Procopius
Procopius
Excerpt from Secret History
Published in Secret History, 1927
"To me, and many others of us, these two seemed not to be human beings, but veritable demons, and what the poets call vampires: who laid their heads together to see how they could most easily and quickly destroy the race and deeds of men."
T he writings of the Greek historian Procopius (proh-KOH-pee-us; died c. 565), including History in Eight Books and On Buildings, have certainly inspired much admiration from scholars of the medieval world. Yet these works, respectable as they are, are not nearly as entertaining—nor do they receive as much attention today—as a gossipy, scandalous book called Secret History, which Procopius never intended to publish. Chock-full of tall tales, and so slanted with the writer's own opinions that it barely qualifies as a serious historical work, Secret History is nonetheless more intriguing than the hottest soap opera on television.
In Procopius's time, the Byzantine (BIZ-un-teen) Empire, which grew out of the Eastern Roman Empire in Greece, was ruled by the emperor Justinian (483–565; ruled 527–565). Justinian, often considered the greatest Byzantine emperor, set out to reconquer lands that had once belonged to the Western Roman Empire, and in this undertaking he relied on his brilliant general Belisarius (c. 505–565). Procopius, who served as Belisarius's advisor, wrote an account of these wars in his History in Eight Books, which presented Justinian and Belisarius as great leaders. Their portrayal in Secret History, however, was quite different.
Procopius
One of the most noted historians of the Byzantine Empire, Procopius came from the region of Caesarea (se-suh-REE-uh) in what is now Israel. He spent his early career as advisor to one of the empire's greatest generals, Belisarius (bel-i-SAHR-ee-us; c. 505–565), serving alongside him in a series of military expeditions from 527 to 531, and again from 536 to 540. During this time, the Byzantines waged war with the Persians in what is now Iran; with the Goths in Italy; and with the Vandals—who, like the Goths, were a barbarian tribe that had helped bring down the Western Roman Empire—in North Africa.
Out of this experience came History in Eight Books, a highly acclaimed book. In it, he lavished praise on Justinian (ruled 527–65), the emperor who had ordered Belisarius's conquests. He also wrote On Buildings, a six-volume work concerning buildings erected under the reign of Justinian—and again, the book was full of nothing but kind words for the man whom historians consider the greatest of Byzantine emperors.
Privately, however, Procopius held deep grudges against Justinian, Justinian's wife Theodora (c. 500–548), and others in the imperial court. These grudges found expression in Secret History, which, as its name implies, was something Procopius wrote without the intention of ever publishing it. Indeed, it was not published until centuries after his death; if it had appeared in Procopius's own lifetime, Justinian would certainly have had Procopius imprisoned or even executed for writing it.
Secret History depicts Belisarius as a fool whose wife cheated on him constantly; as for Justinian, Procopius made him out to be a sort of gangster who helped himself to other people's wealth and killed anyone who got in his way. Even worse was Procopius's depiction of Justinian's wife, Theodora (c. 500–548), who he portrayed as a lustful, scheming woman. Chapter titles from Secret History say it all: "How Justinian Killed a Trillion People"; "How Justinian Created a New Law Permitting Him to Marry a Courtesan" (or prostitute—referring to Theodora); and the title of the chapter from which the following excerpt is drawn, "Proving That Justinian and Theodora Were Actually Fiends [demons] in Human Form."
Things to remember while reading the excerpt from Secret History
- Procopius intended his Secret History—published centuries after his death—only for close friends who shared his views; had the book seen the light of day during Procopius's lifetime, Justinian would certainly have had its author imprisoned or executed. As it is, the book is damaging to Procopius's enduring reputation as a serious historian, since his observations were motivated not by a quest for truth, but by personal grudges.
- The roots of Procopius's conflict with the emperor and empress lay in a larger struggle between two groups that dominated Byzantine life, the Greens and the Blues, named for the colors of their respective horse-racing teams. The specific political differences between the two groups hardly matter in the context of the Secret History: what matters is that Procopius was a Green, and Theodora supported the Blues. As emperor, Justinian had to appear to be above the Blue-Green conflict, but it is easy to guess that his sympathies lay with his wife.
- Procopius's claim that Justinian and Theodora were actually demons in human form was not as far-fetched—from the perspective of his time and place, that is—as it might seem. To the medieval mind, supernatural forces were as real and ever-present as the Sun and Moon; therefore it would not have seemed at all unbelievable to Procopius's readers, for instance, that Justinian's father was a demon, who left "evidence of his presence perceptibly where man consorts with woman." (In other words, the demon left some sort of physical evidence that he had engaged in sexual intercourse with Justinian's mother.)
- The emperor Justin (ruled 518–27) was Justinian's uncle, under whom Justinian served as an administrator. As for Hecebolus (hek-EB-uh-lus), he was one of Theodora's lovers from her days as an actress. When he became governor of a Byzantine province, Procopius reported in another chapter of the Secret History, Theodora followed him there, but later Hecebolus left her with no money.
