Within the gate of Eugenius we are on the northern slopes of the first hill, whereon was placed the citadel of Byzantium. Rounding it to the east we soon approach a tall Corinthian column of white marble, bearing on its summit a statue of Byzas,[183] a memorial of the victories by land and sea of Venerianus or other Byzantine generals over the marauding Goths about 266.[184] “Fortune has returned to the city,” so runs the inscription on the base, “since the Goths have been overcome.”[185] But these events have now passed into oblivion, and the vicinity is given up to low taverns, whilst in the popular mind the monument is associated with the more signal exploits of Pompey the Great in his Mithridatic wars.[186] To the south of this pillar, and close to the eastern wall, is situated the Imperial arsenal or Manganon, founded by Constantine, a repertory of weapons of all descriptions, and of machines used in the attack and defence of fortifications.[187] It contains, besides, a military library.[188]
Passing the Cynegium, a deserted amphitheatre of pre-Constantinian date,[189] and a small theatre, we may make the circuit of the first hill on the south side and enter the chief square of the city. This area, the ancient market-place of Byzantium,[190] is called the Augusteum,[191] that is the Imperial Forum; and it forms a court to those edifices which are particularly frequented by the Emperor. Around it are situated his Palace, his church, his Senate-House, and a vast Circus or Hippodrome, where the populace and their ruler are accustomed to meet face to face. Almost all the public buildings at this date, which aspire to architectural beauty, are constructed more or less exactly after the model of the classical Greek temple; that is, they are oblong, and have at each end a pediment corresponding to the extremities of a slanting roof. The eaves, projecting widely and supported on pillars, form a portico round the body of the building, which, in the most decorative examples, is excavated externally by a series of niches for the reception of statues.[192] The vestibule of the Palace, which opens on the southern portico of the Augusteum, is a handsome pillared hall named Chalke, or the Brazen House, from being roofed with tiles of gilded brass.[193] An image of Christ, devoutly placed over the brazen gates which close the entrance, dates back to Constantine,[194] but the remainder of the building has lately been restored by Anastasius.[195] This vestibule leads to several spacious chambers or courts which are rather of an official than of a residential character. Amongst these most room is given to the quarters of the Imperial guards, which are divided into four companies called Scholars, Excubitors, Protectors, and Candidates respectively.[196] The latter are distinguished by wearing white robes when in personal attendance on the Emperor.[197] Here also we find a state prison, the Noumera, a great banqueting hall, the Triclinium of Nineteen Couches, and a Consistorium or Throne-room.[198] Three porphyry steps at one end of this apartment lead to the throne itself, which consists of an elaborately carved chair adorned with ivory, jewels, and precious metals. It is placed beneath a silver ciborium, that is, a small dome raised on four pillars just sufficiently elevated to permit of the occupant standing upright. The whole is ornamentally moulded, a pair of silver eagles spread their wings on the top of the dome, and the interior can be shut in by drawing rich curtains hung between the columns.[199]
Beyond Chalke, the term includes its dependencies, we enter a court, colonnaded as usual, which leads on the right to a small church dedicated to St. Stephen,[200] the upper galleries of which overlook the Hippodrome. On the left, that is on the east of this court, is an octagonal hall, the first chamber in a more secluded section of the palace called Daphne.[201] It derives its name from a notable statue of Daphne, so well known in Greek fable as the maiden who withstood Apollo.[202] On the domed roof of this second vestibule stands a figure, representing the Fortune of the City, erected by Constantine.[203] The palace of Daphne contains the private reception rooms of the Emperor and Empress, whose chief personal attendants are a band of nobles entitled Silentiaries. The duty of these officers, amongst whom Anastasius was included before his elevation to the purple,[204] is to keep order in the Imperial chambers.[205] The terraces and balconies of Daphne, which face the west, overlook the Hippodrome. Adjoining the Palace on the south is an area fitted up as a private circus, which is used by members of the Court for equestrian exercises.[206]
