[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] τούτου δὲ τοῦ τεμένους ἐπίπροσθεν ἐν χώρῳ τῷ καλουμένῳ Ἀργυρωνίῳ πτωχῶν ἦν ἐκ παλαιοῦ καταγώγιον οἷσπερ ἡ νόσος τὰ ἀνήκεστα ἐλωβήσατο.
[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] ὅπερ τῷ χρόνῳ διερρωγὸς ἤδη τὰ ἔσχατα προθυμίᾳ τῇ πάσῃ ἀνενεώσατο, γενησόμενον τοῖς οὕτω ταλαιπωρουμένοις ἀνάπαυλαν. ἀκτὴ δέ τίς ἐστι Μωχάδιον ὄνομα τοῦ χώρου ἐγγὺς ὃ καὶ νῦν Ἱερὸν ὀνομάζεται.
[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] ἐνταῦθα νεὼν τῷ ἀρχαγγέλῳ ἄλλον ἐδείματο ἱεροπρεπῆ τε διαφερόντως, καὶ τῶν τοῦ ἀρχαγγέλου ἱερῶν ὧνπερ ἐπεμνήσθην ἀρτίως, οὐδενὸς ἀξιώματι ἀποδέοντα.
[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] Καὶ Τρύφωνι δὲ ἀνέθηκεν ἱερὸν μάρτυρι, πόνῳ τε καὶ χρόνῳ πολλῷ ἐς κάλλος ἀποτετορνευμένον ἀμύθητον ὅλως, ἐν τῇ τῆς πόλεως ἀγυῖᾳ ἣ τοῦ Πελαργοῦ ἐπώνυμός ἐστιν.
[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] ἔτι δὲ Μηνᾷ καὶ Μηναίῳ μάρτυσιν ἕδος ἐν τῷ Ἑβδόμῳ ἀνέθηκεν. ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δὲ εἰσιόντι ἐς τὰς Χρυσᾶς καλουμένας Πύλας Ἴας ἁγίας μαρτύριον εὑρὼν καταπεπτωκός, πολυτελείᾳ τῇ πάσῃ ἀνενεώσατο.
[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] τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ τοῖς ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἱεροῖς εἰργασμένα Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ τοιαῦτά ἐστι, τὰ δὲ ἀνὰ πᾶσαν διαπεπονημένα τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴν ἕκαστα διαριθμεῖσθαι χαλεπόν τέ ἐστι καὶ λόγῳ παντελῶς ἄπορον.
[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] ἀλλ᾽ ἡνίκα ἡμῖν δεήσει πόλεως ἢ χωρίου ]τοῦ πρὸς ὄνομα ἐπιμνησθῆναι, καὶ τὰ ἐνταῦθα ἱερὰ ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ γεγράψεται.
[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] [10] Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἔν τε Κωνσταντινουπόλει καὶ τοῖς τῇδε προαστείοις οὕτως Ἰουστινιανῷ δεδημιούργηται βασιλεῖ·
[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] τῶν δὲ δὴ ἄλλων αὐτῷ οἰκοδομημάτων πεποιημένων ἕκαστον μὲν ἐπελθεῖν οὐ ῥᾴδιον λόγῳ, ὡς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ δὲ φράσαι, τά τε πλεῖστα καὶ ἀξιολογώτατα τῆς τε ἄλλης πόλεως καὶ τῶν βασιλείων καταφλεχθέντα τε καὶ καθῃρημένα ἐπ᾽ ἔδαφος ἀνοικοδομησάμενος ἅπαντα ἐπὶ τὸ εὐπρεπέστερον μετεστήσατο· ἅπερ μοι ἐν τῷ παρόντι λεπτολογεῖσθαι οὔτι ἀναγκαῖον ἔδοξεν εἶναι·
[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] ἅπαντα γάρ μοι ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν πολέμων δεδήλωται λόγοις. τοσοῦτον δὲ μόνον ἔν γε τῷ παρόντι γεγράψεται, ὡς τῶν βασιλείων τά τε προπύλαια καὶ ἡ καλουμένη Χαλκῆ μέχρι ἐς τὸν Ἄρεως καλούμενον οἶκον, ἔκ τε τῶν βασιλείων τό τε βαλανεῖον ὁ Ζεύξιππος αἵ τε μεγάλαι στοαὶ καὶ τὰ ἑκατέρωθεν ἑξῆς ἅπαντα μέχρι ἐς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἣ Κωνσταντίνου ἐπώνυμός ἐστι, τούτου δὴ ἔργα τοῦ βασιλέως τυγχάνει ὄντα.
[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] πρὸς ἐπὶ τούτοις δὲ τὴν Ὁρμίσδα ἐπώνυμον οἰκίαν, ἄγχιστα οὖσαν τῶν βασιλείων, παραλλάξας τε καὶ ὅλως ἐς τὸ ἐπιφανέστερον μεθαρμοσάμενος, ὡς τοῖς βασιλείοις ἐπιεικῶς πρέπειν, τῷ Παλατίῳ ἐντέθεικεν, εὐρύτερόν τε αὐτὸ καὶ πολλῷ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἀξιώτερον ταύτῃ ἐξείργασται.
