[8] The sea at the Hellespont flows in a very narrow channel, since the two continents at that point approach very close to each other and form the beginning of the strait at Sestus and Abydus; and when ships which are holding a direct course for Constantinople reach that point, they cast anchor.
[9] ἀνάγεσθαι δὲ αὐταῖς ἐνθένδε ἀμήχανά ἐστιν, ὅτι μὴ νότου ἐπιπνεύσαντος ἀνέμου σφίσιν.
[9] And it is impossible for them to go further unless they have a wind blowing from the south.
[10] ἡνίκα οὖν ὁ σιταγωγὸς στόλος ἐκ πόλεως Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐνταῦθα ἴοι, εἰ μὲν ἐμπέσοι τὸ πνεῦμα ἐπίφορον σφίσι, δι᾽ ὀλίγου μὲν οἱ ταύτην τὴν ἐργασίαν διαχειρίζοντες καταίρουσι ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐς τοὺς Βυζαντίους λιμένας, ἀποφορτιζόμενοι δὲ ἀπαλλάσσονται αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ δὴ πρὸ τῆς τοῦ χειμῶνος ἅπαντες ὥρας δεύτερόν τε καὶ τρίτον διαπεραιώσονται στόλον.
[10] So when the grain fleet from Alexandria reaches that point, if the wind blows favourably for them, those having this business in charge bring their ships into the harbours of Byzantium in a short time; then, after discharging their cargoes, they depart with all speed, so that before the winter season they may complete a second or even a third voyage.
[11] ὅσοις δὲ αὐτῶν βουλομένοις ᾖ, καὶ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἐμπολημάτων ἐνθένδε ἀντιφορτισάμενοι ἀναστρέφουσιν.
[11] And those of them who wish to do so, also take on a return cargo of merchandise from that place before they sail back.
[12] εἰ μέντοι ἀπ᾽ ἐναντίας σφίσι τὸ πνεῦμα ἐφ᾽ Ἑλλησπόντου ἴοι, ἐνταῦθα δὴ τῷ τε σίτῳ καὶ ταῖς ναυσὶ σεσηπέναι συνέβαινεν.
[12] If, however, the wind blew against them at the Hellespont, it came about that both the grain and the ships had to lie there rotting.
[13] ἅπερ ἐν προνοίᾳ πεποιημένος Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς διαφανῶς ]ἐπιδέδεικται ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ ἂν ἀμήχανον οὐδὲν γένοιτο, οὐδ᾽ ἦν τοῖς χαλεπωτάτοις ἀνταγωνίζοιτο.
[13] The Emperor Justinian took this situation under consideration, and made a clear demonstration that nothing could prove impossible for man, even though he have the greatest difficulties to contend with.
[14] ἐν Τενέδῳ γὰρ τῇ νήσῳ, ἢ τοῦ πορθμοῦ ἄγχιστά ἐστι, σιτῶνα ἐπετεχνήσατο τῷ παντὶ στόλῳ ἀποφορτίσασθαι διαρκῶς ἔχοντα, εὖρος μὲν οὐχ ἧττον ἢ ποδῶν ἐνενήκοντα, μῆκος δὲ ποδῶν ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ διακοσίων, ἐς ὕψος τε ἄφατον ἐπιεικῶς κατατείνοντα.
[14] For on the island of Tenedos, which is very close to the strait, he contrived a granary large enough to allow the whole fleet to unload, •in breadth not less than ninety feet and in length two hundred and eighty feet, and rising to a very great height.
[15] οὗ δὴ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐξειργασμένου, ὁπηνίκα ἂν τοῦ δημοσίου σίτου παραπομποὶ ἐνταῦθα ἰόντες ἀνέμων ἐναντιώμασι συμποδίζοιντο, οἵδε τὸν φόρτον ἐν τῷ σιτῶνι καταθέμενοι τούτῳ καὶ χαίρειν φράσαντες τῷ τε βορρᾷ καὶ ζεφύρῳ πολλά, καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος ἀπ᾽ ἐναντίας αὐτοῖς ἐνταῦθα ἴοι, ἐς πλοῦν ἕτερον συσκευάζονται.
[15] And since the time when this was built by the Emperor, whenever the carriers of public grain reach that point and are impeded by adverse winds, they deposit their cargoes in this storehouse, and bidding a happy farewell to the north wind and the west, they make ready for the next voyage.
[16] καὶ αὐτοὶ μὲν εὐθὺς εἰς τὰ οἰκεῖα κομίζονται, χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον, ὁπηνίκα ἂν τὸν ἐνθένδε ἀπόπλουν ἐς Βυζάντιον ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ γενέσθαι ξυμβαίη, πλοίοις ἑτέροις τὸν σῖτον ἐκ Τενέδου διακομίζουσιν οἷς ἐπίκειται ἡ τιμὴ αὕτη.
