E05587: The Miracles of Saint Thekla recounts how *Thekla (follower of the Apostle Paul, S00092) delivered a certain pregnant woman Bassiane from sufferings caused by a great heat at Seleucia. Written in Greek at Seleucia ad Calycadnum (southern Asia Minor) in the 470s.

Miracles of Saint Thekla, 19

There was a certain woman by the name Bassiane from Ketis [in Asia Minor] who was in Seleucia as a hostage, guaranteeing some agreements which promised peace from brigandage. Since she was a Christian, she spent most of her time in the church of Thekla, praying for release from this obligation. It was during the summer and the heat was great. She was pregnant and unaccustomed to the heat.

Once, when the night came, the heat intensified. The woman did not know what to do. She was having trouble breathing, and she was drenched in sweat. She tried to find some relief tossing on her bed and then leaning upon the marble which was cooler. In the end, she was completely defeated by the heat and went to the cistern nearby to plunge herself into the water and swim, but actually to drown, for that would be the result in her miserable state.

Παραφανεῖσα δὲ ἡ μάρτυς καὶ τοῦ ἱματίου αὐτῆς λαβομένη, τῆς μὲν ὁρμῆς ἔπαυσε, πολλὰ λοιδορησαμένη τῆς τόλμης αὐτήν· προσκαλεσαμένη δὲ κόρην, ὡς ἄν τινα παιδίσκην αὐτῇ παρομαρτοῦσαν, φησί· «Τὴν λεκάνην μοι προσάγαγε ταύτην», ἣν καὶ μετὰ χεῖρας ἐδόκει φέρειν ἡ κόρη. Ἡ δὲ προσήγαγεν· ὕδατος δὲ ἦν αὕτη μεστή· καὶ τὸν αὐτῆς ἡ πραοτάτη καθιμήσασα δάκτυλον καὶ ἀναδεύσασα τῷ ὕδατι, ἐπαλείφει τὸ μέτωπον τούτῳ καὶ τῶν κατακλείδων ἑκατέρτὸν, καὶ ἀπῆλθε, ζέφυρον—ὡς εἰπεῖν—αὐτῇ μόνον λιγυρὸν ἐπιπνέοντα καταλείψασα. Διεγένετο μὲν οὖν ὡς ἐν πᾶσιν ἐκφρυγομένοις τῷ καύσωνι αὐτὴ μόνη ὡς ἐν ἦρι καὶ ὡς ἐν Δάφνῃ τῷ πολυδένδρῳ καὶ πολυανέμῳ χωρίῳ διάγουσα. Καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ὕπαρ, οὐκ ὄναρ ἐδρᾶτο. Καὶ μάρτυς ὁ ἐκ ταύτης τότε γενόμενος παῖς, Μόδεστος δὲ ἦν οὗτος ὁ πάνυ, ἔτι τε καὶ νῦν ἐν ζῶσι τελῶν, καὶ τὴν εἰρήνης ἐπώνυμον πόλιν κοσμῶν, καὶ τὸ θαῦμα τοῦτο μετὰ πολλῶν καὶ ὅσων τῶν χαρίτων διηγούμενος· εὔθυμος δὲ ὁ ἀνήρ, καὶ πολλῆς γέμων τῆς εὐμουσίας.

'The martyr appeared and, seizing her himation, stopped the woman's headlong rush [for the cistern] and rebuked her for her recklessness. She then summoned a young girl, who was accompanying her as a maidservant, saying, "Bring me this basin," the very thing which the girl seemed to be holding in her hands. She brought it, and it was full of water. This most gentle of women [Thekla] dipped her finger into it and soaked it in the water. She then applied it to Bassiane's forehead and to each of her shoulders, and then she went away, leaving only the sweet west wind blowing on her (as it were). Among all those parched by the summer heat, this woman alone felt as if she were enjoying springtime in the wooded, breezy suburb of Daphne. These events comprised a vision, not a dream. And a witness to this is the child born from the woman, the very famous Modestos, who is still alive and adorns the city that is called "peace" [= Eirenoupolis in Isauria], and he recounts this miracle with every possible grace. He is a kind man and filled with fine artistic sense.'

Text: Dagron 1978. Translation: Johnson 2012. Summary: J. Doroszewska.