The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

Procopius, Wars 3.20.11-14

ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦ πνεύματος σφίσιν ἐπιφόρου ὄντος ἀπὸ σταδίων πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν Καρχηδόνος ἐγένοντο, Ἀρχέλαος μὲν καὶ οἱ στρατιῶται αὐτοῦ ὁρμίσασθαι ἐκέλευον, τὴν τοῦ στρατηγοῦ δεδιότες πρόρρησιν, οἱ δὲ ναῦται οὐκ ἐπείθοντο. τήν τε γὰρ ἐκείνῃ ἀκτὴν ἀλίμενον εἶναι ἔφασκον καὶ χειμῶνα ἐπίσημον αὐτίκα μάλα γενήσεσθαι ἐπίδοξον εἶναι, ὃν δὴ οἱ ἐπιχώριοι Κυπριανὰ καλοῦσι. προὔλεγόν τε ὡς, εἰ ἐνταῦθα σφίσιν ἐπιγένηται, οὐδ’ ἂν τῶν νεῶν μίαν διασώσασθαι δυνατοὶ εἶεν. καὶ ἦν δὲ οὕτως.

'When, thanks to the fair wind, they reached a place one hundred and fifty stades away from Carthage, Archelaos and his soldiers gave orders to moor there, fearing the general’s warning, but the sailors did not obey them. For they said that the coast had no safe anchorage and that a well-known storm, which the locals call Cypriana, would likely arise at any moment. And they predicted that, were it to catch them there, they would be unable to rescue a single boat. And it was indeed so.'


3.21.17-25
Τότε δὲ καὶ ὄναρ πολλοῖς μὲν πολλάκις ὀφθὲν πρότερον, ἄδηλον δὲ γεγονὸς ὅπη ἐκβήσεται, ἐς φῶς ἐληλύθει. ἐτύγχανε δὲ ὂν τὸ ὄναρ τοιόνδε. Κυπριανὸν, ἅγιον ἄνδρα, μάλιστα πάντων οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι σέβονται. καὶ αὐτῷ νεών τινα λόγου πολλοῦ ἄξιον πρὸ τῆς πόλεως ἱδρυσάμενοι παρὰ τὴν τῆς θαλάσσης ἠιόνα τά τε ἄλλα ἐξοσιοῦνται καὶ ἄγουσιν ἑορτὴν, ἣν δὴ Κυπριανὰ καλοῦσι, καὶ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ τὸν χειμῶνα οἱ ναῦται, οὗπερ ἐγὼ ἀρτίως ἐμνήσθην, ὁμωνύμως τῇ πανηγύρει προσαγορεύειν εἰώθασιν, ἐπεὶ ἐς τὸν καιρὸν ἐπισκήπτειν φιλεῖ, ἐφ’ οὗ ταύτην οἱ Λίβυες ἄγειν ἐς ἀεὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν νενομίκασι. τοῦτον οἱ Βανδίλοι τὸν νεὼν ἐπὶ Ὁνωρίχου βασιλεύοντος τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς βιασάμενοι ἔσχον. καὶ αὐτῶν ἐνθένδε ξὺν πολλῇ ἀτιμίᾳ τοὺς ἱερέας εὐθὺς ἐξελάσαντες αὐτοὶ τῶν ἱερῶν τὸ λοιπὸν ἅτε προσηκόντων Ἀρειανοῖς, ἐπεμελοῦντο. ἀσχάλλουσιν οὖν διὰ ταῦτα καὶ διαπορουμένοις τοῖς Λίβυσι πολλάκις φασὶ τὸν Κυπριανὸν ὄναρ ἐπισκήψαντα φάναι ἀμφ’ αὐτῷ μεριμνᾶν τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς ἥκιστα χρῆναι· αὐτὸν γάρ οἱ προϊόντος τοῦ χρόνου τιμωρὸν ἔσεσθαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ λόγος περιφερόμενος ἐς τοὺς Λίβυας ἅπαντας ἦλθε, καραδοκεῖν μὲν αὐτοὺς τίσιν ποτέ τινα τῶν ἱερῶν τούτων ἕνεκα ἐς τοὺς Βανδίλους ἀφίξεσθαι, οὐκ ἔχειν μέντοι τεκμηριῶσαι ὅπη ποτὲ αὐτοῖς ἡ τοῦ ὀνείρου ὄψις ἐκβήσεται. νῦν οὖν, ἐπεὶ ἐς Λιβύην ὁ βασιλέως στόλος ἀφίκετο, (ἐπανιὼν γὰρ ἤδη ὁ χρόνος τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ τὴν πανήγυριν ἀγαγεῖν ἔμελλεν) οἱ μὲν τῶν Ἀρειανῶν ἱερεῖς, καίπερ Ἀμμάτα Βανδίλοις ἐς Δέκιμον ἡγησαμένου, τό τε ἱερὸν ἐκάθηραν ἅπαν καὶ τῶν ἐνταῦθα ἀναθημάτων τὰ κάλλιστα ἐκρέμων, καὶ τὰ λύχνα ἐν παρασκευῇ ποιησάμενοι τά τε κειμήλια ἐξενεγκόντες ἐκ τῶν ταμιείων ἡτοίμαζον ἀκριβῶς ἅπαντα, ὥς πη αὐτῶν ἕκαστον ἐς τὴν χρείαν ἐπιτηδείως ἔχον ἐτύγχανε. τὰ δὲ ἐν Δεκίμῳ οὕτως, ὥσπερ μοι προδεδήλωται, γενέσθαι ξυνέβη. καὶ οἱ μὲν τῶν Ἀρειανῶν ἱερεῖς φεύγοντες ᾤχοντο, Χριστιανοὶ δὲ, οἷς τὰ ἐς τὴν δόξαν ὀρθῶς ἤσκηται, ἀφικόμενοι ἐς τοῦ Κυπριανοῦ τὸν νεὼν, τά τε λύχνα ἔκαιον ἅπαντα καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ἐπεμελοῦντο ᾗπερ αὐτοῖς τελεῖσθαι ταῦτα νόμος, οὕτω τε ἅπασιν ἃ δὴ προὔλεγεν ἡ τοῦ ὀνείρου ὄψις ἐγνώσθη. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν τῇδε ἐχώρησεν.

