Melania and the Unknown Governor of Palestine

Abstract

In his account of the banishment to Sepphoris (Diocaesarea) of the Egyptian bishops and monks during Valens’ reign, Palladius of Helenopolis focuses on two rival authorities: Melania the Elder, an aristocrat who supports the exiles, and an unnamed governor of Palestine, the representative of state authority, who forbids this support and has her arrested. Hagiographic anecdotes such as the tale of her feeding the monks made Melania into an icon of divine intervention in the history of the church. Fresh excavations in Sepphoris are now yielding insight into the place of exile and the potential for religious conflict. But the key to a historical understanding lies first and foremost in the identity of the anonymous governor, who hitherto has received scant scholarly attention. The mysterious affair involving Melania and this governor of Palestine sheds light on emperor Valens’ circle of political advisers and also—in the context of Valens’ edict of 373 (CTh 12.1.63) concerning bands of hermit monks—reveals the coalition between pagan senators and the Arian clergy, in which Fl. Eutolmius Tatianus and his son were key figures.