Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  [9] ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀνεπικινδύνως αὐτοῖς γίνεται. πολλάκις γὰρ ὁμοῦ τοῖς δεσμοῖς συλλαβὼν τὰς ἀκάτους ἁπάσας, εἶτα τὴν διάβασιν ἀνεχαίτισε τοῖς τῇδε ἰοῦσι.

  [9] But even this is not without danger for them, for many a time the river has seized and carried away all the skiffs, together with their cables, and thus put a stop to the crossing of travellers.

  [10] βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς γέφυραν ]αὐτῷ ἐγκεχείρηκεν ἐποικοδομεῖσθαι τανῦν. ἀρξάμενός τε τοῦ ἔργου ἤδη πολλὴν ἐς αὐτὸ διατριβὴν ἔχει· ὅπερ εὖ οἶδα ὅτι ὑποτελέσει οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον, τεκμηριούμενος ὅτι δὴ αὐτῷ τὰ ἔργα συνεπιλαμβάνεται ὁ θεὸς ἅπαντα.

  [10] But the Emperor Justinian has now undertaken the project of building a bridge over the river. Having already begun the task, he is now much occupied with it; and I know well that he will complete it not long hence, finding my assurance in this — that God coöperates with him in all his labours.

  [11] οὐκοῦν ἀπέραντον αὐτῷ ἐνθύμημα οὐδὲν ἔμεινεν ἐς τόδε τοῦ χρόνου, καίτοι ἐπὶ πλείστοις τὸ κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς τοῖς ἀμηχάνοις ἐγχειρεῖν ἔδοξεν.

  [11] Indeed it is for this reason that no project of his has failed of fulfilment up to the present time, though in the beginning he has seemed in many cases to be undertaking impossible things.

  [12] Ἔστι δέ τις ἐν Βιθυνοῖς ὁδὸς ἐς τὰ Φρυγῶν ἤθη ἐνθένδε ἰόντι, ἔνθα δὴ ἀνθρώποις τε ἀναρίθμοις καὶ ζῴοις ἑτέροις χειμῶνος ὥρᾳ διολωλέναι ξυνέβαινε·

  [12] There is a certain road in Bithynia leading from there into the Phrygian territory, on which it frequently happened that countless men and beasts too perished in the winter season.

  [13] γεώδης γὰρ ὑπεράγαν ἡ χώρα οὖσα, μὴ ὅτι ὄμβρων ἐξαισίων καταρραγέντων ἢ χιόνων πολλῶν ἐπικεχυμένων τε καὶ διαλυθεισῶν ἐν ἐσχάτῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ψεκάδων ἐπιπεπτωκυῖων, ἂν οὕτω τύχῃ, ἐς τέλμα βαθὺ καὶ ἀπόρευτον ξυνισταμένη, τάς τε ὁδοὺς τεναγώδεις ἐργαζομένη, τοὺς τῇδε ἰόντας ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀπέπνιγεν.

  [13] The soil of this region is exceedingly deep; and not only after unusual deluges of rain or the final melting of very heavy snows, but even after occasional showers it turns into a deep and impassable marsh, making the roads quagmires, with the result that travellers on that road were frequently drowned.

  [14] ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτον αὐτός τε μεγαλοφροσύνῃ ψυχῆς καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς Θεοδώρα τὸν κίνδυνον τοῖς παριοῦσι διέλυσαν.

  [14] But he himself and the Empress Theodora, by their wise generosity, removed this danger for wayfarers.

  [15] ἐς ἡμέρας γὰρ ὁδοῦ ἥμισυ εὐζώνῳ ἀνδρὶ λίθοις παμμεγέθεσι σκέπας τῇ λεωφόρῳ ἀπεργασάμενοι ἐπὶ στερρᾶς τῆς ὁδοῦ παριέναι διεσκευάσαντο τοὺς τῇδε ἰόντας. ταῦτα μὲν Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ ταύτῃ ἐξείργασται.

  [15] They laid a covering of very large stones over this highway for a distance of one half a day’s journey for an unencumbered traveller and so brought it about that travellers on that road could get through on the hard pavement. These things, then, were done by the Emperor Justinian in this way.

  [16] Πηγαὶ δὲ θερμῶν φύσει ἐν Βιθυνοῖς ὑδάτων ἀναβλυστάνουσιν ἐν χώρῳ ὅνπερ ἐπονομάζουσι Πύθια.

  [16] A natural spring of hot water bubbles up in Bithynia, at a place known as Pythia.

  [17] ταύτας ἔχουσι παραψυχὴν ἄλλοι τε ]πολλοὶ καὶ διαφερόντως Βυζάντιοι, ἄλλως τε ὅσοις νοσώδεσι συμβαίνει εἶναι.

