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The [[Roman Martyrology]] mentions the '''Seven Sleepers''' of [[Ephesus]] under the date of 27 July |
The [[Roman Martyrology]] mentions the '''Seven Sleepers''' of [[Ephesus]] under the date of 27 July |
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, as follows: "Commemoration of the seven Holy Sleeper of Ephesus, who, it is recounted, after undergoing martyrdom, rest in peace, awaiting the day of resurrection."<ref>''Martyrologium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)</ref> The Byzantine Calendar commemorates them with feasts on 4 August and 22 October. |
, as follows: "Commemoration of the seven Holy Sleeper of Ephesus, who, it is recounted, after undergoing martyrdom, rest in peace, awaiting the day of resurrection."<ref>''Martyrologium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)</ref> The Byzantine Calendar commemorates them with feasts on 4 August and 22 October. There is an account in Islam about pious people, and are known as "People of the Cave" (Ashab [[Al-Kahf]]). [[Qur'an]], in [[Sura]] 18, [[Al-Kahf]], verse 9 to 14. See [[#Islamic interpretation|Islamic interpretation]]. And it can be related to the story of the seven sleepers, but more research is required on the subject. |
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The story tells of the falling asleep of seven young men in a cave, who wake up after a great deal of time has passed. The basic outline of the tale appears in [[Gregory of Tours]] (b. 538 - d. 594), and in [[Paul the Deacon]]'s (b. 720 - d. 799) ''History of the [[Lombards]]''. The best-known version of the story appears in [[Jacobus de Voragine]]'s ''[[Golden Legend]]''. There is a possibility that the story has some connection to the account of the people of the cave mentioned in the Quran [[Qur'an]] ([[Surah]] [[s:The Holy Qur'an/Al-Kahf|18, verse 9-26]]), which also includes the mention of an accompanying dog beside them. |
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== The |
== The Story == |
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[[Image:7sleepersmedievalmanuscript.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Decius]] orders the walling in of the Seven Sleepers. From a [[14th century]] manuscript.]] |
[[Image:7sleepersmedievalmanuscript.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Decius]] orders the walling in of the Seven Sleepers. From a [[14th century]] manuscript.]] |
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Decius died in 251 and many years passed during which Christianity went from being persecuted to being the major religion of the Roman Empire. At some later time — usually, during the reign of [[Theodosius II]] (408 - 450) — the landowner decided to open up the sealed mouth of the cave, thinking to use it as a cattle pen. He opened it and found the sleepers inside. They awoke, imagining that they had slept but one day. One of their number returned to Ephesus. He was astounded to find buildings with [[cross]]es attached; the townspeople were astounded to find a man trying to spend old coins from the reign of Decius. The [[bishop]] was summoned to interview the sleepers; they told him their [[miracle]] story, and died praising [[God]]. |
Decius died in 251 and many years passed during which Christianity went from being persecuted to being the major religion of the Roman Empire. At some later time — usually, during the reign of [[Theodosius II]] (408 - 450) — the landowner decided to open up the sealed mouth of the cave, thinking to use it as a cattle pen. He opened it and found the sleepers inside. They awoke, imagining that they had slept but one day. One of their number returned to Ephesus. He was astounded to find buildings with [[cross]]es attached; the townspeople were astounded to find a man trying to spend old coins from the reign of Decius. The [[bishop]] was summoned to interview the sleepers; they told him their [[miracle]] story, and died praising [[God]]. |
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==The career of the |
==The career of the story == |
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[[Image:Seven-sleepers efesus turkey.jpg|thumb|The Cave of the Seven Sleepers, Ephesus, Turkey.]] |
[[Image:Seven-sleepers efesus turkey.jpg|thumb|The Cave of the Seven Sleepers, Ephesus, Turkey.]] |
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As the earliest versions of the legend spread from Ephesus, an early Christian [[catacomb]] came to be associated with it, attracting pilgrims. On the slopes of Mount Pion (Mount Coelian) near Ephesus (near modern [[Selçuk]] in [[Turkey]]), the 'Grotto' of the Seven Sleepers with ruins of the church built over it was excavated in 1927-28. The excavation brought to light several hundred graves which were dated to the 5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers were found on the walls of the church and in the graves. The 'Grotto' is still shown to tourists. |
As the earliest versions of the legend spread from Ephesus, an early Christian [[catacomb]] came to be associated with it, attracting pilgrims. On the slopes of Mount Pion (Mount Coelian) near Ephesus (near modern [[Selçuk]] in [[Turkey]]), the 'Grotto' of the Seven Sleepers with ruins of the church built over it was excavated in 1927-28. The excavation brought to light several hundred graves which were dated to the 5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers were found on the walls of the church and in the graves. The 'Grotto' is still shown to tourists. |
