Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  [6] [1] Such is the nature of this bay. And the Emperor Justinian adorned it with buildings on all sides and thus made it still more notable. [2] On the left of the bay he found the martyr’s shrine of St. Lawrence, which previously had been without a ray of light and practically filled with darkness, and he remodelled it, to speak briefly, and consecrated it in the form in which it is now seen. [3] Over against this, in the quarter called Blachernae, he built the Church of the Virgin which I just described. [4] Further on he established a shrine to St. Priscus and St. Nicholas, an entirely new creation of his own, at a spot where the Byzantines love especially to tarry, some worshipping and doing honour to these saints who have come to dwell among them, and others simply enjoying the charm of the precinct, since the Emperor forced back the wash of the sea and set the foundations far out into the water when he established this sanctuary.

  [5] At the far end of the bay, on the ground which rises steeply in a sharp slope, stands a sanctuary dedicated from ancient times to Saints Cosmas and Damian. When the Emperor himself once lay seriously ill, giving the appearance of being actually dead (in fact he had been given up by the physicians as being already numbered among the dead), these Saints came to him here in a vision, and saved him unexpectedly and contrary to all human reason and raised him up.a [6] In gratitude he gave them such requital as a mortal may, by changing entirely and remodelling the earlier building, which was unsightly and ignoble and not worthy to be dedicated to such powerful Saints, and he beautified and enlarged the church and flooded it with brilliant light and added many other things which it had not before. [7] So when any persons find themselves assailed by illnesses which are beyond the control of physicians, in despair of human assistance they take refuge in the one hope left to them, and getting on flat-boats they are carried up the bay to this very church. [8] And as they enter its mouth they straightway see the shrine as on an acropolis, priding itself in the gratitude of the Emperor and permitting them to enjoy the hope which the shrine affords.

  [9] Across the bay the Emperor built a martyr’s shrine which had not existed before, by the very strand of the bay, and dedicated it to the martyr Anthimus. [10] The foundations of the shrine are washed by the caressing flow of the sea in an altogether charming manner. [11] For the incoming waves do not rise up with a roar and break on the stones there, nor do the breakers thunder aloud like those of the sea and divide and break up in a foaming mass, but the water comes forward gently, and silently touches the land and then quietly draws back. [12] And extending back from the beach is a smooth and very level court (aulê), adorned on all sides with marbles and with columns and glorying in its view over the sea. [13] Beyond this is a stoa with the church inside rising in the form of a quadrangle to a great height and made beautiful by the charm of its stones and by the gold applied to them. [14] And the length exceeds the width only by the extent of the sanctuary, where alone the sacred mysteries may be performed, along the side which faces towards the east. So much, then, for this.

  [7] [1] Beyond this, just about at the opening of the bay, was built a Church of the Martyr Eirenê. This entire church was constructed by the Emperor on such a magnificent scale that I, at least, could not possibly do it justice. [2] For seeking to rival the sea in lending beauty to the land about the gulf, he set all these shrines, as in an encircling necklace, round about it. But since I have mentioned this Church of Eirenê, it will not be amiss for me at this point to recount also the incident which happened there. Here from ancient times were buried the remains of no fewer than forty holy men; these had chanced to be Roman soldiers who served in the Twelfth Legion, which in ancient times had been posted in the city of Melitenê in Armenia. [4] So when the masons were excavating in the place which I have just mentioned, they found a chest shewing by an inscription that it contained the remains of these very men. [5] And God brought to light this chest, which thus far had been forgotten, with an express purpose, partly to assure all men that He had accepted the Emperor’s gifts most gladly, and partly because He was eager to repay this great man’s beneficence with a greater favour. [6] It chanced that the Emperor Justinian was suffering from a grievous affliction, since a dangerous discharge had set in at the knee and caused him to be tortured with pain; and for this he himself was chiefly responsible. [7] For during all the days which precede the Feast of Easter, and which are called days of fasting, he observed a severe routine which was unfit not only for an Emperor, but for any man who was concerned in any way with state affairs. [8] Indeed he had gone two whole days quite without food, and that too while rising regularly from his bed at early dawn and keeping watch over the State, and constantly managing its affairs by word and deed from early dawn to midday and equally into the night. [9] And although he went to his couch late in the night, he immediately rose again, as if he could not endure his bed. [10] And when he did take nourishment, he abstained from wine and bread and other foods and ate only herbs, and those, too, wild ones thoroughly pickled with salt and vinegar,b and his only drink was water. [11] Yet he never took a sufficiency even of these, but whenever he did take a meal, he merely tasted these foods he liked and then left them before he had eaten enough. [12] Hence, then, his malady gathered strength and got beyond the help of the physicians, and for a long time the Emperor was racked by these pains. [13] But during this time he heard about the relics which had been brought to light, and abandoning human skill, he gave the case over to them, seeking to recover his health through faith in them, and in a moment of direst necessity he won the reward of the true belief. [14] For as soon as the priests laid the reliquary on the Emperor’s knee, the ailment disappeared entirely, driven out by the bodies of men who had been dedicated to the service of God. And God did not permit this to be a matter of dispute, for he shewed a great sign of what was being done. [15] For oil suddenly flowed out from these holy relics, and flooding the chest poured out over the Emperor’s feet and his whole garment, which was purple. [16] So this tunic, thus saturated, is preserved in the Palace, partly as testimony to what occurred at that time, and also a source of healing for those who in future are assailed by any incurable disease.

