Nicomedia

This letter had an effect on the clergy and bishops of Palestine, which Arius was quick enough to see.

He therefore retired into Syria, where he made great friends with another Eusebius, the clever and crafty bishop of Nicomedia, who had gained an unfortunate influence over the emperor.

It was now nearly twelve years since Constantine, himself a pagan, though the son of St. Helena, had prayed to the God of the Christians to give him the victory over his enemies.

His prayers had been heard.

He abolished the punishment of crucifixion out of reverence for the Son of God, who had died upon the cross, and put a stop to the cruel games of the arena, and bettered the condition of slaves.

Constantine's nature was really a noble one, but there was much in him still of the pagan and the barbarian.

Unfortunately for himself and for the world, he fell under the influence of Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia.

This man, who was said to have apostatized during the persecution of Maxentius, and who had intruded himself, no one quite knew how, into the sea of Nicomedia, had begun by winning the good graces of Constantia, the emperor's sister.

After all, Lactantius was a contemporary of Diocletian, but he wasn't just a contemporary.

The emperor Diocletian had personally appointed him as a teacher of rhetoric at Nicomedia, and so he was well-positioned, sometimes even as an eyewitness, to know about imperial affairs.

Now, eventually, Lactantius converts from paganism to Christianity, and he resigns from his post.

So what does this former ally of Diocletian have to say? Well, he writes about how Diocletian went to the horospices.

Rome stopped being the capital.

The administrative centers became Nicomedia, Sirmion, Milan, and Trier.

Diocletian visited Rome exactly once in his entire reign in 303 and reportedly disliked it and left early.

Diocletian ended the play fiction that had governed since Augustus, that the emperor was the princeps, the first citizen, a magistrate among magistrates.

The other three were tyrants, though the savageness of Galerius was the most remarkable.

He met Diocletian at Nicomedia, where he usually kept his court in the winter in the nineteenth year of his reign and in the year of our Lord three oh two and determined, if possible, to instigate him to measures against the Christians, still more sanguinary and decisive.

This man had a mother extremely bigoted to paganism, who almost every day employed herself in sacrifices.

The Christians about her refused to partake of the idolatrous feasts and gave themselves up to fasting and prayer.

Staggered with repeated importunities, the old emperor still hesitated and could not be persuaded to attempt the demolition of Christianity by bloodshed, whereas Galerius was desirous to burn alive those who refused to sacrifice to the heathen gods.

The feast of the Terminalia was the day appointed to commence the operations against the Christians.

Early in the morning an officer with guards came to the great church at Nicomedia and, bursting open the doors, sought for the image of God.

So says my author, though, if this be not a mere flourish of rhetoric, they must have been strangely ignorant of the sentiments of the followers of Jesus.

The scepter of Pelops was held at Chaeronea.

the spear of Achilles at Phacelis, and the sword of Memnon at Nicomedia.

Miraculous statues of Minerva that brandished spears abounded, and paintings that could blush and images that could sweat also existed.

In India there are numerous teeth of Buddha, which his worshippers believe capable of performing miracles.