the sign of the precious cross, and they themselves chanting. And the people of the two places mingled, and became no small crowd; for those from the coast were more numerous because they had many Egyptian wine merchants. But the idol-mad, seeing what was happening, were sawn with rage, but dared to do nothing, since they had heard how much honor the most holy bishops had from the emperors and that the idols were about to be destroyed, and they were in great anxiety and despondency.

59 When we entered the city around the so-called tetramphodon, there stood a marble stele which they said was of Aphrodite; it was on top of a stone altar, and the image on the stele was that of a naked woman with all her shameful parts showing. All the people of the city honored the stele, especially the women, lighting lamps and burning incense. For they spread the rumor about it that it gives oracles in dreams to those wishing to enter into marriage, and they deceived each other by lying. But being directed by the demon, often for the sake of a marriage contract, they failed so much that they even came to divorce or to live together badly.

60 We learned these things from those who had turned from the error and recognized the truth; but also some of the idolaters, unable to bear the misfortunes of the difficult marriages to which they were directed at the command of the demon of Aphrodite, became indignant and confessed the deceit. For such are the demons, given to deceiving and not speaking the truth at all; for it is not in them to know what is certain, but they pretend to reveal things by conjecture to those who are enslaved to them. For how can those who have fallen from the truth speak the truth? And if they do succeed in some divination, this happens by chance, just as it often happens with men that someone foretells something concerning a matter, and it comes to pass by chance. Therefore we marvel at the successes which happen rarely by chance, but we are silent about the failures which happen continuously. So much, then, concerning demons and their deceit.

61 When we had sailed to the city, as has been said, when we reached the place where the aforementioned idol of Aphrodite was (and Christians were carrying the precious wood of Christ, that is, the symbol of the cross), the demon dwelling in the stele, seeing this and unable to bear the sight of the terrible sign, came out of the marble with great disorder, and threw down the stele itself and broke it into many pieces. It happened that two men of the idolaters were standing by the altar on which the stele stood, and as it fell, it split the head of one, and broke the shoulder and wrist of the other; for they both stood there mocking the holy people.

62 And many of the Hellenes, seeing the sign that had occurred, believed, and mingling with the laity they entered with them into the holy church named Irene. And there was great joy for the Christians on that day and in three ways: in the first place, because they received back their priest in good health and having acted according to their desire, and in the second, because the gods of the gentiles were shattered and became like chaff scattered from a summer threshing-floor, and also those like them who trusted in them were broken, and in the third, the greatest of all, because wandering souls were saved and added to the flock of Christ. And the bishop, having sealed them, dismissed them in peace, instructing them to devote themselves to the holy prayers. They were thirty-two men and seven women in number. And Archbishop John, having spent another two days in Gaza, went out to Caesarea, with all the Christians and the holy bishop escorting him for two miles.

τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ τιμίου σταυροῦ καὶ αὐτοὶ ψάλλοντες. Συνεμίγησαν δὲ οἱ τῶν δύο τόπων, καὶ ἐγένοντο οὐκ ὀλίγος λαός· πλείους γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς παραλίου διὰ τὸ πολλοὺς ἔχειν Αἰγυπτίους ἐμπόρους οἴνων. Οἱ δὲ τῆς εἰδωλομανίας, ὁρῶντες τὰ γινόμενα, ἐπρίοντο, οὐδὲν δὲ ἐτόλμων ποιῆσαι, ἐπειδὴ προήκουσαν πόσην τιμὴν εἶχον οἱ ὁσιώτατοι ἐπίσκοποι παρὰ τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν καὶ ὅτι τὰ εἴδωλα ἤμελλον καταστρέφεσθαι, καὶ ἦσαν ἐν πολλῇ φροντίδι καὶ ἀθυμίᾳ.

59 Ὡς δὲ εἰσήλθομεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν περὶ τὸ καλούμενον τετράμφοδον, στήλη ἵστατο ἀπὸ μαρμάρου ἣν ἔλεγον εἶναι Ἀφροδίτης· ἦν δὲ ἐπάνω βωμοῦ λιθίνου, ὑπῆρχεν δὲ τὸ ἐκτύπωμα τῆς στήλης, γυναικὸς γυμνῆς ἐχούσης ὅλα τὰ ἄσχημα αὐτῆς φαινόμενα. Ἐτίμων δὲ τὴν στήλην πάντες οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως, μάλιστα αἱ γυναῖκες λύχνους ἅπτουσαι καὶ λίβανον θυμιῶσαι. Ἐφήμιζον γὰρ περὶ αὐτῆς ὅτι χρηματίζει κατ' ὄναρ ταῖς βουλομέναις προσομιλῆσαι γάμῳ, ἠπάτων δὲ ἀλλήλας ψευδόμεναι. Ἐπιτραπέντες δὲ παρὰ τοῦ δαίμονος, πολλάκις χάριν συναλλαγῆς γάμου, τοσοῦτον ἀπέτυχον ὥστε καὶ εἰς διαζύγια αὐτοὺς ἐλθεῖν ἢ κακῶς συνοικῆσαι.

