one different from the others, Theodotos by name, said that what was happening was not a good omen; "for when the night comes on, they will flee at once". When this was said, the young man was filled with grief; for he thought that all possessed his own nobility. Nevertheless, he went to his tent to dine; for he had remained completely without food. And while he, still wearing his breastplate, was dining, the others were secretly going out of the camp and fleeing; and when it was reported to him that the whole army was fleeing and that he alone with a few had been left behind, he asked for a horse and hurried to help and hold them together. So, having with difficulty found a mule, he mounted it and rushed to the exit, wanting to seize it and shut the remaining men inside the camp, but almost all had already managed to flee. Therefore he also went out, as the Turks had already perceived the Romans' flight and were hastening with the greatest momentum and strong force to catch the fugitives, and he would have been captured, if Theodotos, whom the story mentioned before, had not perceived the clatter of the horses and, realizing that a great multitude of Turks was coming against them, made him turn aside a little from the road. And turning from the road and coming to a certain overgrown place, they waited until the whole multitude of the Turks had passed by; then setting out from there, they hurried toward the Didymoi mountains. But encountering Turks and rushing against them, they were scattered, and since it was night, they were not able to come together in the same place. So each went off wherever he chanced; but the renowned Alexios, left alone, when he came to the foothills of the Didymoi, since the mule was already exhausted and no longer able to go further, dismounted from it and went up the mountain on foot, still wearing his breastplate; for the eagerness of youth did not allow him to take it off, and at the same time a certain saying that came to his memory prevented him, as he said; for he said he had heard his father mocking someone who had thrown away his arms. For this very reason, he journeyed on foot wearing his breastplate. And the extraordinary thing was that, although a very heavy nosebleed had come upon him from the time he began to travel on foot throughout the entire night, he neither cast off his arms, nor did he cease his course, until he came to the town in Gabadonia. 2.7 And when he arrived there, all the local people ran together, who, seeing his cloak over his breastplate spattered with the gore of his blood, groaned and wept, as was natural. And when rumor conveyed his arrival to the authorities, they came to him and, welcoming him kindly, led him to their homes with the greatest honor; and they brought robes befitting such a man and were eager in every way to attend to the young man's body, so that they even brought him a mirror according to their custom and urged him to gaze into it. But he, seeing this, smiled, and the other was perplexed at what was being done; and he said it was not the custom for men, and especially soldiers, to look into a mirror; "'for this is practiced by women alone, who are anxious to please their own husbands; but for a soldier, his ornament is his arms and the simplicity and austerity of his life'". And they, hearing this, regarded the young man's prudence and intelligence with wonder. So after being their guest for three days, his servants having now caught up, he departed for Ancyra; for one of those saved from the battle had already indicated to him, when he inquired about his brother, a certain town to which he asserted that he had escaped safely, having eluded his pursuers. Therefore, thinking that what had been reported was true, he hurried to be with his brother. But the one man was mistaken, and the other, as he was departing, was fully informed that his brother had been captured. Thus, disappointed in his hopes, he was grieved and despondent and groaned and wept, but he did not cease his forward journey. 2.8 But when he arrived in Ancyra, he sent messengers everywhere to learn something more, and he had heard that those who held his brother wished to sell him for a price of many thousands of gold pieces; when he heard these words, he was relieved of his great despondency and toward the

