31

Theodora, considering that the woman was both a noblewoman and a queen, and was exceedingly comely to look upon, and was most quick to devise whatever she might wish, and having become suspicious of both her magnificence and her exceptionally masculine bearing, and at the same time fearing her husband's fickle nature, displayed her jealousy for no small reasons, but resolved in her mind to lay a plot against the 16.2 woman even unto death. Therefore, she immediately persuades her husband to send Peter alone to Italy, ostensibly as 16.3 an ambassador. To him, as he was being sent, the Emperor for his part gave instructions which have been related by me in the appropriate passages, so that for me to make public the truth of what was done was impossible for fear of the Empress. 16.4 But she herself charged him only with this, to make the woman disappear from the world as quickly as possible, having put the man in the expectation of great rewards, if he should do what was commanded. 16.5 And he, upon arriving in Italy (for human nature knows not how to proceed reluctantly to an unjust murder, when some office, perhaps, or great wealth lies in prospect) by making some sort of exhortation to Theudatus, I know not what, persuaded him to do away with Amalasuntha. And as a result of this, he came to the rank of Magister and to the greatest height of power and of hatred from all. 16.6 So the affair of Amalasuntha ended thus. 16.7 Now there was a certain secretary of Justinian, Priscus by name, a very wicked man and a Paphlagonian and fitting to please his master in character, and being exceedingly well-disposed toward him and thinking to receive the same from him; for which reason, indeed, he quickly became unjustly the master of great sums of money. 16.8 This man, then, since he was both arrogant and tried to oppose her, Theodora slandered to her husband. 16.9 And at first she accomplished nothing, but not much later she herself put the man on a ship in the middle of winter and sent him wherever she wished, and having had him tonsured, forced him to be a priest, not at all willingly. 16.10 And he, giving the impression that he knew nothing of what was being done, did not inquire where on earth Priscus was nor kept him in memory thereafter, but sat in silence as if seized by lethargy; however, he plundered all his property, with a few things being left for him. 16.11 But when a suspicion arose against her that she was love-smitten with one of her servants, Areobindus by name, a barbarian by birth, but handsome and a youth, whom she herself had happened to appoint as her steward, wishing to absolve herself of the accusation, although, as they say, she was madly in love with the man, she decided for the present to torture him most bitterly for no reason, and thereafter we learned nothing about him, nor has anyone seen him to this day. 16.12 For if there was anything being done which she wished to be concealed, this indeed remained unspoken and unmentioned by all, and it was no longer possible for one who knew to report it to any of his intimates, nor for one who wished to learn to inquire, even if one were very curious. 