The Greek Martyrdom of *Barbara (virgin and martyr of Heliopolis, S01807) tells the story of a young woman who undergoes torture and is finally executed by her father’s sword because of her Christian faith; another Christian woman named Iouliane, who witnesses the ordeal of Barbara, also dies a martyr’s death. Probably written by the 7th century.
E06644
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
Martyrdom of Barbara (BHG 213-214)
Summary
p. 89: During the reign of the emperor Maximian, a great persecution of Christians took place. A pagan man named Dioskoros lived with his only daughter Barbara in Heliopolis [Roman city of Syria, today Baalbek, Lebanon].
Dioskoros built a tall tower to lock up his beautiful daughter, thereby protecting her from the world outside. However, some noblemen, who observed Barbara’s beauty, ask her father to marry her to one of them. Barbara rejects the offers of marriage and threatens to commit suicide if her father pressures her to do so.
p. 91: One day, Barbara descends the tower and approaches a bath-house that is currently under construction. She sees that the building has only two windows and immediately asks the workmen to add another one. Once this is done, she walks up to the pool and carves on the marble with her finger the divine sign of the cross, which can be seen up to this day. After entering the pool, she leaves her footprint on the floor and underscores the healing attributes of the pool by mentioning that it resembles the River Jordan, in which Jesus Christ received baptism. She then spits on the faces of the pagan statues which were standing nearby and withdraws to her tower to engage in prayers.
p. 93: When the entire construction is completed, Dioskoros returns to the spot and enquires about the reason for installing a third window. Barbara explains to her father the symbolic connection between the three windows and the Holy Trinity. Barbara’s words enrage Dioskoros, who immediately raises his sword to kill her. Barbara prays to God, and a stone is split in two to take her in. She is thus transferred to a mountain, where, however, she is found and severely whipped by her father. Dioskoros confines her in a dungeon until he informs the governor Markianos about this affair.
Dioskoros delivers his daughter to Markianos, and the trial begins. The governor admires Barbara’s beauty and asks her to offer sacrifices to the gods and thereby spare herself from torture and a violent death. Barbara declares her willingness to die for Christ’s sake, as the pagan gods are nothing but false.
p. 95: Markianos orders that Barbara be tortured and then imprisoned until he decides how to kill her. While confined in prison, Christ appears to Barbara and encourages her to banish the fear and dread she feels about martyrdom since He will be with her and spare her from pain. Indeed, Barbara immediately recovers from her blows and wounds and feels confident.
The next day, Barbara is brought again before the court and announces that it was the Christian God who healed her wounds, not the pagan gods, as Markianos argues. This leads once again to corporal punishment. A pious woman named Iouliane starts crying upon witnessing the torture inflicted on Barbara’s body. Her emotional reaction unveils her Christian identity, and Markianos orders that she too be tortured.
p. 97 and 99: Barbara raises her eyes to heaven and beseeches God not to abandon her and her co-martyr Iouliane. Then the breasts of both women are cut off by command of Markianos. Barbara continues her prayer.
Markianos orders Iouliane to be consigned again to prison and Barbara to be led naked through the city. Barbara addresses another prayer to God, in which she asks him to cover her naked body so that it cannot be seen by these impious people. God-sent angels arrive on the spot and fulfil her wish by clothing her with a white garment. Finally, Markianos decides to behead both Christian women on a mountain outside the city. Dioskoros leads his daughter to the place of execution, while on the way Barbara addresses her final prayer to Christ, making a request: when a person, whether man or woman or child, commemorates God or her [i.e., Barbara] by recalling her martyrdom, this person’s house or region should be kept healthy and safe; such a person should be also miraculously cured of leprosy or any other diseases. Christ accepts Barbara’s request and encourages her to accomplish her martyrdom, along with Iouliane.
Barbara arrives at the place of execution and is beheaded by her father’s sword. Iouliane is also decapitated at the same place.
Shortly afterwards, Dioskoros and Markianos are consumed by fire. Barbara died a martyr’s death on December 4.
Up to this day, people suffering from leprosy experience [miraculous] healing by entering Barbara’s pool.
A pious man named Valentianos took care of the martyrs’ bodies, which were buried in a village called Gelasion in Heliopolis, which lies twelve miles from Euchaita. There [miraculous] healings are still performed.
Text: Viteau 1897: 89-105.
Summary: C. Papavarnavas.
Source
The legend of Barbara (and at least some form of the early Greek Martyrdom presented here) cannot be dated with any confidence or precision, but Alexander Kazhdan and Nancy Ševčenko very reasonably suggest that the 'legend was probably created by the 6th or 7th c.' (Kazhdan 1991, I, 252).For the manuscript tradition, see:
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/14783/
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/14784/
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/14818/
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/14786/
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/14787/
Discussion
Although Barbara cannot be considered a historical person, she came to enjoy an impressive cult in both the East and West, though in a somewhat later period than that covered by our project. Beyond the Greek Martyrdom summarised here, many other Greek texts have come down to us with Barbara as their protagonist. For example, around 815, Bishop John of Sardis composed another Greek Martyrdom (BHG 215i; ed. and trans. Resh 2018), on which Symeon Metaphrastes’ tenth-century version was based (BHG 216; ed. and trans. Papaioannou 2017). The martyrdom account of Barbara also inspired various encomiasts. For instance, John of Damascus (c.675-c.753/4) wrote an enkomion devoted to her (BHG 217; ed. Kotter 1988).The martyrdom account of Barbara was also well-known beyond the Greek-speaking world. It was translated into Syriac (BHO 132-134, esp. BHO 134; for a relevant commentary, see Wolf 2000: 9-11) and spread widely in the West (see, for example, the Latin versions BHL 913-971, and BHL Suppl. pp. 110-114; for a relevant commentary, see Wolf 2000: 11 ff.).
Bibliography
Texts and translations:Viteau, J., Passions des saints Écaterine et Pierre d'Alexandrie, Barbara et Anysia (Paris, 1897), 89-99 (see also 101-105). (BHG 214)
Kotter, B. (ed.), Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos, vol. 5: Opera homiletica et hagiographica (Patristische Texte und Studien, 29; Berlin, 1988), 247-278. (BHG 217)
Papaioannou, S. (ed.), Christian Novels from the Menologion of Symeon Metaphrastes (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, 45; Cambridge, MA, 2017), 154–181 [with English translation]. (BHG 216)
Resh, D. D. (ed.), Metaphrasis in Byzantine Hagiography: The Early History of the Genre (ca. 800–1000) (Brown University, 2018), 196–220 [text] and 221-237 [English translation]. URL: https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:792857/ (BHG 215i)
Wirth, A. (ed.), Danae in den christlichen Legenden (Vienna, 1892), 105-111. (BHG 215)
Further reading:
Constantinou, S., Female Corporeal Performances: Reading the Body in Byzantine Passions and Lives of Holy Women (Uppsala, 2005), 25 and (passim) 30-58.
Kazhdan, A.P. et al. (eds.), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 3 vols (New York and Oxford, 1991).
Papavarnavas, C. “Imprisoned Martyrs on the Move: Reading Holiness in Byzantine Martyrdom Accounts,” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 114/3 (2021), 1241–1262, esp. 1249–1252. URL: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/bz-2021-0061/html
Wolf, K., The Old Norse-Icelandic Legend of Saint Barbara (Studies and texts, 134; Toronto, 2000).
Christodoulos Papavarnavas
26/2/2022
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01807 | Barbara, virgin and martyr of Heliopolis | Βαρβάρα | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Christodoulos Papavarnavas, Cult of Saints, E06644 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E06644