  [8] [1] Thus was the bay called the Horn given distinction by the Emperor Justinian. And by erecting buildings he elaborated into a thing of great beauty the shores of the other two straits which I have just mentioned, in the following manner. [2] There happened to be two sanctuaries dedicated to the Archangel Michael, standing opposite one another on either side of the strait, the one at the place called Anaplus, on the left bank as one sails toward the Euxine Sea, the other on the opposite shore. [3] The men of ancient times called this point Proöchthi, because, I suppose, it projects far out from the shore-line there, but now it is called Brochi, for with the passage of time names are corrupted through the ignorance of local residents. [4] And the priests of these two shrines, seeing them utterly dilapidated by time and having become fearful that they would fall in upon them at any moment, petitioned the Emperor to restore both of them to their ancient form. [5] For it was not possible, during the reign of this Emperor, for any church either to be built for the first time or to be restored when it had fallen into disrepair except with imperial funds, not alone in Byzantium, but in every part of the Roman Empire. [6] So the Emperor no sooner had found this pretext than he at once tore them both down to the foundations, so that none of their previous untidiness was left. He rebuilt the one at Anaplus in the following way. [7] By a stone quay he made the shore-line there curve inward to form a sheltered harbour and he transformed the sea-beach into a market. [8] For the sea at that point is very calm, and makes possible trading with the land. [9] And the sea-traders tie up their skiffs along the stone quay and from their decks exchange their merchandise for the products of the land. [10] Behind this shore-market extends the court (aulê) in front of the church. In colour this court resembles beautiful marbles and snow. [11] Those who promenade here delight in the beauty of the stones, while they rejoice in the view of the sea and revel alike in t
he breezes wafted from the water and in those that descend from the hills which tower over the land. [12] A circular (enkyklios) stoa surrounds the church and is lacking only on the side towards the east. In the centre stands the church, adorned with stones of an infinite variety of colours. [13] The roof soars aloft in the form of a dome (tholos). How could any man do justice to the work in describing the lofty stoas, the secluded buildings within the enclosure, the charm of the marbles with which both walls and pavements are everywhere arranged? [14] In addition to these an extraordinary amount of gold has been applied to every part of the shrine and looks just as if it had grown upon it. [15] This same description can be applied equally well to the shrine of John the Baptist, which the Emperor Justinian recently dedicated to him at Hebdomum, as it is called. [16] For these two shrines happen to resemble each other closely, except that the shrine of the Baptist chances not to be on the sea.

  [17] Now the Church of the Archangel in the place called Anaplus was built in this way. [18] And on the opposite bank is a site somewhat removed from the sea, naturally level and raised to a height by courses of stone. [19] There has been built the other shrine of the Archangel, a work of extraordinary beauty and unrivalled in size, and because of its magnificence worthy both of Michael, to whom it is dedicated, and of the Emperor Justinian, who dedicated it. [20] Not far from this place he restored in the same way a holy shrine of the Virgin which had fallen into disrepair a long time before, and it would be a long task to study this building and describe in words its majesty. But here follows the long-awaited portion of my narrative.

