the rest. And he numbers with these also the island of Euboea, which some name Chalcis or Chalkida; and it has with it also the so-called Cyclades islands and the island of Aegina, and it extends as far as Thermopylae; in which place that Leonidas the Lacedaemonian with three hundred soldiers stood against Xerxes the king of the Persians. And so much for Hellas according to Hierocles. ευροπ.6 The sixth theme, Peloponnesus. Corinth, once Ephyra, metropolis of all Hellas and of Peloponnesus itself, that is, of Achaia; for the Romans call those who inhabit the Peloponnesus Achaeans. The entire peninsula is placed under one strategos, having forty cities; of which famous are Corinth the metropolis, Sicyon, Argos, Lacedaemonia of Laconia, formerly Sparta, another metropolis the so-called Patras. And the Peloponnesus has three names, as Nicolaus of Damascus writes in the fourth book of his Histories; "The Pelopidae were therefore the most powerful of their time, and the Peloponnesus looked to them, having its very name from them, having already changed its names three times before; for in the time of Apis son of Phoroneus it was called Apia, in the time of Pelasgus the autochthon, Pelasgia, and in the time of Argus it was also homonymously called Argos. And in the time of Pelops, who defeated Oenomaus, Peloponnesus received this its proper name". It is a peninsula similar in shape to a vine leaf. But Dionysius likens it to a plane-tree leaf, saying thus: Resembling a jagged leaf of a plane-tree. And around its places are seven islands called Peloponnesian. And so much for the Peloponnesus. The Peloponnesus was formerly ruled by the race of the Heraclidae, until Philip of Macedon conquered them. For when the Athenians disputed with the Lacedaemonians for primacy—ever since the Persian, that renowned Xerxes, was defeated by both, on land by the Lacedaemonians when that Mardonius with all his people had fallen, and by naval fleet by the Athenians when Themistocles was admiral of the fleet—a battle was therefore joined by both for primacy and the war lasted for twenty-seven years on both sides, as the renowned Thucydides writes. Therefore, being destroyed by one another and the youth perishing, Philip the father of Alexander came forth and enslaved them both, so that this saying was uttered about him: In strife even the very wicked man obtains honor. But later again, when the Macedonians were defeated by the Romans, all Hellas and the Peloponnesus came under the dragnet of the Romans, so that they became slaves instead of free men. And the whole country was Slavicized and became barbarous, when the pestilential death was pasturing upon the whole inhabited world, at which time Constantine, surnamed of dung, held the scepters