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the citizens, having gladly received all things, were rejoicing, as they had been instructed, and were dancing the whole day, but when evening arrived, the citizens began to take their leave and to go away to their houses to rest, and they rejoiced with their whole household. And Gycia in her house, urging all her people to drink without fear so that, having become drunk, they might fall asleep sooner, instructed only her chambermaids to be sober, and she kept herself from the wine. For having found a purple cup, she gave it to her chambermaid, the one who knew the plan, and instructed her to mix for her in it with water. But her husband, seeing the purple cup, did not suspect that she was drinking with water. But when evening arrived, and the citizens, as I have already said, had taken their leave, Gycia says to her husband: "Since we have made merry, come now, let us also rest." But her husband, upon hearing this, rejoiced the more, and hastened to go to sleep; for he was not able to say this on his own, lest he give his wife suspicion about the treachery which he was planning. Gycia therefore orders the gates and all the windows to be secured and the keys to be brought to her, according to custom. And when this was done, she says secretly to her faithful chambermaid, the one who knew the treachery: "Be pleased, with the other chambermaids, cleverly to take up all my jewels and the gold, and anything useful you can carry away, and prepare yourselves, so that when I tell you, you may follow me." And they, having done according to her command, were ready. And while her husband had reclined, supposedly to fall asleep quickly and to rise again in haste for the plot against the city, Gycia delayed going to bed, until their whole household had fallen asleep. And her husband, from much drinking, fell fast asleep. And Gycia, seeing him asleep, cleverly secured the bedroom with the key, having locked her husband in, and having gone down from the house with her chambermaids, having gone out of the side-gates quietly and locked them, she immediately ordered the men of the city to quickly set fire all around the house. And when the fire was set, and the house was ablaze, if any of those within was able to leap out or throw himself out, he was slaughtered by the citizens. And when the whole house and those in it had been burned down to the ground, God saved the city of the Chersonites from the plotting Bosporans. But Gycia, when the citizens wanted to dig up her burned house and to clear the place for building, did not allow it, but rather permitted the whole city for each of them to bring and to dump there all their refuse, so that her whole dwelling would be buried in it, as it had been for the plot against the city; for which reason the place was also called Lamachou Skope until this day. Therefore, when all these things had happened thus, the Chersonites, seeing such a boundless benefaction done for them by Gycia, after God, and that she had spared absolutely none of her own things, but had preferred the salvation of the city, as a reward for such a service, erected two bronze statues in her honor in the city square, showing her as young in age, as she happened to be at that time, showing by these both her unspeakable benefaction and affection for the citizens, that even being young in age she had the wisdom thus to save her own fatherland, after God. For on the one monument, having set her up modestly adorned and revealing the plot of her own husband to the citizens, and on the other showing her in contest and defending against those plotting against the city, on which they also inscribed on the base of her statue the entire benefaction which was done by her, after God, for the citizens. If anyone is to be a lover of the beautiful, he continually from time to time wipes clean the base for the reading and remembrance of the things done thereon of the things done by her, but a proof
