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of a distinguished family of the nobles among the Nicomedians, 8.23.5 renowned for perpetual virginity and excellence of life. I knew this woman to be the most unpretentious of the excellent women we know, orderly in character, speech, and way of life, and preferring divine things to human things even unto death, and able by courage and prudence to withstand the vicissitudes of difficult circumstances, so that she was neither indignant when unjustly deprived of her great paternal inheritance, and with the little that was left, by the best management, although she had advanced to old age, she had the necessities for herself and her household and supplied others generously. 8.23.6 And through philanthropic zeal, being a lover of what is good, she also prepared all kinds of medicines for the needs of the sick poor; with which indeed she often helped many of her acquaintances who had gained nothing from the usual physicians. For with some divine inclination, whatever she undertook turned out for a good end; and, to speak concisely, of the excellent women of our time I have known no other who advanced so far in character 8.23.7 and dignity and every other virtue. But although she was such, she was unknown to the many; for by modesty of character and philosophy she always contrived to be unnoticed, so that she neither strove to advance to the rank of deaconess, nor, though often urged by John, did she ever choose to become the leader of the ecclesiastical virgins. 8.23.8 But when the greatest fear fell upon all, since it was clear that the populace was no longer in sedition, the prefect of the city came forward publicly as if to investigate the matter of the fire of the church and the senate house, and severely punished many; for being a Hellene, it was as if he were gloating over the calamities of the church and took pleasure in what had happened. 8.24.1 And at that time a certain Eutropius, a lector, was brought forward on the charge of having started the fire, and although his sides and cheeks were torn with scourges, clubs, and nails, and in addition to these things he endured the torch applied to his body, and this while being young and of delicate complexion, he confessed to knowing nothing. After the tortures he was shut up in the prison, where 8.24.2 indeed not long after he died. But it is worthy to commit to writing also the dream that occurred concerning him. For to Sisinius, the bishop of the Novatian heresy, as he was already sleeping, a certain man most conspicuous in beauty and stature, standing by the altar of their church, which he had built in honor of Stephen the protomartyr, seemed to be distressed at the scarcity of good men, as if for this reason he had gone about the whole city and found no one except only 8.24.3 Eutropius. And Sisinius, being astounded at the vision, confessed the dream to one of the most faithful presbyters under him and ordered him to seek out who the man might be. And he, accurately conjecturing that such a one was likely to be among those recently tortured before the prefect, went around the prisons and inquired if there was any Eutropius among them. And having found him, he came to speak with him and related the bishop's dream, and weeping, he begged him to pray for 8.24.4 him. And so it was with the things concerning Eutropius; but in these calamities the courage of Olympias the deaconess also shone through. For when she was brought to the court on this charge, and the prefect asked why on earth she had set fire to the church, she replied, "This," she said, "is not the choice of my life; for I have spent my substance, though it was great, on the restoration of the temples of God." And when he said that he knew her life, she said, "Then take the place of an accuser, 8.24.5 and another will judge us." But since the accusation was without witness, the prefect, having nothing for which he could justly blame her, turned somewhat more gently to another charge, and as if giving counsel, he blamed her and the other women for folly, because they refused communion with the bishop, when it was possible 8.24.6 to repent and be freed from their troubles. But they, out of fear, yielded to the prefect's commands, but Olympias said, "It is not just," she said, "for one who has been convicted by slander among the crowd, but in the courts on none of the charges

