[3] [3] [1] Ἀρκτέον δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς θεοτόκου Μαρίας νεών. τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ αὐτῷ βασιλεῖ ἐξεπιστάμεθα βουλομένῳ εἶναι, καὶ διαφανῶς εἰσηγεῖται ὁ ἀληθὴς λόγος ὅτι δὴ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ μητέρα ἰτέον.
[1] We must begin with the churches of Mary the Mother of God. For we know that this is the wish of the Emperor himself, and true reason manifestly demands that from God one must proceed to the Mother of God.
[2] πολλὰς τοίνυν ἐκκλησίας Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς τῇ θεοτόκῳ ἐδείματο πανταχόθι τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς οὕτω δὴ μεγαλοπρεπεῖς τε καὶ παμμεγέθεις καὶ χρημάτων ὄγκῳ ἐξεργασθείσας ὑπερφυεῖ, ὥστε ἤν τις αὐτῶν μίαν κατὰ μόνας θεῷτο, εἰκάσειεν ἂν τοῦτο αὐτῷ μόνον εἰργᾶσθαι τὸ ἔργον καὶ περὶ τοῦτο ἠσχολημένον ἅπαντα τῆς βασιλείας κατατρῖψαι τὸν χρόνον.
[2] The Emperor Justinian built many churches to the Mother of God in all parts of the Roman Empire, churches so magnificent and so huge and erected with such a lavish outlay of money, that if one should see one of them by itself, he would suppose that the Emperor had built this work only and had spent the whole time of his reign occupied with this alone.
[3] ἀλλὰ νῦν, ὅπερ εἶπον, τὰ ἐπὶ Βυζαντίου ἱερά μοι γεγράψεται. τὸν μὲν οὖν ἕνα τῆς θεοτόκου νεὼν ᾠκοδομήσατο πρὸ τοῦ περιβόλου ἐν χώρῳ καλουμένῳ Βλαχέρναις· αὐτῷ γὰρ λογιστέον καὶ τὰ Ἰουστίνῳ εἰργασμένα τῷ θείῳ, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν κατ᾽ ἐξουσίαν αὐτὸς διῳκεῖτο· ἐπιθαλάσσιος δὲ ὁ νεώς ἐστιν, ἱερώτατος τε καὶ σεμνὸς ἄγαν, ἐπιμήκης μέν, κατὰ λόγον δὲ περιβεβλημένος τῷ μήκει τὸ εὖρος, τά τε ἄνω καὶ τὰ κάτω ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἀνεχόμενος ὅτι μὴ τμήμασι λίθου Παρίου ἐν κιόνων λόγῳ ἐνταῦθα ἑστῶσι.
[3] But now, as I said, I must describe the sanctuaries of Byzantium. One of the churches of the Mother of God he built outside the fortifications in a place called Blachernae (for to the Emperor’s credit there must also be reckoned the buildings erected by his uncle Justinus, since Justinian administered the government also during his uncle’s reign on his own authority). This church is on the sea, a most holy and very stately church, of unusual length and yet of a breadth well proportioned to its length, both its upper and its lower parts being supported by nothing but sections of Parian stone which stand there to serve as columns.
[4] καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα τοῦ νεὼ μέρη κατ᾽ εὐθὺ ἑστᾶσιν οἱ κίονες, κατὰ δὲ τὰ μέσα ὑποστέλλονται εἴσω.
[4] And in all the other parts of the church these columns are set in straight lines, except at the centre, where they recede.
[5] μάλιστα δὲ ἂν τις ἀγασθείη τοῦ ἱεροῦ τοῦδε εἴσω γενόμενος τὸ μὲν ]ὑπέρογκον τοῦ σφαλεροῦ χωρὶς τεταγμένον ὁρῶν, τὸ δὲ μεγαλοπρεπὲς τοῦ ἀπειροκάλου ἐλεύθερον.
[5] Anyone upon entering this church would marvel particularly at the greatness of the mass which is held in place without instability, and at the magnificence which is free from bad taste.
[6] Ἕτερον δὲ ἱερὸν αὐτῇ ἐν χώρῳ καλουμένῳ Πηγῇ ἀνέθηκεν. ἐνταῦθά ἐστι δάσος κυπαρίσσων ἀμφιλαφές, λειμὼν ἐν ἁπαλαῖς ταῖς ἀρούραις τεθηλὼς ἄνθεσι, παράδεισος εὐφορῶν τὰ ὡραῖα, πηγὴ ἀψοφητὶ βλύζουσα γαληνὸν τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ πότιμον, ἱεροπρεπῆ ἐπιεικῶς πάντα.
[6] He dedicated to the Virgin another shrine in the place called Pegê. In that place is a dense grove of cypresses and a meadow abounding in flowers in the midst of soft glebe, a park abounding in beautiful shrubs, and a spring bubbling silently forth with a gentle stream of sweet water — all especially suitable to a sanctuary.
