E03590: Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical History reports that the emperor Julian the Apostate and his brother, Gallus, built a shrine at the tomb of the *Mamas (martyr of Caesarea, S00436) near Caesarea/Kaisareia of Cappadocia (central Asia Minor), in the 340s. The work sponsored by Julian was miraculously rejected and destroyed. Written in Greek at Constantinople, 439/450.

Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, 5.2. 6-14

(7) Οὐ μετρίως οὖν ἐλύπει τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς καὶ περιδεεῖς ἐποίει ἡ περὶ ταῦτα σπουδὴ τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ μάλιστα ὅτι Χριστιανὸς ἦν πρότερον. εὐλαβῶν γὰρ περὶ τὴν θρησκείαν πατέρων γενόμενος ἐκ νέου ἐμυήθη κατὰ τὸν θεσμὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τὰς ἱερὰς γραφὰς ἐπαιδεύθη καὶ ὑπὸ ἐπισκόποις καὶ ἐκκλησιαστικοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐτράφη. (8) γέγονε μὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ Γάλλῳ πατὴρ Κωνστάντιος, ὁμοπάτριος ἀδελφὸς Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ βασιλεύσαντος καὶ Δαλματίου, οὗ παῖς ὁμώνυμος Καῖσαρ ἀναδειχθεὶς ἀνῃρέθη ὑπὸ τῶν στρατιωτῶν μετὰ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου τελευτήν· ὀρφανοὶ δὲ πατρὸς γενόμενοι καὶ αὐτοὶ τότε Δαλματίῳ συναπολέσθαι ἐκινδύνευσαν. (9) ἐξείλετο δὲ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς Γάλλον μὲν ὅτι νοσῶν ἔτυχε καὶ ὅσον οὔπω αὐτομάτως τεθνήξεσθαι προσεδοκήθη, Ἰουλιανὸν δὲ τὸ νέον· ἔτι γὰρ ὄγδοον ἡλικίας ἦγεν ἔτος. παραδόξως δὲ ὧδε διασωθέντες προσετάχθησαν ἐν Καππαδοκίᾳ διατρίβειν ἐν Μακέλλῃ· χωρίον δὲ τοῦτο βασιλικὸν πρὸς τῷ Ἀργαίῳ ὄρει, οὐκ ἀπὸ πολλοῦ τῆς Καισαρέων πόλεως, μεγαλοπρεπῆ τε βασίλεια ἔχον καὶ λοετρὰ καὶ κήπους καὶ πηγὰς ἀεννάους. (10) ἔνθα δὴ θεραπείας καὶ ἀγωγῆς βασιλικῆς ἠξιοῦντο, καὶ μαθήμασι καὶ γυμνασίοις τοῖς καθ’ ἡλικίαν ἐχρῶντο καὶ λόγων διδασκάλοις καὶ τοῖς ὑφηγηταῖς τῶν ἱερῶν γραφῶν, ὡς καὶ κλήρῳ ἐγκαταλεγῆναι καὶ ὑπαναγινώσκειν τῷ λαῷ τὰς ἐκκλησιαστικὰς βίβλους. (11) οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἠθῶν καὶ τῶν ἔργων τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἐπεδείκνυντο, περὶ πολλοῦ ποιούμενοι τοὺς ἱερέας καὶ τοὺς ἄλλως ἀγαθοὺς καὶ περὶ τὸ δόγμα σπουδαίους, τοῖς τε εὐκτηρίοις οἴκοις θαμίζοντες καὶ ταῖς προσηκούσαις τιμαῖς τὰς τῶν μαρτύρων θήκας γεραίροντες. (12) τηνικαῦτα γοῦν φασιν αὐτοὺς σπουδάζοντας μεγίστῳ περιλαβεῖν οἴκῳ τὸν τάφον Μάμα τοῦ μάρτυρος εἰς ἀμφοτέρους μερίσαι τὸ ἔργον· ἁμιλλωμένου δὲ ἑκατέρου φιλοτιμίᾳ καὶ τιμῇ ὑπερβάλλεσθαι τὸν ἕτερον, παράδοξον συμβῆναι καὶ παντελῶς ἄπιστον, εἰ μὴ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀκηκοότων παρὰ τῶν τεθεαμένων μέχρι καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς περιῆσαν. (13) τὸ μὲν γὰρ Γάλλου μέρος ἐπεδίδου καὶ κατὰ γνώμην προὐχώρει, τῶν δὲ Ἰουλιανοῦ πονημάτων τὰ μὲν ἠρείπετο, τὰ δὲ ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀνεδίδοτο, τὰ δὲ παραυτίκα συνάπτεσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἔδαφος οὐκ ἠνείχετο, οἷά γε ἐξ ἀντιτύπου καὶ βιαίου τινὸς δυνάμεως κάτωθεν ἀντωθούσης ἀνακρουόμενα. πᾶσι δὲ εἰκότως τεράστιον ἐδόκει τὸ πρᾶγμα. (14) καὶ τοῖς μὲν πολλοῖς τῇ ἀποβάσει ἐκρίθη, οἱ δὲ καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου συνέβαλλον μὴ ὑγιῶς ἔχειν τὸν ἄνδρα περὶ τὴν θρησκείαν, ἀλλ’ εὐσεβεῖν πλάττεσθαι <πρὸς> Χριστιανὸν ὄντα τὸν τότε κρατοῦντα ὑποκρινόμενον καὶ εἰς τὸ προφανὲς ἐξάγειν τὴν γνώμην οὐκ ἀσφαλὲς ἡγούμενον.

‘(7) The emperor's [Julian’s] devotion to these things caused no mean distress to the Christians and made them extremely anxious, especially because he had previously been a Christian. He was born of pious parents, was initiated in infancy according to the customs of the Church, was brought up in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and was nurtured by bishops and men of the Church. (8) The father of him and Gallus was Constantius, a brother by the same father of Constantine the emperor and of Dalmatius whose homonymous son became a Caesar, but was slain by the soldiers after the death of Constantine. As they were orphans of father, Julian and Gallus nearly risked being killed like Dalmatius. (9) Yet they were spared, Gallus because he happened to be ill and was expected to die imminently in a natural way, and Julian because of his youth, for he was just eight years old. Having survived in such an unexpected way, it was arranged for them to settle in Cappadocia, at Makella. This is an imperial estate by Mount Argaeus, not far from Caesarea, which includes a magnificent palace, baths, gardens, and perennial springs. (10) There they were granted imperial service and upbringing, and were educated in the learning and training appropriate for their age by tutors of letters and interpreters of the Holy Scriptures. Thus they were even enrolled among the clergy and became readers of the ecclesiastical books before the people. (11) Besides, they displayed their piety by their character and behaviour, holding in great respect the priests and other good and important men of the religion, frequenting houses of prayer, and rendering due homage to the tombs of the martyrs. (12) Now they say that during that period they undertook to cover the tomb of Mamas the martyr in a very large building, dividing the work between themselves. And as they were vying with one another in displaying largess and honour, something astonishing happened, which would have been indeed utterly incredible, had it not been for the many people still living, who have heard the story from eyewitnesses. (13) Gallus’ part advanced and progressed according to plan, whereas the works of Julian’s labour either fell into ruin or were ejected from the ground, or would not even briefly hold foundations in the ground, as if struck by some resistant and violent force from beneath. Quite naturally, everyone thought that this was a prodigy. (14) Most people realised its meaning from subsequent events, but some concluded from that event that the man’s religious stance was not sound and that he only pretended piety, deeming it unsafe to make his real views publicly known, because the emperor of the time was Christian.’

Text: Bidez and Hansen 1995. Translation: E. Rizos.