Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Martyrs of Palestine (8.5-8), narrates the martyrdom of *Ennatha from Gaza and *Oualentina/Valentina from Caesarea (martyrs of Caesarea of Palestine, S00162) in 309. Written in Greek at Caesarea, in 311; a longer version of the text survives only in a later Syriac translation.
E00302
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine, 8.5-8
Summary:
In the sixth year of persecution [= 309], after the governor Firmilianus had carried out the execution of three Palestinian confessors, he turned to the case of Ennatha, a young woman from Gaza, where she led a celibate life. When she was arrested, Ennatha, afraid of the threat of being sent to a brothel, chose to aggravate her sentence by insulting the emperor. By the governor's order, she underwent several sessions of severe torture. As she was tortured, another young Christian woman, Oualentina, who was a native of Caesarea, intervened and rebuked Ennatha's tormentors. She was immediately arrested and brought to the governor's court. When Oualentina refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, her executioners tried to force her to do that; however during the struggle that followed she managed to overturn the pagan altar. Enraged, Firmilianus ordered her to be severely tortured as well. After that, both martyrs were sentenced to death by fire.
Summary: Sergey Minov
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Officials
Source
In this work Eusebius presents an account of the suffering and death of Christian martyrs executed during the eight years of the Diocletianic (or Great) persecution, i.e. 303-311. Most of the martyrdoms described by Eusebius took place in Palestine, with the provincial capital city of Caesarea as the most prominent setting.Martyrdom of Ennatha and Oualentina: ed. Cureton 1861, pp. 30*-32* (long recension); ed. Schwartz et al. 1999, vol. 2, p. 926 (short recension); English trans. Lawlor and Oulton 1927-1928, vol. 1, pp. 367-369.
For a full discussion of the Martyrs of Palestine, see E00294.
Discussion
This entry, typical of Eusebius' description of the martyrs of Palestine, consists of a brief account of torture and death, with no reference to miraculous events. Although there is no explicit reference to the martyrs' commemoration, the record of the date of their deaths might suggest that they were commemorated in Caesarea in an annual celebration on that day.The short Greek recension of the Martyrs does not mention the name of the first of these two female martyrs, whereas in the long Syriac recension she is referred to as ܚܬܐ, a form which could be understood as the general description ḥātā, 'sister' (see Cureton 1861, p. 64). According to some scholars, however, it is a corrupt form of the personal name 'Ennatha' (cf. Violet 1896, pp. 64-65; Lawlor and Oulton 1927-1928, vol. 1, p. 369). This assumption seems to be based on the fact that another female martyr, mentioned by Eusebius, who bears the name Ἐνναθάς in the Greek version (*Ennathas from Scythopolis, S00194), is also referred as ܚܬܐ in the Syriac version. In favour of this interpretation there is also the fact that the construction of the sentences, where this identifier appears, suggests that it was understood to be a personal name. Cf. ܫܡܗ ܕܝܢ ܕܩܕܡܝܬܐ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ ܚܬܐ, 'so, the name of the former was ḥātā ' (ed. Cureton 1861, p. 32*, ln. 11-12).
Bibliography
Editions and translations:Cureton, W. (ed.), History of the Martyrs in Palestine, by Eusebius, Bishop in Caesarea, Discovered in a Very Ancient Syriac Manuscript (London / Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate / Paris: C. Borrani, 1861).
Lawlor, H.J., and Oulton, J.E.L. (trans.), The Ecclesiastical History and the Martyrs of Palestine. 2 vols (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1927-1928).
Schwartz, E., Mommsen, T., and Winkelmann, F. (eds.), Eusebius Werke, Band 2, Teil 2 (Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte NF 6/2; 2nd ed.; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1999).
Further reading:
Violet, B., Die palästinischen Märtyrer des Eusebius von Cäsarea: ihre ausführliche Fassung und deren Verhältnis zur Kürzeren (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 14.4; Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1896).
Sergey Minov
16/02/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00162 | Ennatha and Oualentina, martyrs of Caesarea of Palestine | ܚܬܐ; Οὐαλεντῖνα | Certain |
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