Paul the Silentiary, Description of Saint Sophia

Descriptio Sanctae Sophiae

We have come to you, men, from the hearth of the emperor to the hearth of the all-great Emperor, the maker of the universe, through whom victory is in

with fastenings of robes. Wiping the five-year tear from our sight, we will sing with auspicious lips hymns of happy feet. The scepter-bearer of the A

Having spoken he hastened to the sacred precincts, and soon the deed was swifter than the neighbouring word for rousing himself, as is right, he did

He was assembled, and every ruler of the seats, serving the commands of the mighty emperor and bringing pleasing gifts to Christ the King, with suppli

For in it a curved rim did not run around the middle space, like that on the eastern limits, where priests skilled in sacrifice set up thrones gleamin

they met upon a very golden h[ea]d but in the middle like a crown above [ ] the rim of the unhewn space, which art did not [make]. ]the form of the c

having gone up for the one rising towards the west is no longer equal to the other two, going beyond the narthex. But also at the western foot of the

A gold-flowing ray, unbearable to human faces, leaped upon them. One might say he was looking at Phaethon at midday in the season of spring, when he g

Where am I carried? Where does my unbridled story travel? Hold back, bold voice, with closed lip, and no longer lay bare what is not lawful for eyes t

but along the columns of the portico, here and there, they set up in a row a single-wicked lamp, one after another distinctly and it travels the whol

circles to the evening and morning light for to you, much-hymned one, dawn and evening know how to cease from cares. for you the harbors separate a g

of wrath, sitting unshaken upon a waveless calm. You have shaken off all the barking pains of troubles, and opening your kind heart as a channel of pi

A gold-flowing ray, unbearable to human faces, leaped upon them. One might say he was looking at Phaethon at midday in the season of spring, when he gilded every slope. For indeed my scepter-bearer, with the whole world coming into one, having gathered wealth of many kinds, both barbarian and Ausonian, did not judge a stone adornment sufficient for the structure of the ambrosial, God-fearing temple, in which Rome placed the high-boasting joy of all hope; but also did not spare lavish silver adornment. Here the ridge of Pangaeus and the cape of Sounion opened their whole silver veins; here many treasures of our lords were opened. For indeed, the space they set apart for the bloodless sacrifices towards the upright apse of the great temple, not ivory, nor a section of stones or bronze defines it, but he framed it all with silver metalwork. And not only on the walls, which separate the initiated man from the many-tongued crowd, did he place bare silver plates, but also the very columns, twelve in number, he covered entirely with silver metalwork, shining with far-reaching gleams; upon which, with the skillful rhythm of a finely-working hand, steel hollowed out sharply-defined circular discs, in the middle of which, having carved likenesses of the undefiled God who put on the unsown images of mortal form, here he carved the host of well-winged messengers bowing the junction of their necks' sinews (for it has not endured to see the majesty of God, not even when hidden by a human veil, since he is God equally, even when clothed in flesh that brings release from sins), and there, with teeth of iron, he fashioned the former heralds of God, before God took on flesh, from whose voice the divine song of the Christ to come flew abroad. Nor indeed has the art overlooked the forms of them, whose were the fish-trap and the net of their followers, who, having left behind the lowly works of life and sinful cares, followed the command of the heavenly king, catching men, and from the art of fishing they stretched out the beautiful dragnet of immortal life. Elsewhere the art depicted the mother of Christ, the receptacle of ever-flowing light, whose womb once nourished in its holy folds the offspring of the womb. And on the middle panels of the sacred enclosure, which make a border around the holy men, the chisel carves a single much-storied inscription; for it gathers together the name of the queen and of the king. Indeed, equal to a bossed shield, it hollowed out a figure in the central spaces, revealing a cross. And through three doors the whole enclosure is opened to the initiated; for on each side a laboring hand has cut small doors. And above the golden, all-pure table an immense tower has risen into the wide-pathed air, standing on four-passaged silver arches. It is raised on silver columns, on whose tops the four-yoked arch has set its silver feet. And high above the arches it stretches up like the image of a cone, but not entirely similar; for it does not turn from below a circular rim of a well-rounded base, but its base is eight-sided, and from a wider path it creeps up little by little to a sharp point, and it stretches out eight silver plates; and as the joint is being made, a long ridge stands forth; and they, appearing as triangles, join the paths of the eight-yoked way, which are gathered into one sign of the highest peak; where also the art has fitted the image of a mixing-bowl and the lips of the bowl, bent back, have formed the shape of petals. In the middle space it has placed a gleaming silver image of the heavens; and high above it a cross rising over all appears. May he be gracious. And above the arches a much-embroidered spiral of acanthus, a border, creeps along around the lowest base of the cone. It shows on high distinctly straight-stretched rays, like the fragrant fruit of a fair-leaved pear-tree, shining with gleams, and they rise above the border. And where the fitted ends of the border make a joint with one another, they have set fixed silver mixing-bowls. And on each mixing-bowl they have placed torch-bearers, brightly-gleaming images of wax, announcing adornment and not light; for, having been fashioned on every side with brightly polished silver metalwork, they gleam all around; and with an un-torched sparkle the wax sends forth a silver ray and not a flame. They have supported the all-golden surfaces of the holy table on golden columns, and it stands upon golden foundations, and it is adorned with the gleam of rich stones. Where

