Konstantinos IX's exploits in palace & garden construction

Summary:
Freed from his philosophical ministers, he could indulge himself in the pleasures of building and garden construction, on which he spared no expense, emptying the treasury. He made further improvements at Mangana, including a larger park, ambitious to outdo all other such constructions. He also built a beautiful meadow with fruit trees and a hidden pool, where he used to swim. He insisted that the plants, trees and birds should give a completely natural impression. Those plucking the fruit would often fall unawares into the pool 
Dates:
1054 
Emperor Konstantinos IX Monomachos (Konstantinos 9)
  • Before work (on the Mangana) was done, the design was altered, as Konstantinos 9 had failed to outdo one church (St Sophia); a new circular wall was laid around the third church; the interior covered with gold, a vast park surrounding it (:) ὁ πρὸς τοὺς ἑτέρους ναοὺς ἐκείνῳ ἀγὼν οὐ πάντη κατώρθωτο Psellos: Chronographia VI 186.1-27
  • Despite acclaim, he planned new enhancements (for the Mangana); for he despised past achievements, and was always thinking about additions: it was this that fired and fascinated him with love of the unknown (:) τοῦτο δὴ αὐτὸν ὑπεξέκαιεν καὶ εἰς ἔρωτα τοῦ ἀφανοῦς ἔθελγεν Psellos: Chronographia VII 188.1-7
  • Anyone who did not know that the meadow had been excavated in the middle would advance unawares to pick an apple or pear, be thrown into the water, sink in the depths, come to the surface and swim - a great diversion for him (:) τὸ γιγνόμενον ἄθυρμα τῷ αὐτοκράτορι ἦν Psellos: Chronographia VI 201.6-11
  • So that the pond was not entirely a game, he also made a pavilion in beautiful surroundings; he would swim often during the day in the warm water, coming and going without noticing that he had caught a chill in his side (:) ἐξιών τε καὶ εἰσιὼν λανθάνει πληγὴν ἐξ ἀέρος ἐπὶ τὴν πλευρὰν εἰσδεξάμενος Psellos: Chronographia VI 201.11-16
  • To make a grove, wall a park or extend a racecourse, he did not only what he first wanted, but everything at once: parts of meadows were spread with soil, others first fenced, some vines and trees were dug up, others were planted already with fruit (:) οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ἐποίει ὅπερ πρώτως ἐβούλετο, ἀλλὰ θάτερά τε εὐθὺς ἐγεγόνεισαν Psellos: Chronographia VI 173.9-15
  • Deprived of Michael 61's consoling presence and the charming lyre of rhetoric he resorted to aesthetic pleasures: in the middle of a park full of fruit he dug out a deep pool, its perimeter level with the earth, and channelled water into it (:) τῆς ἀφ᾿ ἡμῶν παραμυθίας ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἐστέρητο Psellos: Chronographia VI 201.1-6
  • To transform a barren plain, he transported and planted plants in fruit, turves from mountain groves covered it; if cicadas did not at once twitter and nightingales sing in his trees, he attended to it and at once enjoyed a varied sound (:) δεινὸν ἐποιεῖτο, καὶ ἐν σπουδῇ τὸ πρᾶγμα τιθέμενος, αὐτίκα τῆς παντοδαπῆς ἠχοῦς καταπήλαυε Psellos: Chronographia VI 174.1-9
  • After a time passion blazed in him to rival and outdo all buildings ever constructed; the Mangana precinct was enlarged, its foundations strengthened, larger pillars raised, and the whole lavishly decorated at great expense to the treasury (:) χρόνου διελθόντος τινὸς ἔρωτές τινες αὐτὸν ὑπεξέκαιον ὤστε ... ἁμιλληθῆναι ... ὑπερβαλέσθαι Psellos: Chronographia VI 185.9-21
Michael Psellos (named Konstantinos till tonsure in 1054) (Michael 61)
  • Deprived of his consoling presence and the charming lyre of rhetoric Konstantinos 9 resorted to sensual pleasures: in a park full of fruit he dug out a deep pool, its perimeter level with the earth, and channelled water into it (:) τῆς ἀφ᾿ ἡμῶν παραμυθίας ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἐστέρητο Psellos: Chronographia VI 201.1-6