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he was doing. But Belisarius had set out from Germania, which lies between the lands of the Thracians and the Illyrians. So these things, then, were happening in this way. 3.11.22 But Gelimer, having been deprived of Tripolis by Pudentius and Sardinia by Godas, scarcely hoped to recover Tripolis, both because it was situated farther away and because the Romans were already assisting the rebels, against whom, indeed, it seemed best to him not to march immediately; but he was eager to be first to the island, before an alliance from the emperor should also arrive there. 3.11.23 So having picked out five thousand of the Vandals and one hundred and twenty of the best-sailing ships, and having appointed his brother Tzazon as general, 3.11.24 he sent them off. And they sailed against Godas and Sardinia with great spirit and haste, but the Emperor Justinian sent Valerian and Martin on ahead, in order that they might receive the rest of the army 3.11.25 at the places in the Peloponnesus. And when both had gotten on board their ships, it came to the emperor's mind to give them some instruction; which, though he had wished to say it before, some preoccupation with other matters had taken possession of his thoughts and driven it out. 3.11.26 So having summoned them, he was about to say what he wished, but on reflection he found that it would not be auspicious for them to interrupt their journey. 3.11.27 He therefore sent some men to tell them neither to turn back 3.11.28 to him again nor to disembark from the ships. But they, when they came near the ships, shouted with a great cry and clamor that they should by no means turn back, and it seemed to those present that what was happening was a bad omen and that none of those on those ships would ever 3.11.29 return from Libya to Byzantium. For indeed, in addition to the omen, they suspected that a curse had come upon them from the emperor, not at all intentionally, that they should not return. And if one should apply these things to these two commanders, Valerian and Martin, he will find that what was thought from the beginning was not true. 3.11.30 But there was a certain Stotzas among Martin's bodyguards, who was indeed destined to become an enemy to the emperor and to attempt a tyranny and least of all to return to Byzantium, upon whom, indeed, one might suspect that the divine power had brought that curse to bear. 3.11.31 But whether these things are this way or some other, I leave it to each one to reason as he may wish. But how the general Belisarius and the army were sent forth, I shall now proceed to tell. 3.12.1 In the seventh year of his reign, the Emperor Justinian, around the summer solstice, ordered the general's ship to be anchored at the shore, 3.12.2 which happens to be in front of the emperor's palace. Epiphanius, the archbishop of the city, coming there, and after offering the appropriate prayers, put one of the soldiers, who had been recently baptized and had taken the name of Christian, on board the ship. In this manner, therefore, both the general Belisarius and his wife Antonina set sail. 3.12.3 With them was also Procopius, who wrote this history, having at first been very much terrified of the danger, but later, having seen the vision of a dream, which both made him take courage and spurred him on to join the expedition. 