This paper offers a new analysis of the proem of Procopius’ Anekdota (I 1-10). The author discloses Procopius’ own original rework of, and polished intertextual dialogue with, Greek historians of the V and the IV century BC such as Thucydides and Theopompus (An. I 2-3 ~ Theop. FGrHist 115 T 20a and T 20a+; An. I 4-5 ~ Thuc. I 21.1), thus showing that the proem of the Anekdota is not a mere collection of "topoi". While introducing the Anekdota to his readers, Procopius appears to be self-aware of the fundamental tasks of historical inquiry. He presents his work as a piece of real historical inquiry, and specifically, as an aetiological supplement to the Bella.
