51

Leaving these here, we shall proceed to his remaining buildings, which are somewhere around the palace, being most worthy of account and sufficient to be remembered. 42 At any rate, entering straight from the Kyrios, you will find them meeting you face on. For both the Karianos, which bears this name because from its steps it has a kind of broad river of Carian stone, which also serves today as a 140 vestiary for the stored silk garments, is the work of his foresight, and not only this, but also its neighbor with the gilded roof, the Trikonchos, having received its name from its shape; for it is raised up by three conches, being built with one towards the east, which is also supported by four Roman columns, and two on the sides, I mean towards the north and south. The western part of the building is supported by two columns and provides an exit through three gates. The middle one of these is made of silver, and those on either side of it are of polished bronze. The exit leads out into what is thus called the Sigma, which received its name from its resemblance to the letter, which bears an equal and similar beauty to that of the Trikonchos, which blossoms on its walls; for both this and that are revetted with multicolored marbles. But this one has a roof that is both solid and brilliant, because it is also founded on fifteen columns of Docimian stone; and descending by a staircase to its foundation, you will find one having the same image and likeness of shape, supported by nineteen columns, and having its walkway paved with piperated stone. And near this walkway, somewhere more inward and to the east, the artisan erected a Tetraseron, this also divided by three conches in the image of the Trikonchos above it. But he enclosed one towards the east, and the other two, one towards the west and the 141 other towards the south. The northern part has a Mysterion separated by two columns of true piperated stone; this has a fitting name. And the reason is that just as caves, echoing together, send an unharmed echo to the listeners; and if someone approaching the wall of the eastern or western conch should say something in secret and to himself, another standing diametrically opposite, if he should put his ear to the wall, will somehow become an ear-witness of that voice spoken in secret. Such a wonder happens around it. 43 Indeed, with this building was somehow fixed and constructed the peristyle of the Sigma, which we mentioned before. And from this something open to the sky and airy is spread out, having in the middle a bronze phiale, with its rim crowned in silver; which, having a gilded pine-cone, is so named, the mystical phiale of the Trikonchos, having taken its name both from the Mysterion built nearby and from the triconch building. And from this, somewhere nearby, also stand steps of white Proconnesian stone, and in the middle of the said steps a turning-point of marbles, supported by two slender-reeded columns. Somewhere there beside the side of the wide Sigma also two bronze lion-masks were fixed. But these, pouring forth water, filled the entire hollow of the Sigma with the stream, providing no small 142 delight; and the phiale, at the time of the celebrations, filled with pistachios and almonds, and indeed also pine nuts, with spiced wine being dispensed from the pine-cone, mixed for all and offered luxury to all those standing there who desired it, indisputably to all those from the thymele, but more so to those who play on instruments and the syntonon. Indeed, along the steps, the entire populace standing and the administration with the peraic tagmata filled the imperial rank, having in their midst, that is, by the aforementioned marble turning-point, if it should happen, also the domestic of the

