Ammianus Marcellinus, History

ToposText · Ammianus Marcellinus · 2,797 sections

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§ 22.1.3 But although he knew that these were favourable signs, yet as if standing fast upon his guard he remained within the confines of Dacia, and even so was troubled with many fears. For he did not deem it prudent to trust the predictions which might perhaps be fulfilled by contraries.
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§ 22.2.1 Amid this state of suspense the envoys Theolaifus and Aligildus, who had been sent to him, suddenly appeared and reported the death of Constantius, adding that with his last words he had made Julian the successor to his power.
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§ 22.2.2 On learning this, and being now saved from the fret of dangers and the throes of war's anxieties, he was hugely elated. And now believing in the prophecies, and knowing by experience that speed had often been helpful to his enterprises, he ordered a march into Thrace, quickly broke camp, and passing the slope of Succi, made for Philippopolis, the ancient Eumolpias, followed with eager step by all who were under his command.
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§ 22.2.3 For they perceived that the throne, which they were on their way to usurp in the face of the greatest dangers, had beyond their hope been granted to him by the ordinary course of law. And as rumour is wont to exaggerate all novelties, he hastened on from there, now raised still higher, as though in some chariot of Triptolemus, which the poets of old, because of its swift turnings, represented as drawn through the air by winged dragons; and dreaded by land and sea and opposed by no delays, he entered Heraclea, also called Perinthus.
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§ 22.2.4 When this was presently known at Constantinople, all ages and sexes poured forth, as if to look upon someone sent down from heaven. And so he was met on the eleventh of December with the respectful attendance of the senate and the unanimous applause of the people, and surrounded by troups of soldiers and citizens he was escorted as if by an army in line of battle, while all eyes were turned upon him, not only with a fixed gaze, but also with great admiration.
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§ 22.2.5 For it seemed almost like a dream that this young man, just come to his growth, of small stature but conspicuous for great deeds, after the bloodstained destruction of kings and nations had passed from city to city with unlooked-for speed; that increasing in power and strength wherever he went, he had easily seized upon all places as swiftly as rumour flies, and finally had received the imperial power, bestowed upon him by Heaven's nod without any loss to the state.
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§ 22.3.1 Shortly after this Salutius Secundus was raised to the rank of praetorian prefect, and given, as a trustworthy official, the chief oversight of the inquisitions that were to be set on foot; and with him were associated Mamertinus, Arbitio, Agilo, and Nevitta, and also Jovinus, lately advanced to be commander of the cavalry in Illyricum.
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§ 22.3.2 These crossed all to Chalcedon, and in the presence of the generals and tribunes of the Joviani and the Herculiani examined the cases with more passion than was just and right, with the exception of a few, in which the evidence showed that the accused were most guilty.
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§ 22.3.3 At first they banished to Britain Palladius, formerly chief marshal of the court, who was brought before them merely on the suspicion of having made certain charges to Constantius against Gallus, when he held the same office under the said Gallus, who was at the time Caesar.
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§ 22.3.4 Then Taurus, who had been praetorian prefect, was exiled to Vercellum, although before judges who could distinguish justice from injustice his action might have appeared deserving of pardon. For what sin did he commit, if in fear of a storm that had arisen he fled to the protection of his emperor? And the decisions that were passed upon him were read not without great horror in the public protocol, which contained this beginning: “In the consulate of Taurus and Florentius, when Taurus was summoned to court by the criers.”
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§ 22.3.5 Pentadius also was threatened with the same fate, against whom the charge was made, that, being sent by Constantius he took down in shorthand the answers that Gallus had made to the many questions put to him when his ruin was approaching. But since he justified himself, he finally got off unpunished.
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§ 22.3.6 With like injustice Florentius (son of Nigrinianus), then chief marshal of the court, was imprisoned in the Dalmatian island of Boae. For a second Florentius, a former praetorian prefect and consul at the time, being alarmed by the sudden change in the state, saved himself from danger with his wife, lay hid for a long time, and could not return until after the death of Julian; yet he was condemned to death in his absence.
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§ 22.3.7 In like manner Euagrius, count of the privy purse, and Saturninus, former steward of the Household, and Cyrinus, a former secretary, were all exiled. But for the death of Ursulus, count of the sacred largesses, Justice herself seems to me to have wept, and to have accused the emperor of ingratitude. For when Julian was sent as Caesar to the western regions, to be treated with extreme niggardliness, being granted no power of making any donative to the soldiers to the end that he might be exposed to more serious mutinies of the army, this very Ursulus wrote to the man in charge of the Gallic treasury, ordering that whatever the Caesar asked for should be given him without hesitation.
