Chapter XV: Book IV: Chap. I (2)

I take it for granted, from the Situation of the Pillar of _Arcadius_, now standing on the seventh Hill, call’d the _Xerolophon_, (which is divided from the other six Hills by a broad Valley,) that That is the twelfth _Ward_, which lies a great Way upon the Level, from the Entrance of the City at the _Porta Aurea_, and is lengthen’d, on the Left Side of it, by a gentle Descent, and bounded by the Sea. It contain’d the _Porta Aurea_, the _Trojan Portico’s_, the _Forum_, and Haven of _Theodosius_, and a Pillar with winding Steps in the Inside, built in the _Xerolophon_ by _Arcadius_. The Hill still preserves the same Name. Upon this Pillar the Emperor plac’d his Statue, which was thrown down, in the Reign of _Leo Conon_ by an Earthquake, which shook the whole City, overturn’d many Churches and Houses, and buried Multitudes of People under it. _Cedrinus_ assures us, that this Pillar was in all respects like that of _Theodosius_ erected in the _Taurus_. It has a _Base_, a _Pedestal_, and a _Capital_. The _Shaft_ of the Pillar, with its _Pedestal_ and _Capital_, consists of twenty one Stones. Above the _Capital_ are two Stones. The _Pedestal_ alone is built with five Stones, so closely cemented together, that if the Pillar had never felt the Shocks of an Earth-quake, or the Decays of Time, it had appear’d to have been one entire Stone. These Stones are plac’d one above another, and are hollow in the Inside. Each of them is the whole Compass of the Pillar, out of which are cut the Steps and Windows which beautify and enlighten it. I took upon me to measure the Compass of the _Shaft_ from the Stone which covers it at Top, down to the lowest Step of the _Pedestal_. This Stone therefore, thro’ which there is cut a Door, by which you ascend above the _Abacus_ of the _Capital_, is about thirteen Foot nine Inches high, and is itself the Roof and Arch of the whole Pillar. The Door is six Foot two Digits high, and three Foot nine Inches broad. The second Stone is six Foot high, in which is cut the uppermost Step above the _Abacus_ of the _Capital_. The third is five Foot and four Digits high, and contains the _Abacus_ and the whole _Capital_. The fifth is five Foot in height, wanting two Digits. The Sixth is four Foot nine Inches high. The Seventh five Foot and two Digits. The Eighth four Foot and four Digits. The Ninth is six Foot high. The Tenth five Foot. The Eleventh four Foot and fourteen Digits. The Twelfth four Foot nine Inches. The Thirteenth five Foot. The Fourteenth five Foot two Digits. The fifteenth five Foot and a half. The Sixteenth the same. The Seventeenth five Foot and ten Digits. The eighteenth six Foot and a half. The Nineteenth five Foot and four Digits. The Twentieth six Foot and a half. The Twenty first, where the _Shaft_ of the Pillar begins, six Foot and four Digits high. The _Pedestal_ consists of six Stones. The uppermost of which is four Foot nine Inches high. The Second is the same height. The Third four Foot. The Fourth four Foot six Inches. The Fifth the same. The Sixth and last is four Foot high. It has in all fifty six Windows, and two hundred thirty three Steps of two kinds. For some rise in square, others in circular Windings, after the Manner of some Shell-Fish. You ascend the _Pedestal_ by five square Winding Steps. Every Winding has at the Top of it a small Floor, which leads you from one Winding to another. The first and second Windings have six Steps each; the third eight; the fourth and fifth, nine each; the lowest of them all, which lies level with the Threshold of the Door, is ten Digits high, twelve Inches broad, and two Foot nine Inches long. The other square Windings are like this, and the Floor at the Top of each of them is two Foot nine Inches square. Upon the fifth Winding stands the _Shaft_ of the Pillar, the first Steps of which are ten Digits high; near the Wall they are a Foot broad, in the Middle a Foot and nine Inches, and in Length they are two Foot nine Inches. The Steps above them, are all of them, nine Digits high. The Inside of the _Shaft_ of the Pillar measures twenty eight Foot in Circumference. The Wall which encloses the Steps, in the lowest Part of it, is two Foot and three Digits, in the highest, ’tis one Foot nine Inches thick. If I should be thought too curious, in taking the Dimensions of every Stone, this Character with more Justice belongs to that Man, (and yet _Thucydides_ highly commends him for it) who by counting the Rows of Bricks of which they were built, took the height of the Enemies Walls. I was under some Apprehensions from the Savageness of the Inhabitants, lest they should catch me dropping my Line, had I measur’d it without, so that I lay under a Necessity of taking the Dimensions within; and by joining the height of one Stone to the height of another, I discover’d its Altitude. There are two Steps consisting of many Stones, which first shew themselves from the Surface of the Earth. Above them is the third Step, which is cut out of a Stone three Foot