The Life of Saint Theodotus of Ancyra

In December 1981, as this paper was being composed, there came the news of the tragic death of Colin Macleod. With shocking suddenness one had lost a former tutor, colleague and friend, whose passion, seriousness and total modesty were, in themselves, a reflection of the value and importance which he attached to ancient literature, and an inspiration to those who admired him both as a person and as a scholar. Apart from his work in the main stream of Classical writings he devoted much time and study to Patristic authors, and it does not seem inept that this examination of a fourth-century Saint's Life should be dedicated, with great sadness, to his memory. In 1901 the Vatican scholar, Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri, published excellent editions, based on new manuscript recensions, of the Lives of two Anatolian saints, St. Theodotus of Ancyra and St. Ariadne of Prymnessus. The second Life, and a supplement to it published in the following year, have provided the material for a recent study by L. Robert, who demonstrates in detail that many biographical details found in it can be traced back to inscriptions of the Imperial period, thus providing, among other things, a valuable insight into its manner of composition.