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§ 22.3.8 After Ursulus' death Julian found himself the object of the reproaches and curses of many men, and thinking that he could excuse himself for the unpardonable crime, he declared that the man had been put to death without his knowledge, alleging that his taking off was due to the anger of the soldiers, who remembered his words (which we have reported before ) when he saw the ruins of Amida.
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§ 22.3.9 From this it was clear that Julian was timorous, or that he did not know what was fitting, when he put Arbitio, who was always untrustworthy and excessively haughty, in charge of these inquisitions, while the others, including the officers of the legions, were present merely for show; for Arbitio was a man whom he knew above all others to be a threat to his own safety, as was to be expected of one who had taken a valiant part in the victories of the civil wars.
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§ 22.3.10 But, although these acts which I have mentioned displeased even Julian's supporters, yet those which follow were executed with proper vigour and severity.
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§ 22.3.11 For Apodemius, of the imperial secret service, who, as we have said, showed unbridled eagerness for the death of Silvanus and Gallus, was burned alive, as well as Paulus the notary, surnamed Catena, a man to be mentioned by many with groans, who thus met the fate which was to have been hoped for.
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§ 22.3.12 Eusebius besides, who had been made Constantius' grand chamberlain, a man full of pride and cruelty, was condemned to death by the judges. This man, who had been raised from the lowest station to a position which enabled him almost to give orders like those of the emperor himself, and in consequence had become intolerable, Adrastia, the judge of human acts, had plucked by the ear (as the saying is) and warned him to live with more restraint; and when he demurred, she threw him headlong, as if from a lofty cliff.
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§ 22.4.1 After this the emperor turned his attention to the palace attendants, and dismissed all who belonged to that class or could be included in it, but not like a philosopher claiming to research into truth.
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§ 22.4.2 For he might have been commended if he had at least retained some, few though they were, who were of modest behaviour or known to be of virtuous character. But it must be admitted that the major part of those creatures maintained a vast nursery of all the vices, to such a degree that they infected the state with evil passions, and rather by their example than by their license in wrong-doing injured many.
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§ 22.4.3 For some of them, fattened on the robbery of temples and scenting out gain from every source, on being raised from abject poverty at one bound to enormous wealth, knew no limit to bribery, robbery, and extravagance, always accustomed as they were to seize the property of others.
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§ 22.4.4 Hence sprang the seeds of a dissolute life, perjury, and disregard for good name, and their mad pride stained their honour by shameful gains.
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§ 22.4.5 Meanwhile, gluttony and deep abysses of banquets grew apace, and the place of triumphs won in battle was taken by those gained at the table. The lavish use of silk and of the textile arts increased, and more anxious attention to the kitchen. Showy sites for richly adorned houses were eagerly sought, of such dimensions that if the consul Quinctius had owned as much in farmland, he would have lost the glory of his poverty even after his dictatorship.
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§ 22.4.6 To these conditions, shameful as they were, were added serious defects in military discipline. In place of the war-song the soldiers practised effeminate ditties; the warriors' bed was not a stone (as in days of yore), but feathers and folding couches; their cups were now heavier than their swords (for they were ashamed to drink from earthenware); they even procured houses of marble, although it is written in the records of old that a Spartan soldier was severely punished because during a campaign he dared to be seen under a roof.
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§ 22.4.7 Moreover, the soldiers of those times were so insolent and rapacious towards their countrymen, and so cowardly and weak in the presence of the enemy, that having acquired riches by patronage and idleness, they were adepts in distinguishing the varieties of gold and gems, contrary to the usage even of recent times.
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§ 22.4.8 For it is well known that under Caesar Maximianus, when a fortified camp of the Persian king was pillaged, a common soldier after finding a Parthian jewel-box containing pearls, threw away the gems in ignorance of their value, and went his way, quite satisfied with the beauty of the leather alone.
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§ 22.4.9 It happened at that same time that a barber, who had been summoned to trim the emperor's hair, appeared in splendid attire. On seeing him, Julian was amazed, and said: “I sent for a barber, not a fiscal agent.” However, he asked the man what his trade brought him in; to which the barber replied twenty daily allowances of bread, and the same amount of fodder for pack-animals (these they commonly call capita), as well as a heavy annual salary, not to mention many rich perquisites.
