπρότατος) and the office of count, built
or repaired the castle o f Um m el-Jimal in 412/3 and attached the
Chi-Rho Christogram to the inscription commemorating the con
struction of the fortress (κάστελλος), but would have been essen
tially an outsider.13 The cult of the angels became popular with
some persons at Um m el-Jim al in the fifth or sixth century,14 but
the earliest Christian inscriptions distinctively datable by letter
forms belong to the very late fifth century or later.15 None of the
pagan funerary inscriptions, on the other hand, can be dated later
than the fourth century with certainty, and most of them may well
be earlier than this.16 The steles in question, some 237 in number,
lack all indications o f cult. The persons named on them bear mostly
Arabic names and have no attested trades or professions. One is
inclined to view these folk as the pre-Christian population of Umm
el-Jimal, but it is impossible to affix an economic identity to them,
even as to whether they were pastoralists or sedentary. All one can
really say is that they were certainly A rabs of N abataean stock with
a rudimentary literacy in Greek, and that they undoubtedly wor
shipped D usares, the principal deity in the pantheon of Bostra. T o
this it should be added that a single “ One G od ” inscription, which
we have taken in the previous chaptcr often to be an indicator o f
recent conversion, accompanied by a cross in a square, has turned
up, and appears to belong to the fourth century.17 A block o f
sixth-century date bears the legend: “ (Cross) T his [sign] (Cross)
conquers [and] helps.” 18 This suggests that the Christianization o f
Umm el-Jim al was still in progress in the time of emperor A nasta
sius I (491-518) or later.
It cannot be said how Christianity originally penetrated Um m
el-Jimal. As a large suburb o f Bostra, however, it probably received
its church, cemetery, and presbyter no later than the early fourth
century. No reason exists to doubt that the site had largely gone
over to the religion between the typical termini established for
northern Syria in the previous chapter, to wit, c. 363-420. The

14 I.ittmarm, PAES ITT A, 245-248.
,s The basis for this dating is the presence of the omicron-upsilon ligature.
Littmann, PAES III A, 249-251, 253 , 258.
16 Littmann, PAES III A, 286-522. I refer here to the rounded unciais, the
characteristic letter forms of the 2nd-4th c. A.D.
14 Littmann, PAES III A, 251, with the omicron-upsilon ligature (6th c. or
later).
320 CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ju lian os inscription implies the survival o f a pre-Christian com

munity in 344. It certainly lasted for a few decades beyond that
date. Um m el-Jim al was the most urbanized settlement in the
lerritorium of Bostra. One is inclined to regard the smaller villages as
subject to a slower rate of religious transformation. Let us consider
the other cases.
The H auran may be divided into approximately three zones: 1)
The Bostrene or H auran plain, as it extends along the east-west
military highway which passes through Bostra and then along the
southern spurs of Djebel H auran toward the eastern frontier o f the
province; 2) Djebel H auran itself, a high and irregular plateau cut
by many wadis and high eminences; and 3) The three districts to
the north, variously called the Batanea, il-Ledjä, and Trachonitis,
which extend from the northern and western spurs o f the Djebel
Hauran and lead into broad flatlands. The last zone, although
located on the plains, was relatively distant from urbanized areas
and therefore somewhat different from the sites around Bostra. It
will be assumed, pending empirical demonstration, that the C hris
tianization of these three zones lagged somewhat behind that of the
metropolis Bostra and komopolis Um m el-Jimal because of their
essentially urban character, and that one might safely expect iso
lated villages, particularly those in the Djebel H auran, which m ea
sures some thirty-five by twenty miles in extent, to have been
Christianized later than those under the direct influence of the
episcopate at Bostra.
I. The Bostrene
The Bostrene may be divided into western and eastern sections. In
the west, villages radiate in every direction from Bostra. Some
twenty miles to the east o f Bostra, another group of villages radiates
round about the large village and fortress of Salkhad, the ancient
Salcha. Let us consider the western group of villages around Bostra
first, among which Um m el-Jimal has already been taken into
account as the primary example.
One begins to see a definite lag in the process of Christianization
once away from Bostra and Um m el-Jimal. The westernmost vil
lage of 11-Umtâ‘îyeh reveals a lintel with a very fragmentary in
scription o f 330/1 A.D. recording the expenditure o f monies from
the treasury of a deity whose name is lost, but who received the
salutation of “ Lord” (Κ ύ ρ ιο ς ):19
19 Littmann, PAES III A, 37,

[It was built f]rom the funds of Lord [—1 the overseers [—Jros and
Bachros and [—J having taken care. . . *
The overseers (επίσκοποί) or executive committee of the village
council expended monies from the treasury o f an unknown god
([έ]κ τών του Κ υ [ρ ίο υ —*]). The identification of these funds as
religious monies is suggested by certain common parallel phrases in
the regional epigraphy, such as “ from the funds o f Lord Zeus” (έκ
τών του κυρίου Δ ιό ς )20 and “ from the funds of the god” (έκ τών
χον θεο ύ).21 The headmen o f il-U m tâ'ïyeh were thus still pagan c,
330/1. The first Christian inscriptions, written in squared uncials
and with large crosses, came no earlier than c. 380-420. By that
time the village council had accepted the new religion. The lintel o f
a doorway leading to a courtyard near an early church has it that:22
Qaiyäm built [this] for God, the Alpha and the Omega. Lord, make
this sign be set up. (Cross in circle) Remember your temple, Lord
Christ. The court of a village headman (πρωτοκω(μήτου)).
It is of interest that the titles o f the headmen were changed from
episkopoi (“ overseers” ) to prôtokomëtai during the half-century or so
that passed as the village was Christianized. An inscription c. 500
or later, having a more recent type of cross with divided tips,
contains the standard victory formula: “ Christ conquers. Christ
rules as emperor” (Χ (ρ ισ τό )ς v l k q l Χ (ρίσ τό)ς β α σ ι λ [ ε ύ ε ι ] ) , 23 A
church inscription with the same style o f cross reads: “ It conquers.
(Cross) It conquers” (N (l)k (ç) ν (ΐ)κ (φ )*24 Christianization thus
seems to have remained an issue even c. 500 or later. This is not an
improbable reality in light o f the known penetration of pagan Arab
pastoralists into zones populated by other sedentarized Arabs.
Two neighboring villages may not have been Christianized until
the mid-fifth century. Umm is-Surab had its only known church, a
shrine (μ[νημεΐον] or μ[εμώ ριον]) dedicated to the martyrs
Sergius— a popular saint among the Arabs— and Bacchus, built in
20 Waddington, 1879,
21 Waddington, 1990, 2544
23 Littmann, PAES III A, 4Ό. The date is based, once again, on the recurrence
of the now familiar omicron-upsilon ligature.
24 Two crosses of this type appear on inscriptions, or parrs of them, that have
sixth-century omicron-upsilon ligatures. The cross is apparently, therefore, a
popular variant of c. 500 or later which often replaced the earlier inscribed cross.
Cf. Littmann, PAES III A, 38, which has an early inscribed cross with a square
uncial text (c. 380-420?), and a later group ofletters using the omicron-upsilon
ligature and a later cross with divided points.
322 CHAPTER ELEVEN
September 489, Its founders were both Arabs, ‘Amr and Kyros,
sons o f U lpian.25 At Gha$m, on the main road west of Bostra, the
lintel with crosses of a building (κτίσμα) erected by a woman
named M egalë at her own expense, belongs c. 400 or later.26
Djemmerin, a village only two kilometers north o f Bostra, has a
group of inscriptions with indications suggestive of Christianization
ante c. 400, not a surprising possibility in view of the site’s proximity
to Bostra. The earliest of them stands on a lintel which has no cross,
but contains a Christian “ code” word: “ Aurelia built [this] after
the death o f her husband Domitian in the year 295.” (=400/1
A .D .)27 The word used for “ death” is the Greek term meaning
“ repose” or “ rest” (άνάπαυσις), which has the connotation o f
“ rest in eternity” or “ peace” . Similarly, another inscription, this
one of 479, lacks a cross, but one of the persons named in it bore the
name E lias.28 Finally, the military squadrons which moved along
the east-west highway, that is the cavalry squadrons (arithmoi or
numeri), erected at least one Christian tomb in Djemmerin out of its
own fisc in 414 (Έ (ν )θ ά δ ε τάφον ε [—] έκ καμάτων στρα τίης).29
It is impossible to say how many locally recruited Arabs made up
the squadrons, but the local count and his subordinates who com
manded the arithmoi of the province were either Christian or at any
rate felt compelled to act according to Christian sentiments, for the
inscription is accompanied by a large cross. These considerations
will be applied later in the discussion, for the H auran has yielded
many inscriptions o f Late Roman date with neither crosses nor
Christian key words, and seem thus to be pagan.
When one turns to the southeast of Bostra, in the direction of
Sm äd, the picture o f Christianization begins to change somewhat.
At this village one finds a lintel dated 327, over which were cut
crosses that partially obliterated some letters of the inscriptions.
The original owners of the building were the A rabs Shai* son of
Khairän and Severus son ofG hiyai. The lintel with its later deface
ments provides a terminus post quem for the conversion o f Sm äd. The
date is pushed later by another inscription on a block which appears
to be a sacrificial altar, It reads: “ May you have good luck! Executed
by ‘Add son of Severus and ‘Αζϊζ son son of Hann’ël in the
Littmann, PAES III A, 51. Further research would certainly prove the
existence of many Latinate names used by Arabs in consequence of taking service
in the Late Roman army.
29 Littmann, PAES III A. 603.
year 280” (= 3 8 5 A .D .).30 This suggests that the local cults may
have persisted as late as c. 400. An undated inscription with the
normally Christian expression “ Here lies” (ένθά δε κεΐτα ι) belongs
probably to the fifth century.31
T he picture of Christianization changes even more radically in
the eastern parts o f the H auran plain, where it reaches the foothills
o f Djebel H auran, whence villages radiate in every direction from
present-day Salkhad, the ancient Salcha. Ample epigraphic evi
dence has survived to prove that the old cults remained strong in
these parts until the end of the fourth century, and that Christianity
necessarily took root later there than in the area around Bostra.
Salkhad, a large village on a dominating hill, lies some twelve
miles east o f Bostra on the military highway leading to the eastern
frontier. The lettering technique used in the inscriptions there is
much cruder than that found in the more westerly villages around
the metropolis. Arabic, Greek, and Latinate personal names pre
dominate. The last sure reference to the old cults, that of an
unknown god, survives in an inscription of 252 A.D. which records
the construction o f a building by the overseers or headmen
(έπίσκοποί) of Salcha, Thaim os, Sabaos, Bassos son of U lpius,
and Bordos. The monies came from the fisc of the god (έκ των του
θεοΰ έκτισαν).32 The earliest identifiable Christian inscription
after this falls in 497, well over two centuries later.33 The epigraphy
before 497 shows no trace o f the new religion, consisting primarily
of funerary and building inscriptions. Their dates are 322, 345, 351,
369, 377, 380, 392, 403, and 419.s* As the sequence is quite exten
sive, with nine dated inscriptions falling between the termini 252-
497 A .D ., it is justifiable to put the Christianization of Salkhad in
the mid- or late fifth century.
An examination o f the society and culture revealed by the in
scriptions helps explain this phenomenon. Salkhad was ruled by, or

31 Littmann, PAES III A, 64·, with square uncials.
32 Waddington, 1990. An earlier inscription at Salcha from 169-70 A.D. re
cords the erection of a building from the “ sacred funds" of the place (έκ τών
ιερατικών έκτ[ίαθη]). Littmann, PAES III A, 155. Baal-Shamin was worshipped
here in Nabataean times, as we iearn from the cult-stone inscription of a certain
‘Ubaid son of ’Utaifik. Salcha also contained a cult-stone dedicated to Allât, “ the
lady of the place” ( l- ’alk rb-i’l ’atr). Publications o f the Princeton University Archatologicai
Expeditions to Syria in 1904 5 and 1909,_ Division IV: Semitic Inscnptions, Section A :
Nabataean Inscriptions from the Southern Haurân, ed. Enno Littmann (Leiden 1914),
nos. 23, 24. This collection is hereinafter cited as PAES IV A.
33 Waddington, 1995.
34 Waddington, 1998-2004. Littmann, PAES III A, 158-160, 167.
324 CHAPTER ELEVEN
had as its immediate and influential neighbors, a group o f A rab

chieftains (δρχαμοι) still conscious o f their clan or tribal origins,
as the latest pre-Christian inscription in the series (419 A .D .)
indicates:35
This far-famed tomb, at once a great boast for living men and a place
of repose for the dead, the chieftains completed. Milk, a man cxcel-
ient in counsel and law-abiding, son of [---] and his dear brothers
with him. Λ11 of them sprang from the *Audh-’ël, In the year 314
(=419 A.D.)
Milk, a chieftain of the ‘Audh-’el clan and his brothers sat on a sort
o f council, but this was probably a tribal body independent o f the
headmen of Salcha. His excellence in counsel and knowledge oflaw
([βουλή αρισ]τος κα ί εΰνομος Μίλχος άνήρ) evidently related to
the traditional, unwritten law o f the bedouin who had settled in
and around Salcha. Families were apparently large, and will prob
ably have practiced pastoralism even at the time o f their settle
ment, or more accurately localization, at the village.
The inscriptions of Salcha mention no trade except that of buil
ders, o f whom most have Arabic names. A tomb of 345 had four
builders (οικοδόμοι), of whom two, Thaim os and Authos (‘Awd),
were A rabs.36 Another lintel, this one o f 403 A.D., mentions three
builders, one of them a certain R abb from a place called Borechtha
Sabaön (who may have been a Syrian), and two Arabs, presumably
locals, named ‘Awd and H abibat.37 Rabb, presumably the most
literate of the group, referred to his profession as that of ύκοδόμος
(sic). Other trades at Salcha are unknown, but the site was suf·
ficiently prosperous for persons who had endured economic
hardship in youth to rise. For example, one hears o f a certain
Bassos, reared as an orphan (Βάσσος Άνδρομάχου όρφανός
άνατραφείς), who eventually had a family (μετά τέκνων) and
erected a tomb (μνήμα) for himself in 369 A .D .,38 an interesting
note on the character o f pre-Christian society. Children at times
received Greek names. An inscription o f 377 mentions a Zenodoros,
son of T h ubai’ , and his wife named M axim a (Ζηνόδωρος Τοβέου
[κέ Μά]ξιμα γυνή αύτου),39 which might be taken as an example
of Heilenization, except that the phenomenon worked in the reverse
direction as well, as for exam ple one Soleos son of Zenodoros
3i Littmann, PAES III A, 160.

THE BOSTRENE, DJEBEL HAURAN, AND THE LEDJÀ 325
(Σολεος Ζηνοδώρου) in 380 A .D .40 It is difficult to determine the

ethnic character of Salcha, which probably consisted of rudimen-
tarily Hellenized A rabs with a small admixture of Greeks. Army
veterans indisputably settled there, for a tomb inscription o f 345
A.D. mentions two men, Ambrilios and Zenon, sons of Alexander
Kattios (an ethnic of some kind), who served as ordinarii in the office
of the praeses, or military governor, o f A rabia.41 T he later settlement
of veterans at Salcha cannot be excluded, as it lay near the limes
Arabicus, but firm evidence is lacking. One finds, then, a mixed
population which enjoyed a degree of economic prosperity through
the early years o f the fifth century. This population was combined
from sedentary N abataean Arabs, Greek settlers o f unknown ori
gin, Greek-speaking army veterans, and the bedouin, whose out
casts must have been added to the citizens of the village. It is
hardly certain, once again, that the A rab chieftains led by Milk
who built the tomb in 419 dominated the life of the village itself,
which probably had its own council, but they undoubtedly had an
economic impact on the exchange of agricultural products for
anim al products. One must choose between the terms symbiosis
and synoikism to describe this state of affairs.
The circumstances under which Salcha discarded the old cults
becomes apparent from a small sample of Christian inscriptions.
The earliest Christian inscription belongs, as has been seen, to
M arch-Septem ber 497. It stands on a house lintel in tabula ansata
and its letters, semicircular uncials, are more carefully cut than
those on the fourth- and early fifth-century inscriptions. The owner
of the structure was without doubt a successful soldier or imperial
civil servant, for he bore thepraenomen Flavius. His correct reporting
of the year of the indiction and era of the province confirms this
supposition. His nomen, abbreviated with the letters alpha-mu, was
perhaps the A rabic Anamos (έκτίσθη τά ώδε έπί Φλ(αβίου)
Ά ν (α μ ο υ ?)).42 It is quite possible that Anam os left Salcha to join
the army and returned to family lands upon his retirement. Alter
natively, he may have purchased lands in the village, but as an
A rab from other parts will have found the environs o f the metropo
lis Bostra, one presumable site of his endeavors, pleasant enough.
Anamos* case resembles that o f Flavius Eusebius, who seems to
have retired to D ar Q ita on Djebel Barisha east o f Antioch c. 344,
as was seen in the preceding chapter. At any rate, the soldier or
40 Littmann, PAES III A, 158. Waddington 2003.

326 CHAPTER ELEVEN
civil servant who took the praenomen Flavius, whether of expediency

or conviction, often became a dedicated Christian as w ell Hence
the forbidding formulary on the house lintel from Psalm 117.20:
“ This is the gate of the Lord. The ju st shall enter within it.” One
wonders if Flavius Anamos considered the other residents of Salcha
“ju st men” when he erected the house, I f not, the village might still
have been full of polytheists.
The second piecc of cvidcncc about the Christianization o f S a l
cha consists in an enigmatic inscription mentioning a periodeutes
(4- Π εριοδευτής + ). I f W addington’s transcription can be trusted,
the text was cut in semicircular uncials similar to those on the
Flavius Anamos lintel·1* It is conceivable, in short, if the two
inscriptions are contemporaneous, that Flavius Anamos relied on
personal influence and asked the metropolitan of Bostra to send a
periodeutês to Salcha from time to time to minister to his own needs,
and those o f any other Christians. I f so, this will have marked
merely the beginning of Christianization at the village. This would
put the real infusion of Christianity into Salcha in the sixth century.
The village may be one of the places which finally accepted the new
religion during the reign of emperor Justinian I (527—565) or later,
as no epigraphic indications of its genuine popularity precede 601
A .D .44 O f the undated Christian inscriptions at Salchas one may be
fifth- or sixth-century,13 and the other is certainly sixth-century.46
The reasons for the seemingly slow progress of Christianity in
Salcha become more apparent from an examination of the sites
round about. Some four miles to the east-northeast lie the ruins o f
O rm an , which Enno Littmann identifies with the ancient Bosoa in
his discussion of some inscriptions which he edited anew or which
Waddington had missed.47 Waddington, however, identified Bosoa
with Awwas. The villages all lie in close proximity> and it is
impossible to unravel these confusions without better maps and on
the site inspection. This problem is complicated once again by the
movement o f stones from Awwas to O rm än and possibly other
displacements.
The blunt reality is that not a shred o f epigraphic evidence exists
to prove that Bosoa ever accepted Christianity, but rather suggests
the survival o f the old cults well into the sixth century. Bosoa, like
43 Waddington, 201L
44 Waddington, 1996, Trombley, ‘'Paganism in the Greek World,” 329—334.
46 Waddington, 2010, with the omicron-upsilon and crosses having triangular
tips.
47 Cf., for example, Littmann, PAES III A, 685 (“ Waddington 2043).
the other villages o f the southeastern H auran, had a mostly N ab a

taean A rab sedentary population which was superficially Helle-
nized. A familiar picture emerges from the epigraphy. T he village
o f Bosoa (κώμη Βοσοηνών) had a council of caretakers
(προνοηταί) which oversaw the construction and repair of build
ings public and private.48 The title of office also appears as “ trus
tees” (π ισ το ί).40 Retired soldiers settled at Bosoa as early as 295.50
A certain M agnus, the grandson of the general (στρατηγός) M ag
nus commemorated on a funerary stele of 333 A,D. with no cross,
doubtless belonged to such a family as well. Philip, father of M ag
nus the younger, has no stated rank, and probably never served in
the army. The elder M agnus had probably retired to the village,
with his son Philip later living off the lands bought from M agnus’
doubtless modest fortune.51 I f the stele contains the quasi-Christian
“ here lies” (ένθά δε κιτε, sic), it also has the characteristically
pagan: “ Courage! No one is im m ortal.” (Θ ά ρ(σ )ι ούδίς
αθάνατος, sic) T his family lay outside the cultural milieu of the
local N abataean stock. Priscus the veteran, who built a house in
323, was also one such, but the stones bearing his inscription
allegedly came from the neighboring village of ‘U yün.52 An Arab
house-builder also turns up.53
T he village saw considerable building activity in the fourth
ccntury, most o f the public structures being supervised by the
board of caretakers or trustees. Among the structures were a wall
and apses of 324,54 two towers in 372,55 but more significantly
a number o f tem ples, one of which formed the shrine o f the
Arab deity Theandrios or Theandrites, the “ male-faced god”
(άρρενωπόν όντα θεόν) worshipped by the N abataeans of Bostra
and in the surrounding territorium, but about whom little evidence
exists to reconstruct a typology except the authority of Dam ascius,
who indicates in the Life of Isidore that Theandrites “ breathed
non-womanish life into souls” (καί τον αθηλυν βίον έμπνεοντα
τα ίς ψ υ χ α ις).56 M arinus o f Neapolis, writing after 485, still refers
to Theandrites as “ another god much honored by the A rabs”
48 Waddington 2042-2044. Littmann, PAES III A, 696.

49 Waddington 2045, 2046.
50 Waddington 2041
5Î Littmann, PAES III A, 697.
** Littmann, PAES III A, 685; Waddington, 2043.
54 Ibid.
55 Littmann, PAES ΙΠ A, 689.
55 Damascius, V. Isidori, Epit. Phot., 198 (Zintzen, 272).
328 CHAPTER ELEVEN
(Θ υανδρίτην ά λλον’Α ρ α βίο ις πολυτίμητον θεόν).57 Theandrites

often bore the epithet “ m aster” , with the Semitic rabb rendered into
Greek as ‘ Ραββος, the exact synonym o f κύ ριο ς.58 A temple of this
deity, called the Theondrition (Θ εονόρίτιον - Θεανδρι,τείον)
was constructed or repaired in 387, a surprisingly late date for such
building activity, as the first Theodosian laws about pagan shrines
had already come into force.59 These regulations had little force,
however, in the limitrophic districts like the eastern Hauran. The
inscription reads:60
By t h e provision an d care o f V alen s son o f 4A z j z , an d Sobeos son o f
A vitus, and M a g n u s son o f A b g ar, and M a n a s son o f T h iem os, [all]
trustees, the T heondrition (sic) w as built in the year 282 [o f the e ra o f
B o stra]. (387 A .D .)
T o judge from M arinus o f Neapolis’ observations, the cult of

Theandrites, still virulent in 387, lingered for at least another
century and probably well into the Justinian ic period. The Arabic-
Latinate mixture of names of the trustees suggests that army veter
ans and their descendants in particular adhered to this cult.
The earlier religious life o f Bosoa emerges from other inscrip
tions. H alf a century earlier, in 330, a basilica and gate were
consecrated to an unknown deity or to some other sacred purpose,
as a lintel inscription makes clear (ά φ ιερ ώ θ η ή β α σ ιλ ικ ή
κ ε ή θ ύ ρ α ). A committee o f four caretakers (π ρονοητα ι) once
again supervised the work.61 The absence of crosses in the civil and
funerary epigraphy of Bosoa-O rm än-A w w as becomes readily
comprehensible:62 the village never accepted Christianity, a fact
largely attributable to the religious solidarity of the caretakers or
trustees with the old cults. The temple o f another deity, this one
also unknown, received refurbishment in 372 A.D. The inscription
recording the work hints at the persistence of animal sacrifice at the
village:63
Provision for the d i n i n g hall an d oxen stalls w ithin, when the caretak
ers (or com m ission ers) were N ä sir son o f H unain, an d ‘Aziz son o f
M ughaiyir, and M a ln son o f T iy aim , and Silvan u s son o f H u taim
57 M arinus, V. Procli 19 (Boissonade, 16),

58 Sourdel, CulUs du Haurany 7&-8L
Supra* Ch, Sect. 2,
Waddington, 2046 misreads the last letter of the date and gives it as 289 (era
of Bostra) = 395 A.D>, having mistaken the beta for a theta. GefFcken’s failure to
note this inscription in Last Days o f Greco-Roman Paganism is puzzling.
61 Littm ann, PA ES III A> 701. W addington, 2044.
62 Cf. Waddington, 2048-2052.
63 Littm ann, PA ES Π Ι A, 6 % .
THE BOSTRENE, DJEBEL HAURAN, AND THE LEDJÂ 329
[—] and also for the demolition and reconstruction of two towers in
the temple sanctuary. In the year 267 (=372 A.D.)
Sacred meals thus occurred at a dining hall (τρίκλινος [οίκος])
from animals kept in stalls inside the temenos (έν τφ ίερφ, sic).
This inscription provides evidence, therefore, of the continuity of
pagan cult in 372 and 387. Since social and cultural formations
necessarily persist beyond the limits or termini of the evidence, how
long might the cults have survived at O rm an ? For once a sixth-
century inscription provides the answer:64
Zaidos, Klimos, and Mokeimos (Muqlm) of the tribe of the Konênoi
took care of the purification. In the year 412 (517 A,D.)
Littmann refers to the purification of the site, which was necessarily
the temenos of some unknown god, in this wise: “ . . . κάθαρσις
denotes the formal cleansing of a temple, and accordingly in the
present inscription it may refer to a ceremonial purification of a
[pagan] sanctuary. O f course, if our reading of the date is correct,
the sanctuary must have been a Christian church.” 65 Pagan rituals
of the annual purification of temples are well known.K A more
reasonable course than Littm ann’s would be to take the inscription
as hard evidence for continuity of cult at ‘Orm ân until the time of
emperor Justinian I, whose reign began in 527, for ample evidence
attests the ongoing Christianization of the countryside in all parts
of the empire.67 I f the act of purification (κάθαρσις) had been the
Christian cleansing o f a pagan temple, the apparatus of cross,
victory formulae, and invocations of Christ and the martyrs which
accompanied temple conversions, particularly in the sixth century,
could hardly have been left out, but the inscription contains no
Christian marking whatsoever.68 T o Littm ann’s mind the sixth
century belongs to the “ Christian” period of every site, but neither
the literary evidence nor the epigraphic, in this instance, will bear
the weight o f that argument. One must also consider the fact that
6* Littmann, PAES III A, 694. Littmann’s reading of the letters of the date as
“ 412” (ίτ (ε ι) νιβ ) seems almost certain from his drawing of the stone. His
conclusion is corroborated by a later examination of the stone. SEG 7, 1169. The
series of dated inscriptions included in SEG 7 bears out the hypothesis worked out
in the foregoing discussion that Christianity did not ascertainably reach ‘Ormän
in the fourth century. SEG 7, 1170, 1171, 1172, 1177, 1178. The last of these
commemorates the erection of an altar to the god Herakles in 320/1.
65 Ibid.
66 Infra, Ch. X I, n. 90.
67 Trombley, "Paganism in the Greek World,” 329-34.
60 In view of conditions at Philae in Upper Egypt, this conclusion is not
improbable. Cf. supra, Ch. IX , Sect. 3 and 4.
330 CHAPTER ELEVEN
no Christian inscnptions have turned up at the site. The Arabs

Zaidokimas and Mokeimos of the inscription of 517 differ from the
other residents of O rm än , for like the previously mentioned Milk
o f Salcha, they remained part o f a clan and tribal structure, that of
the Konênoi, which may be the same as the Q anan.69 They possibly
came as newcomers to O rm an , as pastoral residents living in
symbiosis with the villagers and worshipping at one o f their
shrines. No firm answers exist to these questions, but it would
certainly be erroneous to call O rm än a Christian site in the sixth
century. Nor did the Princeton expedition turn up any sign of an
early Christian basilica at O rm än or Awwas.70
Directly east o f the O rm än-A w w as complex o f villages lie four
other sites which seem not to have adhered to Christianity to any
great extent until the fifth or sixth century, Medjel, M elah i§-
Sarrär, Buräq, and Deir in-Nasrànï. O f these, the westernmost and
nearest to Awwas is Medjel. Neither of the two dated inscriptions
at M edjel bears a cross. The first, dated 430, mentions the recon
struction o f a dining hall during the village directorship of a certain
Eudaimon (έπι του πρ[ι]μηκηράχου Εύδαίμονος άνανεώθη ό
τρίκλινος).71 The dining hall belonged to a house, unlike the
example at Bosoa-O rm än-Aw w as, which served a pagan temple.
The second inscription at Medjel, a lintel which stood over the door
of a tomb and bearing a date c. 485, was assigned to several
persons. The surface of the block, although broken> is legible in
sufficient measure to cast doubt that it bore Christian symbols. One
owner’s name survives, Sh ai‘ son of G aris, an A rab,72 Next east of
M edjal is Buraq- The persons named on its two building inscrip
tions with the dates 335 and 445 A.D. all have Arabic names. An
official holding the office called the “ prim acy” (TlpCùtia (sic) for
πρωτεία) supervised these works.73 A house inscription with a type
of cross often found beside fifth- and sixth-century inscriptions in
the southern Hauran, that is with bifurcated tips, suggests that the
village accepted Christianity sometime c, 425 or later.74
Littmann, PAES III A, 694,

70 Publications o j tki Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904-5
and 1909, Division 11: Architecture, Section A : Southern Sj>riay ed. Howard C. Butler
(Leiden 1919). This text is hereinafter cited as Butler, PAES II A.
73 Littmann, PAES III A, 173, 174.
74 Littmann, PAES III A, \7b, The uncial alpha (fr) is quite a lateform in the
epigraphy of the southern Hauran. An early dated example of the cross withsplit
points turns up in 425 A.D. Littmann, PAES III A, 717,
The other two villages which lie directly east of O rm an reveal

signs o f earlier Christianization. Melah i$-$arrär had at least some
Christians in the fifth century, for an inscription o f 425 mentioning
the construction o f a courtyard (αύλη) by Axios and Salm än bears
a cross with bifurcated tips.75 Other inscriptions lie about whose
dates can be inferred only from letter forms, two o f them probably
o f fifth-century date,75 and a victory inscription: “ M ay the tyche of
the Christians conquer” ( + Νίκαη έ τύχη tô v Χρ(ιστιανών))*77
These texts must be seen, however, against others which suggest a
mixed pagan-Christian community. The principal deity wor
shipped in Late Antiquity probably remained the god Dusares,78 An
ex-soldier or civil servant named Flavius Gorpos (from the Arabic
G urp or Gurf) built a house in the village in 466, but no signs of
cult appear on the stone.79 The local tombs indicate two sixth-
century non-Christian burials, one o f them sometime after 505
A .D .,80 one o f them on a completely preserved stone without any
symbol o f Christian cult. The easternmost site, called Deir in-
N asrânî and resting on a high conical hill, was originally a pagan
“ high place” with a shrine or altar o f some kind.®1 A lintel incorpo
rated into the later Ghassanid monastery of the martyrs Sergius
and Bacchus (sixth century) reflects the character o f the place not
so long before, having an identifiable personal name, a certain
‘A bd-Ba‘al (literally, “ Slave of B a ‘a l” ) who built the gate.82 But
nothing more certain emerges about the pre-Christian character of
the buildings. It was evidently the monks who hacked three crosses
upon this lintel when they despoiled the shrine and built their
monastery, This probably occurred in the sixth century, when the
cult of St. Sergius began to spread among the pro-Roman Arabs of
the eastern frontier. The Christian God here went by the name of

76 Littmann, PAES III A, 707, 708.
7R Littmann, PAES III A, 706 {Î64 A.D.). At Petra, at least, Dusares or
Düsharä was considered the god of the sun. His epithet Aarra can be rendered
literally from the Arabic agharru as “ the brightly shimmering one” (der hell schim
mernde). But in.E> Littmann’s view, this word more probably comes from the
Arabic el-ghari4i, “ stone idol” . Littmann, PAES IV A, 30, Düsharâ turns up in a
Nabatacan inscription o f 76 A.D. at Umm is-Surab as “ Düsharä A'arra, the god
of our lord, who is in Bostra” , that is, the god of the Nabatacan king. Dedications
to this deity also exist at Umm idj-Djimäl and Bostra. Littmann, PAES IV A, 2,
38, 69.
ao Littmann, PAES III A, 712, 719.
Butler, PAES II A, 334f.
B2 Littmann, PAES III A, 723.
332 CHAPTER ELEVEN
“ the God o f Saints Sergius and Bacchus” (*Ω Θεώς του ά γ[ί]ου
Σ ερ γ[ίο υ ] κέ Β ά χου).83
Seven villages with dated inscriptions lie 1 0 the south o f Salcha,
the focal point of this analysis: Remmona {present-day Umm ir-
R um m än), il-M eshqüq, Deir il-M eshqüq, Kfer, ςΑηζ, il-Ghäriyeh,
and M ughdiyir. Little epigraphic evidence exists in any o f these
places to suggest Christianization. The ancient cult center of this
group of villages lay at present-day Deir il‘ Meshqüq> where the
ruins of a temple built in 124 A.D, survive. The building itself
endured a series of conversions, first into a Christian church, then
back into a temple during the reign of Ju lia n the Apostate (361—
363), then back again into a Christian church (late fourth century),
and finally having monastic buildings added to it in the sixth
century.84 The local population had a weak disposition towards
Christianity, if the sketchy epigraphic remains prove anything.
Two methodological problems exist here, first, the fact that the
Druz have moved many blocks from one village to another, and
secondly that the bases for Butler's assertion that the temple was
converted into a church before the time o fju lian are not completely
clear, as will be seen momentarily.8^ The sole dated fourth-century
inscription from the site, belonging to 350/1 A.D ., is related to
official construction and thus indicates nothing about local reli
gious attitudes.66 The village of ‘Anz contains a number o f impor
tant inscriptions probably carted there from M eshqüq which refer
to the refurbishment o f the temple o f an unknow n god at the
command of Julian. The first o f these, on a lintel, is quite
rem arkable:87
By the power of the emperor Flavius Claudius Ju lian u s Augustus the
holy places were raised again, and the temple was rebuilt and conse
crated in the year 256 on the fifth day o f [the month of] Dystros
(= M arch 362 A.D.)* (έπι κρατήσεως Φλ. Κλ. Ίουλιανου
αύτοκράτορος Αύγουστου άνίθη τα ιερά καί άνοικοδομήθη και
άφιερώθη ο ναός.)

a4 Littmann's translation of the Nabataean Arabic temple dedication runs:
“ This is the fire-altar (?), which was made by Mughaiyir, son o f ‘Aqrab, [in] the
house of *Asad (?), the god, the god of Mu'in, in the year seven of H adrian.”
Littmann puts forth the hypothesis that the divinity named in the inscription
originated in South Arabia, and derived its name from a toponym there. The
emperor H adrian’s seventh regnal year corresponds to 124 A.D. Littmann, PAES
IV A, 27.
** Butler, PAES II A, I29f.
R6 Littmann, PAES 111 A, 177. Waddington 2053.
The second inscription indicates that a freedman of Ju lian named

$uraim (whose Roman name was perhaps Suraim us Ju lian u s)
erected an altar at el*M eshqûq (Σ ο ρα ΐμ ο ς άπελεύθ(ερος)
Τουλιανοΰ έυσεβών ανέθηκε).88 It seems probable that Çuraimus
Julian us, as an Arab, retired to the place after a career in the
service o f Ju lia n ’s household, as this particular offering has a pri
vate character and cannot be directly linked to the reconstruction
of the temple. The temple itself had fallen into disuse, but Butler’s
argument that it became a Christian church provokes doubt be
cause the evidence for pre-Julianic Christianity in this part o f the
southern H auran is practically non-existent. It would be better to
look for the cause am idst the general decline o f the public cults in
the fourth century which Johannes Geffcken notes,89 but which no
one has yet been able to explain without the dubious crutch of
supposed or imagined Christianization. Priests at times had to
resanctify rural temples which had been put to improper secular
uses, as a third-century inscription from the village o fT alm is on the
upper Nile in Egypt dem onstrates.80
The present-day village o f Kfer, which shows no trace of a
temple,91 also contains probable epigraphic remnants from the
temenos at il-M eshqüq, having an altar dedicated in 318 A.D. by a
certain ‘Abd son o f Hieronymos and his wife Huçn.92 An altar also
®e Littmann, PAES III A, 187.

