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all, but in size the first, I think, of all the columns on earth. 1.10.9 And the columns form a portico, with a roof curving into a vault, and all the upper parts of the portico have been decorated with the beauty of marbles of the same sort as the columns, and with a multitude of statues standing above, wonderfully depicted. 1.10.10 Not far from this forum is the emperor's house, and the palace is almost entirely new, and has been built by the Emperor Justinian, as I have said; but to describe it in words is impossible. But it will be sufficient for future generations to know that it is all, in fact, the work of this 1.10.11 Emperor. And just as they say, "we know the lion by its claw," so too those who read this account will know the magnificence of this palace from its 1.10.12 vestibule. Such is the vestibule which they call the Chalke. Four straight walls, high as heaven, stand in a square, in other respects being of equal dimensions to one another, but in length the two turned towards the south and the north wind are somewhat shorter than the 1.10.13 others. And at each of their corners projects a pier of very well-wrought stones, rising with the wall from the ground to its very top; it is four-sided, but joined to the wall on one side, not interrupting the beauty of the space, but even adding some ornament to it by the harmony of its similar 1.10.14 form. Eight arches are suspended above them, four supporting the middle of the roof, which curves upwards into a spherical shape, while the other four, two to the south and two to the north wind, resting upon the adjacent wall, raise the roof between, suspended in a 1.10.15 vault. The entire ceiling prides itself on its pictures, not fixed there by wax which has been melted and poured on, but composed of tiny tesserae, embellished with all kinds of colours; which indeed imitate everything, including 1.10.16 human figures. I will now describe what their pictures are. On either side are war and battle, and very many cities are being captured, some in Italy, some in Libya. And Emperor Justinian is victorious under the generalship of Belisarius, and the general returns to the emperor with his whole army unscathed, and gives him spoils: kings and kingdoms, and all that is most precious among 1.10.17 men. In the middle stand the emperor and the empress Theodora, both seeming to rejoice and celebrate a victory over the king of the Vandals and of the Goths, who have come before them as prisoners of war and 1.10.18 spoils. Around them stands the Senate of the Romans, all celebrating. For the tesserae show this, blooming with joy upon their 1.10.19 faces. So they exult and smile at the emperor, bestowing upon him honours equal to God's for the magnitude of his achievements. And the whole interior is clad in the beauty of marbles, up to the mosaics above, not only all that rises up from the ground, 1.10.20 but also the entire pavement in succession. Of the marbles, some are equal to the emerald green stone of Sparta, while others imitate the flame of fire. But the appearance of most is white, yet not plain, but it ripples with a dark blue colour marked in between. So much, then, for this. 1.11.1 As one sails from the Propontis into the eastern parts of the city, there is a public bath on the left. This is called the Arcadianae, and it adorns 1.11.2 Constantinople, great as it is. Here this emperor built a court, projecting from the city, and always open for promenades for those who spend their time there, 1.11.3 and for anchorage for those sailing by. This the sun illuminates with its splendor as it rises, and turning towards the west it casts a convenient shade. Around this the sea flows, calm, pouring its stream in tranquility, coming from the open sea like a river; so that those taking walks can even converse with those sailing 1.11.4 by. For the sea, stretching down to the abyss

