an eminent Byzantine historian, was a native of Caesarea in Palestine, where he was born in the beginning of the sixth century after Christ. He removed to Constantinople while still young, and rose to great distinction as an advocate and professor of eloquence. He attracted the attention of Belisarius, who in 527 A.D. chose him for his secretary. He accompanied the hero on his different wars in Asia, Africa, and Italy; and in the Gothic expedition he was placed at the head of the Byzantine navy. On his return to Constantinople, his merits were appreciated by the Emperor Justinian, who conferred upon him the title of illustris, chose him a senator, and made him prefect of the city in 562 A.D. Procopius died about 565 A.D.

It is a matter of question whether Procopius was a Christian or an adherent of paganism. His chief works are his Ἱστορία, in eight books; his Κροκωτάρα, in six books, which flatters Justinian immoderately; his Ἀρέβολον, a chronique scandaleuse of the court of Constantine from A.D. 549 till 562; and his Ὁραῖον, consisting probably of extracts from his History. The works of Procopius have been published in the Bonn collection of the Byzantines, with a carefully-revised text and a Latin version by Dindorf, 3 vols. 8vo. 1833-38. The History has been rendered into nearly all the modern languages of Europe. It was translated into English by Sir Henry Holcroft, Lond. 1653. His Anecdotes was likewise translated into English by an anonymous author, under the title of The Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian, London, 1674.

PROCUSTES (Προκόστης, the stretcher), is a surname of the celebrated robber Polyphemus or Damastes, who tortured his victims by placing them on an iron bed, which their stature was made to fit by stretching or mutilation. Hence the well-known proverb "the bed of Procrustes." He was slain by Theseus on the Cephissus in Attica.