The Christians in the early empire,
were in a dispute with the Roman state over
the subject of the imperial cult, according
to which, those Christians who refused to
sacrifice animals at an imperial temple.
After a while these seven young men fell
asleep and when they woke up they went to
city to buy food. To their amazement, they
found out that they had slept not for one
night but for two hundred years, and that
Christianity had spread to every corner of
the Roman Empire. When Emperor Theodosius II
heard the incident, he accepted it as
evidence of resurrection which was being
discussed in the churches then.
When these young men died, following
an impressive funeral, they were buried in
the cave on which a church was built later.
The excavations carried on here during
1927-28 brought to light a church and
several hundred graves which were dated to
the 5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions
dedicated to the Seven Sleepers were found
on the walls of the church and in the graves.
For hundreds of years, people wanted
to be buried as close as possible to the
Seven Sleepers who were considered holy.
According to a Christian belief, St.Mary
Magdalene is buried here, also. |
FETHIYE
BODRUM
MARMARIS
ANTALYA
