[20] τῶν δὲ μαρμάρων ἔνια μὲν λίθου Σπαρτιάτου ἐκεῖ σμαράγδῳ ἴσα, ἔνια δὲ πυρὸς φλόγα μιμοῦνται· λευκὸν δὲ τῶν πλειόνων τὸ εἶδος, οὐ λιτὸν μέντοι, ἀλλ᾽ ὑποκυμαίνει κυαναυγεῖ ὑπογεγραμμένον μεταξὺ χρώματι. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τῇδέ πη ἔχει.
[20] Some of these marbles are of Spartan stone which rivals the emerald, while some simulate the flame of fire; but the most of them are white in colour, yet the white is not plain, but is set off with wavy lines of blue which mingle with the white. So much, then, for this.
[11] [11] Ἐκ δὲ τῆς Προποντίδος ἐσπλέοντι ἐς τὰ πρὸς ἕω τῆς πόλεως, βαλανεῖον ἐν ἀριστερᾷ ἐν δημοσίῳ ἐστίν. ὅπερ Ἀρκαδιαναὶ μὲν ἐπικαλεῖται, Κωνσταντινούπολιν δὲ πηλίκην οὖσαν ἐπικοσμεῖ.
[1] As one sails from the Propontis up toward the eastern side of the city, there is on the left a public bath. This is called Arcadianae, and it is an ornament to Constantinople, large as the city is.
[2] αὐλὴν ἐνταῦθα ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος ]ἐδείματο, τῆς μὲν πόλεως προβεβλημένην, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐκείνῃ διατριβὴν ἔχουσιν ἐς περιπάτους ἀεὶ ἀνειμένην, ἐς δὲ τὸ ἐνορμίσασθαι τοῖς περιπλέουσι.
[2] There this Emperor built a court (aulê) which lies outside the city, and it is always open to those who tarry there for promenades and to those who anchor there as they are sailing by.
[3] ταύτην ἥλιος καταλάμπει μὲν ἀνίσχων τῇ αἴγλῃ, ἐκτρεπόμενος δὲ ἀμφὶ τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ ἐπισκιάζει. ταύτην ἡ θάλασσα περιρρεῖ ἀτρεμὴς ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ περιχεομένη τῷ ῥείθρῳ, ποταμοῦ τρόπον ἐκ Πόντου ἰοῦσα· ὥστε καὶ προσδιαλέγονται τοῖς περιπλέουσιν οἱ τοὺς περιπάτους ποιούμενοι.
[3] This is flooded with light when the sun rises, and when it passes on toward the west it is pleasantly shaded. And the unruffled sea flows quietly about this court, encircling it with its stream, coming in from the Pontus like a river, so that those who are promenading can actually converse with those who are sailing by.
[4] ἡ γὰρ θάλασσα κατατείνουσα μὲν ἐς ἄβυσσον μέχρι ἐς τῆς αὐλῆς τὴν κρηπῖδα πλώιμος ἐνταῦθα ταῖς ναυσὶ γίνεται, τῆς δὲ γαλήνης τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τοὺς ἑκατέρωθι ὄντας ἐπιμίγνυσιν ἐς τοὺς διαλόγους ἀλλήλοις.
[4] For the sea preserves its depth even though it reaches up to the very foundations of the court and so is navigable there for ships, and by reason of the deep calm which prevails it brings together those on land and those on the sea so that they can converse with each other.
[5] τὰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τῆς θαλάσσης τὸ γειτόνημα τῇ αὐλῇ τῇδέ πη ἔχει, καλλωπιζομένῃ μὲν τῇ ἐς αὐτὴν ὄψει, περιπνεομένῃ δὲ ἁπαλαῖς οὔσαις ταῖς ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς αὔραις.
[5] Such, then, is the side of the court which borders on the sea, adorned by the view over it, and breathed upon by the gentle breezes which come from it.
[6] καὶ κιόνων δὲ καὶ μαρμάρων κάλλει ὑπερφυεῖ τά τε αὐτῆς ἐδάφη καὶ τὰ ὕπερθεν καλύπτεται πάντα· ὧν ἡ αἴγλη ὑπεράγαν λευκή τίς ἐστι, ταῖς τοῦ ἡλίου αὐγαῖς ἐπιεικῶς ἀπαστράπτουσα.
[6] Columns and marbles of surpassing beauty cover the whole of it, both the pavement and the parts above. And from these gleams an intensely brilliant white light as the rays of the sun are flashed back almost undimmed.