and four Digits high, and thirty three Foot and a half in Circumference. Upon the Stone which makes the third Step, stands the _Pedestal_. The first of the five Stones of which it consists, from the Threshold of the Door, is five Foot and a half high. Its Ornaments are a plain _Plinth_ three Foot five Digits high, a small _Tore_ five Digits high, an _Apophyge_ with a _Reglet_ nine Inches, another _Reglet_ above it two Digits, and a _Cornice_ engrav’d, which is nine Inches high. The _Frieze_, on three Sides, is curiously engrav’d with Trophies; the Northern Side of it, where the Door is, is not engrav’d at all. The _Cornice_ of the Pedestal bends downwards. At the bottom of it is a _Reglet_, above that an _Astragal_, adorn’d with Berries; then an _Ovolo_, and above that an _Astragal_ wreath’d like a Rope. Higher yet is a _Folial_ Bandage. There projects beyond the _Pedestal_ a kind of _Abacus_; on each side of which there are two _Fasces_ of Laurel-work, the largest of which is incurvated even to the bottom of the _Abacus_. On the Sides of this _Abacus_ there is a Sculpture of seven naked Boys, holding each of them in his Hand a Laureated _Fascis_. At every Angle of this _Abacus_ there stands an Eagle, and above it is the _Plinth_ of the Pillar, adorn’d with a _Foliage_, which projects very little. Above the _Plinth_ is a _Tore_, adorn’d with Laurel-work, which is filletted with a spiral Bandage. Above the _Tore_ there rises an _Apophyge_, upon which Stands the Shaft of the Pillar, which is carv’d with the Scenes of War, and of Battles. The Sculpture is much like that which adorns the Pillar of _Trajan_ in Old _Rome_. The _Trachelium_, or Top of the _Shaft_, is fluted perpendicularly. The lower part of its _Capital_ is adorn’d with _Apophyges_, an _Ovolo_, and an _Abacus_, which projects beyond the _Shaft_ two Foot and fourteen Digits. The _Abacus_, on all sides of it, is seventeen Foot, and nine Inches round. Above the _Abacus_ there is a Door, above which the Pillar rises in the Form of a _Cone_, where there is another Door above ten Foot high. We may look upon this Pillar to be of the _Tuscan_ Order, because both the _Base_, and the _Capital_ of it, are finished after the _Tuscan_ manner.

CHAP. VIII.

_Of the Statues, and the antient_ Tripos _of_ Apollo, _standing in
the_ Xerolophon.

_Suidas_ writes, that the _Xerolophon_ was formerly call’d _Thema_, because it was a kind of Repository, and contained in it fifteen winding Apartments, the Statue of _Diana_, and _Severus_, who built it; besides a _Thermation_, a _Tripos_ from whence many Oracles were deliver’d. In this Place, the Founder of it us’d to offer Sacrifices; and among others he sacrificed a Virgin. _Priscian_, whom I find mention’d by _Benedictus Ægius_, indefatigably curious in his Search of Antiquity, observes, That the _Azoles_ sometimes inserted in a Word the Letter Ϝ, as I have taken Notice of in some Inscriptions of a very antient _Tripos_ of _Apollo_, still remaining in the _Xerolophon_; the Words of which are written after this Manner; Δημοφάϝων, Λαϝονάϝων. He tells us, that ’tis customary in another Place, meaning among the _Æolians_, to place an Ϝ between two Vowels of the same Word; as in ὄϝις, _ovis_, Δάϝος, _Davus_, ὦϝον, _ovum_. I have seen, says he, the same in some old Inscriptions, in very antient Characters, on some _Tripos’s_, especially on the _Tripos_ of _Apollo_, which is at _Constantinople_; as Δημοφόϝων for Δημοφόων, Λαϝοκόϝων for Λαοκόων. Others add, that there were the like Insertions in the _Xerolophon_, a little above the _Basis_ of the Pillars of _Marcian_, _Valentinian_, and _Theodosius_ the _Less_. _Zonaras_ tells us, that _Simeon_, a Prince of the _Bulgarians_, a Man of a cruel and turbulent Spirit, march’d an Army against the _Chrobatians_; when he was conquer’d, and lost his Army, partly by the Badness of the Roads, some Body inform’d the Emperor that the Statue plac’d above the Arch in the _Xerolophon_, looking Westward, was carv’d for the Statue of _Simeon_ of _Bulgaria_, and that if any one cut off the Head of the Statue, _Simeon_ should immediately die. The Emperor commands the Head of the Statue to be chopt off, and soon received the News that _Simeon_ was dead of a violent Pain of the Stomach. For he watch’d to a Minute the Time of his Death. As to the Port of _Theodosius_, that was in the same Place where the Gardens, which are now call’d the _Blancha_, stand at present. These Gardens are enclos’d with a Wall, and are seated in a Plain, adjoyning to the Shore of the _Propontis_, at the Foot of the sixth Hill. The Mouth of the Port stood Eastward, from whence the Pier extended it self Westward, in a direct Line, where at present stand the Walls of the City. The Pier was twelve Foot in Thickness; and, as I found by walking it, ’twas six Hundred of my Paces in length. ’Tis now entirely ruin’d. The Gardens, which are very spacious, abound with Sallets and Potherbs, but have very few Fruit-Trees. These Gardens are water’d with Pools, which they have within