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And in his place had been ordained the divine Marcellus, fervent in spirit according to the law of the apostle. And the prefect arrived in Apamea of the East, having taken two tribunes with their subordinates. And the multitude, on the one hand, was quiet for fear of the soldiers. But the temple of Zeus, being very large and adorned with much ornament, he tried to demolish, but seeing that the construction was exceedingly sound and solid, he supposed it impossible for men to undo the joining of the stones; for they were very large and very well fitted to one another, and moreover were bound together with iron and lead. Seeing this cowardice of the prefect, the divine Marcellus sent him on to the other cities, and he himself besought God to give a means for its demolition. Then someone came of his own accord in the morning, neither a builder, nor a stonemason, nor knowing any other craft, but accustomed to carry stones and wood on his shoulders. This man came forward and promised to demolish the 319 temple very easily, and he demanded the wages for two workmen. And when the divine high priest promised to give this, that man devised a plan of this sort. The temple, situated on a height, had a portico on its four sides joined to it; and the columns were very large and of equal height with the temple, and the circumference of each was sixteen cubits. And the nature of the stone was very hard and did not easily yield to the tools of the stonemasons. Digging around each of these, he propped up what was above with logs of olive wood, and then moved on to another. And so, having dug out three of the columns, he applied a flame to the logs. But a certain black demon appeared and did not allow the wood to be consumed by the fire according to its nature, hindering the action of the flame. And when, after doing this many times, they saw their device was fruitless, they reported this to the shepherd as he was sleeping after midday. And he immediately ran to the divine temple and, having ordered water to be brought in a vessel, placed the water under the divine altar, and he himself, placing his forehead on the ground, besought the man-loving master not to give in for too long to the tyranny of the demon, but to expose his weakness and to display His own power, so that it might not become a pretext for greater harm to the unbelievers. Having said these things and whatever was similar to them, and having made the sign of the cross over the water, he ordered a certain Equitius, who had been deemed worthy of the diaconate, fortified with faith and zeal, to take the water and to run with speed and to sprinkle it with faith and to apply the flame. When this was done, the demon fled, not enduring the application of the water, and the fire, as if using the 320 opposing water for oil, seized upon the logs and consumed them in an instant. And the columns, with their support gone, both fell themselves and dragged down twelve others. And the side of the temple joined to the columns was brought down, pulled along by their force. And the crash, which spread through the whole city (for it was great), roused everyone to the sight. And when they learned of the flight of the opposing demon, they moved their tongues in praise of the God of all. Thus that divine high priest demolished the other temples also. Although I have many other and very admirable stories about this man (for he both wrote to the victorious martyrs and received replies, and in the end he himself was crowned with the martyr's crown), I hesitate to relate them now, so that I do not, by excessive length, weary those who will read this history. I shall therefore turn to another narrative. That famous Athanasius was succeeded by the admirable Peter, and Peter by Timothy, and Timothy by Theophilus, a man shrewd in mind and courageous in spirit. This man freed the city of Alexander from its idolatrous error. For not only did he tear up the temples of the idols from their foundations, but he also exposed the contrivances of the deceiving priests to the deceived. For constructing those of bronze and those of wood hollow on the inside

