According to extrabiblical tradition, Stephaton was the Roman soldier who, shortly before Jesus' death, gave Jesus vinegar to drink with a sponge on the cross. According to Matthew and Mark, he put the sponge on a staff, according to John, on a hyssop branch (cf. Mt 27:48; Mk 15:36; John 19:29). Since Byzantine times, the sponge carrier is often depicted together with the lance carrier Longinus under the cross.