them, and which are the Remains of the old Port. I discover’d by the Pier, and Situation of the Place, that ’twas above a Mile in compass. In the Mouth of the Port, not altogether unfit for Ships at present, without the City Wall, you still see a Fortress in its Ruins, surrounded by the Sea. The unknown Writer of _the Empire_ of _Constantinople_ asserts, That it was first called _Thema_, afterwards the _Forum_ of _Theodosius_; tho’ it seems to me rather to be the _Forum_ of _Arcadius_, by Reason the Pillar of _Arcadius_ joyns to it. For the _Forum_ of _Theodosius_, in all Probability, stood near the Port of _Theodosius_. This is no more than what is conformable to the Rules of Architecture, which prescribe, that a Market should be built near a Port. I am of Opinion, that it was formerly call’d the Port of _Eleutherius_, if we may credit those Writers who affirm, That _Constantine_ the _Great_ built a Wall from the Ridge of the first Hill to the Port of _Sophia_, and the Port of _Eleutherius_, built by _Constantine_ the _Great_, to prevent the Inundations of the Sea. ’Tis called the Port of _Eleutherius_, because, when ’twas built, he was Surveyor of the Works. It was for this Reason, that there was a Marble Statue erected to him in that Port, bearing on his Shoulders a Basket of Marble, and holding in his Hand a Marble Spade. They add further, that _Irena_, and her Son _Constantine_, built him a noble Seat; and that from that Seat, as far as the _Amastrianum_, reach’d the _Hippodrom_, which was built by _Theodosius_ the _Great_, and was demolish’d by _Irena_. _Zonaras_ writes, that _Irena_, after she was remov’d from the Government by _Constantine_ her Son, liv’d in a House which she built in the Port of _Eleutherius_. The _Portico’s_, which the _ancient Description of the Wards of the City_ names with the Epithet _Troadeæ_, others mention with that of _Troadesiæ_, and tell us, that _Constantine_ the _Great_ built the Walls of the City as far as the _Portico’s_ call’d _Porticus Troadesiæ_ (that is, the _Trojan Portico’s_) and the _Porta Aurea_, which stood in the twelfth _Ward_. I am of Opinion, that they were call’d the _Trojan Portico’s_, because they contain’d some Things of the like Kind with that which was called the _Porticus Varia_. ’Tis reported, says he, that in the _Portico_, formerly call’d _Plesiactia_, and now _Pæcilla_, or _Porticus Varia_, a celebrated Painter drew the Face of _Laodice_, on the Picture of _Elpinica_. I had not known it by the Name it goes at present, had it not been for a Spring near it which they call Χρυσοπηγὴ, as deriving its Name from the _Porta Aurea_. This Spring, to this Day, constantly flows, and is drank with great Devotion by the _Greeks_, who hold all Springs, near their Churches, to be sacred. There’s nothing of the Church remaining at present, tho’ _Procopius_ takes Notice of it. _Justinian_, says he, _built two Churches to the_ Virgin Mary, _before the Walls of the City one in the_ Blachernæ, _the other in a Place call’d_ Πηγὴ, _where there is a large Wood of Cypresses, a verdant Meadow, and a delightful Garden, which produces a great Store of fine Fruit, and where there is also a gentle Spring, which affords very good drinking Water. One of the Churches stood near the Sea-shore, the other near the_ Porta Aurea. _Both of them_, he adds, _were near the end of the City Walls, and were upon Occasion impregnable Fortresses to it_. From hence I would remark, that in the Time of _Justinian_, the Angle of the City, which they call the Angle of the seven Towers, was not within the City; but that the Land-wall from the _Porta Aurea_, straitned the Angle of the City into a more narrow Compass, as appears from the Situation of the Monastery of _Studius_, which stood upon a piece of Ground, which was formerly look’d upon to be in the Suburbs, but now stands further within the Walls, than the Angle of the seven Towers. He proceeds, and tells us, that _Justinian_, at a vast Expence, upon the Entrance of the _Porta Aurea_ on the right Hand, rebuilt the Temple of _Ja_, (which Time had wholly defac’d) for the Service of the True GOD. The Observation I would make from hence is, that the _Porta Aurea_ stood near the seventh Hill, call’d the _Xerolophon_, which is also confirm’d by _Zonaras_, who writes, That in the Time of _Leo_, many Churches and Houses, the Statue of _Arcadius_, plac’d upon a Pillar in the _Xerolophon_, and the Statue of _Theodosius_ the _Great_, placed upon the _Porta Aurea_, as also the City Walls, reaching to the Continent on the Field side, were overthrown by an Earthquake. _Cedrinus_ asserts, that the Statue of _Victory_, near the _Porta Aurea_, was overturn’d by the same Earthquake. Other Historians mention, that by the same Earthquake, which happen’d the Vᵗʰ of the _Calends_ of _November_, many sacred Buildings, and many others of common Use, with Multitudes of People, were destroy’d; and that the Statue of _Constantine_ the _Great_, which stood upon the Gate of _Attalus_, with the Gate it self, was