What Is Constantinople?

In Paschale’s The Art of the Byzantine Empire the description of Constantinople is permeated with praise for the architecture and beauty of the work done during Emperor Constantine's reign. All the works mentioned are praised for their beauty and what they do for the City of Constantinople. Some of the additions that Cyril references were done for the use of the Emperor, from the massive Hippodrome to the imperial loge. One of Constantine's first projects for the city of Constantinople was rebuilding and reinforcing the massive wall surrounding the city. Before becoming Constantinople, the city of Byzas had ancient walls protecting it. Emperor Constantine “... renewed the original walls of the city of Byzas and made many additions to them …show more content…
Another one of Constantine's works to Constantinople was a that “He also constructed a big and very beautiful forum and set up in the center of it a tall column of purple theban stone… At the top of this column he set up a big statue of himself with rays on his head” (Paschale). While the forum is for the people, it must not be forgotten that Constantine is the ruler. Constantine also removed the Palladium from Rome and placed it inside his forum. Two porticoes were built at the entrance of the palace and lead to the forum. These were decorated with “statues and marble” (Paschale). One of the final works done by Constantine was the bathhouse he named Zeuxippus. This large bathhouse, like many of the works done by Constantine was decorated with large ornate statues of marble and bronze. While Paschale does not reference the living standards for the general population of Constantinople in great detail, he does talk about some of the more general use buildings such as ritualistic buildings, Fortifications to the walls and use of the bathhouses. He also ignores any work done before or after Constantine's …show more content…
Paschale's is often using words such as “Beautiful” “Admirable” and “Splendid” to describe all the works of the city and is never questioning the grandiose nature of all the buildings built for the emperor. He recognizes the desire that Constantine had to always have beautifully decorated buildings and acknowledges the details such as materials used. From the “column of purple Theban stone” to “statues of marble and bronze” no detail in regards to refinement is passed over. Paschales description of Constantinople lends one to be able to picture some of the mentioned buildings and along with the map it lends to the placement and spacing of everything within Constantinople's walls. He mentions that all of the buildings were made to be connected, from the loge that connected the Hippodrome to the Palace to the forum that leads one into the basilica. It allows for a mental map of the city of Constantinople to be made which helps understand the context of why they are there in the first place. Paschale has a deep appreciation for all the works down by the Emperor. He recognizes the impressive nature of all the buildings and the effort made into building each