The Οrigins and Later Development of the First Italo-Greek Hagiographies. The Dossiers of the Sicilian martyrs Agatha, Lucia and Euplus

International audienceThis chapter focuses on the early Sicilian hagiographical production dealing with local martyrs. Greek and Latin bilingualism clearly distinguished this first phase of Sicilian hagiographical production from the next period of local hagiographies that were basically written in Greek. I investigate the hagiographical dossiers of the Sicilian martyrs Agatha, Lucia, and Euplus, which can be dated roughly before the Byzantine conquest of the island by Justinian. Taking into consideration both Greek and Latin versions of these martyrdoms, I discuss the development of the cult of these three Sicilian martyrs in Byzantium as described in their liturgy and literary reception by later writers. The chapter thus aims to look into the transformations and resemantizations of the figures and the legends of Agatha, Lucia, and Euplus in the Byzantine world