demolish’d by it. It is therefore a great Mistake in those, who take the _Porta Aurea_ to be the same Gate which is now call’d _Oria_, and is seated in the Northern Part of the City, which, as I observ’d before, was called the Port of _Neorius_, since ’tis plain from what I have mentioned, that the _Porta Aurea_ was in the Western Part of the City. This is also evident from the _antient Description_ of the _Wards_ of _Constantinople_, which tells us, that the Length of the City, from the _Porta Aurea_ to the Sea-shore, in a direct Line, is fourteen Thousand and seventy five Feet. _Cedrinus_ takes Notice, that the Elephants stabled in the _Porta Aurea_, were much of that Kind, with which _Theodosius_ made his publick Entry into the City. ’Tis said that _Theodosius_ the _Less_ who built the Walls of the City as far as the _Blachernæ_, brought the Statues of those Elephants, which are plac’d upon the _Porta Aurea_, from the Temple of _Mars_ at _Athens_. _Cedrinus_ asserts, that _Philip_ King of _Macedon_ built the great Church of _Mocius_ the Martyr, and a Church to St. _Anne_ in a Place call’d _Secundus_. _Procopius_ says, that both these Churches were built by _Justinian_. I have seen some Remains of the Church of _Mocius_, near a large _Cistern_, built by _Justinian_, on the Top of the seventh Hill. All its Pillars are standing, and it goes still under the Name of _Mocius_. Some Historians, and _Suidas_ the _Grammarian_ say, that this _Cistern_ was built by _Anastasius Dicorus_. It may be worth Enquiry, whether the _Moneta_, which the _antient Description of the Wards_ places in this Ward, was the Temple of _Juno Moneta_, or the Treasury. For the _Grand Seignor_, to this Day, makes use of the Castle with seven Towers for a Treasury. _Suidas_ writes, that the Statue of _Juno_ was supported by a Brazen Arch, made somewhat in Form of a Pair of Barbers Scissars, but takes no Notice where it stood; so that I desire the Reader would lay no great Stress upon what I have said of the _Moneta_.

CHAP. IX.

_Of the Columns now remaining on the Seventh Hill._

The Church standing here is called _Studios_, because it was built by one _Studius_ an eminent Citizen of _Constantinople_. It was he, says _Suidas_, who built this Church with a handsome Monastery. _Justinian_, in his _Constitutions_, takes Notice of him, when he says, That there were two Biers plac’d in the sacred Treasury; one to the Memory of the Famous _Studius_, and the other to the Memory of the Magnificent _Stephanus_. The Monastery built by _Studius_ was call’d _Studium_, which is entirely demolish’d. The Church remains, tho’ converted into a Mosque. In its Porch are four Pillars with a _Trabeation_ curiously finish’d. In the Inside of the Mosque, there are on each side seven green Pillars, streak’d with black Veins, and look as if they were inlay’d with Pieces of Stone of another kind. Each of them measures in Circumference six Foot and six Digits. Their _Capitals_, and _Architraves_, are finish’d after the _Corinthian_ Manner, as are those which stand in the _Vestibule_. In the upper Part of it stands another Order of six Pillars. In the Courts of the Mosque is a _Cistern_; the Roof of it, which is Brick-work, is supported by twenty three lofty _Corinthian_ Pillars. The Monastery of _Studius_ is now within the Walls of the City, tho’ it formerly stood without it, near the way you go from the Pillar of _Arcadius_ to the Gate of the seven Towers. The Passage of this Gate is at present fill’d up; the Jambs of it are two _Corinthian_ Pillars of spotted Marble, streak’d with green Veins, which sustain eight smaller Pillars, which support three Arches above. On the left Side of the Gate are six Marble Tables, all of which are enclos’d, some with round, some with square Pilasters, upon which are carv’d many fine Statues. They are all of them Naked, of exquisite Workmanship, in a fighting Posture, with Clubs in their Hands, the tallest of which have engrav’d over them winged _Cupids_. On the right Side of the Gate are six more Tables, enclos’d as the former. Upon the lowest of these there lies a young Man, with his Face upwards, and his Legs folded, holding a musical Instrument in his Hand. There hangs over him a little Figure, in the Likeness of a _Cupid_, and above the _Cupid_ there rises a Woman. Upon the highest Table there’s carved a naked Statue, with a Club in his Hand; his right Arm is cover’d with a Lyon’s Skin, and with his left Hand he is leading Dogs. Above him is the Statue of a Lyoness with full Dugs. Upon another Table are carv’d two Husbandmen carrying Baskets full of Grapes; and upon another is the Statue of a flying Horse. The Bridle is held by a Woman, behind whom stand two Women more: At the Top of the Table there’s another Woman in a recumbent Posture, and opposite to her a young Man lying on the Ground. I took particular Notice of these Figures, by Reason of the Antiquity, and the admirable Sculpture of them. I saw also upon the seventh Hill, among others, four Mosques of curious