University of Oxford
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

E01265: Fragment of a Greek Martyrdom of *Pamoun (S00775) from Oxyrhynchos (Middle Egypt), datable to the 6th/7th century.

online resource
posted on 2016-04-10, 00:00 authored by gschenke
A fraction of the Martyrdom of Pamoun is contained on a single leaf, reconstructed from six joining fragments, which once formed part of a papyrus codex.

P.Oxy. 70. 4759
The short fragment offers the beginning of the martyr’s interrogation by the governor, set on the tribunal. The governor inquires after the saint’s parents and his age. Pamoun gives his age as 21 years to the day and insists that he has no earthly father, but Christ alone. It is, however, established by the governor that Pamoun is a noble man of his city who should not bring shame onto his nobility.

History

Evidence ID

E01265

Saint Name

Pamoun : S00775

Type of Evidence

Early manuscripts - Books/scrolls Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

699

Activity not before

304

Activity not after

699

Place of Evidence - Region

Egypt and Cyrenaica

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Oxyrhynchos

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

Oxyrhynchos Hermopolis ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ Ashmunein Hermopolis

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Composing and translating saint-related texts

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Officials

Source

This fragmentary papyrus leaf is made up of six fragments found in the rubbish heap of the city of Oxyrhynchos. The leaf must have once belonged to a papyrus codex which might also have included martyrdoms of other saints. The text is datable by its script to the 6th/7th century and is kept at the Oxyrhynchos papyrus collection located in the Sackler Library in Oxford. The original composition of this text could, however, be earlier.

Discussion

The identity of this martyr is not clear. A rich man named Pamoun from Tilog is martyred with a man named *Elias, as a side martyr in the Martyrdom of Apa Shenoufe and his eleven family members (see E01224). Another Pamoun appears in P.Lond.Copt. I 344, a fragment of a Coptic Martyrdom of two monks, Pamoun and his brother Sarmata (see E01266). The Coptic Martyrdom of Thekla (see E01309) also features an Apa Pamoun together with Apa Klaudios. Both men are singing hymns surrounded by crowds prior to Thekla’s interrogation by Arianus. In O.Sarga 54.7, an Apa Pamoun appears among a list of holy men (See E01245). For more occurrences of saints with the name Pamoun, see also A. Papconstantinou, Le culte des saints en Égypte (Paris, 2001), 385 and 396.

Bibliography

Chapa, J., "4759. Passion of St. Pamoun’, in: The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, vol. LXX, ed. N. Gonis, J. D. Thomas, and R. Hatzilambrou (London, 2006), 1–8.

Usage metrics

    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

    Licence

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC