63 But after the tenth day, the wonderful Cynegius arrived, having with him the consular and the duke and a great military and civil force. But many of the idolaters knew beforehand and left the city, some to villages, others to other cities; and they were the majority of the rich of the city. And the aforementioned Cynegius searched the houses of the fugitives. On the next day, having summoned those of the city, in the presence of both the duke and the consular, he showed them the imperial letters commanding that the temples be destroyed and given over to fire. And immediately upon hearing this, the idolaters wailed with a great voice, so that the officials became indignant and with threats sent soldiers upon them, beating them with rods and clubs.

64 But the Christians with great joy acclaimed the emperors and the officials. And immediately they rushed forth with the officials and the troops, and destroyed the temples. There were in the city eight public temples of idols: of Helios and of Aphrodite and of Apollo and of Kore and of Hecate, and the so-called Heroeion, and of the Tyche of the city, which they called the Tychaion, and the Marneion, which they said was of the Cretan-born Zeus, which they considered to be more glorious than all the sanctuaries everywhere. There were also many other idols in the houses and in the villages, which no one was able to subject to a number; for the demons, having seized upon the disposition of the Gazans, as they are easily led, filled their entire city and surrounding area with error. And they endure this from great simplicity. Therefore, when converted to the holy faith, they become zealous Christians. So much concerning the Gazans.

65 Therefore the soldiers, having been permitted, along with the Christians of the city and of its seaside part, rushed upon the temples, and first, wishing to destroy the so-called Marneion, they were driven back; for the priests of that temple, having heard beforehand, barred from within the doors of the inner shrine with great stones, and having brought down into the so-called inner sanctuaries as many precious vessels as were in the sanctuary, and also the very images of their gods, they hid them there, and through the same inner sanctuaries they fled by other passages; for they said the aforementioned inner sanctuaries had many passages to different places. Having been driven back, therefore, as I said before, they turned upon the other temples and some they destroyed, and others they gave over to fire, seizing all the precious vessels in them. And the saint Porphyry had anathematized in the church any Christian citizen taking anything at all from the temples for his own gain; therefore none of the faithful citizens took anything, except the soldiers and the sojourners found there. Therefore, pious men of the clergy and the holy bishop Porphyry himself went about with the laypeople, restraining them from appropriating anything. And they spent ten days destroying the temples of the idols.

66 And after the aforementioned days, they deliberated also concerning the Marneion, how they should deal with it. For some said it should be razed to the ground, others that it should be burned down, and others that the place should be cleansed and consecrated as a church of God, and there was much deliberation concerning this. Finally, the holy bishop proclaimed a fast for the people and a prayer, so that the Lord might reveal to them how they must deal with it, and having fasted on that day and prayed to God concerning this, in the evening they celebrated the holy service. And while the service was being celebrated, a child of about seven years, standing with his own mother, suddenly cried out, saying: Burn the inner shrine to the ground; for many terrible things have happened in it, especially human sacrifices. And burn it in this manner. Bring wet pitch and sulfur and swine's fat and mix the three and anoint the bronze doors and set fire to them, and thus the whole temple will be burned; for otherwise it is not possible. But the

63 Μετὰ δὲ δεκάτην ἡμέραν, κατέλαβεν ὁ θαυμάσιος Κυνήγιος, ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ὑπατικὸν καὶ τὸν δοῦκα καὶ πολλὴν στρατιωτικὴν καὶ πολιτικὴν χεῖρα. Προέγνωσαν δὲ πολλοὶ τῶν εἰδωλολατρῶν καὶ ἐξῆλθον τῆς πόλεως, οἳ μὲν εἰς κώμας, ἄλλοι δὲ εἰς ἑτέρας πόλεις· ἦσαν δὲ οἱ πλείους τῶν πλουσίων τῆς πόλεως. Ἐμητάτευσεν δὲ τοὺς οἴκους τῶν φυγόντων ὁ εἰρημένος Κυνήγιος. Τῇ δὲ ἑξῆς προσκαλεσάμενος τοὺς τῆς πόλεως, παρόντων τοῦ τε δουκὸς καὶ τοῦ ὑπατικοῦ ἐνεφάνισεν αὐτοῖς τὰ βασιλικὰ γράμματα τὰ παρακελευόμενα ὥστε καταστραφῆναι τὰ εἰδωλεῖα καὶ πυρὶ παραδοθῆναι. Εὐθέως δὲ ἀκούσαντες οἱ εἰδωλολάτραι οἴμωξαν μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ, ὥστε τοὺς ἄρχοντας ἀγανακτῆσαι καὶ μετὰ ἀπειλῆς ἐπιπέμψαι αὐτοῖς στρατιώτας τύπτοντας αὐτοὺς ῥάβδοις καὶ σκυτάλαις.

