Beta
You are viewing a draft
Not for citation.
  TEI/XML   RDF/XML  

Unknown, Easter Chronicle 504.7-505.6

   https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/249

Context

The so-called Easter Chronicle (Chronicon paschale) is a universal history from the Creation down to the later reign of Heraclius, when it was composed, based on an amalgam of biblical, Christian, and secular sources. While the work shows a particular interest in the dating of religious festivals, it contains a wealth of historical and geographic information. Like other chronographic works in the Byzantine tradition—John Malalas before and Theophanes the Confessor and George Syncellus after—the Easter Chronicle is organized annalistically with successive entries by year. In this passage the author records the persecutions of Decius and ends with death of Decius and his son at Abirtus (250/1 C.E.), noting in particular the martyrdoms of Pionius at Smyrna and Alexander of Jerusalem at Caesarea.

Text

Καὶ ἐν Σμύρνῃ τῆς Ἀσίας Πιόνιος σὺν ἄλλοις πολλοῖς ἐμαρτύρησεν, ἀνὴρ λόγιος καὶ τῶν ἐν μαθήμασιν τοῦ χριστιανῶν λόγου διαπρεπόντων γνωριζόμενος, ἐπὶ Πρόκλου Κυϊντιλλιανοῦ ἀνθυπάτου τῆς Ἀσίας πρὸ δʹ ἰδῶν μαρτίων, ὅ ἐστι κατὰ Ἀσιανοὺς μηνὶ ἕκτῳ ιβʹ, σαββάτου ὥρᾳ δακάτῃ. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ τῆς Ἱεροσολύμων ἐκκλησίας ἐπίσκοπος Ἀλέξανδρος ἐν Καισαρείᾳ τῆς Παλαιστίνης ἡγεμονικοῖς παραστὰς δικαστηρίοις καὶ ἐπὶ δευτέρᾳ διαπρέψας ὁμολογίᾳ, λιπαρῷ γήρει καὶ σεμνῇ πολιτεία ἐτελειώθη τῷ τοῦ μαρτυρίου δρόμῳ. Ὁ αὐτὸς Δέκιος βασιλεὺς ἤγαγεν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀφρικῆς λέοντας φοβεροὺς καὶ λεαίνας, καὶ ἀπέλυσεν εἰς τὸ λίμιτον ἀνατολῆς, ἀπὸ Ἀραβίας καὶ Παλαιστίνης ἕως τοῦ Κιρκησίου κάστρου, πρὸς τὸ ποιῆσαι γενεάν, διὰ τοὺς βαρβάρους Σαρακηνούς. ὁμοίως δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ξηρᾶς Λιβύης ἤγαγεν ἑρπετὰ ἰοβόλα καὶ φοβερὰ ἀῤῥενοθήλεα, καὶ ἀπέλυσεν εἰς τὸ τῆς Αἰγύπτου λίμιτον διὰ τοὺς Νομάδας καὶ Βλεμμύας Βαρβάρους· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γράφουσιν αὐτὸν ἑστῶτα μεταξὺ λεόντων καὶ ἀσπίδων. 1

Textual Note

Ed. Dindorf 1832

Translation

And in Smyrna in Asia, Pionius along with many others died as a martyr, a man of the Word and one recognized among those distinguished in the Christian teachings of the Word, under Proclus Quintillianus, proconsul of Asia, on the fourth day before the Ides of March, i.e., according to the Asian reckoning, on the twelfth day in the sixth month on the twelfth hour of the sabbath [March 11, 250 C.E.]. Likewise also the bishop of the Church of Jerusalem, Alexander, after standing before the governor’s lawcourts in Caesarea Palestina and shining brightly in his second confession, reached the end of the race to martyrdom with glistening old age and pious constitution. The same emperor Decius brought from Africa terrifying lions and lionesses, and he released them to the eastern frontier, from Arabia and Palestine to the fort at Kirkesios, to make offspring, because of the barbarian Saracens. Similarly also from Libya Inferior he brought venomous snakes, terrifying, both males and females, and he released them to the Egyptian frontier because of the barbarian Nomads and Blemmyes. And for this reason they portray him standing between lions and asps.

Translation Note

Trans. J. L. Rife

Works Cited

  • 1 Ludwig August Dindorf and Charles Du Fresne Du Cange, eds., Chronicon paschale, Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae (Bonn: Weber, 1832), p: 504.7-505.6.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record
About This Text

Linked Data  

This record has 2 connections.

 

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Easter Chronicle 504.7-505.6,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/249.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Easter Chronicle 504.7-505.6.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/249.

About this Entry

Entry Title: Unknown, Easter Chronicle 504.7-505.6

Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:

  • Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
  • Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
  • David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Unknown, Easter Chronicle 504.7-505.6”
  • Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Unknown, Easter Chronicle 504.7-505.6”

Additional Credit:

  • TEI encoding by William L. Potter
  • Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife
Show full citation information...