ἄλλων διαφέρων, Θεόδοτος τοὔνομα, οὐκ ἀγαθὸν οἰωνὸν ἔφη τὰ πραττόμενα εἶναι· "ἐπειδὰν γὰρ ἡ νὺξ προέλθῃ, αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα φεύξονται". Τούτου λεχθέντος λύπης ὁ νεανίας πεπλήρωτο· ᾤετο γὰρ ξύμπαντας εἶναι τῆς αὐτοῦ γενναιότητος. Ἀπῄει δ' ὅμως ἐπὶ τὴν σκηνὴν δειπνήσων· ἄσιτος γὰρ τὸ παράπαν διέμεινε. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἔτι τεθωρακισμένος ὢν ἐδείπνει, οἱ δὲ λάθρα τοῦ χάρακος ἐξιόντες ἔφευγον· ὡς δ' ἀπηγγέλη τούτῳ φεύγειν ἅπαν τὸ στράτευμα καὶ μόνον αὐτὸν ξὺν ὀλίγοις περιλελεῖφθαι, ἵππον αἰτήσας ἔσπευδε βοηθεῖν καὶ ξυνέχειν. Μόλις οὖν ἡμίονον εὑρηκὼς ἐπαναβεβήκει καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον ὥρμα, βουλόμενος αὐτὴν κατασχεῖν καὶ τοὺς περιλειφθέντας ἐντὸς συγκλεῖσαι τοῦ χάρακος, ἀλλ' ἔφθασαν μικροῦ δεῖν φυγεῖν ἅπαντες. Ἐξῄει οὖν καὶ αὐτός, ἤδη τῶν Τούρκων αἰσθομένων τὸν τῶν Ῥωμαίων δρασμὸν καὶ μετὰ ῥύμης ὅτι πλείστης καὶ δυνάμεως ἰσχυρᾶς ἐπειγομένων φθάσαι τοὺς φεύγοντας, καὶ ἑάλω, εἰ μὴ ὁ Θεόδοτος, οὗ πρόσθεν ὁ λόγος ἐμνήσθη, τοῦ κρότου τῶν ἵππων αἰσθόμενος καὶ διαγνοὺς ὡς πλῆθος Τούρκων πολὺ κατ' αὐτῶν ἔπεισιν, ἀπονεῦσαι τοῦτον μικρόν τι τῆς ὁδοῦ παρεσκεύασε. Ἐκκλίναντες δὲ τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ ἐπί τι χωρίον συνηρεφὲς παραγενόμενοι, ἔμενον μέχρις ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Τούρκων διῆλθεν· εἶτ' ἐκεῖθεν ἀπάραντες πρὸς τοὺς ∆ιδύμους τὸ ὅρος ἠπείγοντο· Τούρκοις δ' ἐντυχόντες καὶ κατ' ἐκείνων ὁρμήσαντες διεσπάρησαν καί, ἐπεὶ νὺξ ἦν, οὐχ οἷοί τε γεγόνασιν εἰς ταὐτὸ ξυνελθεῖν. Ἀπῄει οὖν ἕκαστος ὅπη ἔτυχεν· ὁ δὲ κλεινὸς Ἀλέξιος μόνος περιλειφθείς, ἐπειδὴ περὶ τοὺς πρόποδας τῶν ∆ιδύμων ἐγένετο, τῆς ἡμιόνου ἤδη κεκοπακυίας καὶ μηκέτι οἵας τε οὔσης προσωτέρω χωρεῖν, ἀποβὰς ταύτης πεζῇ τὸ ὄρος ἀνῄει ἔτι τὸν θώρακα περιβεβλημένος· ἀποδύσασθαι γὰρ τοῦτον οὐ ξυνεχώρει τῶν νέων τὸ πρόθυμον, καὶ ἅμα λόγος τις διὰ μνήμης αὐτῷ φερόμενος διεκώλυε τοῦτον, ὡς ἔφασκεν· ἔφη γὰρ ἀκηκοέναι τοῦ πατρὸς ἀποσκώπτοντος πρός τινα τὰ ὅπλα ἀποβαλόντα. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο τὸν θώρακα περιβεβλημένος ἐπεζοπόρει· τὸ δὲ παράδοξον, ὅτι καὶ αἱμορραγίας ὅτι πλείστης ἐκ τῶν ῥινῶν προσγινομένης αὐτῷ ἐξ ὅτου πεζοπορεῖν ἤρξατο διὰ πάσης τῆς νυκτός, οὔτε ὅπλα ἀπέβαλεν, οὔτε τοῦ δρόμου ἐπαύσατο, μέχρις ὅτου πρὸς τὸ ἐν Γαβαδονίᾳ πολίχνιον ἐγένετο. 2.7 Ἐκεῖσε δ' αὐτοῦ γενομένου συνέθεον ἅπαντες οἱ ἐγχώριοι, οἳ καὶ ὁρῶντες αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπὶ θώρακος χλαῖναν κατάστικτον τῷ λύθρῳ τοῦ αἵματος ἔστενόν τε καὶ ἐδάκρυον ὡς εἰκός. Ὡς δ' ἡ φήμη τὴν ἄφιξιν τούτου τοῖς δυναστεύουσι παρέπεμψεν, ἀφίκοντό τε πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ οἴκοι τοῦτον ἀπῆγον μετὰ τιμῆς ὅτι πλείστης φιλοφρόνως ὑποδεξάμενοι· στολὰς δὲ ἐκόμιζον πρεπούσας ἀνδρὶ τοιούτῳ καὶ θεραπεύειν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ νέου παντοίως προεθυμοῦντο, ὡς καὶ κάτοπτρον τούτῳ κομίσαι κατὰ τὸ παρ' ἐκείνοις ἔθος καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ ἀτενίζειν παρακαλεῖν. Ὁ δὲ τοῦτ' ἰδὼν ἐμειδία κἀκεῖνος διηπορεῖτο τὸ δρώμενον· ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἔθος ἔφη ἀνδράσι καὶ ταῦτα στρατιώταις εἰς κάτοπτρον ἐνορᾶν· "γυναιξὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο μόναις ἐπιτετήδευται μεριμνώσαις ἀρέσκειν τοῖς σφῶν ἀνδράσιν· ἀνδρὶ δὲ στρατιώτῃ κόσμος τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τὸ τῆς διαίτης λιτόν τε καὶ ἄθρυπτον". Οἱ δὲ ταῦτ' ἐπαΐοντες τοῦ νέου τὸ σῶφρον καὶ συνετὸν διὰ θαύματος ἦγον. Ἐπιξενωθεὶς οὖν αὐτοῖς τρισὶν ἡμέραις, ἤδη τῶν θεραπόντων καταλαβόντων, ἀπῄει ὡς ἐπὶ Ἄγκυραν· ἔφθη γάρ τις τῶν ἐκ τῆς μάχης διασωθέντων πυνθανομένῳ τούτῳ περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ὑποδεῖξαί τι πολίχνιον, εἰς ὃ διασεσῶσθαι τοῦτον τοὺς διώκοντας διαδράντα ἐβεβαιοῦτο. Οἰόμενος οὖν ἀληθῆ τὰ ἀπαγγελθέντα εἶναι, ἠπείγετο συγγενέσθαι τῷ ἀδελφῷ. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν διεψεύσατο, ὁ δ' ἀπιὼν περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ὡς ἁλῴη πεπληροφόρητο. ∆ιαψευσθεὶς οὖν τῶν ἐλπίδων ἠνιᾶτο μὲν καὶ ἠθύμει καὶ ἔστενε καὶ ἐδάκρυεν, οὐ μὴν πέπαυστο τῆς ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσω πορείας. 2.8 Ἀλλ' ἐν Ἀγκύρᾳ γενόμενος διεπέμπετο πανταχόθεν μαθεῖν τι πλέον καὶ ὡς βούλοιντο οἱ τὸν ἀδελφὸν κατασχόντες ἀποδόσθαι τιμῆς χρυσίου χιλιάδων συχνῶν ἠκηκόει· τούτων ἐκεῖνος ἀκούσας τῶν λόγων ἀπήλλακτό τε τῆς πολλῆς ἀθυμίας καὶ πρὸς τὴν