,

The more honorable members of the senatorial council, therefore, were entreating the Caesar to appoint a general for the war and to win a postponement of the royal 5.16.3 expedition. But since they did not persuade him, the leader of the priestly orders was begging the emperor to be no general, but to entrust the contest to another. But since not even he was revered in his entreaty, the empress, together with her children, supplicating, implored her husband the Caesar to have second 5.16.4 thoughts. And when her plea also had no shamefaced expression or persuasive limb, the emperor Maurice departed from the palace one and a half parasangs; 5.16.5 and this is called Hebdomon by the Byzantines. For on that day there was a very great eclipse of the sun. And this happened to be the ninth year of Maurice the emperor. And there also arose blasts of prodigious winds, and a violent south wind, such that it almost even tossed the seabed gravel 5.16.6 with the vault of the swell. The emperor therefore, having heard that Dalauzas the Persian was coming to him, returned to the royal city, and having handled the request of the embassy as skillfully as possible, he set out again on the purpose of his expedition. 5.16.7 But desiring to obtain some divine oversight to campaign with him, he spent the night in the great sanctuary of religion built by Justinian the emperor; and the holy place is dedicated to the name of the wisdom of God. 5.16.8 Therefore, since no vision of dreams had appeared to him, praying together with the people, he spent the day being initiated into the house of the Mother of God before the city, and he partook of the divine-human banquet; and the temple is called at the Spring. 5.16.9 On the next day the emperor, departing from there, comes to the so-called Hebdomon; and on the sixth day he arrived at Rhegium. There a countless crowd of beggars 5.16.10 was gathered and was demanding to receive something from the emperor. The emperor therefore, having enclosed the gathered crowds in the palaces there, deemed them worthy of benevolence, and having broken up sufficient silver coins, he soothed the painful poverty of the assembled multitude, and rising at dawn and having ordered 5.16.11 the trumpets, he began the march; and so arriving at Rhamphos he was escorted in front by the bodyguards. And the battle-line stretched out at length. And the emperor was greatly delighted with the formation of the battle-line of the escorting force. And the fighting force was marching behind, and the wood of the cross of Christ was suspended on high on a golden spear and 5.16.12 was preceding both the emperor and the patrolling force. And at the second dawn an enormous beast (and this happened to be a boar) was coming against the Caesar. The royal horse therefore being agitated by the sudden arrival of the beast, rebelled to throw the emperor, its rider, from his seat. 5.16.13 But as the emperor was holding the bridle very firmly, the horse unwillingly becomes obedient, and casting off the terrors of the sight changed its mind again, being managed by the reins. 5.16.14 The beast, therefore, being attacked by no one, with unchallenged strength had its passage unharmed. And the emperor, when the beast disappeared, having made the sign of the cross on his forehead, as is the custom for Christians to do in the face of prodigies, kept to his march, wondering at these unexpected things that had followed.

6.t.1 HISTORY 6 6.1.1 The emperor therefore, having approached Selymbria, to the

Perinthus, which the more recent are accustomed to call Heracleia, he made his sallies by sea. Therefore swift-sailing ships were present of their complete

οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐντιμότεροι τῶν ἐς συγκλήτου βουλὴν κατελιπάρουν τὸν Καίσαρα χειροτονῆσαι στρατηγὸν τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ ἀναβολὴν τὰ τῆς βασιλικῆς ἐπι5.16.3 βολῆς ἀποφέρεσθαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἔπειθον, ὁ τῶν ἱερατικῶν ταγμάτων ἡγούμενος ἐδεῖτο τὸν βασιλέα ἀποστράτηγον εἶναι, ἑτέρῳ δὲ τὰ τῆς ἀγωνίας περιβαλεῖν. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐδὲ οὗτος αἰδέσιμος ἦν ἐξαιτούμενος, ἡ βασίλεια ἅμα τοῖς παισὶ ποτνιωμένη ἠντιβόλει τὸν γαμέτην τὸν Καίσαρα ἐπὶ δευτέρας γενέ5.16.4 σθαι φροντίδας. ὡς δὲ καὶ ταύτης ἡ ἀξίωσις πρόσωπον οὐκ ἔσχεν αἰσχυντηλὸν ἢ μέλος πειθήνιον, ἐξεχώρει τῶν βασιλείων ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ Μαυρίκιος παρασάγγην ἕνα καὶ ἡμιόλιον· 5.16.5 ῞Εβδομον δὲ ἄρα τοῦτο τοῖς Βυζαντίοις ὠνόμασται. κατ' ἐκείνην γοῦν τὴν ἡμέραν ἡλίου μεγίστη γέγονεν ἔκλειψις. ἔνατον δὲ ἄρα τοῦτο ἔτος ἐτύγχανεν ὂν Μαυρικίου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος. ἐπεγένοντο δὲ καὶ ἐξαισίων πνευμάτων φυσήματα, νότος τε βίαιος, ὡς μονονουχὶ καὶ τὴν ἐπιβύθιον ψηφῖδα 5.16.6 ἀναρρίπτειν τῷ θόλῳ τοῦ σάλου. ὁ μὲν οὖν αὐτοκράτωρ ἀκηκοὼς ∆αλαυζὰν τὸν Πέρσην ἥκοντα ὡς αὐτὸν παλινδρομεῖ πρὸς τὸ βασίλειον ἄστυ, διαθείς τε ὡς ἐνῆν ἐπιδεξίως τὴν τῆς πρεσβείας ἀξίωσιν τοῦ σκοποῦ αὖθις τῆς ἐκδημίας ἀπήρ5.16.7 χετο. τυχεῖν δὲ γλιχόμενος καὶ θείας τινὸς ἐποπτίας συστρατευσομένης αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τὸ μέγα τῆς θρησκείας κατεπαννυχίζετο τέμενος τὸ ὑπὸ ᾿Ιουστινιανοῦ ᾠκοδομημένον τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος· ἐς προσηγορίαν δὲ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίας τὸ ἱερὸν ἀνατέ5.16.8 θειται. μηδεμιᾶς τοιγαροῦν ὄψεως ἐνυπνίων ἐπιφανείσης αὐτῷ, λιταζόμενος ἅμα τῷ λαῷ εἰς τὴν πρὸ τοῦ ἄστεος τῆς θεομήτορος οἰκίαν διημέρευε μυσταγωγούμενος, καὶ τῆς θεανδρικῆς μετελάγχανε πανδαισίας· ὁ δὲ νεὼς πρὸς τῆς Πηγῇ 5.16. καταλέγεται. τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπάρας ἐντεῦθεν ἐπὶ τὸ λεγόμενον ῞Εβδομον γίνεται· ἑκταῖος δὲ τῷ ῾Ρηγίῳ προσέβαλλεν. ἐνταῦθα πλῆθος ἄπειρον τῶν μεταιτούντων 5.16.10 συνήθροιστο καὶ ἠξίου τι παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ἑλέσθαι. ὁ μὲν οὖν αὐτοκράτωρ τὰ συρρεύσαντα πλήθη τοῖς ἐκεῖσε βασιλείοις ἐναποκλείσας φιλανθρωπίας ἠξίου, ἱκανά τε κατακερματίσας ἀργύρια ἐψυχαγώγει τῆς ἀθροισθείσης πληθύος τὸ τῆς πενίας κατώδυνον, ὄρθριός τε γενόμενος ἐγκελεύσας 5.16.11 τε τὰς σάλπιγγας τῆς πορείας ἀπήρχετο· ἐπί τε τοίνυν ῾Ράμφος γενόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν σωματοφυλάκων προεπομπεύετο. ἡ δὲ ἔκταξις εἰς μῆκος διέτεινεν. ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ περιεγάνυτο τῷ σχήματι τῆς ἐκτάξεως τῆς προπομπούσης δυνάμεως. τὸ δὲ μάχιμον κατόπιν ἐβάδιζεν, τό τε ξύλον τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐς ὕψος ἐπὶ δόρατος χρυσοῦ ἀπῃώρητο καὶ 5.16.12 προηγεῖτο τοῦ τε βασιλέως καὶ τῆς περιπόλου δυνάμεως. ὑπὸ δὲ δευτέραν ἕω θηρίον παμμέγεθες (ὗς δὲ τοῦτο ἐτύγχανεν ὂν) ἐχώρει κατὰ τοῦ Καίσαρος. τοῦ τοίνυν βασιλείου ἵππου ὑποταραχθέντος τῇ ἀθρόᾳ τοῦ θηρίου ἀφίξει, τῆς καθέδρας 5.16.13 ἀποβαλεῖν τὸν βασιλέα τὸν ἐπιβάτην κατεστασίαζεν. τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως λίαν ἐπόχως ἐχομένου τοῦ χαλινοῦ, γίνεται ἄκων ὁ ἵππος πειθήνιος, τά τε τῆς ὄψεως ἀποβαλόμενος δείματα καὶ τὴν γνώμην μετέβαλλεν αὖθις ταῖς ἡνίαις οἰκονομού5.16.14 μενος. τὸ μὲν οὖν θηρίον ὑπὸ μηδενὸς πολεμούμενον ἀνανταγωνίστῳ ἀλκῇ τὴν πάροδον εἶχεν ἀζήμιον. ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ τοῦ θηρίου ἀφανοῦς γενομένου ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον τοῦ σταυροῦ διατυπώσας τὰ σήμαντρα, ὡς ἔθος ἐπὶ τῶν παραδόξων Χριστιανοῖς ἀπεργάζεσθαι, εἴχετο τῆς βαδίσεως ταῦτά που θαυμάζων τὰ τῶν ἐπηκολουθηκότων παράλογα.

6.τ.1 ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ϛʹ 6.1.1 Προσπελάσας τοιγαροῦν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ τῇ Σηλυμβρίᾳ ἐπὶ τὴν

Πείρινθον, ἣν ῾Ηράκλειαν εἴθισται τοῖς νεωτέροις ἀποκαλεῖν, διὰ ναυτιλίας τὰς ὁρμὰς ἐποιεῖτο. τοίνυν ταχυναυτοῦσαι νῆες παρῆσαν τῆς περὶ αὐτὰς ἀρτίας