It was not only the poor of Byzantium, however, that he harassed in
this manner, but, as I will presently mention, the inhabitants of
several other cities. When Theodoric had made himself master of Italy,
in order to preserve some trace of the old constitution, he permitted
the praetorian guards to remain in the palace and continued their
daily allowance. These soldiers were very numerous. There were the
Silentiarii, the Domestici, and the Scholares, about whom there was
nothing military except the name, and their salary was hardly
sufficient to live upon. Theodoric also ordered that their children
and descendants should have the reversion of this. To the poor, who
lived near the church of Peter the Apostle, he distributed every year
3,000 bushels of corn out of the public stores. All continued to
receive these donations until the arrival of Alexander Forficula[18]
in Italy. He resolved to deprive them of it immediately; and, when the
Emperor was informed of this, he approved of his conduct, and treated
Alexander with still greater honour. During his journey, Alexander
treated the Greeks in the following manner:--The peasants of the
district near the pass of Thermopylae had long manned the fortress,
and, each in turn, mounted guard over the wall which blocks the pass,
whenever there seemed any likelihood of an invasion of the barbarians.
But Alexander, on his arrival, pretended that it was to the interest
of the Peloponnesians not to leave the protection of the pass to the
peasants. He established a garrison of about 2,000 soldiers, who were
not paid out of the public funds, but by each of the cities in Greece.
On this pretext, he transferred to the public treasury all the
revenues of these towns which were intended for public purposes or to
cover the expenses of shows and entertainments. He pretended that it
was to be employed for the support of the soldiers, and in
consequence, from that time, no public buildings or other objects of