Stephaton
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thumb|Stephaton, to the right of Jesus, in the earliest crucifixion in an illuminated manuscript, from the Syriac [[Rabbula Gospels, 586. Unlike Longinus, he is not named here]] thumb|James Tissot's depiction. Here, the hyssop stick is used as a kind of straw, and "Stephaton" squeezes the sponge. (, [[gouache over graphite on grey wove paper)]] Stephaton, or Steven, is the name given in medieval Christian traditions to the Roman soldier or bystander, unnamed in the Bible, who offered Jesus a sponge soaked in vinegar wine at the Crucifixion. In later depictions of the Crucifixion, Stephaton is
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Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Gospel accounts
- Medieval interpretation
- In art
- References
- Sources
thumb|Stephaton, to the right of Jesus, in the earliest crucifixion in an illuminated manuscript, from the Syriac [[Rabbula Gospels, 586. Unlike Longinus, he is not named here]] thumb|James Tissot's depiction. Here, the hyssop stick is used as a kind of straw, and "Stephaton" squeezes the sponge. (, [[gouache over graphite on grey wove paper)]] Stephaton, or Steven, is the name given in medieval Christian traditions to the Roman soldier or bystander, unnamed in the Bible, who offered Jesus a sponge soaked in vinegar wine at the Crucifixion. In later depictions of the Crucifixion, Stephaton is frequently portrayed with Longinus, the soldier who pierced Jesus' side with a spear.
The sponge in this Biblical narrative is not to be confused with a Xylospongium, a sponge that is soaked in vinegar attached to a stick the Romans used after defecating.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Stephaton” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.