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ἅπαντες, μέγεθος δὲ πρῶτοι τῶν ἐν γῇ, οἶμαι, κιό1.10.9 νων τῇ πάσῃ. στοὰν δὲ ποιοῦσιν οἱ κίονες ὄροφον ἐν θόλῳ ἑλίττουσαν, τὰ δὲ ἄνω τῆς στοᾶς ἅπαντα μαρμάρων μὲν κάλλει διακεκόσμηται τοῖς κίοσι τὸ εἶδος ἴσων, ἀγαλμάτων δὲ πλήθει ὑπεράνω ἑστώτων θαυμασίως ὡς ὑπογέγραπται. 1.10.10 Ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἀγορᾶς οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν τὰ βασιλέως οἰκία ἐστί, καὶ νέα μὲν τὰ βασίλεια σχεδόν τι πάντα, Ἰουστινιανῷ δέ, ᾗπέρ μοι εἴρηται, δεδημιούργηται βασιλεῖ, φράσαι δὲ αὐτὰ λόγῳ ἀμήχανά ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ἀποχρήσει μὲν τοὺς γενησομένους εἰδέναι ὅτι δὴ ἅπαντα τού1.10.11 του δὴ ἔργον τοῦ βασιλέως τυγχάνει ὄντα. ὥσπερ δέ φασι, τὸν λέοντα ἐξ ὄνυχος ἴσμεν, καὶ τούτων δὴ οὕτω τῶν βασιλείων τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τοῦ προτεμενίσματος οἱ τάδε ἀναλεγόμενοι εἴσονται. τοιοῦτον δὲ τὸ προτεμέ1.10.12 νισμά ἐστιν ὃ καλοῦσι Χαλκῆν. ὄρθιοι τοῖχοι οὐρανομήκεις ἐν τετραγώνῳ ἑστᾶσι τέσσαρες, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἰσοστάσιοι ἀλλήλοις ὄντες, μήκει δὲ ἄμφω, ὅ τε πρὸς μεσημβρίαν τετραμμένος καὶ βορρᾶν ἄνεμον, τῶν ἑτέρων οὐ 1.10.13 παρὰ πολὺ ἀποδέοντες. προβέβληται δέ τις ἀμφὶ τὴν γωνίαν αὐτῶν ἑκάστου λίθων εὖ μάλα εἰργασμένων ἀνάστασις, τῷ τοίχῳ μέχρι ἐς τὴν ὑπερβολὴν ἐξ ἐδάφους συναναβαίνουσα, τετράπλευρος μέν, ἐνημμένη δὲ κατὰ τὴν μίαν τῷ τοίχῳ πλευράν, οὐ διακόπτουσα τοῦ χώρου τὸ κάλλος, ἀλλά τι καὶ κόσμου αὐτῷ ἐντιθεῖσα τῇ τοῦ ἐμ1.10.14 φεροῦς ἁρμονίᾳ. ὑπερῃώρηνται δὲ αὐτῶν ἀψῖδες ὀκτώ, τέσσαρες μὲν ἀνέχουσαι τὸν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παντὸς ὄροφον ἐν σφαιροειδεῖ μεταρσίῳ ἐπικυρτούμενον, αἱ δὲ δὴ ἄλλαι δύο μὲν πρὸς νότον, δύο δὲ πρὸς βορρᾶν ἄνεμον τῷ γειτνιῶντι ἐναπερειδόμεναι τοίχῳ, τὸ μεταξὺ τέγος ἐν θόλῳ ᾐωρημέ1.10.15 νον ἐξαίρουσιν. ἐναβρύνεται δὲ ταῖς γραφαῖς ἡ ὀροφὴ πᾶσα, οὐ τῷ κηρῷ ἐντακέντι τε καὶ διαχυθέντι ἐνταῦθα παγεῖσα, ἀλλ' ἐναρμοσθεῖσα ψηφῖσι λεπταῖς τε καὶ χρώμασιν ὡραϊσμέναις παντοδαποῖς· αἳ δὴ τά τε ἄλλα πάντα καὶ ἀν1.10.16 θρώπους ἀπομιμοῦνται. ὁποῖα δὲ αὐτῶν τὰ γράμματά ἐστιν ἐγὼ δηλώσω. ἐφ' ἑκάτερα μὲν πόλεμός τέ ἐστι καὶ μάχη, καὶ ἁλίσκονται πόλεις παμπληθεῖς πὴ μὲν Ἰταλίας, πὴ δὲ Λιβύης· καὶ νικᾷ μὲν βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς ὑπὸ στρατηγοῦντι Βελισαρίῳ, ἐπάνεισι δὲ παρὰ τὸν βασιλέα, τὸ στράτευμα ἔχων ἀκραιφνὲς ὅλον ὁ στρατηγός, καὶ δίδωσιν αὐτῷ λάφυρα βασιλεῖς τε καὶ βασιλείας, καὶ 1.10.17 πάντα τὰ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐξαίσια. κατὰ δὲ τὸ μέσον ἑστᾶσιν ὅ τε βασιλεὺς καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς Θεοδώρα, ἐοικότες ἄμφω γεγηθόσι τε καὶ νικητήρια ἑορτάζουσιν ἐπί τε τῷ Βανδίλων καὶ Γότθων βασιλεῖ, δορυαλώτοις τε καὶ ἀγωγί1.10.18 μοις παρ' αὐτοὺς ἥκουσι. περιέστηκε δὲ αὐτοὺς ἡ Ῥωμαίων βουλὴ σύγκλητος, ἑορτασταὶ πάντες. τοῦτο γὰρ αἱ ψηφῖδες δηλοῦσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς προσώποις ἱλαρὸν αὐτοῖς 1.10.19 ἐπανθοῦσαι. γαυροῦνται οὖν καὶ μειδιῶσι τῷ βασιλεῖ νέμοντες ἐπὶ τῷ ὄγκῳ τῶν πεπραγμένων ἰσοθέους τιμάς· ἠμφίασται δὲ μαρμάρων εὐπρεπείᾳ τὰ ἐντὸς ἅπαντα μέχρι ἐς τὰς ὑπεράνω ψηφῖδας, οὐχ ὅσα ἐπανέστηκε μόνον, 1.10.20 ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἔδαφος ἐφεξῆς ὅλον. τῶν δὲ μαρμάρων ἔνια μὲν λίθου Σπαρτιάτου ἐκεῖ σμαράγδῳ ἴσα, ἔνια δὲ πυρὸς φλόγα μιμοῦνται· λευκὸν δὲ τῶν πλειόνων τὸ εἶδος, οὐ λιτὸν μέντοι, ἀλλ' ὑποκυμαίνει κυαναυγεῖ ὑπογεγραμμένον μεταξὺ χρώματι. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τῇδέ πη ἔχει. 1.11.1 Ἐκ δὲ τῆς Προποντίδος ἐσπλέοντι ἐς τὰ πρὸς ἕω τῆς πόλεως, βαλανεῖον ἐν ἀριστερᾷ ἐν δημοσίῳ ἐστίν. ὅπερ Ἀρκαδιαναὶ μὲν ἐπικαλεῖται, Κωνσταντινούπολιν 1.11.2 δὲ πηλίκην οὖσαν ἐπικοσμεῖ. αὐλὴν ἐνταῦθα ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος ἐδείματο, τῆς μὲν πόλεως προβεβλημένην, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐκείνῃ διατριβὴν ἔχουσιν ἐς περιπάτους ἀεὶ ἀνειμέ1.11.3 νην, ἐς δὲ τὸ ἐνορμίσασθαι τοῖς περιπλέουσι. ταύτην ἥλιος καταλάμπει μὲν ἀνίσχων τῇ αἴγλῃ, ἐκτρεπόμενος δὲ ἀμφὶ τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ ἐπισκιάζει. ταύτην ἡ θάλασσα περιρρεῖ ἀτρεμὴς ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ περιχεομένη τῷ ῥείθρῳ, ποταμοῦ τρόπον ἐκ πόντου ἰοῦσα· ὥστε καὶ προσδιαλέγονται τοῖς περιπλέουσιν οἱ τοὺς περιπάτους ποιού1.11.4 μενοι. ἡ γὰρ θάλασσα κατατείνουσα μὲν ἐς ἄβυσσον