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at first, she was nevertheless eager to conceal this deed, not being ashamed of her own practices, nor fearing any terror from her husband (for she never felt any shame for any deed whatsoever and had captivated her husband with many sorceries), but suspecting the punishment from the Empress. For Theodora 1.14 was exceedingly savage toward her and showed her teeth. But when, by having served her in the most essential matters, she had made her tame, first by destroying Silverius in the manner which will be told in the subsequent account, and later by bringing down John the Cappadocian, as was told by me in the preceding account, then indeed, more fearlessly and no longer concealing it, she deigned to sin in every way. 1.15 Now there was a certain youth from Thrace in the house of Belisarius, Theodosius by name, born of the faith of the so-called 1.16 Eunomians. This man, when he was about to sail away to Libya, Belisarius baptized in the divine font and lifting him from thence with his own hands he made him an adopted son with his wife, in the manner that is customary for Christians to adopt, and from that time Antonina, since he was her son by a holy word, both loved Theodosius, as was natural, and kept him about her person, taking the greatest care of him. 1.17 And immediately falling outrageously in love with him during this voyage and being utterly possessed by the passion, she shook off all fear and shame of things divine and human, and she had intercourse with him, at first in secret, but finally even when male and female servants 1.18 were present. For being already possessed by this desire and being openly love-crazed, she saw no further obstacle to the deed. And once Belisarius, having caught the act in the very fact in Carthage, was deceived 1.19 by his wife, being at least willing. For he, having found them both in an underground room, was raging, but she, neither shrinking back in fear nor being ashamed of this deed, said, “Here I have come with the youth to hide the most precious of the spoils, so that they may not be reported 1.20 to the emperor.” So she spoke, making this excuse, and he, pretending to be persuaded, let it pass, although he saw that Theodosius' belt was loosened, which bound his trousers about his private parts. For being constrained by love for the woman, he wished the sight of his own eyes 1.21 to be as little true as possible. But as the lewdness was always proceeding to an unspeakable evil, the others who saw what was being done kept silent, but a certain slave-girl named Macedonia in Syracuse, when Belisarius took control of Sicily, having bound her master with the most dreadful oaths that he would never betray her to her mistress, brought the whole story out to him, providing two boys as witnesses, whose duty it was to serve in matters concerning the bedchamber. 