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Taking it as a godsend, those allied with Michael and warring against the Caesar blamed the event and kindled counsels against him. But nevertheless the Caesar's superior strength troubled them and made them more sluggish toward the undertaking; 2.180 for his son Antigonus held the office of Domestic of the Scholae, and the other generals were obedient to him, and Symbatios the Logothete of the Drome, being his son-in-law, was believed indisputably to share his sentiments. But Symbatios, without being noticed, was won over by the emperor and carried out the murder of his father-in-law himself, and no other, having prepared the signal for the murder. For he had just gone out after reading the reports, and he gave the signal for the murder, by making the sign of the cross on his own face. But the conspirators nevertheless delayed, seeing the Caesar's guard present. Fearing this, lest being discovered he should draw the sword against himself, Michael through a certain trusted man emboldened the men with promises. And the Caesar would have escaped the danger and outwitted them, as the conspirators were struck with terror and cowered in fear, if Basil, the future emperor, who was parakoimomenos, had not roused them to the undertaking; for this man persuaded the conspirators to cast off their fear and strengthened them for the deed. So when Bardas saw the men advancing suddenly, armed with swords, he recognized his death and threw himself at the emperor's feet. But they dragged him from there and cut him limb from limb, then hoisting his genitals on a pole they made an example of them. And a great tumult arose, threatening danger to the emperor, which Constantine, the Drungarius of the Vigla, appearing suddenly in the midst with many men, dispersed, 2.181 both showering the emperor with acclamations and affirming that Bardas had died justly. And so Bardas departed from among men, and thus the expedition against Crete was ended, as the emperor returned to Byzantium. This deed raised Basil to imperial height. For Michael, lacking natural offspring and being unable to manage public affairs, adopted him as a son, having honored him with the rank of magistros, and a little later placed a diadem on him, when he was in the great church. And he, having become master of the government, tried to lead the emperor as far away as possible from hateful and unspeakable deeds. But by this he unwittingly armed envy against himself. For Michael, not bearing the reproofs, and intending to remove Basil as an obstacle to his own wishes, brought into the midst a certain Basiliskianos, who was an oarsman of the imperial dromon, and clothed him in the purple and placed the diadem on him and led him out to the senate, holding him by the hand, and having led him out, he began with words of this sort: "Long ago, my friends, it was necessary to raise this man to the illustrious adornment of the empire rather than Basil. For first, he has an appearance worthy of rule, and second, a crown is congenital to him; and all things are fitting for this rank." 2.182 This deed and this speech became the beginning of his own downfall. And something else also happened. For Michael, drinking unmixed wine and getting drunk, would, at the time of his drunkenness, order many absurd things to be done: for one man, to have his ears cut off, for another, his nose, and for a third, his head; but Basil prevented these things from happening, fearing not so much for the others as for himself. So when Michael realized he had him as an obstacle, he stitched together a great plot against him. And it was this: he suborned someone to cast a spear, in word against the beast, but in deed against Basil. And this became clear when the one who was ordered confessed it as he was about to die. So this man cast the spear, but he missed, and Basil was saved. And having been saved, he was eager to act rather than to suffer; and is slaughtered the

