υδροβαϕη ενωσιν

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Paul Rittman
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υδροβαϕη ενωσιν

Post by Paul Rittman »

I just came across this phrase in J. B. Bury's History of the Later Roman Empire (from Arcadius to Irene, 395-800 AD)--vol. 2, p. 253.

He was saying that the attempt of Heraclius' ecumenicism (of orthodox, monophysites, etc.) was as unstable as water. Then, Bury in a footnote gave this phrase from Theophanes (presumably from a description of this attempt): υδροβαϕη ενωσιν

The first word means "dipping in water." The second one--I just can't remember, though it looks very familiar. I couldn't find it in my little Liddell.

Any help?
Louis L Sorenson
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Re: υδροβαϕη ενωσιν

Post by Louis L Sorenson »

Here is what I get from TLG-e:

Georgius Cedrenus Chronogr., Compendium historiarum
Volume 1, page 736, line 19

Γεωργίου
δὲ τοῦ Ἀλεξανδρείας τελευτήσαντος Κῦρος ἐπίσκοπος Ἀλεξανδρείας
γίνεται, καὶ ἑνωθεὶς Θεοδώρῳ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ Φαράν, ἐποίησαν τὴν
ὑδροβαφῆ ἐκείνην ἕνωσιν, μίαν καὶ αὐτοὶ γράψαντες ἐν Χριστῷ
φυσικὴν ἐνέργειαν.

Go to Context


Theophanes Confessor Chronogr., Chronographia
Page 330, line 10

Γεωργίου δὲ τοῦ
Ἀλεξανδρείας τελευτήσαντος, ἀποστέλλεται Κῦρος ἐπίσκοπος Ἀλεξαν-
δρείας, καὶ ἑνωθεὶς Θεοδώρῳ, τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ τῆς Φαράν, ἐποίησε τὴν
ὑδροβαφῆ ἐκείνην ἕνωσιν, μίαν καὶ αὐτοὶ γράψαντες ἐν Χριστῷ
φυσικὴν ἐνέργειαν.
Stephen Carlson
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Re: υδροβαϕη ενωσιν

Post by Stephen Carlson »

The relevant passage from Theophanes is:
Theophanes, Chronographia (ed. de Boor 1883), p.330 wrote: Γεωργίου δὲ τοῦ Ἀλεξανδρείας τελευτήσαντος, ἀποστέλλεται Κῦρος ἐπίσκοπος Ἀλεξανδρείας, καὶ ἑνωθεὶς Θεοδώρῳ, τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ τῆς Φαράν, ἐποίησε τὴν ὑδροβαφῆ ἐκείνην ἕνωσιν, μίαν καὶ αὐτοὶ γράψαντες ἐν Χριστῷ φυσικὴν ἐνέργειαν.
This seems to be based on a similiar passage in a sermon by Anastasius a century earlier:
Anastasius, Sermo III Adversus Monotheletas (ed. Uthemann 1985), 1.55 wrote: Εἶτα ἀποστέλλεται ὁ πάπας Κῦρος ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ· ποιεῖ καὐτὸς ὁμοίως κἀκεῖ τὴν ὑδροβαφῆ ἐκείνην διὰ Θεοδώρου τοῦ Φαρανίτου ἕνωσιν, μᾶλλον δὲ κένωσιν, μίαν καὐτοὶ αὐτόθι γράψαντες ἐν Χριστῷ φυσικὴν τὴν ἐνέργειαν.
To answer your question, ἕνωσις means "unity."

ETA: Lampe's definition of ὑδροβαφής is "dipped in water; met., not durable, insubstantial"
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
Paul Rittman
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Joined: July 19th, 2011, 12:56 pm

Re: υδροβαϕη ενωσιν

Post by Paul Rittman »

Stephen Carlson wrote:The relevant passage from Theophanes is:
Theophanes, Chronographia (ed. de Boor 1883), p.330 wrote: Γεωργίου δὲ τοῦ Ἀλεξανδρείας τελευτήσαντος, ἀποστέλλεται Κῦρος ἐπίσκοπος Ἀλεξανδρείας, καὶ ἑνωθεὶς Θεοδώρῳ, τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ τῆς Φαράν, ἐποίησε τὴν ὑδροβαφῆ ἐκείνην ἕνωσιν, μίαν καὶ αὐτοὶ γράψαντες ἐν Χριστῷ φυσικὴν ἐνέργειαν.
Hmmm….. An English translation is offered by Harry Turtledove in his translation of the Chronicle of Theophanes (pub. 1982, Univ of Pennsylvania). If this translation is literal, it appears that Bury’s comment was misleading, as this phrase that I was asking about isn’t a metaphor, but simply a statement of durability:

After George the bishop of Alexandria died, Cyrus was dispatched as bishop of Alexandria. He joined with Theodore the bishop of Pharas to celebrate this union, though it was not durable. They both wrote that Christ had one natural energy.

I was hoping for something a bit more literal, so that I could see the force of the language/metaphor.



The translation I was referring to is here, the reference on page 32:
http://books.google.com/books?id=lK5wIP ... us&f=false

OK I see from your edit, that it was metaphorical, meaning that the proposed union of theological views was "dipped in water," as opposed to "in bronze." So this is the force of the metaphor.

OK learn something new every day.

Thanks a lot for the Greek references.
Stephen Carlson
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Re: υδροβαϕη ενωσιν

Post by Stephen Carlson »

Paul Rittman wrote:OK I see from your edit, that it was metaphorical, meaning that the proposed union of theological views was "dipped in water," as opposed to "in bronze." So this is the force of the metaphor.
Did you mention bronze (χαλκός) because of its pun with Chalcedon? There's a term from Homer, χαλκοβατής ("standing on bronze"), which describes something solidly built, like Zeus's place. That makes the ὑδροβαφής a pretty funny insult.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
Paul Rittman
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Joined: July 19th, 2011, 12:56 pm

Re: υδροβαϕη ενωσιν

Post by Paul Rittman »

Sorry, my Greek isn't that good--that's why I come here. :D But I'm pretty sure I'll be able to remember that word from now on.

And I did discover another Greek word that is in the full edition of the L&S, but not the little Liddell. I always thought that they put all of the Greek words that were in the large edition, but just left out the references. Υδροβαϕης is not in the little version, but it is in the big one. Well, in case they ever ask this when I'm playing Trivial Pursuit, I'll be in great shape.

Stephen Carlson wrote: Did you mention bronze (χαλκός) because of its pun with Chalcedon? There's a term from Homer, χαλκοβατής ("standing on bronze"), which describes something solidly built, like Zeus's place. That makes the ὑδροβαφής a pretty funny insult.
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