Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Map
- Introduction: Roman and Late Antique Palestine
- Part I Miraculous Objects
- Part II Miraculous Places
- Part III Miraculous People
- Part IV Elite Rhetoric
- Epilogue: It Is Better to Live
- Bibliography
- Index of Ancient Sources
- Subject Index
3 - In This Holy Place: Hot Springs as Sites of Ritual Healing
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 June 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Map
- Introduction: Roman and Late Antique Palestine
- Part I Miraculous Objects
- Part II Miraculous Places
- Part III Miraculous People
- Part IV Elite Rhetoric
- Epilogue: It Is Better to Live
- Bibliography
- Index of Ancient Sources
- Subject Index
Summary
The modern world is no stranger to sites that are sacred to more than one religious tradition. They tend to be places of conflict as each group lays claim to the space as their exclusive domain. The Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron are touchstones for conflict between Muslims and Jews, and the brawls among representatives of the various churches that share custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem are legendary. Likewise, the sharing of the holy space on Mount Zion, revered by Jews as the tomb of David and by Christians as the site of Jesus’ last supper, has met with uneven success. Yet this pattern is not universal, and some shared shrines have allowed multiple traditions to exist alongside one another in relative harmony, such as those where the prophet Elijah, St. George, and Khiḍr are remembered.1 In Roman and late antique Palestine, one of the most famous shared sites was Mamre, near Hebron, where the coexistence of multiple religious traditions lasted for several centuries. The fifth-century historian Sozomen described Mamre in this way:
It is recorded that here the Son of God appeared to Abraham, with two angels, who had been sent against Sodom, and foretold the birth of his son. Here the inhabitants of the country and of the regions round Palestine, the Phoenicians, and the Arabians, assemble annually during the summer season to keep a brilliant feast; and many others, both buyers and sellers, gather on account of the fair. Indeed, this feast is diligently frequented by all nations: by the Jews, because they boast of their descent from the patriarch Abraham; by the Greeks (hellēsi), because angels there appeared to men; and by Christians, because he who for the salvation of mankind was born of a virgin, afterwards manifested himself there to a godly man. This place was moreover honored fittingly with religious exercises. Here some prayed to the God of all; some called upon the angels, poured out wine, burnt incense, or offered an ox, or he-goat, a sheep, or a cock … [Constantine] rebuked the bishops of Palestine in no measured terms, because they had neglected their duty, and had permitted a holy place to be defiled by impure libations and sacrifices …
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Contested CuresIdentity and Ritual Healing in Roman and Late Antique Palestine, pp. 71 - 91Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2022