Saint George’s True Origins: Debunking the Türkiye Myth

Athens, October 14, 2025, 06:40 PM AEDT – A recent cartoon in The Guardian Opinions section has stirred discussion by depicting Saint George, the patron saint of England, as a figure linked to modern Türkiye. Historical evidence, however, anchors his identity in a Greco-Roman, Hellenized Christian environment within the Byzantine Empire, predating the Turkish identity of the region by centuries.

Saint George was born in Cappadocia, now part of modern-day Turkey, in the late 3rd century. Raised in a Greek-speaking, Greco-Roman cultural milieu under the Byzantine Empire, his life ended with his martyrdom around 303 CE. The term "Türkiye" emerged only after the Seljuk Turkic invasions in the 11th century—over 700 years later—marking a significant historical inaccuracy in the cartoon’s portrayal.

Greek City Times highlights the importance of recognizing Saint George’s Greco-Roman heritage, shaped by the fusion of Greek and Roman influences in early Christian society. A Roman soldier by profession, his legend grew through Byzantine hagiography, distinct from later regional transformations.

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