me to have said thus much of it; I will leave the description of its beauty and sumptuousness in all respects to others to whom the subject is fresh, and who are not wearied out by their labours. V. Finding other churches in what is called the Anaplus, and along the coast of the opposite continent, which were not worthy to be dedicated to any of the saints, as also round the gulf which the natives call Ceras,[21] after the name of Ceroessa, the mother of Byzans, who was the founder of the city, he showed a royal munificence in all of them, as I will presently prove, having first said a few words about the glory which the sea adds to Byzantium. The prosperity of Byzantium is increased by the sea which enfolds it, contracting itself into straits, and connecting itself with the ocean, thus rendering the city remarkably beautiful, and affording a safe protection in its harbours to seafarers, so as to cause it to be well supplied with provisions and abounding with all necessaries; for the two seas which are on either side of it, that is to say the Ægean and that which is called the Euxine, which meet at the east part of the city and dash together as they mingle their waves, separate the continent by their currents, and add to the beauty of the city while they surround it. It is, therefore, encompassed by three straits connected with one another, arranged so as to minister both to its elegance and its convenience, all of them most charming for sailing on, lovely to look at, and exceedingly safe for anchorage. The middle one of them, which leads from the Euxine Sea, makes straight for the city as though to adorn it. Upon either side of it lie the several continents, between whose shores it is confined, and seems to foam proudly with its waves because it passes over both Asia and Europe in order to reach the city; you would think that you beheld a river flowing towards you with a gentle current. That which is on the left hand of it rests on either side upon widely extended shores, and displays the groves, the lovely meadows, and all the other charms of the opposite continent in full view of the city. As it makes its way onward towards the south, receding as far as possible from Asia, it becomes wider; but even then its waves continue to encircle the city as far as the setting of the sun. The third arm of the sea joins the first one upon the right hand, starting from the place called Sycæ,[22] and washes the greater part of the northern shore of the city, ending in a bay. Thus the sea encircles the city like a crown, the interval consisting of the land lying between it in sufficient quantity to form a clasp for the crown of waters. This gulf is always calm, and never crested into waves, as though a barrier were placed there to the billows, and all storms were shut out from thence, through reverence for the city. Whenever strong winds and gales fall upon these seas and this strait, ships, when they once reach the entrance of this gulf,