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ἕρμαιον λαβόντες οἱ τῷ Μιχαὴλ προσκείμενοι καὶ προσπολεμοῦν τες τῷ Καίσαρι κατῃτιῶντο τὸ γεγονὸς καὶ τὰς κατ' ἐκείνου ἐξέ καιον συμβουλάς. ὑπέθραττε δ' ὅμως αὐτοὺς καὶ νωθροτέρους ἐποίει πρὸς τὴν ἐγχείρησιν ἡ τοῦ Καίσαρος κραταιοτέρα ἰσχύς· τήν 2.180 τε γὰρ τοῦ δομεστίκου τῶν σχολῶν ἀρχὴν ὁ τούτου εἶχεν υἱὸς Ἀν τίγονος, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ στρατηγοὶ αὐτῷ ἐπειθάρχουν, καὶ Συμβά τιος ὁ λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου, γαμβρὸς ἐπὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ αὐτοῦ τυγχάνων, ἀναντιρρήτως τὰ ἐκείνου φρονεῖν ἐπιστεύετο. ἀλλ' ἔλαθεν ὁ Συμβάτιος ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως κλαπεὶς καὶ τὸν φόνον τοῦ πενθεροῦ ἐργασάμενος αὐτός, καὶ οὐκ ἄλλος, σύνθημα τοῦ φό νου εὐτρεπισθείς. ἄρτι γὰρ ἐξῄει τὰς ἀναφορὰς ἀναγνούς, καὶ τὸ σημεῖον ἐδίδου τοῦ φόνου, σταυρὸν εἰς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ πρόσωπον ἐγχαράξας. ἀνεβάλλοντο δ' ὅμως οἱ συνωμόται, τὴν ἑταιρείαν παρισταμένην ὁρῶντες τοῦ Καίσαρος. ὅπερ ὁ Μιχαὴλ εὐλαβη θείς, μή πως κατάφωρος γενόμενος καθ' ἑαυτοῦ τὴν μάχαιραν ἐπισπάσηται, διὰ πιστοῦ τινὸς ἐθαρσοποίει τοὺς ἄνδρας ταῖς ὑπο σχέσεσι. καὶ παρῆλθεν ἂν τὸν κίνδυνον καὶ παρεκρούσατο ὁ Καῖ σαρ τῷ δέει καταπλησσομένων καὶ κατεπτηχότων τῶν συνωμοτῶν, εἰ μὴ Βασίλειος ὁ μετὰ ταῦτα βασιλεύς, παρακοιμώμενος ὤν, διανέστη πρὸς τὴν ἐγχείρησιν· οὗτος γὰρ ἀπορρῖψαί τε πείθει τὸ δέος τοὺς συνωμότας καὶ πρὸς τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐπιρωννύει. ξιφήρεις οὖν τοὺς ἄνδρας ἰδὼν ὁ Βάρδας ἐπιόντας ἀθρόως ἔγνωκέ τε τὸν θάνατον καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πόδας ἔρριψε τοῦ βασιλέως ἑαυτόν. ἀλλ' ἀποσπῶσι τοῦτον ἐκεῖθεν καὶ μεληδὸν κατατέμνουσιν, εἶτα κοντῷ τὰ παιδογόνα αὐτοῦ ἐπαιωρήσαντες μόρια παραδειγματίζουσιν. ἤρθη δὲ θόρυβος πολὺς καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ κίνδυνον ἐπισείων, ὃν ὁ τῆς βίγλας δρουγγάριος Κωνσταντῖνος μετὰ πολλῶν εἰς μέσον 2.181 ἀθρόως ἐπιφανεὶς διέλυσεν, εὐφημίαις τε βάλλων τὸν βασιλέα καὶ δικαίως ἀποθανεῖν τὸν Βάρδαν διαβεβαιούμενος. καὶ ὁ μὲν Βάρ δας οὕτως ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο, καὶ οὕτω ἡ κατὰ Κρητῶν ἐκ στρατεία ἐλέλυτο, τοῦ βασιλέως πρὸς τὸ Βυζάντιον ὑποστρέ ψαντος. Τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον εἰς βασίλειον ὕψος ἀνήγαγε τὸν Βασίλειον. φυσικῆς γὰρ ἀπορῶν γονῆς ὁ Μιχαήλ, καὶ τὰ κοινὰ διεξάγειν οὐχ οἷός τε ὤν, εἰσποιεῖταί τε αὐτὸν εἰς υἱὸν τῇ τῶν μαγίστρων ἀξίᾳ τιμήσας, καὶ διάδημα μετὰ μικρὸν αὐτῷ περιτίθησι κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην ἐκκλησίαν γενόμενος. ἐγκρατὴς δ' οὗτος τῆς ἀρχῆς γε γονὼς ἀπεπειρᾶτο τὸν βασιλέα ὡς πορρωτάτω ἀπάγειν τῶν μιση τῶν ἔργων καὶ ἐπιρρήτων. ἔλαθε δὲ διὰ τοῦτο ἑαυτῷ καθοπλί ζων τὸν φθόνον. μὴ φέρων γὰρ τοὺς ἐλέγχους ὁ Μιχαήλ, καὶ τὸν Βασίλειον ἐκποδὼν ποιῆσαι διανοούμενος ὡς τῶν αὐτοῦ θελη μάτων ἐμποδιστήν, Βασιλικῖνόν τινα τοῦ βασιλικοῦ δρόμωνος ἐρέτην ὑπάρχοντα εἰς μέσον ἀγαγὼν τὴν πορφύραν τε ἐνδύει καὶ τὸ διάδημα περιτίθησι καὶ πρὸς τὴν σύγκλητον ἐξάγει τῆς χειρὸς ἔχων αὐτόν, καὶ ἐξαγαγὼν τοιούτων τινῶν ῥημάτων ἀπήρξατο "πάλαι μὲν ἔδει τουτονὶ τὸν ἄνδρα, ὦ φίλοι, εἰς τὸν περίβλεπτον κόσμον τῆς βασιλείας ἀναγαγεῖν ἢ τὸν Βασίλειον· πρόσεστι γὰρ αὐτῷ πρῶτον μὲν εἶδος ἄξιον τυραννίδος, τὸ δεύτερον δὲ συμφυὲς πέλει στέφος· ἅπαντα δ' ἁρμόζουσι πρὸς τὴν ἀξίαν." 2.182 αὕτη ἡ πρᾶξις καὶ ὁ λόγος οὗτος ἀρχὴ γέγονε τῆς αὐτοῦ καταλύ σεως. ἐπισυνέβη δέ τι καὶ ἄλλο. ἀκρατοποτῶν γὰρ ὁ Μιχαὴλ καὶ μεθυσκόμενος κατὰ τὸν τῆς μέθης καιρὸν πολλὰ καὶ ἄτοπα προσέταττε πράττεσθαι, τοῦ μὲν ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τὰ ὦτα, ἄλλου τὴν ῥῖνα, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἑτέρου· ἐκώλυε δὲ ταῦτα γίνεσθαι ὁ Βα σίλειος, οὐ τοσοῦτον περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσον περὶ ἑαυτοῦ δεδοικώς. ὡς οὖν ἔγνω ὁ Μιχαὴλ ἐμπόδιον αὐτὸν ἔχων, μεγάλην κατ' αὐτοῦ συρράπτει ἐπιβουλήν. ἡ δὲ ἦν· ὑποτίθησί τινι λόγχην ἐπαφεῖναι λόγῳ μὲν κατὰ τοῦ θηρίου, ἔργῳ δὲ κατὰ τοῦ Βασιλείου. καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον γέγονε τοῦ κελευσθέντος ἐν τῷ μέλλειν ἀποθνήσκειν ἐξαγορεύσαντος. ἀφῆκε μὲν οὖν οὗτος τὴν λόγχην, διήμαρτε δέ, καὶ σέσωστο ὁ Βασίλειος. καὶ σωθεὶς δρᾶσαί τι μᾶλλον ἐσπού δασεν ἢ παθεῖν· καὶ σφάττεται ὁ