3.12.4 For it seemed in the dream that he was in the house of Belisarius, and that one of the servants came in and announced that some men had come bearing gifts; and that Belisarius bade him to see what sort of gifts they were, and that he, going into the inner court, saw men who were carrying on their shoulders 3.12.5 earth with its flowers. And having brought them into the house, he bade them to set down in the portico the earth they were carrying; whereupon Belisarius came with his bodyguards, and he himself reclined upon that earth and ate the flowers, and urged the others to do this very thing, and to them, as they reclined and ate, as if on a couch of leaves, the food seemed exceedingly pleasant. The vision of the dream, then, was something like this. 3.12.6 The entire fleet followed the general's ship, and they put in at Perinthus, which is now called Heraclea, where the army spent a period of five days, since the emperor presented the general there with the greatest possible number of horses from the imperial horse-pastures, which 3.12.7 are grazed for him in the lands of Thrace. Setting sail from there, they anchored at Abydus, and it happened to them there because of the dead calm

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ἐποίει. ὥρμητο δὲ ὁ Βελισάριος ἐκ Γερμανίας, ἣ Θρᾳκῶν τε καὶ Ἰλλυριῶν μεταξὺ κεῖται. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐγίνετο τῇδε. 3.11.22 Γελίμερ δὲ Τριπόλεώς τε πρὸς Πουδεντίου καὶ Σαρδοῦς πρὸς Γώδα ἐστερημένος, Τρίπολιν μὲν ἀνασώσασθαι μόλις ἤλπισεν, ἀπωτέρω τε ᾠκημένην καὶ Ῥωμαίων ἤδη τοῖς ἀποστᾶσι ξυλλαμβανόντων, ἐφ' οὓς δὴ μὴ αὐτίκα στρατεύειν ἔδοξέν οἱ ἄριστα ἔχειν· ἐς δὲ τὴν νῆσον προτερῆσαι ἠπείγετο, πρὶν ἢ καὶ ἐς 3.11.23 ταύτην ξυμμαχίαν ἐκ βασιλέως ἥκειν. ἀπολέξας οὖν Βανδίλων χιλιάδας πέντε καὶ ναῦς εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν τὰς ἄριστα πλεούσας στρατηγόν τε ἀποδείξας Τζάζωνα 3.11.24 τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἔστελλε. καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ Γώδαν τε καὶ Σαρδὼ θυμῷ τε πολλῷ καὶ σπουδῇ χρώμενοι ἔπλεον, βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς Βαλεριανόν τε καὶ Μαρτῖνον προτέρους ἔστελλεν, ἐφ' ᾧ προσδέξονται τὴν ἄλλην 3.11.25 στρατιὰν ἐς τὰ ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ χωρία. καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶν ἄμφω ἐγενέσθην, ἐνθύμιον βασιλεῖ ἐγένετο ἐντέλλεσθαί τι αὐτοῖν· ὃ καὶ πρότερον ἐθέλοντα λέγειν ἀσχολία τις λόγων ἑτέρων τὴν διάνοιαν 3.11.26 περιλαβοῦσα ἐξέκρουσε. μεταπεμψάμενος οὖν αὐτὼ λέγειν ἔμελλεν ἃ ἐβούλετο, ἀλλὰ ξυμβαλὼν εὕρισκεν ὡς οὐκ ἂν αὐτοῖν αἴσιον εἴη τὴν πορείαν ἐκκόψαι. 