John Malalas, in his Chronographia (18.49), reports that in 529 the relics of *Marinos (martyr of Gindarus, S02160) were miraculously found in Gindarus (Syria) and buried at the shrine of *Ioulianos (martyr of Cilicia buried at Antioch, S00305) at Antioch. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria) or Constantinople, in the mid-6th c.
Evidence ID
E05738
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Major author/Major anonymous work
John Malalas
John Malalas, Chronographia, 18.49
Εὑρέθη δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ χρόνῳ καὶ τὸ τίμιον λείψανον τοῦ ἁγίου μάρτυρος Μαρίνου εἰς τὴν πρώτην Συρίαν ἔξω τῆς λεγομένης Γινδάρου πόλεως, τοῦ περιοδευτοῦ τῆς χώρας ἐν ὀπτασίᾳ πλειστάκις ἑωρακότος τὸν τόπον, ἔνθα ἔκειτο ὁ ἅγιος, ἔχων ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ ἥλους σιδηροῦς, εἰς σανίδα παραπλωθεὶς προσηλώθη, καὶ ἐτέθη εἰς πέτραν γλυφεῖσαν αὐτῷ τάφον. καὶ ἐπήρθη τὸ λείψανον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἠνέχθη καὶ κατετέθη ἔξω τῆς Ἀντιοχέων πόλεως ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ Ἰουλιανῷ.
‘In that year the precious relics of the holy martyr Marinos were found in First Syria outside the city which is called Gindaros. The visiting priest of the area had several times seen in a vision the place where the saint lay. He had iron nails through all his body from the head down and was stretched out on a board and nailed to it, and he had been placed in a rock that was hollowed out to form a tomb for him. His body was removed and carried away and laid to rest outside the city of Antioch at Saint Ioulianos’.’
Text: Thurn 2000.
Translation: E. Rizos using Jeffreys, Jeffreys, and Scott 1986.
Cult PlacesMiracle after death
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Cult building - independent (church)
MiraclesMiracle after death
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - lesser clergy
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
The story of the martyr Marinos mentioned in this account has not survived in Greek hagiography. It is possible that he was associated with the ancient martyr Marinos of Caesarea in Palestine, whose story is dated by Eusebius of Caesarea to the 260s. The burial of Marinos in that account is associated with the wonder-working Christian nobleman Astyrios (E00280).The cult described by Malalas apparently originates from the dream revelation experienced by a periodeutes, namely an itinerant, probably monastic, priest. The relics were buried at the martyrion of Ioulianos of Cilicia outside Antioch, a shrine which is known for its connections with monks and ascetics (E00428). The Martyrologium Hieronymianum records a feast of a Marinos, celebrated at this shrine on 26 December (E01075). That is probably the feast of the martyr recorded here by Malalas.
It appears that the cult of Marinos was transferred to Rome as well, where his profile was transformed so as to be presented as a Roman martyr. It was there that a Latin martyrdom account was produced, which preserves the feast-day of 26 December, and other details indicating its connection with the Antiochene tradition (E02533). It is unknown to what extent this Latin hagiography reflects the content of the Antiochene legend of the martyr Marinos of Gindaros.
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.
Record Created By
Efthymios Rizos
Date of Entry
25/06/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00157 | Marinos, martyr of Caesarea Maritima, and Astyrios, senator and miracle worker in Palestine | Μαρῖνος | Uncertain | S00305 | Ioulianos, martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch or in Egypt | Ἰουλιανὸς | Certain | S01240 | Marinus, martyr of Rome | Μαρῖνος | Uncertain | S02160 | Marinos, martyr of Gindarus (Syria) | Μαρῖνος | Certain |
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