  [9] [1] On this shore there chanced to have been from ancient times a remarkable palace. This the Emperor Justinian has dedicated wholly to God, exchanging immediate enjoyment for the reward of piety thereby obtained, in the following manner. [2] There was a throng of women in Byzantium who had carried on in brothels a business of lechery, not of their own free will, but under force of lust. [3] For it was maintained by brothel-keepers, and inmates of such houses were obliged at any and all times to practise lewdness, and pairing off at a moment’s notice with strange men as they chanced to come along, they submitted to their embraces. [4] For there had been a numerous body of procurers in the city from ancient times, conducting their traffic in licentiousness in brothels and selling others’ youth in the public market-place and forcing virtuous persons into slavery. [5] But the Emperor Justinian and the Empress Theodora, who always shared a common piety in all that they did, devised the following plan. [6] They cleansed the state of the pollution of the brothels, banishing the very name of brothel-keepers, and they set free from a licentiousness fit only for slaves the women who were struggling with extreme poverty, providing them with independent maintenance, and setting virtue free. This they accomplished as follows. [7] Near that shore of the strait which is on the right as one sails toward the Sea called Euxine, they made what had formerly been a palace into an imposing convent designed to serve as a refuge for women who repented of their past lives, [8] so that there through the occupation which their minds would have with the worship of God and with religion they might be able to cleanse away the sins of their lives in the brothel. [9] Therefore they call this domicile of such women “Repentance,” in keeping with its purpose. [10] And these Sovereigns have endowed this convent with an ample income of money, and have added many buildings most remarkable for their beauty and costliness, to serve as a consolation for the women, so that they should never be compelled to depart from the practice of virtue in any manner whatsoever. So much, then, for this.

  [11] As one goes on from there toward the Euxine Sea, a certain sheer promontory is thrust out along the shore-line of the strait, on which stands a martyr’s shrine of St. Panteleëmon, which had been carelessly built to begin with and had suffered greatly from the long passage of time; this the Emperor Justinian removed completely from the spot and in its place built in a very magnificent manner the church which now stands on this site, and he thus preserved to the martyr his honour and at the same time added beauty to the strait by setting these shrines on either side of it. [12] Beyond this shrine, in the place called Argyronium, there had been from ancient times a refuge for poor persons who were afflicted with incurable diseases. [13] This, with the passage of time, had already fallen into a state of extreme disrepair, but he restored it with all enthusiasm, so that it should provide a lodging for those who suffered in this way. And there is a certain promontory named Mochadium near the place which is now called Hieron. [14] There he built another church to the Archangel, one of peculiar sanctity and inferior in esteem to none of the shrines of the Archangel which I have just mentioned.

  [15] He also dedicated a shrine to the martyr Tryphon which was finely built at a great cost of labour and of time so that it became an object of altogether indescribable beauty, in a street of the city which is named Pelargus. [16] Furthermore he dedicated a shrine to the martyrs Menas and Menaeus in the Hebdomum. And on the left as one enters the gate which is known as the Golden Gate, this Emperor found a martyr’s shrine of St. Ia, fallen in ruins, which he restored with all sumptuousness. [17] Such were the labours accomplished by the Emperor Justinian in connection with the holy places in Byzantium; but to enumerate all the sacred edifices which he built through the length and breadth of the whole Roman Empire is a difficult, nay, an altogether impossible task. [18] However, when it becomes necessary for us to mention any city or district by name, the sanctuaries in that place shall be recorded at the proper point.

  [10] [1] So the churches, both in the city of Constantinople and in its suburbs, were built as stated by the Emperor Justinian; but it is not easy to recount in my narrative each one of the other buildings erected by him. [2] But to speak comprehensively, the majority of the buildings and the most noteworthy structures of the rest of the city, and particularly of the Palace area, had been burned and razed to the ground when he undertook to rebuild them and to restore them all in more beautiful form. [3] Yet it has seemed to me not at all necessary at the present time to recount these in detail, for they all been described with care in my Books on the Wars. At this point, only this shall be set down, that this Emperor’s work includes the propylaea (propylaia) of the Palace and the so-called Bronze Gate as far as what is called the House of Ares, and beyond the Palace both the Baths of Zeuxippus and the great colonnaded stoas and indeed everything on either side of them as far as the market-place which bears the name of Constantine. [4] And besides these he remodeled the building known as the House of Hormisdas, which is close by the Palace, so altering and transforming it altogether into a more noble structure as to be really in keeping with the royal residence, to which he joined it, making it greater in width and consequently much more admirable.

  [5] And there is before the Palace a certain market-place surrounded by columns (peristylos), which the people of Byzantium call the Augustaeum. This I have mentioned previously when in the account of the Church of Sophia I described the bronze statue of the Emperor commemorating the work, set upon a very tall column made of fitted blocks. [6] To the east of this market-place stands the Senate House, surpassing description by reason of its costliness and every element of its construction, the work of the Emperor Justinian. [7] There the Senate of the Romans assembles at the beginning of the year and celebrates an annual festival, observing always the ancient tradition of the State. [8] Six of its columns stand in front of it, two of which have between them the wall of the Senate House which faces the west, while the four others stand a little beyond it; all of them are white in colour, and in size, I believe, they are the largest of all columns in the whole world. [9] And the columns form a porch (stoa) which carries a roof curving into a vault (tholos), and the whole upper portion of the colonnade is adorned with marbles which rival the columns in their beauty, and the roof is wonderfully set off by a great number of statues which stand upon it.