A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

538 PROCOPIUS. PROCOPIUS.
Welcker, in the Rltein: Mus. 1833, vol. i. p. 289; on his secret plans. During some time he wandered
R. Rochette, Lettre a il[. Schorn, p. 393.) [P. S.] from place to place, and his return having been
PROCLUS (IpoKhAos), a physician, probably a discovered by Valentinian and Valens, the succesnative of Rhegium*, among the Bruttii in Italy. sors of Jovian (364), he hid himself in the mounHe belonged to the medical sect of the Methodici tains, till at last he found refuge at the house of
(Galen, De Meth. ilfed. i. 7, vol. x. p. 52, Introd. the senator Strategius, who lived near Chalcedon.
c. 4, vol. xiv. p. 684), and must have lived about Strategius became a confidant of the ambitious
the end of the first century after Christ, as he was schemes of Procopius, who found further adherents
junior to Thessalus, and senior to Galen. He is among the numerous adversaries of Valens in
no doubt the same physician who is called Pro- Constantinople, whither the fugitive general often
czlus in our present editions of Caelius Aurelianus proceeded on secret visits. The eunuch Eugenius
(De Morb. Chron. iii. 8, p. 469), where he is said became one of the principal promoters of the plans
to have been one of the followers of Themison, and of Procopius, which were now manifestly those of
his opinion on the different kinds of dropsy is quoted. deposing Valens, and making himself master of the
He may also be the same person whose remedy for East. The plot broke out in 365, and owing to
the gout and sciatica is mentioned by Paulus Aegi- his numerous partisans and his own artifices, the
neta (iii. 77, vii. 11, pp. 492, 661) and Joannes people of Constantinople proclaimed him emperor
Actuarius (DeMet/. MIed. v. 6, p.265). [W.A.G.] on the 28th of September of that year. The
PROCLUS, LARGI'NUS, a person in Ger- emperor Valens was at that period staying at
many, who predicted that Domitian would die on Caesareia in Cappadocia, but was soon informed
a certain day. He was in consequence sent to of the rebellion, and prepared for effective resistRome, where he was condemned to death; but aes ance. Meanwhile, Procopius set out for Asia
the punishment was deferred, in order that he Minor with a well-disciplined army, advanced as
might be executed after the fatal day had passed, far as the Sangarius, and, through a bold stratagem,
he escaped altogether, as Domitian died on the caused an imperial body, which defended the pasvery day he had named. (Dion Cass. lxviii. 16; sage of that river, to desert their master, and join
comp. Suet. Domn. 16.) his own army. However, Valens advanced in
PROCNE (IlpoKv-), a daughter of king Pan- his turn, and laid siege to Chalcedon, but was
dion of Athens, was the wife of Tereus, and was defeated under its walls, and obliged to retreat
metamorphorsed into a swallow. (Apollod. iii. 14. into Phrygia; Marcellus, a general of Procopius,
~ 8; Thucyd. ii. 29.) [L. S.] took the important town of Cyzicus, and ProPROCO'PIUS (rIpoKomros), Roman emperor copius became master of Bithynia; a series of
in the East, through rebellion, from A. D. 363 to successes which turned his mind, made him
366. According to all probability, he was a re- haughty, and caused him more adversaries than
lation of the emperor Julian through Basilina, the adherents. The war was renewed with vigour in
mother of that emperor, and the second wife of the spring of the following year 366, but to the
Constantius Consul, who was the youngest son of great disadvantage of Procopius, whose army, comConstantius Chlorus. [See the genealogical table manded by the fugitive Persian prince, Hormisdas,
Vol. I. p. 832.] Procopius was a native of Cilicia, was totally defeated by the celebrated general
where he was born about A. D. 365. Constantius Arbetion. Soon afterwards, on the 27th of May,
II. made him his secretary, and employed him in 366, another battle was fought at Nacolia, in
the field as tribune. The emperor Julian created Phrygia, the two rivals commanding their armies
him comes, and appointed him commander in Me- in person, and it ended in the rout of the rebels.
sopotamia, when he set out against Persia in A. D. Procopius fled, accompanied by a few attendants,
363. It was then said that Julian had advised with whom he wandered some days in the mounhim to assume the purple, or manifested a wish that tains, when they treacherously seized him, and
he should be his successor in case he should lose his delivered him into the hands of Valens, by whose
life in the projected expedition, and this saying order he was immediately put to death. Socrates
afterwards found many believers, to the great says that Procopius suffered death by being tied to
advantage of Procopius. However, it was Jovian two trees forcibly bent together, which, on snapwho succeeded Julian, in 363, and by him Proco- ping asunder, tore the body of the unfortunate
pius was charged with conducting the body of man to pieces. The cruel conduct of Valens against
the fallen hero to Tarsus. Aware that Jovian the partisans of Procopius belongs to the history of
entertained suspicions against him, or, perhaps, in the former. There are gold and silver coins of
order to carry out schemes which, at that period, Procopius extant, the former being extremely rare,
nobody expected, Procopius went to Caesareia in according to Eckhel. (Amm. Marc. xxvi. 6; Zosim.
Cappadocia, instead of returning to the imperial lib. iv.; Themist. Orat. 7; Socrat. iv. 3, &c.;
quarters. This step was sufficient to rouse the Philostorg. ix. 5; Eckhel, vol. viii. pp. 156,
suspicions of Jovian, whatever might have been his 157.) [W. P.]
previous disposition, and some troops were despatched to seize the fugitive, who, however, deceived
lhis pursuers, and escaped with his family to Tauris.
Afraid of being betrayed by the barbarians, he soon
left that country and returned to Asia Minor; a _ vT
dangerous step, which, however, throws some light
* That is, if in Galen, De Meth. Med. i. 7, vol.
x. p. 52, we read roO'PryLvov instead of cKal'P?7~ytvov, an alteration which is not unlikely to be a
sound one, as the name of Rheginus applied to a COIN OF PROCOPIUS.
physician is probably not to be found elsewhere.