Eusebius of Caesarea

The legendary history of Greece in the chronological tables of Eusebius of Caesarea

Sergej Mihajlovich Zhestokanov PhD of History, Associate Professor, St. Petersburg State University, Institute of History (7/9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation)
s.zhestokanov@spbu.ru

Zhestokanov S. M. The legendary history of Greece in the chronological tables of Eusebius of Caesarea, Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2019, vol. 8, pp. 292–333.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2019-00015

Language: Russian

In the study of any historical period, chronology of events plays a great role. The Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea is very important for the study of the history of the Ancient World. The work of Eusebius represents the first work in the Greco-Roman written tradition, summarizing the data of ancient chronography, and combining them with the data of the eastern, especially biblical, chronography. The Chronicle is divided into two parts, the first of which gives a brief survey of the history of a number of ancient peoples and the lists of kings with an indication of the duration of their reign, and the second part presents synchronous tables of the main events from the birth of the biblical patriarch Abraham until the twentieth year of the reign of Emperor Constantine. The original version of the work was not preserved, and two versions of it survived to our time. The first is a translation into Latin made by Jerome the Blessed at the end of the 4th century, and the second is a translation into Old Armenian made in the 6th century. In this paper, the author proposes his translation of the part of the Jerome’s version of the Chronicle, which contains information on events of Biblical history from the birth of Abraham to the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. The translation is made by: Eusebius Werke Bd.7. Tl. 1. Die Chronik des Hieronymus: Hieronymi Chronicon / Hrsgb. von R. Helm. Leipzig, 1913.

Key words: Eusebius of Caesarea, Biblical history, mythology, chronology

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/en/zhestokanov-2019-en/

New inscriptions, amulets and history of the early Christianity: the Antonine age

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Aleksey Dmitrievich Panteleev PhD in History, assosiate professor, Institute of History, Saint-Petersburg State University (Universitetskaya naberezhnaya, 7, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, 199034)
a.panteleev@spbu.ru; alpant@hotmail.com

Panteleev A. D. New inscriptions, amulets and history of the early Christianity: the Antonine age, Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2018, vol. 7, pp. 150–166.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2018-00008

Language: Russian

The article discusses two finds related to the history of Early Christianity, which were published in recent years. The first is an inscription found in 2013 in Ephesus. This is the epistle of Antoninus Pius to magistrates, council and inhabitants of Ephesus, sent in 157/8 or 160/1, which refered to stop the unrest caused by a series of earthquakes. Cristiopher Jones compared this inscription with the so-called rescript of Antoninus Pius, saved as an appendix to «First Apology» of Justin Martyr (cod. Paris. gr. 450) and in Eusebius of Caesarea’s «Church History» (HE, IV, 13). Jones believes that the recently discovered inscription is the original version of the Antoninus’ rescript, which forbade persecuting Christians without all legal procedures. The second find is an amulet, discovered in 1989 in London. It’s a long narrow strip of tin with 30 lines of Greek text containing a spell against the plague. This amulet was made in the time of the Antonine plague, which began in 165. Jones noted that this spell contained an oracle that was given in the sanctuary of Glykon — New Asclepius (Luc. Alex., 36). Apollo played an important role against the plague. Perhaps the god ordered people to refrain from kissing during an epidemic. These natural disasters — earthquakes and the plague epidemic — could have caused Christian persecution. At the time when all Romans had to pray to the gods for salvation, the demonstrative unwillingness of a group of renegades to follow a common path could cause particular resentment and hatred and lead with spontaneous anti-Christian actions.

Key words: Roman Empire, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Eusebius of Caesarea, Lucian, Glykon — New Asclepius

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/panteleev-2018-en/

The martydom of Potamiaena and Basilides (Eus. HE, VI, 5)

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Aleksey Dmitrievich Panteleev, PhD in history, assistant professor, Institute of History, Saint-Petersburg State University (Mendeleevskaya linia, dom 5, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, 199034)
a.panteleev@spbu.ru
alpant@hotmail.com

Panteleev A. D. The martydom of Potamiaena and Basilides (Eus. HE, VI, 5) , Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 100–115.

DOI: 10.24411/2308-0698-2012-00002

Language: Russian

The story about young woman Potamiaena, who lived in Alexandria, and the warrior Basilides was told by Eusebius of Caesarea in Church History (6, 5) and Palladius in Lausiac History (3). There’re some differences between these versions in the dating and circumstances, and Palladius said nothing about Basilides. Despite Palladius’ indication of the IV century, we think that both authors reported on the same Alexandrian martyr of the beginning of the 3rd century. These events could occur between 206 and 210; this is indicated by the name of the prefect of Egypt. The cruel execution of Potamiaena — her body was burned with boiling tar — although not characteristic for early martyrdoms, but it is not impossible. Neither Potamiaena nor Basilides were directly connected with Origen, but Eusebius included this story in his narrative about the youth of Alexandrian theologian. Particular attention was paid to the history of Basilides’ conversion and its comparison with a similar story in the Martyrdom of Perpetua. The history of Basilides’ conversion under the influence of a dream, when Potamiaena appeared to him, looks quite organic not only for the Christian, but also for the pagan tradition of that time. The voluntary confession of Christianity by Basilides wasn’t indicate of Montanism. This story is the first significant testimony of the martyrs of Alexandria and one of the few authentic narratives of the persecution of Christians before the start of the persecution of Decius.

Key words: early Christianity, hagiography, persecutions, Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea

Permanent link: http://rcs-almanac.ru/panteleev-a-d-2012-en/