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Very well, she says to them in private: "Go and gather by yourselves in secret the leading and noble men of the city, and let them select three trustworthy men, able to keep a secret and to do a deed, and let everyone give them pledges under oath that they in turn would give me full assurance in the things about which I am going to ask them, and let them send them to me in secret, and I have something necessary and beneficial for the city to entrust to them, only do quickly what I tell you." When her kinsmen had gone and spoken these things in secret to the leading men, they immediately selected three men, whom they themselves knew to be trustworthy, and all gave them pledges under oath, that whatever they should agree with Gycia, whether to do or to give, they would not annul their words, but would bring to completion the things arranged by them with her. When these men had gone to Gycia in secret, she received them, and says to them: "Can you give me full assurance under oath, concerning the things I am about to ask you, that you will do them?" And they said to her: "Yes, lady, we are ready, concerning the things you are about to require of us, to give you full assurance that your words will be brought to completion". Then Gycia says to them: "Give me full assurance that if I should die, you will bury me in the middle of the city, and I will tell you my secret; behold I ask nothing burdensome of you." And when the men heard this, with all eagerness they gave her full assurance under oath, saying: "If you die, we will bury you in the middle of the city and we will not take you out beyond the walls." And Gycia, being persuaded by their oaths, says to them: "Since you have given me full assurance, I in turn now reveal my secret to you; behold I want you to know, that my husband, having the inborn evil of his city, that of deceit and envy against us, having brought a crowd of Bosporans secretly into my house little by little, is maintaining up to two hundred armed souls, without my knowing the matter; but God has now revealed it to me through an occasion. He therefore has this plan, for the purpose, he says, that when I give the feast to the city in memory of my father, and you have feasted and fallen asleep, for him to rise up during the night with the Bosporans and household servants who are with him, and to set fire to your houses and to slaughter all of you. Behold, then, the memorial of my father is at hand, and it is necessary, according to my oath, to give you the things for the feast according to custom, for I have everything ready. Therefore, be willing all of you to run rejoicing and to seek and to receive everything eagerly so that he may not yet understand that we know the matter, and a civil war suddenly arise. Therefore, be willing also to feast publicly according to the custom, but in moderation, and to dance in the public squares, and let each of you prepare in your houses wood and bundles and dry torches so that, when you grow weary of the feasting and the dances, you may seem to be going away for your rest, and when I too have quickly grown weary and ordered my gates to be secured, you, having immediately in great quiet with your sons and daughters and with your whole household brought forth the wood and bundles and torches, place them at my main gates and side gates and around the whole house, pouring also oil on the wood so that it may catch fire more quickly, and when I come out and tell you, immediately light the fire, and you stand by in arms around the house, so that wherever you see any jumping out of the house through a window, you may slaughter them. Therefore go, speak this secret and prepare everything that I have told you." And the citizens, having heard these things from the three men, did everything quickly according to the word of Gycia. And when the day of the memorial had arrived, Gycia, as if rejoicing, summoned the men of the city, urging them to receive the things for the feast. And her husband also hurried to this, and was urging that more wine be given to them for the feast. But they