89 Johannes Geffcken, Der Ausgang des griechisch-römischen Heidentums (Heidelberg
1929) 90—103
90 Cited by W.H.C. Frend, The Rise of Christianity (Philadelphia 1984), 311. The
inscription (and not papyrus, as Frend has it) reads: “ Aurelius Besarion, also
called Ammonius* general of the Ombos nome at Elephantine, at the time when
the most excellent Myron had succeeded to the high-priesthood* through whom he
wrote to me commanding that all the pigs be expelled from the temple at the
village of Talmis (πάντας τούς χοίρους έξελασθήναι άπό Εερου κώμης
Τάλμεοος) at the twelfth schôinos, announces to all landowners that they shall expel
those pigs from the said village within fifteen days, having before their eyes what
was commanded about this (temple] in order to make it possible to perform
the sacred worship in the accustomed manner” (πρός τό δύνασθαι τά π ερί τά
ιερά θρησκια κατά τά νενομισμένα γείνεσθαι). YV. Dittenberger assigns the
inscription to the reign of C. Iulius Philippus (244-49). Orientis Graeci insaiptiones
Selectae, ed. W. Dittenberger 1 (Leipzig 1903)} no. 210. The temple had not fallen
out of use, for the author of the decree was aware of certain customary acts of
worship that had survived until the present day. (Cf. the use of the perfect
participle, νενομισμένα.) This must have gone on all though the early third
century, The walls of the temenos evidently served as a stockade for keeping the
animals. This does not, of itself, prove the abandonment of the cult or any
desecration of the temple. Nor need we suppose that Christianity had supplanted
polytheism at Talmis.
91 Butler, PAES II A, 131.
334 CHAPTER ELEVEN
turned up at Kier whose relief sculpture, perhaps of Ju lian , depicts

an imperial figure wearing the veil o f a Roman priest.93 A gap o f
some forty-six years, not a long time, thus lies between the latest
cultic inscription and that of Ju lia n ’s freedman Suraim , wherein no
sure evidence of Christianity falls. Nor is there decisive evidence for
much thereafter, as for example the funerary stele of one Shuyai*
son of Sâfir (Σιηος Σαφερου), found at nearby ‘Anz, which lacks a
cross and is dated to the year 415 A .D .94 The undated so-called
“ church” at ‘Anz, constructed of very fine masonry, is not a very
convincing ecclesiastical structure, having on its lintel merely the
ambiguous “ good fortune” and “ moderation” (ευτυχία σωφ-
ρ(ο)σ(ΰνη)), both of them truisms in Stoic philosophy, inscribed
within a central wreath and crosses in wreaths flanking it.9i W hat
ever the significance o f this building, it may in any case belong to a
later, perhaps fifth-century, period o f the site.
T o the south of the villages of ‘Anz and Kfer, and farther
removed from the temenos at il-M eshqüq, lies il-Ghäriyeh, which
apparently did not accept Christianity before 380, this argument
being based on a surviving lintel block that lacks a cross.91’ No
traces of a church survive.97 The village has yielded many undated
pre-Christian funerary inscriptions on steles and other types of
block which seem to date not later than the fourth century.90 At
any rate, the place eventually had a Christian community, for an
I X 0 Y C inscription (sixth century?) is found on a lin tel" and
another lintel, dated 315 A .D ., eventually had a cross inscribed in a
circle neatly hacked over it.100
To the west of the cluster o f villages around il-M eshqüq lay
Remmona (present-day Um m er-Roumman). The site is entirely
lacking in dated Christian inscriptions or other remains except
“ two small columns with capitals o f late Christian design.”
Butler— whose words might be taken to mean sixth- or seventh-
century— does not elaborate on this description,101 but it falls in
line with the epigraphic evidence, a sequence of three inscriptions
” Butler, PAES II A, 13If.

95 Littmann, PAES III A, 193. Butler, PAES II A, 132-34.
97 Butler, PAES II A, I35f.
98 Littmann, PAES III A, 199, 200,202-204.
‘>9 Littmann, PAES III A, 201.
100 Littmann, PAES III A, 198. Littmann refers to the cross as a disc, but
Butler’s drawing of the inscription clearly indicates a cross within the circle and
the effacement of four letters.
!01 Butler, PAES II A, 132.
of 364, 366, and 468 A .D ., none of which suggest any trace o f the
Christian religion.102 No need exists to suppose that the household
of an army veteran of Arab stock, one Flavius Zuyaidat (?), son of
M a'auw il {?), with his wife W ä’ilat, need be a Christian as early as
366, the date o f his lintel (Φλα(ούιος) Ζοεδαθος Μαυελου
ού(τρ)α(ν)ος καί Ουαελαθε συνβίου αύτοΰ . . .).103 None o f the
building in the village took place under the sign of the cross,
including what was probably a council house ([κοιν]οβούλι.ον)
built in 468.104 None of the local officials who performed the build
ing work, including that o f 468, have anything but Arabic names. A
single “One God” (είς Θ(εός)) inscription appears, but, as it lacks
the cross and other customary Christian symbols, its significance
remains uncertain, nor is it dated.ins
There is a single but important exception to the absence of
Christianity in the parts around Remmona at a site called Deir
il-M aiyâs, but the date of the inscription is unfortunately illeg
ible:'06
One God who helps. [X . . .] made a vow to God in behalf of his son
Suleiman, and succeeded and erected this building from his own
earnings in the year f—],
By the forethought of Hunain, the housebuilder of the village of
Bosoa, the courtyard was completed in thirty-six days. And the God
helping you is one who knows everything. And strive lest you be
envious, for envy . . . [—].
The inscription bears no cross, but the “ One God who helps”
inscriptions are invariably Christian. The father o f Suleim an seems
to have built a house with a courtyard, or even a large mausoleum,
for his son sometime in the later fifth century. He hired a house
builder from nearby Bosoa, a village that shows no signs whatever
of having accepted Christianity even in the sixth century. Hunain,
who signed his work in the second part o f the inscription, was not a
Christian, for he refers to the householder’s God as “ the God (or
“ god” ) helping you” (καί σοι ό [παν] γιγνώ[σ]κων [β]οή[θ]ησος
(sic) ό Θεός). As fjun ain received payment for his work, he had to
flatter the religious faith of the householder— although his words
sound quite sincere. This was something of an exception in the
102 Littmann, PAES III A, 183 (= Waddington, 2055). See also Waddington,
2054 and 2056.
103 Littmann, PAES III A, 183 (= Waddington, 2055).
104 Waddington, 2056. The inscription had apparently disappeared by the time
of the Princeton Expeditions, as Littmann omits it.
,l)6 Waddington, 2053b.
336 CHAPTER ELEVEN
parts around Remmona. Similarly, Hunain makes only an oblique

reference to his own difference of belief. He was perhaps a worship
per o f Theandrites in his native village of Bosoa, where this divin
ity’s temple was refurbished in 387, and where that o f a different
deity was purified in 517, as we have seen. This is one of the very
few instances extant of a pagan complimenting a Christian for the
beneficence o f his God. There is no prima facie reason to suppose
that these words signified a readiness to convert to the new religion,
although it is possible. The inscription bears out Libanius’ implicit
contention in his Oration 30 (“ To the Em peror Theodosius on the
Tem ples” ) that pagans and Christians living in the terntona o f the
Syrian and Arabian cities made no issue o f their religious dif
ferences.107 The resistance to Christianization was thus not invari
ably bitter, nor did it necessarily aifect rural social and economic
relations.
The Christianization of the villages around il-Meshqüq may
have been protracted until the early sixth century, around the time
when the Justinian initiated a program o f converting isolated
pagan villages. One of the few dated Christian inscriptions turns up
at Sammeh or Sam m et el-Berdan, a site at which at least one, but
probably many more, ethnically A rab veterans settled, as for exam
ple Rufus son of ’Ath ('Ροΰφε ’Ά θ ο υ ). A Christian inscription
belonging to a tomb indicates the existence o f a presbyter in 534, an
Arab named Aus son o f John. One may take it that a regular
ecclesiastical structure, with a church and a few regular clergy, had
finally come into existence in the vicinity of il-M eshqüq. It is
conceivablc that the metropolitan at Bostra sent out regular per
sonnel and building materials in response to the demand for the
conversion o f villages that came with the law on Hellenism o f 529
and the subsequent issuance o f the Codex Ju stin ian u s.108
An exception to the general tendency of late Christianization on
the eastern H auran plain is found at M otha or M othana, which lies
directly to the east of the villages clustered round the temenos at
il-M eshquq, but the explanation lies in the importation o f a small
number of army officers, for a cavalry vexillation whose official
name was the Equités Scutarii lllyriciani had its billet nearby.109 In
the Constantinian epoch M othana was itself incorporated as a city
(πόλις) with a town council o f landed magnates (βουλευχαί).110
107 Supra, Ch. V I I I , Sect. 1.

108 Waddington, 2039, 2040. Cf. supra, Ch. I, Sect. 6.
109 Waddington, 2037 and notes. Cf. Nolilia Dignitalum Oricntalis 37.14, ed. O.
Seeck (Berlin 1876).
TH E BOSTRENE, DJEBEL HAURAN, AND THE LEDJÄ 337
The archaeological remains are, however, distinctly disappointing.111

The public cults had retained their strength at Mothana even in the
mid-fourth century despite the influence of a few Christian army
officers, as two inscriptions reveal:112
By the religiously pure provision of master . . . Flavius Hierocles [the
governor of Syria], when Lichnos was city councillor [and] advocate,
and Rawai and Aedos and ‘Aus were trustees, the embankment was
cleansed and the sacred thoroughfare was built, and the city was
built for the good.
A second inscription observes:113
On behalf of the safety and victory of our emperors Constantius and
Gonstans Augusti, the sacred thoroughfare was ornamented on a
sacred day, in the year 238 (= 343/4 A.D.).
Many Latins dwelt in M othana, most of them, it appears, imported
for garrison duty. Among them was a woman from G au l:114
Stercoria, a Gallic woman from the city of Ratomagus, lies here, aged
forty years. Being bereaved of her, Flavius Gessikas, her former
husband, as you see, completed this memorial from the foundations
to the top from his own funds, having spent 10,500 denamt in the year
237 ( = 342/3 A.D.).
It is conceivable that this woman was a Christian (“ here lies” ), but
her husband was apparently not. The inscription bears no cross.
This brings no surprise, as the rural army recruiting grounds of
Gaul had hardly seen Christianity by this time.115 Flavius G essikas1
rank is unknown, but he must have been a senior officer to judge
from his wife's age and his access to specie. Another officer o f the
Equités Scutarii IUyriciani was a Christian, and the funerary inscrip
tion erected in his honor stands in sharp contrast to the previous
one:116
(Cross) Lucius Ursus, actuarius of the Mothana vexillation, built the
memorial from its foundations in the year 245 (= 350/1 A.D.) on 23
June. Here lies Ursus the biarchos, father of Ursus the subordinate
m Butler, PAES II A, 143.

n4 Waddington, 2036.
115 Gregory of Tours implies rather strongly that the Christianization of inner
Gaul (apart from the riverine city of Lugdunum) began only in the late fourth
century. For example, the temtonum of Tours underwent initial Christianization
only during the episcopate of St. Martin. See: C.E. Standiffe, “ From Town to
Country: The Christianisation of the Touraine 370-600,” The Church in Town and
Countyside, ed. Derek Baker (Oxford 1979), 43-59.
338 CHAPTER ELEVEN
[officer], through the supervision of Titus Claudius Auxitus. A house

uf repose for a dead man. Chaiäm the house builder. I, Ursus, spent
11,000 denarii Syro* (?) out of my own efforts.
Some controversy exists about the readings of words in this inscrip
tion, but those pertaining to cult are clear. A Christian formula
accom panies the Christian symbol of the cross, namely the formula
“ a house of repose for a dead m an” (ο ικ εία τής άναπαύση[ω]ς
θί[χ]ο μένφ ). These traits remove all ambiguity about the cult of
the family, and provide a useful contrast to the other synchronous
non-Christian inscriptions of the H auran. The expression o f C hris
tian cult was in the mid-fourth century an important consideration
for newcomers such as military families from G aul or Illyricum,
who took exception to the milieu of the old cults. The stonecutter,
Chaiäm (Χ α ία μ[ο ]ς), was a local Arab. Unless Christian army
veterans remained in the Hauran after their retirement, such im
migrants had a negligible influence on the religious evolution of the
countryside.
Nearby il-K ahf (“ the cave” ), a fortified army camp, whose
ancient Latin name Spelunca survives in the present-day Arabic
toponym, housed another cavalry formation, the Equités promoti
indigenae,u 7 but unlike M othana the place was not, so far as we
know, incorporated as a city. A s a result, long-extant civic-religious
cults, if any existed, had less im pact on local life. The troops, as
indigenae (“ locals” ), must have been mostly Arabs when the forma
tion was originally organized, and recruits will have necessarily
come from the surrounding district thereafter as well. The fortress
dates from 306,118 but received reinforcements in the time of the
emperors Valens and Valentinian I (c. 367-375 A .D .).119 At some
point a cistern (λάκκος) and aqueduct (αγωγός) were built.120
Butler dates the construction o f the single-aisled, apsed basilica
inside il-K ah f to the time o f V alens’ improvements in the
fortifications.121 Some Christian officers, like U rsus the actuarius at
neighboring M othana, will have used the chapel, but no evidence
suggests that the locally enlisted cavalrymen were subjected to
compulsion to become Christian. The church itself stands on part
of a temple which Butler thinks served the cult o f the emperors at
the time the fortress was built in 306.122 The church in any case
11' Notilia Dignitalum Onentaiis 37.18.

llfi I.ittmann, PAES I lf A, 228.
,?0 Littmann, PAES III A, 230.
,?l Butler, PAES II A, 145-47.
122 Butler, PAES II A, 147.
Lacks a donor’s inscriptions, and so the date o f 367—375 for its

foundation cannot be argued decisively from the architecture alone.
E l-K ah f remained in any case an enclave without great im pact on
the religiosity o f the district, unless veterans who had accepted
Christianity settled in the vicinity, a moot point. A Chi-Rho cross
of indeterminate date was incised on a pagan funerary inscription
built into the arch at the fortress gate, paritally obliterating the
foundation inscription.123
It is quite evident that there were limits to the success of the
archbishops of Bostra in Christianizing the countryside. It was a
fairly easy task in the Bostrene, and the advance of the new religion
there is rather consistent with with its progress in the Apamene,
where the most accessible villages were converted in the late fourth
century. Periodeuiai figure in this process in the Bostrene, as else
where. When one gets to the Hauran plain east o f Salcha, however,
the picture begins to change. There are Christians in some villages
like M elah iç-$arrar by 425, but at Bosoa none appear at all. The
complex of villages around Remmona and il-M eshqüq shows little
religious change except for isolated householders. Christianity
often appears in unusual and anomalous ways; in a very early
martyrion and monastic community in 354 A .D ,,123* and among the
army officers at M othana. These men were doubtless loath to
impose their religious opinions on their locally recruited troops.
II. Djebel Hauran

It is axiomatic that considerable cultural differentiation exists be
tween plains and highland societies in the M editerranean lands.
Djebel Hauran, lying hard against the flatlands of the H auran,
offers a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis with archaeolo
gical, and particularly epigraphic, data in the twin areas o f the
survival of pagan cult and Christianization. In this respect the
Djebel has more in common with the eastern H auran, with its slow
pace of conversion in the A rab villages grouped around temples
than with the suburban district around Bostra. H .C. Butler offers a
dram atic description of the geology and topography of the Djebel
H auran :124
The Djebel, or mountain, of the Hauran is a duster of volcanic hills
grouped about a number of extinct craters, one of which— il-
Kuteb— raises its pointed crest, about 1000 m. high, well above the
,JS Littmann, PAES III A, 231.

Cf. infra, n. 148.
'** Butler, PAES II A, 297.
340 CH AFFER ELEVEN
rest. The region is difficult to traverse, its narrow fertile valleys of

deep red soil being separated by mighty streams of broken lava and
wild wastes strewn with volcanic bowlders and scoriae. The only rock
visible in this rocky and stony region is black basalt. The country is
well watered and has always been productive. Like other volcanic
lands, it is excellently well adapted to the growing of the vine. In
ancient times it was full of small cities and little towns, the inhab
itants of which appear to have been wealthy. For several centuries it
seems to have been practically deserted; but today every ruin, with
one or two exceptions, is occupied by a community of Druses. . . .
Their presence however has been a serious menace to the old build
ings, for, being great builders themselves in a crude sort of way, they
have preyed upon the ancient architecture for building-stones until
many of the buildings . . . have entirely disappeared. . . .
T h e prosperity o f the towns an d villages o f Djebel H au ran lay in
the production o f a cash crop o f wine, which yielded enough profit
to purch ase grain and at the sam e time to hire stonem asons in
order to construct m any im pressive buildings, including som e fine
tem ples.
T he town dw ellers o f D jebel H au ran were N ab ataean s bilingual
in A rabic and Greek. T h eir cults until the epoch o f C hristianization
rem ained directed to the typical Sem itic deities o f the province o f
A rab ia. T h e rem nants o f tem ples abound not only in the towns, but
also in isolated “ high p lace s5* beneath m ountain peaks. Ironically,
these sacred places invariably lie at sites whose C hristianization ,
through the lack o f dated inscriptions, cannot be traced with any
certainty. O f these sites the earliest and m ost im pressive by far is
the ancient Seeia (present-day S î1), which houses the tem ple o f the
N ab ataean sun-god B aal Sham in, constructed in 33/2 B .C .,125
another dedicated to D ü sh arä (the D u sares o f the G reek in
scrip tio n s),126 and yet another o f an unknown d eity .i2? A m on g the
rem ains which have survived is the bust o f the unbearded and
faintly sm iling B aal-S h am in , the L o rd o f H eaven, with head
ra d ia te .120 T h e anthropom orphism and sm iling hum anity o f the
N ab ataean pantheon em erges from other exam ples o f scu lp tu re.129
125 Butler, PAES II A, 374ff, The foundation inscription reads: “ In pious

remembrance of Malikat, the son of *Aus, the son of Mughaiyir, who built for
BaâUShamln the inner temple and the outer temple and this portico and its
covering. . . , May those who still live be in peace,” Littmann, PAES IV A, 100.
The prayer for “ peace1* corresponds to a similar motif found in the Safaitic
inscriptions* Supra, Ch. V III, Sect. 3 passim.
126 Butler, PAES II A, 385-90.
127 Butler, PAES II A, 393L
l?s Butler, PAES II A, 384, and Fragment G,Illustrations 331, 332, 333,
129 Butler, PAES II A, Fragment M,Illustration 334.
A bilingual N abataean inscription refers to “ Seeia standing in the

land o f H auran” ( S eelo. κατά γην Α υ ρ α νεπ ιν έοτηκυια ). The
inscription adds in N abataean Arabic: “ This is the image of
She‘i‘ .” 130 The name SheV apparently doubled as the name o f the
town and of the locally worshipped female deity as well.131 The
inscription was cut on a pedestal atop which stood the personifica
tion of Seeia, and gives perfect expression to the sense o f religious
awe associated with pagan “ high places.”
Another site of importance was C anatha (present-day Qana-
wât), a large city with extensive epigraphic remains, but practically
without a dated inscription.132 Canatha was an ancient member of
the Transjordanian D ecapolis.133 The place has a Zeus temple huilt
in a basilica style thought closely related to the earliest Syrian
Christian basilicas.134 The temenos of an unknown deity also stands
at Deir Sm edj, a spot not far from C an ath a.135 Another temple
exists at Athela (present-day ‘Atil), where the N abataean god
Theandrites received worship.136 An inscription here of the third
century A.D. refers to the deity as the “ god W aseath, the ancestral
Theandrios” (θεώ Ο ύ[α]σεάθου πατρφω Θ εα νό ρίω ).137 As was
mentioned in the previous section, the temple o f Theandrites lo
cated at the present-day site o f O rm an was rebuilt at the late date
of 387 A.D. One can hardly doubt that the cult retained a sim ilar
strength and longevity in the uplands of Djebel H auran as well.
Other temple sites include Selaim a (present-day Slem ),'3® Philip-
popolis (present-day Shehbä), which contains a temple-like
structure that H .C, Butler refers to as the Philippeion,139 Aere
(present-day is-$anamën), w'hich has a Tychaion,140 and Hebrän,141
where a deity called Lykourgos was venerated in the second cen-
130 Littmann, PAES III Aj 103. Literally, She1)' means “ levelled square” ,
corresponding to the Greek ή ιερά πλατεία. Littmann, PAES IV A, 103.
132 There is an undated dedicatory inscription to the god Theandrios the
“ master” ([θεφ] Θ εανδρίψ Ραββ[—]). Littmann, PAES III A, 763. It is unclear
if it is related to the temple cited infra, Ch. X I, n. 134. The letters of the
inscription are in relief, a feature suggestive of a relatively late date.
,3’ Butler, PAES II A, 346.
134 Butler, PAES II A, 347-50. The plan given by Butler (Illustration 315) is
emphatic on this point.
* Butler, PAES II A, 352-54.
196 Butler, PAES II A, 355f.
157 Waddington, 2374a.
140 Butler, PAES II, 316-20.
H2 Littmann, PAES III A, 663.
342 CHAPTER ELEVEN
tury A .D .lw The site of M aiyam as provides the unique example of

two temples o f unknown gods which were converted into a single
church by connecting them with walls and then roofing over the
intervening space.143 The evidence for the conversion o f temple
buildings into churches is exceptionally rare in the Hauran. The
eventual disposition o f these sites is difficult to trace as well because
o f the lack of dated local Christian inscriptions. The Christian
population seems, in general, to have taken root at sites distant
from the great temples, with the exception o f the community at
Canatha, which as an important city had a more cosmopolitan
character than the villages. It is unfortunately impossible to trace
from the epigraphy how long the temples remained in use on Djebel
Hauran, there being little evidence of construction beyond the early
third century A.D., as for example at Athela. The known survival
o f the cult of Theandrites elsewhere in the H auran suggests, how
ever, that some pagan communities retained their identities until
the end o f the fourth ccntury and beyond.
When one considers the religious transformation of the villages
which became Christianized, he should bear in mind that these
were the more “ progressive” local societies, and that others which
have left no secure cpigraphic record may well have kept to the old
cults longer, in some instances as late as the sixth century. One
such place may have been Djebel il-Qulëb near K apra on the
western rim o f Djebel Hauran. The ruins o f a temenos lie some 400
feet below the summit of the m ountain.144 A very fragmentary
funerary inscription found near the west wall o f the temple dates
from 520 A.D. Despite a seemingly Christian key word assigned to
it by its editor Enno Littmann, the inscription is not convincingly
C h ristian:145
. . .o f [—]ia Charis, his wife, who fell asleep (?). Aenius M o [— ], at
his own expense, built (?) the tomb in the year 415 (= 520 A.D.).
The expression “ fell asleep” has no basis except the editor's flimsily
hypothetical reconstruction of the text ([—]ι,ας Χάριτος γυ[ναικός
κοΐμηθεί]σης) which, if plausible, carries no decisive weight. The
tomb is called a “ place” (τόπος), not a common term in Christian
funerary nomenclature. T h e stone has itself suffered dam age
around the edges, leaving the existence of a cross a moot question.
Djebel il-Qulëb was, at any rate, a pagan “ high place” overlooking
the H auran plain, where the survival of cult, or at any rate the
,4Î Butler, PAES II A, 326-29.

144 Butler, PAES II A, 336. Waddington 2095a (p. 526).
145 Littmann, PAES III A, 73Î.
existence o f an un-Christianized population in the sixth century,

finds indirect confirmation through the inscription. Similar condi
tions may have affected other temple sites.
It is necessary, for the sake of comprehensibility, to run the
survey of the towns of Djebel H auran from north to south. The first
group of sites lies on the northern spurs o f Djebel H auran, and
includes Eitha (present-day E l-H ît), el-Haiyät, ‘Amra, Sakkaia
(present-day Sh aqqa), Khirbet el-‘Aradji, and one last site not on
the maps called Btheine, which seems to have lain near Eitha.
The first signs of Christianization emerge in this cluster of vil
lages c. 354 A.D. at C aesarea Eitha, a large village with urban
status,1*6 which lies on a high eminence, with the foundation of a
martyrion dedicated to St. Sergius, a victim of the G reat Persecu
tion (303-313) (ιερόν Σ έργιν ) .147 The founders were Eulogius the
presbyter and archimandrite, Doreus the presbyter, and Elias the
deacon.148 Contrary to W addington’s view that regular clergy ex
isted in the town, it seems more probable that the martyrion was a
monastic establishment, and that the presbyter and deacon named
after the archimandrite were simply his subordinates, for monks
often, like the aforementioned Eulogius, had received clerical
orders.149 Furthermore, the establishment of an isolated martyrion
often came as the first step in the Christianization of a site. The
inscription represents, in any case, one of the earliest martyna on
record.150 There are, unfortunately, no other relevant dated inscrip
tions at the site. It therefore becomes difficult to trace the inroads o f
Christianity against the local deities, two o f which went by the
names Zeus M egistos and Zeus G anym ede.151 Another god, whose
name has fallen off the inscription, apparently received sacrifices at
the time o f the “ sacred moon” (κατά σελήνην ίεράν, [θύειν . . .]
ησίος έκέλευσεν ).152 T he same monks apparently cleansed another
small temple at Eitha, for it bears the inscription of St. George in
rude Greek (άγιος Γαιόργις) and was written in a script sim ilar to
that used on the martyrion of St. Sergius erected by the monks in
354.153 The monks perhaps installed the relics of St. George in the
local temple.
The folk who resided in C aesarea Eitha consisted o f veteran
146 The citizenry are called δήμος Έ ειθηνώ ν Καιπαρήων. Waddington, 2113.
147 Jones, Later Roman Empire, 71-73.
145 Cf. Waddington’s note (p. 449f.) about a diakonos archimandrites.
151 Waddington, 2116 and 2118.
344 CHAPTER ELEVEN
army officers, a group often intractably resistant to Christianization

in the H auran plain even under the late em pire.154 For example,
one finds the funerary inscription of a ducenanus or mid-level officer
on the staff of the dux (commander of the cavalry formations) of the
province, probably belonging to the fourth century,155 The man
had evidently retired to Eitha because o f his own Arabic ancestry,
for his own name was Philip— a popular name among the locals
because of the splendid, if brief, career of the emperor Philip the
A rab (244—249)— and Suleiman that of his son. Philip the ducenarius
had done well, for his funerary monument, built on a considerable
scale, had a courtyard (μνήμα <tt!V αυλή). Only one Christian
building inscription has turned up at Eitha, but the date and
function o f the structure are indeterminate.156 The eventual course
of the religious transformation at Caesarea Eitha cannot be told,
but the construction of a martyrion and possible conversion o f a
temple into a second martyr shrine suggest the capitulation of the
local population to the new religion by the 360’s or 370’s.
The most important ecclesiastical center on the northern rim o f
Djebel Hauran was ancient Sakkaia M axim ianopolis (Σακκαία,
present-day Shaqqa), an important town which not only ranked as
a. polis but even computed local dates by its own era.157 The exact
starting point of the local era is now known, beginning in 286 with
the acclamation o f M axim ian Herculius as C aesar.158 At any rate,
Zeus M egistos, the local deity, had a temple in Sakkaia,159 and
various pagan funerary inscriptions with rounded uncials have
turned up.160 Even a small city like Sakkaia on the edge of Djebel
H auran might enjoy a degree o f Hellenic cultural life. Tow ards the
end of the fifth century a memorial epigram to Proclus the Neopla-
tonist philosopher o f Athens (ob. 485) is found among the inscrip
tions. A literate and wealthy Sakkaian had evidently read some of
his works:151
144 Waddington, 2120 and 2121.

145 Waddington, 2122. I have conjectured a fourth-century date based on the
letter forms given in Waddington’s transcription. On ducenarii, see Jones, Later
Roman Empire, 599 and 634.
Butler, PAES II A, 360.
158 J . Kodcr and M. Restle, “ Die Ära von Sakkaia (Maximianupolis) in Ara
bia,” JO B 42 (1992), 79-81.
160 Waddington, 2144-2151, 2153, 2153a.
ICI Prentice, AAES III, 375.
Proklos, most glorious sophist to ail Greece,

There leaving life receives this marker,
As it was destined in renowed Athens
That his soul take flight from an Attic mouth*
Sakkaia began to develop a large Christian population, it
appears, only in the fifth or sixth c e n t u r y . T h e earliest mention
o f a church comes in an inscription dated to the year 310 in the
provincial era or 596 A.D ., a private donation, the martyrion of St.
Theodore, erected by a certain Elias, son o f the deacon Kassiseos
‘Tor the public use of the city in behalf of the forgiveness of his own
sins” ( + Ήλιας * . . έξ ίδιων Ικτισεν τό μαρχύριον ιοΰ αγίου
Θεοδώρου τφ κοινφ τής πόλεως ύπερ άφήσεως άμαρτιών) ,162
Two other Christian inscriptions belong in the sixth century.163
One of these texts mentions the construction o f a martyrion of St.
George and other martyrs by the local bishop Tiber in us with the
aid o f two of his deacons in 549 A ,D .164 The emperor Justinian I
(527-565) is known often to have used the bishops of small cities in
order to further his own administrative aims»165 The other sixth-
century Christian inscription identifies a certain city counsellor
(προτ(εύων)) who erected a stable in 586 A .D .166
For Sakkaia, at least, no evidence exists to suggest thorough
going Christianization before the fifth century. At the other sites
along the northern rim of Djebcl H auran, a sixth-century date
synchronous with the Justinianic program may be in order. There
is, for example, el-Haiyat, on an isolated eminence near Caesarea
E itha.167 EUHaiyât had temple monies for building purposes (έκ
των ιερατικών)»168 The early inscriptions attest Semitic deities in
their Greek cognate forms such as Zeus Ganymede and Aphrodite,
but also the Hellenic N ike.169 The cults of el*-Haiyat persisted until
at least c. 500, for a badly garbled inscription with late letter forms
mentions the offering (άνάθεμα) of a certain T h aim os.170 The
The Christian Bassos son Abourios is attested in 357. Waddington, 2145,

Cf, L. Robert, Htllenica 11-12 (1960), 306-19. A bishop is first attested in 451.
Infra, Sect. 4.
162 Waddington, 2159*
163 This is because of the omicron-upsilon ligature.
164 Waddington, 2158. The existence of the omicron-upsilon ligature refutes
Butler's late 4th c, dale. Early Churches, '12.
k6* Bui one must be cautious in making such judgements. A,H.M> Jones, citing
the ecclesiatical history of Sozomen (5th c,) observes: “ In the province o f Arabia,
where the village was the normal unit of government > villages bishoprics were
common. L a t e r Roman Empire> 877 (from Sozomen, HE 7.19).
,66 Prentice, AAES III, 377,
167 Bull er, PAES II A, 362t
169 Waddington, 2097-2099.
i7° W’addington, 2100. Once again the otnicron-upsilon ligature prevails.
346 CHAPTER ELEVEN
earliest Christian inscriptions belong to 578 A.D. and are found on

a large ancient house. They were, however, erected by outsiders, a
certain Flavius Seos and his son O lbanos. Flavius Seos was the
agent or adm inistrator (έπίτροπος) o f al-M undhir, who held the
Roman title o f patrician while serving as phylarch of the G hassanid
Arab allies of the em pire.171 It brings no surprise that the indige
nous population o f a village like el-Haiyat should remain pagan c.
500, for Sakkaia had no attested bishop until the mid-fifth century.
Nor are there traces of any church buildings at el-Haiyät.
Nor was another site, ‘Amra, demonstrably Christian before the
late fifth century. Here the Semitic deity Allât received worship as a
thinly disguised Athena (295 A .D .).172 A retired army veteran
named Silvanus built a tomb for himself and his children sometime
c. 400 A.D. without adding a cross, and was probably a pagan
(Σιλουνός ούετρανος ευτυχώς ζήσας).173 The first dated Chris
tian inscription falls in 473 and reads: "Remember, Lord, the builder,
whose name [only] you know.” 174 Three other dated examples fall
in the sixth century.1/5 From no later than 550 onward, \Amra had
two presbyters who accomplished various building projects.176 The
village thus becomes certifiably Christian from the epigraphic
standpoint only during the Justinianic period.
There is, finally, ancient Philippopolis (present-day Shehba’),
which acquired urban status and its name during the reign o f
Philip the A rab (244—249), who honored the place with the
honorific title of colonia. It fell from importance thereafter.177 Philip
popolis had a temple-like structure usually referred to as the Philip-
peion, a site reserved for the imperial cult.178 The earliest Christian
inscription in the town belongs to 552, when the bishop Basilius
built a church.179 The city had acquired its first bishop no later
1,1 Waddington, 2110, 2111.

n2 Waddington, 2081. This inscription uses the Arabic word for “ year” (sanat)
in Greek transliteration, viz. σεννότου.
173 Waddington, 2085. I reason the date from the squared uncials (common in
northern Syria c. 380-420, but again later in the 6th c,), and from the personal
name Siiounos. Yet some 6th c. examples of Latinate names turn up in the Ledjä.
Infra, Ch. X I > Sect> 3. A 6th c> date may therefore be in order.
175 Waddington, 2Û88-2Û90.
17ti Waddington, 2089-2090.
177 See discussion in Waddington 2072. Cf. Butler, PAES Π A, 359Γ, and idem,
Publications of an American Archaeological Expedition to Syna in 1699-1900, Part II:
Architecture and Other Artsy ed. Howard C. Butler (New York 1903), 376-396. The
latter is hereinafter cited as Butler, AAES II,
l7d Prentice, AAES III, 396^399.
TH E BOSTRENE, D JEBEL HAURAN, AND THE LEDJÄ 347
than the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a date consistent with trends

elsewhere in Djebel H auran .100
Two other sites which have a pre-Justinianic date o f Chris
tianization require brief mention, Khirbet el-Âradji and Btheine.
At Khirbet el-‘Aradji, which lies on a northeastern spur of Djebel
H auran, the local Baal went by the Hellenized name of Zeus
Keraunios (“ the Thunderer” ); the nomadic Arab chieftain and
commander Adrian f AÔpiavofi . . * έθνάρχου στρατηγοΰ νομά
δων) had his tomb erected there during the Roman imperial period
(2nd or 3rd c> A>D.).lB1 The first Christian inscription appears in
397, the second in 553.182 Btheine, a ruin consisting o f twenty or so
houses and two large towers in W addington’s day, had a Tycheion
(το τυχιον) erected by the common funds o f the village under the
direction of its village council or board of trustees (π ισ το ί).183 The
place contains no dated inscriptions, but in the interior of a small
church a single Christian inscription exists which belongs roughly
to the period 375-500 A ,D ,184
The towns and villages on the northern spurs o f Djebel H auran
thus began gradually to accept Christianity in the mid-fourth cen
tury, but the progress remained uneven. Even with the presence of
a bishop at Sakkaia, some sites appear to have acquired the institu
tional presence of the new religion only in the sixth century. One
might expect a slower rate o f conversion in the interior o f Djebel
H auran, what with the proximity of the N abataean temples and
their ancestral cults, along with the limited accessibility o f the
district to the outside world, Let us therefore consider the epigra
phy of the central region in order to discover what differences, if
any, accompanied the process of Christianization.
180 Neither Michael Lequien, Ortens Christianus 3 (Paris 1740) nor Harnack,
Mission and Expansion of Christianity 2, 153-58 found evidence of a 3rd c. see. Nor
does Irfan Shahid cite any proof that Philippopolis (present-day Shahbä’) had a
bishop or was Christianized in the third century, Romt and the Arabs (Washington,
D,C. 1984), 37, I49f. Nor are there texts proving the widespread Christianization
of rural Arabia at such an early date. Ibid. 154—56. The bishops of the Hauran can
be found conveniently in the chronological tables in: Rudolf E, Briinnow and
Alfred von Domaszewski, Die Provinda Arabia 3 (Strasbourg 1909), 325ff, Philippo
polis was only the third see to be established in Djebel Hauran (345f,), The first of
these, Dionysias-Soada, is attested as an episcopal see only at the Second
Oecumenical Council at Constantinople in 381 (341), Canatha (present-day
el-Qanawât) turns up with a bishop in 449 (p. 345}. For fuller discussion, see infra,
Ch. X I, Sect. 4.
181 Waddington, 2195, 2196.
182 Waddington, 2197, 2198.
183 Waddington, 2127. I have been unable to find a map reference for this site.
104 Waddington, 2134 (rounded uncials). Butler, Early Churches makes no men
tion of this site.
348 CHAPTER ELEVEN
The central Djcbcl H auran contains most of the ancicnt cult

ccnters mentioned at the beginning of this section. Λ scattering of
inscriptions reflects the character of the pre-Christian religiosity
there. At C anatha stands an offering to the god Theandrites, who
bears the epithet of R abb or M aster ([θεφ ] Θεανφρί(ρ Ραββ
[— ] ) ·105 Another inscription at il-M ef‘aleh mentions a celebration
of the festival of an unnamed god on the eleventh day of Loos, our
own August (ή εορτή τών Σοαδηνών τφ θ εφ Λ φ ο υ ι(α )').186 Enno
Littm ann reckons the latter to represent the cult of the tribe of
S u ‘âd, who founded or occupied the town of Soada on the western
rim o f Djebel H auran .187 There is little reason to doubt, from the
epigraphy, that these and the other traditional cults, such as that o f
Baal-Sham in at the great temenos at did not persist well into the
sixth century. Let us consider first the western rim of Djebel
H auran.
Soad a, later known as Dionysias (present-day Suw ëdâ), was one
o f the earliest N abataean settlements and an important site for the
worship of Düsharâ. The place had an arched gate, theatre, nym-
phaeum, basilica, and other urban structures of post-Nabataean
date, and lies on the Roman military road between Bostra and
C an ath a.I8a Soada-D ionysias had a large pre-Christian pantheon,
to judge from the inscriptions, among them Azizos, a deity belong
ing to a Semitic triad along with Baal-Sham in and M un'im , all of
whom doubled, supposedly, as the Hellenic Ares, Helios, and
H erm es.189 The sun god received the appellation of “ Lord” (κύριε
— rabb) on one temple.190 There was also a cult of the “ Invincible
D üsharä ([— ίερεύς Δο]υσάρεος θε[οΰ—J άνικήτου).!!>ι W ad
dington even speculates on the existence of devotees to Zeus
Am m on.192
185 Littmann, PAES III A, 763. The letters arc cut in relief rather than incised,
a phenomenon characteristic of some Nabataean inscriptions. On the archaeolo
gical remains of the site, sec supra, Ch. X I, nn. 132-34. Cf. Butler, Early Churches,
24 (temple conversion).
Littmann, PAES III A, 765*. The letters are in relief See previous note. Cf.
Sourdel, Cultes du Hauran, 1 lOf.
ja? Littmann, PAES III A, 765'.
Butler PAES II A 355
109 Waddington, 2314. Cf. J.B . Segal,Edessa(Oxford:1970) 106.Cf, H.J.W .
Drijvers, Cults and Beliefs at Edessa (Leiden 1980),147ff, whose remarks seem to
reject the formal existence of a “ triad” .
192 Waddington, 2313. The ambiguous word or phrase AMMONIKA, which the
editor transcribes as Ά μμω ν νικφ, has a parallel in Waddington, 2382 ("Αμμων
ζήτω). Cf. Sourdel, Cultes du Hauran 89-92, One can perhaps identify the Syrian
THE BOSTRENE, D JEBEL HAURAN, AND THE LEDJÄ 349
Soada-Dionysias is known to have had a bishop at the time o f the

