The Palace of Lausus or Lausos, also known as the Lauseion ( el, Λαυσεῖον), was a 5th-century building located in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

that was acquired and owned by the

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Lausus Lausus was the son of the ousted Etruscan king Mezentius, and fought with him against Aeneas and the Trojans in Italy. He appears in Virgil's Aeneid in Books VII and X. When his father is wounded by Aeneas, Lausus steps in between them, and Aeneas ...

Lausus

Lausus, who had formerly served as a eunuch in the court of

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''Augustus (title), augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after ...

, became the imperial chamberlain sometime around 420. He was described in a letter by the bishop of

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

as being charitable to the poor, but also being very wealthy and owning a fine estate. Whilst he is reported to have lost his position as imperial chamberlain to

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

only two years after promotion, he may have regained the title ten years or so later following recommendation by

Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria ( grc, Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲩ ⲁ̅ also ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ; 376 – 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444 ...

, re-establishing his wealth.

Description of the palace

The Palace of Lausus was renowned throughout Constantinople for the vast collection of heroic and mythological statues that its owner housed within its walls. Lausus amassed this huge collection from eastern temples that were being sacked and emptied during the reign of Theodosius – and, as such, his collection was likely the most diverse to have existed in Constantinople at the time. Lausus' collection of pagan statues was the first that was dispassionately assembled on purely aesthetic and historical grounds, even though he was reportedly a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Foremost amongst his collection was the statue of Zeus from Olympia carved by

Phidias Phidias or Pheidias (; grc, Φειδίας, ''Pheidias''; 480 – 430 BC) was a Greek sculptor, painter, and architect. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the stat ...

in circa 500 BC (one of the

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity. The first known list of seven wonders dates back to the 2 ...

) and

Praxiteles Praxiteles (; el, Πραξιτέλης) of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attica sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubita ...

Aphrodite of Cnidus The Aphrodite of Knidos (or Cnidus) was an Ancient Greek sculpture of the goddess Aphrodite created by Praxiteles of Athens around the 4th century BC. It is one of the first life-sized representations of the nude female form in Greek history, d ...

. Lausus is also known to have owned the Hera of Samos and the Athena of Lindos, as well as statues of both

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...

and

Kairos Kairos ( grc, καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning 'the right, critical, or opportune moment'. In modern Greek, ''kairos'' also means 'weather' or 'time'. It is one of two words that the ancient Greeks had for 'time'; the other bei ...

. Reports indicate that Lausus had arranged his collection in a certain order. The aforementioned statue of Zeus was located in an apse at the far end of the hall, with Eros and Kairos at his side. One wall was dedicated to sculptures of goddesses, the other of animals. The exact location of the Palace of Lausus in Constantinople is a matter of debate, although it is generally accepted that the Palace was connected to the western flank of the

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...

by a rotunda, and that it was adjacent to the

Palace of Antiochos The Palace of Antiochos ( el, ) was an early 5th-century palace in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey). It has been identified with a palatial structure excavated in the 1940s and 1950s close to the Hippodrome of Consta ...

. It was also very close to the Mese, the central thoroughfare of Constantinople, that led from the

Augustaeum The ''Augustaion'' ( el, ) or, in Latin, ''Augustaeum'', was an important ceremonial square in ancient and medieval Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey), roughly corresponding to the modern ''Aya Sofya Meydanı'' ( Turkish, "Hagia Sophia Squar ...

to the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...

. See the map on the right for a more detailed analysis. Both

Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...

and

Cedrenus George Kedrenos, Cedrenus or Cedrinos ( el, Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός, fl. 11th century) was a Byzantine Greek historian. In the 1050s he compiled ''Synopsis historion'' (also known as ''A concise history of the world''), which spanned the ...

report that the Palace of Lausus, along with much of the city, was destroyed by fire in 475. Lausus' entire collection was lost to the blaze. The Palace's destruction occurred long after Lausus' death, which had transpired some thirty years earlier, around 436. Today, the

Cistern of Philoxenos The Cistern of Philoxenos ( el, Κινστέρνα Φιλοξένου), or Binbirdirek Cistern, is a man-made subterranean reservoir in Istanbul, situated between the Forum of Constantine and the Hippodrome of Constantinople in the Sultanahmet d ...

is located beneath the site where the Palace of Lausus is commonly accepted to have stood. The ruins of the palace of Antiochos still remain on the site today, as does the rubble from the rotunda joining the Palace of Lausus to the Hippodrome.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palace Of Lausus Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century

Constantinople