October 22, 362 CE: Burning of the Temple of Apollo at Daphne. Julian had only just removed the bones of St. Babylas in an effort to get Apollo to again give oracles (relics could clog sites). J. suspected Christians & wrote his Misopogon ("Beard-Hater") against the Antiochenes.

Saint Babylas was the Patriarch of Antioch martyred w/his companions during the Decian persecution of the mid-3rdC. The best illustration I know of is in the Menologion of Basil II with martyrs Urban, Prilidian, and Epolonius, and their mother Christodula. https://t.co/kIqWFRlb5U

The use of Christian relics and burials to contest a "pagan" (i.e. traditional Greco-Roman, non-Christian) space through ideas of pollution is an important part of understanding Late Antiquity. Please see Christine Shepardson's book on this topic & Babylas https://t.co/jJYh9nz6YR

Hi, guys. A note (and thanks to @paregorios helping me with this) that I accidentally tweeted the Temple to Apollo at Delphi. For the site of Daphne in modern Turkey, please see the @PleiadesProject entry for "Daphne": https://t.co/W0hEAgKL0D #HGIS #LateAntiquity