60 Ταῦτα δὲ ἔγνωμεν ἐκ τῶν ἀποστραφέντων τὴν πλάνην καὶ ἐπιγνόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἀλλὰ καί τινες τῶν εἰδωλολατρῶν, μὴ φέροντες τὰς συμφορᾶς τῶν χαλεπῶν συνοικεσίων ὧν ἐπετράπησαν κατὰ κέλευσιν τοῦ δαίμονος τῆς Ἀφροδίτης, ἀγανακτοῦντες ἐξομολογήσαντο τὴν ἀπάτην. Καὶ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι τυγχάνουσιν οἱ δαίμονες εἰς τὸ ἀπατᾶν καὶ μηδ' ὅλως ἀληθὲς λέγειν· οὔτε γὰρ ἔνεστιν αὐτοῖς τὸ βέβαιον εἰδέναι, ἀλλ' ἐξ εἰκότων φαντάζειν τοὺς καταδεδουλωμένους αὐτοῖς προσποιοῦνται. Πῶς γὰρ δύνανται ἀληθεύειν οἱ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκπεπτωκότες; Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπιτύχωσιν εἴς τινα μαντευόμενοι, ἀπὸ συμβάντος τοῦτο γίνεται, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων συμβαίνει πολλάκις τινὰ προειπεῖν ἕνεκεν πράγματος, καὶ ἀπὸ συμβάντος γενέσθαι. Εἰς τὰς οὖν ἐπιτυχίας τὰς σπανίως γινομένας ἀπὸ συμβάντος θαυμάζομεν, τὰς δὲ ἀποτυχίας δὲ συνεχῶς γινομένας σιωπῶμεν. Τοσαῦτα μὲν περὶ δαιμόνων καὶ τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν.

61 Ἐκπλευσάντων δὲ ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καθὼς εἴρηται, ὡς ἐφθάσαμεν τὸν τόπον ἔνθα ὑπῆρχεν τὸ εἰρημένον εἴδωλον τῆς Ἀφροδίτης (ἐβάσταζον δὲ Χριστιανοὶ τὸ τίμιον ξύλον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τουτέστιν τὸν τύπον τοῦ σταυροῦ), ἑωρακὼς ὁ ἐνοικῶν δαίμων ἐν τῇ στήλῃ, μὴ φέρων ἰδεῖν τὸ φοβερὸν σημεῖον, ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τοῦ μαρμάρου μετὰ ἀταξίας πολλῆς, ἔρριψεν αὐτὴν τὴν στήλην καὶ συνέκλασεν αὐτὴν εἰς πολλὰ κλάσματα. Ἔτυχεν δὲ δύο ἄνδρας τῶν εἰδωλολατρῶν παρίστασθαι τῷ βωμῷ ἐν ᾧ ἵστατο ἡ στήλη, καὶ συμπεσοῦσα, τοῦ μὲν τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐδιχοτόμησεν, τοῦ δὲ τὸν ὦμον καὶ τὸν καρπὸν κατέκλασεν· ἵσταντο γὰρ ἀμφότεροι μυκτηρίζοντες τὸν ἅγιον λαόν.

62 Πολλοὶ δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων θεασάμενοι τὸ σημεῖον τὸ γενόμενον ἐπίστευσαν, καὶ συμμιγέντες τοῖς λαϊκοῖς συνεισῆλθον αὐτοῖς εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν ἐπώνυμον Εἰρήνην. Ἐγένετο δὲ χαρὰ μεγάλη τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ καὶ κατὰ τρεῖς τρόπους· κατὰ πρώτην τάξιν ὅτι ἀπέλαβον τὸν ἱερέα ὑγιαίνοντα καὶ καταθυμίως πράξαντα, κατὰ δὲ τὴν δευτέραν ὅτι συνετρίβησαν οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ ἐγένοντο ὡσεὶ κονιορτὸς διασκορπιζόμενος ἀπὸ ἅλωνος θερινῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ὅμοιοι αὐτῶν συγκεκλασμένοι ἐγένοντο, πεποιθότες ἐπ' αὐτοῖς, κατὰ τὴν τρίτην δὲ τὴν μείζονα τῶν ἄλλων ὅτι καὶ ἐσώθησαν ψυχαὶ πλανώμεναι καὶ προσετέθησαν τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποίμνῃ. Σφραγίσας δὲ αὐτοὺς ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, ἀπέλυσεν μετ' εἰρήνης, παραγγείλας αὐτοῖς σχολάζειν ταῖς ἁγίαις προσευχαῖς. Ἦσαν δὲ τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἄνδρες τριάκοντα δύο καὶ γυναῖκες ἑπτά. Ποιήσας δὲ ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Ἰωάννης ἄλλας δύο ἡμέρας ἐν Γάζῃ, ἐξῆλθεν ἐπὶ Καισάρειαν, πάντων τῶν Χριστιανῶν καὶ τοῦ ὁσίου ἐπισκόπου ἀποκαταστησάντων αὐτὸν ἕως δύο μιλίων.