[16] And they for their part go straightway about their business, and at a later time, when the voyage from there to Byzantium comes to be practicable, those who are assigned to this office convey the grain from Tenedos in other ships.
[2] [2] [1] Ἔστι δέ τις ἐν Βιθυνοῖς πόλις, Ἐλένης ἐπώνυμος οὖσα τῆς Κωνσταντίνου βασιλέως μητρός. ἐκ ταύτης γὰρ τὴν Ἑλένην ὡρμῆσθαί φασι, κώμης οὐκ ἀξιολόγου τὰ πρότερα οὔσης.
[1] There is a certain city in Bithynia which bears the name of Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine, for they say that Helen was born in this village, which formerly was of no consequence.
[2] ᾗπερ τὰ τροφεῖα Κωνσταντῖνος ἐκτίνων ὀνόματι μὲν καὶ ἀξιώματι πόλεως τὸ χωρίον δεδώρηται τοῦτο, οὐ μέντοι οὐδὲν οὐδὲ βασιλικὸν οὐδὲ μεγαλοπρεπὲς τῇδε πεποίηται, ἀλλὰ τῇ μὲν κατασκευῇ ἐπὶ τῆς προτέρας διέμεινε τύχης, κεκόμψευται δὲ μόνῳ τῶν πόλις κεκλῆσθαι καὶ τῇ ἐπωνυμίᾳ τῆς τροφίμου Ἐλένης ἀποσεμνύνεται.
[2] But Constantine, by way of repaying the debt of her nurture, endowed this place with the name and dignity of a city. However, he has built there nothing in a style of imperial magnificence, but, though the place remained outwardly as it had been before, it will now boast merely of the title of city and pride itself in the name of its foster-child Helen.
[3] ὁ δὲ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς βασιλεύς, ὥσπερ τὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην ἀπολογούμενος ]τοῦ τῆς βασιλείας προπάτορος, πρῶτα μὲν ὕδατος ἀπορίᾳ πιεζομένην τὴν πόλιν ἰδὼν καὶ δίψῃ ἐπιεικῶς δεινῇ ἐχομένην, ὀχετὸν αὐτοσχεδιάζει θαυμάσιον οἷον, ὕδωρ τε αὐτῷ παρέχεται ἀπροσδόκητον ἰδεῖν, τοῖς τῇδε ἀνθρώποις οὐ πιεῖν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ λούεσθαι ἱκανῶς ἔχον, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τρυφῶσιν ἄνθρωποι εὐπορίαν κατακόρως ὕδατος ἔχοντες.
[3] But our Emperor, as if seeking to excuse his imperial predecessor’s want of propriety, first of all observed that the city was suffering from shortage of water and was cruelly oppressed by thirst, and so he improvised a marvellous aqueduct and provided it with an unlooked-for supply of water, sufficient for the people there not only to drink but also to use for bathing and for all the other luxuries in which men indulge who have an unstinted supply of water.
[4] πρὸς δὲ καὶ βαλανεῖον αὐτοῖς ἐν δημοσίῳ πεποίηται οὐ πρότερον ὄν, ἕτερόν τε ἀνῳκοδομήσατο διεφθαρμένον τε καὶ εἰκῆ κείμενον τῷ τε σπανίζειν, ᾗπέρ μοι ἐρρήθη, τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ τῷ ἀπημελῆσθαι καταπεσὸν ἤδη.
[4] Besides this he made for them a public bath which had not existed before, and he rebuilt another which was damaged and lay abandoned, and already lay in ruin because of the scarcity of water which I have mentioned and because of neglect.
[5] ἀλλὰ
καὶ ἱερὰ καὶ βασίλεια καὶ στοὰς καὶ καταλυτήρια ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ἐδείματο τῇδε, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπιδέδεικται αὐτὴν πόλιν εὐδαίμονα.
[5] Nay more, he built here churches and a palace and stoas and lodgings for the magistrates, and in other respects he gave it the appearance of a prosperous city.
[6] Ταύτης δὲ ῥεῖ τῆς πόλεως ἄγχιστα ποταμός, ὅνπερ ὁμώνυμος τῷ σχήματι Δράκοντα καλοῦσιν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι.
[6] Close to this city flows a river which the natives call Dracon from the course which it follows.
[7] περιστρέφεται γὰρ ἑλισσόμενος ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα καὶ ἀπ᾽ ἐναντίας αὑτῷ ἀντιπεριάγων τὰς δίνας, σκολιῷ τε τῷ ῥοθίῳ, πὴ μὲν ἐν δεξιᾷ, πὴ δὲ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ προσιών· ὥστε ἀμέλει διαβαίνειν αὐτὸν πλεῖν ἢ εἰκοσάκις ἐπάναγκές ἐστι τοῖς τῇδε ἰοῦσι.
