Inscriptions and archeology A late 3rd century CE shrine in a wall of the ancient city of
Oenoanda provides the strongest archaeological evidence for this cult. It is adorned with an inscription adapting a declaration of the Apollonian oracle in
Didyma, describing the god as, "Self-begotten, un-taught, un-mothered, undisturbed, not permitting a name, many-named, dwelling in fire." Another inscription below the first dedicates a lantern to the Most High God. Another proof for the existence of the Hypsistarians is also found in the city of
Oenoanda in the form of another epigraph close to the location of the shrine: the epigraph, dedicated by Chromatis, involves a vow to the Most High God and illustrates a practice of prayer at dawn, which aligns with the oracle's description and possibly suggesting a form of
henotheistic worship practice. More archaeological finds may be related to the presence of Hypsistarians. In what is now
North Macedonia, the evidence for the presence of Hypsistarians includes three inscriptions from the Valley of the
River Vardar, dated to the 2nd century AD. Here there are two altars with reliefs of eagles and a statuette of an eagle, which have not been previously connected to the cult but are considered indicative. Out of twenty-five inscriptions in the region, nineteen are devoted to
Zeus Hypsistos (another name for the Hypsistarian God) and six to
Theos Hypsistos, showing the local significance and development of the cult. In
Phrygia, numerous small rural altars decorated with agricultural motifs, such as ears of wheat and grapes, indicate local worship practices. In the
Bosporan Kingdom, several inscriptions and enrollment lists from Tanais and manumission inscriptions in Gorgippia and
Panticapaeum demonstrate the existence of Jewish and syncretic pagan cults. In Athens, around 20 votive plaques and altars dedicated to Zeus Hypsistos found on the
Pnyx hill highlight a healing cult associated with Hypsistos, with most dedications made by women. Throughout
Anatolia, a great number of votive tablets and other inscriptions are evidence that referring to one or more gods as Most High (
Hypsistos, often as
Theos Hypsistos 'god most high', or as
Zeus or
Attis, but frequently unnamed) was widespread. However, it is not certain that all of these inscriptions are actually related to the Hypsistarians. Indeed, calling a divinity "the highest" may just have been a form of emphasising how unique that divinity is, without excluding the possibility that other divinities are unique in their way, too.
Ancient authors The name
Hypsistarioi first occurs in
Gregory of Nazianzus (Orat., xviii, 5) and the name
Hypsistianoi in
Gregory of Nyssa (Contra Eunom., II), about 374 CE. Gregory of Nazianzus describes a syncretic Jewish-pagan group that does not worship idols, reveres lamps and fire, and worships the Almighty (
Pantokrator). They keep Sabbath and adhere to dietary restrictions, but they do not circumcise. Gregory of Nazianzus' description of this cult occurs in his eulogy for his father, who was a Hypsistarian before his conversion to Christianity: Gregory of Nyssa gives the following information:
Persius (34-62) may have had Hypsistarians in view when he ridiculed such hybrid religionists in Satire v, 179–84:
Tertullian () seems to refer to them in
Ad nationes, I, xiii: == Interpreting the evidence ==