of the Roman empire, so that a certain one of the Peloponnesus, who was very proud of his own high birth, not to say low birth, that renowned grammarian Euphemius, mocked him with this oft-repeated iambic verse: A Slavicized face, like a Garasdoeid. And this was Niketas, who gave his daughter Sophia in marriage to Christopher, the son of the good and noble emperor Romanos. ευροπ.7 The seventh theme, Cephallenia. And Cephallenia is included with the Peloponnesus; for it never had the rank of a theme, nor did anyone famous come from it, except the much-storied Odysseus in Homer. Likewise also the island of Zacynthus and Leucas and Ithaca the fatherland of Odysseus, and certain other small islands and Corcyra itself the city of the Phaeacians, the kingdom of Alcinous, whom Homer deifies above all men who were then ruling. And this much concerning these things. ευροπ.8 The eighth theme, Nicopolis. A province of old Epirus of Phocis, under a governor, 12 cities; Nicopolis the metropolis. And it was called Nicopolis for such a reason: That Caesar, the august and renowned Augustus, had a war with Cleopatra the Egyptian and Antony her husband; who was formerly [married] to the sister of the

λοιπάς. Συναριθμεῖ δὲ ταύταις καὶ νῆσον τὴν Εὔβοιαν, ἥν τινες Χάλκιν ἢ Χαλκίδα ἐπονομάζουσιν· ἔχει δὲ μεθ' ἑαυτῆς καὶ τὰς καλουμένας νήσους Κυκλάδας καὶ νῆσον τὴν Αἴγιναν, καταντᾷ δὲ μέχρι Θερμοπυλῶν· ἐν ᾧ τόπῳ Λεωνίδης ἐκεῖνος ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος μετὰ τριακοσίων στρατιωτῶν ἀντέστη Ξέρξῃ τῷ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεῖ. Καὶ τοσαῦτα μὲν ἡ Ἑλλὰς κατὰ τὸν Ἱεροκλέα. ευροπ.6 Ἕκτον θέμα Πελοπόννησοσ Κόρινθος, ἥ ποτε Ἐφύρα, μητρόπολις πάσης Ἑλλάδος καὶ αὐτῆς Πελοποννήσου, τουτέστιν Ἀχαίας· οἱ γὰρ Ῥωμαῖοι τοὺς τὴν Πελοπόννησον οἰκοῦντας Ἀχαιοὺς ὀνομάζουσιν. Ἔστι δὲ πᾶσα ἡ νῆσος ὑπὸ ἑνὶ στρατηγῷ τεταγμένη, πόλεις ἔχουσα τεσσαράκοντα· ἐξ ὧν εἰσιν ἐπίσημοι Κόρινθος μητρόπολις, Σικυών, Ἄργος, Λακεδαιμονία τῆς Λακωνικῆς ἡ πρὶν Σπάρτη, ἑτέρα μητρόπολις αἱ λεγόμεναι Πάτραι. Ἡ δὲ Πελοπόννησος τρεῖς ἔχει ἐπωνυμίας, ὡς Νικόλαος ὁ ∆αμασκηνὸς γράφει ἐν τετάρτῳ Ἱστοριῶν· "μέγιστον οὖν τῶν τότε ἴσχυον οἱ Πελοπίδαι, καὶ ἡ Πελοπόννησος εἰς αὐτοὺς ἀφεώρα, καὶ αὐτὸ τοὔνομα ἔχουσα ἀπ' ἐκείνων, τρεῖς ἤδη πρότερον ἀλλάξασα τὰς ἐπωνυμίας· ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ Ἀπίου τοῦ Φορωνέως ἐκαλεῖτο Ἀπίη, ἐπὶ δὲ Πελασγοῦ τοῦ αὐτόχθονος Πελασγία, ἐπὶ δὲ Ἄργου καὶ αὐτὴ ὁμωνύμως ἐκαλεῖτο Ἄργος. Ἐπὶ δὲ Πέλοπος, τοῦ τὸν Οἰνόμαον νικήσαντος, Πελοπόννησος ἔσχε τοῦτο τὸ κύριον ὄνομα". Ἔστι δὲ χερρόνησος ἀμπέλου φύλλῳ τῷ σχήματι παρεμφερής. ∆ιονύσιος δὲ πλατάνου φύλλῳ ἀπεικάζει, λέγων οὕτως· Εἰδομένη πλατάνοιο μυουρίζοντι πετήλῳ. Περὶ δὲ τοὺς τόπους αὐτῆς εἰσι νῆσοι ἑπτὰ Πελοποννήσιοι