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he called. For these reasons, therefore, Basiliscus was hated by the people and the senate. He sent Illus and Trocundus with a force against Zeno; who, having come, besieged him. But because Basiliscus, having promised them many things, had not fulfilled his promises, and the senate, being oppressed by Basiliscus on account of his wickedness, wrote to the said men about what was being done by him, they attached themselves to Zeno, and instead of enemies they became his friends and allies; and taking him, they 130 returned. But Basiliscus sends Harmatius his own nephew with the Thracian regiments against Zeno; and he, having met him near Nicaea and having been corrupted by money, and in addition by the promise that his son Basiliscus would be crowned Caesar, went over to Zeno. And from there Zeno, having come to Constantinople, was received by both the senate and the people. And Basiliscus fled to the church with his wife and children, from where he came out, having received an assurance that he would not be deprived of his life. And they were led away to a certain fortress, where it is said they were shut up in a tower with their loved ones and perished by famine. But others say they were killed while being led away. And Zeno also exiled his own mother-in-law, the empress Verina. Basiliscus, then, having reigned as a tyrant for two years, was destroyed, whether as has been said or in some other way. During his reign, a very great fire occurred in Constantinople, beginning from the Chalcoprateia and spreading to and burning down all the areas adjoining these, both the porticoes of the public 131 squares and the buildings situated upon them, and indeed also the building called the Basilica, in which there was also a library having twelve myriads of books stored in it; among which it is recorded there was also the intestine of a serpent, being one hundred and twenty feet in length, having inscribed on it in golden letters the poems of Homer, both the Iliad and the Odyssey, of which Malchus also makes mention, writing about these emperors. That fire also destroyed the splendor in the Palace of Lausus of the city and the statues set up there of the Samian Hera and the Lindian Athena and the Cnidian Aphrodite, artworks famous for their artistry, and it ran as far as the Forum. Zeno, having again seized power, appointed the son of Harmatius as Caesar, fulfilling his promise, and Harmatius himself as magister militum; and after a short time he killed Harmatius, saying that "just as he did not keep faith with Basiliscus, he will certainly not keep it with me." And he made that man's son, the Caesar, a cleric. And he also killed Illus the magister, who had attempted to become a tyrant, because he knew 132 he was being plotted against by the empress Ariadne, with Zeno's knowledge, and also Pelagius the patrician, a most learned and most just man, ostensibly accusing him of Hellenism, but in truth avoiding his reproofs; for being of a free mind he used to censure his unholy deeds. And the most hateful Zeno also destroyed very many other distinguished men and inclined toward heresies and unlawful acts and a corrupt life; and having lived thus, he was violently cut off from life. But the manner of his death is disputed; for some say that while gluttonizing and drinking he lost his senses and, falling down, was no different from a corpse. And being hated even by his own wife Ariadne, he was once so drunk that he was placed by her in a royal coffin as if already dead, and immediately the very large stone that covered it was placed upon it; and he, having sobered up, shouted and lamented from within, but with no one paying attention, he died miserably there. But others say that he fell ill and, being struck with the most 133 violent pains, gave the impression to those who saw him that he was dead, and thus was placed in the tomb and died in it, wailing and calling out to his family, with Ariadne not allowing anyone to open the monument or at all

