Anna Komnena, Alexias

she projected to those far off. And she gazed with a bright eye, both terrible and pleasant, so as to draw the eyes of beholders to herself with pleasure and beauty, but with fear to compel them to close, having no way to look away or to hide themselves. 3.3.4 And if there was some Athena invented by the poets and writers of old, I for one do not know; but I hear this as a myth being circulated and dragged about; but if anyone had said that this empress was an Athena who appeared in human life in those times, or had burst forth from heaven with a certain celestial splendor and unapproachable radiance, he would not have missed the mark. And the most wonderful thing, which would not be found in any other woman, was that she subdued the impetuous among men, but gave courage to those who were constrained by fear, by her appearance alone. For the most part her lips were closed and showed her silent, a truly breathing statue of beauty and a living pillar of grace. And for the most part her hand gracefully guided her speech, showing the back of the hand as far as the wrist, and you would have said that ivory had been carved by some craftsman into the form of fingers and hands. The iris of her eyes, however, imitated a calm sea in its deep-waved condition, flashing a dark-blue light; and the white of her eyes gleamed in turn around the iris, and they shone with an irresistible grace and imparted an ineffable pleasure to the sight. Such in appearance were Irene and Alexios. 3.3.5 My uncle Isaac, however, was like his brother in age and not very unlike him in other respects. He was rather pale in complexion and his beard was not very thick, but around the jaws it was sparser than his brother’s. Both brothers often inclined to hunting, whenever no great care of affairs weighed upon them, but they delighted in matters of war more than in those of the hunt. And in the onsets of battles, not even when he himself commanded the regiments, did anyone run ahead of him, but as soon as he saw the enemy battle-line, scorning all others, he fell upon their midst like some thunderbolt, swiftly cutting through the phalanxes. And because of this he was captured once and a second time in Asia when he engaged the Hagarenes. And this alone was worthy of blame in my uncle in wars, that he was uncontrollable in engagements.

3.4.1 Since Nikephoros Melissenos had to receive the rank of Caesar according to the promise, and Isaac, being the first of the brothers in age, had to be honored with a greater dignity, and since there was no other dignity besides that of Caesar, the emperor Alexios, having created a new title, applied to his brother the composite name of Sebastokrator, from sebastos and autokrator, having made him as it were a second emperor, demoting the Caesar below him and numbering him third in the acclamations after the acclamation of the autokrator. Moreover, he also ordered both the sebastokrator and the caesar to be crowned with diadems on public holidays, which differed greatly in costliness from the diadem with which he himself was crowned. For the imperial diadem, like a well-rounded hemisphere, binds the head all around, being adorned with pearls and precious stones, some set in it, and some hanging from it; for on either side of the temples hang strings of pearls and stones which graze the cheeks, and this is a special item of attire for the emperors. But the crowns of the sebastokrators and the caesars have pearls and stones here and there, without the hemispherical top. 3.4.2 At that time Taronites, the emperor's brother-in-law, was also honored as protosebastos and protovestiarios, and not long after he was also designated panhypersebastos and was made co-enthroned with the caesar. In addition, his brother Adrianos was deemed worthy of the most illustrious rank of protosebastos;

