Cyrene Quotes

At morn we buried Melanippus; as the sun set the maiden Basilo died by her own hand, as she could not endure to lay her brother on the pyre and live; and the house beheld a two-fold woe, and all Cyrene bowed her head, to see the home of happy children made desolate.

Complete happiness cannot possibly exist; for that the body is full of many sensations, and that the mind sympathizes with the body, and is troubled when that is troubled, and also that fortune prevents many things which we cherished in anticipation; so that for all these reasons, perfect happiness eludes our grasp.

At morn we buried Melanippus; as the sun set the maiden Basilo died by her own hand, as she could not endure to lay her brother on the pyre and live; and the house beheld a two-fold woe, and all Cyrene bowed her head, to see the home of happy children made desolate.

Pythagoras apparently wrote nothing, and yet his influence was so great that the more attentive of his followers formed a secretive society, or brotherhood, and were known as the Pythagoreans. Aristippus of Cyrene tells us in his Account of Natural Philosphers that Pythagoras derived his name from the fact that he was speaking (agoreuein) truth like the God at Delphi (tou Pythiou).

Supporters of apokatastasis in roughly chronological order: - [c. 30-105] Apostle Paul and various NT authors - [c. 80-150] Scattered likely references among Apostolic Fathers o Ignatius o Justin Martyr o Tatian o Theophilus of Antioch (explicit references) - [130-202] Irenaeus - [c. 150-200] Pantaenus of Alexandria - [150-215] Clement of Alexandria - [154-222] Bardaisan of Edessa - [c. 184-253] Origen (including The Dialogue of Adamantius) - [♱ 265] Dionysius of Alexandria - [265-280] Theognustus - [c. 250-300] Hieracas - [♱ c. 309] Pierius - [♱ c. 309] St Pamphilus Martyr - [♱ c. 311] Methodius of Olympus - [251-306] St. Anthony - [c. 260-340] Eusebius - [c. 270-340] St. Macrina the Elder - [conv. 355] Gaius Marius Victorinus (converted at very old age) - [300-368] Hilary of Poitiers - [c. 296-373] Athanasius of Alexandria - [♱ c. 374] Marcellus of Ancrya - [♱378] Titus of Basra/Bostra - [c. 329-379] Basil the Cappadocian - [327-379] St. Macrina the Younger - [♱387] Cyril of Jerusalem (possibly) - [c. 300-388] Paulinus, bishop of Tyre and then Antioch - [c. 329-390] Gregory Nazianzen - [♱ c. 390] Apollinaris of Laodicaea - [♱ c. 390] Diodore of Tarsus - [330-390] Gregory of Nyssa - [c. 310/13-395/8] Didymus the Blind of Alexandria - [333-397] Ambrose of Milan - [345-399] Evagrius Ponticus - [♱407] Theotimus of Scythia - [350-428] Theodore of Mopsuestia - [c. 360-400] Rufinus - [350-410] Asterius of Amaseia - [347-420] St. Jerome - [354-430] St. Augustine (early, anti-Manichean phase) - [363-430] Palladius - [360-435] John Cassian - [373-414] Synesius of Cyrene - [376-444] Cyril of Alexandria - [500s] John of Caesarea - [♱520] Aeneas of Gaza - [♱523] Philoxenus of Mabbug - [475-525] Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite - [♱543] Stephen Bar Sudhaili - [580-662] St. Maximus the Confessor - [♱ c. 700] St. Isaac of Nineveh - [c. 620-705] Anastasius of Sinai - [c. 690-780] St. John of Dalyatha - [710/13-c. 780] Joseph Hazzaya - [813-903] Moses Bar Kepha - [815-877] Johannes Scotus Eriugena

Leave your sacred cave, son of Philyra, and marvel at the spirit and great strength of this woman; look at what a struggle she is engaged in, with a fearless head, this young girl with a heart more than equal to any toil; her mind is not shaken with the cold wind of fear. From what mortal was she born? From what stock has this cutting been taken, that she should be living in the hollows of the shady mountains and putting to the test her boundless valor? Is it lawful to lay my renowned hand on her? And to cut the honey-sweet grass of her bed?” -Pythian 9 For Telesicrates of Cyrene Hoplite Race

The Tomb of Lanes Marcus, the Lanes whom you loved is not here in this tomb where you visit and weep for hours. The Lanes whom you loved is nearer, Marcus, when you close yourself in your room and gaze on his portrait; that image preserved all that was worthy in him; that image preserved all that you loved. Do you remember, Marcus, when you brought from the proconsul’s palace the famous painter from Cyrene, and as soon as he laid eyes on your friend, he tried to persuade you with his artist’s cunning that he should draw him, without question, as Hyacinth (that way the portrait would garner more fame)? But your Lanes didn’t put his beauty on loan like that; firmly opposing the man, he demanded to be portrayed not as Hyacinth, nor as anyone else, but as Lanes, son of Rhametichus, an Alexandrian.

