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life nor for the greatness of the miracles does he revere the martyrs; and they call their remains common graves and tombs and sleeping-places, and they abominate the very entrances as if coming in contact with defilement, not even remembering that divinely inspired saying sung by every mouth, that: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 10.18.6 Let us pray, therefore, to God, and let us beseech the martyrs to entreat the common Master, so that a spirit of compunction may be given to those who are influenced by the heretical error, and with the discord dissolved like some dividing wall or fence, we may all come together into a brotherly union; in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is the glory for ever. Amen.

11.t.1 Of Asterius, bishop of Amaseia, an ekphrasis on Saint Euphemia the martyr

11.1.1 Recently, O men, I had in my hands the formidable Demosthenes and those passages of Demosthenes where he strikes Aeschines with bitter arguments; and having spent a long time on the speech and concentrated my mind, I needed relaxation and a walk, so that the strained part of my soul might be a little relieved. And going out of my chamber and walking a little with acquaintances in the marketplace, from there I came to the sanctuary of God to pray at my leisure; 11.1.2 and when I had done this, as I was walking along one of the porticoes, I saw a painting there and the sight completely captivated me; You would have said the masterpiece was by Euphranor or one of those ancient masters who raised the art of painting to a great height, creating panels that were all but alive. Come then, if you wish—for there is now leisure for a narrative—and I will describe the painting to you; for we children of the Muses have pigments by no means inferior to those of the painters. 11.2.1 A certain holy virgin, who had consecrated her chastity undefiled to God—they call her Euphemia—when a tyrant was once persecuting the pious, very readily chose the peril that leads to death; and so the citizens and companions of the faith for which she died, admiring the virgin as both brave and holy, built her tomb near the sanctuary, and having laid down the sarcophagus, they pay her honors and make her annual feast a common and public festival. 11.2.2 The hierophants, then, of the mysteries of God, always honor her memory both in word and intent, and they diligently teach the assembled crowds how she completed the contest of endurance. But the painter, being himself also pious, to the best of his ability, depicted the whole story on linen through his art and dedicated it as a sacred spectacle somewhere there near her tomb; and the masterpiece is as follows. 11.3.1 A judge is seated high upon a throne, looking with a bitter and hostile gaze at the virgin; for art can show anger when it wishes, even in lifeless materials. And there are many bodyguards of the magistrate and soldiers, some of them secretaries of the court carrying tablets and styluses, one of whom, having lifted his hand from the wax, looks intently at the one on trial, having turned his whole face, as if urging her to speak louder, so that, not straining his hearing, he might not write things that are erroneous and culpable. 11.3.2 And the virgin stands in a grey tunic and cloak, signifying her philosophy, as it seemed to the painter, and she is lovely in her appearance, but as it seems to me, with her soul adorned by virtues. And two soldiers lead her to the magistrate, one pulling her forward, the other urging her on from behind. The virgin's appearance is a mixture of modesty and firmness; for she casts her eyes to the ground as if blushing before the gazes of the men, but she stands undaunted, not at all

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ζωὴν οὐδὲ τῇ μεγαλουργίᾳ τῶν θαυμάτων αἰδεῖται τοὺς μάρτυρας· πολυάνδρια δὲ καὶ τάφους καὶ κοιμήσεις αὐτῶν ὀνομάζουσι καὶ τὰς εἰσόδους αὐτὰς ὡς μιάσματι προστριβομένας μυσάττονται, οὐδὲ ἐκείνου τοῦ θεοπνεύστου λογίου τοῦ παρὰ παντὸς ᾀδομένου στόματος μνημονεύοντες, ὅτι· Τίμιος ἐναντίον Κυρίου ὁ θάνατος τῶν ὁσίων αὐτοῦ. 10.18.6 Εὐξώμεθα τοίνυν Θεῷ, παρακαλέσωμεν δὲ μάρτυρας τὸν κοινὸν δυσωπῆσαι ∆εσπότην, ἵνα δοθῇ πνεῦμα κατανύξεως τοῖς παρὰ τῆς αἱρετικῆς πλάνης ἐνεργουμένοις, λυθείσης δὲ τῆς διχονοίας ὥσπερ μεσοτοίχου τινὸς ἢ φραγμοῦ εἰς ἀδελφικὴν οἱ πάντες συνέλθωμεν ἕνωσιν· ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ πρέπει ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.

