Abstract

Among Marian epithets one of the more obscure is the designation "the Egyptian." This article traces the term in modern Greek and Byzantine literature. The investigation centers on an icon reputedly painted by the Apostle Luke while he was living in Egypt. Our researches lead to the city of Attaleia where, according to legend, a Lukan icon had found its way. Textual evidence establishes that around this icon a healing cult of the Virgin Aigyptia flourished in the later 11th century. The written record is confirmed by the seal of a certain bishop Theodosios of Atteleia. The obverse bears a representation of the Virgin accompanied by the epithet Aigyptia