E05716
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
John Malalas
John Malalas, Chronographia, 13.19-20
(13.19) Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἐμαρτύρησεν ὁ ἅγιος Δομέτιος. ἐπεστράτευσε γὰρ κατὰ Περσῶν δυνατὴν στρατείαν, καὶ κατελθὼν κατέλαβεν Ἀντιόχειαν· καὶ ἀνελθὼν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ λεγομένῳ Κασίῳ, ὃς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀντιοχείας ἓξ μίλια ἀπέχει, ἐποίησεν ἐκεῖ θυσίαν ἑκατόμβην τῷ Διὶ Κασίῳ· καὶ κατελθὼν ἐκεῖθεν καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς Δάφνην ἐποίησεν κἀκεῖ θυσίαν τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι. καὶ παρακοιμηθεὶς ἐκεῖ εἶδεν ἐν ὁράματι παῖδα ξανθὸν λέγοντα αὐτῷ· ‘ἐν Ἀσίᾳ δεῖ σε τεθνάναι.’ εἰσερχόμενος δὲ ἀπὸ Δάφνης ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ ὑπηντήθη ὑπὸ τῶν συγκλητικῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀξιωματικῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ δήμου. καὶ ἔκραξαν αὐτῷ οἱ δημόται Ἀντιοχείας ὑβριστικὰς φωνάς, ὡς χριστιανοὶ θερμοὶ ὄντες, δεδωκότες αὐτῷ ἐν ταῖς αὐτῶν φωναῖς κληδόνα μὴ ὑποστρέψαι. ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν πλησίον αὐτοῦ δύο κανδιδᾶτοι χριστιανοί, ὧν τὰ ὀνόματά ἐστιν ταῦτα· Ἰουβεντῖνος καὶ Μαξιμιανός, ἀποσχίσαντες συνέμιξαν τοῖς ὑβρίζουσιν αὐτὸν ὄχλοις, πλέον ἀνεγείροντες τὸν δῆμον εἰς ὕβρεις. καὶ ἑωρακὼς αὐτοὺς Ἰουλιανὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκέλευσεν αὐτοὺς συσχεθῆναι· καὶ εὐθέως αὐτοὺς ἀπεκεφάλισεν ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ, καὶ ἐτέθησαν τὰ λείψανα αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ μαρτυρίῳ τῷ λεγομένῳ Κοιμητηρίῳ· οὕστινας καλοῦσιν οἱ Ἀντιοχεῖς Γεντιλίους. (…)
'(13.19) During his [Julian the Apostate's] reign Saint Dometios was martyred. Julian began a campaign with a powerful army against the Persians and on his way he came to Antioch. Going up on the mountain known as Kasios, he offered a hecatomb there in sacrifice to Zeus Kasios. Descending from there he came to Daphne and also made a sacrifice there to Apollo. He lay down to sleep there and saw in a dream a youth with fair hair saying to him, "It is fated that you die in Asia". Leaving Daphne he reached Antioch, and was met by his senators, his dignitaries and the people. Since the people of Antioch were zealous Christians, they chanted insolent words to him, giving him by their words an omen that he would not return. Two Christian candidati, whose names were Iouventinos and Maximianos, separated themselves from his entourage and mingled with the crowds who were insulting him and then further incited the people to insults. When the emperor Julian saw them, he ordered their arrest. He immediately beheaded them in Antioch and their remains were placed in the martyrium known as the Koimeterion; the Antiochenes call them "the Gentiles". (…)
(20) Καὶ ἐξελθὼν διὰ τῶν Κυρηστικῶν ἀπῆλθε κατὰ Περσῶν· παρερχόμενος δὲ διὰ Κύρου τῆς πόλεως ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ εἶδεν ὄχλον ἑστῶτα ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τοῦ ἁγίου Δομετίου καὶ ἰώμενον παρ’ αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐρωτᾷ τινας· ‘τίς ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος ὁ συναγόμενος ὄχλος;’ καὶ ἔμαθεν, ὅτι ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τοῦ ὄρους ἐστὶ μοναχὸς καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν συνάγεται ὁ ἑστὼς ὄχλος θέλων ἰαθῆναι καὶ εὐλογηθῆναι παρ’ αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐδήλωσε τῷ ἁγίῳ Δομετίῳ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰουλιανὸς διὰ ῥεφερενδαρίου χριστιανοῦ ταῦτα· ‘διὰ τὸ ἀρέσαι τῷ θεῷ σου εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον εἰσῆλθες· ἀνθρώποις μὴ θέλε ἀρέσκειν, ἀλλὰ ἰδίαζε.’ καὶ ἀντεδήλωσεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἅγιος Δομέτιος, ὅτι· ‘ὡς τῷ θεῷ ἐκδόσαντός μου τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἐκ πολλοῦ χρόνου ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τούτῳ ἐμαυτὸν ἀπέκλεισα· τὸν δὲ πρός με ἐρχόμενον ὄχλον ἐν πίστει ἀποδιώκειν οὐ δύναμαι.’ καὶ ἐκέλευσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰουλιανὸς ἀναφραγῆναι τὸ σπήλαιον λίθοις μεγάλοις καὶ εἶναι αὐτὸν τὸν δίκαιον ἔσω. καὶ ἐκ τούτου ἐτελειώθη ὁ ἅγιος Δομέτιος ***
‘(20) He set off against the Persians, marching by way of Kyrrhestike. As he was passing by Kyrrhos, the city in the region, he saw a crowd standing at the cave of Saint Dometios and being healed by him. He asked some people what the crowd was which was gathering and learned that there was a monk in the cave on the mountain and it was around him that the crowd standing there was gathering, wishing to be healed and blessed by him. The emperor Julian sent this message to Saint Dometios through a Christian referendarius "It was to please your God that you entered this cave. Do not desire to please men, but lead a solitary life". Saint Dometios sent him a message in reply, "It is because I have devoted my soul and body to God that I shut myself up long ago in this cave. But the crowd, who come to me in faith, I cannot drive away". The emperor Julian ordered the cave to be blocked up with huge stones with the righteous man inside. Thus perished Saint Dometios.’