Council of Nicaea in 325, but there is no reason to suppose that the
population o f the city was any more Christianized than Bostra in
the time of Ju lia n the Apostate (361-363), when the population o f
the latter place had a roughly even distribution o f pagans and
Christians.193 T he Christian inscriptions o fS o a d a have no dates,
but appear to belong to the late fourth and fifth centuries on the
basis of letter form s.19* The first stands on a house: “ The hospice (ό
ξενεών) of St. Theodore was built by the most holy bishop
Peter.” 195 The inscription reflects more about the pilgrim traffic
moving along the highway between the Holy Places in Palestine
and Osrhoene-M esopotamia than local religious conditions. Nor
was this Peter necessarily the bishop of Soada. The hospice was
perhaps erected by bishop Peter of M aximianopolis, that is Sak
kaia, whose tomb lies in nearby Canatha and whose interest in the
Holy Places may have caused him to endow a hospice on the main
road, The construction o f the hospice belongs decisively in the sixth
century.196 Nor does a contribution to the building by M egistos,
an imperial count, add anything to our knowledge o f the local reli
gious demography ( + Έ κ προσφοράς Μεγίστου ένδοξ(οτάτου)
κό(μητος?)).197 The man was either a transient official or retiree to
Soada-Dionysias, The city may well have become largely Christian
by the early fifth century, but we have the case of G aza in First
Palestine as a caution. At a site called M djem ir, which apparently
lies south o f Soada near Arra en route to K ap ra, a housebuilder
named Magnus, a native of Soada-Dionysias (Μάγ[ν]ος οίκο δ
(όμος) Δ ιο νυσ ιεύ [ς]) erected a house bearing a Christian inscrip
tion between M arch—August 516.198 This suggests that the temtor-
ium of Soada was Christianized in the early sixth century, not an
god of the desert, Shai* al-Qaum, with Ammon in a Nabataean inscription

at Çabfrah. Littmann, PAES IV A, 18.
j93 Supra, Ch. X I, n. 4.
194 Square uncials. See next two notes*
J95 Waddington, 2327.
196 C Γ Waddington, 2361. Waddington is probably wrong that bishop Peter's
marker predates the Peace of the Church (i.e. 313 A.D.). The square uncials date
the inscription no earlier than c. 380. Its lack of a cross may reflect accomodation
with the local religious ethos at Canatha, which seems hardly to have been
Christian even in the fifth century. Square uncials become common again in the
sixth century, and the endowment of hospices by bishops will have become more
common by then as well. See the various references collected m Jones, Later Roman
Empire, 901, 906, 911, 922, and 934.
350 CHAPTER ELEVEN
im plausible hypothesis in view of the early Christian presence in

the city.
K ap ra (κώμη Κάπρων) (present-day el-Kefr) lies to the south
o f Soada-D ionysias and ju st beneath the “ high place” Djebel
Q ulêb.,9S The deities worshipped there included a Semitic Zeus
M egistos.200 The latest pre-Christian inscription belongs to 321
A .D .20' It names a group of Arabs who were city counsellors of
Bostra, Aurelius Philippos, Monimos (M un‘im), and Phaletathos,
all o f them brothers, and a fourth party called Philip, son o f
Phaletathos.202 The inscriptions which have later dates in the
fourth through sixth centuries all belong to outsiders, most o f them
once again retirees, transient imperial officials, or councillors who
had suburban houses at K apra. One o f them, who was apparently
not a Christian, was Aurelius M ontanus son of Theodore, a former
imperial praepositus who had seemingly aggrandized himself suf
ficiently to rise to membership in the city council o f Bostra. He was
buried in K apra, where his suburban estate perhaps lay, in 350
A.D. (Αύρ. Μοντανός Θεοδώρου β(ουλευτης?) Β(οστρηνών)).20ΐ
The names o f identifiable Christians appear on building inscrip
tions at K apra by the end o f the fourth century: the clarissimus or
senator Flavius Bonus, who had served as the dux Arabiae (com
mander of the local cavalry formations) who founded a church;204
and Maximus the protector, who retired to K apra after having com
pleted ten years’ military service with the palatine guards at Con
stantinople (μετά τό έπολέμ|ι)σεν Μάξιμος προτ(έκτωρ) έτώ(ν) ι')
in March-September 583 A.D.205 If K apra was, between the fourth
and sixth centuries, little more than a suburban refuge for the
upper classes of Bostra as well as soldiers and imperial bureaucrats,
its incriptions tell us more about Bostra than the wadis and emi
nences of Djebel Hauran.
At Kuteibe, which does not appear on the maps, but seems to
have lain somewhere along the western rim of the massif, the
presbyter Salam anos constructed a church in 575 A .D .205 The only
inscription from the site, an unknown village, it may represent the
first church constructed there.

!0° Waddington, 2292.
2fH Waddington, 2293.
Jü2 E. Littmann clarified the meaning of the abbreviation BB, rendering it as
β(ουλευτής) Β(οστρηνών), Littmann, PAES III A, 669.
Littmann, PAES III A, 669.
204 Littmann, PAES III A, 670 ( = Waddington, 2293a).
205 Littmann, PAES III A, 672 ( — Waddington, 2294).
aue Waddington, 2412i.
Apart from K apra, a suburban offshoot o f Bostra, therefore, the

western rim of Djebe) H auran appears to have converted to Christ
ianity mainly in the fifth and sixth centuries, The silent rural
population which cultivated the vine and revered the old gods finds
little representation in this district. The interior of Djebel Hauran
indicates a much clearer pattern.
T he towns lying along the eastern slopes of Djebel Hauran did
not, in general, accept Christianity before the late fifth century, but
most often did so much later. The sites which admit o f analysis
based on the epigraphy, taking them from south to north, are
el-Harise, Bosana, Salam anestha, Nela, Djeneine, and N am ara. As
demonstrated previously, the villages and army cam ps o f the south
eastern H auran plain and southern spurs of Djebel H auran center
ing on ancient Salcha (present-day Salkhad) remained largely
pagan in the fifth and sixth centuries. This district was the obvious
point of access, from a topographical standpoint, to the interior of
the massif. It seems useful, therefore, to trace the progress of the
new religion from the southernmost town of the central massif,
el-Harise, and to work northward thence to N am ara.
El-Harise, which does not appear on the map of F.S. Norris’
survey, lay southeast of ancient Salam anestha.207 The place turned
up only one building inscription which indicates that the trustees
(πιστοί) o f the village, a board o f three, all of them Arabs, and
evidently the village itself, had not yet accepted Christianity in 419
A .D .208 Unfortunately, no Christian inscription exists at el-Harise
to establish the date o f its conversion.
T o the north lies ancient Salam anestha (present-day Saleh),209
which can be certified as a pagan or largely pagan village until the
reign o f Justin ian I (527-565). The sequence o f dates for pre-
Christian inscriptions there runs down to 505 A,D., with the first
Christian inscription coming only in 547. The sequence of inscrip
tions reveals the usual Arabic personal names and a rather striking
transition in the onomastics after Christianization. This enables us
to suggest positions in the sequence for otherwise undatable in
scriptions. The earliest of them mentions some kind of building
activity completed by Gadyos son o f Them os and Atasthos son of
207 I have resolved the position of the village from Waddington’s notes. Norris’
map is found in: Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to
Syria in 1904-5 and 1909, Division 1: Geography and itinerary, ed. H.C. Butler, F.A.
Norris, E.R. Stoever (Leiden 1930), map facing p. 17.
208 Butler, PAES II A, 335f. The village has no attested temples.
352 CHAPTER ELEVEN
Salam anes successfully in 359 A«D.210 There is no cross on the

stone, The next inscription in the sequence commemorates the
laying of a lintel, beginning with the formula “ For good luck
(άγαθΐ) τύχη) and lacking a cross. E. Littm ann’s examination o f the
stone revealed a date of 505 A .D .211 There is a sixth-century
inscription on a tomb (μνημΪον) that illustrates the social back
ground to the delays in Christianization experienced at Sa la
manestha. It belongs no earlier than 499 A.D. because of the use o f
the omicron-upsilon ligature, a common sixth-century feature:212
T h e tom b belongs to the four clan s, the sons o f D am m a ia and the
sons o f the M a u ra n g a s and the sons o f A kilanos and the sons o f S a d os
( = S a ‘d ), a com m unal building enterprise and for no one else* In the
y ear * . . (date m issin g). Farew ell!
The stone has no cross or other sign of Christianity, and so the

burials must have been pagan ones* Common buildings would
suggest a common cult and world-view about the afterworld o f the
dead* In this instance four families shared the shrine. These clans
represented a considerable part of the population of Salam anestha.
The plausible termini for the date o f the stone are roughly 499-547
A*D* Its letter forms closely resemble those of the previously cited
inscription of 505, and so it most likely belongs to the first quarter
of the sixth century. The terminus ante quem is 547, the date o f the
first certifiable Christian inscription in the village* It mentions the
construction of a martyr chapel (εύκτήριν άγίω(ν) καί Δ ι[ — ]):213
(C ro ss) C h ap el o f the sain ts and o f D i(— )* They sh all receive the
offering favorably * . . an d they shall bicss the entrance and exit. It
w as founded in the year 441 (o f the era o f A rab ia) in the m onth. . . .
This building, where a penodeutês officiated on occasion, marks the

beginning o f Christianization at Salam anestha. It was probably
erected at the instigation of the see of Bostra in accordance with
Justinianic policy. Another church was built or restored c* 566-
574:214
(C ro ss) * , . T h e m ost holy church w as restored under the care o f the
village council an d by the efforts o f G eo rge an d T io s the superin ten
210 Littmann, PAES III A, 724 (='Waddington 2254).

211 Littmann, PAES III A, 725 ( = Waddington 2256), The letter forms, as for
example the alpha, support the insertion of a tau in the dale. The transcription
should read τκα, because the cross bar of the tau is visible, and reading it as K is
out of the question.
2.2 Waddington, 2258.
2.3 Littmann, PAES III A, 728.
2.4 Waddington, 2261.
dents, who sw ore by the holy T rin ity that they h ad m ad e no profit, in
the y ear 46(1—9) o f the province. (C ro ss)
The word “ restored” (άνενεώθη) should be distrusted, as it is

fairly often used for new construction work and has the sense o f
“ built for the first time” or “ built something new” . George was
quite obviously a Christian of long standing. There must have been
increasing numbers of them in the village from 547 onwards, the
date of the first chapel.215 The village council had quite obviously
become Christian between 547 and 566-74. These dates are quite
reasonable in view of the relative isolation of the eastern rim of
Djebel Hauran.
There are two other inscriptions at Salam anestha that require
notice. The first of these is an undated “ One God the helper” text
(εις Θεός ό βοηθ[ός]). Its personal onomastics suggest a date not
long after the beginnings of Christianization c. 547, the names
being the Sem itic Salam anos son of G adouos and the Latinate
G aius son o f Sabinus.316 The inscription has no cross, but is most
certainly Christian rather than Jew ish. Strictly Christian names
like the George of the church inscription belong to a later stage of
the site, after formal catechization and baptism s had begun, in the
third quarter of the sixth century. There is a second inscription
from the time immediately after 547 as well. It betrays similar
Latinate-Sem itic onomastics but, being less concerned with
monotheism, is probably a bit later than the previously noted
inscription:217
(C ro ss) W ith G o d helping, T h aim o s an d G onthios and T a b ia th a
their m other com pleted the tom b o f S ab in u s, father an d sp ou se, (also
being the tom b) o f S ab in u s an d K y r a (their?) sib lin gs.
The “ God helping” phrase ( + ΘεοΟ βοηθέντος) is certainly pos

terior to the previously mentioned “ One G od ” formulary. The
pre-Christian term for tomb (μνημΐον) was carried over into the
early days o f Christianization. Nor was any pressing need seen for
the catechumenate or the recently baptized to adopt formally
Christian names.
There is one last inscription of Salam anestha that is seemingly a
2.5 The final letter of the date is missing, and so the inscription can have been
cut anytime between the years 461-469 of the era of the Provincta Arabia, or
566-574 A.D.
2.6 Waddington 2262. The inscription o f 505 has a Gadous son of Sabinus in it.
Littmann, PAES III A, 725 (=W addington 2256).
2.7 Littmann, PAES III A, 730.
354 CHAPTER ELEVEN
crypto-Christian one. It was cut in 460 A.D., and suggests that

some few Christians lived in the village before 547:218
H ere lies A m as son o f T h aim o s, m ost beloved to m e o f all m en. His
father founded the tom b and T ab e iath ë his revered m other finally
com pleted (the) great work w hose glory will never perish! In the y ear
354 (o f the province). Farew ell, m other!
The inscription has several anomalies as far as the local conven

tions are concerned. The most important o f these is the seemingly
crypto-Christian expression “ here lies” (ένθάδε κετε), an allusion
to the impermanence of death and eventual resurrection, 'These
terms do, however* turn up in pagan epigraphy on occasion,219 The
stunecuttcr or more probably the owners of the tomb knew a
smattering o f Homeric Greek. In consequence, the usual local term
for tomb (μνημιον) is replaced by the Epic word (τύμβος). The
Homeric “ glory*1 (κλέος) turns up here and elsewhere in the more
sophisticated Christian Atticist and Hellenic funerary epigram s.220
The use o f the -mi verb “ to perish” (ολλυμί) seems a bit preten
tious in the local context, as is the Homeric “ revered” (πότνια). In
short, the family o f Amas son of Thaim os sought to distance itself
from the local Arabs not only by boasting of the “ great work”
(μέγα £ργον) of the tomb, but by asserting its superior education
and familial love in a slightly h ig h -so u n d in g tone. If we sh o u ld
suppose that the family was Christian, it provides a useful caution
about rural patterns o f conversion. There is no prima facie reason
why a Christian family should not have lived in pagan Sala
manestha c, 460, particularly if the father had studied gram m ar
while living in Bostra for a time and then returning to his lands in
his native village. Such a person might have hitched himself to new
trends in religion and have adopted Christianity. Such an inter-
pretation is attractive and in no way contradicts the evidence from
other parts of the Hellenistic orient,221 The real uncertainty is how
the family might have been connected with the institutional struc
ture of the rural church, as periodeutai arc not well attested in Djebel
H auran. A link perhaps existed with the neighboring village of
Bosana, which was partially Christian in the fifth century.

219 Cf. IG L S 505, from TilLokbarinon, a village in Djebel Halaqah in the
Limestone Massif, which contains a seeming reference to eternal life, although it
can hardly be a Christian inscription. For discussion, cf. supra, Ch. X, Scct. 3,
n. 94.
220 Supra, Ch. V II, Sect, 2.
a51 On this point, cf. Ch. V III, Sect. 1, on the seeming mutual tolcrance of
rustic pagans and Christians.
T o the north o f Salam anestha lay B o s ana (present-day

B üsân).222 T he village was governed by locally selected ‘‘j u d g e s'1
(συνδικοι) and councillors (πιστοί) who in the fourth century
supervised the c o n stru ctio n or repair o f various local buildings,
including the apse of one stru c tu re ,223 the vaulted chamber w here
the citizens of the village assem bled,224 the workshops (386
A .D .),225 another public building (358 A .D .)226 and the masonry
around a'well (365 A.D*) ,227 These inscriptions display no sign of
cult, and in lieu of other evidence are presumed to have been the
product o f a pre-Christian polity, following the principle enunci
ated in the previous analysis o f Salam anestha that communal
buildings presuppose a common cult. W e also learn of a communal
tomb (μνημΐον) constructed in 401 by three shareholders O uabos,
Sabaos son of Naknakios* and another Sabaos.229 Once again there
is no sign o f cult.
The culture that generated these complex social institutions was
tightly integrated and polytheistic. There is little variety in the
personal onomastics found in the inscriptions, the most common
local names being Inos, Taurinos, Taênaëlos, Nazalos, variants of
Paulos, and Sabaos. The polytheism reflected in an inscription of
341 A.D. persisted down to at least 401:229
H ail, blessed B an ath o s with your sacred children M ag n o s and
E sm aêlos, who is (?) like to god s and m ortals. . . . the thousandth (?).
E sm aêlos and B an ath o s sons o f Paulos cooperated in founding the
tom b, a great glory. T h ey obtain ed it while (still) living. In the year
236 (o f the province). (= 3 4 1 /2 A -D .)
The expression “ great glory” (μέγα κΰδος) is specifically Homeric.

The quasi-Christian or Jew ish names Paulos and Esmaêlos were
quite obviously in use among pagans, an important caution for
reading the inscriptions o f the Provincia Arabia. In this instance
Epic color went hand in hand with polytheism. T he village had at
least one temple as well, as a badly dam aged inscription attests:230
B o ast o f [— ] o f S a b a o s the syndic an d o f [— ] ros [— ], who restored
and dedicated the [rooves?] o f the building. G od, exalt B o san a!
222 Butler, PAES II A, 336-40. Waddington^ 2237-2253.

229 W addinglon, 2247.
356 CHAPTER ELEVEN
The inscription is undated, but the name of one of the syndics>

Sabaos, seemingly puts the inscription between the termini 322-401,
as it was quite a common name then. The vaunt or boast men
tioned (καύχημα) is entirely appropriate for a pagan building, as is
the builders5 commanding the local divinity to exalt Bosana (θεός,
ΰψου Βόσανα). The terminology of dedication is typical o f Hel
lenic temple refurbishments (τής οικο[δομής] [άν]αστησά[ντίον
και] άφιεροίαάντων]). It is impossible to conjecture the name of
the local great god.
The ancient cult o f Bosana went into sharp and sudden decline
in the late fourth century under unique circumstances. We learn of
a martyr cult that arose inside the village when an accepted mem
ber o f the community named Inos accepted Christianity and was
apparently executed: “ Chostë the spouse of lnos the martyr contrib
uted 14 (pounds?) in gold to the house o f prayer” (Χ όστη
σύμβιος *Ινου του μάρτυρος προσέφερεν τψ οΐκα> τής ευχής
χρυσίνου δεκατέσσερας).231 M any pagans bore the local name
Inos, but the only dated inscription mentioning it refers to the sons
of a certain Inos who completed some building project in 322/2n He
was doubtless different from the Christian Inos, who seems to have
lived later. The circumstances o f his martyrdom can be conjectured
with a degree of accuracy. His family was prosperous to judge from
the monies later expended by his wife to build the martyrion in his
name. Inos apparently aroused local ire by his conversion and was
put down by a decree o f the syndics and pistoi o f Bosana. This may
have come during Ju lia n ’s ephemeral presence in the East in 362-
363. The family was secure enough financially to survive until the
new religion gained an institutional presence in the village when
another local of some standing named Tarinos son of Gennadios
(= T au rin u s, a common name at Bosana) became the local presby
ter in or before 390. He erected a building with his own funds that
displayed the cross on its foundation inscription.233 This Tarinos
may have been the friend and collaborator of Inos the martyr* and
also the syndic who, interestingly, worked with a certain Inos on
the building project recorded on a different undated inscription.2*4
It is quite possible that the families o f Tarinos and Inos* widow
gained political strength during the pro-Christian reign of Theodo
Waddington, 2249.
233 Littmann, PAES III A, 736 (-W addington, 22Ô2). The reading of the date
is not clear, bul is plausible as the editors give it.
sius the Great (379-395). This culminated in the construction of a

martyrion over the grave of St. I nos and the celebration o f the
Christian liturgy there by his friend Tarinos. The prestige of the
cult grew thereafter and led in time to the Christianization of
the village, So, for example, a “ Christ conquers” inscription turns
up on a house lintel (undated) ( + Χ ρ ισ + τ ό ς νικφ + ).235 It is
difficult to trace the chronology of Christianization thereafter, be
cause the next dated Christian inscription comes only in the later
sixth century. The personal onomastics had not entirely changed
by then, with the survival of the name K adam os until 573 ((Cross)
“ I K adam os son o f . . . have made a gift to holy God from my own
properties in behalf of the bishop M enas” ).23ft The church became
firmly grounded at Bosana between 390-573, and the rise of a
martyr cult, coupled with the political influence of his family, were
critical elements in the accelerating Christianization of the village,
but the demographic extent of this transition by the end of the fifth
century cannot be measured.
Ancient Nela (present-day il-Musennef) is the next village north
o f Bosana. V arious pagan funerary inscriptions lie about, but only
two o f them, including one Christian text, have late dates*237 The
only Christian inscription was cut on a cave in 492 A.D. and
convincingly marks the terminus ante quern for the Christianization of
the site:238
(C ro ss) Receive, O L ord , the offering o f your servan t Seos the
archdeacon . H e built it from his own funds in the y ear 387 (of the
Crovince) when D io d e s w as bishop. T a d o u s (an d ) Z osim os were the

u ilders. (C ross)
The cave may have been fitted out as an ad hoc chapel or martyrion.
D iodes was bishop either at Nela or some neighboring place having
episcopal status.239
The inscriptions of ancient N am ara (present-day Nimreh) are
mostly pre-Christian. The personal names on them are Semitic or
Greek, as for example Diomedes.240 The funerary epigraphy is
235 Litimann, PAES 111 A, 739 (=W addington 2253).

*36 Waddington, 2250.
227 Waddington, 2211-2235. The site has a temple and temenos dedicated to an
unknown god dating from c, 171 A.D. Outside there is a large ancient pool. H.C.
Butler regards the site as a very ancient one, and the Roman temple as a seemingly
late addition. Butler, AAES II, 346-351.
Waddington, 2235.
239 Nela’s first attested bishop, Gautus, attended the Council of Ghalcedon in
451. Brünnow-Domaszewski, Provinäü Arabia 3, 34-5Γ
2-*° Waddington, 2176.
358 CHAPTER ELEVEN
lacking in signs o f cult (3rd-4th c,). There is one Christian inscrip

tion in a late script. It marks the tomb of two presbyters with
Arabic names, but is undated.241 H.C, Butler mentions the exis
tence of a church at N am ara, but fails to assign it a date.242 Little
can therefore be done to bring this site into the overall scheme of
Djebel Hauran.
There is, finally, Djeneineh, which seems to be near ancient
N am ara but is missing from F.S. N orris’ topographical m ap of the
sites visited by the Princeton expedition. The epigraphy contains
no sign of Christianity. There is one inscription, however, which
reflects the enthusiasm with which Ju lian the A postate’s restora
tion of the temples was greeted in the Provincia A rabia:243
T h an k s to the divine assen t o f our m aster the em peror Ju lia n , the
civic board o f Genêenôri (?) built the tem ple o f the god [—-]dëou
under the supervision o f Sop ater.
The lack of consistency shown in the inscriptions of Djebel H auran

about the acceptance of Christianity is partly a consequcnce of
villages like this one, where the civic board (τό κοινόν) unre
lentingly resisted the advance of the new religion.
The villages o f the eastern face of Djebel H auran reflect a rather
slow development o f Christian ecclesiastical institutions. With the
exception o f Bosana, where the church encountered sharp political
opposition in the late fourth century, the new religion grew slowly
or hardly at all until the second quarter o f the sixth century, when
the imperial government forced the issue in accordancc with the
Justinian ic laws of 529 on Hellenic religion.
Djebel H auran was, until that time, a region of great local
religious diversity. The differing allegiances make a patchwork on
the m ap of religious transition that was probably quite typical o f
other rural backwaters between 370-529. It remains to have a look
at one last such place, the Ledjä.
IIL The Ledjä

The Ledjä, also known as Trachonitis, is a vast basaltic depression
surrounded by high cliffs lying over against the northwestern tip of
Waddington, 2J85.
H2 Butler, PAES II A, 343f. In Butler, Early Churches, 22ff., the church is given a
4th c. date on purely stylistic grounds, but this is to be distrusted. For a similar
case of faulty dating, see supra, Ch. X I, n, 164. There is no reason whatever to
suppose that Namara has an active ecclesiastical structure at so early a date, and
the burden of proof really lies with those who wish to establish one.
Djebel H auran. A rab tribes settled in the Ledjä at an early date,

and the personal and tribal nomenclature abounds in the epigra
phy of the sites there, which are numerous in the south despite the
harsh dim ate and lack o f vegetation, The inscriptions give a fuller
picture o f the pre-Christian religious life of the Ledjä than pre
viously seen in the H auran, but this advantage is negated by the
lack of dated early Christian inscriptions that enable the historian
to gauge the pace of religious transition between 370-529. The
difficulty o f the terrain is such that we would first have expected
Christianity to enter the Ledjä along its outer fringes, and only
thereafter to penetrate to the villages o f the interior, There is, in
fact, little to suggest that the new religion had an im pact at more
than a few sites in the Ledjä before the early sixth century. Some
sites seem never to have been Christianized at all. It is interesting
as well that the impetus for this seems not to have come in the
southeast from the direction of Bostra, the metropolitan see of the
Provincia A rabia. Christianity first took root firmly in the south
western corner of the Ledjä.
Ancient Zorava, (present-day Zor‘ah or Ezr‘a) lies in the south-
westernmost corner of the Ledjä on the high ground above the
depression. The place had received its first bishop by 542, but
betrays no sign of Christianity before that date. The site has a
peculiarly cosmopolitan character. It was technically the chief
village of the district ([μητρο]κωμία Ζοραουηνών), which must
have embraced the southwestern and central Ledjä in the second
quarter o f the third century,244 and probably kept this status even
after the Diocletianic reorganization of the provinces c. 300. Its
earliest known inhabitants were N abataean A rabs who toiled as
farmers (Ζοραουηνών γεωργοί), making contributions to the im
perial cult c. 161-180.34S The local tribal unit was called the Saam e-
noi in the Greek,246 but at least one group of settlers from another
tribe had migrated there, the M igdalenoi, who came from the
village of M djedil in the eastern Ledjä probably no later than the
third century A .D .247 The folk knew the rudiments of basaltic stone
architecture and, apart from temples, erected many houses (3rd c.
A .D .)240 and even baths (c. 222-235 A .D .).249 Zorava thus had a
quasi-urban character well before the era o f Christianization, The
:m Waddington, 2480.
24i Waddington, 2482, 2483.
360 CHAPTER ELEVEN
lingua franca was of course Greek. The local population was aug
mented by army veterans who established families in town. These
men had Greek and Latinate names, and may in fact have been
Arabs initially recruited from the province.250 As with other parts of
the Provincia Arabia, education in the Greek paideia persisted in the
third century. We learn this from a hexametric epigram celebrating
the completion of a building (3rd c.?) soundly composed in Homeric
phrases:251
You peer now only into the porch o f the courtyard. When M ax im u s
shall com plete the entire o f it, an d forthwith this be done, you shall
see room s all resem bling those o f A lkinous. H e w ould like to com plete
them for his children and for them when they beget children o f their
own. T o Zeus the Fulfiller.
These verses are correctly spelled and give a more favorable view o f
the study of gram m ar in Zorava than one gets from the villages of
Djebel H auran or of rural Phrygia.252
The epigram gives an erroneous picture, however, o f the local
pre-Christian religiosity, which had little to do with literary con
ventions about the Olympian gods. The only attested local divinity
is Theandrites, the “ human-faced god” , whose cult remained quite
strong in Late Antique A rabia and has been noted elsewhere.253 A
single inscription at Zorava, dedicated in the name of the entire
tribal unit, invokes Theandrites in behalf of a group of unknown
emperors seemingly of the third century or o f the Tetrarchic period
(c. 253-337): “ The Saamenoi o f Zorava built a temple for Thean
drites in behalf of the safety and victory of our lords (the emper
o rs)57 (Θεανδρ[ίτη] ύπέρ σωτηρίας καί νείκης των κυρίων
οικοδόμησαν οίκίαν Σααμηνοί οί άπό Ζοραουηνών) 254 It can be
presumed that, as in other districts, this cult remained strong at
Zorava until the place was Christianized.
The material evidence at Zorava reveals few signs o f the new
religion until the first quarter of the sixth century. At that time the
temple of Theandrites was pulled down. A previously quoted in
scription ended up in the octagonal martyrion of St. George that
was completed in 515, the terminus ante quern for the demolition of the
temple (ο ικ ία ).25* Various pre-Christian funerary markers and
250 W addington, 24Ô6—248B.

Waddington, 2484.
252 Cf. supra, Ch. V II, Scct. 2.
253 Supra, Ch. I, Sect. 3, and Ch. X I, Sect, 1.
2M For architectural details, see Butler, AAES II, 411-413, and Butler, Early
Churches, 122-25. Infra, this section, n. 270.
other stones ended up as spolia in St. G eorge’s as well,256 as also in

the church of M ar Elijah, which was erected in 542.557 The inter
pretation o f the Christian inscriptions on these buildings will detain
us in due course. Here it must be remarked that two inscriptions
with square uncials of a kind popular in northern Syria between c.
380-420 were built into the church of M ar Elijah. One is the
funerary marker of Iovios son of Tobeios. It bears no cross and
cannot be adjudged to be the Jew ish or Christian name “ T obias” ,
but derives from the Arabic “ T h u b a i\5,250 The second inscription
adheres closely to the literary conventions of the fourth-century
epigraphy of the Limestone M assif:259
A m brilios the centenarius laid the foundations. P allad io s the b arrister
com pleted it with the help o f his sons. A nd m ay it be dou ble for you,
healthy life!
The centenarius was a mid-level grade held by agentes in rebus who

serves the M aster o f Offices, but also a non-commissioned officer in
the army.260 As usual, its seems that the man had come to Zorava
after retirement and did not live to see the completion of the
building. It cannot be proven that Ambrilios or the succeeding
owner Palladios were Christians, and the valedictory formula rein
forces this view (καί ον τα διπλά, ύγία, ζοή). None o f the third-
century funerary steles betray traces of Christianity either.261 It
must be supposed, at very least, that the new religion had some
existence at Zorava prior to the construction o f the two churches in
542 and 515, but criticism o f the Christian inscriptions of the sixth
century there suggests that it was of no long duration.
A C h ristia n in scrip tio n o f 5 4 2 /3 c o m m e m o ra te s the lay in g o f the
d o o r lin tel o f the ch urch o f M a r E lija h the p ro p h e t:262
(C ro ss) T h e people o f Z o rav a built the church o f E lijah the prophet
from their own funds by the exertion o f J o h n son o f M enneos the
deacon in the year 437 (o f the province) when the m ost G od-beloved
O u a ro s w as bishop, upon whom G o d brought the fate o f the bubonic
plagu e in the arm pit.
Waddington, 2482, 2483, 2488, 2496.

