Simeon Stylites the Elder and Simeon Stylites the Younger, 1699

A stylite ( grc, στυλίτης () 'pillar dweller', derived from () 'pillar' and syc, ܐܣܛܘܢܐ ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure the

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

of their souls. Stylites were common in the early days of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The first known stylite was Simeon Stylites the Elder who climbed a pillar in Syria in 423 and remained there until his death 37 years later.

Ascetic precedents

Palladius of Galatia Palladius of Galatia ( el, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας) was a Christian chronicler and the bishop of Helenopolis in Bithynia. He was a devoted disciple of Saint John Chrysostom. He is best remembered for his work, the ''Lausiac History.' ...

tells of Epidius, a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

in Palestine who dwelt in a mountaintop cave for twenty-five years until his death.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...

speaks of a solitary who stood upright for many years together, absorbed in

contemplation In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation. Etymology The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word ...

, without ever lying down.

Theodoret Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pi ...

claimed that he had seen a

who had passed ten years in a tub suspended in midair from poles.Thurston, Herbert. "Stylites (Pillar Saints)." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 9 December 2021

Simeon Stylites and his contemporaries

In 423 Simeon Stylites the Elder took up his abode on the top of a pillar. Critics have recalled a passage in

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed supersti ...

(''De Syria Dea'', chapters 28 and 29) which speaks of a high column at

Hierapolis Bambyce Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cen ...

to the top of which a man ascended twice a year and spent a week in converse with the gods, but according to

Herbert Thurston Herbert Henry Charles Thurston (15 November 1856 – 3 November 1939) was an English priest of the Roman Catholic Church, a member of the Jesuit order, and a prolific scholar on liturgical, literary, historical, and spiritual matters. In ...

, scholars think it unlikely that Simeon had derived any suggestion from this

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

custom, which had died out before his time. In any case Simeon had a continuous series of imitators, particularly in Syria and Palestine.

Daniel the Stylite Saint Daniel the Stylite ( el, Δανιὴλ ὁ στυλίτης, c. 409 – 493) is a Saint and stylite of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. He is commemorated on 11 December according to the liturgical calenda ...

may have been the first of these, for he had been a disciple of Simeon and began his rigorous way of life shortly after his master died. Daniel was a Syrian by birth but he established himself near

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, where he was visited by both the Emperor Leo and the Emperor

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

. Simeon the Younger, like his namesake, lived near

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

; he died in 596, and had for a contemporary a hardly less famous Stylite, Saint Alypius, whose pillar had been erected near Hadrianopolis in

Paphlagonia Paphlagonia (; el, Παφλαγονία, Paphlagonía, modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; tr, Paflagonya) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus (region), Pontus t ...

. In the mythology, Alypius, after standing upright for 53 years, found his feet no longer able to support him, but instead of descending from his pillar lay down on his side and spent the remaining fourteen years of his life in that position.

Roger Collins Roger J. H. Collins (born September 2, 1949) is an English medievalist, currently an honorary fellow in history at the University of Edinburgh. Collins studied at the University of Oxford ( Queen's and Saint Cross Colleges) under Peter Br ...

, in his ''Early Medieval Europe'', tells that in some cases two or more pillar saints of differing theological viewpoints could find themselves within calling distance of each other, and would argue with one another from their columns.

Other stylites

(c. 409–493) lived on his pillar for 33 years after being blessed by and receiving the cowl of St. Simeon the Stylite. There were many others besides these who were not so famous, and even female stylites are known to have existed. One or two isolated attempts seem to have been made to introduce this form of asceticism into the West, but it met with little favour. Wulflaich was a Lombard deacon who, according to

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Floren ...

, chose to live as a stylite in the

diocese of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Magneric (before 587) and the reign of King

Childebert II Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his ...

(576–596). In the East cases were found as late as the 12th century; in the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

the practice continued until 1461, and among the

Ruthenians Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sou ...

even later. For the majority of the pillar hermits the extreme austerity of the lives of the Simeons and of Alypius was somewhat mitigated. Upon the summit of some of the columns a tiny hut was erected as a shelter against sun and rain, and other hermits of the same class among the

Miaphysite Miaphysitism is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the " Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' ('' physis'')." It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and differs from the Chalcedonian posi ...

s lived inside a hollow pillar rather than upon it. Nonetheless, the life was one of extraordinary endurance and privation. In recent centuries this form of monastic asceticism has become virtually extinct. However, in modern-day

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Maxime Qavtaradze, a monk of the

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (d ...

, has lived on top of Katskhi Pillar for 20 years, coming down only twice a week. This pillar is a natural rock formation jutting upward from the ground to a height of approximately one hundred and forty feet. Evidence of use by stylites as late as the 15th century has been found on the top of the rock. With the aid of local villagers and the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, Qavtaradze restored the 1,200-year-old monastic chapel at the top of the rock. A film documentary on the project was completed in 2013.

Popular culture

*The

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

stunt performed by David Blaine on 22 March 2002 was in part inspired by the Pillar-Saints, as he declared in the TV documentary about this stunt. *A song named "Stylitis" ("Stylite") was written by the Greek singer-songwriter

Thanasis Papakonstantinou Athanasios "Thanasis" Papakonstantinou ( el, Αθανάσιος (Θανάσης) Παπακωνσταντίνου; born 26 April 1959) is a Greek singer-songwriter. Short biography He is married, with two children. Papakonstantinou studied mecha ...

in 1998.

Fiction

* In

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are '' Moby-Dick'' (1851); '' Typee'' (1846), a ...

's ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

'' the narrator calls St. Stylites a "dauntless stander-of-mast-heads" who "literally died at his post". * In

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

's ''

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled ''A Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Some early editions are titled ''A Yankee at the Court of King Arth ...

'', the title character encounters a stylite who prays by

metania The different kinds of bows one could encounter at an Eastern Orthodox service are shown in the drawing below. Strict rules exist as to which type of a bow should be used at any particular time. The rules are very complicated, and are not alw ...

and uses the pedal motion to sew shirts described as "St. Stylites". *

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...

Baudolino ''Baudolino'' is a 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about the adventures of a man named Baudolino in the known and mythical Christian world of the 12th century. ''Baudolino'' was translated into English in 2001 by William Weaver William is a male ...

temporarily becomes a stylite towards the end of the book. *

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

's '' Simón del desierto'' (''Simon of the Desert'', 1965) is a humorous film about the life of a stylite. * In

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

's '' Small Gods'', a book from the ''

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat ...

'' series, a character named St. Ungulant lives on top of a pole. * In the episode ''Souvenirs'' of the TV series

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. T ...

, Cpl. Klinger sets a pole sitting record. * In

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...

's ''

Thaïs Thaïs or Thais ( el, Θαΐς; flourished 4th century BC) was a famous Greek ''hetaira'' who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for instigating the burning of Persepolis. At the time, Thaï ...

'', Paphnuce, on his path to damnation, becomes a stylite, but unwittingly falls to temptation. * In '' Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'', Pole-Standing was a rite of passage for a native tribe. * A stylite-type figure is featured in the first two episodes of the second season of the HBO series '' The Leftovers''. * In ''Two for Joy'', the second book in Mary Reed and Eric Mayer's ''John, the Lord Chamberlain'' series of historical mystery novels set in 6th-century

, three stylites in a row spontaneously combust during a lightning storm leaving John the Lord Chamberlain suspecting foul play. * In

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...

's '' Mostly Harmless'', Arthur Dent travels to a planet of prophets where he encounters an old man who lives on platforms on top of very high poles.

References

Sources

*
''The Life of Saint Simeon Stylites: A Translation of the Syriac in Bedjan’s Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum'', Frederick Lent, translator 1915. Reprinted 2009. Evolution Publishing

{{Wiktionary Christian saints Christian asceticism Christianity in late antiquity Christianity in the Middle Ages Eastern Christian monasticism Hermits