Antigonea
Small town near Antioch, and close to the Daphne valley.
Inhabitants or natives
Place of refuge for Syntica and John of Endor.
Description
Lazarus owns a property there inherited from his father Theophilus. Buried in the fertility of its gardens, full of essences. Sheltered from the winds by the mountain ranges that surround it, far enough away so as not to overshadow it, but close enough to protect it and pour upon it the scents of its woods of resinous or essential trees. The air is light there. Fully sunlit, it delights the sight and the heart, just by passing through it.
Notable facts
Initial founding place of the Christian community of Antioch.
Where is it mentioned in the work?
EMV 323
EMV 461
Learn more about this place
Excerpt from the "Maria Valtorta Salton Geographical Dictionary" by Jean-François LavèreSmall town presumed to be located 7/8 km from Antioch. Lazarus owns a property there inherited from his father Theophilus. “The gardens my mother loved. We have kept them in her memory. She had brought plants from her Judean gardens, they were rare essences...”[1]This is where the Disciples Syntyche and John of Endor find refuge. The small community that then formed around them is at the origin of the flourishing Church of Antioch.
Founded in 307 BCE by the Macedonian king Antigonos Monophthalmos (the one-eyed) on a naturally fortified site. Upon Antigonos’s death in 301 BCE, the city was destroyed by Seleucus and its inhabitants relocated to Antioch and Seleucid Pieria. However, the city continued to be inhabited. It is mentioned by Dion Cassius (40, 29, 1-2) who states that Antigonea was still inhabited in 53 BCE. The coordinates proposed here are based on Maria Valtorta’s indications (“this place near Daphne”[2] [3] between this city and Antioch. This exactly matches what E. Isambert supposed in 1861, who claims to have seen the remains at Zeghaïb[4]. The exact location remains to be discovered, 40 stadia from Antioch (according to Libanius of Antioch Or 11. 85).
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