Cult of the Martyr Euphemia in Byzantium

The martyr Euphemia, a young woman who was put to death in 303 CE in Chalcedon, was one of the most popular saints in Byzantium. In addition to the complex dedicated to her in that city, consisting of a large basilica and an attached circular martyrium, there existed at least six more churches dedicated to her in Constantinople. Her hagiographical dossier is equally impressive. It includes texts that span from the fourth to the fifteenth century, and belong to such diverse genres as ekphrasis, passio, and enkomion. Euphemia was also present in crucial moments of Byzantine religious history, including the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Persian attacks in the seventh century, and Iconoclasm. Given Euphemia's historical importance and the plethora of available literary as well as archaeological and artistic material, it is surprising that there has not been a comprehensive study of her cult in Byzantium. This book aims to remedy this situation by placing every major aspect of Euphemia's cult within a wider social, historical, and ritual context. Methodologically, it views Euphemia not as a historical personality, but as a literary, theological, and artistic construct, best understood as a hagiographical heuristic that was used (and abused) by a variety of interested groups. By emphasizing a hermeneutic approach to the discourse and representation of sanctity, this book aims to reconcile the reception of Euphemia's cult with its creation.

Vasileios Marinis is Professor of Art History and Medieval Studies at Yale University and author of Architecture and Ritual in the Churches of Constantinople, Ninth to Fifteenth Centuries and Death and the Afterlife in Byzantium.