[7] ταῦτα μὲν ὁ ἀμφὶ τὸ τέμενος χῶρος· αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν νεὼν οὐδὲ ὀνόμασιν ἐπαξίοις συλλαβεῖν ῥᾴδιον, οὐδὲ διανοίᾳ σκιαγραφῆσαι, οὐδὲ διαψιθυρίσαι τῷ λόγῳ.
[7] Such are the surroundings of the sanctuary. But the church itself is not easy to describe in such terms as it deserves, nor can one readily form a mental vision of it, nor do it justice in whispering speech.
[8] τοσοῦτον δὲ μόνον εἰπεῖν ἀποχρήσει, ὡς τῶν ἱερῶν κάλλει τε καὶ μεγέθει ὑπεραίρει τὰ πλεῖστα.
[8] It must suffice to say only this, that it surpasses most shrines both in beauty and in size.
[9] ταῦτα δὲ ἄμφω τὰ ἱερὰ πρὸ τοῦ τῆς πόλεως πεποίηται τείχους, τὸ μὲν ἀρχομένου παρὰ τὴν τῆς θαλάσσης ἠϊόνα, τὸ δὲ ἄγχιστά πη τῶν Χρυσῶν καλουμένων Πυλῶν, ἃς δὴ ἀμφὶ τὸ τοῦ ἐρύματος πέρας συμβαίνει εἶναι, ὅπως δὴ ἄμφω ἀκαταγώνιστα φυλακτήρια τῷ περιβόλῳ τῆς πόλεως εἶεν.
[9] Both these churches were erected outside the city-wall, the one where it starts beside the shore of the sea, the other close to the Golden Gate, as it is called, which chances to be near the end of the line of fortifications, in order that both of them may serve as invincible defences to the circuit-wall of the city.
[10] ἔτι μέντοι κἂν τῷ Ἡραίῳ, ὅπερ Ἱερὸν καλοῦσι τανῦν, τῇ θεοτόκῳ νεὼν οὐκ εὐδιήγητον κατεστήσατο.
[10] Also in the Heraeum, which they now call the Hieron, he built a church to the Mother of God which it is not easy to describe.
[11] Ἐν χωρίῳ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ὁ Δεύτερον ἐπικαλεῖται, ἱεροπρεπές τε καὶ ἀγαστὸν ὅλως ἀνέθηκεν ἕδος Ἄννῃ ἁγίᾳ, ἣν τῆς μὲν θεοτόκου γεγονέναι μητέρα τινὲς οἴονται, τοῦ δὲ Χριστοῦ τιτθήν. ]
[11] In that section of the city which is called Deuteron he erected a most holy and revered church to St. Anna, whom some consider to have been the mother of the Virgin and the grandmother of Christ.
[2] ἄνθρωπος γὰρ ᾗπερ ἐβούλετο γεγονὼς ὁ θεὸς καὶ τριγονίας ἀνέχεται καὶ γενεαλογεῖται τὰ ἐκ μητρὸς ἀνθρώπῳ ἴσα.
[12] For God, being born a man as was His wish, is subjected to even a third generation, and His ancestry is traced back from His mother even as is that of a man.
[13] τούτου δὲ δὴ τοῦ νεὼ οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν ἀμφὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀγυιὰν ἐσχάτην Ζωῇ μάρτυρι σεμνὸν ἐπιεικῶς ἕδος πεποίηται.
[13] Not far from this same church, near the last street within the city, he built a very imposing shrine to the martyr Zoê.
[14] Τοῦ δὲ ἀρχαγγέλου Μιχαὴλ ἱερὸν εὗρεν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ βραχύ τε καὶ ἀφεγγὲς ἄγαν καὶ ὡς ἥκιστα τῷ ἀρχαγγέλῳ ἀνεῖσθαι πρέπον πρὸς σενάτορός τινος τῶν πατρικίων ἐν χρόν�
�� γεγενημένον τῷ ἔμπροσθεν, κοιτωνίσκῳ οἰκίας ἀτεχνῶς ἐμφερὲς οὐδὲ λίαν εὐδαίμονος.
[14] He found a shrine of the Archangel Michael in Byzantium which was small and very badly lighted, utterly unworthy to be dedicated to the Archangel; it was built in earlier times by a certain patrician senator, quite like a tiny bedroom of a dwelling-house, and that, too, of the house of one who is not very prosperous.
[15] διὸ δὴ καθεῖλε μὲν αὐτὸ ἐς τὸ ἔδαφος ἐκ τῶν θεμελίων, ὡς μή τι αὐτῷ τῆς προτέρας ἀκοσμίας ἀπολειφθείη.
[15] So he tore this down, even to the lowest foundations, so that no trace of its earlier unseemliness might remain.