χρυσόρρυτος ἀκτὶς ἀνδρομέοις ἄτλητος ἐπεσκίρτησε προσώποις. φαίη τις Φαέθοντα μεσημβρινὸν εἴαρος ὥρηι εἰσοράαν, ὅτε πᾶσαν ἐπεχρύσωσεν ἐρίπνην. καὶ γὰρ ἐμὸς σκηπτοῦχος, ὅλης χθονὸς εἰς ἓν ἰούσης, βάρβαρον Αὐσόνιόν τε πολύτροπον ὄλβον ἀγείρας, λάϊνον οὐκ ἔκρινεν ἐπαρκέα κόσμον ἐδέθλοις ἀμβροσίου νηοῖο θεουδέος, ὧι ἔνι πάσης ἐλπίδος εὐφροσύνην ὑπεραυχέα θήκατο Ῥώμη· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀργυρέοιο χύδην οὐ φείσατο κόσμου. ἐνθάδε Παγγαίοιο ῥάχις καὶ Σουνιὰς ἄκρη ἀργυρέας ὤϊξαν ὅλας φλέβας· ἐνθάδε πολλοὶ ἡμετέρων θημῶνες ἀνωΐχθησαν ἀνάκτων. καὶ γὰρ ὅσον μεγάλοιο πρὸς ὄρθιον ἄντυγα νηοῦ χῶρον ἀναιμάκτοισιν ἀπεκρίναντο θυηλαῖς, οὐκ ἐλέφας, οὐ τμῆμα λίθων ἢ χαλκὸς ὁρίζει, ἀλλ' ὅλον ἐθρίγκωσεν ὑπ' ἀργυρέοισι μετάλλοις. οὐδὲ μὲν οὐ μούνοις ἐπὶ τείχεσιν, ὁππόσα μύστην ἄνδρα πολυγλώσσοιο διακρίνουσιν ὁμίλου, γυμνὰς ἀργυρέας ἔβαλε πλάκας, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὺς κίονας ἀργυρέοισιν ὅλους ἐκάλυψε μετάλλοις, τηλεβόλοις σελάεσσι λελαμπότας, ἑξάκι δοιούς· οἷς ἔπι, καλλιπόνοιο χερὸς τεχνήμονι ῥυθμῶι, ὀξυτέρους κύκλοιο χάλυψ κοιλήνατο δίσκους, ὧν μέσον ἀχράντοιο θεοῦ δείκηλα χαράξας ἄσπορα δυσαμένου βροτέης ἰνδάλματα μορφῆς, πῆι μὲν ἐϋπτερύγων στρατὸν ἔξεσεν ἀγγελιάων αὐχενίων ξυνοχῆα κατακλίνοντα τενόντων (οὐ γὰρ ἰδεῖν τέτληκε θεοῦ σέβας οὐδὲ καλύπτρηι ἀνδρομέηι κρυφθέντος, ἐπεὶ θεός ἐστιν ὁμοίως ἑσσάμενος καὶ σάρκα λυτήριον ἀμπλακιάων), πῆι δὲ θεοῦ κήρυκας ὀδοὺς ἤσκησε σιδήρου τοὺς προτέρους, πρὶν σάρκα λαβεῖν θεόν, ὧν ἀπὸ φωνῆς ἐσσομένου Χριστοῖο διέπτατο θέσπις ἀοιδή. οὐδὲ μὲν οὐδ' αὐτῶν παραδέδρομεν εἴδεα τέχνη, οἷς κύρτος νεπόδων τε τὸ δίκτυον, οἵτε χαμηλὰ ἔργα βίου προλιπόντες ἀλιτρονόους τε μερίμνας οὐρανίου βασιλῆος ἐφωμάρτησαν ἐφετμῆι, ἀνέρας ἀγρεύοντες, ἀπ' ἰχθυβόλοιό τε τέχνης ζωῆς ἀθανάτοιο καλὴν τανύσαντο σαγήνην. ἄλλοθι δὲ Χριστοῖο κατέγραφε μητέρα τέχνη, φέγγεος ἀενάοιο δοχήϊον, ἧς ποτε γαστὴρ γαστέρος ἐργατίνην ἁγίοις