[7] καὶ μὴν καὶ εἰκόνες αὐτὴν κοσμοῦσι παμπληθεῖς, αἱ μὲν χαλκαῖ, αἱ δὲ τῷ λίθῳ ἐπιξυσθεῖσαι, θέαμα λόγου πολλοῦ ἄξιον. εἰκάσαις ἂν ἡ Φειδίου τοῦ Ἀθηναίου ἢ τοῦ Σικυωνίου Λυσίππου ἔργον ἢ Πραξιτέλους αὐτὰς γεγονέναι.
[7] Nay more, it is adorned with great numbers of statues, some of bronze, some of polished stone, a sight worthy of a long description. One might surmise that they were the work of Pheidias the Athenian, or of the Sicyonian Lysippus or of Praxiteles.
[8] ἐνταῦθα καὶ Θεοδώρα ἡ βασιλὶς ἐπὶ κίονος ἕστηκε· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀνατέθεικεν ἡ πόλις αὐτῇ ὑπὲρ τῆς αὐλῆς χαριστήριον.
[8] There also the Empress Theodora stands upon a column, which the city in gratitude for the court dedicated to her.
[9] καὶ ἡ μὲν εἴκων εὐπρόσωπος, ἀλλὰ τῆς βασιλίδος τῷ κάλλει ἐλάσσων, ἐπεὶ αὐτῆς τὴν εὐπρεπείαν λόγῳ τε ]φράσαι καὶ ἰνδάλματι ἀπομιμεῖσθαι ἀνθρώπῳ γε ὄντι παντάπασιν ἀμήχανα ἦν· ἁλουργὸς δὲ ὁ κίων καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ἐκτυπώματος ὅτι δὴ βασιλίδα φέρει διαφανῶς ἐνδεικνύμενος.
[9] The statue is indeed beautiful, but still inferior to the beauty of the Empress; for to express her loveliness in words or to portray it in a statue would be, for a mere human being, altogether impossible.c The column is purple, and it clearly declares even before one sees the statue that it bears an Empress.
[10] Ὅπερ δὲ ὕδατος εὐπορίας πέρι ἐνταῦθα διαπεπόνηται τῷ βασιλεῖ τούτῳ αὐτίκα δηλώσω. θέρους ὥρᾳ ἡ βασιλὶς πόλις ὕδατος ὑπεσπάνιζεν ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον, καίπερ ἐς τοὺς ἄλλους καιροὺς διαρκὲς ἔχουσα.
[10] I shall now describe the labours which were carried out here by this Emperor to ensure an abundant water-supply. In the summer season the imperial city used to suffer from scarcity of water as a general thing, though at the other seasons it enjoyed a sufficiency.
[11] τοῦ γὰρ καιροῦ τηνικάδε αὐχμοὺς ἔχοντος ἐλασσόνως ἢ κατὰ τὰς ἄλλας ὥρας αἱ πηγαὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ἀποβλυστάνουσαι καταδεεστέραν παρείχοντο τὴν ὀχεταγωγίαν τῇ πόλει.
[11] Because that period always brings droughts, the springs, running less freely than at the other seasons, used to deliver through the conduits a less abundant flow of water to the city.
[12] διὸ δὴ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπενόει τοιάδε. κατὰ τὴν βασιλέως στοάν, ἵνα δὴ τὰς δίκας παρασκευάζονται οἵ τε ῥήτορες καὶ εἰσαγωγεῖς καὶ εἴ τινες ἄλλοι τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ἐπιμελοῦνται, αὐλή τίς ἐστιν ὑπερμεγέθης, περιμήκης μὲν καὶ εὔρους ἱκανῶς ἔχουσα, ἐν τετραπλεύρῳ δὲ περίστυλος οὖσα, οὐκ ἐπὶ γεώδους ἐδάφους τοῖς αὐτὴν δειμαμένοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πέτρας πεποιημένη.
[12] Wherefore the Emperor devised the following plan. At the Imperial Portico, where the lawyers and prosecutors prepare their cases, as well as all others who are concerned with such matters, there is a certain very large court (aulê), very long, and broad in proportion, surrounded by columns (peristylos) on the four sides (tetrapleuron), not set upon a founda
tion of earth by those who constructed it, but built upon living rock.
[13] στοαί τε τὴν αὐλὴν περιβάλλουσι τέσσαρες, κατὰ πλευρὰν ἑκάστην ἑστῶσαι. ταύτην τε οὖν καὶ τῶν στοῶν μίαν, ἥπερ αὐτῆς τέτραπται πρὸς ἄνεμον νότον, ἐς βάθους μέγα τι χρῆμα κατορύξας Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεύς, ἀποβαλλομένοις τῇ περιουσίᾳ κατὰ τὰς ἄλλας ὥρας τοῖς ὕδασιν ἐς θέρος ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ θησαυρὸν ἔθετο.
[13] Four colonnaded stoas surround the court, standing one on each side. Excavating to a great depth this court and one of the stoas (that which faces toward the south), the Emperor Justinian made a suitable storage reservoir for the summer season, to contain the water which had been wasted because of its very abundance during the other seasons.
