
The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' () is a 7th-century collection of
homilies
A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered e ...
, written in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, accounting the miracles performed by the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of
Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...
,
Saint Demetrius
Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessalonica (, ), also known as the Holy Great-Martyr Demetrius the Myroblyte (meaning 'the Myrrh-Gusher' or 'Myrrh-Streamer'; 3rd century – 306), was a Greek Christian martyr of the early 4th century AD.
D ...
. It is a unique work for the history of the city and the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
in general, especially in relation to the
Slavic invasions of the late 6th and 7th centuries, which are otherwise neglected by contemporary sources.
Date and content

The ''Miracles'' comprise two books. The first was compiled between and by John,
Archbishop of Thessalonica, and the second was compiled in the 680s. The first book enumerates fifteen episodes of Saint Demetrius's intervention on behalf of
Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...
, most of which occurred in the episcopate of John's predecessor, Eusebius, including outbreaks of plague and the
siege of the city by the
Sclaveni
The ' (in Latin language, Latin) or ' (Sclaveni#Terminology, various forms in Greek language, Greek) were Early Slavs, early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled in the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became one of the p ...
(proto-
South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...
) and
Avars. These episodes were written in the form of homilies or sermons, to be publicly read to the city's populace in order to demonstrate the Saint's active presence and intercession on their behalf.
The second book differs considerably in style, and is closer to an actual historical account, with the unknown author being an eyewitness or using written annals or eyewitness testimonies for the events he is describing, i.e. the Slavic invasion and settlement of the Balkans, including a series of sieges of Thessalonica by the Slavs and the Avars, culminating in the
great Slavic attack of . Whereas in Book I John portrays the Slavs as generic barbarians, the unknown author of Book II is far more familiar with them and their tribal divisions, listing the several Slavic tribes that settled around the city and calling them "our neighbours". Due to its change in style and focus, the second book proved less popular than the first with
copyists in the following centuries, and survives in only a single manuscript.
The ''Miracles'' are particularly valuable as a historical source. As the eminent scholar of the medieval Balkans,
Dimitri Obolensky, writes, "in no other contemporary work will he find so much precise and first-hand information on the military organization and topography of Thessalonica during one of the most dramatic centuries of its history; on the methods of warfare and the techniques of siege-craft used in the Balkan wars of the time; and on the strategy and tactics of the northern barbarians who, thrusting southward in successive waves down river valleys and across mountain passes, sought in the sixth and seventh centuries to gain a foothold on the warm Aegean coastland and to seize its commanding metropolis which always eluded their grasp. And there can be few documents stemming from the Christian world of the Middle Ages in which the belief held by the citizens of a beleaguered city that they stand under the supernatural protection of a heavenly patron is so vividly and poignantly expressed."
The second book also preserves information on the
second basilica dedicated to Saint Demetrius, before its destruction by fire in 629/634. A few of the surviving portions of the church, especially the mosaics, were re-used when the church was rebuilt. One of the mosaics is believed by some scholars to be depicting the Archbishop John, the author of Book I of the ''Miracles''.
[Obolensky (1994), pp. 285–286]
Editions
The main critical edition is
Paul Lemerle's two-volume (text and commentary) ''Les plus anciens recueils des miracles de saint Démétrius et la pénétration des Slaves dans les Balkans'', Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris 1979–1981. 268 pages.
Modern literature
American writer
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his ...
, who had studied Byzantine history, published in 1997 the
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
novel ''Thessalonica'', inspired by the ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius''. The novel is based on the assumption that the miracles described did actually happen and that Saint Demetrius, as well as numerous other beings of the Christian as well as Classical Greek and Slavic mythologies, appeared and took part in the siege of Thessalonica.
See also
* ''
Chronicle of Monemvasia'', dealing with the Avaro-Slavic incursions into Greece and their subsequent settlement there
References
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
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{{Authority control
7th-century Christian texts
Byzantine literature
Medieval Thessalonica
South Slavic history
Christian miracles