Workmanship. Their _Vestibules_ and Pillars were all of Marble. Three of them stood on the Eastern Side of the Hill, two of whose _Vestibules_ were adorn’d with six lofty and large Pillars; two of which were of _Thebean_ Marble, and the other four of different kinds of Marble, vein’d with a dark green. The other stands near the Pillar of _Arcadius_, lately built by the Consort of _Solyman_ the _Grand Seignor_, (with a handsome _Caravansera_, and a College, where the _Turkish_ and _Arabian_ Learning is profess’d) in which I counted more than sixty Pillars of different kinds. On the Top of the Hill there are two other Mosques, one of which has _Bagnio’s_, and Colleges joyning to it. The _Vestibule_ of it is beautify’d with six Pillars of _Thebean_ Marble, which measure each six Foot in Circumference. Their _Bases_ and _Capitals_ are finish’d after the _Turkish_ Manner. The _Shafts_ of the Pillars are very ancient, especially of those two which face the Door of the Mosque, whose _Hypotrachelions_ at Top are more slender than the _Shafts_, tho’ in the lower Parts of them, they are equal to them, as a Man’s Neck is less in Circumference near the Head, than the Shoulders. ’Tis adorn’d with one _Annulet_, which rises in the manner of a Ring. Above it there’s another _Annulet_, which is broad and flat. I saw no _Hypotrachelion_, all the Time I was at _Constantinople_, which came so near the Model of _Vitruvius_, as this; who delivers it as his Judgment, that the _Hypotrachelion_ ought to be contracted in the upper Part of it, as you may see in his third Book _de Ionicis_. There’s another Mosque on the same Hill, the _Vestibule_ of which is beautify’d with six very lofty Pillars; in the College Court there are fourteen, and as many in a _Portico_ adjoyning to it.

CHAP. X.

_Of the Thirteenth_ Ward _of the City, call’d the_ Sycene Ward, _of
the Town of_ Galata, _sometimes nam’d_ Pera.

The _Antient Description of the Wards of the City_ takes Notice, that _Galata_ was formerly a Part of the City. The Thirteenth _Ward_ of _New Rome_, says the Author, is the _Sycene Ward_, which is divided from it by a narrow Bay, and preserves an Intercourse with it, by Boats and Shipping. It is seated on the Side of a Hill, except a broad Tract of Land at the Foot of it, which lies upon the Level. _Stephanus_ says, that the Town of _Sycæ_ was situated against _New Rome_, and that it was call’d in his Time _Sycæ Justinianæ_, but does not give the Reason why it was call’d so. Probably it was, because _Justinian_ either repair’d or rebuilt it; for which Reasons principally Cities frequently change their Names. I wonder that _Procopius_ never took Notice of this Place, since he has given us an exact Description of all the Edifices of the Bay, call’d the _Chrysoceras_, which were either built or repair’d by him; unless perhaps the Mistake be in _Procopius_, by inserting the Word _Jucundianæ_ instead of _Justinianæ_, when he tells us, that _Justinian_ rebuilt the Palaces of the Suburbs in the _Chalcopratia_, as also in the Place call’d _Sycæ Jucundianæ_. If the Fault be not in _Procopius_, ’tis an Errour of _Stephanus_, who writes _Justinianæ_ for _Jucundianæ_. But ’tis plain, that _Stephanus_ wrote long before the Time of _Justinian_; so that if there be any Blunder, ’tis none of _Stephanus_, but _Hermolaus_, a Grammarian of _Constantinople_, who abridg’d the Commentaries of _Stephanus_, and dedicated them to _Justinian_. If I might give my Opinion, I should rather call it _Sycæ Justinianæ_, than _Jucundianæ_, because it appears to me it should be so, not only by comparing some Books of _Procopius_ and _Justinian_ which have been publish’d, but also by the Authorities of several MSS. _Justinian_ asserts in his _Constitutions_, _That ’tis agreeable to Equity, if a Corpse be carried to the Grave to a great Distance, that the Deacons attending it, should have some Acknowledgment_. He subjoyns a little after, _That he is of the same Opinion, if the Corpse be bury’d within the new Walls of the City or this Side of the_ Sycæ Justinianæ. This is but a small Procession, and it requires not much Time or Pains to walk thither; _but_, says he, _if the Body be carried beyond the Walls of this flourishing City, or beyond any other Stairs, than those which lead to_ Sycæ——There’s no Occasion to add what follows. I would only have the Reader observe, that the Word πέρασμα which the _Latins_ interpret _Terminus_, or a Boundary, signifies properly _Trajectus_, a Ferry, or the _Stairs_ from whence you sail from one Place to another. ’Tis evident, from what I have quoted, that the Town call’d _Sycæ_ is on the other side of the Bay facing _Constantinople_, altho’ _Stephanus_ has not declar’d against what Part of the City it lies. I observe notwithstanding from the _Treatise_ above mention’d, that the sixth _Ward_ reach’d from the _Forum_ of _Constantine_ to the Ferry against _Sycæ_, which is now call’d the Ferry of _Pera_, or _Galata_. As I would pay a just Regard to the Authorities of some more modern