210

having cut off the head of a statue and fitting it cleverly to the vessel, and bringing it to the fire, he tested its strength, as it was gradually extinguished by the water. In his 15th and 10th year, Theodosius writes a law that a woman should not become a deaconess, unless she has passed 60 years of age. In the same year Placilla, the wife of Theodosius, fell asleep, being pious and a lover of the poor, serving the maimed and the sick with her own hands. The Antiochenes broke down her statue because of the public taxes imposed on them by the emperor. Then also John 1.571 Chrysostom, being a presbyter of Antioch, delivered marvelous homilies concerning this, which he entitled "On the Statues." Then also the slaughter of 15 thousand of the people in Thessalonica by Theodosius happens, and the things done to the emperor himself by Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan. Wherefore he also issues a law that for those condemned to death or confiscation of property a period of 30 days be given for reconsideration. And in the same year, when the river Nile did not rise according to its custom, the Hellenes rejoiced, saying that the cause of this was that they had been forbidden to sacrifice to their gods. When the pious emperor learned this, he said, "May it never happen that a river which rejoices in sacrifices should flood the earth." And God, accepting this, blessed the rising of the river, so that all those throughout Egypt were afraid that the flood of water might inundate Alexandria itself. While the emperor Theodosius was in Milan, the Jews of Constantinople, by order of the prefect Honoratus, built a synagogue in the Chalcoptraia worth many talents. But when the Christians spoke ill of the prefect, he paid no attention; for he was a Hellene. Therefore, setting fire by night, they burned it down. The prefect writes of this to Theodosius, accusing the citizens; and he orders that those who did this should suffer a penalty and that the synagogue be rebuilt. The citizens take refuge with the great Ambrose. But when the feast of Christ's 1.572 nativity was at hand and the emperor was about to make his entrance, the great Ambrose makes a public speech, saying a little about the feast, but for the most part vehemently rebuking the emperor, speaking thus as from the person of God: "Did I not take you, a shepherd of sheep from behind the ewes with young, and make you a shepherd and king of my people? Did I not beautify your squalid and lice-ridden head with a golden crown and adorn it with a gold-and-purple fillet? And why do you hold the murderers of my son in honor and wear down my people, punishing my inheritance? And the emperor: "What are you doing, bishop? Leaving aside the whole feast, have you directed your speech against me?" And Ambrose: "Not against you, O emperor, but for you. For what other thing will be more terrible for Christians, than that they should furnish synagogues for the Jews?" And the emperor: "And is it just that whatever seems good to a disorderly mob in an imperial city should be carried out?" And Ambrose: "And is this just, most God-fearing of emperors, that in a ruling city Jews should send up blasphemous songs? Do not conform to this, most excellent of emperors; for their prayers happen to be blasphemies and insults and unspeakable things." And as Ambrose was saying these things, the emperor remitted the penalty, issuing a law that Jews should not have a synagogue in Byzantium nor dare to pray in public. 1.573 At this time the festival of the Olympiads was also extinguished, which used to be celebrated every four years. And such a festival began when Manasseh was king of the Jews, and it was observed until the reign of the great Theodosius himself. And the indictions began to be numbered, starting from Augustus Caesar in the 15th year of his reign. And it is called an indiction, that is, an 'inaction', from the victory at Actium. And Actium is a promontory of Nicopolis in Epirus, where having fought

