Saint Sisoes the Great (also Sisoi, Shishoy) was an Egyptian(Coptic) ascetic from the second half of the fourth century and the early sixth century (d. 429), who lived in the desert of Scete before he moved to the Mountain of St. Anthony at the Red Sea after the death of St. Anthony the Great. And he is considered to be one of the great Desert Fathers for his wisdom, humility and compassion to others.
The Sayings of the Desert contain several anecdotes about him, but there is a tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church which one does not find in the Coptic Church. That does not take away the authenticity of the story but may mean that the evidence for it in Coptic literature has been lost together with the so many manuscripts that were destroyed, damaged and lost.
The story is depicted in in Greek icon that appeared for the first time in Greek monasteries after the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the fifteenth century, and is known as “The Astonishment of Siseos”. There are various versions of the icon but are all combined in showing St. Siseos leaning over the open tomb of Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC) with the bones of the Macedonian king inside, and sometimes a lizard crawling and the helmet and shield of the king displayed. On the icon is inscribed in Greek:
Sisoes, the great ascetic, before the tomb, of Alexander, king of the Greeks, who was once covered in glory. Astonished, he mourns for the vicissitudes of time and the transience of glory, and tearfully declaims thus:
“The mere sight of you tomb, dismays me and causes my heart to shed tears, as I contemplate the debt we, all men, owe. How can i possibly stand it? Oh, death! Who can evade you?”
Siseos here mourns the death of man and empires – all come under the rule of earthly death. No one, however great in this world, escapes death. St. Siseos must have been thinking of the futility of this world, of the fragility of man and his achievements; and must have thought only those who believe in God live forever.
There has been a discussion about the authenticity of the story and if it was a depiction of a historical event. Alexander the Great was buried in Egypt, and his tomb location is now not known. It could have been opened in Siseos’ times, and his bones might have been lost or scattered. It is conceivable that the story is genuine, and that Siseos did visit the tomb and did lament over its fate.
This icon is not known in the Coptic Church. Its adoption by the Copts will surely be educational.