Historians, I hall produce several Testimonies from them. They assert, that _Absimarus_, the Commander in Chief of the Forces which besieg’d _Constantinople_, harbour’d in the Port of _Sycæ_ against the City. _Evagrius_ writes, that the Heads of _Longinus_, and _Theodorus_, stuck upon Poles, were sent to _Constantinople_ by _Johannes_ a _Scythian_, and by the Emperor’s Command were fix’d upon the Shore of _Sycæ_, opposite to _Constantinople_; a pleasant Spectacle to the Inhabitants of the City! He adds further, That _Vitalianus_ made an Incursion as far as _Sycæ_, and that when he came to an Anchor there, the Emperor _Anastasius_ sent _Marinus_ an _Assyrian_ Admiral to fight him. Both Fleets prepare for the Engagement; the one facing _Constantinople_, the other _Sycæ_. For some Time they kept their Stations; after some small Skirmishes, and Attacks on both Sides, the Fight began near the Places call’d the _Vitharia_. _Vitalianus_ having lost most of his Men, was forced to bear off, so that there was not the least Appearance of an Enemy in all the _Bosporus_. Nor am I induc’d to change my Opinion by the Authority of _Strabo_, who seems to place _Sycæ_ at some Distance from the Bay. _The_ Bosporus, says he, _straitning it self from the Promontory into the Measure of five_ Stadia, _or Furlongs, widens at the Harbour plac’d below_ Sycæ _into thirty Furlongs, and from_ Sycæ _to the_ Chrysoceras _it contracts it self again into five Furlongs_. Nor would this Opinion any ways contradict what I have said before, if my Author had meant by the _Ceras_ of the _Byzantians_, what _Pliny_ ’tis plain did, _viz._ the _Bosporian Promontory_ where _Byzantium_ stood. But _Strabo_ immediately subjoins, that the _Ceras_ was a Bay which was sixty Furlongs in length; and therefore it appears to me, that the Mistake lies either in _Cod. Strabon._ or in the Historian himself, as is fully evident from the Authority of _Dionysius_, a very ancient Writer of the History of _Constantinople_, which was his Native Place. This Author has recorded it, that _Sycodes_, or _Sycæ_, is the same Place near the Bay call’d _Ceras_, where _Galata_ stands at present, as I have more evidently shewn in my _Treatise of the Bosporus_. The People of _Pera_ therefore are grosly in the wrong, when they tell us, that _Pera_ was first built by the _Genoese_; when it is plain that _Pera_ was built long before they were suppos’d either to have purchas’d the Town, or to have receiv’d it as a Reward of their Sea-Services, from some Emperor of _Constantinople_; since _Justinian_ places _Sycæ_ within the Walls of the City, and _Agathius_ assures us, it was enclosed with Walls, when he writes, that the People of _Constantinople_ were in such a Consternation upon the Approach of the Enemy, that the Forces of _Justinian_ were obliged to climb the Walls of _Sycæ_, to make a more vigorous Defence. _Sycæ_, by _Stephanus_, is call’d a City, as it is also by some modern Writers; but more antient Authors, who liv’d before _Galata_ was taken by the _Genoese_, call it the Cittadel of _Galata_. They tell us farther, that a Fleet of the _Saracens_ was station’d from the _Magnaura_ to the _Cyclobion_; and that after it had continu’d two Days in that Station, Part of it was driven by a Storm to the Cittadel of _Galata_, as far as the _Clydion_, where the Emperor of _Constantinople_ destroy’d it, from _Acropolis_, with liquid Fire. _Zonaras_ writes, that when _Michael_ the Emperor was besieged both by Sea and Land, he was so terribly distrest, that he was forc’d to lay a Boom across the Sea from _Acropolis_, to a small Town on the opposite Shore. There is at this Day a Gate at _Galata_, which is call’d the _Boom-Gate_. ’Tis however beyond Dispute, that _Galata_ was more than once enlarg’d by the _Genoese_: This appears from the Walls, which at several Times they have built about it, being fortified on the East by Double, and on the West by Treble Walls, denoting the gradual Increase of the Town. You may see at present the antient _Sycæ_, enclos’d in the middle of _Galata_, situate against the sixth _Ward_, and the _Sycene_ Ferry, all built on the Side of a Hill, just as ’tis represented in the _Antient Description_ of the _Wards_, except one broad Piece of Ground, which lies upon a Level on the Shore at the Foot of the Hill. This Tract of Land was at least a hundred _Roman_ Paces broad. For at present, between the Hill and the Bay, there is a Plain to be seen of an equal, if not of a larger Breadth; because, in such a Length of Time, it is widen’d, as may be observ’d daily, by the Abundance of Filth and Nastiness, which is cast about it. To make it subside at the Bottom, the Inhabitants have fix’d wooden Troughs upon Piles, which they drive into the Earth by an Engine, much like a Rammer. By this Means the Plain upon the Shore is enlarg’d, and made more commodious for Havens. But that the Reader may understand more perfectly where the _Sycene Ward_ stood formerly, I will describe the Situation of _Galata_, as it stands at present.