257 Waddington, 2485, 2490.
260 Jones, Later Roman Empire, 399, 578, 634.
261 Waddington, 2484-2496.
26î Waddington, 2497.1 wish to thank Johannes Koder who supplied me with a
photo and M. Restle1« corrected transcription.
362 CHAPTER ELEVEN
The cult o f the prophet Elijah had great importance in the Ledjä
during the epoch of Christianization*263 His ascent into the sky atop
a fiery chariot was perhaps consistent with earlier notions about
m an's helplessness beneath the domain o f the great solar divinity,
the god of Aumos, who battered the basaltic depression below
Zorava with his rays. Men might now in spite of their humanity
aspire to rise with Elijah into the sky beside the incarnate God.
This hypothesis is vaguely confirmed by a phrase in another in
scription on the exterior wall o f the apse o f M ar Elijah’s (6th c .):2CH
(C ross) H e has run over to faith, (C ro ss) T h eod ore the city council
lor, by his exertion and w orks, in recom pense for good things (from )
the prophet E lijah , is wich the angels in the heavens. (C ross)
It seems clear that Theodore the city councillor (πρωτεύων) was

one of the first Zoravenes to accept Christianity, and he implicitly
bids his fellow citizens to take the same advice with the assertion:
“ He has run across to faith” (πίστ(ε)ι διέδραμεν). This expression
self-consciously echoes the second law of the emperor Zeno requir
ing the Hellenes of the empire to “ run to the churches” and accept
baptism .265 In contrast to Theodore, there were perhaps more than
a few pagans left in Zorava around 542»
This hypothesis is borne out even further by the incorporation o f
a fairly standard pagan liturgy on a second church belonging to the
sixth century:266
W e set ou r (offerings) before you, O C h rist our G od. A ccept the

offering o f those who m ad e offerings (in the p ast) and m ake offerings
(now) in this church by the p rayer o f her who begat you. A ccept the
two copper coins o f the widow*
The formula mentioning the fruit-bearers past and present (τών

καρποφορησάντων και καρποφορούντων) had a pre-Christian
currency and significance, notwithstanding its later use in the
churches.267 This is again consistent with the other evidence sug
gesting that the new religion had only recently replaced the cult of
263 It is difficult to credit Waddington’s hypothesis, however, that the prophet

replaced the sun-god of the local pantheon because of the similarity of their names,
Helios and Elias. For discussion on this question, see supra, Ch. II, prooem. and
n. 4.
2G+ Waddington, 2499. The syntax of the inscription is quite tortured.
265 Supra, Ch. I, n. 377.
266 The inscription has square uncials and makes use of the omicron-upsilon
ligature. Waddington, 2500.
267 Supra, Ch. V II. Sect. 2. C f Waddington, 2500 for brief commentary.
Theandrites at Zorava. The sam e church has another inscription

which makes the same point:268
(C ross) O u r G o d is a great god who perform s m iracles as m uch as he
is able, rooting out law less ac ts (and) outdoing injustices. T h e m onad
is a T ria d and the T ria d is a m onad.
There was fundamentally no point in calling the Christian God a

great god unless there were other local divinities to be reckoned
with (+μέγας Θε6ς ό Θεός ημών). As W addington observes, the
formula is consistent with Psalm 95.3: “ God is a great lord and
great king over all the (pagan) gods” (Θεός μέγας κύριος και
βασιλεύς μέγας έπι πάντας τούς θεούς). The monotheistic for
mula is unique in the epigraphy of Syria and Arabia, being derived
from the Athanasian creed (ή μονάς έν τριάδει, και ή τριάς έν
μονάδει etc.).2*9 The allusiveness of the inscription provides un
mistakable evidence that polytheism and the cult of the local great
god at Zorava was of recent memory.
This reconstruction is fully consistent with the lintel inscription
o f the octagonal martyrion of St. George at Zorava, which was
completed in 515, the first Christian building of the town. The
inscription was cited in a previous chapter, but it is necessary to
quote it here again in its proper context:270
T h e ab od e o f daimones has becom e the house o f G od, T h e light o f
salvation shines where d arkn ess cau sed concealm ent. W here sa c
rifices to idols occurred, now there are choirs o f angels. W here G od
w as provoked* now H e is propitiated. A certain C h rist-loving m an ,
the tow n-councillor Jo h n , son o f D iom edes, offered a gift to G o d from
his own property, a beautiful building, after in stalling within it the
worthy body o f the m artyr G eorge, who ap p eared to this Jo h n not in
a d ream , but m anifestly.
The donor Joh n was of the first Christian generation at Zorava to

judge from his father Diomedes' Hellenic name and from Jo h n ’s
preoccupation with the daimones of the old religion and the “ sac
rifices to idols’5 (θυσία ι ειδώλων). Like the Theodore who built
M ar Elijah’s in 542, John was a city councillor with the requisite
wealth for such a task. The actual work on the church was begun
after the donor underwent some religious experience, the waking
vision of St. G eorge,27] and it cannot be excluded that this event
Waddington, 2501. Same square uncials as Waddington 2500.
270 Prentice, AAES III, 437a. Supra, Ch» X I, n. 255 for architectural details.
271 On the waking vision of the Hellene Abedrapsas of the village of Frikya in
Djebel Riha in the Apamene, see supra, Ch. II, Sect. 1, and Ch. X, Sect. 6.
364 CHAPTER ELEVEN
brought about the m an’s conversion from polytheism.272 There is

little doubt that the martyrion was built over a pagan temple.273 The
prescript o f the inscription makes this obvious, and of course the
requisite relics were found to destroy the power of the divinity o f
the temenos, which was most probably Theandrites. Jo h n ’s vision
was perhaps cited as a confirmation of the Christian G od ’s power
to perform miracles noted in an inscription on one o f the other
churches at Zorava (οσος δυνατός, ποιων θαυμάσια).274
Two funerary stones at Zorava require brief comment. The
pre-Christian view o f death and the afterlife is illustrated by the
inscription set up for Aurelius Azizos. It perhaps belongs in the
fourth or fifth century A .D .:275
A urelius A zizos, son o f A n am os, a m an honored in life, and A n am os
and Bern ikianos his sons, built the tom b out o f their own toil an d at
their own expense for them selves an d their heirs an d A zizos son o f
T h eod ore, who died and is (now) in the underw orld.
The eschatological pessimism of the Hellenic world-view needs no

further elaboration here (άπογενομένου και έν τφ καταγέω). The
second tomb is more difficult to judge in terms of the cult of its
owner. It is cut in the late square uncials characteristic of the early
sixth-century inscriptions of Z orava:276
A ineias built a brilliant grav e m arker for h im self an d his fam ily,
h aving earned the glory o f a hundred-arm ed arm y and h aving bound
the im perishable In d u s, after extending the h an ds o f his own brothers
to it. B ecau se o f this, m ay G o d gran t him good things, I f anyone
p artakes o f novel praise, m ay he (G ad ?) gran t h ard sh ip to that m an.
The language of the epigram is almost entirely Homeric. It is a

frankly incomprehensible and overwritten panegyric which equates
this Aineias with the hundred-armed water giant Briareos of Iliad
1.403 and Alexander the Great, Aineias was evidently an army
272 Hypnopompic phenomena cannot be excluded heire. Cf. C. Ju n g's purely

biological-psychological explanation of seemingly “ waking visions” in Ju n g, “ So-
called Occult Phenomena.” 6 Iff.
273 The topic formation of the inscription makes this obvious. Cf. supra. Ch. II,
Sect. 2-4, Ch. Ill, Sect. 4, and Ch. VIII, Sect. 3-4. H.C. Butler was evidently
unable to discover remains of the pagan temple at Zorava in question. He
observes: “ The inscription implies (my italics) that the church occupies the site of a
Pagan temple.” Butler, Early Churches^ 125. Both Waddington (no. 2498) and
Deichmann (“ Kirchen in Heiligtümern1' no. 14} concur on this point.
275 Prentice, AAES III, 435. The inscription has the round uncials characteris
tic of this period.
276 Prentice, AAES III, 437 ( = CIG 4.4563), Waddington notes this inscription
under his own no. 2496a, but does not publish it.
THE BOSTRENE, DJEBEL· HAURAN, AND THE LKDJÄ 365
veteran who had paid for his sons to get the best éducation in
gram m ar possible. The epigram is quite sophisticated by provincial
standards and speaks well for the level ofliterary culture at Zorava.
The cult o f Aineias hinges on a gram matically monotheistic clause
toward the end of the inscription: “ Because of this may God grant
him good things” (τσ ΐνεκ α ο ί τά μέν έσθλά πόροι φεός). As the
receiver of these favors will have been dead at the time of their
bestowal, one gets the idea that some sort of afterlife is envisioned,
but it is unclear whether this should be understood as that of a
Christian saint in paradise or something else. The inscription fits
quite conveniently into the first quarter of the sixth century because
of its letter forms. It will be recalled that two Christian magnates of
Zorava, Jo h n son of Diomedes and Theodore the city councillor,
were making an open display of their Christianity between 512-
515. If Aineias’ family were Christian, there was strictly speaking
no reason why it had to endorse monotheism in koine Greek, parti
cularly if they knew something o f the Greek paideia. On the other
hand, Zorava does seem to have been at an early stage of Chris
tianization. If Jo h n and Theodore spoke for the town councillors
who had accepted the new religion, Aineias may in equal measure
represent the other side of the story. I f so, his family perhaps veiled
its polytheism in quasi-monotheistic language for the sake of
accommodating itself to the new drift o f religious thinking at
Zorava. It is impossible for the present to be more precise.
Zorava provides the archetypal example o f a town switching
sides to the new religion with the conversion of the decurion class.
The infusion of money into church buildings gave Christianity a
“ high profile” that in time drew polytheists to the new cult. The
one missing fragment of information is the precise date at which
ecclesiastical institutions began at Zorava. The place certainly had
a bishop in 542, whose barbarous personal name O uaros or the
Latinate V arus suggests local citizenship. This is also the case with
the deacon Jo h n ’s patronymic, M enneos.2” It appears that the very
small local church came to terms with the city councillors in the
first quarter o f the sixth century, the conversion o f Theodore and
Jo h n between c. 500-540 being the critical pivot around which the
Christianization of Zorava finally turned. Thereafter episcopal soli
darity with the decurions grew and with it the size of the
catechumenate, with the common people imitating the example of
their social betters. But this began as a pre-Justinianic phe
nomenon that shows no signs of legal or fiscal coercion.

366 CHAPTER ELEVEN
It remains to deal with the rest of the Ledjä. The sample o f dated
inscriptions at other sites is relatively small, and so the following
analysis will necessarily be more inferential than what was given
for Zorava.
T o begin with, Christianity m ade an early entry by local stan
dards into the western Ledjä at Sur, a village lying some 12.5
kilometers north-northeast of Zorava. The new religion was
perhaps widely received, for a lintel inscription records a prayer for
the entire village:278
(Cross) Saint Leontios, be the help of our village! (Cross) C h abos son
of Eutolmios writes this in the eleventh indiction. (Date) (Cross)
(Written) by the hand of Elijah son of Baracheos.
The date was 458 A.D. Sur, whose ancient name is unknown, was
an important village or mëtrokômia like Zorava.279 Its previous cults
are unknown except from a Latin inscription mentioning Ju p iter
Ammon, whose cult is uncharacteristic of the district and probably
an intrusive one.280 The prayer to St. Leontios belongs to the first or
second Christian generation. The cult o f the prophet Elijah affected
the earliest nomenclature here as well, all o f which suggests that
religious cultural mechanisms were in play here similar to those at
Zorava, but half a century earlier. The effect was felt elsewhere as
well. At idj-Djädj in the south-central Ledjä, a certain Elijah son of
K aiam os constructed a martyrion of the prophet in the sixth century.
The Chi-Rho of the first line hints at recent conversion.*81 Sim ilar
ly, at ancicnt Rimca in the southeast, Elijah’s name stands in a
victory inscription: “ Elijah (cross) conquers! His tychë (cross) con
quers the whole world! (C ro ss)” (Ήλίαν + νικφ. ή τύ+χη τόν
Κ0[σμον] + ).282 It apparently belongs to the sixth century. Form u
laries of this kind appear repeatedly in the context o f recent Chris
tianization, and there is no reason to doubt that this was the
prevailing situation in the Ledjä between c. 500-550. There is one
last example from ancient Norcrhathc, which seems to have lain
somewhere near Rimea at the southeastern corner o f the Ledjä:283
Sergius son of Sam aathos of the village of Norerhathê of the Soborene
tribe built the church of St. Elijah out o f his own funds in the year
2.8 Littmann, PAES III A, 797*.

2.9 Littmann, PAES III Λ, 7972.
Littmann, PAES III A, 797. But cf. the possible existence of a Nabataean
equivalent of Zeus Ammon. Supra, Ch. X I, n. 192.
291 Littmann, PAES III A, 791 (“ Waddington, 2436). The inscription has
square uncials and is quite fragmentary.
283 Waddington, 2425. Infra, Appendix VI.
458 (of the province) in the . . . indiction. Good luck (with God?)
helping (?).
By this time, 564 A .D ., the prophet Elijah had become the pre
dominant intercessor in the Ledjä even for A rabs knowing o f the
cult o f St. Sergius. The region had been thoroughly Christianized
by this time, lying as it does on the edge o f the depression not far
from the Roman road running north from Bostra.
T he present-day site o f Um m iz-Zeitün lies in this area on the
eastern edge of the Ledjâ. It too was Christianized in the sixth
century, although the datable inscriptions show a wide gap be
tween that time and the third century. Army veterans were settled
there in the later third century (c. 282 A.D .), It also had a rather
small temple surmounted by a cupola. The god’s name is
unknown:*84
For good luck. T h e governing board o f the village and o f the god built
the sacred hut through the supervisors U lpius C assian us the veteran,
and G adouos son o f Saouros the councillor, and Nigreinos son o f
M arrinos the veteran.
The village saw the beginnings o f the new religion only in the sixth
century, to judge from the letter forms o f an inscription commemo
rating the foundation of a martyrion erected by Anatolios son of
V alens.285 An undatable inscription records another martyrion at
Shaqrah, which seems to lie in the neighborhood of Um m iz-
Zeitün.286 In neither case is the name of the saint mentioned.
The picture of Christianization can be more finely drawn from
the villages in the central Ledjä, where the inscriptions record the
names of the local divinities and a small number o f “ One G od”
inscriptions have turned up as well. The lack o f dated texts leaves
the chronology uncertain, and so one is inclined to put the C hris
tianization of this area mainly between 500-550, with some prior
conversions in the second half o f the fifth century. T his was perhaps
the situation at the ancient D am atha (present-day D am it il-‘Alyä).
Dedications to three deities are recorded, including an altar to Zeus
the Light-bringing Hearkener (2nd-3rd c.).287 This combination o f
epithets seems to syncretize the characteristics o f two local gods,
the rain-bringer and sun god. It should be borne in mind that altars
could always be used, so long as pagans still lived in the village.
ÎB4 Littmann, PAES III A, 76513 (^Waddington, 2546) and 765'2 (=W adding-
ton 2545).
Waddington, 2548 (square uncials). Butler, Early Churches, 250.
*66 Waddington, 2510.
w Littmann, PAES III A, 8001.
368 CHAPTER ELEVEN
This was still the case as late as 432 A.D. when an inscription
without a cross was erected for two dead men. It fits the Hellenic
funerary conventions quite well:288
S ad d o s son o f D an ou b ios an d A m eros son o f H ekotos, h aving p assed
life well an d in m oderation and in contentm ent, built (this) out o f
their own funds for the sak e o f rem em brance, (D ate)
Other cults will have persisted through the mid-fifth century. The
construction o f a temple dedicated to the “ Invincible god of Au-
mos” under the supervision of the village governing board is re
corded on an undated block (θεφ άνικήτφ Αυμου)(3Γά c*?),205 as
is the dedication of a propylon or gate to “ M istress A thena"
(5Α[θ]ηνφ τη κυρύ[α] Τάννηλος Μοαιέρου [τ]ό πρόπ[υλ]ον
άνέθηκεν),290 The first o f these divinities is unnamed according to
Semitic custom and is titled by Aumos> an adherent o f his from a
bygone age,291 The local Athena is the Hellenized variant o f the
Arabian Allât, She quite evidently received worship from sedentary
Arabs as well as pastoralists*
The continuous stream of Hellenic religiosity at D am atha was
disrupted in the decades after 432, wherein belongs an important
monotheistic inscription on a house lintel:292
O ne G od, the helper o f T o b e ias in the task o f building when he built
this out o f his own funds. A nd m ay H e who helped at the task o f
building also help in the n u p tials with G ad rath ë.
The householder Tobias, whose name came from the Septuagint,

may have borne it before his apparent admission to the cate-
chumenate. Although the inscription bears no cross, conversion to
Christianity is more probable at this time and place than to J u d a
ism. Tobias* request that his God assist with the nuptials (κή ό
βοθέσας εις την οικοδομήν, βοηθήοη κε εις τούς γάμους
Γαδραθη) hints that, with the coming of monotheism, the task of
blessing m arriage and granting it offspring had been removed from
a previous fertility goddess and attributed now to the multispecial
ized Christian G od.293 The site shows no sign of a martyr cult or
that of St* Elijah, and is in that respect different from the places
2a8 Littmann, PAES III A, 800.

291 Littmann, PAES III A, 8002. Aumos was perhaps a priest* Infra, Appendix
VI,
Littmann, PAES III A, 8008 ( = Waddington, 2451),
293 Cf. Littmann, PAES III A, 792 (Djren) for an attestation of Atargatis in chc
Ledjä. On the Edessan Atargatis, see Drijvers, Cutis at Edtssa 175.
already seen lying along the southern edge of the Ledjä. Only one
other “ One G od ” inscription has turned up in the district, this at
Admedera, It lacks a cross, but like the previous one was most
likely erected by recently Christianized A rabs.294
There is one other well attested site in the Ledjä called Harrän.
Here Christianity is better represented than the cults of Arabic
polytheism. There is one votive inscription dating from between c.
212-375 A.D. or even later, It addresses “ mistress Athena” , that is
the Arabic Allât.295 The four village administrators completed a
public hostel in 397/8. Its lintel inscriptions lack crosses and there
is no particular reason to suppose that a majority of the village
councillors, who have mostly Arabic and Latinate names, was
Christian at this early date.296
The Christian inscriptions of H arrän are undated, and so it is
quite difficult to be more precise about chronology. The earliest o f
these bears a formula having elements commonly attested in the
fifth century, and may hopefully be placed between c. 450-500:297
I K abbeos the deacon shall confess m any blessin gs to G o d an d his
C h rist who helped if he com pletes for me the gift o f the building o f
this house.
The “ I confess” formula (5th c.?) was grafted onto a common

“ One God and his Christ who helps” statement, but the
monotheistic 'O n e ” was omitted either through error or because it
seemed irrelevant. Nothing about the inscription compels a sixth
century date. The building in question was perhaps a small church
manned by the deacon as the sole representative of the see of
Bostra. K abbeos quite obviously looked to its completion with
great uncertainty, worried as it seems because the monies could not
be raised to complete the place, and hence his desire for a divine
“ gift” (προσφορά). The Christians of H arrän were quite few at
this time. The church inscription mentioning the bishop Theodore
Waddington, 25621. Butler notes, at Damatha, a small, single-aisled church,

Butler, PAES II A, 435, In its arrangement (being a hall church with a transverse
system) it closely resembles the Tyche temple at is-Sanamen which lies c. 30 miles
away. Butler later assigned the church at Damatha to the fourth century on the
basis of style alone. Butler, Early Ckurckes> 21. As noted above, these sorts of
arguments cannot of themselves carry decisive weight. Supra, Ch. X I, n, 164.
Waddington, 2461. The inscription has rounded uncials. The dedicands
have the names Aurelius as praenomen, which became common in the provinces
after the Constitutio Antoniniana in 212 and still had considerable currency down
to the late fourth century, Cf. Supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2.
296 Littmann, PAES III A, 794, 7941 (=W addington, 2462, 2463).
370 CHAPTER ELEVEN
belongs to a later stage of Christianization. He need not have

resided in îja rrâ n to have been commemorated in the fashion given
([èiù Θεο]δώρου [τ]ον ήμών έπ ι[σ ]κ[ό π ο υ])5 and so the actual
site o f his see is unknown.298 Still later a Christian Arab named
Aumos built a funerary monument for himself near the church
(οϊκου Θεου προπάροιθεν). The inscription mentions a presbyter
who was evidently the dominant local ecclesiastic.299 It belongs
c. 500-550. In 568 the phylarch or chieftain of the allied Arab frontier
cavalry built a martyrion o f St* Jo h n .300 He was probably not a local
resident. The gradual growth of nascent church institutions is well
documented at H arran but difficult to date. On the face o f it it
seems not to have been an episcopal see. We should not be too
anxious to push the time o f its Christianization back into the later
fifth century.
Ancient Agraina (present-day Lubbën) lies not far from Harrän.
The village commune of Agraina financed the construction of a
temple to the god of Aumos in 213 with monies provided by the
temple treasurers.301 A beam later reused for the construction o f a
church is dated 417 A.D. It lacks a cross and provides the terminus
post gum for the Christianization of the village.302 An altar of
uncertain date has also turned up.303 A funerary inscription com
bines pagan and Christian conventions. It was set up within a
generation of the introduction of the new religion. Unfortunately it
is not dated:304
A u relia d au gh ter o f A udês say s: Be brave, A renios son o f A renios, no
one is im m ortal! You com pleted your life well an d decorously. So give
thanks alw ays to G o d the P an tokrator who helped us. . . . We m ade
you a tom b for (your) repose an d rem em brance.
Waddington, 2467.
300 Waddington, 2464. The inscription lies on the portal of the church and is
bilingual in Greek and Arabic.
Littmann, PAES III A> 793 ( “ Waddington 2455). C f Littmann, PAES III,
A} 793'.
Littmann, PAES III A, 793J . H.C. Butler has mistakenly taken the date
given on the reused stone as that of the church’s final construction, but this is
surely wrong, A church lintel will at any rate have had Christian symbols and
perhaps also a dedication, as a vast number of examples attest. Butler, Early
Churches, 4 If. There is a second undated church at Agraina. Butler, PAES II A,
420f. and Illustration 362, It is not entirely likely that these structures should date
before 450, to judge from the overall picture of Christianization in the Djebel
Hauran.
303 Littmann, PAES III A, 793q.
3lw Waddington, 2459.
THE BOSTRENE, DJEBEL HAURAN, AND THE LEDJÄ 37]
The praenomen Aurelius/Aurelia went out o f style in the more

Hellenized provinces like the Phrygias by the end of the fourth
century, but may have survived in A rabia for a century or more
thereafter. The exhortation about immortality appears in both
Christian and pagan epigraphy, but really belongs to the conven
tions o f the latter, as do the compliments about having lived
honorably. The inscription bears no Christian symbols at all, but
invokes the name of the helping God of the Christians, who is also
styled as the all-sovereign or pantokrator, an expression that goes
straight back to the late first century in Christian usage, but was
also used in Jew ish and Hellenic contexts (τφ παντοκράτορι
Θε[φ]τ[φ] βοηθήσαντι ήμων).305 T he inscription is quite clearly
transitional but provides no useful dating criteria. The lower limit
for the name “ A urelia” is probably c, 450-475 A.D. Even so, a date
even after 500 cannot be excluded.
The present-day village o f Djrën gives the impression of having
been Christianized in the sixth century. It lies ju st north o f
Agraina. There are two relevant inscriptions. The first of them is on
the funerary stele of Fasaielë daughter of Ameros. It has no cross
and bears the date 543 A.D.306 The second inscription on a lintel
consists of nothing but Christian symbols; Cross-Alpha-Cross-
Om ega-Cross-Alpha. All the crosses except that on the far left were
erased?01 It is conceivable that a pagan householder took over the
dwelling and removed the offending signs lest visitors and neigh
bors be confused about his religious identity. Djrën would seem to
have resisted Christianization down to 550 or even beyond, one
more convincing proof o f Jo h n of Ephesus’ assertion that the
empire had a noticeable pagan minority even in the third quarter o f
the sixth century.308 I f so, the rustics at Djrën will have continued
to sacrifice at an altar o f Atargatis that has survived.309
At Deir idj-Djuwani an instance can be seen o f St. Elijah
replacing the local god. Various lintels and blocks indicate the
existence of a priesthood and temple of the god Lykourgos.310
Neither these nor the single relevant Christian inscription can be
305 E.g. / Clement prooim. Cf. Lampe, Patristic Greek Lexicon, 1005, and A Greek-
English Lexicon of the New Testament, ed. Walter Bauer, tr. W.F. Arndt and F.W.
Gingrich (Chicago 1979), 608f.
* * Littmann, PAES III A, 792'.
30’ Littmann, PAES III A, 792'.
308 Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek World,” 329-34.
310 Littmann, PAES III A, 801 8012,8016. The site has a small church that has
some architectural features in common with 4th c. churches. Butler puts it in the
sixth-century nevertheless. PAES II A, 436. Early Churches, 121. It should be clear
372 CHAPTER ELEVEN
dated with precision. The latter is cut on a lintel that perhaps

belonged to a small Christian shrine:311
Holy E lijah , prophet and elder, m ay you do well (C ross) in our
behalf. A um os slave. (C ross) T h e others (are) (C ross) M alik at
(C ro ss) (and) M olim os. (C ro ss) T h o m a s m ade it.
T he interpretation of the letters is not entirely certain, but the

excessive use of crosses suggests a fervid reliance on the new
Christian dispensation.
IV, Conclusions
T he subject o f Christianity am ong the Arabs has o f late engaged
the attention of scholars, but little o f this work has addressed the
conversion of the sedentary communities living in the Provincia
A rabia.312 It was here that Christianization most closely followed
the pattern extant elsewhere in the Eastern Roman Empire- The
earliest signs of the new religion emerge in the provincial capital
Bostra, and spread rather quickly to communities large and small
in the western H auran plain, of which Umm el-Jimal is the best
documented example (mid-4th c.). The eastern borderlands of the
Hauran lying on the plain near Salcha and beyond were a different
matter, however. Here Christian villages are the exception to the
rule until the later fifth century, and some places did not go that
way until the sixth. O f particular relevance is the reconstruction of
the Theandriteion o f Bosoa in 387 A.D. and the purification of
another cultic edifice there in 517 A.D. There is not a shred of
evidence to prove that the village was ever Christianized. A pattern
of later Christianization is also evident in Djebel H auran and the
Ledjä. This phenomenon has evoked little sound comment.313
The mechanics of the process were quite different from those
used with the Arab pastoralists.*14 One gets the impression, despite
the fragmentary character of the evidence, that the bedouin found
the acceptance of monotheistic Christianity an easier thing than
from this incongruity that supposely “ early1’ architectural schemes had a longer
than usual hfe in Djebcl Hauran> The local context must therefore be considered
very carefully before assigning dates to monuments purely on the basis of stylistic
characteristics. It is difficult to say whether the lintel inscription of St. Elijah goes
with this church or another. It is quite dearly difficult to put any of these
structures before 450 A.D.
3,1 Littmann, PAES ΙΓΙ A, 8015.
312 Cf. Irfan Shahid's very important Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth Century
(cited supra).
313 Cf. Trimingbam, Christianity among the Arabs9 77.
314 Cf. supra, Ch. V III, Sect. 2-5.
did their sedentary brethren, who worshipped a mixture of N ab a

taean, A ram aean, and Arabic divinities tied to ideas o f rainfall and
soil fertility. The Hellenized character of these cults seems to have
made them harder to displace than the divinities of the migrant
clans and tribes in the Syrian deserts, just as Christianity spread
among the semi-nomadic Gothic Tervingi more readily than it did
with the agricultural population of the empire in the third and
fourth centuries.315
M onasticism does not seem to have developed so extensively in
the H auran and Ledjä as it did in northern Syria, and monks are in
fact seldom attested in the inscriptions of southern Syria. This was
not of itself vital, except that the episcopate developed rather slowly
as well. The first attested bishops for the towns discussed above
come rather late by the standards o f most East Roman provinces.
The metropolis Bostra and Dionysias-Soada in Djebel H auran had
bishops at the time o f the Council of Nicaea in 325,3,6 but prelates
were certifiably established at Canatha-Q anaw ät, Philippopolis,
and Nela in Djebel Hauran only by the mid-fifth century.317 The
first known bishop of Zorava in the Ledjä comes only by 542/3, as
was seen above.318 It is difficult to know how to fit this into the
scheme suggested by Sozomcn that even villages in the Provincia
A rabia had bishops, except to note that the cities of the H auran
and Ledjä are rather small by M editerranean standards.319 The
establishment of the known sees c. 450 and after was synchronous
with the widespread appearance of Christian inscriptions in the
villages. It seems quite probable, then, that the formation o f an
episcopate with cultural ties to the land (e.g. V arus of Zorava, a
typical Latinate A rab name of local provenance) was the critical
factor involved, but the mechanisms are less clear.
For one thing, the periodeutai or migrant rural presbyters turn up
less commonly than in the inscriptions of northern Syria. Where
Christianity did appear at an early date, some peculiar or atypical
local circumstance prevailed. At C aesarea Eitha (Djebel H auran),
the rallying point was a martyrion of St. Sergius established by some
monks in 354, an extraordinarily early date for such a building and
315 Herwig Wolfram, History of the Goths, tr. T .J. Dunlap (Berkeley 1989), 75-85.
An important exception to this rule is the growth of Christianity in rural 3rd c.
Phrygia. Cf, supra, Ch. V II, Sect. 2-3.
,lr‘ Briinnow-Domaszewski, Provincia Arabia 3, 325.
Brünnow-Domaszewski, Provincia Arabia 3, 345f.
,la Supra, Ch. X I, Sect. 3.
3,9 Jacqueline Dentzer-Feydy, “ Décor architectural et développement du
Hauran dans ΓAntiquité,” Hauran 1/2 261—309.
374 CHAPTER ELEVEN
for a monastic institution in Syria generally. In the second instance,

at Bosana in Djebel H auran, the wife and friends o f the village
martyr St. Inos were the agents o f religious change (late 4th c.).320
It must be confessed that it is more difficult to account for the
trend to Christianity in the H auran and Ledjä than in other d is
tricts despite the relative abundance o f dated inscriptions. The old
beliefs lingered everywhere until c. 550, and some villages seem to
have been polytheistic even then. This condition is symptomatic ed
by a building inscription of 439 A.D. at Bostra:321
From the m unificence o f our C hrist-loving em peror Ju stin ia n [*—]
(an edifice?) o f the m ost holy m etroplis w as built through the efforts
o f the providers, D ou sario s an d lo v io s the goldsm iths, ap p roved
m en, from the p ublic funds. In the year 434 (o f the provincial era).
Both men belonged to the first Christian generation, as they both

bear the names o f pagan divinities* Dousarios, the Greek adjective
for the N abataean D üsharä, and lovios (or Iovianus in Latin),
“ servant of Ju p ite r’1, an archaic Latinate name of a type going out
of style in the mid-sixth century. As silversmiths and civil officials
the men had enjoyed successful carcers. Both had been given
ethnically popular names at the time o f their birth to pagan families
probably in the decade before 500. They, and perhaps their fami
lies, accepted Christian monotheism in the years that followed,
possibly after Ju stin ian ’s edict of 529 on Hellenic religion, but more
probably before this, to judge from the trend to conversion in the
H auran in the first quarter of the sixth century.322 Conversions
were going on in the countryside straight on to 550, for another
Dousarios turns up (with his wife A nastasia) on an inscription at
Khirbet-Ader (c. 5 8 2 ? ) . The inscription bears a cross and the
“ here lies1’ formula. Around 540-550 when the couple must have
been born, pagans were still giving their children theophoric
names. Some persons, like this Dousarios, kept their names after
baptism. Other families who had received baptism gave their chil
dren self-consciously Christian names like A nastasia, an allusion to
the resurrection, a distinctive feature of Christian eschatology that
sharply distinguished its believers from the adherents of the old
religion. It would seem that D üsharä survived longest in the last
days o f polytheism in the Hauran and Ledjä, just as Artemis did in
central Asia Minor and Isis along the waters of the upper Nile valley.
3*n Supra, Ch. X I, Sect. 2.

3?1 Waddington, 1916.
3?2 C f H. Leclercq, “ Haurân,” D A CL 6/2, 2076Γ,
SEG 7, 943.
APPENDIX VI
T H E G O D OF A U M O S A T D E IR EL-LEBEN
A temenos of the “ god of Aum os” was established at present-day

Deir el-Leben, atop the southern rim of the Ledjä, in 320 A.D. It
was the central shrine of the two villages of Rimea and Merdochön.
Both places were ethnically Arabic and had retained their tribal
organization up to this time, Rimea belonging to the Chastenön
and Merdochön to the sons of Aud. The divinities commemorated
in the inscriptions are Licinius Augustus and Sol Invictus, the
latter being worshipped locally as the “ Invincible Zeus Helios, the
god of A um os” (Δ ιό ς ά ν ικ ή το υ 'Η λ ίο υ θεοΰ Α ΰμου) (W adding
ton 2394, 2395). The temple was a large one (τό σ[τέγος έκ]
θεμελίω ν [και] τό πανμεγεθές κτισμα) (W addington 2393). The
construction o f an enclosure wall ( t o περι,βόλεον) and altar ([o]
βωμός) are also commemorated (W addington 2394, 2395). T ru s
tees (pistoi) of the villages handled the details o f the construction,
but the monies came from elsewhere, the priests Aumos and his son
Amelath (προνοίςι Αΰμου κα ί Ά μελά θο υ [ύ]ο[ΰ] ιερέω ν) (W ad
dington 2393). Aumos was probably the provincial high-priest of
the Provincia Arabia appointed by M aximinus D aia and residing
in Bostra. The god of Aumos commemorated here was quite clearly
that revered by the Illyrian soldiery of the Tetrarchic period, but
in the Provincia A rabia it had an earlier currency as simply the
“ god of A um os” (A graina, 213 A .D .) (Littm ann, PA ES I I I A,
793 = W addington, 2455), so its connection with Zeus Helios may
well be a late development designed to increase the prestige of the
cult. Sol Invictus was thus the high-priest Aum os’ god for several
reasons: Tetrarchic patronage, his own adhesion to the cult, and
the coincidence of his name with that of a man who was probably a
N abataean priest centuries earlier.
I f the “ god of Aum os” attained a wide currency as the Helle-
nized Sol Invictus in the fourth century, it is perhaps easier to
understand the currency o f the Christian cult of St. Elijah at this
time and later, the prophet who rode up to heaven in a fiery
chariot. Converts to Christianity might attain a similar proximity
to the Highest Divinity, who was symbolically identified with the
cross superimposed on the sun after Constantine’s conversion story
376 APPENDIX VI
had gotten into circulation through the pen of Eusebius o f

C aesarea,1 b y adhering to the locally prominent cult of St. Elijah,
which turns up at Zorava, Rim ea, and other towns. At the latter
site, a Christian inscription reads: “ Elijah (cross) conquers! His
tychê (cross) conquers the world (cross)!” (W addington 2425). The
Constantinian victory formula and his vision of the cross in the sun
are here woven together with Elijah’s ascent. It perhaps recalls the
image of Constantine’s consecratio or apotheosis after his death. A
medallion depicts him wearing a funeral shroud and rising to
heaven in a four-horsed chariot, but he is greeted by the human
hand of Christ reaching downward from a cloud in a posture of
a c c e p t a n c e , a significant substitute for the fiery ball o f the sun and
its associations with the solar henotheism o f the Tetrarchic period.2
This, and the discussion of the epigraphy in the preceding chap
ter, make Henri Leclercq’s assertion that all polytheism had d is
appeared from the H auran after Constantine’s victory over Lici-
nius seem a bit peculiar: “ Le concile de Nicéc est de l’année 325:
dès lors toute trace de paganism e disparait dans la region.” 3 Quite
obviously the cult of the “ god of A um os” will have persisted
beyond the limits of the epigraphic evidence, for one can hardly
expect the priesthood to have vanished after only five years along
with the habits o f mind associated with the cult. It is perhaps worth
noting that the duumviri of Bostra built or repaired the temenos of
an unnamed god in 320/1 (W addington 1910), and also that the
temple treasurers of Dam ascus raised an honorific inscription and
perhaps a statue to Ju lian the Apostate prior to his having become
sole Augustus at the end of 361 (κ α ίσ α ρ ι’Ιο υ λ ια ν [φ έπ ΐ ίερο-]
τα μ ιώ ν) (W addington, 2551a). It is uncertain if these were the
officials of the famous temple o f Zeus or of some other shrine. (Cf.
Waddington, 2549).
! Alföldy, Conversion of Constantine, 61 if'.

2 Cf. Richard Krautheimer, Three Christian Capitals: Topography and Politics (Ber
keley 1983), 64ff.
3 Henri Leclercq, “ Hauran,” D A CL 6/2, 2072.
APPENDIX VII
T E M P L E C O N V E R S IO N S AND T H E S U R V IV A L O F
C U L T S IN T H E E A R L Y S IX T H C E N T U R Y
A review of W addington’s collection brought additional evidence to

light that is entirely consistent with the previous discussion about
sixth-century temple conversions and the survival o f cult in Djebel
Hauran and the Ledjä.
The first instance concerns Busr el-Hariri, which lies some 10
km. directly east o f Zorava in the Ledjä. The descendants o f an
otherwise unattested Praetorian Prefect named M aiorinus were
quite prominent there in the later fifth and early sixth centuries.1 A
well preserved funerary inscription composed in Epic verse com
memorates his career in a small church (W addington 2474), as do
two inscriptions on the “ great church” of the site (Waddington
2475, 2476). O f significance is another inscription yet which com
memorates the foundation o f a church of St. Sergius, as it implies a
temple conversion. The date is 517/8 (W addington 2477):
(C ro ss) F lav iu s C h ry sap h io s built the church o f St. Sergiu s bccause
o f the adm onition o f his brother E lia s the rationalis o f blessed m em ory,
an d o f E v an gelo s the p resbyter, who offered him the undesircd build
ing that w as in this p lace before, alon g with the ap se s and revetting.
In consequence, it (or “ he” ) lies in this place.
U n d er the superin tendancy o f E lias the arch deacon , o f the fam ily
o f M aio rin u s. In the year 412 o f the province. In the eleventh year o f
the indiction. ( = 1 Sep t. 517-21 M arch 518)
The crucial phrase is “ the undesired building that was in this place
before” (τό π ριν Ινθα άπόθητον), an evident euphemism for a
pagan temple.2 The presbyter apparently gave away a site
(προσφέρονχος) that had come into the hands of the church in
recent years. Flavius Chrysaphios’ deceased brother had enjoined
him to build the church “ out of admonition” (έξ ύποβωλής (sic)),
a peculiar phrase when one considers that the village or kômopolis
1 See the lists of Praetorian Prefects in Venance Grumel, Traité d'études byzantines
1: La chronologie (Paris 1958), 367-72. Cf. L, Robert, Hellenica 11-12 (1960), 302-5.
3 Waddington observes: “ Les mots . . , indiquent sans doute que l’église a été
bâtie sur l’emplacement d ’un temple païen.”
378 APPENDIX VII
already had two churches. The temple of an unnamed god evi

dently existed at Busr el-Hariri, but no one had come forward with
the funds necessary to demolish or modify the eyesore until Elias
seemingly m ade this dying request. The monies evidently came out
o f the latter’s heritable property.
It is quite possible that the temple was not demolished, for while
the inscription affirms that FI. Chrysaphios built the church
(εκτισεν τον ναόν), it adds that he built it “ with apses and
revetting” (μετά αψίδων καί πλακώσεως). The work may only
have entailed knocking out walls to add the apses for the altar,
reliquary, and diakonikon, and furnishing the interior suitably with
cut m arble slabs.
Whatever the case, a temple conversion at this time would have
been consistent with events taking place at Zorava, where a temple
o f Theandrites was demolished to make way for an octagonal
martyrion in 515.3 The ecclesiastical structure at Busr el-Hariri was
well established by 517/8. The archdeacon Elias was evidently a
subordinate of bishop V arus of Zorava or his predecessor. The
resident presbyter Evangelos will have celebrated the Christian
liturgy in the churches. This Elias will have been as well the heir
apparent to the succession o f the see of Zorava.
An important and pious Christian family, that of M aiorinus, was
on the scene in the later fifth century. Its estates were evidently in
Busr el-Hariri. Their influence was perhaps of critical significance
for shifting the religious allegiances of the southern Ledjä in the
direction of Christianity, and o f having a bishop installed at Zora
va. They will have formed a close association with Joh n and
Theodore, both of them decurions o f Zorava, who seem to have
converted to Christianity in the first decades of the sixth century. If
these arguments be accepted, they provide an example of a secular
family taking the initiative in Christianizing a locality, much as FI.
Eusebius was responsible for introducing the new religion to D ar
Qita at Djebel Barisha in the Limestone M assif in the Antiochene.4
It would not have been surprising if pagans had continued to
make sacrifice in the rural temples of Djebel H auran in the early
sixth century to judge from the evidence seen so far. There is
plausible corroboration of this, depending on how one restores an
inscription from Q asr el-Bir. I have been unable to discover a map
reference for the site, but it seems from W addington’s notes to have
lain in the vicinity of ancient Salam anestha on the eastern side of
s Supra, Ch. X I , Scct. 3.