Cyrene was glad to. That meant more enticing targets for predators. She drove her herds to dangerous places, hoping to attract bigger and badder monsters to fight. The sheep and cows weren’t even worried about it. They trusted Cyrene completely. One cow would get a whiff of danger and ask another cow, “What’s that?” “Oh,” the second cow would say, “that’s just a pack of wolves.” “Won’t they eat us? Should we panic and stampede?” “No,” said the second cow. “Watch.” Cyrene came hurtling out of the darkness, wailing like a banshee, and slaughtered the entire wolf pack. “Oh, cool,” said the first cow. “Yeah, she’s awesome. Want to chew some more cud?

The first person to measure the circumference of the Earth was the astronomer Eratosthenes of Cyrene, in the third century BCE. His result was fairly close to the actual value, which is about 40,000 kilometres. For most of history this was considered an enormous distance, but with the Enlightenment that conception gradually changed, and nowadays we think of the Earth as small.

Just as it had studied Cyrene’s stolen kernel of shape-shifting, so had it learned Maeve’s ability to creep into the mind, seize it.

Getting the order of events throughout this day is tricky, especially since Luke is putting his account together from various eye-witnesses. Mark did the same from what he heard in pieces from Peter. John and Matthew were both present that day, but they also give us different amounts of information at each step in the process. For instance, John skips quickly to the crucifixion here, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke mention that Simon of Cyrene was called upon to help Jesus carry His cross. Mark clearly knew of Simon of Cyrene on a more personal level, because he specifies in Mark 15:21 that he was, “the father of Alexander and Rufus.” It seems these were people his readers knew.

And every time she had come close, falling for those slips in his power, his magic had studied her own. Just as it had studied Cyrene’s stolen kernel of shape-shifting, so had it learned Maeve’s ability to creep into the mind, seize it.

Cyrene didn’t notice, but a golden chariot pulled by four white horses descended from the heavens and landed on the summit.

Although the names of the nations in Acts 2:9–11 are different from those in Genesis 10 there is a correlation with those nations that spread out over all the earth; Medes (Madai, Genesis 10:2), Elamites (Elam, Genesis 10:22), Egypt (Mizraim, Genesis 10:6), Libya (Put, Genesis 10:6), Cyrene (Lehabim, Genesis 10:13), and Cretans (Caphtorim, Genesis 10:14). Later in Acts we see other nations that are mentioned in Genesis 10 reached with the gospel: Ethiopia (Cush, Genesis 10:6; Acts 8:25–27), Cyprus (Elishah, Genesis 10:4; Acts 11:19–20, 13:4, 15:39), and Greece (Javan, Genesis 10:2; Acts 17:16–34). Even though he did not get there before his death, the Apostle Paul desired to reach the nation that was farthest west, Spain (Tarshish, Genesis 10:4), with the gospel (Romans 15:22– 28). Pentecost was the beginning of the reversal of Babel, as through the preaching of the gospel people from all tribes, languages, and nations have access to the one true and living God (Revelation 5:9; 22:1–3).

Meanwhile the Jews in the region of Cyrene had put a certain Andreas at their head and were destroying both the Romans and the Greeks. They would eat the flesh of their victims, make belts for themselves of their entrails, anoint themselves with their blood and wear their skins for clothing; many they sawed in two from the head downwards; others they gave to wild beasts, and still others they forced to fight as gladiators. In all two hundred and twenty thousand persons perished. CASSIUS DIO, ROMAN HISTORY, BK 68, CH. 32 [on the events of 115–117]

That’s the river up there. We’ll likely have to spend the night.’’ He slid me a curious glance. ‘‘I never asked whether you liked roughing it. I suppose now would be a good time, eh?’’ ‘‘Cyrene wouldn’t be caught dead camping, not for the largest lake in the world, but I have nothing against nature.’’ A large cicada flew in through the window and smacked me on the face. Startled, I instantly shadowed and batted frantically at my face. It buzzed upward, into my hair. I shrieked and tried to cram my upper half out of the window in an attempt to dislodge the beastly thing. Gabriel drove with one hand while plucking the large bug off the top of my head. He held it in front of me, one eyebrow raised as I deshadowed. ‘‘All right, perhaps I would have never made it as a Girl Scout, but you can’t judge me by my reaction to being assaulted by a large, hairy bug. I like animals. On the whole. And they like me. I just don’t like them flying into my face intent on making me look bad in front of you.’’ The cicada made an odd little chirping sound, just as if it was agreeing with me. Gabriel laughed and tossed it out of the window

