107

and when those along the coast saw this one, another was raised, and for those along Mimas another, and those along Kyrizos in turn lit their beacons, and those along Mokilos likewise signaled with fire, and after all of them a fire-signal was raised on the hill of St. Auxentios. Seeing these, those in the countryside quickly shut themselves up in strongholds and escaped the raids of the barbarians. And from St. Auxentios, knowledge of the enemy raid was given 406 to the emperor. So that, therefore, he might not be interrupted from the horse races, at a time when these fire-signals were often being raised, he decreed the abolition of the fire-signals neighboring the capital. And he condemned also the emperors before him, because they did not delight in simplicity, but laid claim to arrogance and imperial pomp. Whence he himself, thinking to practice moderation, once met a woman who had just bathed and was returning homeward, and dismounting his horse, he went with the woman along with a few young men who shared in his secrets, and having arrived at her house and shared a meal with her, he departed on foot for the palace. And while he prided himself on such things as if accomplishing 407 something great, to others he was judged to be acting foolishly and they nursed hatred against him. And not least did he seem hateful because of the accursed young men he kept around him, who kindled him to every evil; who also styled themselves as high priests and pretended to celebrate the bloodless sacrifice, having Michael himself supposedly concelebrating with them, playing with things not to be played with, mixing both vinegar and mustard, and pouring the mixture into golden and jeweled vessels supplied by him, they would give a share of these things to their fellow initiates and playmates. But to list all the doings of such a band, in which the emperor himself happened to be a fellow reveler, would require much chatter and not least unpleasantness. But the account has come to relate the death of Bardas and that of his ruler, and before these things the familiar friendship of Basil the Macedonian with Michael; who was from Macedonia, but was born of obscure and unknown parents, even if 408 one of those who recorded the events concerning him fantastically claims that he was descended from the family of the Arsacids. And when Krum (and he was the ruler of the Bulgars) had seized Adrianople, his parents, having become captives, were transported to their country, carrying him as a newborn and suckling infant. But when Krum had already died, another had taken over the rule of the Bulgars, who, having been often defeated in the wars against the Romans, had made a treaty with the then ruler of the Romans, and agreed to free the captives, and indeed he acted according to the agreements. At that time Basil had reached the age of a youth. However, they say that many signs occurred from his infancy foretelling his reign, one of which was also the one about to be told. Basil was an infant, and his parents were busy with the summer harvest and the sleeping infant lay under the sun; and an eagle, flying near the ground, made a shadow for the baby with its outstretched wings. But the mother, when she saw the eagle approaching the child, both raised her voice and ran to her son and drove the eagle away with stones. 409 But when she had returned to her work, again the eagle approached the sleeping baby, performing its service. And the mother was alarmed again and drove it away. But when this happened many times, she came to a realization and understood the event to be a good omen. But when he had now passed beyond boyhood, his father ended his life, and his mother was oppressed by poverty and the evils of widowhood. But he, not having the necessities of life, decided to give himself to someone for wages in service; and setting out, he comes to the great city. And in the evening, having entered the gate of the city, which is called the Golden, he took shelter by the church of St. Diomedes, which was not yet a monastery at that time; and lying down outside the precinct, he fell asleep. But during the night the martyr appears in a dream to the sacristan of the church and commands him to bring the emperor inside. The

107

δὲ κατὰ τὸν Αἰγιαλὸν ἰδοῦσι τοῦτον ᾔρετο ἄλλος, καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὸν Μίμαντα ἕτερος, καὶ οἱ κατὰ τὸν Κύριζον αὖθις ἐφρυκτώρουν, καὶ οἱ κατὰ τὸν Μώκιλον ὁμοίως ἐπύρσευον, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἐν τῷ τοῦ ἁγίου Αὐξεντίου βουνῷ πυρσὸς ᾔρετο. οὓς ὁρῶντες οἱ ἐν ταῖς χώραις διὰ βραχέος εἰς ὀχυρώματα συνέκλειον ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τὰς τῶν βαρβάρων λεηλασίας ἐξέκλινον. ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου Αὐξεντίου τῷ βασιλεύοντι τῆς τῶν δυσμενῶν ἐπιδρομῆς ἐδίδοτο 406 γνῶσις. ἵνα τοίνυν μὴ ἀνακόπτοιτο τῶν ἱππηλάτων ἀγώνων, ἐν καιρῷ τούτων πολλάκις τῶν πυρσῶν αἰρομένων, τῶν τῇ βασιλίδι γειτονούντων πυρσῶν σχολὴν κατεψηφίσατο. Κατεγίνωσκε δὲ καὶ τῶν πρότερον βασιλευσάντων, ὅτι μὴ λιτότητι ἔχαιρον, σοβαρότητος δ' ἀντεποιοῦντο καὶ ὄγκου βασιλικοῦ. ὅθεν αὐτὸς μετριότητα δοκῶν μετιέναι συνήντησέ ποτε γυναικὶ ἄρτι λουσαμένῃ καὶ οἴκαδε ὑπονοστούσῃ, καὶ τοῦ ἵππου ἀποβὰς ἀπῄει μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς σὺν ὀλίγοις τισὶ νεανίαις, οἳ τῶν ἀπορρήτων συμμετεῖχον αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτῆς γεγονὼς καὶ συμμετασχὼν τραπέζης αὐτῇ πεζοπορῶν ἀπῄει πρὸς τὰ ἀνάκτορα. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ὡς μέγα τι κατορ407 θῶν ἐβρενθύετο, τοῖς δ' ἄλλοις ἀνοηταίνειν ἐκρίνετο καὶ μῖσος ὑπέτρεφον κατ' αὐτοῦ. οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ μισητὸς ἐδόκει διὰ τοὺς παρατρεφομένους αὐτῷ ἐναγεῖς νεανίας, οἳ πρὸς ἅπαν κακὸν αὐτὸν ὑπεξέκαιον· οἳ καὶ ἀρχιερεῖς ἔπλαττον ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τὴν ἀναίμακτον ἱερουργίαν τελεῖν ὑπεκρίνοντο, καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Μιχαὴλ συνιερουργοῦντα δῆθεν ἔχοντες ἑαυτοῖς, παίζοντες ἐν οὐ παικτοῖς ὄξος τε μιγνύντες καὶ σίνηπι καὶ σκεύεσι χρυσέοις καὶ λιθοκολλήτοις παρ' αὐτοῦ χορηγουμένοις τὸ κρᾶμα ἐγχέοντες μετεδίδουν τούτων τοῖς συμμύσταις αὐτῶν καὶ συμπαίστορσιν. ἀλλ' ἅπαντα καταλέγειν τὰ τοῦ τοιούτου χοροῦ, οἷς συνθιασώτης καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐτύγχανεν ὤν, πολλῆς ἂν εἴη λέσχης καὶ ἀηδίας οὐχ ἥκιστα. Ἥκει δ' ὁ λόγος τὴν τοῦ Βάρδα διηγησόμενος ἀποβίωσιν καὶ τὴν τοῦ κρατοῦντος αὐτοῦ καὶ πρὸ τούτων τὴν τοῦ Βασιλείου τοῦ Μακεδόνος οἰκείωσιν πρὸς τὸν Μιχαήλ· ὃς ἐκ Μακεδονίας μὲν ἦν, ἔφυ δὲ πατέρων ἀσήμων καὶ ἀφανῶν, εἰ καί 408 τις τῶν τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ ἐξιστορησάντων ἐκ τοῦ τῶν Ἀρσακιδῶν αὐτὸν γένους κατάγεσθαι τερατεύεται. τοῦ Κρούμου δέ (τῶν Βουλγάρων δ' ἦν οὗτος ἀρχηγός) τὴν Ἀδριανούπολιν κατασχόντος, καὶ οἱ τούτου γεννήτορες αἰχμάλωτοι γεγονότες εἰς τὴν ἐκείνων χώραν μετήχθησαν, ἀρτιγενὲς τοῦτον καὶ ὑπομάζιον φέροντες. τοῦ Κρούμου δὲ ἀποβεβιωκότος ἤδη ἕτερος τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν Βουλγάρων ἐπείληπτο, ὃς πολλάκις ἐν πολέμοις τοῖς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους θραυσθεὶς σπονδὰς πρὸς τὸν τότε κρατοῦντα Ῥωμαίων πεποίητο, καὶ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἐλευθερῶσαι συνέθετο, καὶ μέντοι καὶ κατὰ τὰς συνθήκας πεποίηκεν. ἐφήβου δ' ἦν ἡλικίας τότε ἁψάμενος ὁ Βασίλειος. νηπιόθεν μέντοι πολλὰ σημεῖα γενέσθαι φασὶ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῷ προσημαίνοντα, ὧν ἓν ἦν καὶ τὸ ῥηθησόμενον. νήπιος μὲν ἦν ὁ Βασίλειος, οἱ δὲ τούτου γονεῖς περὶ θέρος ἠσχόληντο καὶ τὸ νήπιον ὑπνῶττον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ἔκειτο· ἀετὸς δὲ πετόμενος πρόσγειος ἡπλωμέναις ταῖς πτέρυξι τῷ βρέφει σκιὰν ἐσχεδίαζεν. ἡ δὲ μήτηρ ὡς εἶδε τὸν ἀετὸν τῷ παιδὶ προσεγγίζοντα, ἦρέ τε τὴν φωνὴν καὶ προσέδραμε τῷ υἱῷ καὶ λίθοις τὸν ἀετὸν ἀπεδίωκε. 409 τῆς δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἔργον χωρησάσης αὖθις ὁ ἀετὸς προσῄει τῷ βρέφει κοιμωμένῳ, ἐπιτελῶν τὸ λειτούργημα. καὶ ἡ μήτηρ πάλιν τε τεθορύβητο καὶ αὐτὸν ἀπεδίωκεν. ὡς δὲ πολλάκις τοῦτο ἐγένετο, εἰς συναίσθησιν ἧκε καὶ χρηστὸν ὑπείληφε τὸ πρᾶγμα οἰώνισμα. ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῦ ὑπερβεβηκότος τὸν μείρακα, ὁ πατὴρ μὲν κατέλυσε τὴν ζωήν, ἡ δὲ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τῇ πενίᾳ καὶ τοῖς τῆς χηρείας κακοῖς ἐπιέζετο. ὁ δὲ τῶν πρὸς τὸ ζῆν ἀναγκαίων μὴ εὐπορῶν, ἔγνω μισθῷ πρὸς ὑπηρεσίαν ἑαυτὸν ἐκδοῦναί τινι· καὶ ἄρας ἔρχεται πρὸς τὴν μεγαλόπολιν. ὀψίας δὲ τὴν τῆς πόλεως εἰσελθὼν πύλην, ἣ καλεῖται Χρυσεία, παρὰ τῷ ναῷ τοῦ ἁγίου ∆ιομήδους κατέλυσεν οὔπω μονῇ τότε τυγχάνοντι· καὶ πεσὼν ἔξω τοῦ τεμένους κατέδαρθε. νυκτὸς δὲ τῷ τοῦ ναοῦ νεωκόρῳ ὄναρ ὁ μάρτυς ἐφίσταται καὶ τὸν βασιλέα ἐντὸς εἰσαγαγεῖν ἐγκελεύεται. ὁ