to be left completely desolate of men. But as many as went over to the emperor of the Romans (and indeed some did go over), receiving public land from the Macedonian territory, adopted the Roman cause, and have been their allies from that time until now, just as also some of the Patzinaks, as many as changed sides in a similar manner to these, and were deemed worthy of senatorial and brilliant dignities. But before this year, in the month of September 88, that is of the second indiction, on the twenty-third day of the same month, around the second watch of the night, there suddenly occurred an earthquake more astonishing than any that had ever happened, beginning from the western regions. And so great was its magnitude as to overturn many houses, and to leave few undamaged. Not even churches remained untouched by its violence, but they too were rent apart in certain parts, and in some cases for the most part; and columns were shattered as if by some carving tools. For it did not strike once, as it was usually wont, and then cease, but three motions were completed in succession with violence. From which arose the greatest wailing and such fear as had never before fallen upon men, and coming out of their houses they shouted the customary cry to God, and women kept in their chambers, shaken by fear, cast off their modesty and stood in the open, uttering the same cry. Then during that night up to ten and twelve tremors of the earth followed, much less than the preceding ones; for if they had been equal to the first, there would have been nothing to prevent the whole property, through which it spread and which it came upon, from being overturned from its very foundations and rendered useless, and all the inhabitants as a whole from tasting a most pitiful death. For this reason, also for those who discourse on the nature of earthquakes—that the tremor occurs randomly and insensibly through the motion of water in 89 the hollows of the earth and the whirling of winds in them 89—the concept has been overturned. For if the concussion were produced solely from their force, whenever they whirl around in the cavities of the earth and receive a compressed exhalation, as these men say, the tremor would have been disorderly and would not have ceased its immense impulse until an absolute collapse, so that the whole would not be immediately swallowed up. But now, through so great and measured a shaking, the tremor is shown to be a work of a divine sign, for the checking and chastisement of human impulses, and the rebuke of divine forbearance, in order that the race might not be utterly destroyed, but might turn to better things. That the earthquake occurs from a blast of wind or from a motion of waters is not itself out of place with respect to the physical constitution. For this is very much possible; but the upheaval is not automatic (for this is what is overturned by us), but from a divine will, because the divine does not immediately administer matters concerning earthly nature. For thus also the compression of clouds for rain and their collision for thunder and lightning thereupon are shown to be secondary causes; but the whole depends on the divine will, according to the pious. And in the Macedonian regions the coastal cities suffered more than the others on that night, I mean Rhae 90 destus and Panion and Myriophytum itself, so that parts were perchance overturned from their very foundation and very many houses, and death came upon many. And in the Hellespont, Cyzicus, where also the Hellenic temple in it was shaken and for the most part fell down, being a very great thing to behold on account of its strength and the most skillful harmony and construction of the most beautiful and largest stone and the endurance of its height and size. From then and for up to two years sporadic earthquakes occurred at different times. and the astonishment was as great as could be

