The cult of the martyr Euphemia in Byzantium Vasileios Marinis

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marinis, Vasileios, 1975- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Euphemia, Saint--Cult.

Euphemia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY Oxford University Press [2026]

Summary:

The martyr Euphemia, a young woman who was put to death in 303 CE in Chalcedon, was one of the most popular saints in Byzantium. In addition to the complex dedicated to her in that city, consisting of a large basilica and an attached circular martyrium, there existed at least six more churches dedicated to her in Constantinople. Her hagiographical dossier is equally impressive. It includes texts that span from the 4th to the 15th century, and belong to such diverse genres as ekphrasis, passio, and enkomion. Euphemia was also present in crucial moments of Byzantine religious history. Given Euphemia's historical importance and the plethora of available literary as well as archaeological and artistic material, it is surprising that there has not been a comprehensive study of her cult in Byzantium. This book aims to remedy this situation by placing every major aspect of Euphemia's cult within a wider social, historical, and ritual context

Contents:

Cover

The Cult of the Martyr Euphemia in Byzantium

Copyright

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations of Manuscript Locations

1: Introduction

2: Asterios of Amaseia's Ekphrasis on the Holy Martyr Euphemia

Summary of the Ekphrasis

Did the Paintings Really Exist?

The Meaning of the Ekphrasis

The Ekphrasis as an Answer to the Place of Paideia in Christianity

The Ekphrasis as an Argument for the Superiority of the Written and Spoken Word

Conclusions

3: Euphemia's Inviolate Body

Summary of the Ancient Martyrdom

The Ancient Martyrdom in the Context of the Genre

Euphemia in the Ancient Martyrdom

The Social and Theological Logic of the Ancient Martyrdom

Chalcedon and Its Aftermath

The Ancient Martyrdom in the Aftermath of Chalcedon

4: The Guardian of True Beliefs

The Miracle of the Blood

The Miracle of the Tomos

The Liturgical Commemoration of Euphemia and the Council of Chalcedon

The Kontakion

The Kanon

Euphemia in Constantinople

5 : Relics Lost and Found: euphemia and the iconoclastic controversy

Summary of the Account

Propaganda

The Location of the Relics in Constantinople

Iconoclasts and Relics

Glykeria

The Dispersion of the Relics

Previous Scholarship on the Account

History and Fiction, or the Historical and the Literary

Canon and Archive

6: Three Medieval Texts about Euphemia

Symeon Metaphrastes and His Work

The Metaphrastian Martyrdom Account

The Author of the Enkomion

The Text

Makarios Makres

The Hypomnema

7: Euphemia's Churches and Images

Churches

The Martyrion by the Hippodrome

The Fresco Decoration in the Martyrion

Description of the Martyrdom Cycle

1. The Birth of Euphemia

2. Euphemia Teaching

3. Euphemia Debating the Proconsul and the Torture of Christians

4. The Wheel

5. Euphemia in the Furnace and the Conversion of the Two Servants

6. The Martyrdom of Viktor and Sosthenes

7. The Torture with Weights

8. The Pit with the Sea Creatures

9. The Hidden Trap

10. The Beating with Rods

11. The Torture with Saws and a Supplicant

12. Death in the Arena

13. The Entombment of Euphemia

14. The Miracle of the Tomos and the Miracle of the Blood

Some Notes on the Cycle

Inscriptions in the Images

Other Images in Euphemia's Church

Euphemia's Church and the Metropolis of Chalcedon

8: Conclusion

Bibliography

abbreviations

Works Cited

Scriptural References Index

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on April 27, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version :

ISBN:

9780197580479

0197580475

OCLC:

1587118841

Publisher Number:

CIPO000381339

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license