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ἐκεχειροτόνητο δὲ ἀντ' ἐκείνου Μάρκελλος ὁ θεῖος, ζέων τῷ πνεύματι κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀποστόλου νομοθεσίαν. ἀφίκετο δὲ εἰς τὴν Ἀπάμειαν τῆς Ἑῴας ὁ ὕπαρχος, δύο χιλιάρχους σὺν τοῖς ὑπηκόοις λαβών. καὶ τὸ μὲν πλῆθος διὰ τὸ τῶν στρατιω τῶν ἡσύχασε δέος. τὸ δὲ τοῦ ∆ιὸς τέμενος, μέγιστόν τε ὂν καὶ πολλῷ κόσμῳ πεποικιλμένον, καταλῦσαι μὲν ἐπειράθη, στεγανὴν δὲ ἄγαν καὶ στερεμνίαν τὴν οἰκοδομίαν ἰδών, ἀδύνατον ἀνθρώποις ὑπέλαβε διαλῦσαι τῶν λίθων τὴν ἁρμονίαν· μέγιστοί τε γὰρ ἦσαν καὶ ἀλλήλοις ἄγαν συνηρμοσμένοι καὶ μέντοι καὶ σιδήρῳ καὶ μολίβδῳ προσδεδεμένοι. ταύτην τοῦ ὑπάρχου τὴν δειλίαν ὁ θεῖος Μάρκελλος ἰδών, ἐκεῖνον μὲν εἰς τὰς ἄλλας προὔπεμψε πόλεις, αὐτὸς δὲ τὸν θεὸν ἠντιβόλει πόρον δοῦναι τῇ λύσει. Ἧκεν οὖν τις αὐτόματος ἕωθεν, οὔτε οἰκοδόμος, οὔτε λιθοτόμος, οὔτ' ἄλλην τινὰ ἐπιστάμενος τέχνην, ἀλλὰ λίθους φέρειν ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων καὶ ξύλα εἰθισμένος. οὗτος προσελθὼν ὑπέσχετο ῥᾷστα τὸν 319 νεὼν καταλύσειν, δυοῖν δὲ τεχνίταιν ἀπῄτει μισθόν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦτον ὑπέσχετο δώσειν ὁ θεῖος ἀρχιερεύς, τοιόνδε τι ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐκεῖνος ἐμη χανήσατο. στοὰν ἐκ τῶν τεττάρων πλευρῶν ὁ νεὼς εἶχεν ἐφ' ὕψους κείμενος αὐτῷ συνηρμοσμένην· οἱ δὲ κίονες μέγιστοί τε ἦσαν καὶ ἰσόμετροι τῷ νεῷ, ἑκάστου δὲ ὁ κύκλος ἑξκαίδεκα πήχεων ἦν. ἡ δὲ τοῦ λίθου φύσις στερροτάτη τις ἦν καὶ οὐ ῥᾳδίως τοῖς τῶν λιθο τόμων ὀργάνοις ὑπείκουσα. τούτων ἕκαστον ἐν κύκλῳ διορύττων ἐκεῖνος καὶ ξύλοις ἐλαΐνοις ὑπερείδων τὰ ὑπερκείμενα, ἐφ' ἕτερον αὖθις μετέβαινεν. οὕτω δὲ τρεῖς τῶν κιόνων ὀρύξας τὴν φλόγα τοῖς ξύλοις προσήνεγκεν. ἀλλ' οὐκ εἴα κατὰ φύσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς τὰ ξύλα δαπανᾶσθαι δαίμων τις μέλας φαινόμενος καὶ κωλύων τῆς φλογὸς τὴν ἐνέργειαν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ πολλάκις τοῦτο δράσαντες ἀνόνητον ἑώρων τὴν μηχανήν, ἐμήνυσαν τοῦτο τῷ ποιμένι μετὰ τὴν μεσημ βρίαν καθεύδοντι. Ὁ δὲ παραυτίκα εἰς τὸν θεῖον δραμὼν νεὼν καὶ εἰς ἄγγος ὕδωρ κομισθῆναι προστάξας, ἔθηκε μὲν τὸ ὕδωρ ὑπὸ τὸ θεῖον θυσιαστή ριον, αὐτὸς δὲ εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος τὸ μέτωπον θεὶς τὸν φιλάνθρωπον ἠντιβόλει δεσπότην μὴ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐνδοῦναι τῇ τυραννίδι τοῦ δαί μονος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τὴν ἐκείνου γυμνῶσαι καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν δύναμιν ἐπιδεῖξαι, ἵνα μὴ πρόφασις ἐντεῦθεν τοῖς ἀπίστοις μείζονος γένηται βλάβης. ταῦτα εἰπὼν καὶ ὅσα τούτοις παρόμοια καὶ ἐπιθεὶς τοῦ σταυροῦ τὸν τύπον τῷ ὕδατι, Ἐκοίτιόν τινα διακονίας ἠξιω μένον, πίστει καὶ ζήλῳ πεφραγμένον, λαβεῖν τε τὸ ὕδωρ ἐκέλευσε καὶ διὰ τάχους δραμεῖν καὶ μετὰ πίστεως διαρρᾶναι καὶ τὴν φλόγα προσενεγκεῖν. οὕτω τούτου γενομένου, ἀπέδρα μὲν ὁ δαίμων οὐκ ἐνεγκὼν τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος προσβολήν, τὸ δὲ πῦρ, ὡς ἐλαίῳ τῷ ἀντι 320 πάλῳ χρησάμενον ὕδατι, ἐπελάβετό τε τῶν ξύλων καὶ ταῦτα ἐν ἀκαρεῖ κατανάλωσεν. οἱ δὲ κίονες, φρούδου τοῦ ἐρείδοντος γενομένου, αὐτοί τε κατέπεσον καὶ ἄλλους εἵλκυσαν δυοκαίδεκα. καὶ τοῦ νεὼ δὲ τὸ τοῖς κίοσι συνημμένον κατηνέχθη πλευρὸν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐκείνων βίας συνελκυσθέν. ὁ δὲ κτύπος εἰς ἅπαν τὸ ἄστυ διαδραμὼν (πολὺς γὰρ ἦν) πάντας εἰς θέαν συνήγειρεν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἀντιπάλου δαίμονος ἔμαθον τὴν φυγήν, εἰς ὑμνῳδίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων τὴν γλῶτταν ἐκίνησαν. οὕτω καὶ τἄλλα τεμένη κατέλυσεν ὁ θεῖος ἐκεῖνος ἀρχιερεύς. Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα περὶ τοῦδε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ λίαν ἀξιάγαστα διηγήματα ἔχων (καὶ γὰρ τοῖς νικηφόροις ἐπέστελλε μάρτυσι καὶ ἀντιγράφων ἐτύγχανε καὶ τέλος καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν τῶν μαρτύρων ἀνε δήσατο στέφανον), ἀναδύομαι ταῦτα νῦν ἱστορεῖν, ἵνα μὴ λίαν μη κύνων ἀποκνήσω τοὺς ἐντευξομένους τῇ συγγραφῇ. ἐφ' ἑτέραν τοίνυν διήγησιν τρέψομαι. Ἀθανάσιον ἐκεῖνον τὸν πολυθρύλητον ὁ θαυμάσιος διεδέξατο Πέτρος, τὸν δὲ Πέτρον Τιμόθεος, Τιμόθεον δὲ Θεόφιλος, ἀνὴρ πυκνός τε τὰς φρένας καὶ ἀνδρεῖος τὸ φρόνημα. οὗτος τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου πόλιν τῆς εἰδωλικῆς ἠλευθέρωσε πλάνης. οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἐκ βάθρων ἀνέσπασε τὰ τῶν εἰδώλων τεμένη, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἐξαπατώντων ἱερέων τοῖς ἐξηπατημένοις ὑπέδειξε μηχανήματα. τά τε γὰρ ἐκ χαλ κοῦ καὶ τὰ ἐκ ξύλων κενὰ ἔνδοθεν κατασκευάζοντες