File(s) not publicly available

E00319: Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine includes the story of the martyrdom of *Aidesios from Lycia (martyr of Alexandria, S00179). Written in 311 in Caesarea (Palestine); written in Greek, but parts of the text survive only in Syriac.

online resource

posted on 2015-02-24, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine, 5.2-3

Summary:
Brother of *Apphianos from Lycia (S00159), Aidesios likewise had a good secular education and studied in Caesarea under *Pamphilos of Caesarea (S00140). At some point, he was arrested and, after a period of torture and imprisonment, sent to the copper mines in Palestine. After his release from the mines, Aidesios came to the city of Alexandria in Egypt. There, he publicly attacked and beat up the local governor Hierocles for his 'offensive conduct towards the martyrs of God,' such as sending the Christian virgins to brothels. As a consequence, he underwent severe tortures and was cast alive into the sea.

Summary: Sergey Minov

History

Evidence ID

E00319

Saint Name

Aidesios from Lycia, martyr in Alexandria, ob. 306 : S00179

Saint Name in Source

Αἰδέσιος

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Aidesios_from_Lycia_martyr_in_Alexandria/13729606

Type of Evidence

Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

311

Evidence not after

340

Activity not before

306

Activity not after

340

Place of Evidence - Region

Palestine with Sinai

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Caesarea Maritima

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Caesarea Maritima Caesarea Maritima Καισάρεια Kaisareia Caesarea Kayseri Turris Stratonis

Major author/Major anonymous work

Eusebius of Caesarea

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Composing and translating saint-related texts

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Officials

Source

In this work Eusebius presents an account of the suffering and death of Christian martyrs executed during the eight years of the Diocletianic (or Great) persecution, i.e. 303-311. Most of the martyrdoms described by Eusebius took place in Palestine, with the provincial capital city of Caesarea as the most prominent setting. Martyrdom of Aidesios: ed. Cureton 1861, pp. 19*-21* (long recension); ed. Schwartz et al. 1999, vol. 2, pp. 919-920 (short and long recensions); English trans. Lawlor and Oulton 1927-1928, vol. 1, pp. 353-354. For a full discussion of Martyrs of Palestine, see E00294.

Discussion

This entry, typical of Eusebius' description of the martyrs of Palestine, consists of a brief account of torture and death, with no reference to miraculous events. Although there is no explicit reference to the martyr's commemoration, the record of his death by Eusebius might suggest that he was commemorated in Caesarea.

Bibliography

Editions and translations: Cureton, W. (ed.), History of the Martyrs in Palestine, by Eusebius, Bishop in Caesarea, Discovered in a Very Ancient Syriac Manuscript (London / Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate / Paris: C. Borrani, 1861). Lawlor, H.J., and Oulton, J.E.L. (trans.), The Ecclesiastical History and the Martyrs of Palestine. 2 vols (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1927-1928). Schwartz, E., Mommsen, T., and Winkelmann, F. (eds.), Eusebius Werke, Band 2, Teil 2 (Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte NF 6/2; 2nd ed.; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1999).