.

l
rroL rrr.:tuully rrrole

Itrefucc

Hstlllsr: 'l'lre I lirturlee

berrclit'iul, 5 ltrliticuI

Scietrcc irrrrcr

ltcr orr"lers rttrtl irt-

uLlctiolls, .hcr liats rrrrtl hct' erlvcuts lilcc n stertr rrrrd trtryieldiltg lllistrcs
ruixirrg c<.lrrr1:ulsiorr with pcrsuusiou. llistory, tlxrrrglr slrc ntrtltes evcrything
as attrctivc as possil:lc, rcndcri.ng hct message morc palttuble by the insertion
o[ a variety of edifyir:g anecclotes and presenting in hct accoullt the instances
whcre men have come to enjoy good repute through the wisdom and justice
of their actions and where they have been led astray by some miscalculation
or chance, unobtrusively instills virtue into men's hearts. For views pleasingly
presented and voluntarily assumed win wider and deeper acceptance.
6 After a prolonged consideration of the matter, I came to the conclusion
that those who have busied themselves with this brandr of literatute should
be accorded the greatest admiration and eulogized as the benefactorc of

society, without of course even remotely considering the possibility of

ttempting to compose in the genre myself , 7 I was indeed predisposed
from boyhood to the heroic metre and delighted in savouring the niceties o{
poetic composition, and so have written a numbet of shot pieces in hexameters entitled "Daphniaca", adorned with certain amorous motifs and replete
with similarly enchanting topics. 8 Furthermore I thought it a praise'
worthy and not unpleasing undertaking to make as complete a collection as
possible o{ those recent and contemporary epigrams which were as yet unknown and indiscriminately murrnured on the lips of some, and to write
them down appropriately classified and arranged. This undertaking has in
fact been accomplished together with the production of several other com'
positions written with no suictly practical end in view, but otherwise
potentially amusing and entertaining. 9 Poetry is after all a sacred and
divinely-inspired activity. In it souls adrieve a state of ecstatic inspiration
as the philosopher-son of Ariston 2 would say, in whidr those that are truly
seized by the Muse and possessed by this fuenzy give birth to ofispring of
surpassing loveliness. ro So I decided to immerse myself in the subiect and
nwer willingly to abandon these pleasant pursuits of my youth but to follorv
the famous Delphic injunction 3 and cultivate self-knowledge. But seeing
that in my ov/n lifetime it has come to pass that great wars have broken out
unexpectedly in many parts of the wodd, that wholesale migrations of barbaian peoples have taken place, that bewildering vicissitudes of fortune
2 The refetence is, of course, to Plato. Agathias has a weakness for this type of inane
circumlocution; hence the poet Pindar fot example is referred to as the "lyre of
Boeotia". It should be noted however, that Byzantine taste in sucih matters difiered
essentially from our own and that different societies favour dillerent forms of afiectation. The ideas expressed hete are a reminiscence of Plato's Phaedrus 245 a, where
three forms of heaven-sent madness (the prophetic, the cathartic nd the potic) are
enumerated and discussed.
3 i. e. uknow thyself" one of the famous exhortations carved on the temple of Apollo
at Dclphi.

hgve tx'c,rrrt'l rrtrtl utrlorcsccuble ancl incrcdiblc cvcnts whiclr in their outcurnc lrrrvc rrpsct ull cnlculations, tht nations have been wiped out, cities
etuluvect, pr4rulrrtions upt'ooted and displaced, so that all mankind has been
itrvolvecl. in thc upheaval; seeing therefore that these and similar things had
tnken y:lrcc was seized with vague misgivings and felt that it might be
*togcther reprehcnsible if I, for my part, .were to pass over in silence and
[ui[ to rccord such staggering and momentous occurrences, occurrences whidr
might rrell have a positive value for posterity. rr I decided therefore that
it was not out of place for me to try my hand at history in order that my
lifc might not be spent entirely on the impractical elaboration of poetic fancy
liut might be made to contribute something useful. And moreover many of
my friends spurred on and encouraged my initial endeavour by urging and
exhorting me to action, the most enthusiastic suppoft of all coming from the
younger Eutych,ianus, a leading member of the Imperial Secretariate who
in addition to being an excellent person and possessed o[. a ready wit
nnd an adequate amount of culture is in every way a credit to the family
of Florus. rz This man, since he really had my interests at heart and
was especially anxious to enhance my rEx.rtation and improve my status,
nevef, tired of spurring me on and raising my hopes. He kept teltring me not
to regard the undertaking as difiicult or beyond me nor to be dismayed by
the novelty ofthe experience, like a landsman embarking on his first voyage.
He maintained moreover that in his view history \,s not far removed from
poetry but that both were kindred and related disciplines difiering rudrcally
pethaps only in the matter of metre. Accordingly he urged me to proceed
with confidence and devote all my energies to the project, bearing in mind
that I should be equally at home in both fields. 13 As it happened these
promptings of his found in me a ready and receptive listener and he had
little difiiculty in winning me over. And here f am now actuaTly writing a
history, and I hope and pray that I shall be able to produce a work to match
the earnestness of my endeavour and'to do justice if possible to the magnitude of my theme.
14 First I must follow the established practice of historical writing and
disclose my origin and identity. My name is Agathias, my birthplace Myrina,
my father Memnonius, my profession the practice of the Law of. the Rom,ans
and of the calling of an advocate. By Myrina I do not mean the city in Thrace
or any other city of that name in Europe or Libya as the case may be, f mean
tlre city in Asia which is an ancient colony of the Aeolians, situated at the

mouth of the river Pythicus, whicl flows from Lydia to the farthest strait

of the Gulf of.Elaea.n , j I hope to repay her as fully as I can for rearing
me by writing a complete account of her splendid adrievements througho'ut
the course of her history. For the time being f must beg her to accept with
a Previously mistranslated as "the Gulf of Elea",