16.13 For such fear from no tyrant has existed since men have been born, since it was not even possible for any of those who had offended her to remain hidden. 16.14 For a multitude of spies reported to her the things said and done both in the marketplace and in homes. 16.15 Therefore, when she did not wish the punishment of an offender to be made public, 16.16 she would do the following. Having summoned the person, if he happened to be one of the notable men, she alone would hand him over to one of her ministers alone and would command him to convey him to the furthest extremities of the Roman empire. 16.17 And this man, in the dead of night, putting him, hooded and bound, onto the ship, and having gone with him to the place to which he had been commanded by the woman, there handed him over rather secretly to the one who was competent for this service, having instructed him to guard the man as securely as possible and having forbidden him to tell anyone, until either the empress should take pity on the wretch or, after a long time suffering miserably there, he should die a slow death and waste away, would depart. 16.18 And she held in anger a certain Bassianus, a member of the Green faction, who was a not undistinguished young man, for having reviled her. Wherefore, indeed, Bassianus

31

λογισαμένη ἡ Θεοδώρα ὡς εὐπατρίδης τε ἡ γυνὴ καὶ βασιλὶς εἴη, καὶ ἰδεῖν μὲν εὐπρεπὴς ἄγαν, ἐπινοεῖν δὲ ὅ τι ἂν βούλοιτο γοργὸς μάλιστα, ὕποπτον δὲ αὐτῆς ποιησαμένη τό τε μεγαλοπρεπὲς καὶ διαφερόντως ἀρρενωπὸν, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐλαφρὸν δείσασα, οὐκ ἐπὶ μικροῖς τὴν ζηλοτυπίαν ἐξήνεγκεν, ἀλλ' ἐνεδρεύειν τὴν 16.2 γυναῖκα μέχρις ἐς θάνατον ἐν βουλῇ ἔσχεν. αὐτίκα τοίνυν ἀναπείθει τὸν ἄνδρα, Πέτρον μόνον αὐτὸν ἅτε 16.3 πρεσβεύσοντα ἐςἸταλίαν πέμψαι. ᾧ δὴ στελλομένῳ βασιλεὺς μὲν ἐπέστελλεν ἅπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἐγκαίροις δεδιήγηται λόγοις, ἵνα δή μοι τῶν πεπραγμένων ἐκπύστους ποιεῖσθαι τὰς ἀληθείας δέει τῆς βασιλίδος 16.4 ἀδύνατα ἦν. αὐτὴ δὲ τοῦτο ἐπήγγελλε μόνον, ὅτι τάχιστα τὴν γυναῖκα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανιεῖν, ἐπ' ἐλπίδος ὀχεῖσθαι μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν, ἢν τὰ ἐπηγγελμένα ποιοίη, 16.5 καταστησαμένη τὸν ἄνθρωπον. καὶ ὃς ἐνἸταλίᾳ γενόμενος (οὐ γὰρ οἶδεν ἀνθρώπου φύσις ὀκνηρῶς ἐς ἄδικον φόνον ἰέναι, ἀρχῆς τινος ἴσως ἢ χρημάτων ἐν ἐλπίδι κειμένων μεγάλων) οὐκ οἶδα ἥντινα Θευδάτῳ παραίνεσιν ποιησάμενος διαχρήσασθαι τὴνἈμαλασοῦνθαν ἀνέπεισε. καὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἔς τε τὸ τοῦ μαγίστρου ἀξίωμα ἦλθε καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον δυνάμεώς τε καὶ μάλιστα πάντων ἔχθους. 