Page "Cyril of Alexandria" Paragraph 8

Orestes, Praefectus augustalis of the Diocese of Egypt, steadfastly resisted Cyril's agenda of ecclesiastical encroachment onto secular prerogatives.

On one occasion, Cyril sent the grammaticus Hierax to secretly discover the content of an edict that Orestes was to promulgate on the mimes shows, which attracted great crowds.

When the Jews, with whom Cyril had clashed before, discovered the presence of Hierax, they rioted, complaining that Hierax's presence was aimed at provoking them.

Then Orestes had Hierax tortured in public in a theatre.

This order had two aims: the first was to quell the riot, the other to mark Orestes ' authority over Cyril.