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§ 22.4.10 Incensed by this, Julian discharged all attendants of that kind (as being not at all necessary to him), as well as cooks and other similar servants, who were in the habit of receiving almost the same amount, giving them permission to go wherever they wished.
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§ 22.5.1 Although Julian from the earliest days of his childhood had been more inclined towards the worship of the pagan gods, and as he gradually grew up burned with longing to practise it, yet because of his many reasons for anxiety he observed certain of its rites with the greatest possible secrecy.
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§ 22.5.2 But when his fears were ended, and he saw that the time had come when he could do as he wished, he revealed the secrets of his heart and by plain and formal decrees ordered the temples to be opened, victims brought to the altars, and the worship of the gods restored.
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§ 22.5.3 And in order to add to the effectiveness of these ordinances, he summoned to the palace the bishops of the Christians, who were of conflicting opinions, and the people, who were also at variance, and politely advised them to lay aside their differences, and each fearlessly and without opposition to observe his own beliefs.
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§ 22.5.4 On this he took a firm stand, to the end that, as this freedom increased their dissension, he might afterwards have no fear of a united populace, knowing as he did from experience that no wild beasts are such enemies to mankind as are most of the Christians in their deadly hatred of one another. And he often used to say: “Hear me, to whom the Alamanni and the Franks have given ear,” thinking that in this he was imitating a saying of the earlier emperor Marcus. But he did not observe that the two cases were very different.
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§ 22.5.5 For Marcus, as he was passing through Palestine on his way to Egypt, being often disgusted with the malodorous and rebellious Jews, is reported to have cried: “O Marcomanni, O Quadi, O Sarmatians, at last I have found a people more unruly than you.” The cleverness with which Julian forced several Egyptian petitioners, by whom he was annoyed and interrupted, to return to their homes.
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§ 22.5.1 At this same time, induced by sundry rumours, there came a number of Egyptians, a contentious race of men, by custom always delighting in intricate litigation, and especially eager for excessive indemnification if they had paid anything to a collector of debts, either for the purpose of being relieved of the debt, or at any rate, to bring in what was demanded of them more conveniently by postponing it; or eager to charge wealthy men with extortion and threaten them with court proceedings.
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§ 22.5.2 All these, crowding together and chattering like jays, unseasonably interrupted the emperor himself, as well as the praetorian prefects, demanding after almost seventy years moneys that they declared that they had paid, justly or otherwise, to many individuals.
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§ 22.5.3 And, since they prevented any other business from receiving attention, the emperor issued an edict, in which he bade them all go to Chalcedon; and he promised that he would himself also shortly come there, to settle all their claims.
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§ 22.5.4 After they had crossed, orders were given to the captains of ships going to or coming from that port not to dare to give an Egyptian passage; and since that order was strictly observed, this obstinate attempt at blackmail vanished, and they all returned to their homes, disappointed in the hopes that they had entertained.
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§ 22.5.5 Thereupon a law was passed, as if at the proposal of Justice herself, which provided that no advocate at court should be troubled about payments which it was recognised that he had justly received.
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§ 22.7.1 And so the first of January came, when the consular annals took on the names of Mamertinus and Nevitta; and the emperor showed himself especially condescending by going on foot to their inauguration in company with other high officials, an action which some commended but others criticised as affected and cheap.
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§ 22.7.2 Then, when Mamertinus gave games in the Circus and the slaves that were to be manumitted were led in by the assistant master of ceremonies, the emperor himself, with too great haste, pronounced the usual formula, that it be done according to law; and on being reminded that the jurisdiction that day belonged to another, he fined himself ten pounds of gold, as guilty of an oversight.
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§ 22.7.3 Meanwhile, he came frequently into the senate house to give attention to various matters with which the many changes in the state burdened him. And when one day, as he was sitting in judgement there, and it was announced that the philosopher Maximus had come from Asia, he started up in an undignified manner, so far forgetting himself that he ran at full speed to a distance from the vestibule, and after having kissed the philosopher and received him with reverence, brought him back with him. This unseemly ostentation made him appear to be an excessive seeker for empty fame, and to have forgotten that splendid saying of Cicero's, which narrates the following in criticising such folk:
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§ 22.7.4 Those very same philosophers inscribe their names on the very books which they write on despising glory, so that even when they express scorn of honour and fame, they wish to be praised and known by name.
