Fragment of a Greek Martyrdom of *Pamoun (possibly the monk and martyr of Alexandria, S00775), from Oxyrhynchos (Middle Egypt); in a manuscript datable to the 6th/7th century.
Evidence ID
E01265
Type of Evidence
Early manuscripts - Books/scrolls
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
A fragment of a Martyrdom of Pamoun is contained on a single leaf, reconstructed from six joining fragments, which once formed part of a papyrus codex.
P.Oxy. 70. 4759
The short fragment offers the beginning of the martyr’s interrogation by the governor, set on the tribunal. The governor inquires after the saint’s parents and his age. Pamoun gives his age as 21 years to the day and insists that he has no earthly father, but Christ alone. It is, however, established by the governor that Pamoun is a noble man of his city who should not bring shame onto his nobility.
Non Liturgical ActivityComposing and translating saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOfficials
Source
This fragmentary papyrus leaf is made up of six fragments found in the rubbish heap of the city of Oxyrhynchos. The leaf must have once belonged to a papyrus codex which might also have included martyrdoms of other saints. The text is datable by its script to the 6th/7th century and is kept at the Oxyrhynchos papyrus collection located in the Sackler Library in Oxford. The original composition of this text could, however, be earlier.Discussion
The identity of this martyr is not clear. A rich man named Pamoun from Tilog is martyred with a man named Elias, as a side martyr in the Martyrdom of Apa Shenoufe and his eleven family members (see E01224). Another Pamoun appears in P.Lond.Copt. I 344, a fragment of a Coptic Martyrdom of two monks, Pamoun and his brother Sarmata (see E01266). The Coptic Martyrdom of Thekla (see E01309) also features an Apa Pamoun together with Apa Klaudios. Both men are singing hymns surrounded by crowds prior to Thekla’s interrogation by Arianus.In O.Sarga 54.7, an Apa Pamoun appears among a list of holy men (See E01245). For more occurrences of saints with the name Pamoun, see also A. Papconstantinou, Le culte des saints en Égypte (Paris, 2001), 385 and 396.
Bibliography
Chapa, J., "4759. Passion of St. Pamoun’, in: The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, vol. LXX, ed. N. Gonis, J. D. Thomas, and R. Hatzilambrou (London, 2006), 1–8.Record Created By
Gesa Schenke
Date of Entry
14/4/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00775 | Pamoun, martyr of Alexandria with his monastic brother Sarmata. | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Gesa Schenke, Cult of Saints, E01265 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01265