Evagrius Scholasticus, Church History 4.7a
created: This entry is taken from Church History 4.7a written by Evagrius Scholasticus in
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
language: grc; grc
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2023 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/163

τὴν Καίσαρος πόλιν

, and

Caesarea

are directly attested at Evagrius Scholasticus, Church History 4.7a. This passage was written ca. 593-598 CE possibly in Antioch on the Orontes. Evagrius Scholasticus came from a background of wealth and education in Syria. He rose to prominence in the circles of power in the early Byzantine empire and church, as legal advisor to the Patriarchate of Antioch and honorary officeholder under Maurice and Tiberius II. His Church History covering the First Council of Ephesus to the middle reign of Maurice (431-593/4 C.E.) provides especially rich evidence for the history of Late Antique Syria. His famous portrait of Zosimas of Synda reveals the holy man’s close connection to Caesarea, in particular his association with the otherwise unknown grandee Arcesilaus, who became the venerable monk’s discussant and likely patron. In this passage, Evagrius introduces Zosimas and Arcesilaus, and recounts the monk’s simultaneous reaction to the earthquake that struck Antioch in May of 526 C.E.

Ἀλλ’ ἐπεὶ τῶν εἰρημένων ἐμνήσθημεν παθημάτων, φέρε καὶ ἕτερα ἄττα τῶν ἀξιολόγων τῷ παρόντι προσθῶμεν πόνῳ, ἅπερ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν ἱστορησάντων ἐνηνέκται. Ζωσιμᾶς ἀνήρ, γένος Φοῖνιξ, τῆς λεγομένης παραλίας, κώμην Σίνδην πατρίδα κληρωσάμενος διέχουσαν τῆς τῶν Τυρίων οὔτι σταδίους εἴκοσι, τὸν μονήρη διαθλεύων βίον, οὕτως ταῖς τε ἀφέξεσι καὶ μεθέξεσι τῶν τροφῶν καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις ἀρεταῖς τοῦ βίου τὸν θεὸν εἰσοικισάμενος ὡς μὴ μόνον διορᾶν τὰ μέλλοντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάσης ἀπαθείας χάριν λαβεῖν, συνῆν τῶν τινι ἐπισήμων ἀνὰ τὴν Καίσαρος πόλιν, ἣ μιᾶς τῶν Παλαιστινῶν ἡγεῖται: ἦν δὲ ἄρα οὗτος Ἀρκεσίλαος, ἀνὴρ εὐπατρίδης τε καὶ λόγιμος, εὖ τε ἀξιωμάτων καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τῶν κοσμούντων ἀνδρὸς βίον ἥκων. Οὗτος ὁ Ζωσιμᾶς ἐν τῷ ἀκαρεῖ τῆς Ἀντιόχου πτώσεως ἀθρόον ἐπιστυγνάσας ὀλοφυρόμενός τε καὶ μύχιον ἀνοιμώξας, δάκρυά τε τοσαῦτα σπείσας ὡς καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐπιβρέξαι, θυμιατήριον ἐξῃτήσατο, καὶ πάντα τὸν χῶρον ἐν ᾧ καθειστήκεισαν ἐπιθυμιάσας ἐπὶ γῆς ἑαυτὸν ῥίπτει, προσευχαῖς τε καὶ λιταῖς τὸν θεὸν ἱλεούμενος. Εἶτα πυνθανομένου τοῦ Ἀρκεσιλάου τί ἄρα τὸ οὕτω διαταράξαν εἴη, διαρρήδην εἶπε τὴν ἠχὴν τῆς Ἀντιόχου πτώσεως αὐτίκα τὰ ὦτά οἱ περιβομβῆσαι.

[Ed. Bidez and Parmentier 1898]

But since we have mentioned the said misfortunes, come now, let us add to the present work some other memorable events, which have been conveyed to us by those who have told the story. There was a man Zosimas, a Phoenician by birth from the part called Maritima, who had been allotted as his fatherland the village of Sinde, which is not 20 stadia distant from the city of Tyre. He was a contender in the solitary life, and had to such an extent brought God into his person through his abstinence from and partaking of food, and by the other virtues of his life, that not only was he able to foresee future events, but also had the gift of complete serenity. He was in the company of one of the distinguished men of the city of Caesarea, which is the chief city of one of the Palestines. The man indeed was Arcesilaus, a man of good birth and famous, who was well provided with honors and the other things which decorate the life of man. This Zosimas, at the very moment of the collapse of the city of Antioch, suddenly had a gloomy appearance, and lamented and groaned inwardly, pouring forth so many tears that he actually soaked the earth. He requested a censer, and after fumigating the whole place where they stood, he threw him on the ground and appeased God with prayers and entreaties. Next, when Arcesilaus inquired what indeed it was that was so distressing, he clearly said that the cry of the fall of the city of Antiochus had just then echoed around his ears.

[Rev. Whitby 2000]

Works Cited

[...] 4.7a
[...] 205-206

[Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopoulos 17.4]

[Antioch on the Orontes

Palestina I

Phoenice Prima or Maritima

Sinde

Tyre]

[Archelaus

Zosimas of Synda, monk]

[Christianity

Geography

Government and Law

Natural Environment

Roman History]