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§ 22.7.5 Not long after this, two former members of the secret service who were among those who had been discharged approached the emperor confidently and promised to point out the hiding-place of Florentius on condition that their military rank be restored to them. But he rebuked them and called them informers, adding that it was not worthy of an emperor to be led by indirect information to bring back a man who had concealed himself through fear of death, and who perhaps would not be allowed to remain long in hiding without hope of pardon.
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§ 22.7.6 Present at all these events was Praetextatus, a senator of noble character and old-time dignity, whom Julian had chanced to find engaged in private business at Constantinople and on his own initiative had appointed governor of Achaia with proconsular authority.
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§ 22.7.7 But, although he was so diligently engaged in reforming civil abuses, he did not on that account neglect military affairs, but put in command of the soldiers men approved by long trial; nay more, he repaired all the cities throughout Thrace as well as the fortifications on the borders, and took particular pains that the troops posted along the banks of the Danube, who, as he heard, were meeting inroads of the savages with watchfulness and valour, should lack neither arms and clothing nor pay and supplies.
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§ 22.7.8 While he was so arranging these matters, tolerating no slackness in action, his intimates tried to persuade him to attack the neighbouring Goths, who were often deceitful and treacherous; but he replied that he was looking for a better enemy; that for the Goths the Galatian traders were enough, by whom they were offered for sale everywhere without distinction of rank.
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§ 22.7.9 While he was attending to these and similar affairs he gained a reputation among foreign nations for eminence in bravery, sobriety, and knowledge of military affairs, as well as of all noble qualities; and his fame gradually spread and filled the entire world.
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§ 22.7.10 Then, since the fear of his coming extended widely over neighbouring and far distant nations, deputations hastened to him from all sides more speedily than usual: on one side, the peoples beyond the Tigris and the Armenians begged for peace; on another, the Indian nations as far as the Divi and the Serendivi vied with one another in sending their leading men with gifts ahead of time; on the south, the Moors offered their services to the Roman state; from the north and the desert regions, through which the Phasis flows to the sea, came embassies from the Bosporani and other hitherto unknown peoples, humbly asking that on payment of their annual tribute they might be allowed to live in peace within the bounds of their native lands.
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§ 22.8.1 Now is a fitting time (I think), since the history of a great prince has opportunely brought us to these places, to give some account of the remote parts of Thrace, and of the topography of the Pontic sea, with clearness and accuracy, partly from my own observation and partly from reading.
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§ 22.8.2 Athos, that lofty mountain in Macedonia through which the Medic ships once passed, and Caphereus, the headland of Euboea where Nauplius, Looking eastward. father of Palamedes, wrecked the Argive fleet, although they face each other at a long distance apart, separate the Aegean and the Thessalian seas. The Aegean gradually grows larger, and on the right, where it is of wide extent, is rich in islands through the Sporades and Cyclades, so-called because they are all grouped about Delos, famous as the cradle of the gods. On the left, it washes Imbros and Tenedos, Lemnos and Thasos, and when the wind is strong, dashes violently upon Lesbos.
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§ 22.8.3 From there, with back-flowing current, it laves the temple of Apollo Sminthius, the Troad, and Ilium, famed for the death of heroes, and forms the bay of Melas, facing the west wind, at the entrance of which is seen Abdera, the home of Protagoras and Democritus, and the bloodstained dwelling of the Thracian Diomedes, and the vales through which the Hebrus flows into it, and Maronea and Aenos, a city which Aeneas began under unfavourable auspices, but presently abandoned it and hastened on to ancient Ausonia under the guidance of the gods.
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§ 22.8.4 After this, the Aegean gradually grows narrower and flows as if by a kind of natural union into the Pontus; and joining with a part of this it takes the form of the Greek letter F. Then it separates Hellespontus from the province of Rhodopa and flows past Cynossema, where Hecuba is supposed to be buried, and Coela, Sestos and Callipolis. On the opposite side it washes the tombs of Achilles and Ajax, and Dardanus and Abydus, from which Xerxes built a bridge and crossed the sea on foot; then Lampsacus, which the Persian king gave to Themistocles as a gift, and Parion, founded by Paris, the son of Iasion.
