Only the Very Best!

In his first book of the Buildings, Procopius elaborates on Constantinople's most famous church, hieron Sophia. Material ornamentation and textual ekphrasis render both the author Procopius's and the builder Justinian's divine worship appropriate. Justinian's church building in Constantinople as well as Procopius's textual representation were to become a turning point in the perception of Constantinople as the centre of Christianity in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greco-Roman sanctuaries and stories connected to them had long been settings for precious metal. Offerings and narratives both created images and messages about gold and silver in the context of worship. These traditions are connected to Procopius's innovative sixth century ce references to gold in church buildings as perfectly matching the emperor and being the appropriate material for the worship of God.