The Perception of Antiquity in Early Byzantine Hagiography (The Case of the Life of Saint Theodore of Sykeon)
Artyukhova T. A.
The paper deals with one of the most unusual specimen of early Byzantine hagiography, the Greek Life of Saint Theodore of Sykeon (BHG 1748) composed in the mid-640’s by his disciple George, and aims to examine in which way its protagonist as well as its author perceived and interpreted their common pagan past. The author focuses on such an overlooked literary aspect of the Life as typology of miracles (chiefly on various cases of miraculous healing and exorcism) and comes to the conclusion that the hagiographer’s attitude towards ancient (i.e. pagan) medical science is not exclusively unfavorable, as it would be natural to assume. On the contrary, in several episodes, instead of condemning secular medicine, the saint praises it and the hagiographer uses ancient medical termini technici with freedom. These and other data presented in the paper provide us with new valuable information concerning the hagiographer’s personality (education, etc.) and the perception of ancient cultural heritage in Asia Minor in Late Antiquity in general.