[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] Ἔστι δέ τις ἀγορὰ πρὸ τῶν βασιλείων περίστυλος. ]Αὐγουσταῖον καλοῦσι τὴν ἀγορὰν οἱ Βυζάντιοι. ταύτης ἐν λόγοις ἐπεμνήσθην τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, ἡνίκα τῆς Σοφίας περιηγησάμενος τὸν νεὼν τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ ἔργῳ χαλκῆν εἰκόνα τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐπὶ κίονος ὑψηλοτάτου καὶ λίθοις συ�
�θέτου ἀνατεθεῖσαν δεδήλωκα.
[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] ταύτης ἐς τὰ πρὸς ἕω τῆς ἀγορᾶς τὸ Βουλευτήριον ἵδρυται, λόγου μὲν τῇ τε πολυτελείᾳ καὶ τῇ κατασκευῇ τῇ πάσῃ κρεῖττον, Ἰουστινιανοῦ δὲ βασιλέως ἔργον.
[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] ἔνθα δὴ ξυνιοῦσα ἔτους ἀρχομένου ἡ Ῥωμαίων βουλὴ σύγκλητος ἐνιαύσιον ἑορτὴν ἄγει, τὰ τῆς πολιτείας ὀργιάζουσα ἐς ἀεὶ νόμιμα.
[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] ἓξ δὲ αὐτοῦ κίονες ἐπίπροσθεν ἑστᾶσιν, οἱ μὲν δύο τὸν τοῦ βουλευτηρίου τοῖχον ἐν μέσῳ ἔχοντες ὃς πρὸς δύοντα ἥλιον τέτραπται, οἱ δὲ τέσσαρες ὀλίγῳ ἐκτός, τὸ μὲν εἶδος λευκοί ἅπαντες, μέγεθος δὲ πρῶτοι τῶν ἐν γῇ, οἶμαι, κιόνων τῇ πάσῃ.
[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] στοὰν δὲ ποιοῦσιν οἱ κίονες ὄροφον ἐν θόλῳ ἐλίττουσαν, τὰ δὲ ἄνω τῆς στοὰς ἅπαντα μαρμάρων μὲν κάλλει διακεκόσμηται τοῖς κίοσι τὸ εἶδος ἴσων, ἀγαλμάτων δὲ πλήθει ὑπεράνω ἑστώτων θαυμασίως ὡς ὑπογέγραπται.
[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.
[10] Ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἀγορᾶς οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν τὰ βασιλέως οἰκία ἐστί, καὶ νέα μὲν τὰ βασίλεια σχεδόν τι πάντα, Ἰουστινιανῷ δέ, ᾗπέρ μοι εἴρηται, δεδημιούργηται βασιλεῖ, φράσαι δὲ αὐτὰ λόγῳ ἀμήχανά ἐστιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀποχρήσει μὲν τοὺς γενησομένους εἰδέναι ὅτι δὴ ἅπαντα τούτου δὴ ]ἔργον τοῦ βασιλέως τυγχάνει ὄντα.
[10] Not far from this market-place is the residence of the Emperor, and practically the whole Palace is new, and, as I have said, was built by the Emperor Justinian; but it is impossible to describe it in words and it must suffice for future generations to know that it happens to be entirely the work of this Emperor.
[11] ὥσπερ δέ φασι, τὸν λέοντα ἐξ ὄνυχος ἴσμεν, καὶ τούτων δὴ οὕτω τῶν βασιλείων τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τοῦ προτεμενίσματος οἱ τάδε ἀναλεγόμενοι εἴσονται. τοιοῦτον δὲ τὸ προτεμένισμά ἐστιν ὃ καλοῦσι Χαλκῆν.
[11] We know the lion, as they say, by his claw, and so those who read this will know the impressiveness of the Palace from the vestibule (protemenisma). So this entrance, which they call Chalkê, is of the following sort.
[12] ὄρθιοι τοῖχοι οὐρανομήκεις ἐν τετραγώνῳ ἑστᾶσι τέσσαρες, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἰσοστάσιοι ἀλλήλοις ὄντες, μήκει δὲ ἄμφω, ὅ τε πρὸς μεσημβρίαν τετραμμένος καὶ βορρᾶν ἄνεμον, τῶν ἑτέρων οὐ παρὰ πολὺ ἀποδέοντες.
[12] Four straight walks stand in a quadrangle (tetragonos) rising heaven-high, equal to each other in all respects except that those which face south and north, respectively, are both slightly shorter than the others.
[13] προβέβληται δέ τις ἀμφὶ τὴν γωνίαν αὐτῶν ἑκάστου λίθων εὖ μάλα εἰργασμένων ἀνάστασις, τῷ τοίχῳ ἐς τὴν ὑπερβολὴν ἐξ ἐδάφους συναναβαίνουσα, τετράπλευρος μέν, ἐνημμένη δὲ κατὰ τὴν μίαν τῷ τοίχῳ πλευράν, οὐ διακόπτουσα τοῦ χώρου τὸ κάλλος, ἀλλά τι καὶ κόσμου αὐτῷ ἐντιθεῖσα τῇ τοῦ ἐμφεροῦς ἁρμονίᾳ.
