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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Eusebius of Caesarea in his Life of Constantine (3.48.1-2) claims that the first Christian emperor built shrines of martyrs in Constantinople and dedicated the city to the God of the martyrs. Written in Greek in Caesarea of Palestine, 337/339.

Evidence ID

E00769

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Major author/Major anonymous work

Eusebius of Caesarea

Eusebius of Caesarea, Life of Constantine, 3.48.1-2

τὴν δέ γ’ ἐπώνυμον αὐτοῦ πόλιν ἐξόχῳ τιμῇ γεραίρων, εὐκτηρίοις πλείοσιν ἐφαίδρυνε μαρτυρίοις τε μεγίστοις καὶ περιφανεστάτοις οἴκοις, τοῖς μὲν πρὸ τοῦ ἄστεος τοῖς δ’ ἐν αὐτῷ τυγχάνουσι, δι’ ὧν ὁμοῦ καὶ τὰς τῶν μαρτύρων μνήμας ἐτίμα καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ πόλιν τῷ τῶν μαρτύρων καθιέρου θεῷ. ὅλως δ’ ἐμπνέων θεοῦ σοφίας, ἣν τῆς ἐπηγορίας τῆς αὐτοῦ πόλιν ἐπώνυμον ἀποφῆναι ἔκρινε, καθαρεύειν εἰδωλολατρίας ἁπάσης ἐδικαίου, ὡς μηδαμοῦ φαίνεσθαι ἐν αὐτῇ τῶν δὴ νομιζομένων θεῶν ἀγάλματα ἐν ἱεροῖς θρησκευόμενα, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ βωμοὺς λύθροις αἱμάτων μιαινομένους, οὐ θυσίας ὁλοκαυτουμένας πυρί, οὐ δαιμονικὰς ἑορτάς, οὐδ’ ἕτερόν τι τῶν συνήθων τοῖς δεισιδαίμοσιν.

'In honouring with exceptional distinction the city which bears his name, he embellished it with several houses of worship – both massive martyr-shrines (μαρτύρια μέγιστα/
martyria megista) and splendid halls (οἶκοι/oikoi = churches), the former standing outside the city, the latter within it. By these, he at the same time honoured the memories of the martyrs and consecrated his own city to the God of the martyrs (ὁ τῶν μαρτύρων Θεὸς / ho tōn martyrōn Theos). Being fully inspired by God's wisdom, he saw fit to purge of all idolatry the city which he chose to render eponymous of his own name, so that nowhere in it were to be seen statues of the supposed gods being worshipped in shrines, nor altars being contaminated by bloody slaughter, nor sacrifice offered as holocaust in fire, nor feasts of demons, nor any of the other customs of the superstitious.'


Text: Winkelmann 2008.
Translation: E. Rizos (using Cameron and Hall 1999).



Record Created By

Efthymios Rizos

Date of Entry

1/12/2015

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00060Martyrs, unnamed or name lostCertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Efthymios Rizos, Cult of Saints, E00769 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00769