16.6 Τὰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴνἈμαλασοῦνθαν ἐς τοῦτο 16.7 ἐτελεύτα. ἦν δέ τιςἸουστινιανῷ ἐπιστολογράφος, Πρίσκος ὀνόματι, ἄγαν πονηρὸς μὲν καὶ Παφλαγὼν καὶ πρέπων τῷ προστάτῃ τὸν τρόπον ἀρέσκειν, λίαν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐνοϊκῶς ἔχων καὶ πρὸς αὐτοῦ τυγχάνειν τῶν ὁμοίων οἰόμενος· διὸ δὴ καὶ χρημάτων μεγάλων ὧν κύριος ὑπῆρχεν οὐκ ἐν δίκῃ τάχιστα 16.8 γέγονε. τοῦτον δὴ ἅτε ὀφρυάζοντά τε καί οἱ ἀντιτείνειν πειρώμενον ἡ Θεοδώρα ἐς τὸν ἄνδρα διέβαλε. 16.9 καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα οὐδὲν ἤνυσεν, οὐ πολλῷ δὲ ὕστερον αὐτὴ μὲν τὸν ἄνθρωπον χειμῶνος μέσου εἰς ναῦν ἐμβιβάσασα ὅπῃ ἐβούλετο ἔπεμψε καὶ ἀποθρίξασα ἱερέα 16.10 οὔτι ἑκούσιον ἠνάγκασεν εἶναι. αὐτὸς δὲ δόκησιν παρεχόμενος ὅτι δὴ τῶν ποιουμένων οὐδὲν εἰδείη Πρίσκον μὲν οὐ διηρευνᾶτο ὅπῃ γῆς εἴη οὐδὲ ἐν μνήμῃ τὸ λοιπὸν εἶχεν, ἀλλὰ σιωπῇ ὥσπερ ληθάργῳ ἁλοὺς καθῆστο, τὰ μέντοι χρήματα ὀλίγων οἱ ἀπολελειμμένων 16.11 ἐληΐσατο πάντα. ὑποψίας δὲ συμπεσούσης αὐτῇ ἐρωτολήπτῳ εἶναι εἰς τῶν οἰκετῶν ἕνα,Ἀρεόβινδον ὄνομα, βάρβαρον μὲν γένος, εὐπρεπῆ δὲ καὶ νεανίαν, ὅνπερ ταμίαν αὐτὴ καταστησαμένη ἐτύγχανεν, ἀπολύσασθαι βουλομένη τὸ ἔγκλημα, καίπερ, ὥς φασι, τοῦ ἀνθρώπου δαιμονίως ἐρῶσα, ἐν μὲν τῷ παρόντι πικρότατα αὐτὸν ἀπ' οὐδεμιᾶς αἰτίας αἰκίζεσθαι ἔγνω, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν οὐδέν τι ἀμφ' αὐτῷ ἔγνωμεν, οὐδέ τις αὐ16.12 τὸν ἄχρι νῦν εἶδεν. ἢν γάρ τι τῶν πρασσομένων ἀποκρύπτεσθαι αὐτῇ βουλομένῃ εἴη, τοῦτο δὴ ἄρρητόν τε καὶ ἀμνημόνευτον ἅπασιν ἔμεινε, καὶ οὔτε τῷ ἐπισταμένῳ ἀγγεῖλαι τῶν τινι ἀναγκαίων ἔτι ἐξῆν οὔτε τῷ μανθάνειν βουλομένῳ πυνθάνεσθαι, κἂν πάνυ τις 16.13 περίεργος ἦν. τοιοῦτο γὰρ δέος ἐξ οὗ γεγόνασιν ἄνθρωποι ἐκ τυράννων οὐδενὸς γέγονεν, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ λα16.14 θεῖν τινα τῶν προσκεκρουκότων οἷόν τε ἦν. πλῆθος γὰρ κατασκόπων αὐτῇ τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ πρασσόμενα ἔν 16.15 τε τῇ ἀγορᾷ καὶ ταῖς οἰκίαις ἐσήγγελλον. ἡνίκα τοίνυν τοῦ παραπεπτωκότος τὴν κόλασιν ἐκφέρεσθαι οὐδαμῆ 16.16 ἤθελεν, ἐποίει τάδε. τὸν ἄνθρωπον μετακαλεσαμένη, ἤν τις τῶν λογίμων ἐτύγχανεν ὢν, μόνη τε αὐτὴ τῶν ὑπουργούντων τινὶ παραδοῦσα μόνῳ ἐπήγγελλεν εἰς τὰς ἐσχατιὰς αὐτὸν μετακομίσαι τῆςῬωμαίων ἀρχῆς. 16.17 καὶ ὃς ἀωρὶ τῶν νυκτῶν κατακεκαλυμμένον αὐτὸν καὶ δεθέντα εἰς τὴν ναῦν ἐμβιβάσας καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ γεγονὼς, οὗ οἱ πρὸς τῆς γυναικὸς ἐπετέτακτο, ἐνταῦθα παρεδίδου λαθραιότερον τῷ ἐς ταύτην τὴν ὑπουργίαν ἱκανῶς ἔχοντι, φυλάσσειν τε ὡς ἀσφαλέστατα ἐπιστείλας τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀπειπὼν μηδενὶ φράζειν, ἕως ἂν ἢ τὸν ταλαίπωρον ἡ βασιλὶς οἰκτίζηται ἢ χρόνον πολὺν τῇ ἐνταῦθα κακοπαθείᾳ δυσθανατήσας τε καὶ καταμαρανθεὶς τελευτήσειεν, ἀπηλλάσσετο. 16.18 Καὶ Βασιανὸν δέ τινα Πράσινον, οὐκ ἀφανῆ νέον ὄντα, αὐτῇ διαλοιδορησάμενον δι' ὀργῆς ἔσχε. διὸ δὴ ὁ Βασιανὸς