Abstract
"The ancient world boasted that it had seven wonders. We claim only two for Syria of the fifth century, but these can be compared with any of the most extraordinary wonders of the preceding ages. One was a wonder of the moral order, the other of architecture. By this I mean Simeon Stylites and the monument which was erected in his honor almost immediately after his death." | Such a description of the greatness of St. Simeon would seem exaggerated if it were not confirmed by the testimony of one of his contemporaries, Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus (c. 423-458). In his Historia religiosa, he begins his account of the life of Simeon in the following way: | "All the subjects of the Roman Empire know Simeon as a great wonder of the world. Persians, Indians, and Ethiopians have also heard of him; and his fame which has reached the nomad Scythians has taught them about his wise and arduous life. And though I have, as it were, all men as witnesses, I hesitate to describe his extraordinary contests, lest they appear to those, coming after us as idle tales, stripped of all truth." | Because of the numerous obscurities and contradictions that are found in the different sources for the life of St. Simeon, it is difficult to give a detailed account of his life. The following facts, however, are fairly well established.