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to do anything other than worship God according to the law of the Church. 2.4.8 And if anyone should be caught attempting the former things, the bishops were to report it, so that the greatest punishment might be inflicted upon him. In accordance with this letter of the emperor, rulers and priests of Christ put the commands into effect. 2.5.1 But since many communities and cities throughout the whole empire, still having fear and reverence for the fantasy concerning the idols, were turning away from the doctrine of the Christians, and were devoted to antiquity and to their ancestral customs and festivals, it seemed necessary to him to teach his subjects to neglect the objects of their worship. And this would be easy, if he first accustomed them 2.5.2 to despise the temples and the statues in them. But when this was conceived, there was no need of a military hand, but Christian men in the palace carried out the decisions, passing through the cities with imperial letters. For the people, fearing for themselves and their children and wives, lest they should suffer some evil by resisting, kept quiet. But being deprived of the support of the populace, the temple-wardens and the priests gave up their most precious things and what were called the things fallen from heaven, and they themselves brought these things forth from the 2.5.3 sanctuaries and the hidden recesses in the temples. And so what was formerly inaccessible and known only to priests was henceforth accessible to those who wished; and of the idols, those made of precious material and of others, as much as seemed useful, were refined by fire and became public money, while those wonderfully wrought in bronze were transported from all over to the emperor's namesake city for 2.5.4 adornment; and to this day they are set up in public along the streets and in the Hippodrome and the palace: the Pythian Apollo of the oracle, the Heliconian Muses, the tripods at Delphi, and the renowned Pan, which Pausanias the Lacedaemonian and the Greek cities dedicated after the war against the Medes. And of the temples, some were stripped of their doors, others of their roofs, 2.5.5 and others, being otherwise neglected, fell into ruin and were destroyed. At that time also the temple of Asclepius in Aegae of Cilicia and that of Aphrodite in Aphaca near Mount Lebanon and the river Adonis were razed and completely destroyed. Both temples were most famous and venerable to the ancients, since the people of Aegae boasted that those sick in body were freed from their diseases among them, as the demon appeared by night and healed them; and in Aphaca, at a certain invocation and on a specified day, a fire darting like a star from the peak of Lebanon would descend into the adjacent river. And they said that this was Urania, thus calling 2.5.6 Aphrodite. As these things thus happened according to plan, the emperor's zealous purpose advanced. For some, seeing the formerly august and dreadful objects cast down at random and stuffed inside with straw and rubbish, came to despise their former objects of veneration and blamed their ancestors for their error, while others, envying the honor Christians had with the emperor, thought it necessary to imitate the customs of the ruler. Still others, having given themselves over to an examination of the doctrine either through signs or dreams or association with bishops or monks, 2.5.7 decided it was better to become Christians. And from that time, communities and cities willingly changed their former opinion; at which time the port of the city of the Gazaeans, which they call Maioumas, being exceedingly superstitious and admiring ancient things before this, suddenly converted to Christianity, all its people together. 2.5.8 And rewarding them for their piety, the emperor deemed them worthy of the greatest honor and declared the place, which was not a city before, to be a city, and named it Constantia, honoring the place on account of its religion with the name of his most honored of children. And for a similar reason I have learned that Constantina in Phoenicia also took on the emperor's name. But indeed it is not easy to write of each instance; for very many other cities at that time also deserted to the religion and spontaneously, with the emperor commanding nothing, those among

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ἕτερον πράττεσθαι ἢ τὸν θεὸν θρησκεύειν κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας νόμον. 2.4.8 εἰ δὲ τὰ πρότερόν τις ἐπιχειρῶν ἁλοίη, τοὺς ἐπισκόπους μηνύειν, ὥστε αὐτῷ μεγίστην τιμωρίαν ἐπαγαγεῖν. κατὰ ταύτην τὴν βασιλέως ἐπιστολὴν ἄρχοντες καὶ ἱερεῖς Χριστοῦ ἔργῳ τὰ προστεταγμένα παρέδοσαν. 2.5.1 ᾿Επειδὴ δὲ πολλοὶ δῆμοι καὶ πόλεις ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν ὑπήκοον, εἰσέτι δεῖμα καὶ σέβας ἔχοντες τῆς περὶ τὰ ξόανα φαντασίας, ἀπεστρέφοντο τὸ δόγμα τῶν Χριστιανῶν, ἀρχαιότητός τε ἐπεμελοῦντο καὶ τῶν πατρίων ἐθῶν καὶ πανηγύρεων, ἀναγκαῖον αὐτῷ ἐφάνη παιδεῦσαι τοὺς ἀρχομένους ἀμελεῖν τῶν θρησκευομένων. εἶναι δὲ τοῦτο εὐπετές, εἰ πρῶτον αὐτοὺς ἐθίσειε 2.5.2 καταφρονεῖν τῶν ναῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀγαλμάτων. ἐννοηθέντι δὲ ταῦτα στρατιωτικῆς χειρὸς οὐκ ἐδέησεν, ἀλλ' ἄνδρες Χριστιανοὶ ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις ἐπετέλουν τὰ δόξαντα διαβάντες τὰς πόλεις ἅμα γράμμασι βασιλικοῖς. οἱ μὲν γὰρ δῆμοι περὶ αὐτῶν καὶ παίδων καὶ γυναικῶν δεδιότες, μή τι κακὸν πάθωσιν ἐναντιούμενοι, ἡσυχίαν ἦγον. γυμνωθέντες δὲ τῆς τοῦ πλήθους ῥοπῆς οἱ νεωκόροι καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς προὔδωκαν τὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς τιμιώτατα καὶ τὰ διοπετῆ καλούμενα, καὶ δι' ἑαυτῶν ταῦτα προῆγον ἐκ τῶν 2.5.3 ἀδύτων καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ναοῖς κρυφίων μυχῶν. βατά τε λοιπὸν ἦν τοῖς θέλουσι τὰ πρὶν ἄβατα καὶ μόνοις ἱερεῦσιν ἐγνωσμένα· τῶν δ' αὖ ξοάνων τὰ ὄντα τιμίας ὕλης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ὅσον ἐδόκει χρήσιμον εἶναι, πυρὶ διεκρίνετο καὶ δημόσια ἐγίνετο χρήματα, τὰ δὲ ἐν χαλκῷ θαυμασίως εἰργασμένα πάντοθεν εἰς τὴν ἐπώνυμον πόλιν τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος μετεκομίσθη πρὸς 2.5.4 κόσμον· καὶ εἰσέτι νῦν δημοσίᾳ ἵδρυνται κατὰ τὰς ἀγυιὰς καὶ τὸν ἱππόδρομον καὶ τὰ βασίλεια τὰ μὲν τοῦ Πυθίασι μαντικοῦ ᾿Απόλλωνος καὶ Μοῦσαι αἱ ῾Ελικωνιάδες καὶ οἱ ἐν ∆ελφοῖς τρίποδες καὶ ὁ Πὰν ὁ βοώμενος, ὃν Παυσανίας ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος καὶ αἱ ῾Ελληνίδες πόλεις ἀνέθεντο μετὰ τὸν πρὸς Μήδους πόλεμον. νεῶν δὲ οἱ μὲν θυρῶν, οἱ δὲ ὀρόφων ἐγυμνώθησαν, 2.5.5 οἱ δὲ καὶ ἄλλως ἀμελούμενοι ἠρείποντό τε καὶ διεφθείροντο. κατεσκάφησαν δὲ τότε καὶ ἄρδην ἠφανίσθησαν ὁ ἐν Αἰγαῖς τῆς Κιλικίας ᾿Ασκληπιοῦ ναὸς καὶ ὁ ἐν ᾿Αφάκοις τῆς ᾿Αφροδίτης παρὰ τὸν Λίβανον τὸ ὄρος καὶ ῎Αδωνιν τὸν ποταμόν. ἄμφω δὲ ἐπισημοτάτω νεὼ ἐγενέσθην καὶ σεβασμίω τοῖς πάλαι, καθότι Αἰγεᾶται μὲν ηὔχουν τοὺς κάμνοντας τὰ σώματα νόσων ἀπαλλάττεσθαι παρ' αὐτοῖς, ἐπιφαινομένου νύκτωρ καὶ ἰωμένου τοῦ δαίμονος· ἐν ᾿Αφάκοις δὲ κατ' ἐπίκλησίν τινα καὶ ῥητὴν ἡμέραν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀκρωρείας τοῦ Λιβάνου πῦρ διαΐσσον καθάπερ ἀστὴρ εἰς τὸν παρακείμενον ποταμὸν ἔδυνεν. ἔλεγον δὲ τοῦτο τὴν Οὐρανίαν εἶναι, ὡδὶ τὴν ᾿Αφροδίτην καλοῦν2.5.6 τες. τούτων οὕτω συμβάντων κατὰ σκοπὸν προὐχώρει τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸ σπουδαζόμενον. οἱ μὲν γὰρ τὰ πρὶν σεμνὰ καὶ φοβερὰ εἰκῇ ἐρριμμένα καὶ καλάμης καὶ φορυτοῦ ἔνδοθεν βεβυσμένα ὁρῶντες εἰς καταφρόνησιν ἦλθον τῶν προτέρων σεβασμίων καὶ πλάνην τοῖς προγόνοις ἐμέμφοντο, οἱ δὲ ζηλώσαντες τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς τῆς παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ τιμῆς ἀναγκαῖον ᾠήθησαν τὰ τοῦ κρατοῦντος ἤθη μιμήσασθαι. ἄλλοι δὲ καθέντες ἑαυτοὺς εἰς διάσκεψιν τοῦ δόγματος ἢ σημείοις ἢ ὀνείρασιν ἢ ἐπισκόπων ἢ μοναχῶν συνου2.5.7 σίαις ἐδοκίμασαν ἄμεινον εἶναι χριστιανίζειν. ἐξ ἐκείνου τε δῆμοι καὶ πόλεις ἑκοντὶ τῆς προτέρας μετέθεντο γνώμης· ἡνίκα δὴ τὸ ἐπίνειον τῆς Γαζαίων πόλεως, ὃ Μαϊουμᾶν προσαγορεύουσιν, εἰσάγαν δεισιδαιμονοῦν καὶ τὰ ἀρχαῖα πρὸ τούτου θαυμάζον εἰς Χριστιανισμὸν ἀθρόον πανδημεὶ 2.5.8 μετέβαλεν. ἀμειβόμενος δὲ αὐτοὺς τῆς εὐσεβείας ὁ βασιλεὺς πλείστης τιμῆς ἠξίωσε καὶ πόλιν οὐ πρότερον ὂν τὸ χωρίον ἀπέφηνε, καὶ Κωνστάντιαν ἐπωνόμασε, τῷ τιμιωτάτῳ τῶν παίδων γεραίρων τὸν τόπον διὰ τὴν θρησκείαν. ἐκ τοιαύτης δὲ αἰτίας καὶ Κωνσταντίναν τὴν παρὰ Φοίνιξιν ἔγνων ἐπιγράψα2.5. σθαι τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπωνυμίαν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἕκαστα συγγράφειν οὐκ εὐχερές· πλεῖσται γὰρ δὴ καὶ ἄλλαι πόλεις τηνικαῦτα πρὸς τὴν θρησκείαν ηὐτομόλησαν καὶ αὐτόματοι βασιλέως μηδὲν ἐπιτάττοντος τοὺς παρ'