τοῖς πόρρω προὐ βάλλετο. Ὄμμα δὲ χαροπὸν καὶ σὺν ἡδονῇ φοβερὸν ἐνητένιζεν, ὡς τῶν ὁρώντων τὰ ὄμματα τῇ μὲν ἡδονῇ καὶ τῷ κάλλει ἕλκειν πρὸς ἑαυτήν, τῷ δὲ φόβῳ μύειν καταναγκάζειν οὐκ ἐχόντων ὅπως ἀποβλέψωνται ἢ ὅπως ἂν ἀποκρύψωνται. 3.3.4 Καὶ εἰ μέν τις ἦν Ἀθηνᾶ τοῖς πρῴην ἐφευρημένη ποιηταῖς τε καὶ συγγραφεῦσιν, οὐκ οἶδα ἔγωγε· μῦθον δὲ ταύτην ἀκούω περιφερόμενον καὶ περισυρόμενον· τὴν δὲ βασιλίδα ταύτην Ἀθηνᾶν εἴ τις εἶπεν ἐν τοῖς τότε χρόνοις φανεῖσαν τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ βίῳ ἢ καταρραγεῖσαν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ μετά τινος οὐρανίας αἴγλης καὶ ἀπροσίτου μαρμαρυγῆς, οὐκ ἂν ἐξήμαρτε τοῦ εἰκότος. Καὶ τὸ θαυμασιώτερον, ὅπερ οὐκ ἂν ἐν ἄλλῃ τῶν γυναικῶν εὑρεθείη, τοὺς μὲν ἰταμοὺς τῶν ἀνδρῶν συνέστελλε, τοῖς δ' ὑπὸ φόβου συνεσταλμένοις θαρρεῖν ἐνεδίδου ἐκ μόνης ὄψεως. Τὰ δὲ χείλη ἐμεμύκει μὲν τὰ πολλὰ καὶ ἐδείκνυ σιγῶσαν, ἔμπνουν ὡς ἀληθῶς ἄγαλμα καλλονῆς καὶ στήλην ἔμβιον εὐρυθμίας. Ἡνιόχει δὲ τὰ πολλὰ ἡ χεὶρ τῷ λόγῳ σὺν εὐρυθμίᾳ μέχρι τοῦ καρποῦ παραδεικνῦσα τὸ μετακάρπιον, καὶ εἶπες ἂν ἐλέφαντα ἐκτετορεῦσθαι παρὰ τεχνίτου τινὸς εἰς δακτύλων καὶ χειρῶν διάθεσιν. Ἡ μέντοι ἶρις τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν θάλατταν ἐμιμεῖτο γαληνιῶσαν ἐν βαθυκύμονι διαθέσει τὸ κυανοῦν ἐξαυγάζουσα· ἀντέ στιλβε δὲ καὶ τὸ λευκὸν τῶν ὀμμάτων κύκλῳ τῆς ἴριδος, καὶ χάριν ἀπέλαμπον ἄμαχον καὶ ἡδονὴν ἄφατον ἐνεδίδουν ταῖς ὄψεσι. Τοιοῦτοι μὲν τὴν ἰδέαν Εἰρήνη τε καὶ Ἀλέξιος. 3.3.5 Ὁ μέντοι θεῖος ἐμὸς Ἰσαάκιος τὴν μὲν ἡλικίαν ἐῴκει τἀδελφῷ οὐδὲ κατὰ τὰ ἄλλα πολὺ ἀπεῴκει. Ὕπωχρος μὲν οὖν ἦν αὐτὸς τὴν ὄψιν καὶ τὴν ὑπήνην οὐ πάνυ δασύς, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τὰς γνάθους ψιλοτέραν εἶχε τῆς τἀδελφοῦ. Ἄμφω δὲ τἀδελφὼ κυνηγεσίοις μὲν πολλάκις ἀπένευον, ὁπηνίκα οὐ πολλή τις αὐτοῖς ἐπέρρει πραγμά των φροντίς, πολεμικοῖς δὲ μᾶλλον ἢ κυνηγετικοῖς ἔχαιρον πράγμασιν. Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἐμβολαῖς τῶν πολέμων, οὐδ' ὁπηνίκα τῶν ταγμάτων αὐτὸς κατῆρχε, προέτρεχέ τις αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ἅμα τε τὴν παράταξιν ἑωράκει τῶν πολεμίων ἐκεῖνος καὶ πάντων καταφρονήσας τῶν ἄλλων ἐς μέσους ἐνέπιπτε καθάπερ τις κεραυνὸς ὀξέως διακόπτων τὰς φάλαγγας. Κἀκ τούτου ἑάλω καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν συμμίξας Ἀγαρηνοῖς. Καὶ τοῦτο μόνον εἶχε ψόγου ἄξιον ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις οὑμὸς θεῖος, ὅτι πρὸς συμβολὰς ἀκατάσχετος ἦν.

3.4.1 Ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸν Μελισσηνὸν Νικηφόρον τῆς τοῦ καίσα ρος κατὰ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν ἔδει ἀξίας μετειληχέναι καὶ τὸν Ἰσαάκιον δέ, πρῶτον τῶν ἀδελφῶν κατὰ χρόνον ὄντα, μείζονι ἐχρῆν τιμηθῆναι ἀξιώματι, ἕτερον δὲ ἀξίωμα πλὴν τοῦ καίσαρος οὐκ ἦν, νέον ὀνοματοποιήσας ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀλέξιος ἀπό τε τοῦ σεβαστοῦ καὶ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος σύν θετον ὄνομα τὸ τοῦ σεβαστοκράτορος τἀδελφῷ ἐφηρμό σατο οἱονεὶ δεύτερον βασιλέα πεποιηκώς, τὸν καίσαρα τούτου ὑποβιβάσας καὶ τρίτον ἐν ταῖς εὐφημίαις ἀριθμη σάμενος μετὰ τὴν τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος εὐφημίαν. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ στέμμασιν ἐν ταῖς πανδήμοις ἡμέραις αὐτοὺς στεφανοῦσθαι προσέταττε τόν τε σεβαστοκράτορα καὶ τὸν καίσαρα κατὰ πολὺ διαφέρουσι τῇ πολυτελείᾳ τοῦ διαδήμα τος, ᾧ αὐτὸς ἐστεφάνωτο. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ βασιλικὸν διάδημα καθάπερ ἡμισφαίριον εὔγυρον τὴν κεφαλὴν διαδεῖ παντα χόθεν μαργάροις καὶ λίθοις κοσμούμενον, τοῖς μὲν ἐγκει μένοις, τοῖς δὲ καὶ ἐξηρτημένοις· ἑκατέρωθεν γὰρ τῶν κροτάφων ὁρμαθοί τινες ἀπαιωροῦνται διὰ μαργάρων καὶ λίθων καὶ τὰς παρειὰς ἐπιξέουσι, καί ἐστι τοῦτο ἐξῃρη μένον τι χρῆμα τοῖς βασιλεῦσι στολῆς. Οἱ δὲ τῶν σεβα στοκρατόρων καὶ τῶν καισάρων στέφανοι σποράδην ἔστιν ὅπου τῶν μαργάρων καὶ λίθων μετέχοντες ἄνευ τοῦ ἐπι σφαιρώματος. 3.4.2 Κατ' ἐκεῖνο δὲ καιροῦ τετίμηται καὶ ὁ Ταρωνείτης καὶ γαμβρὸς ἐπ' ἀδελφῇ τοῦ βασιλέως πρωτο σέβαστός τε καὶ πρωτοβεστιάριος, μετ' οὐ πολὺ δὲ καὶ πανυπερσέβαστος ἀναδείκνυται καὶ ξύνθωκος τῷ καίσαρι γίνεται. Πρὸς δὲ καὶ Ἀδριανὸς ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ πρωτο σέβαστος ἀξιοῦται περιφανέστατος·