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having hung up his genitals, they both make an example of and triumph over them. And when a great uproar and confusion arose, it was possible to see even Michael almost running for his life; but the drungarius of the watch (and he was Constantine), having rushed somewhere into the middle, dispersed that great clamor, both pelting him with acclamations and arming battle lines against the rebels. Thus indeed Bardas departed from among men, and thus the army against the Cretans was disbanded, with the emperor returning towards Byzantium. 42 And another sign also was signified to Bardas two or three 207 days before; for Theodora, whether otherwise divinely inspired or indeed having heard from one of the conspirators, enigmatically sent out a certain garment, very beautiful indeed and embroidered with golden partridges, but not corresponding to his stature and in fact falling very short. For both the weaving of partridges and not some other of the birds, and moreover also the shortness of the garment, presignified that he would fall into a trap sooner than was necessary. 43 But nevertheless the emperor returned, and he adopts Basil, since he was not fortunate in a son, and deems him worthy of the honor of the magistri. And when, as time went on, Michael was not able to manage public affairs and perceived his own simplicity, and at the same time heard that a revolt and rebellion by the senate was being plotted because the affairs of the Romans were being badly managed, he also places the coveted diadem on his head, and on the day of Pentecost, in the month of May, on the twenty-sixth, of the fourteenth indiction, he both appoints and proclaims him emperor in the great church which is named for the wisdom of God. But who this Basil was and whence, and how he came to the notice of the ruler, the history concerning him will declare; but for now, having been deemed worthy of the imperial glory, he attended to the empire, but he abstained from the daily contests and chariot races and the shameful acts concerning the most shameful Gryllus and the false patriarch, in which Michael unseasonably reveled. 208 (44) For that there is a surfeit of all things, both of shameful and of natural things, has been said by many, and experience of these things is an exact teacher; but for Michael, who was ruling at that time, there was a surfeit neither of the chariot races nor indeed of the other drunken bouts and shameful things, as they say. Basil, trying to prevent these things and to keep him away from them, now using exhortations, now otherwise setting before him and as if painting before his eyes the hatred from the citizens and the curses from the priests and the revolts of the senate, unwittingly subjected himself to envy, and the adopted son was considered an enemy and a hated one instead of a friend. From this point not much time intervened, and bringing forth a certain other, serving at that time as an oarsman of the imperial dromon (this man was called Basiliskianos, and he was the brother of that Kapnogenes who had been deemed worthy of the prefectural dignity for a second time), he both clothes him in the purple and places the diadem around him, and having put on him the insignia of the boots he leads him out to the senate holding him by the hand, and says to the senatorial body that "I ought long ago to have brought this man into this conspicuous station, O men. First, a form worthy of rule, and second, a crown is innate to him, and all things are suited to the dignity; and that how much better it was for me to make this man emperor than Basil, for I repent of having made him emperor." This was the beginning of his downfall. This, having resounded among all, made them 209 both astonished and seized with great speechlessness, that like the mythical Giants he produces sown kings each day. Therefore from that time the hatred towards Basil grew, and it became more violent in the manner of fire, having as kindling and cause the fact that he wished neither to be corrupted with them nor indeed to be carried along by their licentious opinions. For Michael to such a degree

