Greek oracle question from Oxyrhynchos (Middle Egypt), posed to *Philoxenos (saint with cult at Oxyrhynchos, S00443), and mentioning a hospital (nosokomion) of the saint; datable to the 6th century.
Evidence ID
E02284
Type of Evidence
Liturgical texts - Divinatory texts and oracle questions
Late antique original manuscripts - Papyrus sheet
P.Oxy. 8 1150
The text concerns the healing of a man named Anoup: specifically it asks whether he should be taken to the saint's hospital. It was presumably placed in the saint's shrine together with another papyrus text bearing the opposite command (i.e. not to take Anoup to the hospital). The papyrus that was returned told the supplicants what they should do.
+
+ Ὁ θεὸς τοῦ προστάτου ἡμῶν
τοῦ ἁγίου Φιλοξένου, ἐὰν
κελεύεις εἰσενεγκεῖν
εἰς τὸ νοσοκομῖόν σου Ἀνούπ;
δεῖξον τὴν δύναμ[ίν σου]
καὶ ἐξέλθῃ τὸ πιττ[ά]κ[ιον].
'O God of our patron, St. Philoxenos, if you command us to bring Anoup to your hospital, show [your] power, and let the message come forth.'
Translation: M. Meyer
Cult PlacesPrayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Cult building - unspecified
Places Named after SaintHospital and other charitable institutions
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Divination
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Source
The papyrus was found at Oxyrhynchos and has been dated on palaeographical grounds.Discussion
The text suggests that the cult of Philoxenos in Oxyrhynchos was in fact a healing cult with a hospital associated with it.Bibliography
Edition:Hunt, A.S., The Oxyrhynchus Papyri vol. VIII, Published by the Egypt Exploration Society in Graeco-Roman Memoirs (London, 1911), 251.
Translation:
Meyer, M., Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power (San Francisco, 1994), 53.
Record Created By
Gesa Schenke
Date of Entry
27/1/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00443 | Philoxenos, saint with cult at Oxyrhynchos | Φιλόξενος | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Gesa Schenke, Cult of Saints, E02284 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E02284