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The Cult of Azizos and Monimos at Edessa

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The Cult of Azizos and Monimos at Edessa THE CULT OF AZIZOS AND MONIMOS AT EDESSA BY H. J. W. DRIJVERS Groningen In December 362 the emperor Julian, the last of the Hellenes, issued at Antioch his famous oration on King Helios, describing the sovereign might of Sol Invictus; this was his contribution to the festivities of the Solis Agon, celebrated in Rome on December 25. 1 Julian is involved in Antioch in various difficulties with the adherents of the Messiah from the country of the Jews, whose birthday would afterwards be commemorated on the twenty-fifth of December, when the Sol Invictus of paganism was superseded by the Sol Salutis. 2 It is not surprising that in this context the emperor remarks upon the religion of Edessa, according to legend the earliest Christian state in the world, but according to him devoted to the cult of Helios from time immemorial. The Christianity of the Edessenes greatly annoyed the autokrator, who even refused to enter the town on his campaign against the Persians "from hate of its inhabitants, who had since long been converted to Christianity in great numbers".3 Julian says his remarks derive from the sages of Phoenicia, whose conceptions he learnt from Iamblichos, who is known to be of Syrian birth. After some information regarding Aphrodite, who according to the Phoenician sages shares in the creative power of the Sun - Aphrodite meaning the planet Venus, the astral form of Atargatis -, he con­ tinues as follows : "En fJ-ETptaaut {3ovAOfJ-Ut TfjS !/JOtVlKWV BEOAoylus • El SE fJ-~ fJ-aT7Jv, <> AOYOS 7Tpoulv SelgE£. 0;, T~V" ESEaauv OlKoiJvTES, tEpOV 1 L'Empereur Julien, (Euvres completes II, 2, ed. C. Lacombrade, Paris 1964, p. 75. 2 J. Bidez, La vie de l'empereur Julien, Paris 1930; c/. H. Rahner, Griechi8che Mythen in christlicher Deutung, Ziirich 1957, S. 125 ff. : Das christliche Mysterium von Sonne undMond. 3 Sozomenos, HiBt. Eccl., VI, 1, 1; Theodoretus, HiBt. Eccl., III, 26, 2; according to Zosimos III, 12,2 Julian did pass through Edessa on his campaign against the Per. sians; c/. J. B. Segal, EdesBa, the blesBed City, Oxford 1970, p. Ill. 356 H. J. W. DRIJVERS E~ alwvoS' 'HAtov xwptov, MovtJLov av'1'cp Kat "A't'ov uVYKaBtSpvovUtv. I <;, I,J. I Q\ '1' , .. \ \ I , \ \ - A tVt'1''1'EU' Bat OE 'f7JUtV 'I'aJL,.,IItX0S', TTap OVTTEP Kat '1'al\/\a TTav'1'a EK TTOI\/\WV UJLtKpa\ El\a,.,0JLEV,'\ IQ WS'" ° lYl0VtJL0S'~Jrl JLEV"E PJL7JS' - Et7J, " "AY",t",oS' Y OE<;" "A P7JS', 'HAtov TTCLPESPOt, TTOAAa. Kat ayaBa. '1'cp TTEpt 'If/v ETTOXETeVOVTES' Tomp1 Further on, connecting Relios with Rome, Julian states that the city's founder, Romulus, is called the son of Ares, whilst "Ap7JS' "A't'oS' AEYOJLEVOS' {mo TWV OlKOVVTWV T~V "ESEuuav Evpwv 'HAtov TTPOTTOJLTTEVELI ... 2 According to the text of Julian's oration on King Relios, then, the Edessenes worship the Sun, flanked by Azizos and Monimos, whom Iamblichos identifies with Ares and Rermes respectively. Azizos, the Sun's precursor, may be the Morning star, and Monimos the Evening star, but this is not explicitly stated. Julian's text presents a few problems that complicate matters. Following Spanheim, many considered these references to a cult of the sun more applicable to Emesa than to Edessa, and in agreement with the German philologist corrected Julian's text accordingly. Scholars eminently acquainted with the religions of Syria in Graeco-Roman times, such as R. Mou­ terde,3 R. du Mesnil du Buisson 4 and D. Sourdel 5 follow Spanheim without hesitation. J. G. Fevrier leaves the matter undecided,6 nor does R. Seyrig commit himself. Publishing in 1950 a limestone altar from Emesa dedicated to the god Azizos, he wrote of Spanheim's conjecture : "Cette correction se fonde sur ce que la ville en question est qualifiee de LEPOV E~ alwvoS' 'HAtov Xwptov, description qui a paru convenir mieux a Emese qu'a Edesse. Elle a ete adoptee par les editeurs de Julien"? C. Lacombrade, however, who prepared a new edition of Julian's oration in 1964, did not follow Spanheim. In 1970 Seyrig's opinion is altered (because of Lacombrade's edition 1), for he then writes: "Ares ... etait a Edesse l'appariteur (TTpOTTOJLTTOS') 1 Julian, 150 CoD = (Euvres completes II, 2, p. 128. 2 Julian, 154 B = (Euvres completes II, 2, p. 138. 3 R. Mouterde, Cultes antiques de la CoeIesyrie et de I'Hermon, MUSJ 36, 1959, pp. 76·78; an altar from Mo'allaqat Za1;lle with a representation of the sun-god and (according to Mouterde) Azizos and Monimos; it was published anew by J. Rey.Coquais, IGLS VI, no. 2962, who also accepts the correction. He does not, however, think we can be certain of the identity of the gods depicted. 4 R. du Mesnil du Buisson, Les tes8eres et les monnaies de Palmyre, Paris 1962, pp. 3338. 6 D. Sourdel, Lea cultes du Hauran a l'epoque Romaine, Paris 1952, p. 75. 6 J. G. Fevrier, La religion des Palrnyreniens, Paris 1931, pp. 16-19; ct. J. G. Fevrier, Un aspect du Dioscurisme chez lea anciens Semites, JA 229, 1937, pp. 293-299. ? H. Seyrig, Syria 27, 1950, p. 237 = AS IV, p. 132 = IGLS, 2218. .
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