Passing through Daphne to the east we enter a further court, and find ourselves opposite a third vestibule which, being of a semi-elliptical form, is called the Sigma of the Palace.[207] The division of the Imperial residence to which this hall introduces us is specially the Sacred or “God-guarded” Palace, because it contains the “sacred cubicle” or sleeping apartment of the Emperor.[208] In this quarter a numerous band of cubicularies or eunuchs of the bed-chamber have their principal station, controlled by the Praepositus of the sacred cubicle.[209] Here also are a crowd of vestiaries or dressers who are occupied with the royal apparel, including females of various grades with similar titles for the service of the Empress. At the eastern limit of the Palace stands the Pharos, a beacon tower afterwards, if not now, the first of a series throughout Asia Minor by which signals were flashed to and from the capital.[210] The Tzykanisterion,[211] Imperial Gardens, large enough to be called a park, occupies a great part of the south-eastern corner of the peninsula.[212] It is surrounded, or rather fortified, by substantial walls which join the sea walls of the city on the east and south.[213] The western section, which terminates on the south near the palace of Hormisdas and Port Julian, is surmounted by a covered terrace named the Gallery of Marcian,[214] the emperor who caused it to be constructed. A detached edifice within this inclosure, close to the Bucoleon Port, possesses considerable historical interest. It is called the Porphyry Palace, and Constantine is said to have enjoined on his successors that each empress at her lying-in should occupy a chamber in this building.[215] Hence the royal children are distinguished by the epithet of Porphyrogeniti or “born in the purple.” The edifice is square, and the roof rises to a point like a pyramid. The walls and floors are covered with a rare species of speckled purple marble imported from Rome.[216] Hence its name. All parts of the Imperial palace are profusely adorned with statues, some mythological, others historical, representing rulers of the Empire, their families, or prominent statesmen and generals. Chapels or oratories dedicated to various saints are attached to every important section of the building.[217]
The north side of the Augusteum, opposite the vestibule of Chalke, is occupied by an oblong edifice with an arched wooden roof,[218] the basilica of St. Sophia,[219] commonly called the Great Church. The entrance faces the east,[220] and leads from a cloistered forecourt to a narrow hall, named the narthex, which extends across the whole width of the church. The interior consists of a wide nave separated from lateral aisles by rows of Corinthian columns, which support a gallery on each side. At the end of the nave stands the pulpit or ambo,[221] approached by a double flight of steps, one on each side. Behind the ambo the body of the church is divided from the Bema or chancel by a lofty carved screen, decorated with figures of sacred personages, called later the Iconostasis or image-stand. Three doors in the Iconostasis lead to the Bema, which contains the altar,[222] a table of costly construction enriched with gold and gems, and covered by a large and handsome ciborium. The edifice is terminated by an apse furnished with an elevated seat, which forms the throne of the Patriarch or Archbishop of Constantinople.[223] Light enters through mullioned windows glazed with plates of translucent marble. Every available space in the church is adorned with statues to the number of several hundreds, the majority of them representing pagan divinities and personifications of the celestial signs. Among them is a nearly complete series of the Roman emperors, whilst Helena, the mother of Constantine, appears thrice over in different materials, porphyry, silver, and ivory.[224] Close to St. Sophia on the north is the church of St. Irene, one of the earliest buildings erected for Christian worship by Constantine. It is usually called the Old Church.[225] Between these two sacred piles stands a charitable foundation, Sampson’s Hospital, practically a refuge for incurables reduced by disease to a state of destitution.[226] Yet a third place of worship in this locality to the north-west of the Great Church may be mentioned, Our Lady (Theotokos) of the Brassworkers, built in a tract previously devoted to Jewish artisans of that class.[227]
On the east side of the Augusteum are situated two important public buildings, viz., the Senate-house, and, to the south of it, a palatial hall, the grand triclinium of Magnaura.[228] The latter stands back some distance from the square in an open space planted with trees,[229] and consists of a pillared façade, from whence we pass into a vast chamber supported on marble columns. It is the largest of the State reception rooms, and is the established rendezvous of Imperial pageantry whenever it is desirable to overawe the mind of foreign ambassadors.[230]
Next to Chalke on the west is placed the handsomest public bath in the city, that of Zeuxippus, the most ambitious work of Severus during his efforts at restoration.[231] It is compassed by ample colonnades which are conjoined with those of the Palace,[232] and are especially notable for their wealth of statuary in bronze and marble, dating from the best period of Grecian art. Within and without, in the palatial halls and chambers encrusted with marble and mosaic work, and in the niches of the porticoes, are to be found almost all the gods and goddesses, the poets, politicians, and philosophers of Greece and Rome, as celebrated by the Coptic poet Christodorus in a century of epigrams.[233] Amongst these a draped full-length figure of Homer is particularly admired: with his arms crossed upon his breast, his hair and beard unkempt, his brows bent in deep thought, his eyes fixed and expressionless in token of blindness, the bard is represented as he lived, absorbed in the creation of some sublime epic.[234] The bath, or institution,[235] as it may properly be called, is brilliantly illuminated during the dark hours of night and morning on an improved system devised by the Praefect Cyrus Constantine.[236]