‘At that time, a dream was also elucidated, which had been seen several times by many people some time earlier, but its outcome had remained a mystery. And the dream was as follows. The Carthaginians revere Cyprian, a holy man, above all others. And they founded a very noteworthy temple in his honour outside the city by the harbour, and they celebrate every customary service and keep a festival which they call Cypriana. It is after him that the sailors are accustomed to calling the storm I mentioned earlier by the same name as the festival, since it tends to occur at the time when it has always been the Libyans’ custom to celebrate the festival. The Vandals seized this temple from the Christians by violence under Huneric. And they straightway drove out the priests from it in a very disgraceful manner, and took control of it, because the shrines would supposedly belong to the Arians from that point on. As the Libyans were indeed upset and frustrated because of this, they say that Cyprian appeared several times in dreams and said that there was not the least need for the Christians to be concerned about him, because, with the passing of time, he would himself be his own avenger. And, as this story circulated and reached all the Libyans, they waited to see what kind of vengeance would ever befall the Vandals, on account of these religious matters, but they were unable to ascertain what the result of this dream vision would be for them. Now, then, as the emperor’s fleet arrived in Libya (indeed, the time had already come round and the festival was due to be celebrated on the following day), the priests of the Arians, although Ammatas had led the Vandals to Decimum, cleaned the whole shrine and hung up its most beautiful votive offerings, and they also prepared the lamps, took the valuables out of the treasuries, and prepared everything with exactness, arranging each thing according to its appropriate use. Yet the events in Decimum turned out as I have already described. And the priests of the Arians were off in flight, while the Christians who conformed to the orthodox faith came to the temple of Cyprian, and they lit all the lamps and held the festival as it was their custom to perform it, and thus everyone realised what the vision of the dream was foretelling. But this was the outcome of these affairs.’


Text: Wirth 1962.
Translation: Efthymios Rizos.

Service for the saint

Saint’s feast
Dating by saint’s festival

Cult building - independent (church)

Appropriation of older cult sites
Oral transmission of saint-related stories

Miracle after death
Punishing miracle
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Miraculous interventions in war

Ecclesiastics – unspecified
Heretics

Precious material objects
Oil lamps/candles
Ex-votos

Source

Discussion

Bibliography