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§ 22.8.5 Then swelling on both sides into the form of a half-circle and giving a view of widely separated lands, it laves with the spreading waters of the Propontis, on the eastern side Cyzicus and Dindyma, where there is a sacred shrine of the Great Mother, and Apamia and Cius, where Hylas was pursued and carried off by the nymph, and Astacus, in a later age called after King Nicomedes. Where it turns to the westward it beats upon the Cherronesus and Aegospotami, where Anaxagoras predicted a rain of stones from heaven, and Lysimachia and the city which Hercules founded and dedicated to the name of his comrade Perinthus; and in order to keep the form of the letter F full and complete, in the very middle of the circle lies the oblong island of Proconesos, and Besbicus.
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§ 22.8.7 After reaching the extreme end of this part, it again contracts into a narrow strait, and flowing between Europe and Bithynia, passes by Chalcedon, Chrysopolis, and some obscure stations. Its left bank, however, is looked down upon by the port of Athyras and Selymbria, and Constantinople, the ancient Byzantium, a colony of the Athenians, and the promontory Ceras, which bears a tower built high and giving light to ships; therefore a very cold wind which often blows from that quarter is called Ceratas.
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§ 22.8.9 After being broken in this fashion and coming to an end through the mingling of the two seas, it now grows quieter and spreads out into the form of a flat of water extending in width and length as far as the eye can reach.
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§ 22.8.10 The complete voyage around its shores, as one would encircle an island, is a distance of 23,000 stadia, as is asserted by Eratosthenes, Hecataeus, Ptolemy, and other very accurate investigators of such problems; and according to the testimony of all geographers it has the form of a drawn Scythian bow.
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§ 22.8.11 And where the sun rises from the eastern ocean it comes to an end in the marshes of the Maeotis; where it inclines towards the west it is bounded by Roman provinces; where it looks up to the Bears it breeds men of varying languages and habits; on the southern side it slopes downward in a gentle curve.
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§ 22.8.12 Over this vast space are scattered cities of the Greeks, all of which, with a few exceptions, were founded at varying periods by the Milesians, who were themselves colonists of the Athenians. The Milesians in much earlier times were established among other Ionians in Asia by Nileus, the son of that Codrus who (they say) sacrificed himself for his country in the Dorian war.
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§ 22.8.13 Now the tips of the bow on both sides are represented by the two Bospori lying opposite to each other, the Thracian and the Cimmerian; and they are called Bospori, as the poets say, because the daughter of Inachus, when she was changed into a heifer, once crossed through them to the Ionian sea.
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§ 22.8.14 The right-hand curve of the Thracian Bosporus begins with the shore of Bithynia, which the men of old called Mygdonia, containing the provinces of Thynia and Mariandena, and also the Bebrycians, who were delivered from the cruelty of Amycus through the valour of Pollux; and a remote station, a place where the menacing harpies fluttered about the seer Phineus and filled him with fear. Along these shores, which curve into extensive bays, the rivers Sangarius and Phyllis, Lycus and Rheba pour into the sea; opposite them are the dark Symplegades, twin rocks rising on all sides into precipitous cliffs, which were wont in ages past to rush together and dash their huge mass upon each other with awful crash, and then to recoil with a swift spring and return to what they had struck. If even a bird should fly between these swiftly separating and clashing rocks, no speed of wing could save it from being crushed to death.
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§ 22.8.15 But these cliffs, ever since the Argo, first of all ships, hastening to Colchis to carry off the Golden Fleece, had passed between them unharmed, have stood motionless with their force assuaged and so united that no one of those who now look upon them would believe that they had ever been separated, were it not that all the songs of the poets of old agree about the story.
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§ 22.8.16 Beyond one part of Bithynia extend the provinces of Pontus and Paphlagonia, in which are the great cities of Heraclea, Sinope, Polemonion and Amisos, as well as Tios and Amastris, all owing their origin to the activity of the Greeks; also Cerasus, from which Lucullus brought the fruits so-named. There are also two islands, on which are situated the celebrated cities of Trapezus and Pityus.
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§ 22.8.17 Beyond these places is the Acherusian cave, which the natives call Mychopontion, and the port of Acone, besides the rivers Acheron (also called the Arcadius), Iris, Thybris, and hard by, the Parthenius, all of which flow with swift course into the sea. The next river to these is the Thermodon, flowing from Mount Armonius and gliding through the Themiscyraean groves, to which the Amazons were forced to migrate in days of yore for the following reason.