51

ἐνταῦθα καταλιπόντες ἐπὶ τὰς καταλοίπους οἰκοδομὰς αὐτοῦ που περὶ τὰ ἀνάκτορα ουσας βαδιούμεθα, ἀξιολογωτάτας ουσας καὶ μνήμης τυχεῖν ἱκανάς. 42 Εὐθὺς γοῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰσιὼν κατὰ τὸ πρόσω- πον ὑπαντώσας εὑρήσεις αὐτάς. ο τε γὰρ Καριανός, ος ουτω φέρει τὴν κλῆσιν διὰ τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς γραδώσεως εχειν ἀπὸ λίθου Κα- ριανοῦ οιόν τινα πλατὺν ποταμόν, ὁ καὶ χρηματίζων σήμερον βε- 140 στιάριον τῶν ἀποθησαυριζομένων πέπλων [ἐκ] σηρικῶν, τῆς ἐκεί- νου προνοίας εργον ἐστίν, οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ γείτων αὐτοῦ κε- χρυσωμένην εχων ὀροφὴν Τρίκογχος, ἐκ τοῦ σχήματος τὴν κλῆσιν λαχών· τρισὶ γὰρ κόγχαις μετεωρίζεται, μιᾷ μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἀνατο- λὴν συνοικοδομούμενος, η  καὶ ἐκ τεσσάρων κιόνων ̔Ρωμαίων ὑπο- στηρίζεται, δυσὶ δὲ ἐγκαρσίαις, κατὰ αρκτον καὶ μεσημβρίαν φημί. τὸ πρὸς δύσιν δὲ τοῦ οικου μέρος ὑπὸ δύο μὲν κιόνων ἀνέ- χεται, τριῶν δὲ πυλῶν τὴν εξοδον δίδωσιν. τούτων ἡ μέση μὲν ἐξ ἀργύρου κατεσκεύασται, αἱ ταύτης δὲ ἑκατέρωθεν ἐκ γεγανω- μένου χαλκοῦ. ἡ εξοδος εἰς τὸ καλούμενον ουτω Σίγμα ἐξάγει, ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὸ στοιχεῖον ὁμοιότητος τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν λαβόν, ο  ισην τε καὶ ὁμοίαν τοῦ Τρικόγχου τὴν εἰς τοὺς τοίχους ἐπανθοῦσαν ὡραιότητα φέρει· ἐκ γὰρ λακαρικῶν παμποικίλων τοῦτό τε κἀκεῖνο μαρμάρωται. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν τὴν ὀροφὴν εχει στερράν τε καὶ λαμπράν, οτι καὶ πεντεκαίδεκα κίοσιν ηδρασται ἐκ λίθου δοκιμί- νου· διὰ στύρακος δὲ πρὸς τὸν θεμέλιον αὐτοῦ κατιὼν τὴν αὐτὴν εχοντα τοῦ σχήματος εἰκόνα τε καὶ ὁμοίωσιν εὑρήσεις, ἐννέα πρὸς ταῖς δέκα κίοσιν διαβασταζόμενον, καὶ τὸν περίπατον εχοντα κατ- εστρωμένον ἐκ λίθου πιπεράτου. τούτου δὲ πλησίον τοῦ περι- πάτου, ἐνδότερόν που καὶ ἀνατολικώτερον, Τετράσερόν τι ὁ τεχνί- της ἐξήγειρεν, τρισὶ καὶ αὐτὸ κόγχαις διειλημμένον κατὰ τὴν εἰ- κόνα τοῦ ἐπικειμένου αὐτῷ Τρικόγχου. ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν μίαν πρὸς τὴν ἀνατολήν, τὰς ἑτέρας δὲ δύο μίαν μὲν πρὸς τὴν δύσιν θατέ- 141 ραν δὲ πρὸς τὴν μεσημβρίαν συμπεριείληφεν. τὸ δὲ ἀρκτῷον μέ- ρος ἐκ δύο κιόνων ἀληθινοπιπέρων εχει διανειργόμενον Μυστή- ριον· ουτω τὴν κλῆσιν εχει τοῦτο κατάλληλον. καὶ ἡ αἰτία οτι καθάπερ τὰ αντρα συνεπηχῶν ἀβλαβῆ τὴν ἠχὼ διαπέμπει πρὸς τοὺς ἀκούοντας· καὶ ει τις τῷ τοίχῳ πλησιάσας τῆς ἀνατολικῆς κόγχης ειτε δὴ καὶ δυτικῆς ἐν μυστηρίῳ τι ειπῃ καὶ καθ' ἑαυτόν, ἐκ διαμέτρου τε καὶ ἀντιπέρας ἱστάμενος ετερος, εἰ τὸ ους τῷ τοίχῳ ἐπιθῆται, τῆς ἐν μυστηρίῳ λαλουμένης ἐκείνης φωνῆς αὐτή- κοός πως γενήσεται. τοιοῦτόν τι περὶ αὐτὸ θαῦμα ἐγγίνεται. 43 Τούτῳ δὴ τῷ οικῳ παρεπεπήγει πως καὶ συγκατ- εσκεύασται ὁ τοῦ Σίγμα περίστυλος, ὁ πρότερον ἡμῖν εἰρημένος. ἐκ δὲ τούτου υπαιθρόν τι καὶ ἐξάερον κέχυται, μέσον μὲν φιάλην εχον χαλκῆν, ἐξ ἀργύρου τὸ χεῖλος εχουσαν ἐστεμμένον· η  διά- χρυσον στροβίλιον εχουσα ουτω κατωνόμασται, μυστικὴ τοῦ Τρι- κόγχου φιάλη, εκ τε τοῦ πλησίον ᾠκοδομημένου Μυστηρίου καὶ τοῦ τρικόγχου οἰκήματος ἐπωνυμίαν λαβοῦσα. ἐκ δὲ ταύτης αὐ- τοῦ που πλησίον καὶ ἀναβάθραι ἑστήκασιν ἐκ Προικοννησίου λί- θου λευκοῦ, καὶ μέσον τῶν εἰρημένων ἀναβαθμῶν τροπικὴ ἐκ μαρμάρων, ὑπὸ δύο λεπτοκαλάμων κιόνων ἐστηριγμένη. αὐτοῦ που παρὰ τὴν πλευρὰν τοῦ πρὸς τὸ ευρος Σίγμα καὶ δύο χαλκᾶ λεοντοχάσματα ἐπεπήγεισαν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν υδωρ ἐκφέροντα τὸ κοῖλον απαν τοῦ Σίγμα ἐπλήρουν τοῦ νάματος, τέρψιν οὐ μι- 142 κρὰν παρέχοντα· ἡ δὲ δὴ φιάλη κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῶν δοξίμων, πιστακίων καὶ ἀμυγδάλων, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ κουναρίων πεπληρωμένη, κονδίτου ἐκ στροβιλίου ἐκδιδομένου, πᾶσιν ἐκίρνα καὶ παρεῖχε τρυφᾶν τοῖς οσοι δι' ἐφέσεως ειχον τῶν ἑστηκότων ἐκεῖ, πᾶσι μὲν ἀναντιρρήτως τοῖς ἐκ θυμέλης, πλέον δὲ τοῖς ἐξ ὀργάνων ψάλλουσι καὶ τὸ σύντονον. κατὰ μὲν δὴ τὰς ἀναβάθρας ὁ δῆμος απας ἱστάμενος καὶ τὸ πολίτευμα μετὰ τῶν περατικῶν ταγμάτων τὴν τάξιν ἐπλήρουν τὴν βασιλικήν, μέσον αὐτῶν δηλαδὴ κατὰ τὴν εἰρημένην μαρμάρινον τροπικήν, εἰ μὲν τύχοιεν, εχοντες καὶ τὸν δομέστικον τῶν