Text: Thurn 2000. Translation Jeffreys, Jeffreys, and Scott 1986, modified.
Cult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - sarcophagus/coffin
Holy cave
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Healing diseases and disabilities
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Soldiers
Pagans
Monarchs and their family
Source
The Chronographia of John Malalas (c. 490–c. 570) is a Christian chronicle of universal history, from Adam to the death of Justinian I (565). It appears to have been composed in two parts, the earlier of which focuses on the history of Antioch and the East, ending in c. 528 or 532. The second part focuses on the urban history of Constantinople up to the death of Justinian. Malalas is likely to have pursued a career in the imperial administration at both Antioch and Constantinople, writing the two parts of his chronicle while living in these two cities.Malalas was widely used as a source by Byzantine chroniclers and historians, including John of Ephesus, John of Antioch, Evagrius Scholasticus, the Paschal Chronicle, John of Nikiu, John of Damascus, Theophanes, George the Monk, pseudo-Symeon, Kedrenos, Zonaras, Theodore Skoutariotes, and Nikephoros Kallistou Xanthopoulos.
The text of the chronicle is preserved in a very fragmentary form, based on quotations in other sources (notably the Paschal Chronicle and Theophanes), and on a Slavonic translation which follows a more extensive version of the original text. It is believed that we now have about 90% of the text.
On the composition and manuscript tradition of the text, see Thurn 2000, and:
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/1298/
Discussion
Malalas' entry about the martyrs of Julian is another attestation of the story and veneration of the two soldiers, Iouventinos and Maximinos, which is also documented through a homily by Chrysostom (E00096) and a chapter in the Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret of Cyrrhus (E04153). Chrysostom, Theodoret and Malalas refer emphatically to the martyrs' sarcophagus in the ancient Christian cemetery shrine of Antioch (the Koimeterion, see Mayer and Allen 2012, 85-89), suggesting that it was an important object of veneration.The story of the martyred ascetic Dometios is not mentioned by the earlier ecclesiastical historians, even though one would have expected his figure to be known at least to Theodoret of Cyrrhus. This suggests that his legend and veneration developed after the mid 5th century. The story known to Malalas is closer to the saint's Greek legend (BHG 560, E07544) than to the Syriac one where the saint's life is ascribed to the reign of Valens (E06966, E06986). The popularity of his cult is indicated by a number of inscriptions (E01789, E01689, E01813, E01696) and by the fact that he was known to Gregory of Tours (E00652).
Bibliography
Text:Dindorf, L., Ioannis Malalae Chronographia (Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae; Bonn, 1831).
Thurn, J., Ioannis Malalae Chronographia (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 35; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2000).
Translation:
Jeffreys, E., Jeffreys, M., and Scott, R., The Chronicle of John Malalas: A Translation (Sydney, 1986).
On Malalas:
Carrara, L., Meier, M., and Radtki-Jansen, C. (eds.), Die Weltchronik des Johannes Malalas. Quellenfragen (Malalas-Studien 2; Göttingen: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2017).
Jeffreys, E., Croke, B., and Scott, R. (eds.), Studies in John Malalas (Sydney, 1990).
Meier, M., Radtki-Jansen, C., and Schulz, F. (eds.), Die Weltchronik des Johannes Malalas: Autor, Werk, Überlieferung (Malalas-Studien 1; Göttingen: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2016).
Treadgold, W.T. The Early Byzantine Historians (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), 235-256.
Further reading:
Mayer, W., and Allen, P., The Churches of Syrian Antioch (300‒638 CE) (Late Antique History and Religion 5; Leuven: Peeters, 2012).
Scorza Barcellona, F., “Martiri e confessori dell’età di Giuliano l’Apostata: dalla storia alla leggenda,” in: F.E. Consolino (ed.), Pagani e cristiani da Giuliano l'Apostata al sacco di Roma. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi (Rende, 12/13 novembre 1993) (Soveria Mannelli, 1995), 53-83.
Teitler, H.C., “Ammianus, Libanius, Chrysostomus, and the Martyrs of Antioch,” Vigiliae Christianae 67 (2013), 263-88, esp. 270-8.
Teitler, H.C., The Last Pagan Emperor: Julian the Apostate and the War against Christianity (Oxford, 2017).
Efthymios Rizos
21/06/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00053 | Iuventinus and Maximinus, soldiers and martyrs of Antioch under the emperor Julian | Ἰουβεντῖνος, Μαξιμιανός, Γεντίλιοι | Certain | S00414 | Dometios, monk of Syria, later 4th c. | Δομέτιος | Certain |
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