11.t.1 Ἀστερίου ἐπισκόπου Ἀμασείας ἔκφρασις εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν Εὐφημίαν τὴν μάρτυρα

11.1.1 Πρώην μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες, ∆ημοσθένην εἶχον ἐν χερσὶ τὸν δεινὸν καὶ ∆ημοσθένους ἐκεῖνα ἔνθα δὴ τὸν Αἰσχίνην πικροῖς βάλλει τοῖς ἐνθυμήμασιν· ἐγχρονίσας δὲ τῷ λόγῳ καὶ πυκνωθεὶς τὴν διάνοιαν ἀνέσεως ἐδεόμην καὶ περιπάτου, ὥστε μοι λυθῆναι μικρὸν τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ πονού μενον. Προελθὼν δὲ τοῦ δωματίου καὶ ὀλίγα τοῖς γνωρίμοις συμβαδίσας ἐπ' ἀγορᾶς, ἐκεῖθεν εἰς τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τέμενος ἀφικόμην εὐξόμενος ἐν σχολῇ· 11.1.2 ὡς δὲ καὶ τούτου τυχὼν ἕνα δὴ τῶν ὑποστέγων δρόμων ἐβάδιζον, εἶδον ἐκεῖ γραφήν τινα καί με κατ' ἄκρας εἷλεν ἡ θέα· Εὐφράνορος ἂν εἶπες εἶναι τὸ φιλοτέχνημα ἤ τινος ἐκείνων τῶν παλαιῶν, οἳ τὴν γραφικὴν ἦραν εἰς μέγα ἐμψύχους ὀλίγου δέοντος ἐργασάμενοι πίνακας. ∆εῦρο δ' εἰ βούλεικαὶ γὰρ σχολὴ νῦν διηγήματος, φράσω σοι τὴν γραφήν· οὐδὲ γὰρ φαυλότερα πάντως τῶν ζωγράφων οἱ μουσῶν παῖδες ἔχομεν φάρμακα. 11.2.1 Γυνή τις ἱερὰ παρθένος ἀκήρατον Θεῷ τὴν σωφροσύνην καθιερώ σασαΕὐφημίαν καλοῦσιν αὐτήν, τυράννου δέ ποτε τοὺς εὐσεβοῦντας ἐλαύνοντος μάλα προθύμως τὸν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ εἵλετο κίνδυνον· οἱ δὲ δὴ πολῖται καὶ κοινωνοὶ τῆς θρησκείας ὑπὲρ ἧς ἐτελεύτησεν, ὡς ἀνδρείαν ὁμοῦ καὶ ἱερὰν τὴν παρθένον θαυμάσαντες, πλησίον τοῦ ἱεροῦ τὴν θήκην δειμάμενοι καταθέμενοί τε τὴν λάρνακα τιμὰς τελοῦσιν αὐτῇ καὶ τὴν ἐτήσιον ἑορτὴν κοινὴν καὶ πάνδημον ποιοῦνται πανήγυριν. 11.2.2 Οἱ μὲν οὖν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ μυστηρίων ἱεροφάνται καὶ λόγῳ τιμῶσι τὴν μνήμην ἀεὶ καὶ προαιρέσει καὶ ὅπως ἐξετέλεσε τὸν τῆς καρτερίας ἀγῶνα ἐπιμελῶς τοὺς συνιόντας λαοὺς ἐκδιδάσκουσιν. Ὁ δὲ δὴ ζωγράφος εὐσεβῶν καὶ αὐτὸς διὰ τῆς τέχνης τὰ κατὰ δύναμιν πᾶσαν τὴν ἱστορίαν ἐν σινδόνι χαράξας αὐτοῦ που περὶ τὴν θήκην ἱερὸν ἀνέθηκε θέαμα· ἔχει δὲ ὧδε τὸ φιλοτέχνημα. 11.3.1 Ὑψηλὸς ἐπὶ θρόνου καθίδρυται δικαστὴς πικρὸν καὶ δυσμενὲς βλέπων εἰς τὴν παρθένον· ὀργίζεται γὰρ ὅταν ἐθέλῃ κἀν ταῖς ἀψύχοις ὕλαις ἡ τέχνη. ∆ορυφόροι δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ στρατιῶται πολλοί, οἱ μὲν τῶν ὑπομνημάτων ὑπογραφεῖς δέλτους φέροντες καὶ γραφίδας, ὧν θάτερος ἀναρτήσας ἀπὸ τοῦ κηροῦ τὴν χεῖρα βλέπει πρὸς τὴν κρινομένην σφοδρῶς ὅλον ἐκκλίνας τὸ πρόσωπον, ὥσπερ παρακελευόμενος γεγωνότερον λαλεῖν ἵνα μὴ κάμνων περὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν ἐσφαλμένα γράφῃ καὶ ἐπιλήψιμα. 11.3.2 Ἕστηκεν δὲ ἡ παρθένος ἐν φαιῷ χιτῶνι καὶ ἱματίῳ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν σημαίνουσα, ὡς μὲν ἔδοξε τῷ γραφεῖ, καὶ τὴν ὄψιν ἀστεία, ὡς δ' ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, τὴν ψυχὴν κεκαλλωπισμένη ταῖς ἀρεταῖς. Ἄγουσι δὲ αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα δύο στρατιῶται, ὁ μὲν ἕλκων ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσω, ὁ δὲ κατόπιν ἐπείγων. Κεκραμένον τῆς παρθένου τὸ εἶδος αἰδοῖ καὶ στερρότητι· νεύει μὲν γὰρ εἰς γῆν ὥσπερ ἐρυθριῶσα τὰς ὄψεις τῶν ἀρρένων, ἕστηκε δὲ ἀκατάπληκτος οὐδὲν