ἔρημον ἀνθρώπων καταλειφθῆναι παντάπασιν. ὅσοι δὲ προσῆλθον τῷ τῶν Ῥωμαίων βασιλεῖ (καὶ γὰρ προσῆλθον τινές), χώραν λαβόντες δημοσίαν ἀπὸ τῆς Μακεδονικῆς τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐφρόνησαν, καὶ σύμμαχοι τούτων ἐξ ἐκείνου μέχρι τῆς δεῦρο γεγόνασι, καθὰ δὴ καὶ τῶν Πατζινάκων τινές, ὅσοι τούτοις παρωμοιωμένως μετέθεντο, καὶ ἀξιωμάτων συγκλητικῶν καὶ λαμπρῶν ἠξιώθησαν. Πρὸ δὲ τούτου τοῦ ἔτους, κατὰ τὸν σεπτέμβριον μῆνα 88 δηλαδὴ τῆς δευτέρας ἐπινεμήσεως, εἰκοστὴν καὶ τρίτην ἄγοντος τοῦ αὐτοῦ μηνός, περὶ δευτέραν νυκτὸς φυλακὴν γέγονεν ἀθρόον σεισμὸς τῶν πώποτε γενομένων ἐκπληκτικώτερος, ἐκ τῶν ἑσπερίων μερῶν ἀρξάμενος. τοσοῦτος δὲ ἦν τὸ μέγεθος ὡς καὶ οἰκίας ἀνατρέψαι πολλάς, ὀλίγας δὲ ἀνυβρίστους καταλιπεῖν. οὐδὲ ναοὶ τῆς τούτου σφοδρότητος ἀθιγεῖς μεμενήκασιν ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ κατά τινα μέρη, ἔστι δ' οἷς καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα περιερράγησαν· καὶ κίονες ὥσπερ τισὶ λαξευτηρίοις περιεδρύφθησαν. οὐ γὰρ ἅπαξ προσβαλών, ὡς τὰ πολλὰ εἰώθει, ἐλώφησεν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ σφοδρότητος κινήσεις τρεῖς προσεχῶς ἐτελέσθησαν. ἀφ' ὧν κωκυτὸς μέγιστος καὶ φόβος ὅσος οὐδέπω τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπέπεσε, καὶ τῶν οἰκιῶν ἐξιόντες τὸ σύνηθες ἐπιφώνημα πρὸς θεὸν ἀνεβόων, καὶ γυναῖκες θαλαμευόμεναι, τῷ φόβῳ κατασεισθῆναι, τὴν αἰδῶ περιεῖλον καὶ τοῖς ὑπαίθροις ἐφίσταντο, τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπαφιεῖσαι φωνήν. εἶτα τῆς νυκτὸς ἐκείνης ἄχρι τῶν δέκα καὶ δώδεκα τρόμοι τῆς γῆς ἠκολούθησαν, τῶν προηγησαμένων πολλῷ τῷ περιόντι ἐλάττονες· ἢ γὰρ ἄν, εἰ τοῖς πρώην ἐξίσωνται, οὐδὲν ἦν τὸ κωλῦσον μὴ οὐχὶ πᾶσαν ὁμοῦ τὴν κτῆσιν δι' ἧς ἐπεπόλασε καὶ ἣν ἐπῆλθεν, ἐκ βάθρων αὐτῶν ἀνατραπῆναι καὶ εἰς οὐδὲν χρησιμεῦσαι, καὶ παγγενεὶ τοὺς οἰκήτορας πάντας οἰκτίστου θανάτου γεύσασθαι. καθ' ὃν δὴ λόγον καὶ τοῖς φυσιολογοῦσι περὶ σεισμῶν ὡς εἰκῇ καὶ ἀναισθήτως διὰ τῆς τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν 89 τοῖς κοίλοις τῆς γῆς κινήσεως καὶ τῆς τῶν ἀνέμων ἐν τούτοις 89 δινήσεως ὁ κλόνος προσγίνεται, ἀνατέτραπται τὸ ἐννόημα. εἰ γὰρ ἐκ μόνης τῆς βίας αὐτῶν, ὁπόταν ἐν τοῖς κοιλώμασι τῆς γῆς περιελιχθεῖεν καὶ διάπνοιαν συμπεπιλημένην λάβοιεν, καθὼς οὗτοι φασίν, ἡ συγκίνησις ἐκτελοῖτο, κἂν ἀταξίαν εἶχεν ὁ κλόνος καὶ οὐχὶ μέχρι πτώσεως ἀκαταπτώτου τὴν ἄπλετον ἔληγεν ὁρμήν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ πᾶν αὐτίκα καταποθῇ. νῦν δὲ διὰ τῆς τοσαύτης καὶ συμμέτρου παρακινήσεως δείκνυται θεοσημίας ἔργον ὁ κλόνος, εἰς ἀναστολὴν καὶ παίδευσιν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ὁρμῶν, καὶ τῆς θείας ἀνεξικακίας ἡ ἐπιτίμησις, ἐφ' ᾧ μὴ ἄρδην ἀπολέσθαι τὸ γένος, ἀλλ' ἐπιστρέψαι πρὸς τὰ βελτίονα. τὸ δ' ἐξ ἐπιπνοίας ἀνεμιαίας εἴτε μὴν ὑδάτων κινήσεως γίνεσθαι τὸν σεισμὸν οὐκ ἄκαιρον οὐδ' αὐτὸ πρὸς φυσικὴν συγκατασκευήν. ἐνδέχεται γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ πάνυ· ἀλλ' οὐκ αὐτομάτως ἡ ἐπισκίρτησις (τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ ἀνατρεπόμενον παρ' ἡμῶν), ἀλλ' ἐκ θείου βουλήματος, ὅτι μὴ ἀμέσως τὸ θεῖον τὰ περὶ τὴν γηίνην φύσιν οἰκονομεῖ. οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὑετοῦ ἡ νεφῶν συμπίλησις καὶ βροντῆς ἡ τούτων σύγκρουσις καὶ ἀστραπῆς ἐπὶ ταύτῃ παραίτιοι καταφαίνονται· ἀλλὰ τὸ πᾶν τῆς θείας γνώμης κατὰ τοὺς εὐσεβοῦντας ἐξήρτηται. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς Μακεδονικοῖς μέρεσιν αἱ παράλιοι πόλεις κατ' ἐκείνην τὴν νύκτα μᾶλλον τῶν ἄλλων πεπόνθασι, Ῥαι 90 δεστός τε φημὶ καὶ Πάνιον καὶ αὐτὸ Μυριόφυτον, ὡς καὶ μέρη τυχὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς ὑποβάθρας ἀνατραπῆναι καὶ πλείστας οἰκίας, καὶ φόνον ἐπιγενέσθαι πολλοῖς. ἐν δὲ τῷ Ἑλλησπόντῳ ἡ Κύζικος, ὁπότε καὶ τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ Ἑλληνικὸν ἱερὸν κατεσείσθη καὶ τῷ πλείστῳ μέρει κατέπεσε, μέγιστον ὂν χρῆμα πρὸς θέαν δι' ὀχυρότητα καὶ λίθου τοῦ καλλίστου τε καὶ μεγίστου τεχνικωτάτην ἁρμονίαν τε καὶ ἀνοικοδομὴν καὶ ὕψους καὶ μεγέθους διάρκειαν. Ἀπὸ τότε δὲ καὶ μέχρις ἐνιαυτῶν δύο σποράδες ἐπεφοίτων σεισμοὶ κατὰ διαφόρους καιρούς. καὶ τὸ θάμβος μέγιστον ὅσον