Saint George in the Byzantinistic Hymnography: The Hymn 66 of Romanos the Melodist

Hymnography finds its origins in cult rituals of pagan civilizations as a kind of sacred poetry. The introduction of Christianity will definitely mark a new era in Greek hymns, comprising not only a clearly classical ancestry, but also influence from Semitic tradition. Saint George is one of the main characters in the sphere of warrior saints, having as well a very long tradition in the West and East. Although he is a much-studied saint, it is noteworthy the revision of those texts, as they provide us with information about his figure and cult. In this essay, a Saint George’s hymn attributed to Romanos the Melodist (Nº 66) is contextualized and succinctly analysed, with special attention to its formal and narratological structure according to its possible hagiographic sources.