Epiphanius of Salamis, Weights and Measures 18.506-518
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/338
Context
Epiphanius, who spent his early life and career as a student and monk
in southern Palestine and Egypt, was appointed bishop of Salamis on Cyprus in ca.
365-367 C.E., a post he held until his death in 403 C.E. Apart from his staunch defense
of Orthodoxy, he was also a renowned scholar. At the invitation of the emperors he wrote
a compendium of linguistic, historical, metrological, geographical knowledge that was
later entitled On Weights and Measures (Περὶ μέτρων καὶ στάθμων). It
survives in a complete, earlier Syriac version and a fragmentary, later Greek version.
In this passage from the Greek version on the reign of Decius, Epiphanius discusses the
career of Origen.
Text
Τοῦτον διεδέξατο
Δέκιος καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐνιαυτὸν ἕνα καὶ μῆνας γʹ. Ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις Δεκίου Ὠριγένης
ἐγνωρίζετο ἀπὸ χρόνων Δεκίου ἀκμάσας ἕως χρόνων Γαλιήνου καὶ Οὐολουσιανοῦ καὶ ἐπέκεινα.
Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ διωγμοῦ τοῦ προειρημένου Δεκίου γεγονότος ἐμαρτύρησε Βαβύλας μὲν ἐν
Ἀντιοχείᾳ, Φλαβιανὸς δὲ ἐπὶ Ῥώμης, Ἀλέξανδρος ἐπίσκοπος Ἱεροσολύμων ἐν
Καισαρείᾳ. Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ Ὠριγένης ὁ καὶ Ἀδαμάντιος κληθεὶς
πολλὰ πεπονθὼς εἰς τέλος τοῦ μαρτυρίου οὐκ ἔφθασεν. Ἐλθὼν δὲ εἰς Καισάρειαν
τὴν Στράτωνος καὶ διατρίψας εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα χρόνον ὀλίγον, εἶτα ἐλθὼν εἰς
Τύρον ἐπὶ ἔτη κηʹ, ὡς ὁ λόγος ἔχει, τὴν μὲν πολιτείαν ἐνησκεῖτο, τὰς δὲ γραφὰς
ἡρμήνευσεν, ὅτε καὶ τὰ ἑξαπλᾶ καὶ τὰς δύο τῶν ἑβραϊκῶν σελίδας ἄντικρυ ἐκ παραλλήλου
μιᾶς ἑρμηνείας πρὸς τὴν ἑτέραν συνέθηκεν ἑξαπλᾶ τὰς βίβλους ὀνομάσας, καθ’ ἅπερ ἄνω διὰ
πλάτους εἴρηται.
1
Textual Note
Ed. Moutsoulas 1973Translation
Decius succeeded
this one (sc. Philip the Arab) and ruled for one year and three months. In the time of
Decius Origen grew famous, flourishing from the reign of Decius until the reigns of
Gallienus and Volusianus and their successors. During the persecution of the
aforementioned Decius, Babylas was martyred in Antioch, Flavianus in Rome, and Alexander
the bishop of Jerusalem in Caesarea. Origen himself, called the
Man of Steel, suffered many things but did not reach the end of his life in martyrdom.
After he came to Straton’s Caesarea and spent a short time in
Jerusalem, he went to Tyre. For 28 years, so the story goes, he devoted himself to an
ascetic regimen and translated the Scriptures. He compiled six columns (of Greek text)
opposite two columns of Hebrew (text), one translation facing opposite the other,
calling the books Hexapla, just as has been fully related above.
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. RifeWorks Cited
- 1 Epiphanius, Τὸ ‘Περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν’ ἔργον Ἐπιφανίου τοῦ Σαλαμῖνος, ed. Elias D. Moutsoulas, Θεολογία 44, no. 1–2 (1973): 157–200, ch: 18.506-518, p: 180-181.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Epiphanius of Salamis, Weights and Measures 18.506-518,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/338.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Epiphanius of Salamis, Weights and Measures 18.506-518.” 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/338.About this Entry
Entry Title: Epiphanius of Salamis, Weights and Measures 18.506-518
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, “Epiphanius of Salamis, Weights and Measures 18.506-518”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Epiphanius of Salamis, Weights and Measures 18.506-518”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife