Evidence ID
E03230Saint Name
Philippus, priest and martyr of Agyra (Sicily) : S01872Saint Name in Source
PhilippusType of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdomEvidence not before
1200Evidence not after
1300Place of Evidence - Region
Italy south of Rome and SicilyPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
AgiraPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Agira
Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
Adriaticum MareSource
There is one main Latin version of the Martyrdom, BHL 6819, falsely ascribed to Athanasius. According to Pasini it is a translation of the Greek original, BHG 1531b. There is as well another Greek version attributed to the monk Eusebius (see BHG 1531, critically edited by Pasini, C., Vita di S. Filippo d’Agira attribuita al monaco Eusebio (Rome, 1981), Orientalia Christiana Analecta 214). There are no manuscripts listed of BHL 6819 in the database Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina Manuscripta (bhlms.fltr.ucl.ac.be).Discussion
The Martyrdom is of uncertain date of composition. Although it was generally dated to the 4th or 5th century (Gryson, R., Répertoire général des auteurs ecclésiastiques Latins de l’Antiquité et du Haut moyen âge, 2 vols. (Freiburg, 2007), I, 82), Pasini has argued that the earliest version of the Martyrdom would be BHG 1531 attributed to Eusebius, which was not written earlier than the 9th century, while BHG 1531b, the Greek version our Martyrdom, attributed to Athanasius, was written later, in the 13th century, and then translated into Latin (our text, BHL 6819).Bibliography
Edition (BHL 6819):
Acta Sanctorum, Mai. III, 33-36.
Further reading:
Pasini, C., “Osservazioni sul dossier agiografico e innografico di san Filippo di Agira,” in: Storia della Sicilia e tradizione agiografica nella tarda antichità, Atti del Convegno di studi di Catania, 20-22 maggio 1986 (Soveria Mannelli, 1988), 173-208.
Pasini, C., “La figura di Filippo d’Agira nella tradizione agiografica e innografica italogreca,” Cassiodorus 6-7 (2000-2001), 37-53.
Pasini, C., “Edizione della vita pseudoatanasiana di san Filippo d’Agira vergata da Georgios Basilikos nel codice Athen. Gennad. 39,” Studi bizantini e neoellenici 36 (1999), 177-222 (edition of Greek BHG 1531b at 201-211; Italian translation 211-220).
Rizzo Nervo, F., “Tradizione narrativa e mutamenti semantici nella letteratura agiografica siciliana,” in: Pricoco, S., Rizzo Nervo, F., and Sardella, T. (eds.), Sicilia e Italia suburbicaria tra IV e VIII secolo. Atti del Convegno di studi (Catania, 24-27 ottobre 1989) (Soveria Mannelli, 1991), 249-261.