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===Syriac Origins=== |
===Syriac Origins=== |
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The |
The story appeared in several [[Syriac language|Syriac]] sources before Gregory's lifetime. It was retold by [[Symeon Metaphrastes]]. |
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The Seven Sleepers form the subject of a homily in verse by the [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]n poet [[Jacob of Saruq]] ('Sarugh') (died 521), which was published in the ''[[Acta Sanctorum]]''. Another 6th century version, in a Syrian manuscript in the [[British Museum]] (''Cat. Syr. Mss'', p. 1090), gives eight sleepers. There are considerable variations as to their names. |
The Seven Sleepers form the subject of a homily in verse by the [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]n poet [[Jacob of Saruq]] ('Sarugh') (died 521), which was published in the ''[[Acta Sanctorum]]''. Another 6th century version, in a Syrian manuscript in the [[British Museum]] (''Cat. Syr. Mss'', p. 1090), gives eight sleepers. There are considerable variations as to their names. |
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===Dissemination=== |
===Dissemination=== |
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[[Image:Seven sleepers russia XIX.jpeg|thumb|200px|left||Russian icon]] |
[[Image:Seven sleepers russia XIX.jpeg|thumb|200px|left||Russian icon]] |
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The |
The story rapidly attained a wide diffusion throughout Christendom, popularized in the West by Gregory of Tours, in his late 6th century collection of miracles, ''De gloria martyrum'' (''Glory of the Martyrs''). Gregory says that he had the legend from “a certain Syrian,“. |
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In the 7th century, the myth gained an even wider audience when it found a mention in the [[Qur'an]], in [[Sura]] 18, [[Al-Kahf]], verse 9 to 14. See [[#Islamic interpretation|Islamic interpretation]]. According to Islamic belief, the "myth" has basis in reality, and the "7 sleepers" were pious men who experienced a miracle of God due to their piety and devotion to [[Tawhid]] (the Oneness of God). |
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In the following century, Paul the Deacon told the tale in his ''History of the Lombards'' (i.4) but gave it a different setting: |
In the following century, Paul the Deacon told the tale in his ''History of the Lombards'' (i.4) but gave it a different setting: |
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The Seven Sleepers appear in two books of Susan Cooper's ''[[The Dark is Rising]]'' series; Will Stanton awakens them in ''[[The Grey King]]'', and in ''[[Silver on the Tree]]'' they ride in the last battle against the Dark. |
The Seven Sleepers appear in two books of Susan Cooper's ''[[The Dark is Rising]]'' series; Will Stanton awakens them in ''[[The Grey King]]'', and in ''[[Silver on the Tree]]'' they ride in the last battle against the Dark. |
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The ''Seven Sleepers'' series by [[Gilbert Morris]] takes a modern approach to the |
The ''Seven Sleepers'' series by [[Gilbert Morris]] takes a modern approach to the story, in which seven teenagers must be awakened to fight evil in a post-nuclear-apocalypse world. |
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==Islamic interpretation== |
==Islamic interpretation== |
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The Islamic version is related in Surah (Chapter) [[Al-Kahf]] (18, "The Cave"), of the [[Qur'an]]. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the Jews of Medina challenged him to tell them the story of the sleepers knowing that none of the Arabs knew about it. According to tradition, God then sent the angel Gabriel (or Jibreel) to reveal the story to him through Surah Al-Kahf. After hearing it from him, the Jews confirmed that he told the same story they knew. |
The Islamic version is related in Surah (Chapter) [[Al-Kahf]] (18, "The Cave"), of the [[Qur'an]]. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the Jews of Medina challenged him to tell them the story of the sleepers knowing that none of the Arabs knew about it. According to tradition, God then sent the angel Gabriel (or Jibreel) to reveal the story to him through Surah Al-Kahf. After hearing it from him, the Jews confirmed that he told the same story they knew. |
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Muhammad was challenged by the people of Makkah, who did not believe in his message and prophethood, by a question that the people of Makkah passed to him from the Jews. The Jews knew that Muhammad would only be able to tell the story if he was indeed a prophet. The Jews told the non-believers of Makkah to ask Muhammad "who are the youths who disappeared, and how many were they?". Muhammad did not answer. He told them that he would answer the next day, waiting for the answer to be revealed to him through |
Muhammad was challenged by the people of Makkah, who did not believe in his message and prophethood, by a question that the people of Makkah passed to him from the Jews. The Jews knew that Muhammad would only be able to tell the story if he was indeed a prophet. The Jews told the non-believers of Makkah to ask Muhammad "who are the youths who disappeared, and how many were they?". Muhammad did not answer. He told them that he would answer the next day, waiting for the answer to be revealed to him through the Angel Gabreil. The answer was revealed to Muhammad in a complete Surah named after the cave (Al-Kahf) of were the youth did sleep in. The Quran revealed the exact story that the Jews knew of, and it answered the questions (how many were the youths, and for how many years they had been missing)in a way similar to the story they already knew. The Quran does not give an exact answer to how many there were nor does. It mentioned that some people said that there are 3 or 5 or 7, in addition to one dog, and that they slept for 309 years, and God knows the exact number, in addition to few people. |
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There is a historical account that the Jewish Scholars in Arabia did not know whether there were 3 +1 their dog, 5 +1 their dog (less likely to be true), or 7 +1 their dog (most likely to be true), and were astonished when the Quran gave all the possibilities that had been suggested for the number of sleepers.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} |
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Mentioning the story in the Quran and the concurrent events that happened before revealing the story is claimed as evidence that the Quran was revealed by God and that it contains only the words of God and not those of Muhammad, since it contained information that Muhammad himself did not previously know. |
Mentioning the story in the Quran and the concurrent events that happened before revealing the story is claimed as evidence that the Quran was revealed by God and that it contains only the words of God and not those of Muhammad, since it contained information that Muhammad himself did not previously know. |
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Revision as of 10:52, 5 August 2010
The Roman Martyrology mentions the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus under the date of 27 July , as follows: "Commemoration of the seven Holy Sleeper of Ephesus, who, it is recounted, after undergoing martyrdom, rest in peace, awaiting the day of resurrection."[1] The Byzantine Calendar commemorates them with feasts on 4 August and 22 October. There is an account in Islam about pious people, and are known as "People of the Cave" (Ashab Al-Kahf). Qur'an, in Sura 18, Al-Kahf, verse 9 to 14. See Islamic interpretation. And it can be related to the story of the seven sleepers, but more research is required on the subject.
The story tells of the falling asleep of seven young men in a cave, who wake up after a great deal of time has passed. The basic outline of the tale appears in Gregory of Tours (b. 538 - d. 594), and in Paul the Deacon's (b. 720 - d. 799) History of the Lombards. The best-known version of the story appears in Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend. There is a possibility that the story has some connection to the account of the people of the cave mentioned in the Quran Qur'an (Surah 18, verse 9-26), which also includes the mention of an accompanying dog beside them.
The Story
The outline of the story is that during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Decius, around 250 AD, seven young men were accused of Christianity. They were given some time to recant their faith, but instead gave their worldly goods to the poor and retired to a mountain to pray, where they fell asleep. The emperor, seeing that their attitude towards paganism had not improved, ordered the mouth of the cave to be sealed.
Decius died in 251 and many years passed during which Christianity went from being persecuted to being the major religion of the Roman Empire. At some later time — usually, during the reign of Theodosius II (408 - 450) — the landowner decided to open up the sealed mouth of the cave, thinking to use it as a cattle pen. He opened it and found the sleepers inside. They awoke, imagining that they had slept but one day. One of their number returned to Ephesus. He was astounded to find buildings with crosses attached; the townspeople were astounded to find a man trying to spend old coins from the reign of Decius. The bishop was summoned to interview the sleepers; they told him their miracle story, and died praising God.
The career of the story
As the earliest versions of the legend spread from Ephesus, an early Christian catacomb came to be associated with it, attracting pilgrims. On the slopes of Mount Pion (Mount Coelian) near Ephesus (near modern Selçuk in Turkey), the 'Grotto' of the Seven Sleepers with ruins of the church built over it was excavated in 1927-28. The excavation brought to light several hundred graves which were dated to the 5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers were found on the walls of the church and in the graves. The 'Grotto' is still shown to tourists.
Syriac Origins
The story appeared in several Syriac sources before Gregory's lifetime. It was retold by Symeon Metaphrastes.
The Seven Sleepers form the subject of a homily in verse by the Edessan poet Jacob of Saruq ('Sarugh') (died 521), which was published in the Acta Sanctorum. Another 6th century version, in a Syrian manuscript in the British Museum (Cat. Syr. Mss, p. 1090), gives eight sleepers. There are considerable variations as to their names.
Another Syriac version is printed in Land’s Anecdota, iii. 87ff; see also Barhebraeus, Chron. eccles. i. 142ff., and cf Assemani, Bib. Or. i. 335ff.
Dissemination
The story rapidly attained a wide diffusion throughout Christendom, popularized in the West by Gregory of Tours, in his late 6th century collection of miracles, De gloria martyrum (Glory of the Martyrs). Gregory says that he had the legend from “a certain Syrian,“.
In the following century, Paul the Deacon told the tale in his History of the Lombards (i.4) but gave it a different setting:
- In the farthest boundaries of Germany toward the west-north-west, on the shore of the ocean itself, a cave is seen under a projecting rock, where for an unknown time seven men repose wrapped in a long sleep.
Their dress identifies them as Romans, according to Paul, and none of the local barbarians dare touch them.
During the period of the Crusades, bones from the sepulchres near Ephesus, identified as relics of the Seven Sleepers, were transported to Marseille, France in a large stone coffin, which remained a trophy of the church of Saint Victoire, Marseille.
The Seven Sleepers were included in the Golden Legend compilation, the most popular book of the later Middle Ages, which fixed a precise date for their resurrection, AD 378, in the reign of Theodosius.(1)
Early modern literature
The account had become proverbial in 16th century Protestant culture. The poet John Donne could ask,
- 'were we not wean'd till then?
- But suck'd on countrey pleasures, childishly?
- Or snorted we in the seaven sleepers den?' -John Donne, 'The good-morrow'.
Little is heard of the Seven Sleepers during the Enlightenment, but the account revived with the coming of Romanticism. The Golden Legend may have been the source for retellings of the Seven Sleepers in Thomas de Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium-eater, in a poem by Goethe, Washington Irving's Rip van Winkle, H.G. Wells's The Sleeper Awakes. It also might have an influence on the motif of the 'king in the mountain'.
Modern literature appearances
Serbo-Croatian writer Danilo Kiš retells the story of the Seven Sleepers in a short story, "The Legend of the Sleepers," in his book The Encyclopedia of the Dead.
The Seven Sleepers appear in two books of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series; Will Stanton awakens them in The Grey King, and in Silver on the Tree they ride in the last battle against the Dark.
The Seven Sleepers series by Gilbert Morris takes a modern approach to the story, in which seven teenagers must be awakened to fight evil in a post-nuclear-apocalypse world.
Islamic interpretation
The Islamic version is related in Surah (Chapter) Al-Kahf (18, "The Cave"), of the Qur'an. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the Jews of Medina challenged him to tell them the story of the sleepers knowing that none of the Arabs knew about it. According to tradition, God then sent the angel Gabriel (or Jibreel) to reveal the story to him through Surah Al-Kahf. After hearing it from him, the Jews confirmed that he told the same story they knew.
Muhammad was challenged by the people of Makkah, who did not believe in his message and prophethood, by a question that the people of Makkah passed to him from the Jews. The Jews knew that Muhammad would only be able to tell the story if he was indeed a prophet. The Jews told the non-believers of Makkah to ask Muhammad "who are the youths who disappeared, and how many were they?". Muhammad did not answer. He told them that he would answer the next day, waiting for the answer to be revealed to him through the Angel Gabreil. The answer was revealed to Muhammad in a complete Surah named after the cave (Al-Kahf) of were the youth did sleep in. The Quran revealed the exact story that the Jews knew of, and it answered the questions (how many were the youths, and for how many years they had been missing)in a way similar to the story they already knew. The Quran does not give an exact answer to how many there were nor does. It mentioned that some people said that there are 3 or 5 or 7, in addition to one dog, and that they slept for 309 years, and God knows the exact number, in addition to few people. There is a historical account that the Jewish Scholars in Arabia did not know whether there were 3 +1 their dog, 5 +1 their dog (less likely to be true), or 7 +1 their dog (most likely to be true), and were astonished when the Quran gave all the possibilities that had been suggested for the number of sleepers.[citation needed]
Mentioning the story in the Quran and the concurrent events that happened before revealing the story is claimed as evidence that the Quran was revealed by God and that it contains only the words of God and not those of Muhammad, since it contained information that Muhammad himself did not previously know.
The Qur'an states that the period of time these sleepers spent in the cave was three hundred years during which the calendar of their people was changed from solar to lunar and, as a result, the period of their sleep had increased to 309 (lunar) years which is equal to 300 solar years. When they woke up, they had no idea they had slept for centuries and thought they had only slept a few hours. When one of them went to buy food, the coins he used to buy food were out of circulation and drew the attention of the town's people. After the story was widely known, the sleepers died. The Qur'an also mentions a dog among the sleepers, in the 18th verse of the 18th chapter, Surah Al-Kahf.
Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them. .
(Surah Al-Kahf, Qur'an: 18)
The ninth verse of Surah Al Kahf touches upon this group's extraordinary situation. As the narrative unfolds, it is seen that their experiences are of an unusual and metaphysical nature. Their entire lives are full of miraculous developments. The tenth verse tells us that those young people sought refuge in the cave from the existing oppressive system, which did not allow them to express their views, tell the truth, and call to Allah's religion. Thus, they distanced themselves from their society.
Do you consider that the Companions of the Cave and Ar-Raqim were one of the most remarkable of Our Signs? When the young men took refuge in the cave and said: 'Our Lord, give us mercy directly from You and open the way for us to right guidance in our situation.
(Surah Al-Kahf, Qur'an: 9-10)
So We sealed their ears with sleep in the cave for a number of years. Then We woke them up again so that we might see which of the two groups would better calculate the time they had stayed there.
(Surah Al-Kahf, Qur'an: 11-12)
The reason for this state of sleep was their surrender to fate and peace, because Allah, arranges everything for the benefit of the believers.
The Qur'an also states that the number of sleepers will be known only to God and a handful of people. A couple of estimates have been mentioned regarding their true number, as per popular opinion, probably by the time of Muhammed, but quickly rejected as mere conjectures. Such as, they were three, fourth being the dog or they were five, sixth being the dog, etc. However, when a final count of 'seven and their dog being the eighth' is mentioned, Muslims generally consider that an approval from God about their correct number, since it is not followed by an explicit rejection of the correctness of that number. Although the very next verse states that the knowledge of their correct number stays with God alone and a few select, it is taken as a reminder that despite the alleged revelation to Muhammad and a legendary mention throughout history, most people do not have any first-hand evidence to support any claims regarding their correct number, if not their very existence.
They will say: 'There were three of them, their dog being the fourth.' They will say: 'There were five of them, their dog being the sixth,' guessing at the Unseen. And they will say: 'There were seven of them, their dog being the eighth.' Say: 'My Lord knows best their number. Those who know about them are very few.' So do not enter into any argument concerning them, except in relation to what is clearly known. And do not seek the opinion of any of them regarding them.
(Surah Al-Kahf, Qur'an: 22)
Linguistic derivatives in Scandinavian, German, Hungarian and Welsh
The legend of the seven sleepers has given origin to sjusovare or syv sover (literally a seven-sleeper) to be used in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish to refer to the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. It means someone who "sleeps hard and long". The word also is used to mean the hibernating rodent called the edible dormouse.
The word "Siebenschläfer" in German and "hétalvó" in Hungarian bear a meaning similar to the Scandinavian; they characterize someone who usually sleeps long, waking up later than what is considered necessary or proper.[citation needed]
In Welsh (Cymraeg), a late-riser may be referred to as a 'saith cysgadur' - seven sleeper - as in the 1885 novel Rhys Lewis by Daniel Owen, where the protagonist is referred to as such in chapter 37, p. 294 (Hughes a'i Fab, Caerdydd, 1948). This has the double meaning of one who wakes at seven - well into the working day in a Welsh rural setting.
Notes
- ^ Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
External references
- "SS. Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, and Constantine, Martyrs", Butler's Lives of the Saints
- Seven Sleepers videos
- Template:En icon Catholic Encyclopedia on The Seven Sleepers.
- Template:En icon Text containing the Seven Sleepers' commemoration as part of the Office of Prime.
- Sura al-Kahf at Wikisource
- Template:En icon Photos of the excavated site of the Seven Sleepers cult.
- Template:En icon The Grotto of the Seven Sleepers, Ephesus
- Template:En icon Mardan-e-Anjelos is a historical reenactment of the story of Ashaab-e-Kahf (also known as "The Companions of the Cave")
- Template:En icon Tarsus Turkey Seven Sleepers Eshab-ı Kehf
- Link to 3D stereoview image for cross-eyed free viewing technique of Seven Sleepers near Ephesus - Turkey
The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus by Chardri, translated into English by Tony Devaney Morinelli: Medieval Sourcebook.http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/7Sleepers.html