Excerpt from Secret History
… [T]o me, and many others of us, these two [Justinian and Theodora] seemed not to be human beings, butveritable demons, and what the poets call vampires: who laid their heads together to see how they could most easily and quickly destroy the race and deeds of men; and assuming human bodies, becameman-demons, and soconvulsed the world. And one could find evidence of this in many things, but especially in the superhuman power with which they worked their will.
For when one examines closely, there is a clear difference between what is human and what issupernatural. There have been many enough men, during the whole course of history, who by chance or by nature have inspired great fear, ruining cities or countries or whatever else fell into their power; but to destroy all men and bringcalamity on the whole inhabited earth remained for these two to accomplish, whomFate aided in their schemes of corrupting all mankind. For by earthquakes,pestilences, and floods of river waters at this time came further ruin, as I shall presently show. Thus not by human, but by some other kind of power they accomplished their dreadful designs.
And they say his mother said to some of her intimates once that not of Sabbatius her husband, nor of any man was Justinian a son. For when she was about to conceive, there visited a demon, invisible but giving evidence of his presenceperceptibly where manconsorts with woman, after which he vanished utterly as in a dream.
Veritable
Veritable: True.
Man-demons
Man-demons: Demons in human form.
Convulsed
Convulsed: Troubled or disrupted.
Supernatural
Supernatural: Something beyond the natural world; can refer either to God and angels, or to the devil and demons.
Calamity
Calamity: Destruction.
Fate
Fate: Destiny. Greek writers often viewed Fate as an actual force with a personality; hence the capitalization.
Pestilences
Pestilences: Diseases.
Perceptibly
Perceptibly: Visibly.
Consorts (v.)
Consorts (v.): Associates.
Demoniac
Demoniac: One possessed by a demon.
And some of those who have been with Justinian at the palace late at night, men who were pure of spirit, have thought they saw a strangedemoniac form taking his place. One man said that theEmperor suddenly rose from his throne and walked about, and indeed he was neverwont to remain sitting for long, and immediately Justinian's head vanished, while the rest of his body seemed toebb and flow; whereat thebeholder stoodaghast and fearful, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him. But presently he perceived the vanished head filling out and joining the body again as strangely as it had left it.
Another said he stood beside the Emperor as he sat, and of a sudden the face changed into a shapeless mass of flesh, with neither eyebrows nor eyes in their proper places, nor any other distinguishing feature; and after a time the natural appearance of hiscountenance returned. I write these instances not as one who saw them myself, but heard them from men who were positive they had seen these strange occurrences at the time.
They also say that a certainmonk, very dear to God, at theinstance of those who dwelt with him in the desert went to Constantinople to beg for mercy to his neighbors who had been outraged beyond endurance. And when he arrived there, heforthwith secured anaudience with the Emperor; but just as he was about to enter hisapartment, he stopped short as his feet were on the threshold, and suddenly stepped backward. Whereupon theeunuch escorting him, and others who were present,importuned him to go ahead. But he answered not a word; and like a man who has had astroke stag-gered back to his lodging. And when some followed to ask why he acted thus, they say he distinctly declared he saw the King of the Devils sitting on the throne in the palace, and he did not care to meet or ask any favor of him.
Indeed, how was this man likely to be anything but an evil spirit, who never knew honestsatiety of drink or food or sleep, but only tasting at random from the meals that were set before him, roamed the palace atunseemly hours of the night, and was possessed by thequenchless lust of a demon?
Wont
Wont: Inclined.
Ebb and flow
Ebb and flow: In this context, "appear and disappear."
Whereat
Whereat: At which point.
Beholder
Beholder: Someone seeing something.
Aghast
Aghast: Amazed.
Countenance
Countenance: Face.
Monk
Monk: A religious figure who pursues a life of prayer and meditation.
Instance
Instance: Request.
Forthwith
Forthwith: Immediately.
Audience
Audience: Meeting.
Apartment
Apartment: Room or chamber.
Eunuch
Eunuch: A man who has been castrated, thus making him incapable of sex or sexual desire; kings often employed eunuchs on the belief that they could trust them around their wives.
Importuned
Importuned: Urged.
Stroke
Stroke: A sudden brain-seizure that renders the victim incapable of movement or speech.
Satiety
Satiety: Satisfaction.
Unseemly
Unseemly: Inappropriate or improper.
Quenchless
Quenchless: Unsatisfiable.
Made away with
Made away with: Got rid of.
Furthermore some of Theodora's lovers, while she was on the stage, say that at night a demon would sometimes descend upon them and drive them from the room, so that it might spend the night with her. And there was a certain dancer named Macedonia, who belonged to the Blue party in Antioch, who came to possess much influence. For she used to write letters to Justinian while Justin was still Emperor, and somade away with whatever notable men in the East she had a grudge against, and had their property confiscated.