Peter speaks of a church at Babylon; Paul proposed a journey to Spain, and it is generally believed he went there, and likewise came to France and Britain. Andrew preached to the Scythians, north of the Black Sea. John is said to have preached in India, and we know that he was at the Isle of Patmos, in the Archipelago. Philip is reported to have preached in upper Asia, Scythia, and Phrygia; Bartholomew in India, on this side the Ganges, Phrygia, and Armenia; Matthew in Arabia, or Asiatic Ethiopia, and Parthia; Thomas in India, as far as the coast of Coromandel, and some say in the island of Ceylon; Simon, the Canaanite, in Egypt, Cyrene, Mauritania, Lybia, and other parts of Africa, and from thence to have come to Britain; and Jude is said to have been principally engaged in the lesser Asia, and Greece. Their labours were evidently very extensive, and very successful; so that Pliny, the younger, who lived soon after the death of the apostles, in a letter to the emperor, Trajan, observed that Christianity had spread, not only through towns and cities, but also through whole countries.

Good twin calling evil twin. The weasel crows at midnight. How copy?" "Oh, for mercy's sake... I'm busy! Stop sending me silly messages in code! If you have something to say, just say it; otherwise, radio silence, remember?" "You're no fun anymore. You used to be fun, but lately, I've noticed a change in you. Is it menopause, May?" Cyrene 's question took me aback so strongly, I stopped creeping down the darkened hallway and blinked in dumbfounded surprise at the mirror that hung on the wall opposite. No reflected figure blinked back at me. "Are you still having your period? Do you experience hot flashes at night? Are you now growing, or have you at any time in the recent past grown, a mustache?" "Goddess help me," I murmured to no one in particular, and tried my best to ignore the perky little voice that chirped so happily in my ear as I continued to make my way down to the dark and deserted room. I thought for a moment of just turning off the miniature radio that allowed Cyrene to contact me, but knowledge born of long experience with my twin reminded me of the folly of such an idea. "Boy, you really are in a grumpy mood if you won't rise to the bait of menopause," she said in a mildly disgruntled voice

Gabriel is..." I stopped for a moment, not sure how to put my tangled feelings into words. "He's warm. And strong. And concerned about people. He's very grounded, if you know what I mean-very much of this earth. I'm not elemental like Cyrene, but I am created from her, and to me, Gabriel feels right. He's also very urbane and elegant, not in the least... oh, I don't know, primitive. There's a sort of raw, dangerous feeling about the other wyvern I've met, but Gabriel is much more sophisticated than that. I could see him on the cover of GQ, if they'd ever let a dragon on it." Savian's smile got a bit broader. "He's also arrogant about some things, is overly confident in his abilities to control the world, and has a single-mindedness that I suspect is going to cause a lot of friction between us," I added, sure that Gabriel had appeared in the doorway behind me. "Only if you let it," the man himself answered, moving up to stand next to me. He was a little out of breath, as if he'd run the whole way. "You left out the part about my possessiveness," he added with a warning flash of his eyes at Savian. "You're a dragon-that goes without saying," Savian said with a shrug and a quick glance at his watch. 

And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. —Matthew 27:32 (KJV) WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK: GOD IS IN THE DETAILS Which cliché do you abide by: The devil is in the details or God is in the details? No matter; something extraordinary is in the details. Take for instance that single line about Simon of Cyrene. Maybe the Romans forced Simon to help; maybe he would’ve offered this small gift anyway. In either case, Jesus accepted. A cynic might note that Jesus didn’t have much choice, but that misses the point: Jesus had lots of choices. He could have wiggled out of the whole mess with Pilate. He could have chosen a quicker execution. He could have skipped the whole proceeding. He did not. Our youngest daughter, Grace, has talked about becoming a hospice worker when she grows up. She’s seen two grandparents die in hospices. She has seen the kind of people who work there: kind people. Maybe it’s a job; maybe economic circumstances compelled them to work there—does it matter? Fact is, they’re there, in someone’s time of need, to assist others on their journey, to make their passing less difficult. Are we compelled to help others or do we offer? I’m guessing that the person whose burden is suddenly lightened by our presence doesn’t really care what brought us to that moment. Those are just details…and I think God is, most assuredly, in the details. Lord, You said that what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do for You. Help us to see You in everything we do in our everyday lives, even in the tiniest details. —Mark Collins Digging Deeper: Ps 147:4–5; Lk 12:6–7

One cow would get a whiff of danger and ask another cow, “What’s that?” “Oh,” the second cow would say, “that’s just a pack of wolves.” “Won’t they eat us? Should we panic and stampede?” “No,” said the second cow. “Watch.” Cyrene came hurtling out of the darkness, wailing like a banshee, and slaughtered the entire wolf pack. “Oh, cool,” said the first cow. “Yeah, she’s awesome. Want to chew some more cud?

