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E00596: Mosaic in the Rotunda of Thessalonike (south Balkans/Greece), of the 5th/6th c., depicting a soldier saint, *Leon (S00387), perhaps the soldier martyr *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), with an inscription describing him as a soldier, and indicating June as the month of his festival.

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posted on 2015-06-09, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski
The south east panel of the mosaic circle included three figures of martyrs, one of whom one is missing, since it was destroyed during an earthquake in Byzantine times (probably in the 9th century). The other two figures are the soldier Leōn and the flute-player *Philēmōn (see $E00597). Although depicted together, the two martyrs are not related in hagiography.

Leōn is depicted as a young man with curly light hair, wearing a purple chlamys with blue tablion, over a white tunic with richly decorated blue segmentum and golden girdle (cingulum). His figure is accompanied by the inscription:

Λέοντος
στρατ(ιώτου)
μηνὶ
Ἰουν(ίου)

‘(Memory) of Leōn, soldier, in the month of June’


Summary and translation: Efthymios Rizos.

History

Evidence ID

E00596

Saint Name

Leontios, martyr in Tripolis (Syria), ob. c. 303-312 : S00216 Leōn, soldier martyr, uncertain origins : S00387

Saint Name in Source

Λέων Λέων

Type of Evidence

Images and objects - Wall paintings and mosaics Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

380

Evidence not after

600

Activity not before

380

Activity not after

600

Place of Evidence - Region

Balkans including Greece

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Thessalonike

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

Thessalonike Drizypera Δριζύπερα Drizypera Büyük Karıştıran

Cult activities - Festivals

  • Saint’s feast

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Use of Images

  • Public display of an image

Source

The circular building known as the Rotunda of Saint George was built in the early 4th century as a part of the palatial complex of Thessalonike, probably under the emperor Galerius (Caesar to Diocletian 293-305, Augustus 305-311). Originally built as an imperial mausoleum or pagan temple, the building was later consecrated as a Christian church and functioned as such continuously until the 16th century, when it was converted into a mosque. As a church (the dedication of which is unknown), the Rotunda probably preserved a special association with the palace which was functional at least until the 7th century. The conversion of the building into a church was accompanied by the decoration of its dome with sumptuous mosaics which survive in a very fragmentary state. Various chronologies have been suggested, ranging from the late 4th to the 6th centuries, the likeliest period probably being 450-550. This is based on iconographic evidence (hairstyle and costume of the figures) and on the results of chemical analysis of the mortars of the mosaic (see the discussion by Fourlas 2012, 177 ff.). The mosaics present no signs of secondary phases or repairs. Their extensive damage seems to be due to natural causes. The mosaics consisted of a visionary scene (theophany) in three concentric registers. The figure of Christ in glory is depicted in a mandorla in the centre (now mostly lost), carried by four angels. This is followed by a register of saints (apostles, prophets, martyrs, or angels) in procession on a green ground – perhaps depicted according to the apocalyptic theme of the 24 Elders. Only the feet of some of these figures can be seen, and their precise number is unknown. The only part of the mosaic surviving in good condition is the third and lowest register, which is divided into eight panels (seven of which are preserved) with figures of praying martyrs (19 or 20 in number, of whom 16 are preserved). They are depicted standing with their hands raised in prayer, in front of sumptuous architectural façades, and are accompanied by inscriptions indicating their name, often their profession, and the month of their festival. The figures of the martyrs are depicted in official late antique dress, by which they are distinguished as soldiers (wearing the military cloak, the chlamys) and civilians (wearing the civilian cloak known as a paenula). Their dress also distinguishes these martyrs from the figures of the upper register, which were depicted wearing tunic and pallium/himation (the philosopher’s habit). Thus a sense of hierarchy is created, which was also accentuated by the greater size of the lost figures of the upper register. The mosaics depict the physiognomic characteristics of the martyrs with realism and precision, expressing differences in age and social status. Laymen and soldiers are depicted wearing their hair in the mop style, fashionable in the late 5th and 6th centuries, and with their faces clean shaven or with stubble beard. By contrast, Christian clerics and scholars (the two physicians) have short hair and longer beards. Although some scholars have proposed interpretations of the figures of the lower register as portraits of non-saintly persons, perhaps of donors, most of them can safely or tentatively be identified with martyrs known from the hagiographical sources. None of them seems to be a local saint of the city of Thessalonike, but they represent various parts of the East Roman Empire, including Anatolia, the Balkans, the Levant, and Egypt. No saints from the West can be identified. The 10th century Synaxarium of the Church of Constantinople suggests that many of the saints shown were honoured with chapels and feasts in the capital. The reasons and criteria for the selection of these particular saints in the dome of the Rotunda are unknown. Their placement does not follow any apparent logic. It is possible that the church possessed relics of these martyrs (see Kleinbauer 1972, 55), or that these figures were particularly revered by aristocratic families related to the palace of Thessalonike and its church. According to Ernst Weigand, the mosaic cycle of the Rotunda represents a selective calendar of saints from around the Christian world and the ecclesiastical year (Weigand 1939). The accompanying inscriptions are of major interest, since they emulate the formulation known from the earliest hagiographic calendars (martyrologia) (on them, see Feissel 1983). These inscriptions very probably echo the calendar observed in the church of Thessalonike, and possibly in the whole of Illyricum, of which Thessalonike was the ecclesiastical capital.