Λ Supra, C h. X , Sect. 3.
APPENDIX VII 379
Djebel H auran.5 The inscription in question was found in the ruins

of a temple some 400 feet below the summit of a mountain called
Djebel il-Qulëb. The inscription is badly dam aged, but W adding
ton has restored it to read: “ [X .— ] son of Ascharos son of [-—]
consecrated the place in the year 415 (o f the era of the province)”
(520/1 A.D.) ([ό δείνα] Άσχάρο(υ) του [—) τον τόπον
[άφΐέρωσ]εν έν ετι υιε') (W addington 2095a). The whole meaning
of the inscription hinges on the restoration o f "h e consecrated” , for
which only two letters are visible ([άφιέρωσ]εν). The late date, the
seemingly non-Christian Semitic name Ascharos, the fact that the
site was a temple, and the use of the word “ place” (ό τόπος) all
excite suspicion. The three-generation genealogy, as reconstructed,
and the use of the provincial era in the date, have the flavor of the
Safaitic inscriptions, which are very “ place” oriented.6 The other
common use o f that word as “ tom b” seems inappropriate here, and
I am inclined to accept it as a synonym for “ sanctuary” in accor
dance with W addington’s restoration. The place was, after all,
sacred to begin with.
We know a little about the ad hoc nature o f A rab sacrifices from
the Safaitic inscriptions. For example, an inscription at il-Mroshän
reads in part: “ And he set up a sign for Allât” (Littmann, PA ES IV
C , 237). Enno Littm ann, following J . Wellhausen, suggests that
the “ sign” was not a statue, but a stone used for an altar, a nusb
or mansab. Another inscription from in-Nemärah states simply:
“ And he sacrificed to Baal-Sham ïn in piety” (or “ for safety” ) {wa-
dabah li-Ba'al-Shamm pe waqlth) (Littm ann, PAES IV C , 925).
It would be best to suppose that any sacrifices made at Q asr
el-Bir, whether m ade to D üsharä or some other divinity, were of an
informal nature, and that agriculturalists and bedouin performed
them in equal measure. The site was a recognized place for such
cultic acts, and it must have had a fair amount of traffic in the first
quarter of the sixth century.
s Butler, PAES II A, 336.

6 Littmann, PAES IV C, 407, 872. For a different reading, cf. Littmann, PAES
I I I A, 731, and supra, p. 342f.
E P IL O G U E
The foregoing discussion has sought to demonstrate any number of

propositions about the decline of Hellenic religion and the Chris
tianization of the Eastern Roman Empire between c. 370-529. Some
of these conclusions might have been easily deduced from a reading
of primary sources like the Theodosian Code, fifth-century eccle
siastical historians, hagiographies, and the like, but the rest has
been derived from a vast body o f disparate evidence by what might
be called “ em pirical” method. This principle applies not only to
the organization and comparison of texts and material evidence,
but also to its interpretation in contexts local and regional. Various
old assumptions about the question of religious transition in Late
Antiquity were not so much disproved as brushed aside during the
process of assembling the evidence and giving shape to its interpreta
tion. It seems appropriate to make a brief concluding statement.
The sacrifice remained the defining characteristic o f the old
Hellenic polytheism between 370-529. This is the universal verdict
of the edicts of the Christian emperors, and is also the viewpoint
expressed by the few pagan writers who address it like Libanius
and M arinus ofN eapolis, and by the personal testimony of the men
who m ade offerings to their gods and cut inscriptions in memory o f
that fact, as at Philae in upper Egypt (mid-5th c.) and in Mt.
Lebanon where a dated altar (bômos) was erected in 540 A.D. It was
practically inevitable that this should go on so long as the emperors
allowed Roman citizens to worship freely according to conscience
and conviction. The periodic claims of emperors like Theodosius II
that pagans no longer lived in the Christian oikoumene, or o f church
men like Theodoret of Cyrrhus that the memory o f the “ falsely-
named gods” along with their altars and temples had ceased to
exist, reflected a very narrow view of the cultural and demographic
character of the provinces. The persistence of sacrifice was admit
tedly a declining phenomenon, but was significant enough to cause
Justin ian to include two undated edicts (probably published c.
481—488 by the emperor Zeno) into the second edition o f the Codex
Iustinianus in 534.
Thereafter sacrifice drifted into the tradition of “ popular” reli
gion in both “ pagan” and Christianized form, as we learn from a
EPILOGUE 381
variety o f sources.1 Nikolaos, the hegumen o fH ag ia Sion (ob. 565)

celebrated Christian variants of sacrifice outside the chapels o f
rural Lycia on many occasions, but other illegal sacrifices are
attested as late as the ninth century.2 And there were the folkloric
sacrifices that persisted in Neohellenic and Turkish custom until
recent tim est The wholesale adaptation of Hellenic liturgies and
litanies to Christian usage became an important feature o f early
medieval Christianity, and sacrifices at times accompanied the acts
and prayers.
It is important in all this to remember that the premodern
peasant mentality was often at variance with prescribed legal and
ecclesiastical norms as regards understanding and intention.4 If at
times we query the meaning of the term “ pagan*’ in the mind of a
biased Christian writer describing a calendar custom, we must
admit that inquiry is seldom, if ever, possible when it comes to
discovering how the agriculturalist perceived the distribution of
divine and daimonic powers, and how he rationalized the use of
archaic, pre-Christian rituals, when necessity seemingly dictated a
departure from the norms prescribed by the village presbyter, the
periodeutes, or the monk. It is here that the historian must decide
whether it is his task to deconstruct the ideas of Christian writers or
to unravel the behavioral and cultural attitudes of a silent peasan
try that arc expressed only indirectly in his text. The latter is a
much more elusive subject. The examples presented in this study
suggest that it is indeed possible to apprehend those patterns. It
must be borne in mind, however, that Late Roman “ Hellenistic”
religious thought and behavior was influenced by Anatolian, A ra
bic, Aram aean, Coptic, Iranian, and even Hebraic substrates and
substructures. One must, in a sense, devise an anthropology.
“ Christianization5*, when divorced from more quantifiable subjects
like demography, can never be more than a term of relative refer
ence, like the term “ pagan” , unless the whole idea of historical
synthesis is to be abandoned.
1 Frank R. Tromb!ey> '‘Popular Religion,” Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. A.

Kazhdan et at., 3 (Oxford 1991), 1698-1700.
2 Trombley, '‘Paganism in the Greek World,” 339. Idem, “ Monastic Founda
tions in Sixth-century Anatolia and Their Role in the Social and Economic Life of
the Countryside/’ Greek Orthodox Theological Review 30 (1985), 58. Cf, supra, Ch,
V II, Sect. Sect. 2.
3 Speros Vryonis, “ Religious Changes and Patterns in the Balkans, 14th-16th
Centuries,” Aspects of the Balkans, ed. H. Birnbaum and S. Vryonis (The Hague-
Paris 1972), 174. Lawson, Greek Folklore and Religion, 262ff.
4 Vividly expressed in Ginzburg, Night Battles^ passim.
382 EPILOGUE
The idea can now be safely dismissed that “ mass conversions”

were a regular feature of Christianization. This notion was not,
however, a product of the imagination of Christian zealots Late
Roman and modern. There is, in fact, a demonstrable correlation
between temple conversions and adhesion to Christian monothe
ism. The permanence of religious ideas lies in some sense in the
permanence o f their outward forms, that is, in scriptures, sculpture,
buildings, painting, liturgical vessels, and r itu a l3 The destruction
of the temples of ‘‘great gods’’ in G aza, Athens, Alexandria, and
Aphrodisias (viz, those of Zeus M arnas, Athena, Sarapis, and
Aphrodite) led in many cases to a rejection of the old cult by its
adherents. In some instances, as in Alexandria, the perceived im
potence of the divinity to protect its shrine by a gigantic earth
quake, coupled with the discovery o f the mechanical origin o f the
wonders seen and felt in the Serapaeum , produced disillusion in the
skeptical and religious alike, and caused a temporary rush to the
churches. For G aza, at least, we have M ark the Deacon’s ostensible
figures for conversions. They suggest a minor and temporary rise in
the number of admissions to the catechumenate, but nothing
approaching “ m ass conversions5’ . At Aphrodisias, on the other
hand, the repression of Ulus’ rebellion and the failure of the oracles’
predictions about the overthrow of emperor Zeno and the restora
tion o f public sacrifice proved dam ning to the old religion. In
consequence, the inscriptions reflect a gradual drift to Christianity
in the decurion class between c. 488-529. One could not be a
skeptic and hope in the oracles at the same time. On the other
hand, one could suffer the destruction of his gods and still remain a
Hellene, albeit with a siege mentality, as we learn from the poetry
of Palladas of Alexandria.
“ Conversions55 were in fact all very individualized. Political,
social, and economic coercion played a role, but the testimony of
Hellenists and ordinary folk alike reveal an awareness that real
points of conjuncture existed between the material and divine
worlds. Proclus’ dream vision o f Athena shortly before the closure
of the Parthenon— an event he certainly anticipated in light of the
political situation— served to confirm his own Hellenic faith and
that o f his demoralized followers after the events of 481-488. Palla
das knew of a similar such experience. We learn directly from the
witness of A bedrapsas; an artisan turned farmer in the village of
Frikya in the Apamene, o f the social and material benefits con-
à For discussion see: Clifford Geertz, “ Religion as a Cultural System,” The

ïnteipretation of Cultures (London 1975), 89-99.
EPILOGUE 383
ferred on him by his god. It all became a matter of deep conviction

when the unnamed divinity (“ the god of Arkesilaos” ) apeared to
him in a waking vision. And so A bedrapsas told the story in an
inscription incised on his mausoleum.6 Visions might confirm one's
Hellenic faith, but more often altered it in Late Antiquity, as the
incubation narratives relate about the shrine o f Sts. K osm as and
Damian in Constantinople,7 At other times, the “ m iracles” of the
Christian God had more o f a social or material context, as a
consequence of tax relief through the good offices o f a monk,
difficult but successful childbirth when the time-worn prayers to
Artemis failed, or pagan villagers' witnessing monks3 defiance of
the hostile kratophanies of their gods, when Christian holy men
entered the temple precincts, recited the psalmody, and then
emerged unscathed. On a psychological level, “ conversions’* of this
sort relied upon intuition rather than superstition, and on feelings
of religious awe and certitude rather than on theological analysis
along the lines suggested by William Ja m e s,0 T he how and why of
conversion will be better understood when the entire problem of
Hellenic and Christian religious experience in Late Antiquity is
studied in depth. Apart from E.R. D odds’ slender book on the
subject, such a study remains a desideratum .9 Research on the
purely psychological side o f these questions has advanced greatly
sincc the turn of the century, but historians have been slow to
acclimatize themselves to comparative method, In consequence, a
rather outmoded style o f “ skepticism” prevails vis à vis ancient
authors who are important witnesses to verifiable phenomena of
religious experience.10
The analysis o f the epigraphy o f individual villages demonstrates
the pace and regional character o f Christianization. Such a method
is much more revealing than schemes such as generalizing from
sundry a priori and qualitative judgem ents about the statements of

7 Supra, Ch. II, Sect. 4,
8 W illiam jam es, The Vanedes of Religious Experience (New York1961),160-210,
The different categories of conversion elicited in this studyhave not, to my
knowledge, ever been seriously applied to the evidence of the Late Antique texts
both Hellenic and Christian. E.R. Dodds makes only passing reference to it in
Pagan and Chnstian in an Age of Anxiety (Cambridge 1965), 2, 76, 80.
9 See previous note.
10 I might cite here the as yet unpublished dissertation of my student Nicola J .
Beckyj “ Aspects of Religious Experience in the Early Life of St. Theodore of
Sykeon,? (King’s College London 1992), which has put this 7th c. text into a
thoroughly comparative context that corroborates Theodore’s dream-visions and
compulsive religious behavior from studies on child psychology and psychoanaly
tic works. Publication data not yet available.
384 EPILOGUE
hagiographie authors,11 The use of the epigraphy gives a high

degree of corroboration to the statements of Joh n of Ephesus that
there were Hellenes and rustic pagans in all the provinces and cities
o f the Eastern Roman E m p ire /2 The ma jority o f villages surveyed
in this volume became partly or largely Christian long before the
Justinian ic laws on sacrifice and legacies of 529, or at least at those
sites where datable inscriptions have survived in large numbers.
The evidence from northern Syria and the Provincia A rabia dem
onstrates that pagan villages still existed in the eastern border
lands o f these provinces as late as c. 550, and that individual pagan
families lived in otherwise Christian hamlets until that time as well.
The “ skepticism” that has greeted the reports of John o f Ephesus
and other sixth-century writers is, as it turns out, little more than
an uncritical or hypercritical intuition. On the other hand, it is very
difficult to discover signs o f ongoing polytheism in the epigraphy o f
Asia Minor, The reasons for this most probably lie in the reuse o f
inscribed stones for public and private building activity where
sedentary populations have survived.13 In contrast, the bedouiniza-
tion and gradual abandonment of semi-arid agriculture in the parts
o f Syria, Arabia, and southern Palestine during the early medieval
period has left buildings and inscriptions in a surprisingly complete
state of preservation.14 The literary record for Egypt is somewhat
fuller, but the epigraphy is quite disappointing except at Philae,
where pagan and Christian lived in synoikism until the sixth cen
tury. While quite distant from the M editerranean world, the site
should not be dismissed as irrelevant, for after all the Isis temple
was staffed by a native Egyptian priesthood that continued to make
dedications in the hieroglyphic and demotic tongues in the fourth
and fifth centuries, respectively. The Blemmyes would have had no
cause to enter into treaty relations with the Roman state about
using the shrine if the infrastructure o f cult in terms of personnel,
buildings, and cultic know-how had not remained in existence. At
any rate, rural Egypt underwent Christianization according to a
11 This earlier scheme was followed in Trombley, “ Paganism in the Greek

World” and other articles, but now seems rather provisional in comparison to the
present system of anaylsis.
î2 Cf. the comment of E. Rochow, “ Zu einigen oppositionellen religiösen
Strömungen,” 23lf.
13 See for example: Cyril Mango and Ihor Sevcenko, “ Three Inscriptions of the
Reign of Anastasius I and Constantine V ,MByzantinische Zeitschrift 65 (1972), 379f
Cf. Frank R. Trombley, “ The Decline of the Seventh-Century Town: The Excep
tion of Euchaita/1Byzantina kai Metabyzantina 4 (1985), 65f., 72, with bibliography.
1+ J.M . Wagstaff, Tkt Evolution of Middle Eastern Landscapes: An Outline to A.D.
1840 { London 1985), I67f,
EPILOGUE 385
scheme fairly sim ilar and synchronous to that taking place else
where in the late Hellenistic world.
A continuing interest in polemics against Hellenic religion is
everywhere evident in the fifth-century cities of the Roman East. It
can now be said with a strong degree of assurance that Theodoret
of Cyrrhus’ Therapeutic for Hellenic Maladies was not so much a
response to some sort o f “Julian ic revival” as it was a handbook for
educated Christian clerics and sophists to use against the Hellen
ists. There can no longer be much doubt about the dem ographic
importance of the pagan sophists, decurions schooled in the Greek
paideia, and Christian Hellenists in the cities, not to mention those
like Severus of Sozopolis living on the fringes of the catechumentate
who sympathized with the older cultural values.15 In practical
terms, Christian prelates and educated monks like Isidore of Pelu-
sium (ob. c. 435) had to be able to come up with arguments that
were convincing in logic and form, something that the older pole
mical literature lacked, if they were interested in making conver
sions or preventing lapse into sacrifice, oracle-taking, and the rest.
This explains more than anything the toils of Theodoret and those
o f the philoponoi of Alexandria. The demographic fact o f there
having been Hellenes in the city councils and local aristocracies is
now corroborated by the inscriptions o f Aphrodisias. Christian
writers and the emperors as well were quite obviously not imagin
ing that sacrifices were being secretly performed, that oracles and
magic papyri were being circulated amongst the Christians of their
respective venues, or that the Greek paideia occasionally put the
religious beliefs of the latter at risk.
The relative importance of these considerations amidst the
theological controversies and church administrative problems of
the fifth century is difficult but not impossible to measure if one
looks at the correspondence of Isidore of Pelusium, who takes all
sorts of issues in hand, as for example his chiding a bishop for
squeezing the poor dry in order to finance the construction of a new
church, or counselling a soldier that, if he really must fight, he
should go to the frontiers and fight the ju st war against the barba
rians rather than trouble the orderly life of civil society.16 Isidore
lays a good deal of criticism at the door of the Hellenists. In one
instance, he castigates the reading of Philos tratus’ life o f Apollonius
of Tyana, a work that implicitly called for the reformation and
revival of pagan cult along lines again being suggested by fifth-
15 Cf. supra, Ch. V, passim.

16 Isidore of Pelusium, Ep. 1.37 and 1.40, PG 78, 205A-B and 208B.
386 EPILOGUE
century Neoplatonists like Proclus, who avidly collected informa

tion about bygone theologies and rituals.*7 These cultural and
dem ographic realities have gotten less attention than they deserve
towards explaining the preoccupation of Christian writers with
Hellenic religion between 370-529.
17 Isidore of Pelusium, Ep. 1.398, PG 78, 405B.

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ERRATA TO PART I
Page: Enor. Correction:

5, n. 20 Antinooupolis Antinoupolis
15, line 9 potana popana
35, n. 136 Magic Magie
35, n. 136 Rhenisches Rheinisches
37, n, 146 en Grèce et en Asie Mineure 3/1 de la Syrie
44, line 24 καταχθονίοι καταχθόνιοι
46, n. 194 cult culte
47, n. 198 Michael Martin
49, line 10 S era peu η Serapeum
95, line 17 ephiphany epiphany
105, line 11 George John
132, line 7 devises devices
164, line 16 Ammia Ammias
174, line 5 tomb tomb”
174, line 9 herôon heroion
183, line 9 Phrygia Pamphylia
184, line 30 Eygpt Egypt
186, line 8 Dome Dôme
187, line 22 delienation delineation
205, η. 89 Labriole Labriolie
231, line 7 νεοφωτίοποι νεοφώτιστοι
247, n. 7 Expedition Expeditions
248, Une 21 έγγόνης έγγόνην
251, n. 33 Auduarium Bibliotkeca Auctuanum Bibliotkecas
Hagiographica Hagiographkae
261, n. 70 Révue Revue
278, n. 139 Em st Ernest
304, n. I l l of Panium f delete]
308, line 7 Homer and Hesiod Euclid
311, line 17 Cherries Cherris
312, line 18f. of Panopolis [delete]
312, n. 146 Sect. 3 Sect. 2
A D D ITA M EN TA TO PART I
p. 45, η. 192 Thanks to Dominic Montserrat for this suggestion,

p. 120Î. The Venasa incident predates the formation of
Cappadocia II in 371.
pp. 235 and n.s and The preferred spellings are Sts. Maiour and Thca.
252Γ.
p. 31 If. The divinity in question seems to have been Selene
rather than Athena,
p. 333, n. 3 Thanks to Jan e Baun of Dumbarton Oaks for this
reference.
G E N E R AL IN D E X
Abaton, ii. 227f., 230, 232, 234-36 129, 132f., 140-42, 146-49, 160-63,
Abba Gulish, rabbi, 163Γ 165, 186f., 191, 194f., 258-61, 286,
Abedrapsas, artisan, 105; ii. 2R9f., 289f., 295, 303, 317, 325, 384
296, 312, 363 η., 382f. Agros Thermon (Phrygia), ii. 115-18
Aberkios, St., ii. 97, 114-18 Aidepsns (Achaea), 330
Ablabius, praetorian prefect > 65 Aigai (Cilicia), 119
1Aboda Zara (Mishna on Idolatry), 114 Aion, god, 41
n., 146 n> Ajax of Maiuma, 274, 280
Abraames, monk, 40, 227 n.; ii. 143, Akropolis (Athens), 283, 290, 293,
147-50, 152, 154, 157-59, 162f, 305f, 308, 310, 319
Abraham, 112, 114 n., 144 n., 156, al-Mundhir, Arab phylarch, ii, 346
163; ii, 123 Alahan (Isauria), 161Γ,; ii. 127, 127 n.
Abydum, (Thebais II), ii. 244 Alaric, king of Visigoths, 25, 70, 283,
Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople, 306f.
337, 340f., 343 Albinus of Aphrodisias, senator, 92; ii.
Acadcmy (Athens), 03—87, 92, 289, 57f.
295, 319-22, 343 Alexander, patriarch of Alexandria, ii.
Achaea, 19, 25, 6 9L 181, 332, 336; 282
ii. 54 Alexander of Aphrodisias, ii. 58, 60
ackeiropoiitoji 115 n, Alexander the ürcat, 235; ii. 364
Acheos, St., ii. 259Γ Alexandria (Aegyptus), 7, 12, 15, 22,
Achilles, hero, 294, 304-7; ii. 104 3 2 ^ 4 9 ,9 1 , 122, 129-45, 147, 168,
Acts of the Apostles, 185, 199 n., 284; 170 n., 205, 241-44, 266-68, 280,
ii. 292 301, 327, 328 n., 339, 341, 343; ii.
Adrastos, scholastikos^ ii. 21 1-20, 21 n.t 27, 29, 34, 38, 46f„ 53,
Adrona (el-Anderin) (Syria II), 60, 6 7 f, 102, 139, 205-7, 213 n.,
ii, 295, 299 218, 220-22, 224f, 233, 382, 385
adyton, 109, 120, 132, 136f., 145f, 182, Alexandria Troas (Hellespontus), ii,
214, 214 n.; ii. 25f. 112f.
Aegyptus, 22, 96; ii. 220-25 Alexandrine Chronicle, 129
Aelia, woman of Gaza, 93, 148 n,, AJiki (Thasos), 184
181, 189 n., 197-99, 216, 224f., 245 Alkimos, dotnesticus, ii, 89
Aeneas, bishop of Gaza, 190 Allât, goddess, H I, 122, 145-47, 209
Aeneas of Gaza, episiolographer and n,; ii. 174-83, 187, 194-96, 259 n.,
philosopher, 263; ii, 5 346, 3 6 8 f, 379
Aetius, insanus, ii. 78, 89 allegorical method, ii. 45
Aczënon (Phrygia), ii, 113 Alpha-Omega, 55, 144, 245, 285Γ.,
Africa, 1, 23, 27-31, 68Γ, 330 321, 344; u. 102, 111, 159, 237, 278,
Africa Proconsularis, 26; ii. 138 280, 291-93, 305, 307f., 321, 371
agatma, 38, 40f,, 140, 305, 323; ii. 230 altar, 4, 8 t, 12, 14, 29, 38f., 60, 69 n.,
Agathangelos, rusticus, ii. 80f, 74, 78, 80, 110 n,, 112, U 2 n., 116,
Agathias of Myrina, scholastikos, ii. 122, 125, 131, 145-47, 156, I61f.t
48f., 86 169, 183, 190f., 210, 218 n,, 252f.,
Agdistis, goddess, 198 n. 283, 3081',, 330; ii, 6 n., 13, 50 n.,
Aglochartos, priest, 103f., 106, 330 102f„ 106 n„ 107, 109f„ 118, 123f,
Agraina (Arabia), ii. 370Γ. 127, 136f., 140, 146, 154-56, 158,
agriculture, 6-8, 64f,, 77, 100, 103-7, 161, 221-23, 242-44, 255, 260, 311,
143£, 148f., 194Γ, 201, 204-7, 290f., 314,318, 322t, 332 n., 333f„ 367,
300; ii, 95f,, 99-101, 110-14, 117, 370f., 375, 378Γ, 380
406 GENERAL INDEX
Althaka (Syria I), ii. 254 280, 296L, 333f., ii. 20, 33, 40, 87,
Alypius the stylite, ii* 145 n. 94 η,, 134Γ, 144f., 163, 188, 201-3,
Amamius, cubicularius> 193, 211, 237 268, 272f., 2 7 5 f, 279, 288, 290
Aman us massif, ii* 1461'., 163, 184f Antioch, era of, ii. 185 n,, 250, 253,
Amasea (Helenopontus), 294, 324 n, 276, 279
Ambrose, archbishop of Milan, ii. Antioch, patriarchate of, 268; ii. 144,
108 n. 269, 282, 312
Amel, angel 183 Antioch, terntonum of, ii. 247-83, 325,
Amenothes, god, 121 378
Ammianus, monk, ii. 144f., 248f., 255, Antioch in Pisidia, 172; ii. 130
263f., 266 Antiochus, dux of Phoenice
Ammianus Marceilinus, historian, 3, Libanensis, ii. 197f.
45, 48f., 56-60, 66, 71, 267; ii. 124 Antiochus, iitus&is, ii. 92
n., 127, 244 Antipater of Thessalonike, poet, 157
Ammonius, philosopher, ii. 5, 10 Antoninus martyr, pilgrim, ii. 168 n.
Ammonius, priest and grammarian, Antonius of Alexandria, philosopher,
141-43 39f, 315
Ammonius of Alexandria, exegete, *Anz (Arabia), ii. 332-34
184f. Apamea (Syria II), 111, 122-29,
Ampehus, Flavius, governor of Caria, 178 n.; ii. 139, 250, 273, 279, 283,
ïu 55f. 286, 288, 290f, 301
Amphilochius of Iconium, ii. 32 Apamea* see of, ii, 307, 312
‘Amra (Arabia), ii, 343, 346 Apamea, Umtcrium of, ii. 250f., 279,
amulet, 53-56, 317f.; ii. 227, 310, 314 283-33 1, 339, 382f.
Anamos, Flavius, soldier, ii. 325f. Aphaka (Phoenicia), 116, 166 n.
Anastasius I, emperor (491-518), 92, Aphlad, god, ii. 264
261 n.; ii. 57, 125 n., 154, 270 n., Aphraates, monk, ii. 202f.
299, 319 Aphrodisias (Caria), ii, 62, 66, 79,
Anastasius the Persian, monk, 115 n.j 8 i f , 84, 87f, 92-94, 203, 210, 243,
ii. 17 n. 266, 300, 324 n., 341-43; ii. 2f., 15,
anathema, 323 17, 20-22, 24-29, 44, 52-73, 141,
A natolius, magister militum per Orientem, 220, 225, 275, 382, 385
ii. 167 Aphrodisias, see of» ii. 69-71.
Andrew, St,, shrine of (Athens), lift, Aphrodite, goddess, 41, 87, 101, l l 2 f ,
343 114 n., 116, 145 n., 188f., 191, 198,
angel, 66, 103, 104, 108, 153-56, 208-10, 212, 214, 222, 225, 245,
173-75, 373 n., 183, 240, 329, 332; 252f, 261, 267, 298, 316 (Lycian),
ii. 82f., 83 n., 91, 107, 115 nM 319, 3 23f, 323 n., 342; ii. 13f., 29, 5 2 f,
362f. 62, 66, 68, 131, 165, 168, 168 n.,
aniconic deities, 42 169 η., 174, 243f, 258, 345, 382
Ankh cross, 12If., 141 f , 144, 148, Aphthonius of Alexandria, rhetor, ii. 11
160f.; ii. 502, 314 Apis, 135
anmma, 27f, 168, 202; ii. 72, 140, 148, apokrisiarm , 196, 275
196 Apollinarios of Laodikea, ii. 33 n., 45,
Antarados (Phoenice), 192 η» 48
Anthemius, philosopher, 296f,, Apollo, god, 3f., 42f., 50, 84 n,,
299-303, 334-40, 340 n,, 343 159 n., 173, 177, 179 (Phoebus),
Anthemius of Tralles, architect, 134 183 (Phoebus), 188f, 212, 280, 290
Anthony, St., hermit, 205 (Pythian), 298, 330; ii. 13f., 22-24,
Anthusa, seer, 48 28 n.s 112, 129 n., 275, 300
Anthusa, mother of Chrysostom, 296f. Apollonius of Tyana, 100; ii. 385
Antinoe (Thebais I), ii* 210-12, 220 apostasy, 176f, 284 n,; ii. 38, 124
(see Antinoopolis) Apostles, basilica of the (‘Idjäz), ii.
Antinoopolis (Thebais I), 5 n., 8, 96; 297f.
ii. 232, 242f. (see Antinoe) apotropaic rites and devices, 53-56,
Antioch (Syria I), 3, 7, 9, 32, 67, 6 4f, 176, 198, 245,316, 344; ii. 88,
11 Of., 121, 168, 178 nM230, 266f, 122, 143, 164, 179f, 189-91, 199,
GEN ERA L IN D E X 407
222, 252, 299f., 3091, 315 Arsakios, high priest of Galatia 171Γ;
Appion, bishop of Elephantine* ii. ii. 118
235f Arsous (Euphratensis), ii. 147
Appola (Phrygia), i l 105f, Artemis, goddess, 4 (Leukophryene),
‘Aqaba (Palestine III), 188, 202 11, 84 η., 95f., I01f,, 145, 148 n,,
ara, 14, 29, 60, 74 156-60, 158 n., 164 (Anaitis), 170,
Arabia, Provincia, 34, 37-39, 110, 183, 185f„ 199 n., 243,292, 298,
188} 247, 260, 315, 329; ii. 50 n., 324 n.j ii. 9 n„, 13f., 14 n., 78-80,
59, 64, 117 n., 150, 155, 161, 167, 78 n. (Bendis), 87f., 91, 94, 130Γ,
172-83, 206, 239, 301, 316-79, 384 193, 24If. nn., 292, 374, 383
Arabia, provincial era of, ii. 318, 328, Artemius, St., martyrion of
332, 352, 355, 366f., 379 (Constantinople) 109 n.
Arabie language, ii. 149 n,, 167, 169f., artisans, 124, 200, 239, 241, 249, 286,
194, 239, 317, 331 n., 340f., 370 n. 289, 291, 3 05f, 318, 321, 324 n.; ii.
Arabissos (Armenia III), ti. 128 58, 70, 78, 82, 82 n,, 150, 164, 171-
Arabs, 90f,, 250, 315; ii. 146, 149, 73, 184, 197, 261 n>, 264. 266,
163-88, 191, 194-99, 204, 249, 254, 270f., 273f., 280f,, 286, 289f,, 374,
296, 302-4, 309, 311, 316Γ, 319, 382
321-38, 344, 346f>, 350-55, 357-60, Ascalon (Palestine I), 194, 196, 315
366-73, 375, 378f. Asia, ii. L31
Arados (Phoenice), 192 n.; ii. 158 Asia Minor, 34, 151-56, 248, 313; ii.
Aralleiön (Phrygia), ii. 99-101, 103 52, 72, 74-133, 204, 206, 239, 314,
Aramaic language, 106, 189, 208, 374, 384
247-51; ii. 160, 162-64, 167, 194, Asklepas, bishop of Gaza, 235f.
204, 239, 266, 270, 284f., 289, 293f., Asklepiades, philosopher, 37-39, 45,
317 51f.
Arbogast, magister 27 n. Asklepiegeneia, theurgist, 309f., 319
Areadius, emperor (383—408), 2, 13, Asklepieion, 12, 26, 33, 38, 84, 86f.,
23f., 71f., 96, 196, 202f., 2Π , 219, 117-19, 165, 289C, 292-94, 308-10,
219 n., 237-39, 242, 244, 253, 269> 322f., 326, 342-44; ii, 138
276, 299, 307, 336; ii. 42, 55 n., 297 Asklepiodotus of Heliopolis, ii. 34 n.,
archangel, 44, 149, 149 n., 151-55, 38f.
173 n., 324 n.; ii. 49, 83 n., 112, Asklepiodotus the Elder, 42-44, 81,
115 n., 116, 119, 132f. 84, 88, 94, 343; ii. 6, 15, 2 0 f, 24,
Archangels, chapel of the (F aiu l), ii. 26, 58, 60-62, 67, 72
301 Asklepiodotus the Younger, 12, 79,
Archiadas, archon eponymous 84; ii, 5-7, 6 n., 15,47, 60f.
(Athens), 84, 309, 322, 325-28 Asklepios, god, 26, 38, 84, 118f-, 121,
Archiadas the younger, 327 158f, 164f., 184, 198, 287, 290, 294,
archiertusy ii. 59, 110, 275f. 308-11, 315, 323; ii. 8 n., 138,
archon, divinity, 153 n., 173 n. 315 n.
Areopagus, 164, 180, 338 Asklepios, theophoric names of, 289,
Areopolis (Palestine), 194 n. 329, 331; ii. 70, 119
Ares, god, ii. 13, 348 Aspebetos-Peter, bishop of
aretalogy, 53, 98, 103 Parembolai, 90f.; ii. 167-73
Arethusa (Syria II), ii. 150, 152 Astarte, goddess, 189 n.; ii. 266, 311
Aristophanes, playwright, 207 Asterios of Amasea, 252, 293f., 299,
Aristotle, philosopher, 288, 288 n., 312; ii* 5
326; Ji, 46 astrologers and astrology', 59, 66f., 71,
Arkesilaos, god of, 105; ii. 50 n., 289f, 148f., 230f., 255, 319, 319 n.; ii. 44,
383 47, 168, 211
Arkimos, decurion, ii. 58, 60 Asty (Aegyptus), ii. 6
Armenia, 29; ii. 29, 126, 126 nr, 129, Atargatis (Dea Syria), 162; ii. 190,
131 192, 258, 260, 368 n., 371
Armenians, ii. 164, 186 Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria,
Arra (Mu*arret en«Nu‘man) (Syria II), 139, 193; ii. 32
ii. 294, 299 Athanasius of Aphrodisias, monk, ii.
408 GENERAL INDEX
3-5, 7f., 15, 17, 21, 27-29, 27 n., Baal, god, 42, 46, 162f, 188f., 247f.;
60, 68, 310 ii. 51, 136, t46f., 158-60, 176, 185,
Athanasius, charioteer, 57f., 72 192, 248, 250, 252-55, 258-60, 266,
atheism, 137, 164f., 167 n., 171, 198, 271 f,, 276f., 289, 3H , 313 n., 331,
198 n.; ii. 40f., 191, 200 347
Athela (Arabia), ii. 341Γ. Baal-Shamin, god, 147; ii. 175f, 181,
Athelaas, insanus, ii. 90 183, 191, 194, 323 n., 340 and n.,
Athena, goddess, 18-20, 26, 31, 40, 348, 379
46, 84, 103L, 106, 118, 145, 173, Baalbek'Heliopolis (Phoenicia
287, 290, 292, 294f„ 298-300, 304f., Libanensis), 46, 51, 109 n., 116,
306 (Promachos), 308, 310-12, 316 189; ii. 71, 154-58, 258 (see
(Polymetis), 3221' (Polias), 324, Heliopolis-Baalbek)
324 n., 330, 336, 342; ii, 13Γ, 14 Babisaa (Syria I), ii. 268, 270-72
(Promachos), 136 n,, 174, 347, Baitocnichi (Phoenice), ii. 158, 313 n.
368f., 382 (see Pallas Athena) bailylos, 38, 40, 46f, ; ii, 255, 258
Athenagoras of Athens, apologist, baldaschino, 145f., 191, 208f., 213; ii.
284 n,; ii, 45 91 n., 243
Athenaïs/Aelia Eudocia Augusta, 97 baptism, 33, 74, 88f., 93, 97, 148, 153,
Atheneos, housebuilder, 289, 321 161, 168, 180, 199, 223, 224 n., 226,
Athenodora of Athens, decurion, 229, 231-34, 243, 254, 290, 295,
286f„ 286 n. 303, 303 n., 333, 337, 339; ii. If., 4,
Athens (Achaea), 5, 10-12, 18, 26, Π, 15-17, 19, 21, 30f., 44, 47, 52,
33, 79, 117-20, 164f., 180f., 266, 62, 66, 68, 81, 8 5 f, 90, 92, 125,
283-344; ii, 3fM Î9, 21, 23, 26, 28, 128, 151, 164, 169, 171-73, 186f.,
53, 59, 62, 66£, 71, 220, 225, 275, 189f., 194, 196-98, 203, 220, 246,
382 250, 257, 263f., 269f., 288, 292, 309,
A tripe (Thebais I), ii. 212Γ, 309 n., 353, 374
Attica, 25, 283-344 baptistry, 165, 168, 232 n.; ii. 15L,
Atticism, ii. 16, 28, 33, 45, 48, 70, 77, 169, 247, 249, 269-72, 270 n.
106, 143, 184, 354 Baqirha (Syria I), ii. 27I f
Atticus, patriarch of Constantinople, Bar Chatar, hagiographer, ii, 183
33 Bartelink, G J.M ., ii. 78 n., 79 n.,
Attis, god, 43f,, 149, 149 n., 164, 314; 90 n.
ti. 101, 105f., 109, 111,113, 115f., Baruch of Gaza, deacon, i 94-96,
119, 130 200f., 207, 222, 224, 232, 236, 265,
augur, 66f, 26 7f.
Augusta! Prefect, 21f, 33, 130f,; ii. Basavanna, poet, ii. 315
11-13, 21 Bashara (Phrygia), ii. 11U
Augustine, bishop of Hippo, 28f., 178 Basil, archbishop of Caesarea,
n., 180, 230, 302; ii. 2 n., 3 n., 61 175-77, 182, 334; ii. 2, 16, 16 n.,
n., 108 n., 260, 315 19, 30, 3 2 f, 120 n., 120-27
Augustus, temple of (Oxyrhynchus), basilica, 108f, 116f, 119, 130, 139,
Ü. 244 147, 166, and n., 177,219, 240,
Aulon (Syria II), 27, 126£, 131; ii. 261 f; ii. 30, 53 n,, 111, 144-46,
141, 283 154, 249f., 254, 262, 270, 296-98,
Aumos, god of, ii. 50£ nn., 362, 368, 304, 328, 330, 341, 348
370, 375f, Basilius, bishop of Philippopolis, ii.
Aurelius pratmmtn, ii, 102f., 103 n., 346
158£, 27], 276, 313 n.} 350, 364, Basket of Artemis (kaiathos), 43, 157;
369 n., 370f. ii. 78f., 95f.
Avdan (Phrygia), iL 110-12 Batariaea (Arabia), ii. 316, 320
‘Awidh, tribe of, ii, 178-80, 182f. bath houses, 35, 57f., 306, 325; ii, 12,
Awwas (see Bosoa), ii. 326, 328, 330 37, 65, 94f., 115-17, 208 n., 217,
Axylon steppe (Phrygia), 43; ii. 260, 359
99-105, 116 Batuta (Syria I), ii. 261
Azizos, god, ii. 348 Baur, Chrysostom, 333
Azotos (Palestine I), 197 Bayet, Charles M., 283 n., 286
GENERAL INDEX 409
Becky, Nicola J ., ii. 383 n. Caesarea Eitha (Arabia), ii. 343-45,