[14] δεχόμενα γὰρ τὰ ἔλυτρα τάδε τοῦ ὀχετοῦ τὴν ἐπιρροὴν ]ὑπερβλύζοντος στενοχωρουμένοις μὲν τοῖς ὕδασι τότε χαρίζεται χώραν, ποθεινῶν δὲ αὐτῶν γινομένων ἐπὶ καιροῦ τοῖς δεομένοις παρέχεται πόρον.
[14] For receiving this overflow of the aqueduct when its stream is spilling over, this cistern both furnishes a place for the water which for the moment can find no space, and provides a supply for those who need it when water becomes scarce.
[15] οὕτω μὲν μὴ προσδεῖν Βυζαντίοις ποτίμων ὑδάτων βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς διεπράξατο.
[15] Thus the Emperor Justinian made provision that the people of Byzantium should not be in want of fresh water.
[16] Καὶ βασίλεια δὲ ἀλλαχόθι δεδημιούργηκεν αὐτὸς καινουργήσας ἔν τε τῷ Ἡραίῳ, ὃ νῦν Ἱερὸν ὀνομάζουσι, καὶ Ἰουκουνδιάναις ταῖς καλουμέναις· ὧν δὴ οὔτε τὸ μεγαλοπρεπὲς σὺν τῷ ἐς τέχνην ἠκριβωμένῳ, οὔτε τὸν ὄγκον ἂν σὺν τῷ εὐπρεπεῖ λόγῳ φράσαι ποτὲ ἱκανῶς ἔχοιμι.
[16] He has also built palaces at various places, completely new ones, one at the Heraeum, which they now call Hieron, and another at the place called Jucundianae. But I could never adequately describe in fitting words either their magnificence and their exquisitely detailed workmanship or their massive bulk.
[17] ἀλλ᾽ ἀποχρήσει ταῦτα εἰπεῖν βασίλειά τε εἶναι καὶ πρὸς Ἰουστινιανοῦ γεγονέναι παρόντος τε καὶ ἐπιτεχνωμένου, καὶ οὐδενὸς ἀπεριόπτου, ὅτι μὴ χρημάτων, καθισταμένου. ταῦτα γὰρ οὐχ οἷόν τέ ἐστι μὴ καὶ λόγου κρατεῖν.
[17] It will be sufficient to say simply that they are regal and that they were built under the personal supervision of the Emperor and with the help of his skill, while nothing was disregarded, excepting only money. The sum of this indeed was so great that it cannot be computed by any reckoning.
[18] Ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ λιμένων σκέπας ἀποτετόρνευται οὐ πρότερον ὄν. ἀκτὴν γὰρ εὑρὼν ἑκατέρωθι τοῖς τε ἀνέμοις καὶ ταραχῇ τοῦ ῥοθίου ἀποκειμένην, σωτήριον εἶναι τοῖς πλέουσι κατεστήσατο ὧδε.
[18] There too he skilfully contrived a sheltered harbour which had not existed before. Finding a shore which lay open to the winds from two directions and to the beating of the waves, he converted it into a refuge for voyagers in the following way.
[19] τὰς κιβωτοὺς καλουμένας ἀναρίθμους τε καὶ παμμεγέθεις πεποιημένος, ἀμφοτέρωθέν τε αὐτὰς τῆς ἠϊόνος ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐγκαρσίας ἀπορριψάμενος, ἀεί τε τῶν προτέρων καθύπερθεν ἑτέρων ἐν τάξει ἐπιβολὴν ἐντιθέμενος, τοίχους πλαγίους ἀπ᾽ ἐναντίας ἀλλήλων ἀνέστησε δύο ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἀβύσσου κρηπίδων μέχρι ἐς τὸ ὕδωρ ᾧ δὴ αἱ νέες ἐναπερειδόμεναι ]πλέουσι.
[19] He prepared great numbers of what are called “chests” or cribs, of huge size, and threw them out for a great distance from the shore along oblique lines on either side of the harbour, and by constantly setting a layer of other chests in regular courses upon those underneath he erected two very long walls, which lay at an angle to each other on the opposite sides of the harbour, rising from their foundations deep in the water up to the surface on which the ships float.
[20] πέτρας τε τὸ λοιπὸν ἀποτόμους ταύτῃ ἐμβέβληται. ὧν δὴ πρὸς τοῦ ῥοθίου ἀρασσομένων, ἀποκρουομένων τε τὴν τοῦ κλυδωνίου ἐπίθεσιν, καὶ ἀνέμου χειμῶνος ὥρᾳ καταβάντος σκληροῦ, διαμένει τὰ ἐντὸς ἡσυχῆ ἅπαντα τῶν τοίχων, μεταξὺ μιᾶς ἀπολελειμμένης ἐπὶ τὸν λιμένα τοῖς πλοίοις εἰσόδου.
