Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 6.2
created: This entry is taken from Martyrs of Palestine 6.2 written by Eusebius of Caesare
edition published: 2020-06-10-05:00
language: grc; grc
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2020 by the contributors (Eliana Yonan, et al.) and the Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project. It is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Some texts quoted in this entry may be in the public domain in the United States. No copyright is asserted for these quotations. Some texts quoted in this entry may have copyright restrictions and are reused under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 19 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/125

Caesarea Maritima is indirectly attested at Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 6.2. This passage was written ca. 315 – 316 CE possibly in Caesarea.

ἔθους τὸ πρὶν ὄντος ἐπὶ βασιλέων, εἰ καὶ ἄλλοτε, τὰς φιλοτίμους θέας πλείους τοῖς θεαταῖς ἐμπαρέχειν, θυμηδίας καινῶν καὶ ξένων τά τε συνήθη παραλλαττόντων τῶν θεαμάτων, ζῴων ἔσθ’ ὅπη τῶν ἐξ Ἰνδίας ἢ Αἰθιοπίας ἢ καὶ ἄλλοθεν εἰσκομιζομένων, ἢ καὶ ἀνδρῶν ἐντέχνοις τισὶ σωμασκίαις παραδόξους ψυχαγωγίας τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἐνδεικνυμένων, πάντως που καὶ τότε, οἷα βασιλέως τὰς θέας παρέχοντος, πλέον τι καὶ παράδοξον χρῆν ὑπάρξαι ταῖς φιλοτιμίαις.

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg2018.tlg003.1st1K-grc1:6.2

As it was an ancient custom to furnish the spectators more splendid shows when the emperors were present than at other times, new and foreign spectacles taking the place of the customary amusements, such as animals brought from India or Ethiopia or other places, or men who could astonish the beholders with skillful bodily exercises,—it was necessary at this time, as the emperor was giving the exhibition, to add to the shows something more wonderful. And what should this be?

Works Cited

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Additional Bibliography

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