The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Potamon of Heraclea
d. c. AD 341 (beaten to death) · Confessor-bishop of Heraclea · Athanasian partisan · Heraclea, the Thebaid
The Nicene Age
Who Potamon of Heraclea was
The Egyptian confessor who had lost an eye in the persecution and carried the scar to Nicaea — and who, at the Tyrian synod stage-managed against Athanasius, rounded on the presiding Eusebius of Caesarea: 'You sit in judgment, who sat with me in prison? How did you leave it with both eyes?' Later tradition has the Arians beating the old man to death. The persecution's survivors did not defer to its diplomats.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Potamon die?
Potamon of Heraclea is dated d. c. AD 341 (beaten to death) in the archive, which places Potamon in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Potamon?
Potamon of Heraclea is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Athanasius of Alexandria and Sozomen. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Potamon from?
The archive associates Potamon of Heraclea with Heraclea, the Thebaid. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Potamon’s contemporaries?
The archive links Potamon of Heraclea to 2 other figures, including Athanasius of Alexandria and Eusebius of Caesarea. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
History of the Arians (Epiphanius's report of Tyre)
c. AD 350Dost thou sit in judgment, Eusebius, and Athanasius, innocent, stand judged before thee? Who can bear such things? Tell me: wast thou not with me in prison in the persecution? I lost an eye for the truth — how camest thou forth unharmed?Athanasius of Alexandria · source text
Church History II.25 (the confessor's outburst at Tyre: 'were you not with me in prison?')
c. AD 445Wast thou not with me in prison during the persecution? I lost an eye for the truth; how didst thou escape unharmed?Sozomen · Church History II.25 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Potamon.
- 1the Thebaidprovince only