  [17] This spring is used as a cure by many and particularly by the people of Byzantium, especially those who chance to be afflicted by disease.

  [18] ἔνθα δὴ πολυτέλειαν ἐπιδέδεικται βασιλεῖ πρέπουσαν· βασίλειά τε γὰρ ᾠκοδομήσατο οὐ πρότερον ὄντα

  [18] There indeed he displayed a prodigality befitting an Emperor. He built a palace which had not been there before,

  [19] καὶ λουτρῶνα ἐν δημοσίῳ τῶν ἐκεῖ φυομένων θερμῶν ὑδάτων πεποίηται. πηγάς τε ποτίμων ὑδάτων ὡς ἑκαστάτω ἀποβλυζούσας ἐς τόνδε τὸν χῶρον ὀχεταγωγίᾳ διακομίσας, τὸν πρότερον ἐνταῦθα ἐπιχωριάζοντα περιεῖλεν αὐχμόν.

  [19] and made a public bath supplied by the hot water which rises there. And by means of an aqueduct he conveyed to this place springs of drinking-water which gush forth at a very great distance, and thus abated the lack of sweet water which previously had prevailed there.

  [20] ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ἀρχαγγέλου τὸ τέμενος καὶ τὸ τῶν νοσούντων ἀναπαυστήριον, μείζω τε καὶ κατὰ πολὺ ἐπιφανέστερα κατεστήσατο.

  [20] In addition to this, he enlarged and made much more notable both the Church of the Archangel and the infirmary for the sick.

  [4] [4] [1] Ἔστι δὲ ποταμὸς ἐν Γαλάταις, ὅνπερ καλοῦσιν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι Σίβεριν, τῶν μὲν καλουμένων Συκεῶν ἄγχιστα, πόλεως δὲ Ιουλιουπόλεως ἀπὸ σημείων μάλιστα δέκα ἐς τὰ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον.

  [1] There is a river in Galatia which the natives call Siberis, close to the place called Sycae, •about ten miles from Juliopolis toward the east.

  [2] ὃς δὴ πολλάκις ἐξαπιναίως ἀρθεὶς ἐπὶ μέγα τῶν ἐκείνῃ ὁδῷ ἰόντων πολλοὺς ἔφθειρεν.

  [2] This river often rose suddenly to a great height and caused the death of many of those travelling that way.

  [3] οἷσπερ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπαγγελλομένοις συνταραχθεὶς διακωλυτὴς τοῦ κακοῦ τὸ λοιπὸν γέγονε, τὸν μὲν ποταμὸν γεφυρώσας ἔργῳ ἰσχυρῷ καὶ οἴω πλημμύροντι ποταμῷ μάχεσθαι, ἕτερον δὲ τοῖχον ἐν προβόλου σχήματι τῆς γεφύρας ἐς τὰ πρὸς ἕω πεποιημένος· ὃν δὴ πρόμαχον καλοῦσιν οἱ ταῦτα σοφοί.

  [3] The Emperor was disturbed when these things were reported to him, and he put a stop to the evil thenceforth by bridging the river with a strong structure capable of resisting the stream when in flood, and by adding another wall in the form of a jetty on the eastward side of the bridge; such a thing is called a promachon or breakwater by those skilled in these matters.

  [4] καὶ νεὼν δὲ αὐτῆς ᾠκοδομήσατο ἐς τὰ πρὸς δύοντα ἥλιον τοῖς παριοῦσι σωτήριον χειμῶνος ὥρᾳ ἐσόμενον.

  [4] He also built a church to the west of the bridge to be a refuge for travellers in the winter season.

  [5] ταύτης δὲ Ἰουλιουπόλεως τὸν περίβολον ἠνώχλει τε καὶ κατέσειε ]ποταμός, ἀμφὶ τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέ
ραν παραρρέων.

  [5] As to this Juliopolis, its circuit-wall used to be disturbed and weakened by a river which flows along its western side.

  [6] ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν διεκώλυσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος, ἀντιτείχισμα τῷ περιβόλῳ ἐπὶ πόδας οὐχ ἧσσον ἡ πεντακοσίους καταστησάμενος. ταύτῃ τε τὸ τῆς πόλεως ἔρυμα οὐκέτι ἐπικλυζόμενον διεσώσατο.

  [6] This Emperor, however, put a stop to that, by setting up a wall flanking the circuit-wall for a distance of •not less than five hundred feet, and in this way he preserved the defences of the city, which were no longer deluged by the stream.

  [7] Ἐν δὲ Καππαδόκαις ἐποίει τάδε. Καισάρεια μὲν πόλις ἐνταῦθα μεγίστη τε καὶ πολυάνθρωπος ἐκ παλαιοῦ τυγχάνει οὖσα. τεῖχος δὲ αὐτὴν περιέβαλλε τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τῆς ἀμετρίας ἐπιμαχώτατόν τε ὂν καὶ ἀφύλακτον ὅλως.