[7] For it twists about and winds from side to side, reversing its whirling course and advancing with crooked stream, now to the right and now to the left. Consequently it is actually necessary for those visiting there to cross it more than twenty times.
[8] πολλοῖς τε οὕτω διεφθάρθαι ξυνέβαινε τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐξαπιναίως παρὰ τὰ ξυνειθισμένα πλημμύροντος.
[8] Thus it has come about that many have lost their lives when the river has risen in sudden flood.
[9] πρὸς δὲ καὶ δάσος ἀμφιλαφὲς καὶ καλάμου τῇδε φυομένου μέγα τι χρῆμα συμποδίζον αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ἐκβολὴν χαλεπώτερον αὐτὸν ἐσκευωροῦντο εἶναι τοῖς ἐκείνῃ χωρίοις.
[9] Furthermore, a dense wood and a great expanse of reeds which grew there used to obstruct its exit to the sea and made it more troublesome for the regions round about.
[10] χρόνῳ γοῦν οὐ πολλῷ πρότερον, ὄμβρων οἱ ἐπιγενομένων πολλῶν, λιμνάζων τε καὶ κυρτούμενος καὶ σκεδαννύμενος ]ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τῆς γῆς, ἀνήκεστα κακὰ εἴργασται.
[10] Indeed, not long ago, when it had been swollen by heavy rains, it backed up and rose in flood and spread far out over the land and caused irreparable damage.
[11] χωρία τε γὰρ παμπληθῆ καθεῖλε προρρίζους τε ἀμπέλους, ἔτι μέντοι ἐλαίας τε καὶ δένδρων ἄλλων παντοδαπῶν ἀνάριθμα πρέμνα, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τὰς οἰκίας αἳ πρὸ τοῦ περιβόλου τῆς πόλεως ἐτύγχανον οὖσαι, πάθεσί τε ἄλλοις ὑπερμεγέθεσι τοὺς ἐπιχωρίους ἐπέτριψεν.
[11] For it ruined many districts, uprooted vines and even olive trees and countless other trees of all sorts, trunks and all, not sparing the houses which stood outside the circuit-wall of the city and inflicting other severe losses upon the inhabitants.
[12] οὕσπερ ἐποικτισάμενος Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἐπενόει τοιάδε. τὰ μὲν ἄλση περικαθήρας ποιεῖσθαι τῷ ποταμῷ ξυνεχώρησε τὰς ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐκβολάς, ὡς μηκέτι αὐτῷ διασκεδάννυσθαι ἐπάναγκες εἴη· τὰ δὲ ὄρη κατὰ μέσον ἀποτεμὼν ἃ δὴ ἀνέχει ἀμφὶ τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία, ἐν ταῖς πρότερον ἀποτόμοις καὶ κρημνώδεσι χώραις ὁδὸν ἁμαξιτὸν ἐξειργάσατο.
[12] And feeling compassion for them, the Emperor Justinian devised the following plan. He cleared off the woods and cut all the reeds, thus allowing the river a free outlet to the sea, so that it might no longer be necessary for it to spread out. And he cut off in the middle the hills which rise there, and built a waggon-road in places which formerly were sheer and precipitous;
[13] ταύτῃ τε τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὴν διάβασιν οὐκ ἀναγκαίαν ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τοῖς ἐνταῦθα οὖσι πεποίηκεν εἶναι. καὶ γεφύρας δύο ἐς ἄγαν εὐρείας τῷ ποταμῷ τούτῳ ἐντέθειται, καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἀκινδύνως αὐτὸν διαβαίνουσι τὸ λοιπὸν ἅπαντες.
[13] and in this way he made the crossing of the river for the most part unnecessary for those who dwelt there. Also he placed two very broad bridges over this river, and in consequence everyone now crosses it without danger.
[3] [3] [1] Οἷα δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐν Βιθυνοῖς Νίκαιαν ἐξείργασται ἀγαθὰ εἰπεῖν ἄξιον. πρῶτα μὲν τὴν ὀχεταγωγίαν, παντάπασί τε διεφθαρμένην καὶ τὴν χρείαν ὡς ἥκιστα παρεχομένην, ἀνανεωσάμενος ἅπασαν, ὕδασι τὴν πόλιν κατακορῆ διεπράξατο εἶναι.
[1] And it is proper to tell of the benefits which he also bestowed upon Nicaea in Bithynia. First of all, he restored the entire aqueduct, which was completely ruined and was not satisfying the need, and thus he provided the city with abundant water.
[2] ἔπειτα δὲ ἱερά τε καὶ μοναστήρια τὰ μὲν γυναιξὶ τὰ δὲ ἀνδράσιν ἐδείματο.
