Procopius of Caesarea

PROCOPIUS OF CÆSAREA: Byzantine historian; b. at Cæsarea in Palestine toward the close of the fifth century; d. probably after 562. After 527 he was the legal companion and secretary of Belisarius in the campaigns in Persia, Africa, and Italy, so that as an eye-witness he described in eight books the wars against the Persians, Vandals, and Goths. More important for ecclesiastical conditions were his six books, Peri ktismatōn (De ædificiis Justiniani imperatoris, Paris, 1663, Eng. transl., On Justinian's Buildings, London, 1886); his Anecdota contain only scandals concerning Justinian, Theodora, Belisarius and his wife, and the entire court. Theologically he was orthodox; to him Christ was God, and Mary the mother of God. He was plainly disinclined to dogmatic partizanship; and Christian and classical elements appear unfused in his writings. As a historian he is of the highest importance. His works have been edited by L. Dindorf in CSHB (3 vols., Bonn., 1833–38); by J. Haury (3 vols., Leipsic, 1905–06); and there is an edition, with Italian translation, of the wars of the Goths by D. Comparetti (2 vols., Rome, 1895–1896), and a German translation in Geschichtsschreiber der deutschen Vorzeit (6th year, vols. ii.–iii., by D. Costi, Leipsic, 1885).

(N. Bonwetsch.)

Bibliography: F. Dahn, Prokop von Cäsarea, Berlin, 1885; L. von Ranke, Weltgeschichte, iv. 2, pp. 285 sqq., Leipsic, 1883; F. J. Hartmann, Untersuchungen über den Gebrauch des Modi in der Historien des Prokops, Regensburg, 1903; Krumbacher, Geschichte, pp. 230–236 (with fine list of helps); DCB, iv. 487–488.

(1), July 8. A native of Aelia (Jerusalem) and Martyr at Caesarea in the Diocletian persecution. He was a noted ascetic, and had served three distinct offices in the church of Seythopolis, those of lector, interpreter of the Syrian language, and exorcist. The second of these shews that divine offices were then celebrated in Syriac. He was arrested by Flavianus, the president, whom he roused to frenzy by a quotation from the Iliad, ii. 204, when he pressed him to offer libations to the four emperors:—Ov" &yaOdy modvKorpartn, fs kolpavos %orw:—(Luseb. Mart. Palest. c. i.; Ruinart, Acta Sine. pp. 330, 872.) [G. T. $.]

(2), priest of Tyre, editor of the tract upon the seventy disciples of Christ attributed to his bishop DoroTHEus (2). (Fabric Bib. Gr. vii. 566 ed. Harles; Ceill. xi. 747 n.)

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