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§ 22.8.18 The Amazons of old, after having by constant losses worn out their neighbours, and devastated them by bloody raids, had higher aspirations; and considering their strength and feeling that it was too great merely for frequent attacks upon their neighbours, being carried away besides by the headstrong heat of covetousness, they broke through many nations and made war upon the Athenians. But after a bitter contest they were scattered in all directions, and since the flanks of their cavalry were left unprotected, they all perished.
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§ 22.8.19 Upon the news of their destruction the remainder, who had been left at home as unfit for war, suffered extreme hardship; and in order to avoid the deadly attacks of their neighbours, who paid them like for like, they moved to a quieter abode on the Thermodon. Thereafter their descendants, who had greatly increased, returned, thanks to their numerous offspring, with a very powerful force, and in later times were a cause of terror to peoples of divers nationalities.
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§ 22.8.20 Not far from there the hill called Carambis lifts itself with gentle slope, rising towards the Great Bear of the north, and opposite this, at a distance of 2500 stadia, is Criumetopon, a promontory of Taurica. From this point the whole seacoast, beginning at the river Halys, as if drawn in a straight line, has the form of the string joined to the two tips of the bow.
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§ 22.8.21 Bordering on these regions are the Dahae, the fiercest of all warriors, and the Chalybes, by whom iron was first mined and worked. Beyond these are open plains, inhabited by the Byzares, Sapires, Tibareni, Mossynoeci, Macrones and Philyres, peoples not known to us through any intercourse.
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§ 22.8.22 A short distance from these are the tombs of famous men, in which are buried Sthenelus, Idmon, and Tiphys; the first of these was a companion of Hercules, mortally wounded in the war with the Amazons, the second the augur of the Argonauts, the third the careful steersman of that same craft.
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§ 22.8.23 After passing the places mentioned, one comes to the grotto of Aulion and the river Callichorus, which owes its name to the fact that Bacchus, when he had after three years vanquished the peoples of India, returned to those regions, and on the green and shady banks of that river renewed the former orgies and dances; some think that this kind of festival was also called trieterica
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§ 22.8.24 Beyond these territories are the populous districts of the Camaritae, and the Phasis in impetuous course borders on the Colchians, an ancient race of Egyptian origin. There, among other cities, is Phasis, which gets its name from the river, and Dioscurias, well known even to this day, said to have been founded by Amphitus and Cercius of Sparta, the charioteers of Castor and Pollux, and founders of the nation of the Heniochi.
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§ 22.8.25 A short distance from these are the Achaei, who, after the end of an earlier war at Troy (not the one which was fought about Helen, as some writers have asserted), being carried out of their course by contrary winds to Pontus, and meeting enemies everywhere, were unable to find a place for a permanent home; and so they settled on the tops of mountains covered with perpetual snow, where, compelled by the rigorous climate, they became accustomed to make a dangerous living by robbery, and hence became later beyond all measure savage. About the Cercetae, who adjoin them, we have no information worth mentioning.
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§ 22.8.26 Behind these dwell the inhabitants of the Cimmerian Bosporus, where Milesian cities are, and Panticapaeum, the mother, so to speak, of all; this the river Hypanis washes, swollen with its own and tributary waters.
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§ 22.8.27 Next, at a considerable distance, are the Amazons, who extend to the Caspian Sea and live about the Tanas, which rises among the crags of Caucasus, flows in a course with many windings, and after separating Europe from Asia vanishes in the standing pools of the Maeotis.
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§ 22.8.28 Near this is the river Ra, on whose banks grows a plant of the same name, the root of which is used for many medicinal purposes. Beyond the Tanais the Sauromatae have a territory of wide extent, through which flow the never — failing rivers Maraccus, Rombites, Theophanes and Totordanes. However, there is also another nation of the Sauromatae, an enormous distance away, extending along the shore which receives the river Corax and pours it far out into the Euxine Sea.
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§ 22.8.30 Nearby is the Maeotic Gulf of wide circuit, from whose abundant springs a great body of water bursts through the narrows of Panticapes into the Pontus. On its right side are the islands Phanagorus and Hermonassa, founded by the industry of the Greeks.