CHAP. XI.

_A Description of_ Galata; _of the Temples of_ Amphiaraus, Diana,
_and_ Venus; _of the Theatre of_ Sycæ, _and the_ Forum _of_ Honorius.

The _Sycene Ward_, which is commonly called _Galata_, or _Pera_, ought more properly to be called the _Peræan Ward_. Thus it is that _Josephus_ calls _Judæa_, because it lay on the _other Side_ of the River _Jordan_: And thus it is, that _Strabo_ calls that Part of the Countrey which lies on the _other Side_ of _Euphrates_. The Reason alledg’d by the Inhabitants, why ’tis call’d _Galata_, is, as they tell you, (being impos’d upon by the Allusion of the Name) that _Milk_ was formerly sold there: And I make no Question of it, did they but know, that _Galata_ was formerly call’d _Sycæ_, they would derive its Name from the Word _Fig_; and pretend to justify their Mistake from the Authority of _Dionysius_ their Countryman, who says, that it was originally call’d _Sycæ_, from the Fairness and Abundance of that Fruit which grew there. But their Conjectures had been grounded upon a better Foundation, if they had deriv’d the Name of _Galata_ from the _Galatæ_, back’d by the Authority of _Johannes Tzetzes_ (a Citizen of _Constantinople_, and a very industrious Grammarian) in his _Var. Hist._ written above four hundred Years ago. This Author tells us, that _Brenus_ a _Gaul_, and Commander in Chief of the _Gauls_, whom the _Greeks_ call Γαλάται, _pass’d over the Sea_ from thence to a Place of _Byzantium_, and that this Place for this Reason was call’d _Pera_, which was after their Arrival call’d _Galata_. This Place is seated partly on a Hill, and partly on a Plain at the Foot of it. This Hill is enclosed on the East and West by two Valleys, each of which is about a Mile in length. The Ridge of the Hill shoots from North to South, and is in no Part of it less than two hundred Paces broad, and of equal Length with the Valleys that enclose it, and joins to the Plain upon the Continent. The South Side of this Hill, and the Plain below it, is bounded by the Bay of _Ceras_, which makes it almost a _Peninsula_ of a semicircular Figure, in the Form of a drawn Bow, with this Difference only, that the Western Point of it is larger by half; and not quite so long as the Eastern. _Galata_, as ’tis enclos’d with a Wall, is four Thousand and four Hundred Paces in Compass. It varies, in many Places, as to its Breadth. In the middle of the Town ’tis six hundred Paces broad. The Bay and the Walls stand at twenty Paces Distance. The Plain that runs between the Bay and the Hill, is a hundred and eighty, and the Hill it self four hundred Paces broad. The Eastern Side of _Galata_, at the first Entrance of it, is four hundred Paces in breadth; after which it contracts it self into the Breadth of two hundred and sixty Paces only. The Western Side of it, which stands without Old _Galata_, rises upon a moderate Ascent, which winds Southward, and adjoyns to a small Descent, which terminates Westward near the Walls of Old _Galata_. The Town therefore of _Galata_ stands upon a Treble Descent; one of which winds from North to South, another falls Easterly, and another at West. The Declivity which crosses the Breadth of it, stretches from North to South; and is so steep, that in many Places you are forced to climb it by Steps; so that you ascend the first Floor of the Houses, which stands upon a Level, by Ladders. The Eastern and Western Side of _Galata_ have a double Declivity; one from North to South, the other to East and West; so that not only those Parts of it which lie in a strait Line, but those Ways also which are winding, or lie Cross-ways, have their Descents; but the Eastern Side of the Town is more upon the Declivity than the Western Side of it. To be short, _Galata_ is of such a Steepness, that if all the Houses were of an equal Height, the upper Rooms would have a full View of the Sea, and of all the Ships sailing up and down in it. And not only _Galata_, but almost the whole City of _Constantinople_ would have the same Privilege, if that Law, which was first made by _Zeno_, and afterwards ratify’d by _Justinian_, was in full Force. This Law expressly forbids any Man to hinder or obstruct an open and entire View of the Sea, or indeed a Side Prospect of it, and enjoyns the Inhabitants to build at least at a hundred Paces Distance from it. The Level Part of the Town, which runs between the Bottom of the Hill and Bay, is, in no Place of it, less than two hundred