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τῶν παρὰ Νικομηδεῦσιν εὐπατριδῶν ἐπισήμου 8.23.5 γένους, ἐπὶ ἀιδίῳ παρθενίᾳ καὶ ἀρετῇ βίου εὐδοκιμοῦσα. ἀτυφοτάτην δὲ ὧν ἴσμεν σπουδαίων γυναικῶν ταύτην ἔγνων, ἤθει τε καὶ λόγῳ καὶ διαίτῃ τεταγμένην καὶ τὰ θεῖα μέχρι θανάτου τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων προτιμῶσαν ἀνδρείᾳ τε καὶ φρονήσει πρὸς περιπετείας δυσχερῶν πραγμάτων ἀντισχεῖν ἱκανήν, ὡς μήτε πολλῆς πατρῴας περιουσίας ἀδίκως ἀφαιρεθεῖσαν ἀγανακτεῖν ἐν ὀλίγοις τε περιλειφθεῖσιν ὑπὸ ἀρίστης οἰκονομίας, καίπερ εἰς γῆρας προελθοῦσαν, τὰ ἐπιτήδεια σὺν τοῖς οἰκείοις ἔχειν καὶ ἄλλοις ἀφθόνως χορηγεῖν. 8.23.6 ὑπὸ φιλανθρώπου δὲ προθυμίας φιλόκαλος οὖσα καὶ παντοδαπὰ κατεσκεύαζε φάρμακα εἰς πτωχῶν νοσούντων χρείαν· οἷς δὴ πολλοῖς τῶν γνωρίμων πολλάκις ἐπήμυνε μηδὲν ἀποναμένοις τῶν συνήθων ἰατρῶν. σὺν θείᾳ γάρ τινι ῥοπῇ, ἅπερ ἐπεχείρει, εἰς χρηστὸν ἀπέβαινε τέλος· καὶ συλλήβδην εἰπεῖν, τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς σπουδαίων γυναικῶν ἑτέραν οὐκ ἔγνων εἰς τοσοῦτον ἤθους 8.23.7 τε καὶ σεμνότητος καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἀρετῆς ἐπιδοῦσαν. ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν καίπερ τοιάδε οὖσα τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐλάνθανεν· ὑπὸ μετριότητος γὰρ τρόπων καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἀεὶ λανθάνειν ἐπετήδευεν, ὡς μήτε εἰς ἀξίωμα διακόνου σπουδάσαι προελθεῖν μήτε προτρεπομένου πολλάκις ᾿Ιωάννου ἑλέσθαι ποτὲ παρθένων 8.23.8 ἐκκλησιαστικῶν ἡγεῖσθαι. μεγίστου δὲ φόβου πᾶσιν ἐμπεσόντος, ἐπειδὴ δῆλον ἦν μηκέτι στασιάζειν τὸ πλῆθος, δημοσίᾳ προελθὼν ὁ τῆς πόλεως ὕπαρχος ὡς ἐξετάσων τὰ περὶ τῆς πυρᾶς τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τοῦ βουλευτηρίου πολλοὺς χαλεπῶς ἐτιμωρήσατο· ῞Ελλην γὰρ ὢν ὡς ἐπεγγελῶν ταῖς συμφοραῖς τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ πρὸς ἡδονὴν ἔσχε τὸ συμβάν. 8.24.1 ᾿Εν δὲ τῷ τότε καὶ Εὐτρόπιός τις ἀναγνώστης παραχθεὶς ἐπὶ καταμηνύσει τῶν ἐμβαλόντων τὸ πῦρ οὔτε βοείαις οὔτε ξύλοις οὔτε ὄνυξι ξαινόμενος πλευράς τε καὶ παρειάς, ἐπὶ τούτοις τε καὶ τὸν ὑφαπτόμενον τῷ σώματι πυρσὸν ὑπομείνας, καὶ ταῦτα νέος ὢν καὶ ἁπαλόχρως, οὐδὲν ὡμολόγησεν εἰδέναι. μετὰ δὲ τὰς βασάνους ἐγκλείεται εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον, ἔνθα 8.24.2 δὴ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἐτελεύτησεν. ἄξιον δὲ τῇ γραφῇ παραδοῦναι καὶ τὸ συμβὰν ἐπ' αὐτῷ ὄναρ. Σισιννίῳ γὰρ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ τῆς τῶν Ναυατιανῶν αἱρέσεως ἤδη καθεύδοντι ἀνήρ τις κάλλει καὶ μεγέθει περιφανέστατος, παρεστὼς τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ τῆς αὐτῶν ἐκκλησίας, ἣν εἰς τιμὴν Στεφάνου τοῦ πρωτομάρτυρος ᾠκοδόμησεν, ἔδοξεν ἀδημονεῖν ἐπὶ σπάνει ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν, ὡς τούτου χάριν τὴν πᾶσαν πόλιν περιεληλυθὼς καὶ μηδένα εὑρὼν ἢ μόνον 8.24.3 Εὐτρόπιον. πρὸς δὲ τὴν ὄψιν καταπλαγεὶς ὁ Σισίννιος πρός τινα τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν πιστοτάτων πρεσβυτέρων ὁμολογήσας τὸ ὄναρ ἐκέλευσεν ἀναζητεῖν τὸν ἄνδρα ὅστις εἴη. ὁ δὲ εὐστόχως συμβαλὼν ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἔναγχος ἐπὶ τοῦ ὑπάρχου βασανισθεῖσιν εἰκὸς εἶναι τοιοῦτον, περιιὼν τὰ δεσμωτήρια ἐπυνθάνετο εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς Εὐτρόπιος. καὶ εὑρὼν εἰς λόγους αὐτῷ ἦλθε καὶ διηγήσατο τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τὸ ὄναρ, καὶ δακρύων εὔχεσθαι ὑπὲρ 8.24.4 αὐτοῦ ἐλιπάρει. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ Εὐτρόπιον ὧδε ἔσχεν· ἀνδρεία δὲ ἐν ταύταις ταῖς συμφοραῖς διεφάνη καὶ ᾿Ολυμπιὰς ἡ διάκονος. ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἐκ ταύτης τῆς αἰτίας εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον παρήχθη, πυθομένου τοῦ ὑπάρχου, τί δή ποτε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἐνέπρησεν, ὑπολαβοῦσα «οὐχ αὕτη», ἔφη, «τοῦ ἐμοῦ βίου ἡ προαίρεσις· πολλὴν γὰρ οὖσαν εἰς ἀνανέωσιν ναῶν θεοῦ τὴν οὐσίαν ἀνάλωσα.» τοῦ δὲ τὸν αὐτῆς βίον ἐπίστασθαι λέγοντος «οὐκοῦν εἰς κατηγόρου 8.24.5 τάξιν μετάβηθι», ἔφη, «καὶ ἕτερος ἡμῖν δικάσει.» ἀμαρτύρου δὲ τῆς κατηγορίας οὔσης μὴ ἔχων ὁ ὕπαρχος ὅ τι δικαίως μέμψαιτο ἠπιώτερόν πως εἰς ἕτερον μετέβη ἔγκλημα, καὶ ὡς ἐν συμβουλῇ ἄνοιαν αὐτῇ καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις γυναιξὶν ἐμέμφετο, ὅτι τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἐπίσκοπον κοινωνίαν ἠρνοῦντο, ἐξὸν 8.24.6 μεταμεληθῆναι καὶ πραγμάτων ἀπηλλάχθαι. ἀλλ' αἱ μὲν ὑπὸ δέους τάδε τῷ ὑπάρχῳ προστάξαντι εἶξαν, ἡ δὲ ᾿Ολυμπιάς «οὐ δίκαιον», ἔφη, «τὴν ἐν τῷ πλήθει ὑπὸ συκοφαντίας ἁλοῦσαν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς δικαστηρίοις ἐπ' οὐδενὶ τῶν κατηγορουμένων