Discussion

The soldier martyr Leōn is one of the figures of uncertain identification in the mosaics of the Rotunda. No soldier martyr of that name and feast date is known from other sources. It is possible that this figure corresponds to Leontios of Tripolis in Phoenicia, a soldier martyred under Vespasian (according to his hagiography) alongside his companions Hypatios/Hypatos and Theodoulos. All the sources place their festival on 18 June, and, according to the Synaxarium of Constantinople, an oratory was dedicated to them in the capital, near the Pege Gate of the Theodosian Walls (Acta Sanctorum Novembris, Propylaeum, p. 756). The interchanging usage of the names Leōn and Leontios is not uncommon, so that we could tentatively regard the inscription of this mosaic as a variant of the name of the Phoenician martyr. On the inscription, see: Feissel 1983, 104.

Bibliography

Bakirtzis, C., “Rotunda,” in: C. Bakirtzis (ed.), Mosaics of Thessaloniki : 4th to 14th Century (Athens: Kapon, 2012), 51-117 (with the most recent and best pictures). Feissel, D., Recueil des inscriptions chrétiennes de Macédoine du IIIe au VIe siècle (Bulletin de correspondance hellénique. Supplément; Athènes, Paris: Ecole française d'Athènes, De Boccard, 1983), 103-110 (for the inscriptions). Fourlas, B., Die Mosaiken der Acheiropoietos-Basilika in Thessaloniki : eine vergleichende Analyse dekorativer Mosaiken des 5. und 6. Jahrhunderts (Millennium-Studien; Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2012), 156-195 (with a full survey of bibliography). Kleinbauer, W.E., “The Iconography and the Date of the Mosaics of the Rotunda of Hagios Georgios, Thessaloniki,” Viator 3 (1972), 27-107 (extensive discussion of the hagiographic questions). Spieser, J.M., Thessalonique et ses monuments du IVe au VIe siècle : contribution a l'étude d'une ville paléochrétienne (Bibliothèque des écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome; Paris: Boccard, 1984), 125-164. Torp, H., La rotonde palatine à Thessalonique : architecture et mosaïques, 2 vols., Athènes: Kapon, 2018. (with the most recent and best pictures) Weigand, E., “Der Kalenderfries von Hagios Georgios in Thessalonike. Datierung, Ideen- und kunstgeschichtliche Stellung,” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 39 (1939), 116-145.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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