3.11.27 ἔπεμπεν οὖν τινας ἀπεροῦντας αὐτοῖν μήτε ἀναστρέφειν 3.11.28 ἐς αὐτὸν αὖθις μήτε ἐκ τῶν νεῶν ἀποβαίνειν. οἱ δὲ, ἐπεὶ τῶν νεῶν ἀγχοῦ ἐγένοντο, ἐκέλευον ξὺν βοῇ τε καὶ θορύβῳ πολλῷ μηδαμῶς ἀναστρέφειν, ἔδοξέ τε τοῖς παροῦσιν οἰωνός τε εἶναι οὐκ ἀγαθὸς τὸ γινόμενον καὶ οὔποτε τῶν ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐκείναις τινὰ 3.11.29 ἐκ Λιβύης ἐς Βυζάντιον ἐπανήξειν. πρὸς γὰρ δὴ τῷ οἰωνῷ καὶ ἀρὰν ἐς αὐτοὺς ἥκειν ἐκ βασιλέως οὔτι ἑκόντος, ὥστε μὴ ἀναστρέφειν ὑπώπτευον. καὶ εἰ μέν τις αὐτὰ ἐς τὼ ἄρχοντε τούτω, Βαλεριανόν τε καὶ Μαρτῖνον, ξυμβάλλοιτο, οὐκ ἀληθῆ εὑρήσει τὰ ἐξ 3.11.30 ἀρχῆς δόξαντα. ἦν δέ τις ἐν τοῖς Μαρτίνου δορυφόροις Στότζας, ὃς δὴ καὶ βασιλεῖ πολέμιος ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι καὶ τυραννίδι ἐπιθέσθαι καὶ ἐς Βυζάντιον ἥκιστα ἀναστρέφειν, ἐφ' ὃν δὴ τὴν ἀρὰν ἐκείνην 3.11.31 ὑποπτεύσειεν ἄν τις ξυνενεγκεῖν τὸ δαιμόνιον. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν εἴτε ταύτῃ εἴτε πη ἄλλῃ ἔχει, ἀφίημι ἑκάστῳ ὅπη ἄν τις βούληται ἐκλογίζεσθαι. ὅπως δὲ ὅ τε στρατηγὸς Βελισάριος καὶ τὸ στράτευμα ἐστάλη, ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι. 3.12.1 Ἕβδομον ἤδη ἔτος τὴν αὐτοκράτορα ἀρχὴν ἔχων Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἀμφὶ θερινὰς τροπὰς τὴν στρατηγίδα ἐκέλευσε ναῦν ὁρμίσασθαι ἐς τὴν ἀκτὴν, 3.12.2 ἣ πρὸ τῆς βασιλέως αὐλῆς τυγχάνει οὖσα. ἐνταῦθα Ἐπιφάνιος ἀφικόμενος, ὁ τῆς πόλεως ἀρχιερεὺς, εὐξάμενός τε ὅσα εἰκὸς ἦν τῶν τινα στρατιωτῶν ἄρτι βεβαπτισμένον τε καὶ τοῦ Χριστιανῶν ὀνόματος μεταλαχόντα εἰς τὴν ναῦν εἰσεβίβασεν. οὕτω τοίνυν ὅ τε στρατηγὸς Βελισάριος καὶ Ἀντωνίνα ἡ γυνὴ ἔπλεον. 3.12.3 ξυνῆν δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ Προκόπιος, ὃς τάδε ξυνέγραψε, πρότερον μὲν καὶ μάλα κατορρωδήσας τὸν κίνδυνον, ὄψιν δὲ ὀνείρου ἰδὼν ὕστερον, ἣ αὐτὸν θαρσῆσαί τε 3.12.4 ἐποίησε καὶ ἐς τὸ στρατεύεσθαι ὥρμησεν. ἐδόκει γὰρ 3.12.4 ἐν τῷ ὀνείρῳ εἶναι μὲν ἐν τῇ Βελισαρίου οἰκίᾳ, εἰσελθόντα δὲ ἀγγεῖλαι τῶν οἰκετῶν ἕνα ὡς ἥκοιέν τινες δῶρα φέροντες· καὶ Βελισάριον διασκοπεῖσθαι κελεύειν αὐτὸν ὁποῖά ποτε εἴη τὰ δῶρα, καὶ αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ μεταύλῳ γενόμενον ἄνδρας ἰδεῖν, οἳ ἔφερον ἐπὶ τῶν 3.12.5 ὤμων γῆν αὐτοῖς ἄνθεσι. τούτους δὲ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἰσαγαγόντα κελεῦσαι καταθεῖναι ἐν τῷ προστώῳ ἣν ἔφερον γῆν· οὗ δὴ Βελισάριον ἅμα τοῖς δορυφόροις ἥκοντα, αὐτόν τε κατακλίνεσθαι ἐν τῇ γῇ ἐκείνῃ καὶ τὰ ἄνθη ἐσθίειν, τοῖς τε ἄλλοις αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἐγκελεύεσθαι, κατακλινομένοις τε σφίσι καὶ ἐσθίουσιν ὥσπερ ἐπὶ στιβάδος ἡδεῖαν κομιδῆ τὴν βρῶσιν φανῆναι. τὰ μὲν δὴ τῆς ὄψεως τοῦ ὀνείρου ταύτῃ πη ἔσχεν. 3.12.6 Ὁ δὲ ξύμπας στόλος τῇ στρατηγίδι νηὶ εἵπετο, καὶ προσέσχον Περίνθῳ, ἣ νῦν Ἡράκλεια ἐπικαλεῖται, ἔνθα δὴ πέντε ἡμερῶν χρόνος τῇ στρατιᾷ ἐτρίβη, ἐπεὶ βασιλεὺς ἵπποις ὅτι μάλιστα πλείστοις τὸν στρατηγὸν ἐνταῦθα ἐδωρεῖτο ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν ἱπποφορβίων, ἅ 3.12.7 οἱ νέμονται ἐς τὰ ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης χωρία. ὅθεν δὴ ἀπάραντες Ἀβύδῳ προσωρμίσαντο, καὶ σφίσι ξυνέπεσε τῇδε διὰ τὴν νηνεμίαν