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§ 22.8.31 Around these farthest and most distant marshes live numerous nations, differing in the variety of their languages and customs: the Ixomatae, Maeotae, Iazyges, Roxolani, Halani, Melanchlaenae, and with the Geloni, the Agathyrsi, in whose country an abundance of the stone called adamant is found; and farther beyond are other peoples, who are wholly unknown, since they are the remotest of all men.
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§ 22.8.32 But near the left side of the Maeotis is the Cherronesus, full of Greek colonies. Hence the inhabitants are quiet and peaceful, plying the plough and living on the products of the soil.
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§ 22.8.33 At no great distance from these are the Tauri, divided into various kingdoms, among whom the Arichi, the Sinchi, and the Napaei are terrible for their ruthless cruelty, and since long continued license has increased their savageness, they have given the sea the name of Inhospitable; but in irony it is called by the contrary name of Pontus Euxeinos, just as we Greeks call a fool euethes, and night Euphrone, and the Furies Eumenides.
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§ 22.8.34 For these peoples offer human victims to the gods and sacrifice strangers to Diana, whom they call Orsiloche, and affix the skulls of the slain to the walls of her temple, as a lasting memorial of their valorous deeds.
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§ 22.8.35 In this Tauric country is the island of Leuce, entirely uninhabited and dedicated to Achilles. And if any happen to be carried to that island, after looking at the ancient remains, the temple, and the gifts consecrated to that hero, they return at evening to their ships; for it is said that no one can pass the night there except at the risk of his life. At that place there are also springs and white birds live there resembling halcyons, of whose origin and battles in the Hellespont I shall speak at the appropriate time.
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§ 22.8.36 Now there are some cities in the Taurica, conspicuous among which are Eupatoria, Dandace, and Theodosia, with other smaller towns, which are not contaminated with human sacrifices.
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§ 22.8.37 So far the peak of the bow is thought to extend; the remainder of it, gently curved and lying under the Bear in the heavens, we shall now follow as far as the left side of the Thracian Bosporus, as the order demands, with this warning; that while the bows of all other races are bent with the staves curved, in those of the Scythians alone, or the Parthians, since a straight rounded handle divides them in the middle, the ends are bent downwards on both sides and far apart, presenting the form of a waning moon.
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§ 22.8.38 Well then, at the very beginning of this district, where the Riphaean mountains sink to the plain, dwell the Aremphaei, just men and known for their gentleness, through whose country flow the rivers Chronius and Visula. Near them are the Massagetae, Halani, and Sargetae, as well as several other obscure peoples whose names and customs are unknown to us.
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§ 22.8.39 Then at a considerable distance the Carcinitian gulf opens up, with a river of the same name, and the grove of Trivia, sacred in those regions.
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§ 22.8.40 Next the Borysthenes, rising in the mountains of the Nervii, rich in waters from its own springs, which are increased by many tributaries, and mingle with the sea in high-rolling waves. On its well-wooded banks are the cities of Borysthenes and Cephalonesus and the altars consecrated to Alexander the Great and Augustus Caesar.
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§ 22.8.41 Then, a long distance away, is a peninsula inhabited by the Sindi, people of low birth, who after the disaster to their masters in Asia got possession of their wives and property. Next to these is a narrow strip of shore which the natives call Achilleos dromos, memorable in times past for the exercises of the Thessalian leader. And next to it is the city Tyros, a colony of the Phoenicians, washed by the river Tyras.
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§ 22.8.42 Now in the middle space of the bow, which, as I have said, is widely rounded out and is fifteen days' journey for an active traveller, are the European Halani, the Costobocae, and innumerable Scythian tribes, which extend to lands which have no known limit. Of these, only a small part live on the fruits of the earth; all the rest roam over desert wastes, which never knew plough nor seeds, but are rough from neglect and subject to frosts; and they feed after the foul manner of wild beasts. Their dear ones, their dwellings, and their poor belongings they pack upon wains covered with the bark of trees, and when the fancy takes them they change their abode without trouble, wheeling their carts to the place which has attracted them.
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§ 22.8.43 But when we have come to another bend, abounding in harbours, which forms the last part of the curve of the bow, the island of Peuce juts forth, and around this dwell the Trogodytae, the Peuci, and other lesser tribes. Here is Histros, once a powerful city, and Tomi, Apollonia, Anchialos, and Odessos, besides many other cities which lie along the Thracian coast.
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§ 22.8.44 But the river Danube, rising near Rauraci, and the mountains near the Raetian frontier, extends over a wide tract, and after receiving sixty tributaries, nearly all of which are navigable, breaks through this Scythian shore into the sea through seven mouths.
