Epigrams

Name: Epigrams
Author: Arethas of Caesarea

Epigrammata

Arethas of Caesarea (c. 860–c. 932 AD) · written c. 860–940 AD · PG 106

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Contents4 passages

1Anna's lament over her early death and mourning family
2Anna's virtues that the tomb cannot hide
3The tomb cannot darken Anna's lesson
4Febronia's compassion remembered even among the dead

Author

Arethas of Caesarea (c. 860–c. 932 AD) — Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia and a leading Byzantine scholar. He had copies made of Plato, Euclid and the early Christian apologists, wrote notes in their margins, and wrote a commentary on Revelation; he also wrote short poems.

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About this text

Verse epitaphs by Arethas: a young widow named Anna mourns her early death and is praised, and a woman named Febronia is remembered for her kindness to the poor.

Arethas of Caesarea, a deacon and later archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, wrote these three short commemorative pieces. He lived from about 860 to about 940, was born at Patrae in Greece, and was a disciple of Photius. The epigrams were preserved as fragments in a manuscript of his commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

The pieces commemorate two deceased women, Anna and Febronia. The first is a first-person lament spoken by Anna herself, who died at twenty-three, leaving her aged parents and noble brothers to mourn her. She was made a widow while still a girl and was childless, never seeing a child of her own at play. The second epigram praises Anna's character, her obedience to parents, her noble lineage, and her distinction as a woman married to one husband, arguing that her grave cannot obscure these because her life was a lesson and the inscription will speak if all else is silent. The third epigram praises Febronia for her compassion to the poor and her consecration as a bride of Christ, and suggests that even the dead remember her beneficence.

A reader should know that 'married to one husband' reflects a virtue praised in Anna, and 'widowhood' describes her faithful state before her own death. The 'bridal chamber' is used metaphorically for Febronia's consecration as a bride of Christ, and the 'lamp of purity' is a symbol of life and of the virginal lamp kept burning for Christ. The epigrams contain no direct scriptural citations.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 106 (Greek)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.

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Anna's lament over her early death and mourning family§1

The work opens with a first-person epigram spoken by Anna (or a persona speaking as Anna), who laments that death cut short her life at twenty-three, leaving her widowed, childless, and mourned by her aged parents and noble brothers.

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1Even though swift doom quenched the lamp of my life and stripped my torch of its light, the evil spirit, in the frenzy of his malice, still managed to make my whole life wretched. He made me a widow when my breast had only begun to rise, and I never looked on a lovely child at play, a sweet delight to its parents, held in their arms. So unbearable grief overcame me with the fierce fire of wasting. In my twenty-third year this tomb, which hosts our family, took me in. Here my aged parents wove a lament for all to hear, tearing their grey hair, and the company of noble brothers groaned, fondly remembering the splendor of Anna's beauty.

Greek · §1

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Anna's virtues that the tomb cannot hide§2

Arethas the deacon is praising Anna's character and lineage, arguing that her grave cannot obscure her virtues.

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2Her character was dignified, her grace humane, and her manner obedient toward her parents, for reverence led her as a great teacher standing by. The splendid marks of her lineage shone in her, and her steadfast love of husband against nature, which by the force of widowhood shakes what is unsteady, yet in the struggle defeated by stronger powers, from which the bright garlands shine in a manner worthy of one married to one husband: the boldness of Anna.

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The tomb cannot darken Anna's lesson§3

Arethas is concluding his praise of Anna, arguing that her grave cannot hide the virtue her life taught.

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3The tomb will not be able to darken these things. For the beautiful mouth that carries a lesson for life could never escape notice. And if it should, the inscription placed beside the tomb itself will speak more than all.

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Febronia's compassion remembered even among the dead§4

Arethas, the author, closes with a third epigram praising Febronia's compassion for the poor and her consecration as a bride of Christ.

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4Febronia, even among the nether spirits of men, did something with tokens of her compassion, if here too there was any need of the wealthy among the poor. For not even there do the souls of the great-hearted forget their beneficence to the uttermost. Yet may the span of our life be sufficient to send her on to the divine bridal chamber of Christ—she, as a reverend bride, took hold of the lamp of purity, keeping it bright with the oil of love for the poor. Know that this is the sign of her long sleep.

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