Beqa‘a valley (Phoenicia), ii. 92 n., 373
148, 155-57 Caesarea Mazaka (Cappadocia I),
Bernand, Etienne, ii, 229f, 275; ii. 120, 122f., Î28
Beroia (Syria I), ii. 138, 145, 163, Caesarea Martima (Palestine I),
195, 247, 250, 268, 272, 282 205 f, 211, 229, 232, 241, 257, 268,
Berytus (Phoenicia), 38, 66, 88, 275f., 278
218 n»; ii, ]£, 29-45, 48, 50 n., 157 Calam a (Numidia), 28f.
Berytus, law school of, ii, 1-3, 19, Calder, W.M., 152-54; ii, 74, 98f.,
29-34, 45 103
Besa, god, ii. 244-46 calendar customs, 317
Besa, monk and hagiographer, ii. Caliinicum (Euphratensis), ii, 166,
207-9, 212, 218-20 17Of.
Bethel, 150 Callinicus of Rufinianae, monk and
bethel stone, 112 η., 156 hagtographer, 155, 182; ii, 76-96,
Bethelia (Palestine I), 274 143Γ
Bithynia, 11, 15f., 27, 35, 43, 52, 66, camel, ii. 158, 165, 175f., 183, 187,
77, 79, 102, 155, 157, 159, 159 n.; 195, 197
ii. 18, 28, 40, 76-96, 98, 105, 130, Cameron, Alan, ii. 55
141, 143, 160, 236 Camuliana/Camulianae (Cappadocia
Blemmyes, 12; ii. 217, 226, 228-36, I), 115 n.
233 n., 384 Canatha (Arabia), ii. 341f., 347 n.,
Boeotia (Achaea), 47, 233, 324 n., 335 348, 373
bômos, 38, 191, 253, 330; ii. 107, 118, Canivet, Pierre, 126, 279; ii. 284
123, 136, 158, 243, 375, 380 Canopic jars, 138f.
Bonner, Campbell, ii. 314Γ, 314 n. Canopus (Aegyptus), 12, 15, 2 If., 79,
“ Borilius” of Jerusalem , 256Γ, 263 137-39; ii. 5, 219-25, 314
Bos the Isaurian, brigand, 127, 195 Cappadocia, 29f., 90, 175; ii. 106f.;
Bosana (Arabia), 260, ii. 351, 354—57, 120-27, 129, 131
374 Cappadocian language, ii. Î20 and n.,
Bosoa (Arabia), 37; ii. 326-30, 335f., 204
339, 372 Caria, 43, 152, !54f., 170f., 313; ii.
Bostra (Arabia), 37, 110* 188 n,, 213, 20-22, 28f., 44, 52-58, 61f., 68, 72,
228; ii, 316-20, 322, 331 n„ 83, 13Of
1 Hfi7 '479—7fi Carrhae (Osrhoene), 12 (see Harrän-
Bostra, see of, ii. 326, 336, 339, 352, Carrhae)
369 Carter, Robert E,, 333f.
Bostra, Umtonum of, ii. 320-39, 372 Carthage (Africa Proconsularis), 178
Boudai (Phoenice), ii. 155f. n,; ii* 57 n.
bouUutes, ii. 275f>, 336, 350 Castor and Polydeukes, 166
Brad (Syria I), ii. 146 η., 249Γ, 262 catechumens, 31 f , 53, 63, 73f,, 76,
bribery, 16f., 78, 197, 272; ii. 21, 213 88-91, 111, 115, 115 n., 149-51,
Brown, Peter, 101 n., 244 161, 164, 209, 223 n., 224-27, 233f.,
Brumalia 294 242-44, 285, 2971, 298 n., 300, 302,
Btheine (Arabia), 343, 347 337; ii, 1-3, 16, 18-20, 29f., 33,
Bubastis (Aegyptus), ii. 244 49 n., 56, 59, 70f., 95, 97f., 107,
Burdaqli (Syria I), ii. 266f. 164, 189, 197, 288, 365, 382, 385
Burdj Baqirfra (Syria I), ii, 27If* etntonarius, 31
Burdj el-Qä'i (Phoenice Libanensis), Chalcedon (Bithynia), 16, 322 n.; ii.
ii. 152 40, 78, 83-85, 87, 98
Busr el-Hariri (Arabia), ii. 377f. Chalcedon, Council of (451), 257,
Butler, Howard C., ii, 248, 260, 285, 278-80; ii, 173, 347
332-34, 334 η., 338f., 341, 345 n.f Chaldaean Oracles, 319
357 n., 358, 364, 369 n., 37Of. nn. Chaldaean ring, 54
Chaldaeans> t38f., 316, 319
Caesar, temple of (Oxyrhynchus), ii. Chalkis ad Libanum (Phoenice), ii.
243 155-57
410 GENERAL INDEX
Chalkis sub Belo (Syria 1), ii. 251, Constantine the Great, emperor
265, 282, 295 (306-337), 1, 13, 59-62, 61 n.,
chance (tycke, to symban), 208f., 209 n.; 64-66, 113-16, 114 n,, 159,
ίΐ, 44 166 n., 171, 188, 192, 239f,, 250,
Charondon, 43, 152 2 7 5 f, 284Γ, 293, 336 n,; il 27 η., 34
Cherris (Isauria), 311; ii. 67 η., 57 η., 66, 81, 83, 105, 111, 127,
Chi-Mu-Gamma, ii. 286, 29lf., 129, 159, 206, 247, 253, 256, 269,
294-96 309 375f.
Chi-Rho (Christogram), 88, 99 n,, Constantinople, 11, 13, 17, 20. 23f,
107, 119, 144, 220, 245, 284, 321, 3 If., 49-51, 56, 60, 65, 73-75, 83,
332, 344; ii. 102, 146, 159, 237Γ, 89 n., 97, 102, 109 n., 143, 159 n.,
253, 257, 261 n„ 271, 278, 280,291, 168, 184, 196, 222, 231 n., 236-39,
293, 305, 308, 319, 339, 366 244, 251, 256, 259, 264, 275-78,
children, 88-91, 110, 153, 200f., 215f, 280, 301, 321 n., 324, 327; iL 4, 8 n.,
220-24, 229-33, 236, 238, 242Γ, 15, 17 f , 21, 34, 40, 55 n., 65 n.,
245, 337; ii. 6f., 62-64, 701., 89, 77, 82 n., 84 n., 85-87, 89, 94f.,
100, 123, 136, 140, 209, 285, 298 109 n., 117, 127, 129, 144, 170
chiliarch, 31 Constantinople, Council of (381), ii,
chortpiskopos, ii. 125, 15If,, 154, 163, 252, 347 n.
203 Constantinople, patriarchate of, 34flf.
Chorikios of Gaza, rhetor, 261 f. Constantius I, emperor (293-306),
Chostê of Bosana, 260; ij, 356 170 n.
Christ, 115 hl, 125 η., 137, 142, 151, Constantins II, emperor (337-61), 10,
160, 177-79, 181-83, 198, 210, 220, 59, 6 If., 65-67, 171, 177, 301,
224-27, 230, 285, 300-3, 329, 336; 303 n.; ii. 54, 244, 273, 337
ii, 18, 24f., 31, 33, 50 n., 69, 80, continuity of cult, 117-22, 156; ii.
89-92, 104, 116, 151, 155, 159, 161, 23f., 225
169, 172, 189, 191, 193, 197, 218, conversion, 88-93, 106-8, 115 n., 119,
223, 238, 240, 252, 254, 256-58, 125, 140, 142-44, 147-51, 163 f.,
261, 267, 274, 280, 285, 287f., 290, 164-68, 175f,, 179-81, 191, 198f.,
292, 294-96, 300, 305. 313, 318, 207-9, 223-34, 236, 242, 244Γ., 267,
321, 362, 369, 376 274, 2 8 0 f, 285, 287-90, 300, 302f.>
Christian sophistic, 97, 101, 179, 255, 337, 343; ii. 1-21, 27-33, 36, 38,
287 n., 296, 330, 334; ii. 33, 45-49, 4 0 f, 49f. nn., 65-69, 76, 85-88,
48 n., 143, 205, 241 90-93, 97f„, 116, 136, 141 f , 144,
Christianismos, 182, 241; ii, 96 148f., 153f,, 159-61, 163-66, 169Γ,
Chrysaorios of Tralles, law student, ii. 173, 185f., 196-200, 202f., 212, 216,
34, 38-40, 42-45, 47, 49 224, 237f„ 242 n., 245f,, 250, 258,
Chrysaphius, house of (Amasea), 261-64, 268-73, 275, 278, 280f.,
324 n. 283, 286, 288Γ, 291, 293Γ, 296, 299,
Chuvin, Pierre, ii. x, 4 n., 10 n. 301, 305, 311, 314, 319, 336, 339,
Cilicia, ii. 160, 300 347, 364-66, 368, 372, 374-77,
Cilicia Trachea, 15If. 382f, 385
Clement of Alexandria, 97; ii. 205 Coptic language, ii. 14, 206, 207 n.,
cloud divination, 47f., 48 n. 208, 2 2 If., 314
Codex lusttnianus, 72, 78-94, 342; ii, Coptos (Thebais IL), ii. 213
336, 380 Copts, 199; iL 207 and n., 209f, 212,
colonit ii* 161-63 214, 217-19, 239
Colossae (Phrygia), 44, 109 n., Corfu (Epirus Vetus), 120
153-55, 159; ii. 101, 115 Corinth (Achaea), 284 n., 291
Columbanus, St., ii, 133 n. Cormack, Robin, ii. 53 n,
comitatus, 61, 66 n., 67f. Cornelius of Gaza, deacon, 195, 224,
confiscation, 32, 83-93, 96 n.; ii. 57, 232, 236, 248, 267
68 cortina Delphicay 50
consistorianus, comes, 263-65 Cosmas of Jerusalem , melode, 43, 170
Constans, emperor (337-50), ii. 337 Council O f 300 (Athens), 337f
Constantine, oikonomos, ii. 39f, Crete, 304
GENERAL INDEX 411
Cross, 12, 4ir.f 52, 55, 102-4, 109, 160f, 187, 190, 192f., 196, 199,
119, 12If., 125, 137, I41f., 144f„ 201f, 208 n., 211,223, 225, 252,
147, 161, 164, 174 η., 183Γ, 204, 255f., 259f., 265, 286, 292, 310, 363
210, 215, 219-22, 224-26, 232, 234, daimonic powers of gods, 105-8, 219,
242Γ, 245, 285, 292, 3201’., 330-32, 222, 245, 344; ii. 159-61, 220, 222,
344; ii, 9, 9 n,, 24-26, 54-57, 224f.
63-65, 63 n., 65, 67f., 70, 79, 81, “ daimonic rage” , 120, 151, 245; ii.
91, 98-100, 101 n., 102, 107-9, 133, 147, 253, 310
130, 133, 133 n., 146, 150-55, 159, daimonization, 98-108, 118-20; ii.
169, 187-91, 193, 195f., 221, 238, 79 n., 191, 202, 292
240, 245, 253, 255, 257, 259, 262, daimonion, 47, 52
264-67, 271-73, 279-81, 285f„ 288, Dakoueh (Phoenicia), ii. 156f,
291-94, 300, 304f., 307-10, 317, Dalok (Syria), ii. !9 0 f
319, 32lf-, 328, 330f., 330 n,, 3 3 4 f, Damascius of Damascus, 5, 35-53,
3371, 352, 356f„ 361f, 366, 370-72, 56, 62f., 84-86, 181Γ., 198, 307f.,
376C 312, 322-24; ii. 5, 22, 47, 5 2f, 327
cryptopaganism, 33, 53, 74, 93£, 217, Damascus (Phoenicia Libanensis),
244, 249, 267, 301C, 343; ii. 11, 116, 163, 202; ii. 173 n., 177, 197,
34-38, 36 n., 52, 66, 73, 142, 224 317 n.s 376
cure, 153, 159f,, 159 n,, 163-67, 205, Damatha (Arabia), ii. 367f., 369 n,
290, 308-11, 323; ii. 28, 46, I15f, Damonikos, Flavius, dux of Thebaid,
128, 144, 160Γ., 166-71, 200, 203Γ, ii. 236Γ.
220, 245, 290, 314 Dana (Syria II), ii. 291
curialiS) 15f., 197 Dana plain (Syria I), ii, 135f., 144f.,
curse, 331Γ; ii. 35, 106, 178, 181, 183, 185, 246f., 253, 255, 263-69
187, 195-97, 208, 218 Daniel, bishop of Philae* ii. 236f.
Curuhis (Numidia), 29 n. Daniel the stylite, 204; ii. 144
Cynegius, Maternus, praetorian Daphne (Syria I), 280; ii. 84 n., 274f.,
prefect üf Oriens, 123, 128, 145f., 300
210, 2G3£, 264 n.; ii. 53 Dar Qïta (Syria I), ii. 249, 268-72,
Cynics, 180 312, 325, 378
Cyprus, 177 David, king of Ju d a, 55, 149; ii. 46
Cyril, bishop o f Jerusalem , 257, 263; Dea Caelestis, 4 n.
ii. 33 deacons and diaconate, 222-24, 223
Cyril, patriarch o f A lexandria, 33, n., 229, 232, 234-36, 241, 247, 329;
267, 276f.; ii. 210, 211 n., 212 ii. 691, 86, 95, 103, 112, 120-22,
Cyril of Scythopolis, ii. 166, 169, 174, 128. 155-57, 172, 186, 224, 237,
194 247, 250, 253, 257,265, 267, 270,
Cyrrhestica (Euphratensis), ii. 272, 282, 284f, 287, 296, 298, 303f.,
145-48, 162f. 306, 343, 345, 357, 361, 365, 369,
Cyrrhus (Euphratensis), ii. L44f., 377
]84f dead, cult of, ii. 103
Cyrus of Panopolis, praetorian prefect dead, spirits of the, ii. 106-9, 109 n.
of Oriens, 97 decurion, 168-81, 189 n., 190, 193,
Cyzicus (Hellespontus), ii. 23 197, 202-4, 206-8, 2L2f., 222-24,
245, 249, 251, 259 n., 266, 288-90,
daimon, 6 n., 9, 14, 27, 36, 42, 47, 49, 296, 300, 302, 308, 310, 315, 321£,
51-53, 55, 63f , 63 n., 69, 77, 95, 324-28; ii. 2, 20, 52, 58-69, 71,
9 8 -1 -8 , 135, 137f., 140, 144, 146f, 201, 362-65, 382, 385
153 nM 155, 167 n., 173 n., 174 a., defensor of the city, 195; ii. 20, 40, 64
176, 183£, 191, 209£, 225, 245, 253, and n.
299, 312, 318, 324 η., 331Γ, 334, Deichmann, Friedrich, 108 n., 116f.,
340, 343f.; ii. 3—6, βΓ, 11, 13—17, 122
24-27, 31, 35-37, 41, 42 n„ 43-45, Deir cl-Bahari (Egypt), i2 l£ ; ii. 314
48, 58 n., 77, 79-81, 83, 83 n., Deir elrLebben/Leben (Arabia), ii. 50
88-94, 88 n., 9 0 f nn., 105, 106 n., n., 375f.
107-9, 118, 132, 137, 143-45, 147f., Deir idj-Duwani (Arabia), ii. 37lf.
412 GENERAL INDEX
Deir il-Maiyäs (Arabia), ii, 335Γ 210 n., 214 η.» 228, 257f,, 271, 273,
Deir il-Meshqüq (Arabia), ii. 332 276-78
Deir in-Naçrânî (Arabia), ii. 33If. divination, 17, 47-50, 56-72, 95, 155,
Deir Sambil (Syria 11), ii. 291f 218, 308, 317; ii. 5, 7, 34, 38f., 42,
Deir Smedj (Arabia), ii. 341 42 n., 48, 72, 82f., 86f.
Deir TelPA deh (Syria I), ii. 145, 248, diviners, ii. 31, 81-83, 87, 93
255, 263 Djebel Barisha (Syria I), ii. 248, 250,
Delehayc, Hippolyte, 251 267-75, 294, 312, 325, 378
Delos (Insulae), ) 18, 120, 330 Djebel Drüz (Arabia), ii. 316 (see
Delphi (Achaea), 3, 170, 194, 290; ii. Djebel Hauran)
28 n. Djebel Dueili (Syria I), ii. 250, 275f
delubrum, 11, 60, 78, 132 Djebel Halaqah (Syria I), ii. 144, 248,
Demeas of Ephesus, I02f. 250, 255, 263-68, 294, 304 n., 311,
Demeter, 25, 69, 96, 98 ri., 103, 108» 354 n.
160, 292-94, 304, 311 n Djebel Hauran (Arabia), 38, 104, 229
(Thesmophoros), 332; ii. 63, 244 n., 260; ii. 59, 173 n., 175, 183, 194,
Demetrius, St., 98 n., 108; ii. 68, 239, 3 ΙβΓ, 320, 323, 339-60, 370 n.,
68 n. 372-74, 377-79
Demochares of Aphrodisias, Djebcl il-A‘la (Syria I), ii. 250f., 275,
scholastikos, ii. 2If. 278, 295
Democritus of Abdera, 209 Djebel il·A*lä (Syria II), ii. 295,
Demosthenes, archon eponymous 301-12
(Athens)> 295» 297, 299, 30lf., Djebel il-Quléb (Arabia), ii, 342» 350,
303 η.» 333-35, 337f., 343 378f.
dêmotéSy 338f. Djebel Riha (Syria I and II), 105; ii.
dtndrophori, 31 248, 250f, 260, 279-95, 301, 307,
Despoina, goddess, 117, 160 312, 363 n.
despoina, 158, 292; ii. 238 Djebel Sheikh Berekät (Syria I),
destiny, ii. 44 108 n.; ii. 136, 144, 185, 248f.,
diadochos, 85Γ, 289 253-55, 263, 276
diakonos (pagan), 3 Djebel Sim'än (Syria I), 189; ii. 136,
Diasia, festival, 96; ii. 161 140, 163-66, 170, 185, 187-91,
Didymus the Blind, ii. 46 194-96, 199f., 203, 248-50, 253-64,
Digest, 84, 206 n. 266f, 27ii, 286, 294, 311
Dike, goddess, 170 Djebel Srîr (Syria I)» ii. 263-65
Dindymus, Mt, (Galatia II), ii, 119, Djebel Wastani (Syria I), ii. 250, 275,
119 n. 278f
Diocaesarea (Palestine II), 259 Djebel Zäwiyeh (Syria I) (see Djebel
Diocletian, emperor (284-305)» 152; Riha)
ii. 25, 64, 74f., 229, 243 Djemmerin (Arabia), ii. 322
Diogenes, informer, 68 Djeneineh (Arabia), ii. 351, 358
Diogenes, senator, ii. 301 Djrën (Arabia), ii. 371
Diogenes Laertius, ii. 258 Djuwaniyeh (Syria I), ii. 278
Diogenes, comes, 325 Dodds, E.R., 63; ii, 383
Dionysia, festival, 96; ii. 161 dole, ecclesiastical, 200f, 223, 240-43,
Dionysias-Soada (Arabia), ii, 347 n., 245
348f, 373 Dorylaeum (Phrygia), ii. 110-12, 114
Dionysius the Areopagite, 284 n., 290 dream, 67, L04C/165-68, 176. 191,
Dionysus, god, 37, 99 n>, 110 η.» 162» 208f., 238 η., 254» 304f., 308, 31 Of.;
183, 183 n., 290, 293f., 294 n., 308, ii. 5-8. 160 n.> 182f, 193f., 1981'.,
312-14, 316, 330; ii. 13f., 96, 105 204, 220f., 363, 382f.
(Guranios), 136 n. dream-interpreters, 176; ii. 6
Dioscorus, St., ii. 243 Drijvers, H.J.W ., ii. 202 n.
Dioskouroi, 99 n.7 166; ii. 142 n.t 246 Duldtius, governor of Caria, ii. 54f.
Diospolis (Palestine I), 205 Dura Europus, ii. 192
Diospolis, synod of (415), 208 n., Dusares, god, 37, 186; ii, 180, 318Γ,
GENERAL INDEX 413
331, 331 n,, 340 (see Düsharâ) 183, 192-94, 199, 289
Dusharä, god, ii. 175, 178, 181, 318, Erechtheion (Athens), 120, 292
331 n., 340, 348, 374, 379 (see Eresem Op, god, ii. 156
Dusares) erotic charm, 63f.> 66, 198 n>: ii,
Düyer (Phrygia), ii, 99 34-37, 20lf,, 208 n.
âynamis, 332; ii. 14, 201, 238, 240, 292 Esmët-Akhôm, scribe, ii. 228. 234
Dyounsis Iskeiket, god, ii. 105, 110 estates, Christianization of, ii. 28f*,
39f., 77, 81, 94-96, M2f., Ι21Γ,
earthquake, 134, 304, 318; ii, 43, 48 130f,, 140Γ, 143, 146, 149, 157,
Edessa (Osrhocne), 18, 20; ii. 139 n.p 162f., 188, 210, 214, 268-70, 272f,
186 n,, 202 301, 312
idictalis, ii. 29 Eudoxia Augusta, Aelia, 193, 201 f.,
Egersios, senniarius, ii. 86f. 2 1 1 ,2 1 5 ,2 1 9 -2 1 ,2 1 9 n., 226, 234,
Egypt, 7, 2 If,, 32f., 37f, 160Γ, 182, 237-40, 255, 258, 258 n., 262, 269
241, 315; ii. 205-46, 314, 333, Eudoxiana (Gaza), 34, 39, 116, 131,
333 n.y 384 166 n., 201, 216, 218-20, 228,
Eias, Andrew, and Dometios, Sis., 238-42, 256, 261 f., 27if,, 276, 279
martyrion of (Kafr ‘Arüq), ii. 273 Eugenius, archbishop of Laodicea,
tidôleion, 15, 102, 104, 211, 215, 240 152-54, 154 n., 260
eirenarch, 195, 203 Eugenius, usurper. 27 n.
Eizikon (Phrygia), ii. 110 Euhemerism, 135, 139, 144, 185
el-Harise (Arabia), ii. 351 euklërion, 85, 115, 153, 153 n., 198,
el-Haiyât (Arabia), ii, 343, 345f. 204 n,; ii. 23, 352
cl-Hazimeh (Syria ÏI), ii, 303 Eulalaius, bishop ofChalcedon, 16; ii.
el-‘Uzza, goddess, ii. 165F., 168, 76, 84f.
169 n., 174 tulogia, ii. 166
Eleusinian mysteries, 69f., 110, 293, Eulogius, archbishop of Caesarea, 273
304 Eulogius, hegumen, ii. 46
Eleusis (Achaâ), 3, 25, 69, 85, 118f, Eumcneia (Phrygia), ii. 74, 74 n.
179, 292, 304, 307 Eumolpids, 25, 304
Eliade, Mircea, 114 n., 149-5) Eunapius of Sardis, historian, 22, 25,
Elijah, prophet, ii. 36If., 366Γ, 371f., 49, 63-65, 70 n., 283f., 294-97,
372 n,> 375 f 303 f, 307, 334, 338Γ; ii. 220 n.,
Elpidius, monk, ii. 81 221 n,
Emesa (Phoenice Libanensis), 40—46; Eupatrids, I9f., 286, 291
ii. 148-50, 154, 177, 302 Eupeithios, sophist, ii. 58, 60
Emesene {Umtoium of Emesa), ii. Euphemia, decurion of Aphrodisias,
150-58 ii. 64-67
Enaton, monastery of (Alexandria), ii. Euphemia of Panaiania (Attica),
3-5, 10, 17, 21, 29 33If,, 340; ii. 194
Ennaton (Lydia), ii, 132 Euphratesia/Euphratensis, ii. 135, 170
Entrichius, augustal prefect, ii, l l f , Eupsychios, Dam as, and companions,
21 ii. Sts., ii. 122, 131
epaoidos, 198, 299 Eusebius, Nestabos and Zeno, Sts.,
Ephesus (Asia), 96, 101-3, 160, 185, 260f., 280
243, 280; ii. 74, 83 n., 84, 242 n, Eusebius, archbishop of Caesarea,
Ephesus, Council of (431), 75, 273; ii. 112-16, 129f, 284, 284 n.; ii. 46,
2, 173, 252 376
Epicurus, philosopher, 209 Eusebius, Flavius, nngnlanusi ii. 268Γ.,
Epidauros (Achaea), 118f< 325, 378
Epiphanda (Syria II), ii. 150, 251, Eusebius, tozrtytar-worshipper, 40, 46f
301, 307 Eusebius of Myndus, sophist, 49
Epiphaneia, territorium of, ii. 307-11 Eusebona, St., convent of, ii. 185
Epiphanius of Salamis, 266; ii. 123f. Eustathius, philosopher, 175
epiphany, 41, 95, 102, 104f., 554, 208, Eustatius, hegumen, ii. 9]
306f, 310 f, 317; ii. 9, 25, 79, 160, Eustolius of Kourion, decurion, 177-79
414 GENERAL INDEX
Euthymius, St., 90f.; ii. 164, 166-72, 329-32; ii. 33, 58-66, 68, 7 0 f, 74
197 n., 75, 98-111, 114, I18f.t 25If.,
Eutropius, praeßositus sacn cubiculi, 264 256, 265, 267, 273-75, 279-81,
and n. 285-87, 289-92, 296, 299f, 31 If.,
Evangelists, church of the (Alahan), 317-19, 322-24, 327, 331, 334,
161f 337-“ 39, 344, 352, 355, 357f., 361,
evil eye, 55, 270; ii, 308, 310, 315 364, 368, 370f., 377
exile {exilium, dtportatio), 34, 71, 80, funerary rites, 45, 68f., 195, 233,
88f., 91; ii. 43f., 44 n., 82 n. 320-22; ii. L8f., 42, I02f., 103 n.,
exorcism, 52f., 64; ii. 23, 89, 109, 118, 105, 106 n., 107, 151,311,376
132Γ., 132 n., 144, 201f., 208 n., 252 Furdigan, ii. 42, 42 n.
‘Ezra (Arabia), 104-6; ii. 161 (see Furies, ii. 106 n., 107, 139
Zorava)
Gabala (Syria I), 105£; ii. 159f., 163
Fafirtïn (Syria 1), ii, 261 Gabriel, archangel, 183
family, 224, 242f, 248f., 269, 274, Gad-‘Awïdh, god, ii. 178, Î80
281, 309, 321, 328f., 337; ii. 2-4, Galatia, 25, 42, 51, 157, 183, 204 n.,
Gf., 15, 17, 2 If., 27f., 39, 41, 44, 49, 313; ii. 80, 83, 9 i, 93, 105, 107,
54, 57 n., 58-60, 63-65, 70f., 79, 109, 115 n., 118-20
89f., 99-101, 104, 106 n., 107f., Galerius, emperor (305-11), 152; ii.
123f., 140, 156f., 166, 171, 178-80, 25, 74
217, 245, 256, 268f., 275, 280f, galloii priests of Kybele, 43
285-87, 289, 297, 299f., 337f., 354, Garion (Phoenice Libanensis), ii.
377f. 15 I f
fanumi 11, 15 Gassowska, Barbara, 145
fate (jkiimarmtne, moira), 231, 254f., Gaulus (Sicily), 182
288, 317 (see destiny) Gaza (Palestine I), 24-26, 29, 34,
Festus of Tridentum, proconsul of 39-41, 91, 110, 1! 4 f , 125-27, 131,
Asia, 49, 57-59 141, 166 n., 181, 187-282, 289, 291
Festus, Rufus, proconsul of Achaea, f , 293 n., 298, 300f., 303, 311,
338 343f.; ii. 12, 53, 64 η., 66f.s 72, 117
fetus sacrifice, 56, 59, 72f. n., 141, 192 n., 295, 349, 382
Fidreh (Syria I), ii. 256-58 Gaxa, era and calendar of, 247, 279Γ
Firmus Maternus, Julius, 144 n. Gdanmass (Phrygia), ii. 101
Flacilla Augusta, Aclia FLavia Ge (also Ga, Ges), goddess, 170; ii.
(376-86), 146; ii. 54, 67 42, 105
Flavian, patriarch of Antioch, 8f.. 11; Geffcken, Johannes* 100; ii. 52 n.,
ii. 135, 142, 162, 248, 255, 278Γ 328 n., 333
Flavius praenomenfnomen, ii. 237, 254, genealogy {genesis), 319
268f., 277, 282f., 325f, 331, 335, genius, 13
337, 346, 350, 377F. gentiles, 3I f
Floriamis, praetorian prefect of Geoponika, 157
Oriens, ii. 232 George, patriarch of Alexandria
Florus, augustal prefect, ii. 230f. (c. 620-30?), 130, 295-303, 333-43;
folk religion, 98f., 98f. nn,, 312, 318, ii. 127 n,, 128f
331, 344; ii. 130f, 239, 381 George, St., martyrion of (Sakkaia), ii.
fortuna, ii, 42, 109 n. 345
Frantz, Alison, 156, 344 George, St., martynon of (Zorava),
Jredianiy 31 1 0 « ; ii. 360£, 363f.
freeholder (despotes), 204f; ii. 149, 155, George of Thessalonike, law student,
157, 162 ii. 34 n., 38f.
Frend, W .H,C., ii. 19 n., 333 n, George the Monk, hagiographer, 252
Freud, Sigmund, 335 n,; ii, 109 n. Gerasa (Arabia), 261Ü
Frikya (Syria Ii), 105; ii. 50 n,, Germia (Galatia II), ii, 109 and n.,
288-92, 296, 312, 363 n., 382 115 n., 119
funerary art, 144, 144 n.; ii. 101 Gesios, pagan decurion, ii. 218
funerary inscriptions, 284-91, 319-21, Gessios of Alexandria, ii. 47
GENERAL INDEX 415
Gha$m (Arabia), ii. 322 316; ii. 146, 348, 362

Ghassanids, ii. 331, 346 Heiladius, governor of Caria, ii. 54
Gindarus (Syria I), H. 186 n., 188 Heiladius, priest and grammarian,
Ginzburg, Carlo, ii. 13 n. 141-43
Glycerius, deacon ii. 120-22, 131 Hillinismos, 84; ii. 242 n.
gods, death of, 139Γ,, 152, 234, 298, Hellenist, 182, 289; ii, 22, 47, 71, 243
330; ii. 23f. HeMnhtâ, 127, 273, 277
Gonyklisia (Phrygia), ii. 117f. henotheism, x, 339; ii. 313-15, 376
Gordian III, emperor (238-44), 247 Hera, goddess, 298; ii. 244
gorgoneion, 119 Heraclitus, philosopher, 96f.
Goslu (Phrygia), ii. 103 Heraclius, emperor (610-41), 109 n,;
gospel book, 220, 232, 238 ii. 65 n.
Goths, 25, 283, 306f., 307 n.; ii, 373 Heraiskos, philosopher, 40f., 45, 84; ii,
Gratian, emperor (367-83), 17, 27 n., 5, 10, 14
62 69 72-74 195 Herakeh (Syria II), ii. 299f,
Great Persecution, 152Γ, 259f.; ii. 25, Herakles, hero, 143 n., 184, 294; ii.
74, 114, 243, 343 112, 258, 300
Greece 329-32 herm, ii. 63
Greek Anthology, I48f.; ii, 33, 47f., 62, Hermes, god, 290, 298, 314; ii. 258,
86 348
Grégoire, Henri, 215, 212, 2 2 «., 237, Hermophilos (theophoric), 290
240, 246, 261, 269-72, 279 Hermopolis (Thebais I), ii. 213, 218
Gregory of Nazianzus, 29f, 68, 296; (see Shmin/Shmun)
ii. 2, 16f., 19, 30, 32, 106, 108 hero, 153 n., 174, 293f., 304-7,
Gregory, Timothy E., Il8f., 343 319-21; ii. 64, 83 n., 287, 302
grove, sacred, 103f., 106, 156f., 330; ii. Herodes Atticus, Titus Claudius,
63, 79, 81, 128, 160, 300 284 n., 289, 323, 325
Guarducci, Margherita, 102 Herodotus, 311 n.; ii. 22, 28 n.
Aeroeion, 156, 174, 188 (Gaza), 212
Hadad, god, ii, 259 n. (Gaza); ii. 110, 280f., 285 n.
Hades, 42 Hesiod, 230, 255, 308; ii. 48
Hadrian, emperor (117-38), 112, Hesychius* pkiloponos, ii. ] 2
189 n., 197; ii, 182, 332 n. Hierapolis (Euphratensis), 115 n., 162
Hadrianopolis (Honorias), ii. 145 n. Hierapolis (Phrygia), 169-72; ii.
kagiasma, 98 n., 151-56, 176; ii. 254 114-18
hailstorms, 42, 64-66, 77, 148, 183; ii. hieroglyphics, 45f,, 138, 142, 160; ii,
93, 130, I32f., 132 n. 221f., 225, 228, 384
Halkin, François, 338; ii. 127 n. hitrogrammateus, ii. 227
hariotus, 62, 66f. Huron, 96, 155, 217, 272, 309, 323; ii.
Harpokrates, god, 132; ii. 244 63, 136 n., 138, 280, 329, 332,
Harrän (Arabia), ii. 369f. 333 n., 343
Harrân-Carrhae (Osrhoene), 12, 24, Hieronymus, Eusebius (St. Jerom e),
' 175, 194; ii. 71, 149 272, 278f.
haruspex/haruspicina, 59-62, 67, 88, 95; hierophants, 24f., 179, 293f., 304, 315;
ii. 22-25 ii. 26
Harvey, Susan A., ii. 188 n. hierophany, 53, 149f., 156
Hasluck, F.W., 159 n. Highest God, 340
Hass (Syria II), ii. 260, 286-88 Hilaria, festival, 43
Hauran (Arabia), 34, 229 n.; ii. 50 n.} Hilarion of Gaza, St., 127, 193, 205,
117 n., 150, 239, 301, 316-79 274
Hebbeh (Phoenice), ii. 158 Hilarius, subadiuva, 196Γ., 212, 265,
Hebraiokastro (Thasos), 117 272
Hekate, goddess, 49, 188f, 212, 292, Himerius, rhetor, 18-20, 85
298, 3!6f., 319; ii. 130 hippodrome, 54, 57f., 72, 205; ii. 31,
Heliopolis-Baalbek (Phoeaice), 38 (see 35, 221
Ba al bek-H el iopol is ) Hirta (Persia), ii. 198f.
Helios, god, 42, 47, 132f„ I88f„ 212, Holy and Ju st God, ii. HO
416 GENERAL INDEX
Holy Ju st One, 154 idols, desecration of, 114 n., 146 n.,
Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem), 112-15, 156, 245; ii. 12-15
136 idolum, 26
Holy Spirit, 55; iL 23, 267 il-Ghäriyeh (Arabia), ii. 332, 334
Homer, poet, 9, 218 n., 255, 306, 308; il-Tsawi (Arabia) r ii. 174-83
ii. 14, 45 n., 48, 64, 104 il-Kahf (Arabia), iL 338f
Homcric poems, 169, 218, 218 n>; ii, il-Meshqüq (Arabia), ii. 332-34, 336,
14, 102-5, 110, 243, 275, 354f., 360, 339
364, 377 jl-Um tä‘iyeh (Arabia), ii. 320f
honestiores, 67f. Ulus, magister militum in Oritnttm, 62,
Honorius, emperor (393-423), 13, 23, 66, 81-94, 97, 244, 311, 337,
31, 71, 196, 299, 336; ii. 55 n., 341-43; ii, 14Γ, 2 I f, 24, 28, 40, 50
233 η., 297 n., 52, 57, 60f., 66-68, 72, 141, 382
Horapollon the Elder, Li. 222 image, 12-15, 17, 26, 29, 31, 40f., 49,
Horapollon the Younger, 84, 91; iL 1, 78f., 97, 102, 109, 111, 113, 115 n„
4-10, 12, 20, 27 n., 47, 221 119f, 122, 131-34, 136-41, 143-4S,
horoi, 185; ii. 146, 278 143 n., 146 n., 149 n., 157, 159-61,
horoscope, 56-60, 66, 71, 255, 319; ii. 163-65, 191, 208-10, 214, 2 l7 f,
39 220, 225, 230, 238, 238 n., 245,
Horus, god, 45; ii, 228, 234, 237, 239 248, 252f,, 283,290, 292, 296, 298,
Hos Soletman (Phoenice), ii. 158 304-8, 310, 312, 318, 323f, 324 n„
humilions, 74 340; ii. 4, 6, 6 n,, 12-14, 18, 20, 30,
Hunain, housebuilder, ii. 335f. 33, 36f., 48 f., 50 n., 53, 60f., 63, 71,
Hygeia, goddess, 121 92 n., 110, 123, 131, 138-40, 143,
Hyfe (Cyprus), 177 155, 164f., 168 η., 189Γ, 193, 197,
hymn, 8f., 40, 45, 49, 190, 287, 308f, 203, 215f>, 222f., 225, 230-32, 234,
314-17; ii. 121, 123, 128, 137, 139, 244, 276, 289f., 315, 340Γ
161, 171, 277 Imhotep-Asklepios, god, 121, 198 n.;
Hypatia of Alexandria, philosopher, ii. 237
3 2 i\ 267, 276 Imru1 al-Qays, Arab king, ii. 182
Hypatia of Camuliana, catechumen, incantation, 173 n., 197, 205, 319; ii.
115 n. 3, 35-37, 88-91, 168, 201, 208, 310
Hypatius of Rufmianae, hegumen, 16, incantator, 64, 198, 224f., 299
27, 32, 41, 52f, 95, 143, 155f.; ii. 4, incense (iur), 6, 8f., 14f, 17 n., 49, 79,
9 n , 18, 28, 76-98, 104Γ, 129f,> 109, 178, 293, 309; ii. 9, 84, 137,
160, 193 156, 221
incubation, I I8f,, 121, 136f,, 165-68,
294, 308f ; ii. 6-8, 8 n., 13, 15,
Iamblichus of Chalkis, philosopher, 220f., 383
35, lOOf, 101 n., 108 n., 153 n., Indian religion, 112 n., I56f; ii. 315
173Γ.; ii. 8, 8n., 38, 61 n,, 83 n., Inos, St., 260; ii. 356f., 374
88 n, insanity, ii, 89f,, 92f,, 20If.
Ianos, god, 316 invocation, 318f; ii. 3, 9, 16, 25, 83,
Iaso, goddess, 158-60 I32f„ 132 n., 159, 168, 176-83
iatrosophist, 173 Ionas, palatinus, ii. 77
Ichchcnis (Syria I), ii. 272f. Iovianos/Jovian, bishop ofCorcyra,
Iconium (Lycaonia), ii. 106, 127 120, 330, 330 n,
Tdjaz (Syria II), iL 297Γ, 301, 304 Iranians, ii. U9f., 122-26, 129, 200,
idol, H 3 f, 114 n., 146, 163, 167, 175, 202-4, 311
182, I97f., 200, 202, 209f., 212-14, Irene, St., church of (Gaza), 220, 235
217, 226, 245, 255, 267; ii, 13-16, Irene-Salaphtha (see Salaphtha-Irene)
18, 39, 81, 85, 124, 128, 143, 148, Irenion, bishop of Gaza, 235f,, 263
165, 168 nM 189, 206, 208, 211, Isauria, 161f., 311; ii. 120
215f., 221-25, 313, 318, 331 n., 363 Isaurians, ii. 108, 124-28, 124 n., 186,
“ idolatry” , 154, 176, 202, 237; iL 3, 194f.
13, 15, 50 n,, 82-85, 94, 128,21), Isidore diadochos, 5, 38f., 47, 50-52,
215 84, 181 f., 322; ii. 5, 10
GENERAL INDEX 417
Isidore of Pelusium, epistolographer, ude, St., church of (Berytus), Li, 38

