E04398: Procopius of Caesarea, in his On Buildings, reports that the emperor Justinian (r. 527-565) rebuilt the shrines of *Michael (the Archangel, S00181) at Anaplous and Brochoi, on the Bosphorus, and a nearby church of *Mary Theotokos, Mother of God (S00033). Written in Greek at Constantinople, in the 550s.
Creators: name: Julia
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2017
Subjects: History

description: Procopius, On Buildings, 1.8.1-16<br><br>καὶ πορθμοῖν δὲ τοῖν ἄλλοιν δυοῖν, ὧνπερ ἐπεμνήσθην ἀρτίως, οἰκοδομίαις τὰς ἠϊόνας ἐς μέγα τι κάλλος ἐξείργασται τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. 2 ἱερὰ δύο τῷ ἀρχαγγέλῳ Μιχαὴλ ἀνειμένα καταντικρὺ ἀλλήλοιν ἑστῶτα τοῦ πορθμοῦ ἑκατέρωθι ξυνέβαινεν εἶναι, θάτερον μὲν ἐν χώρῳ καλουμένῳ Ἀνάπλῳ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ εἰσπλέοντι τὸν Εὔξεινον Πόντον, τὸ δὲ δὴ ἕτερον ἐν τῇ ἀντιπέρας ἀκτῇ· 3 Προόχθους μὲν ἐκάλουν οἱ παλαιοὶ ἄνθρωποι τὴν ἀκτήν, ὅτι δὴ προβέβληται, οἶμαι, κατὰ πολὺ τῆς ταύτῃ ἠϊόνος, νῦν δὲ Βρόχοι ἐπικαλεῖται, διαφθειρούσης τὰ ὀνόματα τῆς τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ἀγνοίας τῷ μήκει τοῦ χρόνου. 4 ταῦτα δὲ τὰ δύο τεμένη οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν ἱερεῖς κατερρακωμένα ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου θεώμενοι καὶ περίφοβοι γεγενημένοι ὡς μὴ αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα σφίσιν ἐμπέσοιεν, βασιλέως ἐδέοντο ἀνοικοδομήσασθαι ἄμφω ἐφ’ οὗπερ σχήματος τὸ παλαιὸν ἦν. 5 οὐ γὰρ οἷόν τε ἦν ἐπὶ τούτου βασιλεύοντος ἐκκλησίαν τινὰ ἢ γίνεσθαι πρῶτον, ἢ καταπεπονηκυῖαν ἐπανορθοῦσθαι, ὅτι μὴ ἐκ χρημάτων βασιλικῶν, οὐκ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πανταχόθι τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς. 6 βασιλεὺς δὲ αὐτίκα τῆς προφάσεως τυχὼν τῆσδε καθεῖλε μὲν ἑκάτερον ἐς τὸ ἔδαφος, 10 ὡς μή τι αὐτοῖς τῆς προτέρας ἀκοσμίας ἀπολειφθῆναι. <br><br>'And by erecting buildings he elaborated into a thing of great beauty the shores of the other two straits which I have just mentioned, in the following manner. 2 There happened to be two sanctuaries (hiera) dedicated to the Archangel Michael, standing opposite one another on either side of the strait, the one at the place called Anaplus, on the left bank as one sails toward the Euxine Sea [Black Sea], the other on the opposite shore. 3 The men of ancient times called this point Proöchthi, because, I suppose, it projects far out from the shore-line there, but now it is called Brochi, for with the passage of time names are corrupted through the ignorance of local residents. 4 And the priests of these two shrines (temenoi), seeing them utterly dilapidated by time and having become fearful that they would fall in upon them at any moment, petitioned the Emperor to restore both of them to their ancient form. 5 For it was not possible, during the reign of this Emperor, for any church (ekklesia) either to be built for the first time or to be restored when it had fallen into disrepair except with imperial funds, not only in Byzantion [Constantinople], but in every part of the Roman Empire. 6 So the Emperor no sooner had found this pretext than he at once tore them both down to the foundations, so that none of their previous untidiness was left.'<br><br>There follows a detailed description of the building works at Anaplus, as well as of the newly rebuilt church (including a comparison with Justinian's church of John the Baptist at the Hebdomon) (7-15).<br><br>15 τοσαῦτα εἰπόντι καὶ τὸ Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ τέμενός μοι δεδήλωται, ὅπερ αὐτῷ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς ἔναγχος ἐν τῷ Ἑβδόμῳ καλουμένῳ ἀνέθηκεν. 16 ἐμφερέστατα γὰρ ἄμφω ἀλλήλοιν τὰ τεμένη τυγχάνει ὄντα, πλήν γε δὴ ὅτι οὐκ ἐπιθαλάσσιον τὸ τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ ξυμβαίνει εἶναι.<br><br>'15 This same description can be applied equally well to the shrine (temenos) of John the Baptist, which the Emperor Justinian recently dedicated to him at the Hebdomon, as it is called. 16 For these two shrines happen to resemble each other closely, except that the shrine of the Baptist chances not to be on the sea.'<br><br>17 Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐν τῷ Ἀνάπλῳ καλουμένῳ τοῦ ἀρχαγγέλου ναὸς τῇδε πεπόνηται. 18 κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἀντιπέρας ἀκτὴν ὀλίγῳ τῆς θαλάσσης διέχει τις χῶρος, ὁμαλὸς μὲν φύσιν, συνθέσει δὲ λίθων ὑψοῦ ἀνέχων. 19 ἐνταῦθα τὸ τοῦ ἀρχαγγέλου δεδημιούργηται τέμενος, εὐπρεπείᾳ μὲν ἐξαίσιον, μεγέθει δὲ πρῶτον, πολυτελείᾳ δὲ ἀνακεῖσθαι μὲν τῷ Μιχαὴλ πρέπον, ἀναθεῖναι δὲ Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ. 20 τούτου δὲ δὴ οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν τοῦ νεὼ τέμενος ἅγιον τῇ θεοτόκῳ ἀνενεώσατο τρόπῳ τῷ αὐτῷ καταπεπονηκὸς πολλῷ πρότερον, οὗ δὴ τὸ σεμνὸν μακρὸν ἂν εἴη καὶ διερευνήσασθαι καὶ λόγῳ σημῆναι.<br><br>'17 Now the Church (naōs) of the Archangel in the place called Anaplus was built in this way. 18 And on the opposite bank is a site somewhat removed from the sea, naturally level and raised to a height by courses of stone. 19 There has been built the other shrine (temenos) of the Archangel, a work of extraordinary beauty and unrivalled in size, and because of its magnificence worthy both of Michael, to whom it is dedicated, and of the Emperor Justinian, who dedicated it. 20 Not far from this place he restored in the same way a holy shrine (temenos) of the Theotokos which had fallen into disrepair a long time before, and it would be a long task to study this building and describe in words its majesty.'<br><br>Text: Haury 1913. Translation: Dewing 1940, lightly modified.