[13] At each corner there projects a sort of structure (anastasis) of very carefully worked stones, ascending with the wall from the ground to its very top, having four sides, to be sure, but joined to the wall on one side, not detracting from the beauty of the structure, but actually adding a sort of grace to it by the harmony of the similar proportions.
[14] ὑπερῃώρηνται δὲ αὐτῶν ἀψῖδες ὀκτώ, τέσσαρες μὲν ἀνέχουσαι τὸν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παντὸς ὄροφον ἐν σφαιροειδεῖ μεταρσίῳ ἐπικυρτούμενον, αἱ δὲ δὴ ἄλλαι δύο μὲν πρὸς νότον, δύο δὲ πρὸς βορρᾶν ἄνεμον τῷ γειτνιῶντι ἐναπερειδόμεναι τοίχῳ, τὸ μεταξὺ τέγος ἐν θόλῳ ᾐωρήμενον ἐξαιροῦσιν.
[14] Above them rise eight arches, four of which support the roof which curves over the centre of the whole structure in the form of a suspended dome (sphairoeidês), while the others, two toward the south and two toward the north, rest upon the adjoining walls and lift on high the vaulted (tholos) roof which is balanced between them.
[15] ἐναβρύνεται δὲ ταῖς γραφαῖς ἡ ὀροφὴ πᾶσα, οὐ τῷ κηρῷ ἐντακέντι τε καὶ διαχυθέντι ἐνταῦθα παγεῖσα, ἀλλ᾽ ἐναρμοσθεῖσα ψηφῖσι λεπταῖς τε καὶ χρώμασιν ὡραϊσμέναις παντοδαποῖς· αἳ δὴ τά τε ἄλλα πάντα καὶ ἀνθρώπους ἀπομιμοῦνται.
[15] And the whole ceiling boasts of its pictures, not having been fixed with wax melted and applied to the surface, but set with tiny cubes of stone beautifully coloured in all hues, which represent human figures and all other kinds of subjects.
[16] ὁποῖα δὲ αὐτῶν τὰ γράμματά ἐστιν ἐγὼ δηλώσω. ]ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα μὲν πόλεμός τέ ἐστι καὶ μάχῃ, καὶ ἁλίσκονται πόλεις παμπληθεῖς, πὴ μὲν Ἰταλίας, πὴ δὲ Λιβύης· καὶ νικᾷ μὲν βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς ὑπὸ στρατηγοῦντι Βελισαρίῳ, ἐπάνεισι δὲ παρὰ τὸν βασιλέα, τὸ στράτευμα ἔχων ἀκραιφνές ὅλον ὁ στρατηγός, καὶ δίδωσιν αὐτῷ λάφυρα βασιλεῖς τε καὶ βασιλείας, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐξαίσια.
[16] The subjects of these pictures I will now describe. On either side is war and battle, and many cities are being captured, some in Italy, some in Libya; and the Emperor Justinian is winning victories through his General Belisarius, and the General is returning to the Emperor, with his whole army intact, and he gives him spoils, both kings and kingdoms and all things that are most prized among men.
[17] κατὰ δὲ τὸ
μέσον ἑστᾶσιν ὅ τε βασιλεὺς καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς Θεοδώρα, ἐοικότες ἄμφω γεγηθόσι τε καὶ νικητήρια ἑορτάζουσιν ἐπί τε τῷ Βανδίλων καὶ Γότθων βασιλεῖ, δορυαλώτοις τε καὶ ἀγωγίμοις παρ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἥκουσι.
[17] In the centre stand the Emperor and the Empress Theodora, both seeming to rejoice and to celebrate victories over both the King of the Vandals and the King of the Goths, who approach them as prisoners of war to be led into bondage.
[18] περιέστηκε δὲ αὐτοὺς ἡ Ῥωμαίων βουλὴ σύγκλητος, ἑορτασταὶ πάντες. τοῦτο γὰρ αἱ ψηφῖδες δηλοῦσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς προσώποις ἱλαρὸν αὐτοῖς ἐπανθοῦσαι.
[18] Around them stands the Roman Senate, all in festal mood. This spirit is expressed by the cubes of the mosaic, which by their colours depict exultation on their very countenances.
[19] γαυροῦνται οὖν καὶ μειδιῶσι τῷ βασιλεῖ νέμοντες ἐπὶ τῷ ὄγκῳ τῶν πεπραγμένων ἰσοθέους τιμάς· ἠμφίασται δὲ μαρμάρων εὐπρεπείᾳ τὰ ἐντὸς ἅπαντα μέχρι ἐς τὰς ὑπεράνω ψηφῖδας, οὐχ ὅσα ἐπανέστηκε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἔδαφος ἐφεξῆς ὅλον.
[19] So they rejoice and smile as they bestow on the Emperor honours equal to those of God, because of the magnitude of his achievements. And the whole interior of the building, as far as the mosaics above, is clothed with handsome marbles, not only the upright surfaces, but the whole of the pavement as well.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 585