  [7] In Cappadocia he did the following. The city of Caesarea there has been from ancient times very large and populous. But it was surrounded by a wall which, by reason of its immoderate extent, was very easy to attack and altogether impossible to defend.

  [8] χώρας τε γὰρ οὔ τι ἀναγκαίας τῇ πόλει περιεβάλλετο μέγα τι χρῆμα, καὶ τῇ ἐς ἄγαν περιουσίᾳ τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσιν εὐέφοδον ἦν.

  [8] For it embraced a great expanse of land which was not at all necessary to the city, and by reason of its excessive size it was easily assailable by an attacking force.

  [9] λόφοι γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ἐπανεστήκασιν ὑψηλοί, οὐκ ἄγχιστά πη ἀλλήλων, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πολὺ ἄποθεν· οὕσπερ ὁ τῆς πόλεως οἰκιστὴς ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου καταλαβεῖν ἐν σπουδῇ ἔχων, ὡς μὴ ἐπιτείχισμα κατ᾽ αὐτῆς εἶεν, τῷ τῆς ἀσφαλείας ὀνόματι τὰ σφαλερώτατα ἐξειργάσατο.

  [9] High hills rise there, not standing very close together, but far apart. These the founder of the city was anxious to enclose within the circuit-wall so that they might not be a threat against the city; and in the name of safety he did a thing which was fraught with danger.

  [10] πεδία τε γὰρ πολλὰ καὶ κήπους ἐτειχίσατο, καὶ σκοπέλους τε καὶ θρεμμάτων νομάς.

  [10] For he enclosed within the walls many open fields and gardens as well as rocky cliffs and pasture-lands for flocks.

  [11] ἔνθα δὴ οὐδὲ χρόνῳ ὕστερον οἰκοδομήσασθαί τι οἱ τῇδε ἄνθρωποι ἔγνωσαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐφ᾽ οὗπερ ἦν σχήματος ἔμεινεν.

  [11] However, even at a later time the inhabitants of the place decided not to build anything in this area, but it remained exactly as it had been.

  [12] εἰ δέ που καὶ οἰκία τετύχηκεν εἶναι, ταῦτα δὴ ἀγείτονα κατὰ μόνας ὄντα διαγεγόνασιν ἐς τόδε τοῦ χρόνου.

  [12] Even such houses as did chance to be in this district have continued to be isolated and solitary up to the present day.

  [13] καὶ οὔτε τὰ φυλακτήρια κατὰ λόγον τοῦ περιβόλου ἐς τὴν αὐτοῦ ἐξικνεῖσθαι φυλακὴν εἶχεν, οὔτε αὐτοῦ ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τοσοῦδε ὄντος ἐν δυνάμει ἐγίνετο τοῖς τῇδε ἀνθρώποις. ἀτείχιστοί τε δοκοῦντες εἶναι περίφοβοι διηνεκὲς ἦσαν.

  [13] And neither could the garrison maintain a proper defence in keeping with the extent of the wall, nor was it possible for the inhabitants to keep it in repair, seeing that it was so large. And because they seemed to be unprotected, they were in constant terror.

  [14] ἀλλὰ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς τὰ μὲν οὐκ ]ἀναγκαῖα τοῦ περιβόλου περιελών, τὴν δὲ πόλιν ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐρύματι ἐς τὸ ἀσφαλὲς περιστείλας, ὀχύρωμα μὲν κατεστήσατο ἀμαχώτατον εἴ τις προσίοι, διαρκεῖ δὲ αὐτὸ φυλακτηρίῳ ἐπέρρωσε. Καισαρεῦσι μὲν οὖν τοῖς ἐν Καππαδόκαις οὕτω τὴν ἀσφάλειαν διεσώσατο.

  [14] But the Emperor Justinian tore down the unnecessary portions of the circuit-wall and surrounded the city with a wall which was truly safe, and made defences which would be thoroughly impregnable in case of attack; and then he made the place strong by the addition of a sufficient garrison. Thus did he guarantee the safety of the inhabitants of Caesarea in Cappadocia.

  [15] Ἦν δέ τι φρούριον ἐν Καππαδόκαις Μωκησὸς ὄνομα, ἐν μὲν τῷ ὁμαλεῖ κείμενον, σαθρὸν δὲ οὕτω γεγενημένον ὥστε δὴ αὐτοῦ τὰ μὲν καταπεπτώκει, τὰ δὲ ἔμελλεν.

  [15] There was a certain fortress in Cappadocia, Mocesus by name, situated on level ground, but it had sunk into such a state of disrepair that part of it had fallen down and the rest was on the point of doing so.