Justinian and Theodora
One would not know it from Procopius's Secret History, but many historians of the Byzantine Empire view Justinian (483–565; ruled 527–565) as its greatest ruler. Justinian laid the foundations for modern law with his legal code, or system of laws, completed in 535; and under his rule, Byzantine arts flourished.
Even Procopius had to admit that Justinian built a number of great structures, none more notable than the church known as the Hagia (HAH-jah) Sophia. An architectural achievement as impressive today as it was some 1,500 years ago, the Hagia Sophia dominates the skyline of Istanbul, Turkey, which in medieval times was the Byzantine capital of Constantinople (kahn-stan-ti-NOH-pul). Also during Justinian's time, the Byzantine art of mosaics (moh-ZAY-iks)—colored bits of glass or tile arranged to form a picture—reached a high point. The most famous Byzantine mosaics are those depicting Justinian and his wife Theodora, which can be found in Italy's Church of San Vitale.
The Byzantine presence in Italy was an outgrowth of the most visible, yet least enduring, achievement of Justinian's era. Hoping to reclaim the Western Roman Empire, which had fallen to invading tribes in 476, Justinian sent his general Belisarius (c. 500–565) on three military campaigns that won back North Africa in 534, Italy in 540, and southern Spain in 550. These were costly victories, however, and except for a few parts of Sicily and southern Italy, the Byzantines did not hold on to their conquests past Justinian's lifetime.
As for Theodora (c. 500–548), she had been an actress before she married Justinian—and in those days, actresses were looked upon as little better than prostitutes, and in fact many actresses were prostitutes. It is doubtful, however, that her morals were nearly as loose as Procopius portrays them in his X-rated account from the Secret History, "How Theodora, Most Depraved of All Courtesans, Won His Love." In any case, after Theodora married Justinian and became empress, she proved herself a great help to her husband—and a leader in her own right.
When the citizens of Constantinople revolted against Justinian in 532, the emperor was slow to act, and considered fleeing the palace. Theodora, however, stirred him to action when she said, "For my own part, I hold to the old saying that the imperial purple makes the best burial sheet"—in other words, it is better to die defending the throne than to run away. Thus Justinian maintained power, and went on to the many achievements that marked his reign. When Theodora died in 548, Justinian was heartbroken.
This Macedonia, they say, greeted Theodora at the time of her arrival from Egypt and Libya; and when she saw her badly worried andcast down at the ill treatment she had received from Hecebolus and at the loss of her money during this adventure, she tried to encourage Theodora by reminding her of the laws of chance, by which she was likely again to bethe leader of a chorus of coins . Then, they say, Theodora used to relate how on that very night a dream came to her, bidding her take no thought of money, for when she should come to Constantinople, she shouldshare the couch of the King of the Devils, and that she shouldcontrive to become his wedded wife and thereafter be themistress of all the money in the world. And that this is what happened is the opinion of most people.
Cast down
Cast down: Depressed.
The leader of a chorus of coins
The leader of a chorus of coins: In other words, wealthy.
Share the couch of
Share the couch of: Engage in marital relations with.
Contrive
Contrive: Plan.
Mistress
Mistress: Female head of a household.
What happened next …
The Byzantine Empire reached a high point under Justinian, but it began to decline within his lifetime. A plague or disease reached the empire in 541, and did not end until the mid-700s, by which time it had killed millions of people. Aside from everything else, this meant that the empire's tax revenues decreased dramatically, leaving it unable to pay for its armies. A number of neighboring peoples revolted, further weakening Byzantine power.
Procopius mentioned a number of places within the Byzantine Empire: Egypt; the neighboring land of Libya; Antioch (AN-tee-ahk), a city on what is now the border between Syria and Turkey; and the desert beyond. All these lands—along with a great portion of what Justinian had won back from barbarian tribes in Europe—would be lost during the
600s. A new and powerful empire was on the rise, with its roots among the Muslims of Arabia.
The Byzantine Empire seemed doomed, but it managed to hold on, driving back the Arabs who attacked Constantinople in 718. Over the centuries that followed, it won back territories in southeastern Europe, though it never regained the lands it had lost in the Middle East. The empire reached a second high point in 1025, but its defeat by the Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 signaled the beginnings of a long decline that would bring the Byzantine Empire to an end in 1453.
Did you know …
- Procopius did not give the Secret History its title. When it was first published in the 900s, it was called Anekdota, meaning unpublished. The present title only appeared in modern times.
- In 1992, novelist Donna Tartt published a best-selling murder mystery about a group of college students majoring in ancient Greek studies. Its title was The Secret History.
For More Information
Books
Chrisp, Peter. The World of the Roman Emperor. New York: P. Bedrick Books, 1999.
Evans, J. A. S. Procopius. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1972.
Nardo, Don. Rulers of Ancient Rome. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1999.
Procopius. Secret History. Translated by Richard Atwater. Chicago: P. Covici, 1927.
Web Sites
"Medieval Sourcebook: Procopius of Caesarea: The Secret History." Medieval Sourcebook. [Online] Available http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/procop-anec.html (last accessed July 28, 2000).