On the west side of the Augusteum the ground is chiefly taken up by a large covered bazaar, in which dress fabrics of the most expensive kind, silks, and cloth of gold, are warehoused for sale to the Byzantine aristocracy. It is known as the House of Lamps, on account of the multitude of lights which are here ignited for the display of the goods after nightfall.[237] Close by is the Octagon, an edifice bordered by eight porticoes. It contains a library and a lecture theatre, and is the meeting-place of a faculty of erudite monks, who constitute a species of privy council frequently consulted by the Emperor.[238] Preferment to the highest ecclesiastical dignities is the recognized destiny of its members. In the same vicinity is a basilica named the Royal Porch, wherein is preserved a library founded by the Emperor Julian.[239] Here principally judicial causes are heard, and its colonnades have become the habitual resort of advocates, who for the greater part of each day frequent the place in expectation of, or consulting with, clients.[240]
In the open area of the Augusteum we may notice several important monuments. South of St. Sophia are two silver statues raised on pedestals, one on the west representing the great Theodosius,[241] and another on the east opposite the Senate-house, a female figure in a trailing robe, the Empress Eudoxia, wife of Arcadius. This is the famous statue round which the populace used to dance and sing so as to disturb the church service in the time of Chrysostom, whose invectives against the custom were deemed an insult by the Court, and made the occasion of his deposition and banishment.[242] Adjoining is a third statue, that of Leo Macella, elevated by means of a succession of steps, whereon popular suitors for Imperial justice are wont to deposit their petitions. These are regularly collected and submitted to the Emperor for his decision, whence the monument is called the Pittakia or petition-stone.[243] Near the same spot is a fountain known as the Geranium.[244] The most important structure, however, is the Golden Milestone or Milion,[245] situated in the south-west corner of the square. This is merely a gilded column to mark the starting-point of the official measurement of distances, which are registered systematically on mile-stones fixed along all the main roads of the Empire. But, in order to signalize its position, a grand triumphal arch, quadrilateral, with equal sides, and four entries, has been erected above it. The arch is surmounted by figures of Constantine and his mother holding a great cross between them. This group is of such magnitude that it is not dwarfed by equestrian statues of Trajan and Hadrian, which are placed behind it.[246] Beneath the arch a flying group, representing the chariot of the Sun, drawn by four flame-coloured horses, is elevated upon two lofty pillars.[247]
The Hippodrome or Circus commences near the Milion, whence it stretches southwards towards the sea and terminates in the vicinity of the Sigma of Julian,[248] a crescentic portico verging on the harbour of that name. It is an artificially constructed racecourse having an external length of about a quarter of a mile, and a breadth of nearly half that distance. This elongated space, straight on the north and round at the opposite end, is contained within a corniced wall decorated outside with engaged Corinthian columns, thirty feet in height.[249] Owing to the declivity of the ground as it sinks towards the shore, the circular portion of the architectural boundary is supported on arcades which gradually diminish in altitude on each side as they approach the centre of the inclosure.[250] Interiorly, except at the straight end, a sloping series of marble benches[251] runs continuously round the arena, the level of which is maintained in the sphendone or rounded part by the vaulted substructions based on the incline of the hill.[252] The northern extremity is flanked by a pair of towers, between which, on the ground level, lies the Manganon,[253] offices for the accommodation of horses, chariots, and charioteers. Above the Manganon is placed the Kathisma,[254] the name given to the seat occupied in state by the Emperor, when viewing the races. It is situated in a covered balcony or lodge fronted by a low balustrade, and is surrounded by an ample space for the reception of guards and attendant courtiers. In advance of the Kathisma, but on a lower level, is a square platform sustained by marble columns called the Stama, which is the station of a company of Imperial guards with standard-bearers.[255] Behind the Kathisma is a suite of retiring rooms, from whence a winding staircase[256] leads, by the gallery of St. Stephen’s chapel, to the colonnades of Daphne. This is the royal route to the Circus.[257] The whole of the edifice superimposed on the Manganon is named the Palace of the Kathisma or of the Hippodrome.