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πάνυ, λέγει αὐτοῖς ἐν τοῖς ἰδιάζουσιν· "Ἀπελθόντες συναγάγετε καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ἐν μυστηρίῳ τοὺς πρωτεύοντας καὶ εὐγενεῖς τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ἐκλεξάσθωσαν τρεῖς ἄνδρας πιστικούς, δυναμένους φυλάξαι μυστήριον καὶ πρᾶγμα ποιῆσαι, καὶ πιστοποιήσουσιν αὐτοὺς οἱ πάντες ἐνόρκως πρὸς τὸ καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐμὲ πληροφορῆσαι, ἐν οἷς μέλλω ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτούς, καὶ ἀποστειλάτωσαν αὐτοὺς πρός με ἐν μυστηρίῳ, καὶ ἔχω αὐτοῖς ἀναγκαῖόν τι καὶ ὠφέλιμον τῇ πόλει θαρρῆσαι, μόνον διὰ τάχους ποιήσατε, ὃ λέγω ὑμῖν." Ἀπελθόντων δὲ τῶν συγγενῶν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν μυστηρίῳ ταῦτα τοῖς πρωτεύουσιν εἰρηκότων, εὐθέως ἐξελέξαντο τρεῖς ἄνδρας, οὓς ᾔδεσαν αὐτοὶ πιστοὺς εἶναι, καὶ πιστοποιήσαντες αὐτοὺς πάντες ἐν ὅρκῳ, ὅτι εἴ τι συνθῶνται τῇ Γυκίᾳ εἴτε ποιῆσαι, εἴτε δοῦναι, μὴ ἀκυρῶσαι τοὺς λόγους αὐτῶν, ἀλλ' εἰς πέρας ἀγαγεῖν τὰ ὑπ' αὐτῶν συνταττόμενα αὐτῇ. Τούτων δὲ πρὸς τὴν Γυκίαν ἐν μυστηρίῳ ἀπελθόντων, ἐδέξατο αὐτούς, καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· "∆ύνασθέ με πληροφορῆσαι ἐν ὅρκῳ, περὶ ὧν μέλλω ἐπερωτᾶν ὑμᾶς, ὅτι ποιεῖτε ταῦτα;" Οἱ δὲ εἶπον αὐτῇ· "Ναί, κυρία, ἑτοίμως ἔχομεν, περὶ ὧν μέλλεις ἡμῖν ἐπιζητεῖν, πληροφορῆσαί σε, ὅτι εἰς πέρας ἄγονται οἱ λόγοι σου". Τότε λέγει αὐτοῖς ἡ Γυκία· "Πληροφορήσατέ με, ὅτι ἂν ἀποθάνω, ἐν μέσῳ τῆς πόλεώς με θάπτετε, καὶ λέγω ὑμῖν τὸ μυστήριόν μου· ἰδοὺ βαρὺ ὑμῖν τίποτε οὐκ ἐπιζητῶ." Οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες ἀκούσαντες τοῦτο, μετὰ πάσης προθυμίας ἐπληροφόρησαν αὐτὴν ἐν ὅρκῳ, λέγοντες, ὅτι· "Ἐὰν τελευτήσῃς, ἐν μέσῳ τῆς πόλεώς σε θάψομεν καὶ οὐκ ἐξάξομέν σε ἔξω τῶν τειχῶν." Ἡ δὲ Γυκία πεισθεῖσα τοῖς ὅρκοις αὐτῶν λέγει αὐτοῖς· "Ἐφ' οἷς ἐπληροφορήσατέ με, κἀγὼ λοιπὸν ἐμφαίνω ὑμῖν τὸ μυστήριόν μου· ἰδοὺ εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς θέλω, ὅτι ὁ ἀνήρ μου τὸ ἔμφυτον κακὸν τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῦ ἔχων, τὸ τοῦ δόλου καὶ φθόνου καθ' ἡμῶν, ὄχλον ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ μέρος Βοσποριανῶν ἐν κρυφῇ εἰσαγαγὼν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ μου, ἄχρις διακοσίων ψυχῶν ἐνόπλων διατρέφει, ἐμοῦ μὴ εἰδυίας τὸ πρᾶγμα· ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς νῦν διὰ προφάσεως ἐφανέρωσέν μοι αὐτό. Αὐτὸς οὖν ταύτην ἔχει τὴν σκέψιν, ἐφ' ᾧ τε, φησίν, εἰς τὴν μνήμην τοῦ πατρός μου διδούσης μου τὴν εὐφρασίαν τῇ πόλει, καὶ εὐφρανθέντων ὑμῶν καὶ ἀποκοιμωμένων, αὐτὸν τὴν νύκτα ἐπαναστῆναι μετὰ τῶν συνόντων αὐτῷ Βοσποριανῶν τε καὶ οἰκείων, καὶ βαλεῖν ἐμπρησμὸν ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις ὑμῶν καὶ κατασφάξαι πάντας ὑμᾶς. Ἰδοὺ λοιπὸν φθάζει καὶ ἡ μνήμη τοῦ πατρός μου, καὶ δέον μέν ἐστι πρὸς τὸν ὅρκον μου δοῦναι ὑμῖν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τὰ τῆς εὐφρασίας, πάντα γὰρ ἑτοίμως ἔχω. Θελήσατε οὖν πάντες προσδραμεῖν χαίροντες καὶ ζητῆσαι καὶ λαβεῖν πάντα προθύμως πρὸς τὸ μήπω νοῆσαι αὐτόν, ὅτι ἔγνωμεν τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ ἄφνω ἐμφύλιος πόλεμος γένηται. Θελήσατε οὖν καὶ δημοσίως κατὰ τὸ ἔθος εὐφραίνεσθαι, συμμέτρως δέ, καὶ χορεύειν ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις, ἑτοιμάσατε δὲ ἕκαστος ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις ὑμῶν ξύλα τε καὶ φορτία καὶ δᾷδας στεγνὰς πρὸς τό, μισοποιούντων ὑμῶν τὰς εὐφρασίας καὶ τοὺς χορούς, δόξασθαι πρὸς ἀνάπαυσιν ὑμῶν ἀπιέναι, καὶ ἐμοῦ δὲ ταχέστερον μισοποιησάσης καὶ κελευούσης ἀσφαλισθῆναι τοὺς πυλεῶνάς μου, ὑμεῖς εὐθέως ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ πολλῇ σὺν παισὶ καὶ παιδίσκαις ὑμῶν πανοικὶ παρενέγκαντες τὰ ξύλα καὶ φορτία καὶ δᾷδας, παράθετε αὐτὰ ἐν τοῖς πυλεῶσί μου καὶ παραπυλίοις καὶ κύκλῳ τῆς οἰκίας πάσης, ἐπιχέοντες καὶ ἔλαιον τοῖς ξύλοις πρὸς τὸ τάχιον ἁφθῆναι, καὶ ἡνίκα ἐξέλθω ἐγὼ καὶ εἴπω ὑμῖν, εὐθέως βάλετε τὴν πυράν, καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐν ὅπλοις παραστήκετε κύκλῳ τῆς οἰκίας, ἵνα ὅπου τινὰς θεωρήσετε ἐκπηδῶντας ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου διὰ θυρίδος, τούτους κατασφάζητε. Ἀπελθόντες οὖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο λαλήσατε καὶ ἑτοιμάσατε πάντα, ἃ εἶπον ὑμῖν." Οἱ δὲ πολῖται ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες ἀπὸ τῶν τριῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἐποίησαν πάντα ἐν συντομίᾳ κατὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς Γυκίας. Ἐνστάσης δὲ τῆς μνημοσύνου ἡμέρας, ὡς δῆθεν χαιρομένη ἡ Γυκία μετεπέμψατο τοὺς τῆς πόλεως ἄνδρας, προτρεπομένη τοῦ λαβεῖν αὐτοὺς τὰ τῆς εὐφρασίας. Συνέτρεχε δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τοῦτο, καὶ παρεκάλει πλεῖον οἶνον δοθῆναι αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τῇ εὐφρασίᾳ. Οἱ δὲ