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ἐκάλεσε. διὰ ταῦτα τοίνυν ὁ Βασιλίσκος παρὰ τοῦ δήμου καὶ τῆς γερουσίας μεμίσητο. Ἔπεμψε δὲ κατὰ Ζήνωνος μετὰ δυνάμεως Ἴλλον καὶ Τροκοῦνδον· οἳ ἐπελθόντες ἐπολιόρκουν αὐτόν. ὅτι δὲ πολλὰ αὐτοῖς ὁ Βασιλίσκος ἐπαγγειλάμενος οὐκ ἐπιτελεῖς τὰς ὑποσχέσεις πεποίητο, καὶ ἡ σύγκλητος δὲ βαρυνομένη τὸν Βασιλίσκον διὰ τὴν κακίαν αὐτοῦ ἔγραψε τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἀνδράσι τὰ παρ' ἐκείνου δρώμενα, προσέθεντο τῷ Ζήνωνι, καὶ ἀντὶ πολεμίων φίλοι αὐτῷ γεγόνασι καὶ συνέριθοι· καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἐπαν130 ῄεσαν. ὁ δὲ Βασιλίσκος Ἁρμάτιον τὸν οἰκεῖον ἀνεψιὸν μετὰ τῶν Θρᾳκικῶν ταγμάτων στέλλει κατὰ τοῦ Ζήνωνος· καὶ ὃς συναντήσας αὐτῷ περὶ Νίκαιαν καὶ χρήμασιν ὑποφθαρείς, πρὸς δὲ τοῖς καὶ ὑποσχέσει τοῦ Καίσαρα στεφθῆναι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Βασιλίσκον, τῷ Ζήνωνι προσχωρεῖ. κἀντεῦθεν ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν Κωνσταντινούπολιν ὁ Ζήνων ἐδέχθη ὑπό τε τῆς συγκλήτου καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ. καὶ ὁ Βασιλίσκος τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ προσπέφευγε μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ τῶν παίδων, ὅθεν ἐξῆλθε πληροφορίαν λαβὼν ὡς οὐ στερηθήσεται τῆς ζωῆς. καὶ ἀπήχθησαν εἴς τι φρούριον, ἔνθα λέγεται εἰς πύργον κατακλεισθῆναι σὺν τοῖς φιλτάτοις καὶ διαφθαρῆναι λιμῷ. ἕτεροι δὲ ἀναιρεθῆναι αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ἀπάγεσθαι λέγουσιν. ὁ Ζήνων δὲ καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πενθερὰν τὴν βασιλίδα Βηρῖναν ἐξώρισεν. ὁ γοῦν Βασιλίσκος εἴτε ὡς εἴρηται εἴτ' ἄλλως ἐπὶ δύο τυραννήσας ἐνιαυτοὺς διώλετο. Οὗ κρατοῦντος ἐμπρησμὸς ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἐγένετο μέγιστος, ἐκ τῶν Χαλκοπρατίων ἀρξάμενος καὶ πάντα τὰ προσεχῆ τούτοις νεμηθεὶς καὶ ἀποτεφρώσας, τάς τε τῶν δημοσίων 131 πλατειῶν στοὰς καὶ τὰς αὐταῖς ἐπικειμένας οἰκοδομάς, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν κεκλημένην Βασιλικήν, καθ' ἣν καὶ βιβλιοθήκη ἐτύγχανε δώδεκα μυριάδας βιβλίων ἀποκειμένων ἐν αὐτῇ ἔχουσα· ἐν οἷς ἀναγράφεται εἶναι καὶ δράκοντος ἔντερον, μήκους ὂν ποδῶν ἑκατὸν εἴκοσιν, ἔχον ἐγγεγραμμένα χρυσοῖς γράμμασι τὰ τοῦ Ὁμήρου ποιήματα, τήν τε Ἰλιάδα καὶ τὴν Ὀδύσσειαν, οὗ καὶ ὁ Μάλχος τὰ περὶ τούτων τῶν βασιλέων συγγραφόμενος μέμνηται. διέφθειρε δὲ τὸ πῦρ ἐκεῖνο καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς Λαύσου τῆς πόλεως ἀγλαΐαν καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ ἐνιδρυμένα ἀγάλματα τῆς τε Σαμίας Ἥρας καὶ τῆς Λινδίας Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ τῆς Κνιδίας Ἀφροδίτης, τὰ κατὰ τέχνην περιβόητα ἀφιδρύματα, καὶ μέχρι τοῦ Φόρου ἐπέδραμε. Ζήνων δὲ αὖθις τῆς ἐξουσίας δραξάμενος τὸν μὲν τοῦ Ἁρματίου υἱὸν προεχειρίσατο Καίσαρα, πληρῶν τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν Ἁρμάτιον στρατηλάτην· καὶ μετ' ὀλίγον τὸν μὲν Ἁρμάτιον ἔκτεινε, λέγων ὅτι "ὥσπερ εἰς τὸν Βασιλίσκον οὐκ ἐφύλαξε πίστιν, οὐδ' εἰς ἐμὲ πάντως φυλάξει αὐτήν." τὸν δὲ υἱὸν ἐκείνου τὸν Καίσαρα πεποίηκε κληρικόν. ἀνεῖλε δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἴλλον τὸν μάγιστρον, τυραννίδι ἐπιχειρήσαντα, ὅτι ἔγνω 132 ἐπιβουλευόμενος παρὰ τῆς βασιλίσσης Ἀριάδνης, εἰδότος καὶ Ζήνωνος, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ Πελάγιον τὸν πατρίκιον, ἄνδρα λογιώτατόν τε καὶ δικαιότατον, τῷ μὲν δοκεῖν, ἑλληνισμὸν αὐτῷ ἐγκαλῶν, τῇ δ' ἀληθείᾳ, τοὺς ἐλέγχους ἐκκλίνων αὐτοῦ· γνώμης γὰρ ὢν ἐλευθέρας ἤλεγχε τὰς ἀνοσίους πράξεις αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἄλλους δὲ πλείστους ἄνδρας τῶν περιφανῶν ὁ ἔχθιστος Ζήνων ἀπώλεσε καὶ εἰς αἱρέσεις ἀπέκλινε καὶ ἀθεμίτους πράξεις καὶ διεφθαρμένην ζωήν· καὶ οὕτω βιοὺς βιαίως ἀπερράγη τοῦ ζῆν. ὁ δὲ τρόπος τῆς τούτου τελευτῆς ἀντιλέγεται· οἱ μὲν γὰρ γαστριζόμενον αὐτόν φασι καὶ μεθύοντα τῶν τε φρενῶν ἐξίστασθαι καὶ καταπίπτοντα μηδὲν διαφέρειν νεκροῦ. μισούμενον δὲ καὶ ὑπ' αὐτῆς τῆς γαμετῆς αὐτοῦ Ἀριάδνης, οὕτως οἰνωθέντα ποτὲ ὡς ἤδη θανόντα λάρνακι τῶν βασιλικῶν ἐντεθῆναι παρ' ἐκείνης, καὶ αὐτίκα τὸν ἐπιπωματίζοντα ταύτην μέγιστον λίθον ἐπιτεθῆναι αὐτῇ· τὸν δὲ ἀνανήψαντα βοᾶν μὲν καὶ ὀλοφύρεσθαι ἔνδοθεν, μήτινος δ' ἐπιστρεφομένου, οἰκτρῶς ἐκεῖσε θανεῖν. οἱ δὲ νοσήσαντά φασι καὶ περιωδυνίαις βαλλόμενον 133 σφοδροτάταις δόκησιν τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ὡς τέθνηκε παρασχεῖν καὶ οὕτως ἐντεθῆναι τῷ τάφῳ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τεθνάναι γοώμενον καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους ἀνακαλούμενον, τῆς Ἀριάδνης μήτινι συγχωρούσης ἀνοῖξαι τὸ μνῆμα ἢ ὅλως