Other deities from the African continent gained a foothold in Rome: Jupiter Ammon, a god from Cyrene, was there chiefly through iconography, in the forum of Augustus (in memory of Alexander, the haunting model of universal monarchy), but also on funerary altars where his head with ram's horns safeguarded the tomb. Septimius Severus consecrated a 'gigantic' temple (DC, 77, 16, 3) to the gods of his homeland, Leptis Magna 'the Great': Hercules and Liber who represented the Punic Melqart and Eschmoun. The Virgo Caelestis, 'evoked' in 146 bc by Scipio Aemilianus, also enjoyed the favour of Septimius Severus, whose coinage shows the goddess on a lion's back, like Cybele in the Circus Maximus.

This is the beauty of the body of Christ and why the church is so necessary. Christianity is not a solo project; we can’t go it alone. David couldn’t do it by himself. Elijah couldn’t do it by himself. Even Jesus couldn’t do it by himself. And you can’t do it by yourself. Some days we have the honor of being Simon of Cyrene and helping a brother or sister carry their cross when it has become too much for them. Other days we are the one in need of a Simon of Cyrene. Whether we are helping or being helped, it’s all the grace of God.

Eratosthenes of Cyrene, a polymath and one of the first directors of the library,

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prays. Jesus, betrayed by Judas, is arrested. He is calm. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin. He is steadfast. Jesus is denied by Peter. He accepts others’ weaknesses. Jesus is judged by Pilate. He is quiet. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns. He is broken. Jesus bears the cross. He endures. Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross. He allows others to help. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. He thinks of others. Jesus is crucified. He feels pain. Jesus promises his kingdom to the good thief. He forgives. Jesus speaks to his mother and the disciple. He watches over his family. Jesus dies on the cross. He weeps. Jesus is placed in the tomb. He loves. To live out social justice, we have to feel what others feel, accept our own situations with grace and hope, face up to the evil around us, reach out to those who need us, and answer evil with love.

A particular problem arises around the meaning of the words “made to appear so to them.” Muslim scholars have considered the implications: If Jesus only appeared to be crucified, what actually happened? The classical commentaries contain conflicting interpretations.21 Several of these recount the legend that someone whom God made to look like Jesus was crucified in Jesus’s place, either voluntarily or mistakenly. In one case, this was a faithful disciple. In another, Jesus’s likeness was given to Judas, making him pay the ultimate price for his betrayal.22 This story of a substitute victim has some parallels with early gnostic traditions that Simon of Cyrene died in Christ’s stead.

At any moment your Simon of Cyrene will appear. God uses people to perform His will. Someone is going to be compelled by the Holy Ghost to come into your path of suffering, reach out and help.

To make her see what she wished to believe: his jealousy and resentment of Aelin; his desperation; his naive foolishness. He had let his mind become such things, let it lure her in. And every time she had come close, falling for those slips in his power, his magic had studied her own. Just as it had studied Cyrene’s stolen kernel of shape-shifting, so had it learned Maeve’s ability to creep into the mind, seize it. It had only been a matter of waiting for her to make her move, to let her lay the trap she’d close to seal him to her forever.

Within the lifetime of the classical Athenian democracy, however, it came to acquire a second meaning, referring to someone whose beliefs or practices suggest a lack of commitment to belief in the gods. “I certainly do believe in gods—I am not an out-and-out atheos,” said Socrates at his trial in 399 BC (according to Plato). From the 430s onward we hear of atheos being used as a surname or nickname attached to various individuals. The pre-Socratic Hippo of Samos, active in Athens in the mid-430s, was said to be “surnamed the atheos”; so were Diagoras of Melos (mid-420s onward) and Theodorus of Cyrene (late fourth century). In other words, if you said “Hippo the atheist,” everyone knew who you meant.3

The dress for a favor. Are we in agreement?” Cyrene

ACTS 2 ‡†When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2†And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3†And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested [1] on each one of them. 4†And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5†Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6†And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9‡Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.