[2] Then he built churches and monasteries, some for women and some for men.
[3] καὶ τὰ ἐκείνῃ βασίλεια, ἐκ μοίρας ἤδη καταπεπτωκότα τινός, ἀνενεώσατο σπουδῇ ἅπαντα, ἔτι μέντοι καὶ βαλανεῖον ἐν τῷ καταλυτηρίῳ τῶν βερεδαρίων καλουμένων ἐκ παλαιοῦ διεφθαρμένον.
[3] And the palace there, which already had in part collapsed, he carefully restored throughout; and he also restored a bath at the lodgings of the veredarii, as they are called, which had lain in ruin for a long time.
[4] ταύτης δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐς τὰ πρὸς δύοντα ἥλιον ὡς ]ἀγχοτάτω χειμάρρους ὡς τὰ πολλὰ ἐπισκήπτειν φιλεῖ, ἄπορον ὅλως ἐργαζόμενος τὴν ταύτῃ ὁδόν.
[4] To the west of this city and very close to it a torrent is wont to smite almost everything, making the road there altogether impassable.
[5] καὶ γέφυρα μέν τις ἐνταῦθα πεποίηται τοῖς πάλαι ἀνθρώποις, ἢ προϊόντος χρόνῳ προσβάλλουσαν οὐδαμῆ ἐνεγκοῦσα τὴν τοῦ χειμάρρου ἐπιρροὴν (ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ διασκευασθεῖσα ἐτύγχανεν) ὑπεχώρησέ τε τῷ ῥοθίῳ βιαζομένῳ καὶ ἀπιοῦσα σὺν αὐτοῦ ᾤχετο, οὐδὲ ἴχνος αὐτῆς ἐν τῷ χώρῳ ἀπολιποῦσα, οὗ πρότερον ἦν.
[5] A bridge had been built over it by the men of earlier times, which, as time went on, was quite unable to withstand the impact of the torrent, since it had not been properly constructed, as it chanced; and finally it yielded to the pressure of the surge and was swept away with it without leaving a trace in the spot where previously it had stood.
[6] βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς γέφυραν ἐπήξατο ἐνταῦθα ἑτέραν ἐς τόσον ὕψους τε καὶ εὔρους διήκουσαν, ὥστε δὴ αὐτῆς οὐδὲ κατὰ πολλοστημόριον τὴν προτέραν οὖσαν γεγονέναι δοκεῖν, ἢ τὸν χειμάρρουν, ἡνίκα μορμύρει, κατὰ πολὺ ὑπερ
αίρουσα ἐν τῷ βεβαίῳ διασώζεται τοὺς ταύτῃ ἰόντας.
[6] But the Emperor Justinian planted another bridge there of such height and breadth, that the previous bridge seemed to have been only a fraction of the new one in point of size; and this bridge rises high above the torrent when it is in flood and keeps in perfect safety those passing that way.
[7] Ἐν δὲ Νικομηδείᾳ τὸ βαλανεῖον τὸν Ἀντωνῖνον ἀνενεώσατο· μοῖρα γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἡ ἀξιολογωτάτη καταπεπτώκει, μεγέθει τοῦ ἔργου ἀπροσδόκητος ὅτι δὴ ἀνοικοδομηθήσεται γεγενημένη.
[7] In Nicomedia he restored the bath called Antoninus, for the most important part of it had collapsed, and because of the great size of the building it had not been expected that it would be rebuilt.
[8] ὁ μέγας δὲ ποταμὸς οὗτος, ὅνπερ Σάγαριν καλοῦσι νῦν, σφοδρῷ μὲν κατιὼν ἐς ἄγαν τῷ ῥείθρῳ, ἐπὶ μέσης δὲ πεφυκὼς ἄβυσσος, εὐρυνόμενος δὲ θαλάσσῃ ἴσα, διαγέγονε μὲν τά γε εἰς γέφυραν ἀνεπαφὸς πᾶσιν, ἐξ οὗ γεγόνασιν ἄνθρωποι, ἀκάτων δὲ συνδέοντες πλῆθος καὶ φορμηδὸν αὐτὰς ἀλλήλαις ἐναρμοσάμενοι, ἐνταῦθα διαπορθμεύεσθαι τολμῶσι πεζοί, ὥσπερ ποτὲ δέει τοῦ Ξέρξου τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ὁ τῶν Μήδων στρατός.
[8] And that great river which they now call the Sagaris, rushing down, as it does, with its impetuous stream and having a great depth at the centre and broadening out till it resembles a sea, had always been, since the world began, left untouched by a bridge; instead they lash together a great number of skiffs and fasten them together cross-wise, and people venture to cross these on foot, as once the Persian host, through fear of Xerxes, crossed the Hellespont.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 610