The Library
1774 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.
501–600
2 works
c. 554–560
Greek
Procopius of Caesarea · c. 500 – c. 565
A catalogue of Justinian's construction across the empire, opening with Hagia Sophia — a dome that seems not to rest on solid masonry but to hang by a golden chain from heaven — and running on through churches, forts, cisterns, and bridges.
563
Greek
Paul the Silentiary · d. c. 575
A poem recited before Justinian at the rededication after the dome fell and was rebuilt: over a thousand lines on marble quarried from every province, on the silver screen and the altar, and on the lamps at night making the church visible to sailors far out at sea.
2 of 1774 works