1.22 Having learned these things, Belisarius ordered some of his followers to kill Theodosius. 1.23 But he, learning of it beforehand, fled to Ephesus. For most of his followers, being influenced by the man's fickle nature, were more eager to please the wife than to seem loyal to the husband, and they indeed betrayed the orders then laid upon them concerning him. 1.24 And Constantine, seeing that Belisarius was in great anguish over what had happened, both sympathized with him in other ways and added this remark: “I for my part would sooner have done away with the wife than the 1.25 youth.” When Antonina learned this, she was secretly angry with him, that she might show 1.26 her vengeful hatred toward him. For she was venomous and dark in her anger. And not long after, either by bewitching or by flattering him, she persuades her husband that the accusation of that woman was not sound; and he, without any delay, sent for Theodosius, and undertook to hand over Macedonia and the 1.27 boys to his wife. And of all of them, first, as they say, she cut out their tongues, then, having butchered them piece by piece and having put them in sacks, she threw them into the sea without any hesitation, one of her servants named Eugenius having assisted her in the whole abomination, by whom indeed the pollution against Silverius had also been wrought. 1.28 and Constantine not much later

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ἀρχῆς εἶναι, ξυγκαλύπτειν μέντοι τοὔργον τοῦτο ἐν σπουδῇ εἶχεν, οὐ καταδυομένη τοῖς οἰκείοις ἐπιτηδεύμασιν, οὐδέ τι πρὸς τοῦ ξυνοικοῦντος δειμαίνουσα δέος (οὔτε γὰρ αἰδῶ τινα ἔργου ὁτουοῦν ἔλαβε πώποτε καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα μαγγανείαις πολλαῖς κατείληφεν), ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς βασιλίδος ὑποπτεύουσα τίσιν. λίαν γὰρ ἐς αὐτὴν ἡ Θεοδώρα 1.14 ἠγριαίνετό τε καὶ ἐσεσήρει. ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτὴν ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις ὑπουργήσασα χειροήθη πεποίηται, πρῶτα μὲν Σιλβέριον διαχρησαμένη τρόπῳ ᾧπερ ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν λόγοις εἰρήσεται, ὕστερον δὲἸωάννην κατεργασαμένη τὸν Καππαδόκην, ὥσπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐρρήθη, ἐνταῦθα δὴ ἀδεέστερόν τε καὶ οὐκέτι ἀποκρυπτομένη ἅπαντα ἐξαμαρτάνειν οὐδαμῆ ἀπηξίου. 1.15Ἦν δέ τις νεανίας ἐκ Θρᾴκης ἐν τῇ Βελισαρίου οἰκίᾳ, Θεοδόσιος τοὔνομα, δόξης γεγονὼς ἐκ πατέρων 1.16 Εὐνομιανῶν καλουμένων. τοῦτον, ἡνίκα ἐς Λιβύην ἀποπλεῖν ἔμελλεν, ἔλουσε μὲν ὁ Βελισάριος τὸ θεῖον λουτρὸν καὶ χερσὶν ἀνελόμενος ἐνθένδε οἰκείαις εἰσποιητὸν ἐποιήσατο ξὺν τῇ γυναικὶ παῖδα, ᾗπερ εἰσποιεῖσθαι Χριστιανοῖς νόμος, καὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἡἈντωνίνα τὸν Θεοδόσιον ἅτε παῖδα ὄντα ἱερῷ λόγῳ ἠγάπα τε ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς κἀν τοῖς μάλιστα ἐπιμελομένη ἀμφ' αὑτὴν 1.17 εἶχεν. εὐθύς τε ἐρασθεῖσα αὐτοῦ ἐκτόπως ἐν τῷ διάπλῳ τούτῳ καὶ κατακορὴς γεγονυῖα τῷ πάθει ἀπεσείσατο μὲν θείων τε καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων δέος τε καὶ αἰδῶ ξύμπασαν, ἐμίγνυτο δὲ αὐτῷ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἐν παραβύστῳ, τελευτῶσα δὲ καὶ οἰκετῶν καὶ θεραπαινί1.18 δων παρόντων. κάτοχος γὰρ ἤδη τῷ πόθῳ τούτῳ γεγενημένη καὶ διαφανῶς ἐρωτόληπτος οὖσα οὐδὲν ἔτι τοῦ ἔργου κώλυμα ἔβλεπε. καί ποτε ὁ Βελισάριος ἐπ' αὐτοφώρῳ τὴν πρᾶξιν λαβὼν ἐν Καρχηδόνι ἐξηπάτητο 1.19 πρὸς τῆς γυναικὸς ἑκών γε εἶναι. ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἄμφω ἐν δωματίῳ καταγείῳ εὑρὼν ἐμεμήνει, ἡ δὲ οὔτε ἀποδειλιάσασα οὔτε καταδυσαμένη τῷ ἔργῳ τούτῳ, «Ἐνταῦθα», ἔφη, «τῶν λαφύρων τὰ τιμιώτατα σὺν τῷ «νεανίᾳ κρύψουσα ἦλθον, ὡς μὴ ἐς βασιλέα ἔκπυστα 1.20 «γένηται». ἡ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα σκηπτομένη εἶπεν, ὁ δὲ ἀναπεισθῆναι δόξας ἀφῆκε, καίπερ τῷ Θεοδοσίῳ ἐκλελυμένον τὸν ἱμάντα ὁρῶν τὸν ἀμφὶ τὰ αἰδοῖα τὰς ἀναξυρίδας ξυνδέοντα. ἔρωτι γὰρ τῆς ἀνθρώπου ἀναγκασθεὶς ἐβούλετό οἱ τὴν τῶν οἰκείων ὀφθαλμῶν 1.21 θέαν ὡς ἥκιστα ἀληθίζεσθαι. τῆς δὲ μαχλοσύνης ἀεὶ προϊούσης ἐς κακὸν ἄφατον οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι θεώμενοι τὰ πραττόμενα ἐν σιωπῇ εἶχον, δούλη δέ τις Μακεδονία ὄνομα ἐν Συρακούσαις, ἡνίκα Σικελίας ἐκράτησε Βελισάριος, ὅρκοις δεινοτάτοις τὸν δεσπότην καταλαβοῦσα, μή ποτε αὐτὴν τῇ κεκτημένῃ καταπροήσεσθαι, τὸν πάντα αὐτῷ λόγον ἐξήνεγκε, δύο παιδάρια πρὸς μαρτυρίαν παρασχομένη, οἷς δὴ τὰ ἀμφὶ τὸν κοιτῶνα 1.22 ὑπηρετεῖν ἐπιμελὲς ἦν. ταῦτα μαθὼν Βελισάριος τῶν οἱ ἑπομένων τινὰς τὸν Θεοδόσιον ἐκέλευσε διαχειρί1.23 σασθαι. ὁ δὲ προμαθὼν εἰςἜφεσον φεύγει. τῶν γὰρ ἑπομένων οἱ πλεῖστοι τῷ ἀβεβαίῳ τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου γνώμης ἠγμένοι ἀρέσκειν τὴν γυναῖκα μᾶλλον ἐν σπουδῇ εἶχον ἢ τῷ ἀνδρὶ δοκεῖν εὐνοϊκῶς ἔχειν, οἵ γε καὶ τὰ σφίσιν ἐπικείμενα τότε ἀμφ' αὐτῷ προὔδοσαν. 1.24 Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ Βελισάριον ὁρῶν περιώδυνον γεγονότα τοῖς ξυμπεσοῦσι, τά τε ἄλλα ξυνήλγει καὶ τοῦτο ἐπεῖπεν ὡς «Ἔγωγε θᾶσσον ἂν τὴν γυναῖκα ἢ τὸν 1.25 «νεανίαν κατειργασάμην». ὅπερἈντωνίνα μαθοῦσα, κεκρυμμένως αὐτῷ ἐχαλέπαινεν, ὅπως ἔγκοτον ἐνδείξη1.26 ται τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔχθος. ἦν γὰρ σκορπιώδης τε καὶ ὀργὴν σκοτεινή. οὐ πολλῷ δὲ ὕστερον ἢ μαγγανεύσασα ἢ θωπεύσασα πείθει τὸν ἄνδρα ὡς οὐχ ὑγιὲς τὸ κατηγόρημα τὸ ταύτης γένοιτο· καὶ ὃς Θεοδόσιον μὲν μελλήσει οὐδεμιᾷ μετεπέμψατο, Μακεδονίαν δὲ καὶ τὰ 1.27 παιδία τῇ γυναικὶ ἐκδοῦναι ὑπέστη. οὓς δὴ ἅπαντας πρῶτα τὰς γλώττας, ὥσπερ λέγουσιν, ἀποτεμοῦσα, εἶτα κατὰ βραχὺ κρεουργήσασα καὶ θυλακίοις ἐμβεβλημένη ἐς τὴν θάλατταν ὀκνήσει οὐδεμιᾷ ἔρριψε, τῶν τινος οἰκετῶν Εὐγενίου ὄνομα ὑπουργήσαντός οἱ ἐς ἅπαν τὸ ἄγος, ᾧ δὴ καὶ τὸ ἐς Σιλβέριον εἴργασται μίασμα. 1.28 καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον δὲ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον