Compendium chronicum
Gold-bearing, glistening with robes studded with pearls. the fragrant violet shone, the rose shone back. every kind of violet's color smiled from ever
The fine-spun ones. the large-winged, large-hooked-beaked, hooked-clawed, boasting their claws like javelins, having a beak sharper than daggers, for
Having made him a composite of soul and body, and having bestowed the grace of a will moved by itself, and having formed him according to his likeness
Of yours, and you will be called gods, and you will know all things. the woman heard these things, she heeded the flattery, she was conquered by the
Land-born, winged, walking but god, opening the floodgates of heaven, brought down from there whole seas of rain, covered the peaks of the deep-cliff
They stole, they committed adultery, and finally they looked toward idolatry. seruch was the first to begin to use carved images and pillars, being th
Javelin-bowmen, armor-bearers, spearmen, men furious in battle, and having taken an allied force from the nation of the huns, and having made allies o
Chaldeans, and the plaything of fortune and the dice of affairs, having sufficiently mocked others, passed over to others. and when these things were
Mandane, and that the liquid poured forth was so great as to be able to cover the face of the land of asia. this was the first dream, and a second one
Not even among the most famous, like that of the medes and persians, or that of the assyrians. candaules was king of lydia and phrygia, tracing his li
To be contrived by such devices. he, having learned and discerned which mare the horse of darius loved more than all the others, after the two of them
Having heard that joseph, the one born of rachel, was governing the land of egypt for pharaoh, and also contriving to find a release from his sufferin
Was sung. and a light of gladness rose for the hebrews, but the darkness of calamities overshadowed the egyptians. the israelites who fled egypt then
He exposes him in a place called parion after paris himself. he was therefore cast aside carelessly. shepherds found him, pitied him, took him up. the
Because helen had been seized by someone, all fought on her behalf with their own bodies. so after much entreating and importuning, they persuade the
While strong-handed achilles was present, the counsels of the son of laertes were ineffective, and every plot devised and scheme stitched together aga
The swarm of trojans mingled with each other, daring to do nothing. and there was a temple before the walls of beautifully-towered troy, where achille
To proteus, he also finds his consort there in memphis, and having been hosted and honored he receives helen, and after considerable toils he reaches
Flapping its wings, a great-winged bird, fanned the fire into flame with its wings. but a certain cunning fox, vying with these and contending against
To be called, remaining faithful, keepers of the house and guardians of what is within. then taking a clod of earth in his hand from outside, he throw
The most unjust slaughter of his father, and perceiving as a man of sense that he would share the danger with his father and brother and would die wit
Caesar wished to take into the fellowship of marriage a woman who was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, and he urged nero to betroth his wife to hi
And his whole character was lecherous, and worse than others, lusting after women joined to men, and commanding their spouses to serve his abomination
You will cause me pain for those who are sated on my rotten limbs will vex me for a short time, but if others fall upon me, they will cling more viol
Bringing with them a chariot-driver mime, they came upon him to kill him. and nero, knowing this, killed himself, saying this at the end: what an art
Extinguishes it, and dogs, running up and eating the bonds, release the stargazer who was invoking the gods many times. and these things indeed were a
Ravaging and plundering, being in want of money, pressed by need and having no army from anywhere to arm against them, set forth in the marketplace th
Of great things, what terror was not present, what was not dared! slaughters and toils everywhere, and pools of blood. and the gloom of the prison hel
Their names were constans and constantine) manages the western parts and rome and the gauls. but these were extinguished rather quickly and before the
But when that woman again added that her husband was plotting against gratian himself, he replied again, what is that to you, woman? and they say th
Orestes, and after orestes the son of romulus was the last to take hold of the rule. and the great-named city, the city of the romans, having had romu
They set aside the young woman. athenais the maiden, exceedingly distressed at these things and wounded in her soul, goes to her maternal aunt, she sh
Learning of the emperor, she arrives in the city of jerusalem as quickly as possible, and there, having completed the remainder of her life, she pays
When a fierce battle had broken out and he was leading the romans against the arrogant persians, marcian, seized by a death-threatening illness, remai
A man, a treasure of wisdom, was slandered as a hellene, isocasius by name, a quaestor by rank and from there, stripped of both honor and money, he i
Having reigned over the romans for eighteen years. but this one, having tasted power for a short time, departed from the earth rather quickly, leaving
The poison with the trisagion hymn, and when he saw the whole crowd immediately run wild and drive the eparch from the temple with stones and burn dow
Justin, but being inflamed with zeal for the pious religion, kindled an implacable war against the manichaeans and a persecution more severe than thos
Manly minds for with this man he joined mighty battles, and so terrified chosroes that he wished to exchange peace for man-slaying wars. and rome the
With graces and bear torches for creation, and appear as bright stars to those on earth but the sun leaped up from a most beautiful lake, and the tor
Such power, and being filled with greater zeal, he held to what must be done. and it happened that not long after something like this occurred, worthy
Into the judgments of the judge shook the hearts of all. from there a calm of justice-doing was spread everywhere, instead of a winter and a gloomy te
And by the things that will be said and the khagan, having attacked the garrisons of the romans (the khagan was king of the northern scythians) and h
Of dregs. therefore, he is caught fleeing together with the empress and the purple-born branches sprung from him. but the most god-hated, man-slaying
With golden helmets, delicate, all quiver-bearing, on snorting, gold-phalerad horses. so when the emperor saw it was impossible to engage with the arm
Having embarked in boats, they came on, covering the back of the sea with their dense light boats, with their single-log vessels. thus there were many
But nevertheless he did not long enjoy his fortune, but it quickly grew cold, but appearing he was hidden, just as a rose might spring up and immediat
Him, only one thing troubled, lest the scepter reach justinian again, and he who was formerly deprived of it, and of his nose along with it, might aga
Infancy was subjected to murderous hands for slaughter but here, boys of fifteen, girls in their early bloom, young men, soft-skinned women, little g
You will see a dreadful thing, and he bespattered the ground, flowing away like water. thus it was said well and wisely by the ancients, nothing beyo
But the emperor theodosios, shrinking from the audacity and the beast-like heart of leo, yielded the throne and the crown to his enemy, willingly or u
From the kandys and the torc i will know, and the croaking raven from its blackness. near the precinct of the wisdom of god a splendid house had been
He plundered beauty, he cut out the sacred images from the churches, and in their place with the same colors and mosaics he engraved his beloved hunti
From there he is rolled towards lawless deeds, and he shaves the head of his most temperate consort, and introduces the union with another woman into
They drive him from the throne and the city as a fugitive. and he, having indicated these things in writing to the empress and having besought to rece
They were supplicating, even employing force. but he, not knowing the turn of the balancing scale of fortune, and fearing its wavering will, approache
And again the tail of the dragon was moved. the abomination, i mean, of iconoclasm, like a great dragon, crept, dreadful and gaping, it rushed to devo
And from there what was being built was overturned from its roots, and having stained his own war-loving hands with murders and having made every spea
The king, on account of the bruises and the numerous wounds, or rather cases of paralysis, was shaken in his soul at what had happened, and wishing to
Finding their catch, they write to the just man while he is fishing with nets a short writing in iambic meter, which, since i have deemed it not right
Having been persuaded and having received complete assurance that theophilos was delivered from the torments there, she became a fellow-diner with the
Of the ancient kings, both the golden trees, and the chattering sparrows, and lions made of hammered gold, and simply every royal thing gleaming in th
By his hand, but the contriver of evils paid the penalty, and the preparer of terrible things drank a cup of wrath. bardas, therefore, while digging a
Scarcely the temple-keeper he immediately makes basil a member of his household, and deems him worthy of fitting care. and basil was handsome, noble,
To earth-born men, and certain innate dooms accompany men. for this one, great in understanding among emperors, having been persuaded by certain serpe
By the transgression of tetragamy. but leo, the most philosophical among emperors, having fallen into the natural necessities of the body and being af
He arms himself on behalf of the one who had been out-generaled with an army drawn from many places, from the lycaonians, from the thracians, from the
Raising him from a lowly state to the summit, he makes him father and guardian of the empire. and drawing romanos further into his affection, he gives
Of unstained rule, and being about to be released from the bonds of nature, he appointed his son romanos as sole ruler. but he, entrusting all strengt
He conveys everything, and says, alas, o general, for the fortune of the romans! until when will woman-souled eunuchs steer the ship of state, resour
Medimni of grain to be sold for a nomisma. thus phocas managed the matter meanly, and this though he was rich in thousand-bushel granaries, laden with
Near the ister cutting down the phalanxes, breaking the scytharchs, killing, pursuing, routing the champions, as if some lion falling upon broad-flank
Slumber to his eyelids, nor sleep to his eyes, until he drove out the wolves, the devourers of sheep. the mighty ones of the bulgars recognized his st
And having been taught by certain people that after him the rule would pass to romanos, one of the senate, surnamed argyropoulos, he compels the man t
Having the care of those in the home for the aged, he managed all other matters of state up and down and was seen openly as the keeper of the ruler. t
Rushing into the inner sanctuary, from there they seize the wretched man, crying out with groans from the heart, with hot tears, and they gouge out hi
Bloody streams, but murderous outpourings. he seized the fortresses, he seized the cities. he went on, roaring in his anger, breathing fire more than
Of the power to comnenus. but those who were allotted to steer the ship of state, wishing not to save it but to sink it and swamp the most wretched th
But suddenly the tempests of the flesh, having grown wild, stirred up a hard-to-calm, wave-tossed wind, they brought on nausea, vomiting, dizziness, t
To sheep-guarded folds. but a winged dove, flying up from somewhere, alighted on his knees with a silent flutter, not like the one before that flew to
Promising down on his temples, using caesar his uncle as a rival and the most powerful men and those in high military command, he at once seats himsel