ἐθρέψατο κόλποις. ἐς δὲ μέσας ἱεροῦ πλάκας ἕρκεος, αἳ περὶ φῶτας εὐιέρους τεύχουσι μεταίχμια, γράμμα χαράσσει ἡ γλυφὶς ἓν πολύμυθον· ἀολλίζει γὰρ ἀνάσσης οὔνομα καὶ βασιλῆος· ἴσον γε μὲν ὀμφαλοέσσηι ἀσπίδι μεσσατίοισι τύπον κοιλήνατο χώροις σταυρὸν ἀπαγγέλλουσα. διὰ τρισσῶν δὲ θυρέτρων ἕρκος ὅλον μύστηισιν ἀνοίγεται· ἐν γὰρ ἑκάστηι πλευρῆι βαιὰ θύρετρα διέτμαγεν ἐργοπόνος χείρ. Χρυσείης δ' ἐφύπερθε παναχράντοιο τραπέζης ἄσπετος εὐρυκέλευθον ἐς ἠέρα πύργος ἀνέστη, τετραπόροις ἁψῖσιν ἐπ' ἀργυρέηισι βεβηκώς. κίοσι δ' ἀργυρέηισιν ἀείρεται, ὧν ἐπὶ κόρσης ἀργυρέους ἵδρυσε πόδας τετράζυγος ἁψίς. ὑψόθι θ' ἀψίδων ἀνατείνεται οἷά τε κώνου εἴκελον, ἀλλ' οὐ πάμπαν ὁμοίιον· οὐ γὰρ ἑλίσσει νειόθεν εὐκύκλοιο περίτροχον ἄντυγα πέζης, ἀλλά τις ὀκτάπλευρος ἔφυ βάσις, ἐκ δὲ κελεύθου εὐρυτέρης κατὰ βαιὸν ἐς ὀξυκόρυμβον ἀνέρπει, ὀκτὼ δ' ἀργυρέας τανύει πλάκας· ἁρμονίης δὲ ζευγνυμένης δολιχὴ ῥάχις ἵσταται· αἱ δὲ τριγώνοις εἰδόμεναι μίσγουσι πόρους ὀκτάζυγος οἴμου εἰς ἓν ἀγειρομένους κορυφῆς σημήϊον ἄκρης· ὁππόθι καὶ κρητῆρος ὑπήραρεν εἰκόνα τέχνη χείλεά τε κρητῆρος ὑποκλασθέντα πετήλων εἶδος ἐμορφώσαντο. μέσωι δ' ἐνεθήκατο χώρωι ἀργύρεον στίλβοντα πόλου τύπον· ὑψόθι δ' αὐτοῦ σταυρὸς ὑπερτέλλων ἀναφαίνεται· ἵλαος εἴη. ἁψίδων δ' ἐφύπερθεν ἕλιξ πολύκεστος ἀκάνθης πέζα διερπύζει νέατον περὶ πυθμένα κώνου. ὀρθοτενεῖς ἀκτῖνας, ἴσας εὐώδεϊ καρπῶι ὄγχνης καλλικόμοιο, διακριδὸν ὑψόθι φαίνει λαμπομένας σελάεσσιν, ὑπερτέλλουσι δὲ πέζης. ὁππόθι δ' ἀλλήλοισιν ἀρηρότα πείρατα πέζης ἁρμονίην τεύχουσιν, ἐνιδρύσαντο παγέντας ἀργυρέους κρητῆρας. ἐπὶ κρητῆρι δ' ἑκάστωι πυρσοφόρους στήσαντο, λιπαυγέα δείκελα κηροῦ, κόσμον ἀπαγγέλλοντα καὶ οὐ φάος· ἀργυρέοις γὰρ πάντοθι τορνωθέντα περιστίλβουσι μετάλλοις φαιδρὰ λεαινομένοισιν· ἀπυρσεύτωι δ' ἀμαρυγῆι ἀργυρέην ἀκτῖνα καὶ οὐ φλόγα κηρὸς ἰάλλει. κίοσι δὲ χρυσέαις ἱερῆς πάγχρυσα τραπέζης νῶτα κατηρείσαντο, κατὰ χρυσέων δὲ θεμείλων ἵσταται, ἀφνειῶν δὲ λίθων ποικίλλεται αἴγληι. Πῆι