218 n>; ». 22, 28, 28n,, 47£, 218 n., ulia the Manichaean, 229-33, 248,
241, 241Γ nn„ 385 254£, 266-68
Isis, goddess, 8, 12, 2 If., 33, 39, 79, Julian the Apostate, 3, 6, 9, 18, 24£,
107, 132, 137f., 158 η., 160 34£, 41, 48f., 6 1 ,6 3 , 69, 96, 310,
(Lactans), 182, 243f., 315, 340; ii. 127 η., 139, 170 n., 171-73, 179£,
5-10, 6 n., 13f., 20f., 60f., 214, 216, 192f., 228, 230, 236, 242, 260, 266£,
218-20, 222, 225-39, 243, 313£, 266 n.3 273-75, 277£, 280, 287, 291,
374, 384 296, 301, 313£, 319, 334, 338; ii.
Isis, sacred boat of, ii. 227, 230, 232* 25-27, 59, 66, 114, 117-19, 122,
236 125, 135, 268, 272, 274, 276, 295,
Isokakios, quaestor, 97 317f, 317 n., 332-34, 349, 356, 358,
isotkeos, 144 376
Italy, 23; ii. 164 Julianos inscription, Umm el-Jimal, ii,
318-20
Jacob, 149f. Julianus, Titus Flavius, ii. 256
Jacob of Sarug, bishop of Batnae, ii. Julianus basilica (Brad), ii, 262
149 Jupiter Optimus Maximus, ii, 25
Jaeger, Werner, ii. xi, 45 n. Justin I, emperor (518-27), ii. 273
Jam es, William, ii. 383
Jerusalem (Palestine I), 112-15, 139,
248, 251, 256£, 269, 281; ii. 167,
{ustin II, emperor (565-78), ii. 270 n.
ustinian I, emperor (527-65), 72, 81,
84, 89£, 92f., 97, 159 n., 184£, 231
169 n., 261 n., 315; ii. 15, 40, 47, 52,
Jerusalem , patriarchate of, 268, 276, 57£, 57 n,, 62-66, 68, 70, 72, 112,
278-80 125£, 129, Î51, 154-56, 225, 267,
Jew s, 32f., 52f, 75f, 112, 114 n., 146 297, 299, 303, 305-7, 309, 326, 329,
n., 153 n., 154, 163f, 276, 323; ii. 336, 345, 351, 374, 380
115 η., 280, 315 Justus, proconsul of Asia, 61
jinn, ii. 169 Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem , 278-80;
John, archbishop of Apamea, ii. 284, ii. 172
286 Juweikat (Phoenice), ii. 158Γ., 313 n.
John, bishop of Berytus, 71; ii. 38-40
John, decurion (Zorava), 104f.; ii, Kalöta (Syria I), ii. 259
363-65, 378 Kamarina (Sicily), 183
John, St., martyrion of, 116 Kaper Lata (Ktellata)(Syria I), ii.
(Damascus); ii. 370 (Harrän) 282
j ohn Barboukallos, ii. 48

ohn Chrysostom, bishop of
Constantinople, 73, 110, 161 f., 185,
Kapra (Arabia), ii. 342, 350£
Kapropëra (Syria II), ii. 292£
Karanis (Aegyptus), 139
196, 211, 237, 243, 256, 262, 264, Kastabale (Cappadocia II), ii. 131
269, 277, 295-302, 333-42; ii. 19f, katachthonuή theoi, 44, 332; ii. 102,
28 n., 32, 78, 94-96, 127-29 106f., 106 n., 256
John Foulon, law student, 88, 90; ii. Kefr Ambil (Syria II), ii. 285f
34-39, 45 Kefr Nabo (Syria I), 101, 105f.; ii.
John Lydus, praefectianus, 97 n. 136, 258-60, 261 n., 286
John of Damascus, 317 Kefr Rüma (Syria II), ii. 284f.
John of Ephesus, historian, 89f., Kerameikos (Athens), 320
229 n.; ii, 29, 58, 98, 112, 126, 131, Kerratln (see Tarutia Emporon)
156, 270 n., 297, 307, 371, 384 Kfellusm (Syria I), ii. 267
John Philadelphus, decurion, ii. 70f Kfer (Arabia), ii. 332-34
John the Baptist, St., 129, 339f.; ii. 43 Kferhäya (Syria I), ii. 250
Jones, A. H. M., 2, 89, 95; ii. 345 Kharab Sheikh ßerekät (Syria I), ii.
Jones, C. P., 172, 174 n. 255
Jordan, David R., ii. 208 n. Khirbet cl-‘Arädji (Arabia), ii. 343,
Joseph, 135Γ., 144, 148, 185 347
Joshua the Stylitc, 18 n. Khirbet Hass (Syria II), ii. 284f.
Jovian, emperor (361), 330 n, Khirbet Muqa (Syria II), ii. 284, 288
418 GENERAL INDEX
kibotium, 140 Latrocinium (449) 279; ii. 41 n,

Kirsten, Ernst, 98 Lawson, Joh n Cuthebert, 98f, 160,
Klaros (Asia), 3 331
Komana {Armenia II), ii. 121, 131 Lazarion, estate (Palestine I), ii, 167
Koder, Johannes, ii. 361 n. Lebadeia (Achaea), 170 n.
koimêtîrion, 174, 284, 320f., 329, 33 If ; Lebanon, Mt., 40, 5 If.; ii. 50f. nn.,
ii. 252, 285f, 300, 304 n., 3J8 92 n., 147-50, 152, 154-58, 163,
Kokanäya (Syria I), ii> 273Γ. 189Γ, 313 n., 380
Koiu Kissa (Phrygia), ii. 103 Lcdja, The, ii. 104 n., 161, 316, 320,
Kômê Olbanôn (Syria II), ii, 308f. 346 n>, 358-78
Konênoi, tribe of, ii, 329f. Leo I, emperor (457-74), 48, 80, 88,
Kore, 188E, 212, 293; ii. 63, 244 (see 97; ii. 23, 125
Persephone) Leon, divinity, 101, 105; ii, 258,
Koryphe, Mt, (Syria I), ii. 145, 259 n.
253-56, 276 Leontius, magister (law professor), ii,
Kos (Insulae), ii. 314 29f., 34, 38-40, 44f.
Kos, AskJepieion of, 117 Leontius, St., mariynon of (Tripoli), ii,
Kosm as and Damian, Sts., 99 nM 3, 44, 49f. nn.
165-7; ii. 142 n. Leontius, usurper, 311; ii. 22
Koukousos (Armenia II), ii. 127f,, Le Quitm, Michael, 273
129 Letoios, decurion, ii. 162f.
Kourappos, Theodotus, 51, 90; ii. Libanius, Flavius, ii, 282f,
36 n.3 91 n. Libanius, rhetor> 6-9, 32, 264 n,, 295,
Kourion (Cyprus), 177-79 296 n., 297, 333Γ.; ii. 2, 20, 28 n.,
K räd al-Dasiniya (Phoenice 134-43, 162, 215, 276, 279, 336,
Libanensis), ii, 150f. 380
kratophany, 15 n., 77, 119, 151, 245, libation, 8 f , 14, 78, 100f., 110 n,, 218
344; ii. 80 n., I32f„ 132 n., 147, n.; ii. 137, 216
159f, 220, 224f, 310, 383 Licinius, emperor (308-24), 60, 114
Kristenos (Phrygia), ii. 101-3 η.; ii. 129, 375f.
Kronos, god, 47, 298; ii, 9, 13f., 213fL, Liftaya (Phoenice Libanensis), ii.
213 n,, 2i8, 223, 302 153f.
Kronos, decurion and priest, ii. Limestone M assif (Syria I), 34,
214-18, 220 108 η., 120Γ, 172; ii. 40, 99, 135f.,
Ksedjbeh (Syria I), ii. 249, 266f. 138, 140, 143f., 163, 184-86, 188f.,
Kugener, M.-A., 205, 246, 270, 279 195, 239, 247-95, 313, 361, 378
Kuri Yalova (Bithynia), 159 n. Lindos (Rhodes), 103-4, 106, 330
Kuteibe (Arabia), ii. 350 Litani river (Phoenice), ii. 155f.
Kwaro (Syria I), ii. 278f literacy, ii. 188-90, 228, 321, 317, 319
Kybele, 25, 28, 31, 42f., 170-72, Littmann, Enno, ii. 174, 318, 326,
313f.; ii. 97, I09f., 113, H7f., 119 n. 329, 329 n,, 331 n., 332 n., 334 n.,
(see Mother of the Gods) 335 n., 342, 348, 350 n., 352, 379
Kynegios, consùtorianust 210-12, 2l4f.s liturgy, 183, 209f., 220f., 224, 235f.,
225f., 239, 249, 257, 263-65 240, 242, 244f., 267, 293, 305; ii.
fyws, 144, 190, 224, 329; ii, 276Γ, 50 η., 115-18, 121-23, 128, 130f.>
290-93, 296, 298, 311, 320f, 328, 133, 147, 161, 173 n,, 189-91, 219,
348, 363 224, 226-29, 245f., 283, 298, 314,
381
Lacedaemon (Achaea), 180 Loukas, philoponos, ii* 69
Lachares, philosopher, 290, 3 Î 1 Lucian of Antioch, 251
Lakh mid Arabs, ii. 139 Lucian of Samosata, satirist, 162
Laodicea (Phrygia I), 43, 15If., 260; lustra! sprinkling, 3l6f.
ii. 96, 98f., J04f Lycaonia, ii, 106f., 127
Laodicea, Council of (4th c.), 154f. Lycia, 149, 156, 184, 326 n.
Laodicca ad Libanum (Phoenice), ii. Lydia, 313, 328; ii. 131
150 Lydda (Palestine 1), 205 (see
hr, 13 Diospolis)
GENERAL INDEX 419
Lykabettos, Mt. (Athens), 32Ûf. Malinowski, Bronislaw, 149; ii. 109 n.

Lykos river (Phrygia), 153 Mandulis, god, ii. 228
Lykosoura (Achaea), 117 manes y 69
Lykourgos, god, ii. 341, 371 Manetho, ii. 36
Lysia (Phrygia), ii. 117f. Mango, Cyril, 149 n.; ii. 115 n.,
127 n.
Ma, goddess, ii, 131 Manichaeans, 76, 93£, 180fT, 229-34,
Macedon, G. Calpumius Collega, 254, 267
172-74 manteia, 61
Macedonius, monk, ii. 200-202 mantics, 197, 225, 317-19
MacMullen, Ramsay, ii. 163Γ mantis, 198
Maeander river (Caria and Asia), 42, manumission, 180; ii. 290
171; ii. 52t, 58, 58 n„ 7if., 74, 107 M ar Elijah, churches of (Arabia), ii,
magic (goèltia, mageia> etc.), 60-72, 361, 363, 366f.
176, 198, 229, 231f., 254f., 298, Ma* rata (Syria II), ii. 300Γ
317Γ; ii. 4, 9 n., 22, 29, 31, 34-39, Marcellus, archbishop of Apamea, 2,
41-45, 87-93, 122, 168, 200f., 208f., 12, 27, 111, 122-29, 131, 147, 176
214,310 η., 216 n , 272; ii. 139, 141,250f,
magic, médicinal, 55-58, 64f,, 164f., 283-89, 292, 294, 312
167 n,, 198; ii. 79f, 83, 88-91, Marcian, bishop of Gaza, 26 If.
I68f., 200, 242f. Marcian, emperor (450-57), 78-80,
magic, Persian, ii. 41-43 88, 280; Ü. 229, 235f.
magic books, 218, 218 n., 226, 267; iï. Marcianus basilica (Babisqa), ii. 27Of.
35-37, 36 n., 39-41, 44, 88, 208, Marcus Argentarius, poet, 148 n.,
211 157; ii. 48
magic circles, 65, 150, 183; ii, 132f., Marcus Aurelius, emperor (161-80),
132 n., 187, 189-91, 1951',, 199 119, 174 n., 284 n.; ii. 117, 272
magician [goêtïs, magos, etc.), 198, 299; Maria (theatokos), 55; ii. 23, 258, 308
ii. 3, 29, 43, 88-90, 211, 310 Marimineos, Aurelius, archiertus> ii,
Magnus, bishop of Chalkis sub Belo, 276
ii, 265 Marinus of Neapolis, 5, 15, 18, 44f.,
Magnus, Flavius, vicaHus of Asiana, 71, 82, 84, 86, 120, 283C, 287-90,
169f, 307-10, 311 n., 312-16, 319, 321f.,
magot, ii. 123, 125, 203 325, 327, 342; ii. 22, 233, 327f., 380
Magousaioi, ii. 123-25 Maris, monk, ii. 169Γ
Magnesia-on-Maeander (Asia), 4 Mark the Deacon, hagiographer, 2,
magus, 66f,; ii. 41-43, 168, 196 39-41, 76, 123, 125, 145 n.,
maiestas> 13, 21; ii. 44 n. 187-282, 299, 315; ii. 243, 382
Maimonides, Moses, 146 Marneion (Gaza), 2, 34, 39, 110 n.,
Maiorinus, praetorian prefect, ii. 37 7f. 116, 125, 131, 141, 166 n., 188-90,
Maiour and Thea, Sts., 235 and n., 196f,, 201, 203f., 212-20, 226-28,
259f, 232, 234, 240, 243f,, 249, 252-54,
Maisymas, monk, ii. 162f. 264f.t 267, 272, 276, 279, 343
Maiuma (Palestine I), 25, 110» 188, Maro the solitary, ii. 143, 145-47
191-93, 199, 202, 208-10, 208 η., martyrion, 108, 109 n., 116, 139-41,
214 n., 215, 221, 223, 235f., 260, 166f., 194, 198, 235f., 259Γ; ii. 3,
273-75, 277f„ 280f., 296; ii, 117 n„ 42-44, 49f. nn., 77f., 86, 95f.,
295 149 n , 152, 1593 161, 225, 247, 260,
Maiuma, fcsdvai, 73; ii. 55, 55 n. 262, 265£, 273, 298£, 32lf., 339,
Maiumarch, 73; ii. 54 343-45, 356f., 363f., 366f., 373, 378
Makarios, monk, ii. 92f. martyrs, 30, 99 n., 101, 106-8, 115,
M alaias, John, 81, 185, 268 n.; ii. 115 n., 126, 131, 149, 151t, 165,
84 n. 167f, 195f„ 261 f,, 321; ii. 10, 17 n.,
Malea, Mt. (Peloponnese), 331 31, 43, 64, 67f., 95-97, 101 n„
maUßctutn, 55 n., 62, 64, 66, 72; ii. 49, 108 n,, 112, 116, 118, 122, 130f.,
20!f. 161, 287, 32If., 345, 356£
maleficust 66f. mathematicusj 66, 71
420 GENERAL INDEX
Maurikiopolis (Phoenice Libanensis), Mithra, god, 25 n., 340; ii. 261

il 150, 153 Mithraeum, 130; ii. 261
Maximian, emperor (286-305, Mithraism, 304; ii. 261
307-8), ii. 344 mnhna, 320; ii. 324, 344
Maximianopolis (Arabia), ii. 3441, mnëmeiony ii. 256, 280, 287, 321,
349 (see Sakkaia) 352-55
Maximinus, magister militum Ortentis, ii. mnmorton, Ï 74 n., 291
2291, 2351 monastery, ii, 28, 44 n., 76-96, 113,
Maximinus, praetorian prefect of 163-67, 1711, 185-97, 2001, 203,
Italy, 58 221, 249, 251, 253-55, 284, 311,
Maximinus Daia, emperor (305-13), 3 3 !f., 339, 343, 3731
ii, 59, 375 Monaxios, Elavius Quintinius Eros,
Maximus of Ephesus» theurgist, 35, governor of Caria, ii. 54
48-51, 631, 68, 84, 298, 307 n., Monica* St., ii. 108 n,
317f. monks, 9, 12, 27, 511, 77, 1051, 109,
Mazdaeans, 90, 115 n.; ii. 17 n., 120, 1171, 122, 126, 147, 1561, 1621,
122-26, 1281, 196, 2021 (see 179-81, 204, 206, 243, 285, 290 n.,
Zoroastrians) 344; ii. 3-5, 8, 121, 15, 171, 20,
Medjel (Arabia), ii. 330 27-29, 33, 38, 40, 471, 49 n.,
M egara/M egarid (Achaea), 307, 325, 76-97, 1041, 112, 335-49, 154,
336 157-73, 183-219, 221, 223-25, 237,
Meiros (Phrygia), ii. 110 247-50, 2591, 276, 2781, 281 n.,
Melah is-Sarrar (Arabia), ii. 3301, 297, 343, 373, 381, 383
339 ‘ ‘ monotheism, 49, 163-65, 179, 182,
Melitene (Armenia II), ii. 167 199 n., 3391; ii. 50 n., 71, 100, 136,
Melos (Insulae), 329 1501, 1581, 1931, 199, 222, 237,
Memphis (Aegyptus), 135; ii. 223 252, 257, 2691, 2781, 281, 290,
Men, god, 164 (Axiouenos), 3391 2921, 2951, 309, 312-15, 353, 3641,
(Tyrannos); ii. I l l (Ouranios), 113, 3681, 3721
116 (Ouranios), 130 Montanism, ii. 96, 96 n.
Menas, philoponos, ii. 2, 11, 18 mosaics, 177-79, 324 n.; ii. 30, 155,
Menouthis (Aegyptus), ii. 5-9, 6 n., 254, 282-85, 2871
121, 151, 18-20, 601, 220-25 Motha/Mnthana (Arabia)> ii- 336—38
mensa inscriptions, 681, 69 n. Mother of the Gods, 31, 42-44, 84 n.,
MeruJ, god, ii. 228, 234, 237 172, 294, 3131; ii. 78, 109, 113,
merumy 13 113 n., 119 n. (see Kybele)
Methodius of Olympus, ii, 46 Mu'allaqat-Zakhleh (Phoenice), ii.
Melroaikaty festival, 313, 313 n., 317 156_
Michael the arckistrategos, archangel, Mun'im. god, ii. 348
44, 99 n., 149, 149 n., 353-56, 159, Muses, 290, 316
159 n., 204 n.; ii. 101, 115, 131 Mutalip (Phrygia), ii. I ll
M idas City (Phrygia), ii. 97 Myra (Lycia),Ί 16, 184
Midjleyya (Syria II), ii, 2931 Myriangdoi (Galatia I), ii. 115 n.
Migdalenoi, tribe of, ii. 359 mysteries, 3, 241, 691; ii. 5, 25-27
Miletus (Caria), 44, 108 n.
Milk, Arab sheikh, ii. 324, 330 Nabataeans, ii. 316, 323 n., 325, 327,
Miltiades, 311 n. 331 n., 332, 3401, 3591
mimes, 1791 Nag Hammadi library, ii. 207 n., 212
miracles, 1641, 1971, 2091, 2211, 233, Nakolea (Phrygia), 192; ii. 110-14
245, 2691, 273; ii. 1, 7, 18, 21, 28, N a ^ a n , Lakhmid phylarch, il
47, 491 nn., 115-18, 346, 161, 168 197-99
n., 169-71, 190, 314 n., 3631, 383 Narnara (Arabia), ii. 351, 3571 (see
Miracle of ike Arckistrategos Michael, Nemara)
153-56, 159 n.; ii, 96 “ natural” magic, 6 n.
Miracles of Saints Kosmas and Nea Körne (Phrygia), ii, 109
Damian, 165-68; ii. 383 nekromanteia3 ii, 421
misthotês, ii. 99 necropolis, 291, 58, 171, 195, 285,
GENERAL INDEX 421
320f.; ü- 75, 78, 101, 107f., 118f., Oasis of Kargeh (Thebais II), 182
145 n., 151, 152 n., 154, 177-79, Odeion (Athens), 323f.
196, 221, 246, 253, 265, 271, 273, Odessos (Scythia Minor), ii, 295 n.
278-90, 287f., 30Ûf, 317f. O djeh (Syria II), ii. 298f.
Nela (Arabia), ii. 351 ? 357, 373 oikonomos, I99f., 203f., 212, 228, 242,
Ncmarah (Arabia), ii. 174-76, 180, 326; ii* 39 n., 50 n., 82 n., 96 n.,
379 (see Namara) 109, 152, 155
Nemesis, 84 n*; ii. 302 oikos, 27; ii. 81
Neocaesarea (Pontus Polemoniacus), oikoume?ie, 23, 294, 330, 336; ii, 164,
176 380
neokoros, 132; ii, 6 n. oil, holy, 52, 164; ii, 80 n., 81, 91, 203
Neotera, goddess, ii* 244 oil press, ii. 253, 258-60, 286f*
ntphûdiôkiëSi 66, 318 Oinophilos (thcophoric), 290
Nephthys, goddess, ii, 239 olive culture, ii* 101, 110, I88f., 248,
Nestorius, hierophant, 304Γ, 305 n., 253, 258-60, 286, 295
307 Olympia, festival, 16, 322 n,; ii, 40,
New Moon, festival of the, 31 If, 317; 55, 84P., 84 n.
ii. 151, 168 η,, 243, 343 Olympiodorus, philosopher, 288 n,,
Nicaea, Council of (325), ii. 75, 317, 328 n.
349, 373, 376 Olympiodorus of Thebes, historian, ii.
Nicholas of H agia Sion, St., 149, 184; 233f„ 239
ii. 381 Olympus, Mt. (Bithynia), ii. 93
Nicholas of Myra, St., 116 Olympus, Mt. (Thessaly), ii. 61
Niha (Phoenice), ii. 92 n., 155 Olympus, philosopher, 130f.
Nihata (Phoenice), ii. I55f. Omboi (Thebais II), ii. 239
Nikagoras, archon eponymous “ One God” , 88, 97, 120-22, 164,
(Athens), 319 167f*, 181f., 224, 245, 248, 301, 332,
Nike, goddess, ii. 345 344; ii. 23, 57, 67, 136, 143, 150f.,
Nike, temple of (Athens), 290 153, 158, 193f, 197, 222f., 237, 247,
Nike, thcophoric, 289; ii. 245 252Γ, 256F., 259-64, 266, 268-78,
Nikertai (Syria II), 126; ii. 284 280-82, 286f., 290, 292f., 296-98,
Nikpolis (Armenia I), ii. 122 301, 303, 305-8, 311-16, 319, 335,
Nikopolis (Euphratensis), ii. 124 n., 353, 367-69
127, 184Γ, 194 “ One God and his Christ” , ii. 255,
Nile river, 7£, 19, 22f., 27, 35, 262, 265, 268f., 271, 273^75, 306,
135-38, 140, 143f., 160; ii. 6, 135, 312, 369
141, 205-7, 210-14, 217-20, “ One God only” , ii. 256f., 260, 273,
225-27, 232f., 240f., 333, 374 278, 280, 282, 286, 301, 305} 313 n.
Nilometer, 143Γ; ii. 227, 240, 244 oracles, 9, 13, 46f., 49f., 66, 88, 109,
Nilos of Ankyra, cpistolographer, 290 160, 167, 170, 179, 190f„ 190 n.,
n., 295 n., 302f.; ii. 5, 88 208f., 214-16, 225, 254, 270, 272,
Nobadae, 12; ii. 228-32, 235f. 344; ii. 5, 22-25, 28, 31, 42f., 47,
Nonnus, archbishop of Aphrodisias, ii. 67, 214f., 244-46, 382, 385
15, 20 Oracula Sibylline, ii. 24
Nonnus of Nisibis, ii. 149 Orestes, augustal prefect, 33
Nonnus of Panopolis, ii. 33 n., 48 Origen, 173 n*; ii* 45, 204, 313
Norerhathê (Arabia), ii. 366f. Oriza (Arabia), ii. 174f,
Nosairi mountains (Syria I and 11), ii, Orkistos (Phrygia or Galatia), 192; ii.
158f., 163 105, 111
Novatian scct, ii, 99 O rm än, ii. 326-31, 341 (see Bosoa)
numen, 14, 15 n., 20, 77, 132, 136f., Orontes river, ii. 148, 150Γ, 158,
163; ii. 42, 509 n. 250Γ, 274f, 278f„ 291, 301f, 307
Numerius, tribune, 56, 59 Orphic hymns, 287, 316; ii* 48
Nymphs, 170, 183; ii, 56 Osiris, god, 138; ii. 226, 228-30, 234,
237f.
Oak of Mambre (Palestine I), 112, Osiris, shroud of, 45
114 n., 136, 156 Osrhoene, 17f., 251, 310; ii. 135,
422 GENERAL INDEX
139 n,, 202 n, Paschoud, F., 305, 307 n,

Ostanes, magus> ii. 36 pastoralism, ii. 165, 167, 174-82, 184,
Oxyrhynchus (Acgyptus), ii, 241—46 187, 194-97, 204, 295, 317 324f,
330, 372f
Pachomios, prophet, ii. 229f., 234 paterfamilias, 93, 135, 181
paganus, 11, 29, 31f, 76, 135, 137f.; ii. Patras (Achaea), 329f.
241 patnapotestas, 175, 181
paideia, 9f., 20, 54, 83, 91, 97, 119f., Patrikios of Xanthos, 328
127, 147, 168, 174, 178, 190, 209, patronage, 206-8, 237-41, 245, 310;
218, 232, 280, 286, 302, 338f.; ii. iL 55f., 6 1 f, 64f., 72, 78, 142, 144,
1-3, 8, 16, 22, 28 η,, 33f,, 41, 44, 148C, 162f., 184 n., 2 18f, 245, 289f,
47, 50, 68, 104Γ., 207, 241, 243f., Paul, St., 164, 185; ii. 74, 77, 16Î
360, 364f, 385 Paul and Moses, Sts., church of (Dar
Palaiopohs (Corcyra), 330 Qïta), ii. 269
Palestine, First, 188, 194, 194 n., 201, Paulianus, bishop of Maiuma, 273
206, 210, 222, 232, 238f, 242, 247, Paulicians, ii. 126
257f„ 268, 273, 278Γ.; ii, 66, 172 Paulinus of Pella, senator, 326 n,
Palladas, poet, 32f.} 96, 141 n., 143 n.; Pazon (Phrygia), ii. 110
ii. 14 n., 47, 382 Peace of the Gods (pax deorum), 6-8,
Palladius, dux of Osrhoene, 17 16, 75-77, I47f, 156Γ, I83f., 300,
Palladius, monk, 179-81, 334 340 η.; ii. 122, 137, 140f„ 160, 189,
Palladius, praetorian prefect of 191, 210, 230, 252, 302
Oriens, 78, 280 Peeters, Paul, 187, 246-82
Pallas Athena, 19, 96, 103f. (see Peiraeus (Athens), 283, 293, 296, 306,
Athena) 312£
Palmatus, Flavius, governor of Cariai Pelagius, Flavius, dux of Arabia, ii.
ii. 56 319
Palmyra (Arabia), III, 122, 145-47, Peloponnese (Achaea), 48, 117, 304,
209 n.; ii, 182 306, 329-31
Pamprepius of Panopolis, quaestor, 81 ; pénatesy 13
ü. 2IL Pergamum (Asia), 49, 56, 63; ii. 22
Pan, god, 287 and n,, 295, 314; ii. Perge (Pamphylia), ii. 130
2 10£, 214, 218 periodeutes, Lx; ii. 135, 144, 147f, 186,
Panathenaia, festival 18-20, 85, 290, 188, 250, 254, 257f., 261, 263, 269,
293, 322 and n., 325 and n, 279, 282-85, 288, 294, 296, 305,
Pandia, festival, ii. 161 308f.T311, 326, 339, 352, 354, 373,
Paneheu (Thebais I or II), ii. 218-20 381
Panopolis (Thebais I), ii. 2l3f. Persephone, goddess, 25, 69, 304, 332;
Pantheon, temple (Bethetia), 274 ii. 63 (see Kore)
pantokrator, 331; ii. 370f. Persians, ii. 164f., 196, 203
Paphos (Cyprus), 177; ii. 62 Pessinus (Galatia II), 25, 28, 171f.,
Papia, goddess, ii. 112 313; ii. 115 n., 117-19, 130
papyri, magical, 55f, ; ii, 9, 16, 3 6 f, Petbe, god, ii. 213f.
8 3,132,385 Peter, St., ii. 77
Paralios of Aphrodisias, monk and Peter and Paul, Sts., martynon of
student, ii. 3-22, 24-28, 47, 49, 50 (Rufinianae), ii. 77, 86, 89
n., 62, 6 7 f, 221 Peter ΙΓΙ Mongus, patriarch of
paramonarios} 109, 116; ii. 38, 42-44, Alexandria, 23, 94; ii. Π -14, 20, 21
152 n,, 265, 278 {see prosmonûrios) n., 61, 220f, 223
Parnassos, Mt. (Achaea), 47 Peterson, Erik, 120; ii. 202 n., 252,
Paros (Insulae), 311 n, 255 n., 309f,, 314
Parthenon (Athens), 19, 26, 31, 33, Petra (Palestine III), ii. 331 n,
79, 82, 84, 86, I17f, 120, )58, 243, phantasia, ii. 9, ] 7
2 8 9 f, 292f., 298-300, 304-6, 3)0, phamakosi 176
322, 326, 336f, 342-44; ii, 382 Pheidias, 118, 310, 336
Pasch, Christian, 63, 240f., 295; ii, 12, Philadelphia (Lydia), 198 n.; ii. 132f,
15, 215-17 Philae (Thebais II), 3, 33, 37, 39, 46,
GENERAL INDEX 423
107, 143, 243t, 315; η. 207, 220, 2321, 298; ii. 49, 208, 211
222, 225-39, 242 η , 313, 329 η., Polybotus (Phrygia), ii. 106, 109
380, 384 Poly carp, piatftclianus, ii, 35, 38
pkilangtloi, 154 polytheism, ix-x, 61, 25, 41 f., 44,
Philip, monastery of (Jerusalem), 521, 69, 751, 95-97, 99-108, 166,
I39 188-91, 2081, 213, 230f., 298Γ, 304,
Philippopolis (Arabia), ii. 341, 3471, 316, 340; ii. 5, 16 n., 57, 64-66, 71,
347 373 134-36, 143-46, 149, 155f, 159-61,
Philippus, C, Iulius, emperor, 174-80, 191-94, 197, 199, 202, 218,
(244-49), ii. 333 n., 344, 346 222, 234, 237, 239, 242, 2441, 252,
Philistion, playwright, 230, 255 255, 258f., 269£, 2861, 289-92, 298,
Philometer, student, 63f. 3131, 355, 363, 365, 3721
philoponos, 84, 90, 94, 341; ii. 11, 4, 7, pùpamn, 15, 309; Si. 221
10-13, 17-20, 27-29, 31, 34, 36, “ popular” religion, 36
44f., 47, 58, 681, 221, 224, 385 Porphyrius, bishop of Gaza, 2, 5, 12,
Philosophia, decurion, ii. 63 n., 70f. 26, 29, 39, 76, 91, 110 n,, 111, 116,
Philostratus, sophist, ii. 385 123, 141, 176 n., 181, 187-282, 302;
Philoxenos, St., ii, 245 ii. 12, 14, 72, 149
Phinehas bar H am a, rabbi, 163 Porphyrius of Tyre, philosopher, 9,
Phoenicia, ii. 148, 154-59 loot, 107, 296; ii. 8, 26-28, 27 n„
Phoenicia Libanensis, ii. 148, 150-55 451, 90 n.
Phokas, emperor (602-10), ii. 68 n. Poseidon, god, 98 n^ 108, 184
Phokas, praetorian prefect of Oriens, possession, daemonic, 9, 5 If., 314,
ii. 115 n, 334; ii. 881, 97, 108f., 109 n.# 20If.
Photina-Manaris, deaconess, 243 Posios, deacon» ii. 238
Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, Possidius, bishop ofC alam a, 28
461, 85; ii. 42 n., 105 poverty, 2001, 223, 231, 236, 238,
Phrygia (Pactiana and SalutarU), 43, 240-43, 245, 269, 293; ii. 43, 77,
152-56, 1691, *721, 313; ii, 75, 991, 117, 127, 142, 1621, 184 n.,
771, 80, 83, 96-118, 131, 140, 310, 191, 217, 274, 283, 293, 298, 362,
360, 371, 373 n. 385
Phrygian language, ii, 10If., 105f,, Praetextatus, Vettius Agorius,
120, 204 proconsul of Achaea, etc., 70, 86
Phrygian Mother, 170 (see Kybele Praetorian Prefect, I, 13, 123, 264; ii.
and Mother of the Gods) 2321, 268
Phthiotic Thebes (Thessalia), 262 n. prayers, Christian, ii. 9, 30£, 50 n.,
phylaktëriûn, 53, 3)8f. 90£, 93, 161, 166, 188, 245, 275,
piaculum, 721 300, 303, 383
pilgrimage, ii. 231, 2331, 254 prayers, Hellenic, ii. 161, 17 n., 11 If.,
pistis, 211; ii, 57, 151, 293, 362 142Γ, 216, 228, 245, 289, 300, 303,
Plato, 172, 173 n.> 308, 311,, 324, 326; 383
ii. 45£, 207 and n., 212 Praylius, bishop of Jerusalem , 257,
Pieket, H.W., 170 263, 278, 280
Pleuit (Thebais I or II), ii. 208-13, Prcisendanz, Karl, ii. 36
220 Prentice, William Κ., ii. 258, 261 nn.,
Pliny the Younger, 77 278 n., 281 nn., 289, 296, 298
Plotina Augusta, ii, 117 presbyters, 236, 251, 259 n., 329; ii.
Plotinus, philosopher, 100, 101 n. 38, 50 n., 74 n., 82£, 86, 95, 99,
Ploutoneion (Phrygia), 43, 151 1021, 108-10, 119, 122, 128, 1421,
Plutarch, proconsul of Achaea, 291 148-50, 152-55, 167, 172, 186,
Plutarch, son of Nestorius, 188-92, 196, 198, 216, 224, 237,
philosopher, 18, 288 n., 310, 319, 247, 250, 253, 255, 257, 260, 263,
323 2661, 269-73, 282-85, 287, 294,
Plutarch of Chaironcia, ii. 22, 28 n., 296, 298£, 3081, 312, 3181, 336,
65 343, 346, 350, 3561, 377, 381
poisoning (pharmakeia, etc.), 54 n., priesthoods, pagan, 3-5, 17, 22-25,
581, 66f., 72, 77, 176, 198 n„ 230, 301, 431, 45, 50, 60-62, 651, 691,
424 GENERAL INDEX
I03f., 132f., 136-39, 14-1-43, Qatüra (Syria I), ii. 256f,

162-66, 171 f., 182f., 190, 192, 198, Quasi-Justinianic Law of 529, 81-94,
214, 267, 272, 293, 304-7, 310, 313, 167, 337, 341 f.; Li. 36 n „ 50, 306,
315, 326, 328 n., 330; ii. 6 and n., 380
10, 13f, 20, 26, 30, 50f. nn., 59f.,
111, 121, 131, 140, 168 and n., 207, rab/rabb, ii. 277, 289f., 292, 311, 328,
210-14, 221-35, 244f., 333f., 341 n., 348
333 n., 371, 375f., 384 Radu, god, ii. 176, 180, 180 n.
Princeton Archaeological Expedition rain clouds, 42, 52, 66, 188-90, 194,
to Syria, 38; ii. ix, 248, 316, 330, 224, 317f.; ii. 80, 158, 19If.
335 n., 358 Ramsay, Wiiliam MitchelJ, 151, 153,
Priscus of Panium, historian, ii. 125f., 160, 172; ii. 99, 119 n., 121
229f. Raphael, archangel, ii. 132
Priskos, comes, ii. 292f. Raphia (Palestine I), 194 n.
Proclus, patriarch οΓConstantinople, Ravenna, 23, 25, 30, 71, 74, 115 n.
158 and n. Rayän (Syrian I), ii. 250, 282f.
Proclus diadochoSj 5, 9f., 18f., 36, 38f., Refädeh (Syria I), ii. 256-58
44f„ 66, 71, 79, 82-85, 120, 283, relics, 99 n., 107, 116f., 126, 139f.,
287-90, 294, 300, 305, 307-28, 145, 195, 260, 321, 344; ii, 43, 67,
331f., 342Γ.; ii. 3 f, 16, 19, 21, 27f.5 77, 161, 221 n., 225, 363f
38, 62, 233, 289, 344f., 382, 386 religious experience, 104f., 153,
Proclus of Aphrodisias, sophist, ii. 2 If. 308-11, 317f, 323f.;ii, 78Γ, 82f.,
Procopius, monk, 237, 265 85-94, 183-85, 191-93, 198f„ 363
Procopius of Caesarea, historian, Remmona (Arabia), ii. 334—36, 339
89 n., 159 n., 261 n, Rémondon, Roger, ii. 205f,, 239
professions gentiiicae, 31 res pnvata, 30£, 219, 239; ii. 77, 113,
Prohaeresius, sophist, 179, 296, 334, 129
338 resurrection, Christian, 284 n., 285; ii.
proskynima, 121 f., 182, 315; ii. 226, 252, 286, 354, 374
229, 238 Resurrection, church of the (Berytus),
prosmonarios, 109, 116, 153 n,, 159 n.j ii, 33
11, 152 Rey-Coquais, J.-P ., ii. 155, 157
Protogenes of Antinoe, monk, ii. 46Γ Rhodopaeus, defensor dvilatis, ii. 65
protostolisth, ii, 227, 229f. Rhosos (Cilicia II), ii, 147
providence (prorwia, etc.), 173, 209, Riha (Syria I), ii. 280-83
306; ii. 42 Rimea (Arabia), ii. 366, 375f.
psalmody, 163, 240, 245; ii. 46, 128, riots, 26-33, 123, 230-32, 199-203,
140, 148, 211, 225, 383 212, 218, 220, 228, 241, 268, 277,
Psellos, Michael, 319 301; ii, 39f„ 43f., 53
pseudo-Justin, 318; ii. 5 Ritenckristianisierungi 35, 65, 97-99,
Psychapollon, 91; ii. 12 142, 151, 161, 184, 318, 343; ii.
psycfioblabês, 167 50 n., 80, 112f., 12If, Î26, 129,
psychophthoros, 299 142, 185, 18 9 f, 219, 239, 245, 250
pterophojos, ii. 227f, ritual pollution, 41, 195f>, 321, 344; ii,
Pulcheria Augusta, Aelia, 276 23-27, 37f, 67, 122
Pyraithoi, ii. 123 Roueche, Charlotte, ii. 20, 52, 71
Pythas (theophoric) 290 Rome, 23, 27, 57f, 60, 66, 71f., 213,
Pytheas of Aphrodisias, illustns, ii. 21, 239Γ, 240 n., 240 n , 296, 339; ii,
58, 6 If. 6 η., 26, 113, 164, 232
Pythia Therma (Bithynia), 159 n. Rudai, god, ii. 175, 179, 182
Pythiodorus of Trattes, rhetor, ii. 56 Rufinianae (Bithynia), 16, 27; ii.
76-96, 98, 141
Q al‘at el-Hawäys (Syria II), ii. 302 Rufinus, architect, 219-21
Qal'at Kaiôta (Syria I), ii. 258f. Rufinus, praetorian prefect of Oriens,
Qanawàt (Arabia), ii. 341, 373 (see 13; ii. 53f., 77, 94 n.t 128
Canatha) Rufinus of Aquilria, historian,
Qara Tash (Euphratensis), ii. 146 129-33, 136-41, 185, 234, 244
GENERAL INDEX 425
Ruwctia (Syria I ) 3 ii, 250, 282f. sarcophagus, 45f,, 174 n., 195, 320f.;
Ruweida (Syria II), ii. 303 ii. 66, 106, 150L, 153, 265, 288, 296
Sardis (Lydia), 158-60, 164; ii. 130
Saamenoi, tribe of, ii. 359f. Sarpedomus, god, 152
Sabazios, god, ii. 92 Satan, ii. 187 n., 292
Sabba' (Syria II) > ii. 308, 31 Of. Saturn, god, 136, 143; ii. 213, 302
saccrdos, 138, 142 satyrs, 294
sacrifice, 3-34·, 38-40, 44f., 56, 61 Sebaste (Palestine I), 139
and n., 63f., 68-70, 72, 74, 76-81, Sebaste (Pisidia), ii. 130
87f., 94-97, lOUf., 104-6, 109, Second Martyrion (Berytus), 109 n,;
110 η., 113f, 117, 122, 129, 137, ii. 42-44
145-47, 149, 155, 161, 167, 169, Sec und us, magister militum per Onentem,
171, 177, 182, 190, 194, 197f., 200, 296f,, 334
208, 216, 218, 224, 231, 244, 253, Seeia (Arabia), ii. 340f. (see SI*)
280, 293f., 296 n., 298, 301f., 305, seers. 3, 176, 198
307-10, 309 n., 312-15, 320, 323, Seimios, god, 101, 105; ii. 258, 259 n.
344; ii. 1, 3f., 6, 9, 13, 15, 18-22, Selaima (Arabia), ii. 341
24-28, 27 n., 31, 34-38, 42 n., 45, Selem, god, ii. 318
50 n., 55 and n., 57, 60, 62, 66f., Selene, goddess, 96
7If., 81f.a 84f., 89, 303-5, 108, Seleucia, widow, ii. 128
121-24, 131, 135-38, 144, 156, 158, Seleucid era, ii. 157-59, 2 5 2 7 9 ,
160, 176, 189, 211, 215f., 220-22, 284f., 287, 302
224, 226, 229-32, 241-44, 246, 255, Seleukia (Isauria), 151
260, 277, 279, 311, 313, 317, 3 2 8 fs Selmanes, god, ii. 144, 254, 263
343, 363, 371, 378-82, 384f. sema (“ marKer” ), 178; ii, 102, 106 n,
sacrifice, human, 190, 216; ii* 26f.3 Sëmea, goddess, ii, 152
34-36 (sec fetus sacrifice) Sengen (Phrygia), ii, 103-5
Safaitic inscriptions, ii. 173-83, 187f, Septuagint, ii. 13, 30, 33, 76, 292f.,
194f„, 199, 340 n., 379 368
Saisaniyeh (Phoenice), ii. 159 Sera' (Syria II), ii. 297, 299
Sakanobkoneus, god, ii. 246 Serapeum/Serapaeum (Alexandria),
Sakkaia (Arabia), ii. 343-46, 347, 349 22, 49, 111, 122, 129-43, 148, 160,
Salamanestha (Arabia), ii. 351-55, 170 n., 185, 215, 218 n., 234,
378 243-45, 267, 272, 278-80, 343; ii.
Salamis-Constantia (Cyprus), 177 4f,, 53, 67, 102, 139, 205f., 219-20,
Sal aphtha-Irene, 91, 201, 236, 242, 220f., n n , 382
245, 247, 265 Serdjibleh (Syria I), ii. 266f.
Salcha (Arabia), ii. 320, 323-26, 332, Serdjitla (Syria II), ii. 294
339 351 372 Serea (Phrygia), ii. Π2
Salkhad (Arabia), ii. 320, 323 Sergius, St., ii. 161, 303, 321, 331
Samaritans, 75 Sergius, St., church of, 26If. (Gaza);
Sambatius, Ordinarius tanciariorum, ii. ii. 269£ and n, (Dar Qïta), 377f.
lOOf. (Busr el-Hariri)
Sammeh/Sammet el-Berdan (Arabia), Sergius, St., martyrion of (Caesarea
‘ ii. 336 Eitha), ii. 343, 373
Samosata (Euphratensis), ii, 188 Sergius and Bacchus, Sts., church of
Sampsychos of Gaza, decurion, 199Γ, (Umm is-Surab), ii. 32If.
212, 228, 242 Sergius and Bacchus, Sts., monastery
San Stefano Rotundo (Rome), 213 of (Deir m-Na$ram), ii. 33 ]f.
Sangaris river (Galatia II), 42 Sermada (Syria I), ii* 263-66, 311
Sarapion the linen-wrapt, monk, Sermada plain (Syria I), ii. 247 (see
179-81 Dana plain)
Sarapis, god, 7, 22, 49, 101, 129, service vessels, pagan and Christian,
131-35, 137, 139-42, 144, 147£, 214f., 239f, 239 n., 272; ii. 13, 43,
160Γ, 182, 185, 244; ii. 6 n., 102, 211,221
213 n., 216, 218, 240, 243-46, 315 Severus, patriach of Antioch
n., 382 ( = Severus of Sozopolis), ii. 1-3,
426 GENERAL INDEX
18-20, 29-34, 38, 41, 45, 48f., 49Γ. 41 -44, 48, 83, 92, 200-2, 202 n.,
nn.s 385 310
skâd (Syriac '‘evil spirit” ), ii. 7-9 Sosipater, philosopher/theurgist, 65
Shahid, Irfan, ii, 169 n,, 173 n,, Sosipatra, philosopher, 64
347 n., 372 n. sotêr, 309f.
Shai, god, ii* 175 sôtëria, ii. 6, 109» 112, 147, 158, 280,
ShaT haq-Qaum, god, ii. 181, 349 n. 282, 303, 360
Sheikh Barak (Syria II), ii. 304 soul {psyche, etc.), 45, 153 n., 173f.,
Shemshi, monk, ii. 184Γ. 174 n., 286-88, 316, 319-21, 324;
Shemshô, sun god, ii, 26 ii. 14, 35-37, 61 n., 63f., 71, 83 n.,
Shenololet (Thebais I), ii. 207 107, 109, 169f„ 256, 275
Shenute of Airipe, hegumen, 8, 22, Sozomen, historian, 22, 126-28, 205,
140; ii. 135, 207-19, 222-24, 236, 256f., 260f„ 273-75, 277, 280f.; ii.
24 lf. 157, 283, 288, 345 n., 373
Sheppard, A.A.R., 153 n., 154 Sozopolis (Pisidia), 2
Shmin (Thebais I), ii. 207, 218 (sec Spain, 1, 23, 25
Hermopolis) Sparta (Achaea), 330
Si1 (Arabia), ii. 183, 191, 194, 340f. sphinx, 298f., 340
Sibyl, ii. 24 spkragis^ 52, 224, 232, 302; ii. 169, 310
Sicily, I82f.; ii. 141, 208 n. Spieser, J.-M ., 108 n., 116-20, 122
Sidon (Phoenice), ii. 157 spirits, evil, ii. 203
Silenus, father of the satyrs, 294 springs, sacred, 149, 151-56, 312,
Simeon bar Apollon, hagiographer, ii. 331; ii. 115-18, 131
183 stauroptgion, ii. 56
Simkhär (Syria 1), ii. 261 f. Stauropolis-Aphrodisias (Caria), ii.
Simonides, philosopher, 68 55f.
Simonides, poet, 19f. stîiîy 191, 225, 253, 296, 298f., 312,
simulacrum, 13, 20, 29, 79, 136 339; ii, 106
Sinai (Palestine H I), 3; ii. 168 n. Stephen of Enaton, monk, ii. 5, 7-9,
Sis (Euphratensis), ii. 127, 184, 186f. 15, 27 and n., 221
Skala (Phrygia), ii. Π3 Stephen Protomartyr, St., church of
slaves, 79f, 93, HOC, 179-81, 225f, (Andoch), ii. 33
259f., 284 n.f 290Γ, 328; ii. 34-36, Stephen Protomartyr, St., martyrion, of
82 n., 91, 121, 130, 187, 245, 285 (Djuwaniyeh), ii. 278
η., 289Γ, 333, 372 Stephen Protomartyr, St., shrine of
Smad (Arabia), ii, 322f. (Philae), ii. 225, 231
Smetchem (Esmet-Khom), Stercoria of Ratomagus, ii. 337
prötostolistes, ii. 229f., 234, 238 Stoicism, I73f., 174 n., 178; ii. 334
Smeto, prophètes^ ii. 229f., 237 stones, sacred, 150; ii. 6, 50, 323 n.
Smith, William Robertson, ii. 173 Strabo, geographer, 42; ii. 121, 123f.,
Soada, ii. 348f., 373 (see Dionysias) 131
Socrates, historian, 22, 141, 143f. Stratonikeia (Caria), ii. 130
Socrates, philosopher, shrine of students, 283f., 339; ii. 1-22, 26-39,
(Athens), 312 44f., 49f. n n , 221
Sol Invictus, ii. 375 stylites, 162-64, 204; ii. 163-66, 170,
Sulomon, hegumen, ii, 3, II, 15, 20 184-200, 253f.
sômatotkêkê\ 174n. subterranean divinities, 151; ii. 42,
sophist/joÂwi«·, 339; ii. 2-4, 21, 141 102, 106f., 106 n., I l l , 130, 256
Sophronius, bishop of Tella- (see katachthonioi theoi)
Constantina, ii. 202 n. Suda, 322, 324
Sophronius, “ On the Overthrow of sujâgium, 64f,
Sarapis” , 185 Süpü Oren (Phrygia), ii. 112
sorcerers, ii. 7f., 31, 89, 9 If., 200, 208 superstitio, 26, 80, 129, 131
and n., 239 Sür (Arabia), iL 366
sorcery-, 6 n., 51-72, 95, 165, 176, 198 Suraim freedman, ii. 333f,
n., 318; ii. 9, 22, 29, 34f., 36 n., Sykourion (Thessalia), 259f.
GENERAL INDEX 427
Sylvester, bishop of Rome, 239 8 If., I Ilf., 119 n „ 122, 135f.,

Symbaitytos, goddess, 101, 105, 189; 138-41, 144-46, 154, 158-61, 189f.,
ii. 136, 192, 258, 259 n. 202, 208-10, 212f., 213 n,, 220-25,
Symeon Stylites the Elder, ii. 127, 238, 248, 255, 258f., 262, 266, 270,
163-66, 170f., 175, 183-200, 203Γ, 276f., 283-85, 288, 313f., 329, 331 f.,
249, 251, 253, 255, 258, 263, 338, 342-44, 348 n., 360f„ 364 n.,
266-68, 311 377f., 382
Symeon the Ancient, monk, ii. 146 temples, 2-7, 11-15, 17-34, 36-44,
Synesius of Cyrene, 32 46-49, 69f., 73f„ 78f., 82, 84-88,
synoikism of cults, 152-55, 173; ii. 96, 101-47, 151-56, 158, 162-64,
101, 115f., 115 n., 235-37, 3t3f., 166, 170-72, 184-86, 188-91, 194,
384 196f., 203f., 204 n., 207-23, 225,
Syria, 27, 120f., 162-64, 167, 177 n„ 237, 240, 243f., 252-54, 264, 266,
247, 329f. ; ii. 29, 50 n., 64, 72, 75, 272, 274, 283, 2B9f„ 292f., 304f„
77, 99, 127, 134—204, 206, 236, 308-11, 322f., 326, 329f., 335,
247-312, 384 342-44; ii. 5-7, 6 n„ 13, 23f,
Syriac language, ii. 153, 188 52-54, 63, 66f„ 81f„ 11 If., 117,
Syrianus, philosopher, 288, 290, 304, 121, 123f., 126 n., 129f., 136 n.,
31 If., 320 138f., 141 143, 152, 155, 157-59,
162, 178, 183, 189, 202, 208,210,
Tabennesiote monks, 137; ii. 6, 12, 213 n., 220-35, 237, 24lf„ nn.,
221,223-25 243-45, 248, 254f., 258f., 263-66,
taboo sickness, 77, 233, 268, 334f; ii. 270-73, 272 n., 275-80, 290, 292,
108 n. 303, 311, 317 and n., 320f., 323 and
Talm is (Dodecaschœnus), ii. 233Γ., n., 327-32, 332 n., 336-38, 340-43,
239, 333 and n. 340 n., 346-48, 355f., 357 n., 360f.,
Tanagra (Achaea), 285 n. 367, 370-72, 375f., 379f., 383
Tarinos, presbyter, ii. 356f. templum, 15, 21, 26, 61 n., 69, 74, 78,
Tarutia Emporôn (Syria II), ii. 251, 96 n., 136, 142
295-99, 301, 304, 312 Teos, law code of, ii. 49
Tatianus, Flavius Eutolmius, Terebon, Arab boy, ii. 167-69
praetorian prefect of Oriens, 96, Termessos (Pamphylia), 183
128, 131; ii. 53f. Tetrarchy, 269; ii. 64, 375f.
taurobolium, 340; ii. 26 Thabatha (Palestine I), 205
Taurus mountains, ii. 107, 127f. Thalaleios, monk, 105f.; ii. 143,
Tchalenko, Georges, ii. ix, 186, 248f., 159-61, 278
279, 282 Thasos (Macedonia I), 184
Telanissos (Syria I), ii. 185-87, 200, thauma, 44, 135, 158 n., 209; ii. 130
249-50, 253-56, 258, 263 thaumaturgist, ii. 81
Teledan (Syria I), ii. 144f., 163, 248, Thea of Aphrodisias, decurion, ii. 63,
251, 263f., 266 67
telestêncn, 37, 43 Theagenes, archon eponymous
Tell-‘Adeh (see Deir Tell-lAdeh) (Athens), 86, 289, 309f., 322, 325
Tell Snän (Syria II), ii. 307-9 Theandrites, god, 37, 39, 315; ii.
Tella-Constandna (Osrhoene), ii. 41 327f., 336, 341 f., 341 n., 348, 360,
n. 362-64, 372, 378
Telneshil (Syria I), ii, 185 Thebais I and II, 22; ii. 207-20,
Tembris river (Phrygia), ii. 110, 114 225-39, 244
temple-church (Aphrodisias), ii. 53, Thebes (Achaea), 306, 324 n.
66f. Thebes (Aegyptus), ii. 34, 233
temple-conversions, 108-47, 152-56, Thecla, St., 15If.
166 and n., 184-87, 191, 207-22, theiasmoSy 41
225, 237, 240, 244f., 249, 252f., 258, T H E O D oracle, 49C, 57, 67f., 318
267-69, 272, 275-81, 292, 300, Theodore, bishop of Philae, ii. 231,
31 Of., 330, 336f., 339, 342f.; ii. 5f., 233
12-14, 23f., 26, 52-54, 66-68, 71f., Theodore, imperial secretary, 50
428 GENERAL INDEX
Theodor«, St., martyrion of (Sakkaia), Thessalonike (Macedonia I), 96,

ii, 345 115 n., 124 n., 184, 212, 248Î.,
Theodore Kodon, lector, ii. 69 268f,, 321; ii. 68
Theodore of Sykeon, St., bishop and theurgy, 10, 35f., 48-54, 62-65,
monk, 42, 183, 204 η., 251Γ; n. 173 n., 298, 308, 317f.; ii, 19, 29,
108f., 118, 130, 133 and n., 383 n. 38, 45, 93
Theodoret of Cyrrhus, bishop, 22, 95, Thocris, temple of (Oxyrhvnchus), ii.
101, 105-7, 110 η., 117, 123-26, 243
133-35, 227 n., 258, 279; ii. 5, 27t, Thomas of Maiea, monk, 331
32, 46, 77, 130, 132 n., 135, 139, thoraces of Sarapis, 141
143-50, 152, 154, 159-65, 168, Thrace, ii. 93f., 144
170f, 174, 176, 183f., 194, 197, 199, Thucydides, ii. 28
20If, 242. 248f„ 262, 264, 266, thunderbolts, ii. 80f., 132, 147, 158f.,
276 n., 278, 288, 308, 385 19If., 252
Theodosian Code, If., 5, 10-35, 37, thytoras (temple door-keeper), 310
39, 59-78, 118, 120, 147, 196, thysia, 190, 197; ii, 363
231 η., 264, 280, 301, 310, 317, 319; Tillokbara/Tillokbarinön (Syria I), ii.
ii. 11, 15, 53 n.3 57 m, 71, 138, 215, 265, 354 n.
229,2 3 2 ,2 4 1 ,3 8 0 Tlmbe, Janet, ii. 240 n.
Theodosius, dux of the Thebaid, ii. 213 Timothy, presbyter (Gaza), 243,
Theodosius I, emperor (379-95), 3, 259 n.
5 f, 13, 17, 20, 23f., 59, 69, 72, 74, Timothy, St,, marfymn of (Gaza),
95f., 131, I40f, 143, 146, 190, 195, 235f, 259f., 259 n.
210 244, 260, 268f., 274, 299, 310, Tisnin (Phoenice Libanensis), ii, 150f.
336; ii. 42, 53f, 60, 66f., 154, 222, Titus, archbishop of Bostra, 228
297, 356f. torture, 67f., 20If.
Theodosius II, emperor (408-50), 2, Touron (Syria I), ii, 275-78
10f., 31, 34, 75, 97, 231 n., 238, Trachon (Attica), 291
258, 262, 276, 280, 307, 336; ii. 194, Trachonitis, ii. 316, 320, 358 (see
210, 233 ru, 235, 380 Ledjä, The)
Theodotus the “ Pumpkin” , 89 n. Trajan, emperor (99-117), 77, 121,
theogonies, ii. 33, 48 188; ii. 316
Theon, mathematician, 32 Tralles (Caria), ii. 44
Theophanes the Confessor, 81; ii. Transoxiania, ii. 203
65 n, trees, sacred, 27, 112 and n., 114 n.,
theophany, 150 156f.; ii. 77, 80, 94, 128
Theophilus, imperial official, ii, 154 triad, divine, 121, 155; ii, 178, Ï92,
Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, 258, 259 n., 260f., 289, 314, 348
22f, 122, I29f., 133, 13B-41, 143, Tribonian, quaestor, 72, 78, 81
161, 267, 277 f; ii. 4 Trier (Belgica I), 62
theophoric names, pagan, 185, 286f,, Trinity, Christian, 155; ii. 23, 166,
289-91, 309, 329; ii. 56, 70. 101, 171, 257, 259, 261,264, 269-71,
185, 199, 237, 265, 278, 289f., 331, 273 and n., 290, 292, 299, 353, 363
374 tripod, 50, 317f.; ii. 23
Theos Hypsistos, ii. 1)3 trireme, sacred (Athens), 19, 290, 293
Theos Megistos Baitochichi, ii. 158, Tritons, ii. 53 n.
313 n. Trophimion, vintner, ii. 116
Theosebios, theologian, 52, 55f. Trullo, Council in (691-92), 182 n,,
theolokosy 98 n., 158 and n., 159, 292; 183 n., 294, 312, 317f.; ii. 96
ii. 23, 31 Tryphon, St., ii. 113
Theotokos, church of (Berytus), ii. 30, Turks, ii. 203f., 311
33, 40 Tyana (Cappadocia II), ii. 120, 131
therapeia> 39 Tvchaion, 188f., 209, 212; ii. !3f.,
Theseion (Athens), 117, 120 Ï4 nr> 20, 122, 136 n., 341, 347
Thesmophoreion (Delos), 120 lycht, 209; ii. 57, 331, 366, 376
Thespiac (Achaea), 25, 294, 304, Tyche, goddess, 188Γ.; ii. 14 n.,
335f. 136 n., 369 n.
r
G EN ERA L IN D EX 429
tymbos, 288 n.; ii. 118, 354 Π6, 133 n„ 2181,248, 340
Typhon, god, ii. 37, 244 Vitus, bishop of Harrän-Carrhae, 175
Tyrannos, priest» 1361, 143 vowels, magic, 571; ii. 132
Ulpian (Domitius Ulpianus), Waddington» W.H. ii. 326, 328 n.,

jurisconsult, 84, 206 n, 343, 3471, 362 n., 363, 364 n., 3781
Umm el-Halakhil (Syria II), ii. 3041 Waseath, god, ii. 341
Umm el-Jimal (Arabia), ii. 317-20, White Monastery, 22; ii. 212f, 215
331 n., 372 Wilcken, Ulrich, ii. 2251, 229
Umm er-Redjim (Syria II), ii. 304Γ. will and legacies, 731, 83-87, 231 n.,
Umm er-Roumman (Arabia)» ii. 332, 2961, 326, 328; ii. 591, 89, 206
334 (see Remmona) wine-press, 99 n,, 183, 330; ii. 96, 260
Umm is-Surab (Arabia), ii, 3211, witchcraft, ii. 14 n,
3 3 1 n *
women. 1151, 1361, 144, 148 n.,
Umm iz-Zeitûn (Arabia), ii. 367 157-60, 179-81, 191, 1971, 198 n.,
Umm Wilat (Syria II), ii. 297, 299, 2001, 203, 208, 210, 2201, 223-26,
301 229-33, 2421, 252, 2591, 2661,
Uranius, Sulpicius Antoninus, 2961, 309-11, 328, 337; ii. 61,
usurper, ii. 302 35-37, 39, 41, 53, 55 n., 62-64,
Urbanus, grammaticus, ii. 4, 15 701, 791, 86, 901, 99-101, 103,
Urbàcius, pratposüus sacri cubic\Uiy ii. 78, 111, 114, [2), 128, 136, 140, 153,
89 157, 166, 193, 2011, 208, 2681, 273,
Urim el-Drüz (Syria II), ii. 279Γ. 280, 286, 289, 298, 322, 337, 356
Ursus, Lucius, actuaüus, ii. 3371
Xanthos (Lycia), 321 and n., 326, 328
Valens, emperor (364-78), 3, 17, 25, xenodochcion> 201, 239» 2551, 256 n.,
491» 56-59, 62, 651, 68-73, 84, 96, 261 and n.; ii. 254 (pandochcion)
110 and n., 1451, 170, 177, 190, Xenophanes of Colophon,
277, 2971» 301, 302 η,, 3051,318, philosopher, 97, 245; ii, 315
335-37, 335 η.; ii. 66, 117, 276Γ., xoanon, ii. 6 n>, 230, 259
338
Valentinian I, emperor (364-75), 25, Yammouneh (Phoenice), ii. 156
61, 68-73, 86, 145, 170, 190, 297f., Yazdigird I, king of Persia, ii. 168
301, 302 n., 305, 335; ii. 338 Ya 2digird II, king of Persia, ii. 196,
Valentinian II, emperor (375-92), 17, 203
69, 72, 74, 195; ii. 42 Yehuda ha-Nasi, rabbi, 114 n.
Valentinian III, emperor (425-55),
23, 74, 77, 231 n,; ii. 235 Zachariah of Mytilene, sckoiastikos, 71,
Van Dam, Raymond, 187 82, 95; ii. 1-48, 52, 60, 67, 69, 207,
Varus, bishop of Zorava, ii. 361 f., 209, 220-25
373, 378 Zarnouas (perhaps “ Zoroaster” ), ii.
vatesf 66 123
Venasa (Cappadocia I and II), Zeno, bishop of Mai u ma, 260,
festival of, ii. 120-22, 131 273-77, 2801
veneßeium, 58, 62, 66, 77 Zeno, emperor (474-91), 62, 66,
Vestal Virgins, 27 n, 81-94, 97, 167, 335, 337, 3421; iL
victory inscriptions, Christian, 102, 14, 22, 25, 36 n,, 40, 50 n., 52, 68,
107, 109, 220, 224, 285, 292, 330; ii, 72, 125 and n., 222, 306, 309, 362,
57, 67, 1021» 112, 151, 153-55, 247, 380, 382
2531, 262, 273, 288, 291-94, 307-9, Zeno, Flavius, comes, and archierms, ii.
321, 331, 357, 376 58-60
visions, 104—6, 143 n., 153» 165-68, Zeno, rusticiis, ii. 90
304-6, 308, 310f., 317; ii. 8, 24-26, Zenodutus of Lesbos, philoponos, ii.
91, 160 η., 1821, 192-94, 1981, 101, 15
204, 2201, 3631, 3821 Zerzlta (Syria I), ii, 2561
Vitianus, governor of Caria, ii. 68 Zeus, god, 41, 4 n., 17, 42, 47, 114,
viticulture, 64, 2931, 312; ii, 96, 110, 116, 122-24, 143 and n., 295, 298;
430 GENERAL INDEX
ii, 13f., 23, 112, 121, i31f., I36n., Zeus Koryphaios, ii. 276f.
139, 159, 244, 256-58, 300, 318, Zeus Madbachos, ii. 136, 144, 185,
321, 341, 360, 367, 376 248, 253-55, 263, 276
Zeus Ammon, ii. 47, 348 and n. Zeus Marnas, 2, 34, 39, 114, 188,
Zeus Bömios/Bömos, ii. 255, 271 203, 205, 208, 213-15, 219, 222,
Zeus Brontön, 15 n.; ii. 80, 110-12, 224, 245P 248, 253f, 261, 264Γ., 267,
113 η., 116 270, 272, 298, 315, 318, 382
Zeus Chalazios Sözön, ii. 132 n. Zeus Megistos, ii. 103, 343f., 350
Zeus Dam ascenes, 163 Zeus Sarapis, ii. 313Γ.
Zeus Eukarpios/Eukarpos, 152 Zeus Trophonius, 170 n.
Zeus Ganymede, ii. 343, 345 Zoanes, magisUr militum, ii. 90
Zeus Gennaios, 46; ii. 258 Zorava (Arabia), 104-6; ii. 161,
Zeus Heliopolitanus, 109 n., 116, 189; 359-66, 373, 376-78
ii. 92 n., 258, 259 n. Zoroaster, ii. 36, 123
Zeus Helios, ii. 50 n,, 375 Zoroastrians, ii. 168, 202f, (see
Zeus Helios Sarapis, ii. 6 n., 245 Mazdaeans)
Zeus Hypsistos, 155 Zosimus, historian, 70, 303, 305 n,,
Zeus Keraunios, ii. 347 306Γ, 306 n., 312

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F R A N K R.

Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978 - 90 -04 -27481-5 (volume 2 paperback)

Copyright 1993 by Koninklijke Brill n v , Leiden, The Netherlands.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Xenophanes of Colophon, Fr. 23

The abode of daimones has become the house of God.

V. The Philoponoi o f Alexandria and Hellenic Religion............ 1

V II. Asia M in o r................................................................................. 74

V III. Arabs and Aram aeans in the Syrian Countryside.......... 134

In scrip tion s............................................................................ 173

IX . The Nile Valley from Canopus to P h ila e ........................ 205

Appendix IV: Sacrifice in Fourth-Century Oxyrhynchus...... 241

X . The Antiochene and the A p am e n e ........................................ 247

Appendix V: The “ One G od” Inscriptions............................... 313

X I. The Bostrene, Djebel Ilau ran and the L e d jä ..................... 317

Appendix V I: The God o f Aumos at Deir el-Leben................ 375

Appendix V II: Tem ple Conversions and the Survival of

Errata & Additamenta to Part I ........................................................ 403

General Index........................................................................................ 405

This volume completes the discussion o f Hellenic religion and

Greek paideia and Christian sophistic would have occupied such a

Additional note: I have retained all solecisms o f spelling and gram ­

AA ES Publications of an American Archaeological Expedition to Syria in

Enno Littmann. Section A: Nabataean Inscnptions from the Southern

The biography of Severus, the monophysite patriarch o f Antioch

1 Zacharie le Scholastique, Vie de Sevtre, ed. tr. M.-A. Kugener, Patrologia

passes events at Berytus and Aphrodisias as well. One must first

/. The Social Background o f Zachariah of Myiilene’s Friends

4 Zachariah refers to his family as “ distinguished’5, the Greek word being

Roman East certainly used this method to wean catechumens and

IL Relations among Pagan and Christian Professors and Their Students:

55 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. I.

favored students besides Paralios took part in the secret rites.

22 Zachariah, V. Severi, 16.

?6 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 4, and Ch, VI, passim.

The story came to Paralios’ attention during religious discussions

Exchanges of this sort, which questioned the ontological reality of

29 Zachariah, V. Severit 19»

Pcirphyrius of Tyre, De Abstinentiû Bk. 2 in Potphyni Pkilosopki Platmici Opuscu-

sorcerer seemed plausible. Pagan and Christian magical papyri

The Christian convert often had unpleasant experiences if he

50 Zachariah, V. Seven, 24Γ

A procession of monks, clerics, and philoponoi, including Zachariah,

57 Infra, Ch. IX , Sect. 2.

The ordinary Christians interrupted the priest’s answers by shout­

16th—17th century Italy, which reveals similar examples of defendants5 appeasing

///. Some Conversions in Alexandria

67 Cf. Bury, LRE 1, 396ff.

Paralios confessed certain emotional problems to Zachariah of

73 Zachariah, V. Seven, 37f.

Zachariah o f Mytilene defined Paralios5 mental state as one of

Defer ran, 4 (London-Cambridge, Mass. 1934), 388-391. Cf. Johannes Quasten,

reported in the life of Hypatius of Refunianae, a monastery in

Zachariah used the occasion o f his recovery and the graveside

02 Infra, Ch. V II, Sect. 1,

06 Infra, Ch. V, Sect. 5.

Sozopolis, who might well have apostasized from the catechumen-

IV. Some Alexandrian Connections with Aphrodisias in the Reign of Zeno

Additional note: I have retained all solecisms o f spelling and gram

The ordinary Christians interrupted the priest’s answers by shout

This instance mentions no ritual contamination of the Apollo tem

lecturer of high repute. Zachariah, although alienated from Seve

The surviving magical papyri contain drawings of daimones grasp

Iranians, they thoroughly understood the marketability of bogus Per

M arty non was drawn. Ghrysaorios engaged the man in conversa

Berytus quite obviously suffered periodic earth tremors. Seismic activ

Aphrodisias, the “ holy city” o f Aphrodite, provides the most strik