The ossuary of Simon’s son Alexander may have been recovered. Found in Jerusalem in 1941, inscriptions on the ossuary read “Alexander (son) of Simon” (in Greek) and “Alexander (the) Cyreanite” (in Hebrew). The combination of father’s Aramaic name Simon, his son’s Greek name Alexander, the connection with Cyrene, and the burial in Jerusalem match all of the details and inferences we find in Mark 15:21

In 1908, English humorist Israel Zangwill staged a play titled The Melting Pot. It told the story of two Russian immigrants, David and Vera, who move to the United States, fall in love, and live happily ever after. This play’s title became a rallying cry for the high aspiration that the United States would be a place of multiethnic assimilation. But long before the United States, the Church was history’s original melting pot. As Acts 13 opens, we meet a group of churchmen who come from notably disparate backgrounds: “Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul” (v. 1). Barnabas was a well-known Jewish teacher and cousin to Mark (cf. Colossians 4: 10). Some believe that at one point he was better known than Paul, for early in Acts, his name is placed first when the two are paired (cf. Acts 11: 30, 12: 25, 13: 7). Simeon and Lucius hailed from Africa. Niger, Simeon’s surname, is a Latin word meaning “black,” indicating possible African origins. Lucius is said to have come from Cyrene, a Roman province on the north coast of Africa. Manaen is “a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch,” that is, Herod Antipas, the ruler who beheaded John the Baptist (cf. Matthew 14: 1–12). The Greek word for “member of the court” is syntrophos, meaning, “brought up with.” Thus, Manaen had probably known Herod all his life. Finally, there is Saul, the famed Jewish antagonist turned evangelist. These are the leaders of the church at Antioch. What a group! And yet, for all their differences, they are united in Christ. Indeed, when the Spirit says, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I called them” (Acts 13: 2), there is no quibbling over the Spirit’s appointments. No one protests, “But I wanted to be set apart!” Rather, they gladly lay their hands on these men, ordaining them into their appointed office (cf. 13: 3). Such is the Church: different people from different backgrounds doing different things under one Head, Who is Christ. The Church is a melting pot. But it is not a melting pot in which people’s individual personalities and gifts are congealed into some bland soup. Rather, people’s unique personalities and gifts are deployed according to the Spirit’s purposes. And we, who are “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5: 9), are part of this Church. What a glorious group we are in Christ!

Hekate’s temple in Cyrene stood inside the precinct of the temple of Apollo.

Wasn’t knowledge most powerful when shared?

I rubbed my forehead. ‘‘And just why do you expect Neptune to listen to me?’’ ‘‘He’ll listen because you’re you, Mayling! You’re important now! You’re a celebrity!’’ ‘‘What on earth are you talking about?’’ I rubbed my forehead again. One of the side effects of speaking with Cyrene was a tendency to headaches. ‘‘I’m no celebrity.’’ ‘‘Sure you are. You’re all they talk about at the clubs—the dragon’s mate who is also consort to a demon lord. It’s almost as good as what happened to Aisling, although you don’t have a demon like she has.’’ ‘‘I have you,’’ I said with irony that I knew would completely bypass Cyrene. ‘‘And obviously that’s much more cool,’’ she agreed. ‘‘That’s why I want you to talk to Neptune. 

That's mine!" Kostya said in a still somewhat strangled voice as he lurched forward. Gabriel reached for the box but Misha held tight to it, backing up a couple of steps as he eyed us. "You are who?" he asked. "Konstantin Fekete, wyvern of the black dragons. The phylactery belongs to me." "The black dragons," Misha said slowly. "Surely they all died centuries ago?" "Not all. There are still a few of us. And we will regain what we once held-" Everyone in the room except Cyrene chanted in unison, "-but was taken from us. We will face death to restore to the sept the pride, the glory, the true essence, of what it once was." Kostya glared at us all. "Don't get him going about that, please," Aisling said from where she stood behind us, leaning against Drake. "It's late, and once he starts, it can take hours.

I have come!’’ Kostya yelled in a dramatic manner, tossing his head so the sweep of dark auburnhair that had come down over his forehead was flipped back. ‘‘Hello, everyone! Mayling! Isn’t this exciting?’’ Cyrene called, ruining Kostya’s big moment. He glared at her. ‘‘Oh, I’m so sorry. Go right ahead, punkanoodle. I know you want tomake a good impression on everyone.’’ Even the sigh that Kostya heaved was filled with drama. ‘‘I told you not to call me that! It’s not fitting.’’ ‘‘Sorry,’’ Cyrene said, looking remorseful. ‘‘Forgot. Go ahead, Kostie.’’ Even at the distance we were from the door, I could see Kostya cast a glance upward as he obviously soughtpatience. Gabriel made an odd snorting noise, as if he was trying to hold back laughter. Normally I would have had a hard time keeping my own face straight, but I was more concerned about what Cyrene was doing here than the fact that her personality and Kostya’s were so obviously unsuited to each other.