Shining with purple dye and gold, and using in turn overlapping garments, he sat upon high, silver-studded thrones, adorning with dignities all who ca
But when that woman again added that her husband was plotting against Gratian himself, he replied again, "What is that to you, woman?" And they say that Gratian shot with such good aim that his arrows were said to have the wits of Gratian. When he was most pitifully slaughtered by a certain tyrant, the emperor Theodosius takes Rome, and punishes the murderer, and transfers the rule of Rome to Valentinian the younger, the brother of Gratian who had been emperor. And again another disturbance, again a heavy-sounding wave, striving to sink the vessel of the empire. A certain Eugenius plays the tyrant, and the emperor, using a halter, painfully ends his life. And again Theodosius against the murderer. At any rate the tyrant is taken alive, he is bound in handcuffs, he pays the penalty for his audacity and his deeds, and he pitifully falls from both his life and his rule. And Honorius is appointed emperor and ruler of the elder Rome by his father as sole monarch, who was born a son to Theodosius by Plakilla. And when Theodosius then departed this life, having governed the empire for seventeen years, Arcadius handles the rudders of the East, having sprung from the same seed as Honorius. Then the blood-drinking Goths, despising the ruler of the West as weak-hearted, a war-loving nation, hard to fight, rejoicing in man-slaying, run down the borders of the older Rome, and Alaric takes the royal wealth and Placidia, who was the emperor's sister, who, having immediately escaped the hands of the barbarians, runs with haste to her brother Honorius, who had fled for refuge to Ravenna, a city of strong towers, and is yoked to Constantius, the one who had saved her; from whom Valentinian the younger was born, who after these things was appointed emperor of Rome. And when Arcadius laid aside the dust of his tabernacle, having reigned auspiciously for thirteen years, Theodosius sits on the thrones of the East, whom the emperor Arcadius had by Eudoxia. Theodosius therefore sends his own daughter to Valentinian for the fellowship of marriage. But indeed the love of pleasure of this young man and the unrestrained madness of his life of sensuality deprived him of both his life and his royal power, and brought his partner of the bed into disgrace. And how this came to be will be told briefly. Maximus was a preeminent man of consular rank in Rome. With him lived a woman lovely in appearance, boasting an irresistible beauty, a veritable garden of beauty; and her modesty adorned the woman even more. When the emperor saw her, he is captivated by her beauty, and he moves every rope to obtain his desire. At any rate, playing dice with Maximus, the woman's husband, and appearing superior, when he did not have gold to pay, he takes that man's golden ring, to be a pledge for what was owed. He sends out the ring to the woman as a sign, that would signal her arrival to the empress. The woman believes these things, she recognizes the sign. She arrives at the palace. What after this? The emperor, having taken her aside, shames her by force. Maximus learns these things, his heart is inflamed, he arms himself for vengeance, he weaves all sorts of plots, and finally he puts the emperor to death with a sword, having first deprived him of his best guard-commanders, and he also shames his wife Eudoxia. The empress suffers terribly, she groans over the outrage, and sends to Gizerichus, king of the Vandals, urging him to come against Rome. Gizerichus came, he took possession of Rome, he bitterly enslaved it, he held as captives both the empress herself and her daughters. Rome therefore, having been ruled for a little while longer, was finally deprived of its imperial power, and it yielded to the kings and ethnarchs of the barbarians, and was unhappily humbled by their hands. So Maximus, who then played the tyrant, ruled, and after him Anthemius, the great Olybrius; and after Olybrius, Major held power, and after him Glycerius, and after this one again Nepotianus
