/I A c x î * n v n> Â (SELEUCaA): ^ V«/ ^ W S "T\-hßf% i \£ » * ¿ 6 /" t 5 ^ i ' é w L * ï 5‘>c^ 'w ii^ s X ; ;; i¿ .A ¿ t A S- ^ I A f\l L;T* Êjspartmsrit of ¿4.rGäiaeoiogy illKBíít iiûlvôrsiîv Pvlay 200 4 To My Grandparents I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Archaeology and History of Art I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Archaeology and History of Art Asst. Prof. Dr Charles W. Gates Examining Comitee member I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Archaeology and History of Art Asst. Prof. Dr Douria^,G^leighton Examining Cqjigieemember Approved by the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences Prof. Dr Kur§at Aydogan Director ST. ERASMUS (LYCHNID) AND ST. THECLA (SELEUCIA); A STUDY OF TWO EARLY CHRISTIAN CULTIC CENTERS The Institute of Econonoics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University by DONEV DAMIAN In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF ART in THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF ART BILKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA May 2004 'b(Dİo ^>082684 2-OOt| ABSTRACT ST. ERASMUS (LYCHNID) AND ST. THECLA (SELEUKIA): A STUDY OF TWO EARLY CHRISTIAN CULTIC CENTERS Donev, Damjan MA, Department of Archaeology and History of Art Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Julian Bennett May 2004 The main purpose of this paper is the study of two regional Early Christian cultic centers: of St. Erasmus, near the city of Lychnid in the province of Epirus Nova, and of St. Theda, near Seleukia on the Calycadnos, in the province of Isauria. The methodology and the problems associated with this are considered in chapter I. The cult of martyrdom in Christianity is a complex religious, social and cultural phenomenon, and chapter II deals with the significance of martyr-saints in Christian theology, their place and role in the Late Antique culture of the Mediterranean, and the two principal types of artifacts through which we recognize the cults of martyrs, the hagiography and the sanctuary. This thesis then closely examines, in chapters III-VI, the establishment, development and the demise or the transformation of these two sanctuaries, and the related cultic traditions. This inevitably requires consideration of a large number of factors, starting with the broad historical conditions in these regions during Late Antiquity, the hagiographies of the venerated saints, and finally, the formal architectonic expression of the cultic tradition, the sanctuaries themselves. Ke)words: St. Erasmus, Lychnid, Ochrid, St. Theda, Seleukia on the Calycadnos, Meryemlik, Early Christian Architecture, sanctuaries, martyria, centraly planned m churches, basilicas, reliquaries, relics, crypts, cult of martyrdom, hagiographies, ecclesiastic and political history. Late Antiquity. IV ÖZET ST. ERASMUS (LYCHNİD) VE ST. THECLA (SELEUKİA): İKİ ERKEN ffiaSTİYANLIK KÜLT MERKEZİNİ Donev, Damjan Master, Arkeoloji ve Sanat Tarihi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Yar. Doç. Dr. Julian Bennett Mayis, 2004 Bu tezin esas konusu Erken Hristiyanlık dönemine ait bölgesel iki kült merkezini incelemektir. Bunlardan birincisi “Epius Nova” bölgesinde bulunan, ‘Lychnid” şehri yakınlanndaki St. Erasmus olup, İkincisi de antik “Isaura” bölgesindeki Göksu üzerindeki Silifke yakmlannda bulunan St. Thecla’dır. Uristiyanlıktaki şehadet mertebesi ve kültü karmaşik bir dini, sosyal ve kültürel olgudur. Tezin giriş kısmında Hristiyanlık teolojisindeki şehit-azizlerin Geç Antik Akdeniz kültüründeki yeri ve önemi; aynca şehit kültünü, azizlerin hayat hikayelerini (hagiografalari) ve mabetlerini tanımamızı sağlayan iki konu ele alınmıştır. III- VI. bölümlerde tez, kült mabetlerinin kuruluşunu, gelişimini ve çöküşünü ya da değişimini ve kült adet ve geleneklerini incelemektedir. Bu, kaçınılmaz olarak. Geç Antik Dönemde bölge tarihi, kutsallaştınimış azizlerin hayat hikayeleri (hagiografalarını) ve sonuç olarak kült geleneğinin ve mabetlerin mimari yansıması gibi birçok faktörün ele alınmasını gerektirmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: St. Erasmus, Lychnid, Ochrid, St. Thecla, Göksu, Silifke, Meryemlik, Erken Hristiyanlık mimarisi, mabetler, şehit abideleri, haçbiçimi planlı kiliseler, basilika, kripta, şehadet kültü, hagiografa, dini ve siyasi tarih. Geç Antik. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................iii ÖZET....................................................................................................................................V TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................ix CHARTER I: INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................1 CHARTER H: ELEMENTS THAT COMRRISE THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CULT OF MARTYRDOM............................................................................................................. 7 2.1 The Significance of Saintly Figures in Christianity; Theological and Social........................................................................................................................ 7 2.2 The Literal Testimony; Hagiographies and Oral Traditions.............................................................................................................. 12 2.3 The Material Testimony and Archaeological Rerspectives. Sacred Relics, Sacred Rlaces and their Architectonic Articulation.......................................... 16 CHARTER m: THE CITY OF LYCHNID IN LATE ANTIQUITY AND THE CULT OF ST. ERASMUS: TEXTUAL EVIDENCE...................................................32 3.1 The City of Lychnid in Late Antiquity........................................................ 32 3.2 St. Erasmus of Antioch; Hagiographie Traditions.................................... 41 CHARTER W: THE CULTÎC CENTER OF ST.ERASMUS NEAR LYCHNID: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE...............................................................................55 4.1 Geographical Rosition................................................................................... 56 4.2 The Early Christian Basilica of St. Erasmus.............................................. 57 4.3 The Establishment and the Transformation of the Cultic Center............ 71 Vll CHAPTER V: SELEUKIA ON THE CALYCADNOS IN LATE ANTIQUITY AND THE CULT OF ST. THECLA: TEXTUAL EVIDENCE...............................86 5.1 Seleukia on the Calycadnos in Late Antiquity.......................................... 86 5.2 St. Theda, the Hagiographic Traditions..................................................... 100 CHAPTER VI: THE CULTIC CENTER OF ST. THECLA NEAR SELEUKIA ON THE CALYCADNOS: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE............................ 121 6.1 Geographical Position and Layout of the Site........................................... 122 6.2 Ancillary Structures.......................................................................................128 6.3 Churches: The Church North of the “Cupola Church”, the “North Church”, the Octagon, and the “Cupola Church”........................................................ 131 6.4 The Sacred Precinct and the Martyrium of St. Theda: Late Fifth Century..............................................................................................................................136 6.5 The Cave Church........................................................................................... 158 6.6 The Fourth Century Martyrium................................................................... 168 CHAPTER Vn: CONCLUSION................................................................................................................178 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................188 FIGURES......................................................................................................................... 200 Vlll LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1. Map of the Northern and Central Balkans. (Hoddinott, 1963: map.2)........201 Fig. 2. Map of the Central Balkan provinces in Late Antiquity. (Bratoz, 1990: fig.l)..................................................................................................................................201 Fig. 3. Map of the Early Christian monuments in the region of Ochrid. (Malenko, 1988: fig. 1).................................................................................................................... 202 Fig. 4. Reconstructed plan of the basilica of St. Erasmus. (Mikulchik, 2002: 293).................................................................................................................................... 203 Fig. 5. View at the basilica site during the second season of excavations. (Malenko, 1977: fig.2)....................................................................................................................... 203 Fig. 6. The northern annexes of the atrium, view from west, (by D. Donev)........204 Fig. 7. Traces of the stairway, to the left of the main entrance in the church, (by D. Donev)...............................................................................................................................204