ARTEMIO

ARTEMIO. - An ancient commander of Egypt under Emperor Constantius, beheaded by Julian the Apostate in June 362. A violent Arian, in league with the intrusive bishop of Alexandria, George of Cappadocia, he persecuted Catholics, especially religious, and St. Athanasius. With the same zeal he had turned against idolaters, destroying numerous temples, including the Serapeum. With Julian's accession, pagans took revenge by accusing him of atrocious crimes before the emperor, who, after confiscating his goods, condemned him to beheading. In the 9th century, the monk John of Rhodes made A. a saint and martyr, and the acts written by him (in Acta SS. Octobris, VIII, Paris 1866, pp. 856-85) served as a source for Metaphrastes (PG 115, 1160-1212). Hence arose the origin of the cult rendered to him by the Greeks on 20 Oct. and his insertion, in the 16th century, on the same date in the Roman Martyrology (cf. ed. P. Galesini, Venice 1578).