64 Οἱ δὲ Χριστιανοὶ μετὰ χαρᾶς μεγάλης ἀνευφήμουν τοὺς βασιλεῖς καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας. Εὐθέως δὲ ὥρμησαν μετὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τῶν ταγμάτων, καὶ κατέστρεψαν τὰ εἰδωλεῖα. Ἦσαν δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλει ναοὶ εἰδώλων δημόσιοι ὀκτώ, τοῦ τε Ἡλίου καὶ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης καὶ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶτῆς Κόρης καὶ τῆς Ἑκάτης καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον Ἡρωεῖον καὶ τῆς Τύχης τῆς πόλεως, ὃ ἐκάλουν Τυχαῖον, καὶ τὸ Μαρνεῖον, ὃ ἔλεγον εἶναι τοῦ Κρηταγενοῦς ∆ιός, ὃ ἐνόμιζον εἶναι ἐνδοξότερον πάντων τῶν ἱερῶν τῶν ἁπανταχοῦ. Ἦσαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πλεῖστα εἴδωλα ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις καὶ ἐν ταῖς κώμαις, ἅτινα οὐδεὶς ἠδύνατο καθυποβαλεῖν ἀριθμῷ· οἱ γὰρ δαίμονες δραξάμενοι τῆς προαιρέσεως τῶν Γαζαίων, ὡς εἰσὶν εὐμετάγωγοι, ἐπλήρωσαν τῆς πλάνης πᾶσαν αὐτῶν τὴν πόλιν καὶ περιοικίδα. Τοῦτο δὲ ὑπομένουσιν ἀπὸ πολλῆς ἁπλότητος. ∆ιὸ μεταφερόμενοι εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν πίστιν Χριστιανοὶ ζηλωταὶ γίνονται. Τοσαῦτα μὲν περὶ τῶν Γαζαίων.

65 Ἐπιτραπέντες οὖν οἱ στρατιῶται μετὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν τῆς πόλεως καὶ τοῦ παραθαλαττίου αὐτῆς μέρους, ὥρμησαν ἐπὶ τὰ εἰδωλεῖα, καὶ πρῶτον βουληθέντες καταστρέψαι τὸ λεγόμενον Μαρνεῖον, ἀνεκρούσθησαν· οἱ γὰρ ἱερεῖς τοῦ εἰδωλείου ἐκείνου προακούσαντες, ἔσωθεν τὰς θύρας τοῦ ἐνδοτέρου ναοῦ λίθοις μεγάλοις προέφραξαν, καὶ καταγαγόντες εἰς τὰ λεγόμενα ἄδυτα ὅσα ἦν τῷ ἱερῷ τίμια σκεύη, ἔτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ ζῴδια τῶν θεῶν αὐτῶν, ἐκεῖ ἔκρυψαν, καὶ διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀδύτων ἔφυγον δι' ἄλλων ἀνόδων· ἔλεγον γὰρ τὰ εἰρημένα ἄδυτα ἔχειν πολλὰς ἀνόδους εἰς διαφόρους τόπους. Ἀνακρουσθέντες οὖν, καθὼς προεῖπον, ἐτράπησαν ἐπὶ τὰ ἄλλα εἰδωλεῖα καὶ τὰ μὲν κατέστρεψαν, τὰ δὲ πυρὶ παρέδωκαν, ἁρπάσαντες πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς σκεύη τίμια. Ἦν δὲ ὁ ἐν ἁγίοις Πορφύριος ἀναθεματίσας ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ πάντα Χριστιανὸν πολίτην λαμβάνοντά τί ποτε ἐκ τῶν εἰδωλείων εἰς ἴδιον κέρδος· οὐδεὶς οὖν τῶν πολιτῶν τῶν πιστῶν ἐλάμβανεν οὐδέν, εἰ μὴ οἱ στρατιῶται καὶ οἱ παρεπίδημοι ἐκεῖσε εὑρεθέντες. Περιῆγον οὖν μετὰ τῶν λαϊκῶν ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς τοῦ κλήρου καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ ὅσιος ἐπίσκοπος Πορφύριος, ἀνακόπτοντες αὐτοὺς μηδὲν σφετερίσασθαι. Ἐποίησαν δὲ ἡμέρας δέκα καταστρέφοντες τοὺς ναοὺς τῶν εἰδώλων.

66 Μετὰ δὲ τὰς εἰρημένας ἡμέρας, ἐβουλεύσαντο καὶ περὶ τοῦ Μαρνείου πῶς αὐτῷ χρήσονται. Οἳ μὲν γὰρ ἔλεγον, κατασκαφῆναι αὐτό, ἄλλοι δὲ κατακαῆναι, ἄλλοι δὲ καθαρισθῆναι τὸν τόπον καὶ ἁγιασθῆναι εἰς ἐκκλησίαν θεοῦ, καὶ ἦν πολλὴ περὶ τούτου ἡ σκέψις. Τέλος δὲ ὁ ἐν ἁγίοις ἐπίσκοπος κηρύσσει νηστείαν τῷ λαῷ καὶ δέησιν, ἵνα ἀποκαλύψῃ αὐτοῖς ὁ κύριος πῶς δεῖ αὐτῷ χρήσασθαι, καὶ νηστεύσαντες ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ δεηθέντες τοῦ θεοῦ περὶ τούτου, ἑσπέρας ἐπετέλεσαν τὴν ἁγίαν σύναξιν. Τῆς δὲ συνάξεως ἐπιτελουμένης, παιδίον ὡς ἑπτὰ ἐνιαυτῶν, ἱστάμενον μετὰ τῆς ἰδίας μητρός, ἄφνω ἀνέκραξεν λέγον· Καύσατε τὸν ναὸν τὸν ἔνδον ἕως ἐδάφους· πολλὰ γὰρ δεινὰ γέγονεν ἐν αὐτῷ, μάλιστα αἱ ἀνθρώπων θυσίαι. Τοιούτῳ δὲ τρόπῳ καύσατε αὐτόν. Ἀγάγετε ὑγρὰν πίσσαν θεῖόν τε καὶ στέαρ χοίρεον καὶ μίξατε τὰ τρία καὶ χρίσατε τὰς χαλκᾶς θύρας καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὰς τὸ πῦρ ἐπιβάλετε, καὶ οὕτως πᾶς ὁ ναὸς καίεται· ἄλλως γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν δυνατόν. Τὸν δὲ