31
ἐκείνης δὲ τῆς γυναικὸς αὖθις προσεπειπούσης καὶ κατ' αὐτοῦ βουλεύεσθαι Γρατιανοῦ τὸν ἄνδρα, πάλιν ἀνταπεκρίνατο "τί σοι πρὸς
τοῦτο, γύναι;" εὐστόχως δ' οὕτω τοι φασὶ Γρατιανὸν τοξεύειν ὡς φρένας ἔχειν λέγεσθαι Γρατιανοῦ τὰ βέλη. Τούτου σφαγέντος οἴκτιστα
παρά τινος τυράννου ὁ κράτωρ Θεοδόσιος Ῥώμην καταλαμβάνει, καὶ τὸν φονέα τίννυται, καὶ τὸ τῆς Ῥώμης κράτος εἰς Οὐαλεντινιανὸν
τὸν νέον μεταφέρει, τὸν ἀδελφὸν Γρατιανοῦ τοῦ βεβασιλευκότος. καὶ πάλιν ἄλλος τάραχος, πάλιν βαρύθρους κλύδων, τὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς
φιλονεικῶν καταποντίσαι σκάφος. Εὐγένιός τις τυραννεῖ, καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀγχόνῃ χρησάμενος ὀδυνηρῶς τὸν βίον καταστρέφει. καὶ πάλιν
Θεοδόσιος κατὰ τοῦ παλαμναίου. ζωγρεῖται γοῦν ὁ τύραννος, δεσμεῖται χειροπέδαις, τοῦ θράσους δίκας τίννυσι καὶ τῶν τετολμημένων,
καὶ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐλεεινῶς ἐκπίπτει. καὶ βασιλεὺς Ὁνώριος τῆς πρεσβυτέρας Ῥώμης καὶ κράτωρ ἀναδείκνυται πρὸς τοῦ
πατρὸς αὐτάναξ, ὃς ἐκ Πλακίλλης γέγονεν υἱὸς Θεοδοσίῳ. Θεοδοσίου δὲ λοιπὸν τὸν βίον λελοιπότος, ἐν ἔτεσιν ἰθύναντος δεκαεπτὰ
τὸ κράτος, Ἀρκάδιος χειρίζεται τοὺς οἴακας τῆς ἕω, ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀναφυεὶς σπερμάτων Ὁνωρίῳ. τότε καταφρονήσαντες ὡς μαλακοκαρδίου
τοῦ τῆς ἑσπέρας ἄρχοντος αἱματορρόφοι Γότθοι, φίλοπλον ἔθνος, δύσμαχον, χαῖρον ἀνδροκτασίαις, τῶν ὅρων κατατρέχουσι τῆς παλαιτέρας
Ῥώμης, καὶ πλοῦτον τὸν βασίλειον Ἀλάριχος λαμβάνει καὶ Πλακιδίαν ἀδελφὴν οὖσαν τοῦ βασιλέως, ἥτις φυγοῦσα παρευθὺ τὰς χεῖρας
τῶν βαρβάρων σπουδῇ πρὸς τὸν Ὁνώριον τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐκτρέχει, εἰς Ῥάβενναν στερρόπυργον πόλιν προσπεφευγότα, καὶ Κωνσταντίῳ ζεύγνυται
τῷ ταύτην σεσωκότι· ἐξ ὧν Οὐαλεντινιανὸς ὁ νέος ἀπετέχθη, ὁ μετὰ ταῦτα βασιλεὺς ἀναδειχθεὶς τῆς Ῥώμης. ὡς δὲ τὸν χοῦν Ἀρκάδιος
ἀπέθετο τοῦ σκήνους, ἔτεσι δέκα πρὸς τρισὶν αἰσίως βασιλεύσας, τῆς ἕω Θεοδόσιος ἐγκάθηται τοῖς θρόνοις, ὃν βασιλεὺς Ἀρκάδιος
ἐξ Εὐδοξίας ἔσχεν. Ὁ τοίνυν Θεοδόσιος ἰδίαν θυγατέρα πέμπει Οὐαλεντινιανῷ πρὸς γάμου κοινωνίαν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ τὸ φιλήδονον τούτου
τοῦ νεανίου καὶ λύττησις ἀκάθεκτος ἡ τῆς φιλοσαρκίας ζωῆς αὐτὸν ἐστέρησε καὶ κράτους βασιλείου, καὶ τὴν τοῦ λέχους κοινωνὸν
κατήγαγεν εἰς ὕβριν. ὅπως δὲ τοῦτο γέγονεν εἰρήσεται συντόμως. Μάξιμος ἦν ὑπατικὸς ἐν Ῥώμῃ πρωτιστεύων. τούτῳ συνῴκει γύναιον
ἐπέραστον τὴν ὄψιν, κάλλος ἀμήχανον αὐχοῦν, κῆπος ἄντικρυς κάλλους· ἐκόσμει δὲ τὸ γύναιον ἡ σωφροσύνη πλέον. ὅπερ ἰδὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς
ἁλίσκεται τῷ κάλλει, καὶ πάντα κάλων συγκινεῖ πρὸς τὸ τυχεῖν τοῦ πόθου. τῷ γοῦν ἀνδρὶ τῆς γυναικὸς Μαξίμῳ συγκυβεύων καὶ καθυπέρτερος
φανείς, μὴ φέροντος χρυσίον, λαμβάνει τὸν δακτύλιον τὸν χρύσεον ἐκείνου, φερέγγυον ἐσόμενον τῶν ἐποφειλομένων. ἐκπέμπει τὸν
δακτύλιον τῇ γυναικὶ σημεῖον, τὴν ἄφιξιν ἐνδώσοντα τὴν πρὸς τὴν βασιλίδα. πιστεύει τούτοις ἡ γυνή, γνωρίζει τὸ σημεῖον. φθάνει
πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια. τίνα τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα; ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπολαβὼν ταύτην αἰσχύνει βίᾳ. μανθάνει ταῦτα Μάξιμος, πιμπρᾶται τὴν καρδίαν,
εἰς ἄμυναν ὁπλίζεται, δόλους παντοίους ῥάπτει, καὶ τελευταῖον θανατοῖ ξίφει τὸν βασιλέα, φρουρῶν ἀρίστων στρατηγῶν πρῶτον
αὐτὸν στερήσας, αἰσχύνει καὶ τὴν γαμετὴν τούτου τὴν Εὐδοξίαν. ἡ βασιλὶς δεινοπαθεῖ, τὴν ὕβριν ἀναστένει, καὶ πέμπει πρὸς Γιζέριχον
τῶν Οὐανδήλων ῥῆγα, κατὰ τῆς Ῥώμης ἐπελθεῖν ἐκεῖνον παρορμῶσα. ἐπῆλθεν ὁ Γιζέριχος, ἐκράτησε τῆς Ῥώμης, ἠνδραποδίσατο πικρῶς,
δορυαλώτους ἔσχεν αὐτήν τε τὴν βασίλισσαν καὶ τὰς ἐκείνης κόρας. Ἡ μὲν οὖν Ῥώμη πρὸς μικρὸν ἔτι βασιλευθεῖσα τὸ κράτος τὸ
βασίλειον εἰς τέλος ἀφῃρέθη, καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων τοῖς ῥηξὶν εἶξε καὶ τοῖς ἐθνάρχαις, καὶ ταῖς παλάμαις δυστυχῶς τούτων ἐταπεινώθη.
ἦρξε μὲν οὖν ὁ Μάξιμος ὁ τότε τυραννήσας, καὶ μετ' αὐτὸν Ἀνθέμιος, Ὀλύβριος ὁ πάνυ· μετὰ δὲ τὸν Ὀλύβριον ἐκράτησε Μαΐωρ, καὶ
μετ' αὐτὸν Γλυκέριος, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον πάλιν Νεπωτιανὸς
31