[20] Then upon these walls he threw rough-cut stones, which are pounded by the surf and beat back the force of the waves; and even when a severe storm comes down in the winter, the whole space between the walls remains calm, a single entrance being left between the breakwaters for the ships to enter the harbour.
[21] ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ ἱερὰ τεμένη πεποίηται, ᾗπέρ μοι ἔμπροσθεν δεδιήγηται, καὶ στοάς τε καὶ ἀγορὰς καὶ λουτρῶνας ἐν δημοσίῳ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα σχεδόν τι πάντα· ὥστε δὴ ταῦτα τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει βασιλείων ἐλασσοῦσθαι μηδέν.
[21] In that place also he erected holy shrines, as I have already recounted, and stoas and markets and public baths, and practically all the other types of buildings, so that this quarter is in no way inferior to the Palace-quarter within the city.
[22] καὶ λιμένα δὲ ἄλλον ἐτεκτήνατο ἐν τῇ ἀντιπέρας ἠπείρῳ, ἐν τοῖς Εὐτροπίου ἐπωνύμοις, τοῦ Ἡραίου τοῦδε οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν, κατὰ ταὐτὰ εἰργασμένον τοῖς ἄλλοις ὧνπερ ἐπεμνήσθην ἀρτίως.
[22] And he also constructed another harbour on the opposite mainland, in the place which bears the name of Eutropius, not far distant from this Heraeum, executed in the same manner as the harbour which I have just mentioned.
[23] Τὰ μὲν οὖν Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ ἐν πόλει δεδημιουργημένα τῇ βασιλίδι, ὡς διὰ βραχυτάτων εἰπεῖν, ταύτῃ πη ἔχει. ὃ δὲ μόνον ἡμῖν ἐνταῦθα δὴ ἀπολέλειπται αὐτίκα δηλώσω.
[23] Now building operations carried out by the Emperor Justinian in the imperial city, to describe them in the briefest terms, were about such as I have recounted. The one detail which remains to be mentioned here I shall straightway set forth.
[24] τῇδε τοῦ βασιλέως τὰ διαιτητήρια ἔχοντος, διὰ μέγεθος τῆς βασιλείας, ἐκ πάσης γῆς ὅμιλος ἀνθρώπων τῇ πόλει παντοδαπὸς ἐπεισέρχεται.
[24] Since the Emperor maintains his residence here, it results from the very magnitude of the Empire that a throng of men of all conditions comes to the city from the whole world.
[25] παραγίνεται δὲ αὐτῶν ἕκαστος ἢ πράξει τινὶ ποδηγούμενος ἢ ἐλπίδι ἢ τύχῃ, πολλοὶ δέ τινες,
οἷς δὴ τὰ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν οὐκ ἐν καλῷ κεῖται, βασιλέως δεησόμενοι, τῇ πόλει ἔνδημοι γίνονται διὰ βίαν ]τινὰ ἢ πιέζουσαν ἢ ἐγκειμένην ἢ μέλλουσαν.
[25] Each of them is led to come either by some errand of business or by some hope or by chance; and many indeed come whose affairs are not in a happy state at home, in order to petition the Emperor; and all these become residents of the city because of some compulsion which is either urgent, imminent, or threatening.
[26] οἷσπερ συμβαίνει πρὸς τῇ ἄλλῃ ἀμηχανίᾳ καὶ οἰκίας ὑποσπανίζειν, οὐχ οἵοις τε οὖσι τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐνταῦθα διατριβῆς προέσθαι μίσθωσιν.
[26] And in addition to their other difficulties, it comes about that these persons are also in want of quarters, being unable to pay the hire of any stay here.
[27] ταύτην δὲ αὐτοῖς βασιλεύς τε Ἰουστινιανὸς καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς Θεοδώρα τὴν ἀπορίαν διέλυσαν. τῆς γὰρ θαλάσσης ὡς ἀγχοτάτω, ἵνα δὴ Στάδιον ὁ χῶρος καλεῖται (ἀγῶσι γάρ, οἶμαι, τὸ παλαιὸν ἀνεῖτό τισι) ξενῶνας ὑπερμεγέθεις ἐδείμαντο, τοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα ταλαιπωρουμένοις ἐπὶ καιροῦ γενησομένους καταλυτήρια.
[27] This difficulty the Emperor Justinian and the Empress Theodora solved completely for them. For very close to the sea, in the place called Stadium (for in ancient times, I suppose, it was given over to games of some kind), they built a very large hospice, destined to serve as a temporary lodging for those who should find themselves thus embarrassed.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 586