Aelia Eudocia Augusta (formerly Athenais), wife of the emperor
Theodosius II, lives at the borderline between the ancient and the Christian
world and writes one of the most distinctive poetic texts of Byzantine
literature. In the Martyrdom of Cyprian, written in Homeric language, the
Saint's past, when he was a magician and initiated into a multitude of Greek
mysteries, is presented in an original and remarkable way. Within this text,
the resonance of philosophical ideas originating from Neoplatonism and
Gnosticism is of particular interest. This article attempts to highlight these
resonances in order to open a research dialogue regarding the complex
network of ideas and the coexistence of different worldviews in early
Byzantium.