[258] A narrow terrace constructed in masonry, about three feet high, extends along the centre of the arena equidistant from all parts of the peripheral boundary. This Spine, as it was called in the old Roman nomenclature, but now renamed the Euripus,[259] serves to divide the track of departure from that of return. It is adorned from end to end with a range of monuments of great diversity. In the middle stands an Egyptian obelisk, inscribed with the usual hieroglyphs, resting on four balls sustained in turn by a square pedestal. An inscription at the bottom of the pedestal, illustrated by diagrams, exhibits the engineering methods adopted under the great Theodosius for the erection of the monolith on its present site; higher up elaborate sculptures show the Emperor in his seat presiding at the games.[260] Farther to the south is a still loftier column of the same shape, covered with brass plates, called the Colossus.[261] Intermediately is the brazen pillar, ravished from the temple of Delphi, composed of the twisted bodies of three serpents, whose heads formerly supported the golden tripod dedicated to Apollo by the Grecian states in memory of the defeat of the Persians at Plateia.[262] The names of the subscribing communities can still be read engraved on the folds of the snakes. Adjacent is a lofty pillar bearing the figure of a nymph with flowing robes, who holds forth a mail-clad knight mounted on horseback with one hand.[263] Near the south end is a fountain or bath with a central statue, known as the Phial of the Hippodrome.[264] Contiguous is an aedicule raised on four pillars, in which is displayed the laurelled bust of the reigning Emperor.[265] Above the obelisk, on a column, is a celebrated statue of Hercules Trihesperus by Lysippus; the hero of colossal size, in a downcast mood seated on his lion’s hide.[266] There are also several pyramids in various positions along the Spine as well as numerous figures of famous charioteers interspersed among the other ornaments.[267] To these are to be added the necessary furniture of the Spine of a Roman Circus, viz., the narrow stages raised on a pair of pillars at each end, the one supporting seven ovoid bodies, by the removal or replacing of which the spectators at both extremities are enabled to see how many laps of the course have been travelled over by the chariots; the other, seven dolphins,[268] ornamental waterspouts through which water is pumped into the Phial beneath.[269] At each end of the Euripus are the usual triple cones,[270] figured with various devices, the “goals” designed to make the turning-points of the arena conspicuous. Over the Manganon, on each side external to the Kathisma, are a pair of gilded horses removed by Theodosius II from the Isle of Chios.[271] The Podium, or lower boundary of the marble benches, is elevated about twelve feet above the floor of the arena by a columnar wall;[272] at the upper limit of these seats a level terrace or promenade is carried completely round the Circus. This walk is crowded with statues in brass and stone, many of them inscribed with their place of origin, from whence they have been carried off.[273] A number of them are deserving of special mention: a bronze eagle with expanded pinions rending a viper with its talons, and engraved with mystic symbols beneath the wings, said to have been erected by the arch-charlatan or illusionist, Apollonius Tyaneus, as a charm against the serpents which infested Byzantium;[274] a group representing the semi-piscine Scylla devouring the companions of Ulysses, who had been engulfed by Charybdis;[275] the figure of a eunuch named Plato, formerly a Grand Chamberlain, removed from a church notwithstanding a prohibition cut on the breast: “May he who moves me be strangled”;[276] a man driving an ass, set up by Augustus at Actium in memory of his having met, the night before that battle, a wayfarer thus engaged, who, on being questioned, replied, “I am named Victor, my ass is Victoria, and I am going to Caesar’s camp;”[277] the infants Romulus and Remus with their foster-mother the wolf;[278] a Helen of the rarest beauty, her charms enhanced by the most captivating dress and ornaments; a factitious basilisk crushing an asp between its teeth; a hippopotamus, a man grappling with a lion, several sphinxes,[279] a well-known hunchback in a comic attitude,[280] statues of emperors on foot and on horseback, and various subjects from pagan mythology, the whole representing the spoliation of more than a score of cities looted in time of peace at the caprice of a despot.[281] Four handsome arched gateways, two on each side, with containing towers,[282] give the public access to the interior of the Hippodrome.[283] That on the south-east is named the Gate of the Dead,[284] a term which originated at the time when a special entry was reserved for removing the bodies of those slain in the fatal, but now obsolete, combats of gladiators. The Sphendone, however, is now frequently used for the execution of offenders of rank, not always criminal, and this portal has still, therefore, some practical right to its name.[285] When necessary, the Circus can be covered with an awning as a protection against the sun or bad weather.[286]