Greek epigram, probably by Kyros/Cyrus of Panopolis, from the pillar-shrine of *Daniel (stylite near Constantinople, ob. 493, S00342) at Anaplous (Constantinopolitan suburb on the Bosphorus), praising the virtue of the saint, whom it compares to *Symeon the Elder (stylite of Qal‘at Sim‘ān in Syria, ob. 459, S00343). Late 5th c.; recorded in the 10th c. Greek Anthology.
Evidence ID
E00566
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Literary - Poems
Major author/Major anonymous work
Greek Anthology
Greek Anthology, Book 1 (Christian Epigrams), 99
ΚΥΡΟΥ
ἐν τῷ κίονι τοῦ ὁσίου Δανιὴλ ἐν τῷ Ἀνάπλῳ
Μεσσηγὺς γαίης τε καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἵσταται ἀνήρ,
πάντοθεν ὀρνυμένους οὐ τρομέων ἀνέμους.
τοὔνομα μὲν Δανιήλ, μεγάλῳ Συμεῶνι δ᾽ ἐρίζει,
ἴχνια ῥιζώσας κίονι διχθαδίῳ·
λιμῷ δ᾽ ἀμβροσίᾳ τρέφεται καὶ ἀναίμονι δίψῃ,
υἱέα κηρύσσων μητρὸς ἀπειρογάμου.
'Kyros
On the pillar of Saint Daniel in the Anaplous
Betwixt earth and heaven stands a man who trembles not at the winds that gust from every side. His name is Daniel, and he rivals the great Symeon, planting his feet on a double pillar. In his hunger, he is fed with ambrosia, in his thirst, with the spirit, preaching the Son of the Virgin Mother.'
Text and translation: Paton and Tueller 2014; translation modified.
Cult Places
Other (mountain, wood, tree, pillar)
Rejection, Condemnation, SceptisismConsiderations about the hierarchy of saints
Non Liturgical ActivityComposing and translating saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesAristocrats
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the hierarchy of saints
Source
The Greek Anthology is a collection of Greek epigrams from dating from the Archaic period to the 9th century AD. It was initially compiled by Meleager of Megara (100-90 BC), whose collection was edited and expanded by Philip of Thessalonica (under Nero), Agathias of Myrina (AD 567/8) and finally by Konstantinos Kephalas (c. AD 900).The word epigram literally means an inscription. Although most Greek inscriptions were in prose, the word came to be specifically connected to those written in verse, and eventually to include poetic texts which were not necessarily inscribed. From the earliest period of Greek literature, epigrams were mostly sepulchral or dedicatory: they either memorialised the dead or marked the dedication of an object to a god.
Book 1 of the Greek Anthology contains Christian epigrams from Late Antiquity to the 9th century. It was compiled c. 880-900, containing a considerable number of poems copied directly from monuments. The scholar responsible for the transcriptions may have been Gregorios Magistros, a colleague of Kephalas. Epigrams 1-17 and possibly others were taken down from inscriptions at Constantinople and two of them, namely No. 1 (inscription from the bema arch of St. Sophia) and No. 10 (inscription from the church of St. Polyeuktos) have been found in situ, thus confirming the accuracy of the entries in the Anthology.
Discussion
This epigram offers concise praise of Daniel the Stylite, referring to his two pillars in the Anaplous (modern Arnavutköy-Bebek) on the European coast of the Bosphorus. The author of the text is probably Kyros (Cyrus) of Panopolis, who held a series of high offices (Urban Prefect of Constantinople, Praetorian Prefect, and consul) under Theodosius II (Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire II, 'Cyrus 7'). Kyros was famous as a learned man and poet.According to Daniel’s Life (E04560), Kyros and he became friends when the saint freed Kyros' daughter from an evil spirit, before he became a stylite. This epigram was probably composed during Daniel’s lifetime, providing an interesting testimony for this holy man’s close relationship with the elite of the East Roman capital. Conversely, it also attests the interest of the Constantinopolitan elite in monastic figures during the 5th century. It was included in Daniel’s Life.
Bibliography
Edition and Translation:Paton, W.R., rev. Tueller, M.A., The Greek Anthology, Books 1-5, 2nd ed. (Loeb Classical Library; London, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 2014).
Other editions:
Beckby, H., Anthologia Graeca (Munich: Ernst Heimeran Verlag, 1957).
Conca, F., Marzi, M., and Zanetto, G., Antologia Palatina. 3 vols. Vol. 1 (Classici Greci; Turin: Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, 2005).
Waltz, P., Anthologie Grecque (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1928).
Further reading on the Greek Anthology:
Cameron, A., The Greek Anthology: From Meleager to Planudes (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993).
Further reading:
Callot, O., "À propos de quelques colonnes de stylites syriens", in: R. Étienne, M.-T. Le Dinahet, M. Yon (eds.), Architecture et poésie dans le monde grec. Hommages à Georges Roux (Lyon: Maison de l'Orient; Paris: Diffusion de Boccard, 1989), 107-122.
Record Created By
Efthymios Rizos
Date of Entry
17/08/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00342 | Daniel, stylite near Constantinople, ob. 493 | Δανιήλ | Certain | S00343 | Symeon the Elder, stylite of Qal‘at Sim‘ān, ob. 459 | Συμεὼν | Certain |
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Efthymios Rizos, Cult of Saints, E00566 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00566