  [16] ὅπερ Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς καθελὼν τεῖχος ᾠκοδομήσατο κομιδῇ μέγα ἐς τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν τοῦ πάλαι φρουρίου ἐν χωρίῳ ἀνάντει τε καὶ λίαν ὀρθίῳ καὶ ἀμηχάνῳ προσελθεῖν, εἴ τις προσίοι.

  [16] All this the Emperor Justinian pulled down, and he built a very strong wall to the west of the old fortress, on a site which lay above a very steep slope and was quite inaccessible if anyone should try to attack it.

  [17] ἔνθα δὴ καὶ ἱερὰ τεμένη πολλὰ καὶ ξενῶνας καὶ λουτρῶνας ἐν δημοσίῳ ἐδείματο καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἐνδείκνυται πόλιν εὐδαίμονα.

  [17] There too he built many churches and hospices and public baths and all the other structures that are the mark of a prosperous city.

  [18] ἐξ οὗ δὴ καὶ εἰς μητροπόλεως ἀξίωμα ἦλθεν· οὕτω γὰρ πόλιν τὴν πρώτην τοῦ ἔθνους καλοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐν Καππαδόκαις τοιαῦτα ἐγεγόνει.

  [18] Consequently it rose even to the rank of a metropolis, for thus the Romans call the leading city of a province. These things, then, were done in Cappadocia.

  [5] [5] [1] Ἐκ πόλεως δὲ Ἀντιοχείας, ἣ νῦν Θεούπολις ἐπικέκληται, ἐς Κιλικίαν ἰόντι παρ᾽ αὐτὴν μάλιστα τὴν ὁδὸν προάστειόν ἐστι, Πλατανὼν ὄνομα· ταύτης δὴ τῆς πόλεως οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν τρίβος τε ἦν ἐκ παλαιοῦ σφιγγομένη ἐκ τῶν παρατεταμένων ὀρῶν ἐν στενῷ μάλιστα, ὄμβρων δὲ αὐτὴν ἐς χρόνου μῆκος ἐπικλυσάντων ἐξίτηλος ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον γεγενημένη μετὰ κινδύνων τὰς διεξόδους παρείχετο ποιεῖσθαι τοῖς τῇδε ἰοῦσιν.

  [1] As one goes from the city of Antioch, which is now called Theopolis, into Cilicia, there is a suburb lying very close to the road, Platanôn by name; and not far from this city lay a path which had long been compressed into a very narrow track by the overhanging mountains; and after being washed by rains for a long time it was destroyed for the most part and afforded only dangerous passage to travellers.

  [2] ἅπερ ἐπεὶ Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς
ἀκοῇ ]ἔλαβεν, ἐν βουλῇ τε καὶ προνοίᾳ πάσῃ πεποιημένος, ἄκεσιν εὐθὺς τοῦ κακοῦ εὕρετο.

  [2] When the Emperor Justinian heard of this, he took the matter under careful consideration and straightway found a remedy for the trouble.

  [3] χρήματα γὰρ προέμενος ἀριθμοῦ κρείττονα, ὄρη τε τὰ ἐκείνῃ ἀνέχοντα ἐπὶ μακρότατον ἐκτεμὼν ἅπαντα καὶ νενικηκὼς τὰ ἀμήχανα, ὁδὸν ἁμαξήλατον ἐκ τοῦ παραλόγου καὶ τοῦ παραδόξου καὶ τὰ πρόσθεν ἀπόκρημνα ἔν τε τῷ ὑπτίῳ καὶ τῷ ἀνειμένῳ διεσκευάσατο, διαφανῶς ἐνδειξάμενος ὡς γνώμῃ προμηθεῖ καὶ χρημάτων ὑπερορώσῃ οὐδὲν ἀνθρώπῳ ἄπορον γένοιτο. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ ἐξειργάσθαι.

  [3] He spent a sum of money past reckoning, cutting through, for a great distance, all the mountains which rose there to a great height and overcoming impossible obstacles; and he constructed a waggon-road, contrary to all reason and expectation, making flat and open ground of what had previously been broken by precipices, thereby clearly demonstrating that nothing could prove impossible for a man of discerning judgment who was ready to disregard expense. This, then, was done as I have said.

  [4] Πόλις δέ πού ἐστιν ἐν Κίλιξιν ἡ Μοψουεστία, τοῦ μάντεως, ὥς φασὶν, ἐκείνου τοῦ παλαιοῦ ἔργον. ταύτην ποταμὸς παραρρεῖ Πύραμος, τῇ μὲν πόλει γινόμενος ἐγκαλλώπισμα, γεφύρᾳ δὲ μόνῃ διαβατὸς ὤν.

  [4] There is in Cilicia a certain city called Mopsuestia, said to be the work of that ancient seer. Alongside this flows the Pyramus River, which, while it adds beauty to the city, can be crossed only by a bridge.