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§ 22.8.45 The first of these, as their names are interpreted in the Greek tongue, is the aforesaid island of Peuce, the second Naracustoma, the third Calonstoma, the fourth Pseudostoma; but the Borionstoma and Stenostoma are far smaller than the others; the seventh is muddy and black like a swamp.
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§ 22.8.46 Now the entire Pontus throughout its whole circuit is misty, has sweeter waters than the other seas, and is full of shoals, since the air is often thickened and condensed from the evaporation of moisture, and is tempered by the great masses of water that flow into it; and, because the many rivers that pour into it from every side bring in mud and clods, it rises in shoals that are full of ridges.
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§ 22.8.47 And it is a well-known fact that fish from the remotest bounds of our sea come in schools to this retreat for the purpose of spawning, in order that they may rear their young more healthfully in its sweet waters, and that in the refuge of the hollows, such as are very numerous there, they may be secure from voracious sea-beasts; for in the Pontus nothing of that kind has ever been seen, except small and harmless dolphins.
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§ 22.8.48 But the part of that same Pontic gulf which is scourged by the north wind and by frosts is so completely bound in ice, that neither are the courses of the rivers believed to flow beneath the ice, nor can men or animals keep their footing on the treacherous and slippery surface, a defect which an unmixed sea never has, but only one which is mingled with water from rivers. But since I have been carried somewhat farther than I expected, let us hasten on to the rest of our story.
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§ 22.8.49 Another thing was added, to crown the present joys, something long hoped for it is true, but delayed by an extensive complex of postponements. For it was announced by Agilo and Jovius, who was later quaestor, that the defenders of Aquileia, through weariness of the long siege and having learned of the death of Constantius, had opened their gates, come out, and surrendered the instigators of the revolt; that these were burned alive (as was told above), and all the rest obtained indulgence and pardon for their offences.
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§ 22.9.1 But Julian, elated by his success, now felt more than mortal aspirations, since he had been tried by so many dangers and now upon him, the undisputed ruler of the Roman world, propitious Fortune, as if bearing an earthly horn of plenty, was bestowing all glory and prosperity; also adding this to the records of his former victories, that so long as he was sole ruler he was disturbed by no internal strife and no barbarians crossed his frontiers; but all nations, laying aside their former eagerness for repeated attacks, as ruinous and liable to punishment, were fired with a wonderful desire of sounding his praises.
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§ 22.9.2 Therefore, after everything that the times and the changed circumstances demanded had been arranged with careful deliberation, and the soldiers had by numerous addresses and by adequate pay been roused to greater readiness for carrying out the coming enterprises, exulting in the favour of all men, he hastened to go to Antioch, leaving Constantinople supported by great increase of strength; for it was there that he was born, and he loved and cherished the city as his natal place.
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§ 22.9.3 Accordingly, having crossed the strait, and passed by Chalcedon and Libyssa, where Hannibal the Carthaginian was buried, he came to Nicomedia, a city famed of old and so enlarged at the great expense of earlier emperors, that because of the great number of its private and public buildings it was regarded by good judges as one of the regions, so to speak, of the Eternal City.
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§ 22.9.4 When he saw that its walls had sunk into a pitiful heap of ashes, showing his distress by silent tears he went with lagging step to the palace: and in particular he wept over the wretched state of the city because the senate and the people, who had formerly been in a most flourishing condition, met him in mourning garb. And certain of them he recognised, since he had been brought up there under the bishop Eusebius, whose distant relative he was.
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§ 22.9.5 Having here also in a similar way generously furnished many things that were necessary for repairing the damage done by the earthquake, he went on past Nicaea to the borders of Gallograecia. From there he made a detour to the right and turned to Pessinus, in order to visit the ancient shrine of the Great Mother. It was from that town, in the second Punic war, that at the direction of the Cumaean verses her image was brought to Rome by Scipio Nasica.
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§ 22.9.6 Of its arrival in Italy, along with other matters relating to the subject, I have given a brief account by way of digression in telling of the acts of the emperor Commodus. But why the town was called by that name writers of history are not in agreement;

Via ToposText (topostext.org), a project of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation created by Brady Kiesling. Translated by John Carew Rolfe (1859-1943). Composed ca. 390 CE. Licence: public domain. Source.