Paces broad. Towards the Ends of it ’tis much broader; and, in some Places, it widens to the Length of five hundred Paces. The Town is thrice as long as it is broad. It extends it self in Breadth from North to South, in Length from East to West. The Western Side of it is broader than the Eastern, and almost of an equal Breadth with the middle of the City. For in a Length of five hundred Paces, ’tis no less than five hundred Paces broad. The Eastern Side of _Galata_ is more narrow, where it is no more than two hundred and sixty Paces broad. The Shore round the Town is full of Havens. Between the Walls and the Bay is a Piece of Ground, where are Abundance of _Taverns_, _Shops_, _Victualing-houses_, besides several _Wharfs_, where they unlade their Shipping. It has six Gates, at three of which there are _Stairs_, from whence you sail over to _Constantinople_. _Galata_ is so situate to the North of _Constantinople_, that it faces the first, second, and third Hills, and the first and second Valley of that City; having in Front the Bay of _Ceras_, and _Constantinople_, and behind it some Buildings of the Suburbs. For many of these Buildings stand partly on the Top of the Hill, and partly on the Sides of it. The Town, it self does not rise to the Ridge of the Hill. Where _Galata_ rises highest, there is yet standing a very lofty Tower, where there is an Ascent of about three hundred Paces, full of Buildings, and beyond that is the Ridge of the Hill upon a Level, about two hundred Paces broad, and two thousand Paces long. Thro’ the middle of it runs a broad Way full of Houses, Gardens, and Vineyards. This is the most pleasant Part of the Town; from hence, and from the Sides of the Hill, you have a full View of the Bay of _Ceras_, the _Bosporus_, the _Propontis_, the seven Hills of _Constantinople_, the Countrey of _Bithynia_, and the Mountain _Olympus_, always cover’d with Snow. And besides these, there are many other additional Buildings, which adorn the Hills, and Vales adjoining to this Town. It has the same Number of Hills and Vales as _Constantinople_ it self; so that the Inhabitants, whenever they please, can make the Town one third larger than it is at present; and if the Grandeur of the _Byzantian Empire_ continues a hundred Years longer, _Galata_, it is not improbable, may seem to rival _Constantinople_ it self. They who write that _Byzas_, the Founder of _Byzantium_, built the Temple of _Amphiaraus_ in _Sycæ_, are somewhat in the wrong, tho’ not grosly mistaken. For _Dionysius_ a _Byzantian_ tells us, that behind _Sycæ_ stood the Temple of _Amphiaraus_, which was built by those who transplanted a Colony to _Constantinople_, under the Command of _Byzas_. Both the _Grecians_, and the _Megarians_, honour’d _Amphiaraus_ as a God. But altho’ the Temple of _Amphiaraus_ did not stand in the Place which _Dionysius_ calls _Sycæ_; yet the Word _Sycæ_ signified a larger Tract of Ground, after it was made a City; so that the Temples of _Amphiaraus_, of _Diana Lucifera_, and of _Venus Placida_, all stood within the Limits of it, as I have fully made it appear in my _Treatise_ of the _Bosporus_. But there are no Remains of these Buildings at present, nor of those Edifices, which, the _Antient Description of the City_ tells you, were in the _Sycene Ward_. The oldest Man now living cannot so much as tell where those Temples antiently stood, nor ever read or heard, whether there was ever such a Place as the _Sycene Ward_. Thus far only we can guess from the Rules and Usuage of _Architecture_, that the _Theatre_, and _Forum_ of _Honorius_, stood at the Bottom of the Hill upon a Plain, where _Theatres_ are generally built, as I frequently observ’d in my Travels thro’ _Greece_. There was standing a _Forum_, in a Level Ground, (near to the Haven, where is now built a _Caravansera_, in the Ruines of a Church dedicated to St. _Michael_) when first I came to _Constantinople_. This _Forum_ was well supply’d with Water by an ancient subterraneous _Aqueduct_. In short, there is nothing to be seen at present of old _Sycæ_. Those antient Pillars we see in some Mosques at _Galata_, are said to have been imported by the _Genoese_: Some of them are of very antient Workmanship, and well finish’d. The _Cistern_ of St. _Benedict_, now despoil’d of its Roof, and three hundred Pillars, which supported it, (now turn’d into a _Cistern_ for watering the Priest’s Gardens) shews it to be a very antique and expensive Work.