E04153: Theodoret of Cyrrhus in his Ecclesiastical History recounts the persecutions of Julian the Apostate (r. 361-363), mentioning the *Martyrs of Askalon in Palstine (S01853), *Kyrillos (deacon and martyr of Heliopolis-Baalbek in Syria, S01851), *Aimilianos (martyr of Durostorum on the Lower Danube, S01589), *Ioventinos and Maximinos (soldiers and martyrs of Syrian Antioch, S00053), *Artemios (dux of Egypt and martyr in Antioch, S01128), and the confessor *Markos (bishop of Arethousa in Syria, S01563). Written in Greek at Cyrrhus (northern Syria), 444/450.

Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Ecclesiastical History, 3.7, 3.11, 3.15, 3.18, 3.19.

3.7.1. At Askalon and Gaza [Palestine], Christian clerics and consecrated virgins are slaughtered and fed to the swine.

3.7.2. The desecration of the head of John the Baptist in Sebaste of Palestine.

3.7.2-4. The deacon Kyrillos, who had destroyed many idols at Heliopolis-Baalbek in Lebanon, is slaughtered. Some pagans, who eat of his liver, lose their teeth or tongues.

3.7.5. Aimilianos is burned alive at Durostorum [lower Danube], by Kapetolinos, vicar of Thrace.

3.7.6-10. Markos of Arethousa [Syria].

3.11 The confessor Theodoros in Antioch.

3.15 Ioventinos and Maximinos.
Under Julian, the Christians of Antioch are distressed, because both the waters and the food products of the market were subject to the pagan purification rites, and were therefore regarded as defiled. During a drinking party, two Christian soldiers of the emperor’s guard are overheard complaining about the emperor’s impiety, which is reported to Julian. He summons and interrogates them. They report that they have been brought up as Christians under Constantine and his sons, and that they now cannot stand the ubiquity of pagan sacrifices. Julian has them tortured and killed, accusing them of drunkenness and insubordination. The Antiochenes bury them in a splendid sarcophagus and celebrate their memory.

3.15.8-9. ... ταῦτα δὲ θρυλεῖσθαι προσέταξε, φθονῶν τοῖς τῆς ἀληθείας ἀθληταῖς τῆς τῶν μαρτύρων προσηγορίας τε καὶ τιμῆς. τούτων ὁ μὲν Ἰοβεντῖνος, ὁ δὲ Μαξιμῖνος προσηγορεύετο. τούτους ἡ Ἀντιόχου πόλις ὡς ἀγωνιστὰς εὐσεβείας τιμήσασα πολυτελεῖ παραδέδωκε θήκῃ, καὶ μέχρι δὲ τήμερον ἐτησίῳ δημοθοινίᾳ γεραίρονται.

‘... He ordered that this excuse be spread, because he grudged the champions of truth the title and honour of martyrs. One of them was called Ioventinos and the other Maximinos. The city of Antioch honoured them as defenders of the true religion, and deposited them in a magnificent tomb, and up to this day they are honoured by a yearly festival.’

3.18. Martyrdom of Artemios, dux of Egypt. He destroyed several idols under Constantius II, and Julian had him dispossessed and beheaded.

3.19. The story of the female confessor Pouplia in Antioch.

Text: Hansen 1997.
Summary and Translation: E. Rizos.