SIRMIUM OR THESSALONIKI ? A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE ST. DEMETRIUS LEGEND

The texts relating to St. Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki, have been frequently invoked in connection with the date of the foundation of the basilica at Thessaloniki which bears his name, but with inconclusive results. Thus G. de Bije associated the Leontius, prefect of Illyricum, mentioned in the Passions as founder of the basilica, with the prefect of 412/413. In this he was followed by G. L. F. Tafel, Ch. Texier, and Ch. Diehl amongst others, and in his earlier works at least, by G. Soteriou. O. Tafrali, too, accepted this identification, but he was careful to point out that if it should prove not to be correct, at least the foundation must have occurred before 441, for according to the Passions', Leontius returned to Sirmium after his church-building activities at Thessaloniki, and Sirmium was destroyed by Attila in c. 441. A. Grabar formerly accepted the 412 dating, and as recently as 1965 it was still being seriously proposed as the foundation date of the church. The researches of R. Kautzsch into late-Roman capitals in the thirties brought about a radical change in approach. He argued that none of the capitals of St. Demetrius could be earlier than 475 in date, and personally favoured a date of c. 500. His arguments seemed plausible at the time,