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πολῖται ἀσμένως πάντα δεξάμενοι εὐφραίνοντο, καθὼς παρηγγέλθησαν, καὶ ἐχόρευον τὴν πᾶσαν ἡμέραν, φθασάσης δὲ τῆς ἑσπέρας, ἤρξαντο μισοποιεῖν οἱ πολῖται καὶ ἀπιέναι ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις αὐτῶν τοῦ ἀναπαῆναι, εὐφραίνοντο δὲ πανοικί. Καὶ ἡ Γυκία ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτῆς προτρεπομένη πάντας τοὺς αὐτῆς ἀδεῶς πίνειν πρὸς τὸ μεθυσθέντας αὐτοὺς τάχιον κοιμηθῆναι, μόνον ταῖς κουβικουλαρίαις αὐτῆς παρήγγειλεν τοῦ νήφειν, καὶ ἑαυτὴν τοῦ οἴνου ἐφύλαττεν. Εὑρηκυῖα γὰρ ποτήριον πορφυροῦν δέδωκεν τῇ κουβικουλαρέᾳ αὐτῆς, τῇ τὸ πρᾶγμα εἰδούσῃ, καὶ παρήγγειλεν αὐτῇ ἐν αὐτῷ αὐτὴν κιρνᾶν σὺν ὕδατι. Ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς θεωρῶν τὸ πορφυροῦν ποτήριον, οὐχ ὑπενόει σὺν ὕδατι αὐτὴν πίνειν. Τῆς δὲ ἑσπέρας φθασάσης, καὶ τῶν πολιτῶν, ὡς ἤδη εἶπον, μισοποιησάντων, λέγει τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς ἡ Γυκία· "Εὐφρανθέντων ἡμῶν, δεῦρο λοιπὸν ἀναπαυθῶμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς." Ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ἀκούσας μᾶλλον ἐχάρη, καὶ ἔσπευσεν τοῦ κοιμηθῆναι· οὐ γὰρ ἠδύνατο ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ εἰπεῖν τοῦτο, μήπως ὑπόνοιαν δῷ τῇ γυναικί, περὶ οὗ ἐβουλεύετο δόλου. Κελεύει οὖν ἡ Γυκία ἀσφαλισθῆναι τοὺς πυλεῶνας καὶ πάντα τὰ παραθύρια καὶ ἐνεχθῆναι αὐτῇ τὰς κλεῖς κατὰ τὸ ἔθος. Καὶ τούτου γενομένου, λέγει ἐν τῷ λεληθότι τῇ πιστῇ αὐτῆς κουβικουλαρέᾳ, τῇ τὸν δόλον εἰδούσῃ, ὅτι· "Θέλησον σὺν ταῖς λοιπαῖς κουβικουλαρέαις εὐφυῶς ἐπᾶραι πάντα τὰ κόσμιά μου καὶ τὸ χρυσίον, καὶ εἴ τι χρήσιμον δύνασθε ἐγκολπίσασθαι, καὶ ἑτοιμάσατε ἑαυτάς, ἵνα, ὅταν εἴπω ὑμῖν, ἀκολουθήσητέ μοι." Αἱ δὲ ποιήσασαι κατὰ τὴν κέλευσιν αὐτῆς ἦσαν ἕτοιμαι. Τοῦ δὲ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς δῆθεν ἀνακλιθέντος τοῦ ἐκ συντόμου κοιμηθῆναι καὶ διὰ τάχους αὐτὸν πάλιν ἀναστῆναι πρὸς ἐπιβουλὴν τῆς πόλεως, ἡ δὲ Γυκία παρέσυρεν τοῦ καθευδῆσαι, ἕως ἂν πᾶσα ἡ φαμιλία αὐτῶν ἐκοιμήθη. Ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ἐκ τοῦ πολλοῦ πότου ἀφύπνωσεν. Ἡ δὲ Γυκία ἰδοῦσα τοῦτον κοιμηθέντα, εὐφυῶς τὸν κοιτῶνα τῷ κλειδίῳ ἠσφαλίσατο, ἀποκλείσασα τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ κατελθοῦσα ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου σὺν ταῖς κουβικουλαρέαις αὐτῆς, ἐξελθοῦσα τῶν παραπυλίων ἡσύχως καὶ κλείσασα, εὐθέως ἐπέτρεψεν τοὺς τῆς πόλεως διὰ τάχους βληθῆναι τὸ πῦρ κύκλῳ τοῦ οἴκου. Βληθέντος δὲ τοῦ πυρός, καὶ τοῦ οἴκου ἀναφθέντος, εἴ πού τις τῶν ἔσωθεν ὄντων ἠδυνήθη ἐκπηδῆσαι ἢ ἑαυτὸν ῥίψαι, ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν κατεσφάγη. Τοῦ δὲ οἴκου παντὸς καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ ἕως ἐδάφους καταφλεχθέντων, διέσωσεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν Χερσωνιτῶν πόλιν ἐκ τῶν ἐπιβούλων Βοσποριανῶν. Ἡ δὲ Γυκία, βουλομένων τῶν πολιτῶν τὴν καταφλεχθεῖσαν αὐτῆς οἰκίαν ὀρύξαι καὶ καθᾶραι τὸν τόπον πρὸς οἰκοδομήν, οὐκ εἴασεν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐπέτρεψεν πάσῃ τῇ πόλει φέρειν ἕκαστον αὐτῶν καὶ ἐκχύνειν αὐτόθι τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτῶν κοπρίαν πρὸς τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς καταχωσθῆναι τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτῆς οἴκησιν, ὡς πρὸς ἐπιβουλὴν τῆς πόλεως γενομένην· διὸ καὶ ἐκλήθη ὁ τόπος Λαμάχου Σκοπὴ ἕως τῆς σήμερον. Τούτων οὖν ἁπάντων οὕτως γενομένων, ἰδόντες οἱ Χερσωνῖται τὴν τοιαύτην ἄπειρον ὑπὸ τῆς Γυκίας εἰς αὐτοὺς μετὰ Θεὸν γενομένην εὐεργεσίαν, καὶ ὅτι οὐδενὸς τῶν αὐτῆς τὸ σύνολον ἐφείσατο, ἀλλὰ τὴν σωτηρίαν τῆς πόλεως προετιμήσατο, ὑπὲρ τῆς τοιαύτης μισθαποδοσίας δύο χαλκοῦς ἀνδριάντας πρὸς τιμὴν αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ πλατείᾳ τῆς πόλεως ἀνήγειραν, νεάζουσαν αὐτὴν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ δεικνύοντες, καθ' ὃν καιρὸν ἦν τότε συμβαίνουσα, ἐν τούτοις δεικνύοντες καὶ τὴν αὐτῆς ἄφατον εὐεργεσίαν καὶ στοργὴν περὶ τοὺς πολίτας, ὅτι καὶ ἐν ἡλικίᾳ νέᾳ οὖσα οὕτως ἐφρόνησεν τὴν ἰδίαν πατρίδα μετὰ Θεὸν περισῶσαι. Ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ μιᾷ στήλῃ σωφρόνως αὐτὴν κεκαλλωπισμένην στήσαντες καὶ τὰ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τοῦ οἰκείου ἀνδρὸς τοῖς πολίταις ἐμφαίνουσαν, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἑτέρᾳ ἐναγώνιον αὐτὴν καὶ ἐπαμυνομένην κατὰ τῶν τῆς πόλεως ἐπιβούλων ἀποδεικνύοντες, ἐν οἷς καὶ ἐπέγραψαν ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἀνδριάντος αὐτῆς βάσει ἅπασαν τὴν ὑπ' αὐτῆς μετὰ Θεὸν γενομένην τοῖς πολίταις εὐεργεσίαν. Εἴπερ μέλλει τις εἶναι φιλόκαλος, τῆς αὐτῆς συνεχῶς κατὰ καιρὸν τὴν βάσιν ἀποσμήχει πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ γενομένων ἀνάγνωσίν τε καὶ ὑπόμνησιν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτῆς γενομένων, ἔλεγχον δὲ