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παιδογόνα τούτου ἀπαιωρήσαντες μόρια παραδειγματί- ζουσί τε καὶ θριαμβεύουσι. θορύβου δὲ πολλοῦ γενομένου καὶ ταραχῆς, ην ἰδεῖν καὶ τὸν Μιχαὴλ μικροῦ τὸν περὶ ψυχῆς θέοντα· ἀλλ' ὁ τῆς βίγλης δρουγγάριος (Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ ην) ἐν μέσῳ που συρρυεὶς τὸν πολὺν ἐκεῖνον διέλυσε θροῦν, εὐφημίαις τε βάλ- λων αὐτὸν καὶ παρατάξεις ἀνθοπλίζων κατὰ τῶν ἐπανισταμένων. ὁ μὲν δὴ Βάρδας ουτως ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο, καὶ ουτως ἡ κατὰ τῶν Κρητῶν διελύθη στρατιά, τοῦ βασιλέως κατὰ τὸ Βυζάντιον ὑποστρέψαντος. 42 Καὶ ετερον δὲ σημεῖον πρὸ δύο η καὶ πρὸ τριῶν ἡμε- 207 ρῶν τῷ Βάρδᾳ παρεσημαίνετο· ἡ γὰρ Θεοδώρα, ειτ' αλλως θεο- φορουμένη ειτε δὴ καὶ ὑπό τινος τῶν μεμελετημένων διακούσασα, ἐσθῆτά τινα παγκάλην μὲν καὶ χρυσαῖς πέρδιξι πεποικιλμένην, οὐκ ἀναλογοῦσαν δὲ τῷ μήκει τῆς ἡλικίας αὐτοῦ ἀλλὰ καὶ πολὺ ἀπο- δέουσαν αἰνιγματωδῶς ἐξαπέστειλεν. τό τε γὰρ πέρδικας ἀλλὰ μή τινας αλλας τῶν ὀρνίθων ἐνυφᾶναι, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐσθῆ- τος ἐνδέον εἰς δόλον ἐμπεσεῖν θᾶττον η εδει προυσήμανεν. 43 Πλὴν ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν βασιλεὺς ὑπέστρεφε, τόν τε Βασί- λειον, ἐπεὶ μὴ εὐμοίρει παιδός, υἱοποιεῖται καὶ τῆς τῶν μαγίστρων τιμῆς ἀξιοῖ. ἐπεὶ δὲ χρόνου προϊόντος τὰ κοινὰ διοικεῖν οὐχ οιός τε ὁ Μιχαὴλ ην καὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀφελείας ᾐσθάνετο καὶ αμα ἐπανά- στασιν μελετᾶσθαι καὶ ἀποστασίαν παρὰ τῆς συγκλήτου διή- κουεν τῷ τὰ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων διοικεῖσθαι κακῶς, καὶ τὸ περιμάχητον διάδημα τῇ κεφαλῇ αὐτοῦ ἐπιτίθησι, καὶ βασιλέα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ πεν- τηκοστῆς, μηνὶ Μαΐῳ, εἰκάδι εκτῃ, ἰνδικτιῶνος τεσσαρεσκαιδεκά- της, ἀναδείκνυσί τε καὶ ἀναγορεύει κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην ἐκκλησίαν ῃ ἐπώνυμον σοφία θεοῦ. ἀλλ' οστις μὲν ουτος ὁ Βασίλειος καὶ οθεν, καὶ οπως ηλθεν εἰς γνῶσιν τοῦ κρατοῦντος, ἡ κατ' αὐτὸν ἱστορία δηλώσει· τὰ νῦν δὲ τῆς βασιλείου δόξης ἀξιωθεὶς ειχετο μὲν τῆς βασιλείας, ἀπείχετο δὲ τῶν καθ' ἑκάστην ἁμιλλητηρίων καὶ ἱπποδρομιῶν καὶ τῶν περὶ τὸν αἰσχρότατον Γρῦλον καὶ ψευ- δοπατριάρχην αἰσχρουργιῶν, ων ἀκαίρως ἐνετρύφα ὁ Μιχαήλ. 208 (44) πάντων μὲν γὰρ κόρον ειναι καὶ τῶν αἰσχρῶν καὶ τῶν φυσι- κῶν ειρηταί τε πολλοῖς, καὶ ἡ πεῖρα τούτων διδάσκαλος ἀκριβής· Μιχαὴλ δὲ τῷ τότε κρατοῦντι ουτε τῶν ἱπποδρομιῶν ουτε μὴν τῶν αλλων ἀκρατοποσίων τε καὶ αἰσχρῶν κόρος ην, ὡς φασίν. α πειρώμενος κωλύειν ὁ Βασίλειος καὶ πορρωτέρω τούτων ποιεῖν αὐτόν, νῦν μὲν παραινέσεσι χρώμενος, νῦν δ' αλλως μῖσος παρὰ τῶν πολιτῶν καὶ τὰς παρὰ τῶν ἱερέων ἀρὰς καὶ τὰς τῆς συγκλήτου ἐπαναστάσεις προτιθεὶς καὶ οιον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ζωγραφῶν, ελαθε τῷ φθόνῳ ἑαυτὸν καθυποβαλών, καὶ ἀντὶ φίλου ἐχθρὸς καὶ μεμι- σημένος ὁ υἱοθετηθεὶς ἐνομίζετο. ἐντεῦθεν οὐ πολὺ τὸ ἐν μέσῳ, καί τινα αλλον, τοῦ βασιλικοῦ δρόμωνος ἐρέτην τηνικαῦτα τελοῦντα (Βασιλικῖνος ουτος ἐλέγετο, καὶ ἀδελφὸς ην Καπνογένους ἐκείνου τοῦ τὴν ὑπαρχικὴν ἀξίαν ἠξιωμένου τὸ δεύτερον), ἀγαγὼν τὴν πορ- φύραν τε ἐνδύει καὶ τὸ διάδημα περιτίθησιν, καὶ τὰ παράσημα τῶν ὑποδημάτων περιβαλὼν ἐξάγει πρὸς τὴν σύγκλητον τῆς χειρὸς εχων αὐτόν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν γερουσίαν φησὶν ὡς εδει πάλαι με τοῦ- τον εἰς τουτονὶ τὸν περίβλεπτον κόσμον, ω ανδρες, ἐπαγαγεῖν. πρῶτον μὲν ειδος αξιον τυραννίδος, καὶ δεύτερον δὲ συμφυὲς πέλει στέφος, απαντα δ' ἁρμόζουσι πρὸς τὴν ἀξίαν· καὶ οτι πόσον ην κάλλιον τοῦτόν με ποιῆσαι βασιλέα η τὸν Βασί- λειον, ἐφ' ῳ μεταμεμέλημαι ἐφ' οις αὐτὸν ἐβασίλευσα." αυτη τῆς καταλύσεως αὐτοῦ ἡ ἀρχή. τοῦτο πάντας περιηχῆσαν ἐκπλα- 209 γῆναί τε τούτους ἐποίησε καὶ ἀφασίᾳ καταληφθῆναι πολλῇ, οτι κατὰ τοὺς μυθικοὺς Γίγαντας βασιλέας σπαρτοὺς καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀναδίδωσιν. ηυξητο μὲν ουν εκτοτε τὸ πρὸς τὸν Βασίλειον μῖσος, καὶ σφοδρότερον κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς φύσιν ἐγίνετο, ὑπέκ- καυμα εχον καὶ αιτιον τὸ μήτε συμφθείρεσθαι βούλεσθαι τούτοις αὐτὸν μήτε μὴν συνεπάγεσθαι ταῖς ἀκολάστοις γνώμαις αὐτῶν. εἰς τοσαύτην γὰρ ὁ Μιχαὴλ