λεγόμεναι. Καὶ οὕτως μὲν ἡ Πελοπόννησος. Ἐβασιλεύετο πρὶν ἡ Πελοπόννησος ἐκ τοῦ τῶν Ἡρακλειδῶν γένους, μέχρις ἂν Φίλιππος ὁ Μακεδὼν τούτων ἐκράτησε. ∆ιενεχθέντων γὰρ τῶν Ἀθηναίων πρὸς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους περὶ πρωτείων-ἀφ' οὗπερ ὑπ' ἀμφοτέρων ὁ Πέρσης ἡττήθη, Ξέρξης ἐκεῖνος ὁ περιβόητος, πεζῇ μὲν ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ὅτε Μαρδόνιος ἐκεῖνος σὺν παντὶ τῷ λαῷ ἐπεπτώκει, νηίτῃ δὲ στόλῳ ὑπ' Ἀθηναίων ὅτε Θεμιστοκλῆς ἐναυάρχει τοῦ στόλου-μάχη οὖν ἐκροτήθη πρὸς ἀμφοτέρων περὶ πρωτείων καὶ διεκράτησεν ἐπ' ἀμφοτέροις ὁ πόλεμος ἔτη κζʹ, καθὼς Θουκυδίδης ὁ περιώνυμος γράφει. Ὑπ' ἀλλήλων οὖν διαφθαρέντων καὶ τῆς νεολαίας ἀπολλυμένης, ἐξῆλθε Φίλιππος ὁ τοῦ Ἀλεξάνδρου πατὴρ καὶ ἀμφοτέρους αὐτοὺς ἐδουλώσατο, ὥστε ῥηθῆναι ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τουτοῒ τὸ λόγιον· Ἐν δὲ διχοστασίῃ καὶ ὁ πάγκακος ἔλλαχε τιμῆς. Ὕστερον δὲ πάλιν, τῶν Μακεδόνων ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἡττηθέντων, πᾶσα ἡ Ἑλλάς τε καὶ ἡ Πελοπόννησος ὑπὸ τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων σαγήνην ἐγένετο, ὥστε δούλους ἀντ' ἐλευθέρων γενέσθαι. Ἐσθλαβώθη δὲ πᾶσα ἡ χώρα καὶ γέγονε βάρβαρος, ὅτε ὁ λοιμικὸς θάνατος πᾶσαν ἐβόσκετο τὴν οἰκουμένην, ὁπηνίκα Κωνσταντῖνος, ὁ τῆς κοπρίας ἐπώνυμος, τὰ σκῆπτρα τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων διεῖπεν ἀρχῆς, ὥστε τινὰ τῶν ἐκ Πελοποννήσου μέγα φρονοῦντα ἐπὶ τῇ αὑτοῦ εὐγενείᾳ, ἵνα μὴ λέγω δυσγενείᾳ, Εὐφήμιον ἐκεῖνον τὸν περιβόητον γραμματικὸν ἀποσκῶψαι εἰς αὐτὸν τουτοῒ τὸ θρυλούμενον ἰαμβεῖον· Γαρασδοειδὴς ὄψις ἐσθλαβωμένη. Ἦν δὲ οὗτος Νικήτας, ὁ κηδεύσας ἐπὶ θυγατρὶ Σοφίᾳ Χριστοφόρον τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ καλοῦ Ῥωμανοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ βασιλέως. ευροπ.7 Ἕβδομον θέμα Κεφαληνία Ἡ δὲ Κεφαληνία συμπεριείληπται τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ· οὐδέποτε γὰρ εἰς τάξιν ἐχρημάτιζε θέματος, οὐδὲ ὀνομαστός τις ἐκ ταύτης ἐγένετο, εἰ μὴ ὁ παρ' Ὁμήρῳ πολυθρύλητος Ὀδυσσεύς. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ νῆσος ἡ Ζάκυνθος ἥ τε Λευκὰς καὶ Ἰθάκη ἡ τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως πατρίς, καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ νησίδια καὶ αὐτὴ Κέρκυρα ἡ τῶν Φαιάκων πόλις, τὸ τοῦ Ἀλκινόου βασίλειον, ὅνπερ Ὅμηρος ἐκθειάζει ὑπὲρ πάντας τοὺς τότε τινῶν ἀνδρῶν βασιλεύοντας. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν περὶ τούτων. ευροπ.8 Ὄγδοον θέμα Νικόπολισ Ἐπαρχία τῆς παλαιᾶς Ἠπείρου τῆς Φωκικῆς, ὑφ' ἡγεμόνα, πόλεις ιβʹ· Νικόπολις μητρόπολις. Ἐκλήθη δὲ Νικόπολις δι' αἰτίαν τοιαύτην· Καῖσαρ ἐκεῖνος ὁ σεβαστὸς καὶ περιώνυμος Αὔγουστος πόλεμον ἔσχε μετὰ Κλεοπάτρας τῆς Αἰγυπτίας καὶ Ἀντωνίου τοῦ ταύτης ἀνδρός· ὃς ἦν πρότερον ἐπ' ἀδελφῇ τοῦ