[16] εὐμέγεθες δὲ τεκτηνάμενος κατὰ τὸν νῦν φαινόμενον τρόπον, ἐς κάλλος μεταβιβάζει θαυμάσιον οἷον.
[16] And increasing its size to the proportions which it now displays, he transformed it into a marvellously beautiful building.
[17] ἐν τετραπλεύρῳ μὲν γὰρ τὸ τέμενός ἐστιν, οὐ κατὰ πολὺ δὲ φαίνεται προέχον τοῦ εὔρους τὸ μῆκος. τῆς δὲ πλευρᾶς ἣ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον τέτραπται κατὰ μὲν τὰ ἄκρα παχὺς ἑκατέρωθεν τοῖχος λίθοις ἐν πλήθει ξυγκειμένοις ἀποτετόρνευται, κατὰ δὲ τὰ μέσα ἐξ ὑπαγωγῆς ἀποχωρῶν ὑποστέλλεται.
[17] For the church is in the form of a rectangle (tetrapleuron), and the length appears not much greater than the width. And at either end of the side which faces the east a thick wall was perfectly constructed of many fitted stones, but in the middle it is drawn back so as to form a recess.
[18] καὶ αὐτῆς ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα μὲν ἀνέχουσι τὸν νεὼν κίονες χροιαῖς τισι ποικιλλόμενοι φύσει. ὁ δὲ καταντικρὺ πρὸς δύοντά που τὸν ἥλιον τοῖχος ταῖς εἰς τὸν νεὼν εἰσαγούσαις διῄρηται θύραις.
[18] On either side of this rise columns of naturally variegated hues which support the church. The opposite wall, which faces approximately the west, is pierced by the doors which lead into the church.
[4] [4] [1] Ἐς δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀποστόλους τὸ πιστὸν ἐπιδέδεικται τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. πρῶτα μὲν Πέτρῳ καὶ Παύλῳ νεὼν οὐ πρότερον ὄντα ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ]ἐδείματο παρὰ τὴν βασιλέως αὐλήν, ἣ Ὁρμίσδου τὸ παλαιὸν ἐπώνυμος ἦν·
[1] His faith in the Apostles of Christ he displayed in the following manner. First he built a church of Peter and Paul, which had not previously existed in Byzantium, alongside the imperial residence which in former times was called by the name of Hormisdas.
[2] ταύτην γὰρ οἰκίαν αὑτοῦ ἰδίαν Παλάτιον εἶναι δοκεῖν τε καὶ πρέπειν τῷ μεγαλοπρεπεῖ τῆς οἰκοδομίας διαπραξάμενος, ἐπειδὴ αὐτοκράτωρ κατέστη Ῥωμαίοις, τοῖς ἄλλοις βασιλείοις ἐνῆψεν.
[2] For he had contrived that this building, which was his private residence, should both seem to be a palace, and by the magnificence of its structure be as handsome as one; and when he became Emperor of the Romans he joined it to the Palace proper.
[3] οὗ δὴ καὶ τέμενος ἄλλο ἁγίοις ἐπιφανέσι Σεργίῳ τε καὶ Βάκχῳ ἐδείματο, καὶ ἔπειτα καὶ τέμενος ἄλλο ἐκ πλαγίου τούτῳ παρακείμενον.
[3] There too he built another shrine to the famous Saints Sergius and Bacchus, and then also another shrine which stood at an angle to this one.
[4] ἄμφω δὲ τούτω τὼ νεὼ οὐκ ἀντιπροσώπω, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ πλαγίας ἀλλήλοιν ἑστᾶσι, συνημμένοι τε καὶ ἀλλήλοις ἐνάμιλλοι ὄντες, καὶ τὰς εἰσόδους ἐπικοινούμενοι, καὶ ἴσα ἀλλήλοις τά τε ἄλλα πάντα καὶ τὰ κράσπεδα περιβεβλημένοι, καὶ ἅτερος θατέρου οὔτε κάλλους πέρι οὔτε μεγέθους οὔτε ἄλλου οὐδενὸς πλεονεκτῶν ἢ ἐλασσούμενος δείκνυται.
[4] These two churches do not face each other, but stand at an angle to one another, being at the same time joined to each other and rivalling each other; and they share the same entrances (eisodoi) and are like each other in all respects, even to the open spaces (kraspeda) by which they are surrounded; and each of them is found to be neither superior nor inferior to the other either in beauty or in size or in any other respect.
[5] ὁμοίως μὲν γὰρ ἑκάτερος τῇ αἴγλη τῶν λίθων ὑπεραστράπτει τὸν ἥλιον, ὁμοίως δὲ χρυσοῦ περιουσίᾳ πανταχόθι κατακορής ἐστι καὶ κατακομᾷ τοῖς ἀναθήμασιν.
