ABSTRACT
Late in the sixth century some elephants which had been captured from the Persians were accustomed to walk in single file through the streets of Constantinople. Whenever they passed a church the leading elephant turned to the east, bowed down and made the sign of the cross with its trunk; those following each did the same in turn. 1 The pious behaviour of the animals can be compared to a statue which Justinian erected in the Augusteum, an open space to the south of Hagia Sophia and the west of the senate house, two works he had built after the Nika riots. Here, atop a lofty column, was a huge statue of Justinian on horseback, perhaps three or four times larger than life. Looking towards the east, the figure of the emperor held in his left hand a globe, representing the world, surmounted by a cross, the symbol of Christian victory, while his right hand was extended eastward in a gesture which contemporaries recognised as a command to the barbarians in that direction to remain seated at home. (Procopius Buildings 1.2.1-12)