210

ἀγάλματος ἀποτεμὼν κεφαλὴν καὶ ἐφαρμόσας τῷ σκεύει εὐφυῶς, καὶ τῷ πυρὶ προσαγαγὼν ἤλεγξεν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἰσχύν, κατὰ μικρὸν διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος ἀποσβεσθέντος. Τῷ ιεʹ καὶ ιʹ ἔτει αὐτοῦ Θεοδόσιος νόμον γράφει γυναῖκα εἰς διακόνισσαν μὴ προβαίνειν, εἰ μὴ ὑπερβῇ τὰ ξʹ ἔτη. τῷ αὐτῷ ἔτει Πλακίλλα ἡ γαμετὴ Θεοδοσίου ἐκοιμήθη, εὐσεβὴς οὖσα καὶ φιλόπτωχος, οἰκείαις χερσὶ λωβοῖς καὶ νοσοῦσιν ὑπηρετοῦσα. ταύτης τὸν ἀνδριάντα κατέαξαν οἱ Ἀντιοχεῖς διὰ τὰ ἐπιτεθέντα δημόσια παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τελεῖν αὐτούς. τότε καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ 1.571 Χρυσόστομος, πρεσβύτερος ὢν Ἀντιοχείας, λόγους περὶ τούτου θαυμαστοὺς ἐξέθετο, οὓς ἀνδριάντας ἐπέγραψε. τότε καὶ ἡ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ σφαγὴ τῶν ιεʹ χιλιάδων τοῦ λαοῦ ὑπὸ Θεοδοσίου γί νεται, καὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἀμβροσίου ἐπισκόπου Μεδιολάνων εἰς αὐτὸν βασιλέα πραχθέντα. διὸ καὶ νόμον ἐκτίθεται τοῖς καταδικαζομένοις θανάτῳ ἢ δημεύσει προθεσμίαν λʹ ἡμερῶν εἰς διάσκεψιν δίδοσθαι. Τῷ δὲ αὐτῷ ἔτει τοῦ ποταμοῦ Νείλου κατὰ τὸ ἔθος μὴ ἀνα βάντος ἔχαιρον οἱ Ἕλληνες, λέγοντες αἴτιον εἶναι τούτου τὸ κωλυ θῆναι θύειν τοῖς θεοῖς αὐτῶν. ὅπερ μαθὼν ὁ εὐσεβὴς βασιλεὺς εἶπε "μὴ γένοιτό ποτε ποταμὸν θυσίαις χαίροντα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν πλημμυρῆσαι." ὁ δὲ θεὸς τοῦτο ἀποδεξάμενος εὐλόγησε τὴν ἀνά βασιν τοῦ ποταμοῦ, ὥστε ἅπαντας τοὺς κατ' Αἴγυπτον φοβηθῆ ναι μὴ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν κατακλύσῃ ἡ πλημμύρα τοῦ ὕδατος. Ἐν Μεδιολάνῳ ὑπάρχοντος τοῦ βασιλέως Θεοδοσίου οἱ ἐκ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως Ἰουδαῖοι, ἐκ προστάξεως Ὁνωράτου ἐπάρχου, συναγωγὴν ἐν τοῖς Χαλκοπράτοις πολλῶν ταλάντων εἰργά σαντο. τῶν δὲ Χριστιανῶν δυσφημούντων κατὰ τοῦ ἐπάρχου αὐτὸς οὐ προσέσχεν· ἦν γὰρ Ἕλλην. πῦρ οὖν ἐμβαλόντες νυκτὸς ταύτην κατέκαυσαν. γράφει τοῦτο ὁ ἔπαρχος πρὸς Θεοδόσιον, ἐγκαλῶν τοῖς πολίταις· ὁ δὲ ὁρίζει ζημίαν ὑποστῆναι τοὺς τοῦτο δράσαντας καὶ κτισθῆναι τὴν συναγωγήν. προσφεύγουσιν οἱ πο λῖται πρὸς τὸν μέγαν Ἀμβρόσιον. ὁ δὲ τῆς ἑορτῆς τῶν Χριστοῦ 1.572 γενεθλίων ἐνστάσης καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως εἴσοδον ποιήσασθαι μέλλον τος, δημηγορεῖ ὁ μέγας Ἀμβρόσιος ὀλίγα μὲν περὶ τῆς ἑορτῆς, τὰ πλείω δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως καθαπτόμενος σφοδρῶς, φάσκων οὕτως ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ "οὐκ ἐγώ σε ποιμένα ὄντα προβάτων ἐξόπισθεν τῶν λοχευομένων ἔλαβον, καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ μου ποιμένα καὶ βασιλέα κατέστησα; οὐκ ἐγώ σου τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐχμῶσαν καὶ φθειριῶσαν χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ κατεκαλλώπισα καὶ ταινίᾳ χρυσοπορ φύρῳ ἐκόσμησα; καὶ ἵνα τί τοὺς σφαγέας τοῦ υἱοῦ μου προκρί τους ἄγεις καὶ τὸν ἐμὸν λαὸν κατατρύχεις, ποινηλατῶν τὴν κληρο νομίαν μου; καὶ ὁ βασιλεύς "τί ποιεῖς, ἐπίσκοπε; τὴν ἑορτὴν καταλιπὼν ὅλην ἐπ' ἐμὲ τὴν δημηγορίαν ἐξήρτησας;" καὶ ὁ Ἀμ βρόσιος "οὐ κατά σου, βασιλεῦ, ἀλλ' ὑπέρ σου. τί γὰρ ἔσται Χριστιανοῖς ἄλλο δεινότερον, ἵνα καὶ Ἰουδαίων συναγωγὰς ἀπαρτίζωσι;" καὶ ὁ βασιλεύς "καὶ δίκαιόν ἐστιν ἵνα ὃ ἐὰν δόξῃ δήμῳ ἀτάκτῳ ἐπὶ βασιλικῇ πόλει κατεργάζηται;" καὶ ὁ Ἀμβρόσιος "καὶ τοῦτο δίκαιόν ἐστι, βασιλέων θεοσεβέστατε, ἵν' ἐπὶ πόλεως βασιλευούσης Ἰουδαῖοι βλασφήμους ᾠδὰς ἀναπέμπωσι; μὴ τούτῳ στοιχήσῃς, βασιλέων πανάριστε· αἱ γὰρ ἐκείνων εὐχαὶ βλασφη μίαι καὶ ὕβρεις καὶ ἀρρητολογίαι τυγχάνουσι." καὶ ταῦτα λέ γοντος Ἀμβροσίου ἀφῆκεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸ ἐπιτίμιον, νόμον ἐκθέ μενος μὴ ἔχειν Ἰουδαίους ἐν Βυζαντίῳ συναγωγὴν μήτε τολμᾶν δημοσίᾳ προσεύχεσθαι. 1.573 Ἐν τούτοις ἥ τε τῶν Ὀλυμπιάδων ἀπέσβη πανήγυρις, ἥτις κατὰ τετραετῆ χρόνον ἐπετελεῖτο. ἤρξατο δὲ ἡ τοιαύτη πανή γυρις ὅτε Μανασσῆς τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐβασίλευσε, καὶ ἐφυλάττετο ἕως τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοδοσίου. καὶ ἤρξαντο ἀριθμεῖσθαι αἱ ἴνδικτοι, ἀρξάμεναι ἀπὸ Αὐγούστου Καίσαρος ἐν ἔτει ιεʹ τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτοῦ. καλεῖται δὲ ἰνδικτιών, τουτέστιν ἰνακτιών, ἡ περὶ τὸ Ἄκτιον νίκη. Ἄκτιον δέ ἐστιν ἀκρωτήριον Νικοπόλεως τῆς Ἠπείρου, ἔνθα μαχεσάμενος