[5] Indeed each equally outshines the sun by the gleam of its stones, and each is equally adorned throughout with an abundance of gold and teems with offerings.
[6] ἑνὶ μέντοι διαλλάσσουσι μόνῳ. τὸ μὲν γὰρ μῆκος αὐτοῖν τῷ μὲν κατ᾽ εὐθὺ διαπεπόνηται, τῷ δὲ οἱ κίονες ἐν ἡμικύκλῳ ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἑστᾶσιν.
[6] In just one respect, however, they do differ. For the long axis (mêkos) of one of them is built straight, while in the other church the columns stand for the most part in a semi-circle (hêmikyklos).
[7] ἔστι δὲ αὐτοῖς μία μὲν ἡ ἐπὶ τῶν προθύρων στοὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ νάρθηκος τῷ περιμήκης εἶναι ὠνομασμένη· ἐπὶ κοινῆς δὲ προπύλαια ]πάντα, ἥ τε αὐλὴ καὶ μέταυλοι θύραι καὶ τὸ προσήκειν τοῖς βασιλείοις.
[7] But whereas they possess a single colonnaded stoa, called a narthex because of its great length, for each one of their porches (prothyra), they have their propylaea (propylaia) entirely in common, and they share a single court (aulê), and the same doors leading in from the court (metauloi thyrai), and they are alike in that they belong to the Palace.
[8] οὕτω δὲ ἄμφω ἀγαστὰ τὰ ἱερὰ τάδε ξυμβαίνει εἶναι ὥστε διαφανῶς τῆς τε πόλεως ὅλης καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα τῶν βασιλείων ἐγκαλλώπισμα τυγχάνει ὄντα.
[8] These two churches are so admirable that they manifestly form an adornment of the whole city, and not merely of the Palace.
[9] Μετὰ δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἅπαντας ὑπερφυῶς σέβων ἐποίει τοιάδε. ἦν τις ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἐκ παλαιοῦ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις νεὼς ἅπασι μήκει τε χρόνου κατασεισθεὶς ἤδη καὶ πρὸς τὸ μηκέτι ἑστήξειν γεγονὼς ὕποπτος.
[9] Afterwards, as shewing very special honour to all the Apostles together, he did as follows. There was in Byzantium from ancient times a church dedicated to all the Apostles; but having by now been shaken by the passage of time, it had fallen under the suspicion that it would not continue to stand.
[10] τοῦτον περιελὼν Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ὅλον οὐχ ὅσον ἀνανεώσασθαι διὰ σπουδῆς ἔσχεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μεγέθους καὶ κάλλους πέρι ἀξιώτερον καταστήσασθαι.
[10] This the Emperor Justinian pulled down entirely, and he was at pains not simply to rest
ore it, but to make it more worthy both in size and in beauty.
[11] ὑπετέλεσε δὲ τὸ σπούδασμα τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. εὐθεῖαι συνημμέναι κατὰ μέσον ἀλλήλοιν ἐπὶ σταυροῦ σχήματος πεποίηνται δύο, ἡ μὲν ὀρθὴ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντά τε καὶ δύοντα τὸν ἥλιον οὖσα, ἐγκαρσία δὲ ἡ ἕτερα πρός τε ἄρκτον τετραμμένη καὶ ἄνεμον νότον.
[11] He carried out his effort as follows. Two straight lines were drawn, intersecting each other at the middle in the form of a cross, one extending east and west, and the other which crossed this running north and south.
[12] τοίχοις μὲν ἐκ περιφεροῦς ἀποπεφραγμέναι τὰ ἔξωθεν, ἐντὸς δὲ περιβαλλόμεναι κίοσιν ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω ἑστῶσι· κατὰ δὲ ταῖν δυοῖν εὐθείαιν τὸ ζεῦγμα, εἴη δ᾽ ἂν κατὰ μέσον αὐταῖν μάλιστα, τοῖς οὐκ ὀργιάζουσιν ἄβατος τετέλεσται χῶρος, ὅνπερ ἱερατεῖον, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, ὀνομάζουσι.
[12] On the outside these lines were defined by walls on all of the sides, while on the inside they were traced by rows of columns standing above one another. At the crossing of the two straight lines, that is to say at about the middle, there was set aside a place which may not be entered by those who may not celebrate the mysteries; this with good reason they call the “sanctuary” (hierateion).
[13] καὶ αὐτοῦ αἱ μὲν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα πλευραὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ ἐγκαρσίῳ κειμένης εὐθείας ]ἶσαι ἀλλήλαις τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι, τῆς μέντοι ὀρθῆς ἡ πρὸς δύοντα ἥλιον ἐς τόσον τῆς ἑτέρας πεποίηται μείζων ὅσον ἀπεργάσασθαι τὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ σχῆμα.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 581