Plangon the Milesian was also a celebrated courtesan; and she, as she was most wonderfully beautiful, was beloved by a young man of Colophon, who had a mistress already whose name was Bacchis. Accordingly, when this young man began to address his solicitations to Plangon, she, having heard of. the beauty of Bacchis, and wishing to make the young man abandon his love for her, when she was unable to effect that, she required as the price of her favours the necklace of Bacchis, which was very celebrated. And he, as he was exceedingly in love, entreated Bacchis not to see him totally overwhelmed with despair; and Bacchis, seeing the excited state of the young man, gave him the necklace. And Plangon, when she saw the freedom from jealousy which was exhibited by Bacchis, sent her back the necklace, but kept the young man: and ever after Plangon and Bacchis were friends, loving the young man in common; and the Ionians being amazed at this, as Menetor tells us in his treatise concerning Offerings, gave Plangon the name of Pasiphila. And Archilochus mentions her in the, following lines:—As a fig-tree planted on a lofty rockFeeds many crows and jackdaws, so Pasiphila'sA willing entertainer of all strangers. That Menander the poet was a lover of Glycera, is notorious to everybody; but still he was not well pleased with her. For when Philemon was in love with a courtesan, and in one of his plays called her “Excellent,” Menander, in one of his plays, said, in contradiction to this, that there was no courtesan who was good.
διαβόητος δ’ ἑταίρα γέγονε καὶ ἡ Μιλησία Πλαγγών ἧς περικαλλεστάτης οὔσης ἠράσθη τις Κολοφώνιος νεανίσκος, Βακχίδα ἔχων ἐρωμένην τὴν Σαμίαν. λόγους οὖν προσενέγκαντος τοῦ νεανίσκου πρὸς αὐτὴν ἡ Πλαγγὼν ἀκούουσα τῆς Βακχίδος τὸ κάλλος καὶ ἀποτρέψαι θέλουσα τὸν νεανίσκον τοῦ πρὸς αὑτὴν ἔρωτος, ὡς ἀδύνατον ἦν, ᾔτησε τῆς συνουσίας μισθὸν τὸν Βακχίδος ὅρμον διαβόητον ὄντα. ὁ δὲ σφοδρῶς ἐρῶν ἠξίωσε τὴν Βακχίδα μὴ περιιδεῖν αὐτὸν ἀπολλύμενον. καὶ ἡ Βακχὶς τὴν ὁρμὴν κατιδοῦσα τοῦ νεανίσκου, ἔδωκε. Πλαγγὼν δὲ τὸ ἄζηλον συνιδοῦσα τῆς Βακχίδος τὸν μὲν ἀπέπεμψεν ἐκείνῃ, τῷ δὲ ὡμίλησε. καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ φίλαι ἐγένοντο, κοινῶς περιέπουσαι τὸν ἐραστήν, ἐφ’ οἷς Ἴωνες ἀγασθέντες, ὥς φησι Μενέτωρ ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἀναθημάτων, Πασιφίλαν ἐκάλεσαν τὴν Πλαγγόνα, μαρτυρεῖ δὲ καὶ Ἀρχίλοχος περὶ αὐτῆς ἐν τούτοις· συκῆ πετραίη πολλὰς βόσκουσα κορώνας, εὐήθης ξείνων δέκτρια Πασιφίλη. ὅτι δὲ καὶ Μένανδρος ὁ ποιητὴς ἤρα Γλυκέρας κοινόν· ἐνεμεσήθη δέ. Φιλήμονος γὰρ ἑταίρας ἐρασθέντος καὶ χρηστὴν ταύτην ὀνομάσαντος διὰ τοῦ δράματος, ἀντέγραψεν Μένανδρος ὡς οὐδεμιᾶς οὔσης χρηστῆς.
And Harpalus the Macedonian, who robbed Alexander of vast sums of money and then fled to Athens, being in love with Pythionica, spent an immense deal of money on her; and she was a courtesan. And when she died he erected a monument to her which cost him many talents. And as he was carrying her out to burial, as Posidonius tells us in the twenty-second book of his History, he had the body accompanied with a band of the most eminent artists of all kinds, and with all sorts of musical instruments and songs. And Dicæarchus, in his Essay on the Descent to the Cave of Trophonius, says,—“And that same sort of thing may happen to any one who goes to the city of the Athenians, and who proceeds by the road leading from Eleusis, which is called the Sacred Road; for, if he stops at that point from which he first gets a sight of Athens, and of the temple, and of the citadel, he will see a tomb built by the wayside, of such a size that there is none other near which can be compared with it for magnitude. And at first, as would be natural, he would pronounce it to be the tomb, beyond all question, of Miltiades, or Cimon, or Pericles, or of some other of the great men of Athens. And above all, he would feel sure that it had been erected by the city at the public expense; or at all events by some public decree; and then, again, when he heard it was the tomb of Pythionica the courtesan, what must be his feelings?” And Theopompus also, in his letter to Alexander, speaking reproachfully of the profligacy of Harpalus, says,—“But just consider and listen to the truth, as you may hear from the people of Babylon, as to the manner in which he treated Pythionica when she was dead; who was originally the slave of Bacchis, the female flute-player. And Bacchis herself had been the slave of Sinope the Thracian, who brought her establishment of harlots from Aegina to Athens; so that she was not only trebly a slave, but also trebly a harlot. He, however, erected two monuments to her at an expense exceeding two hundred talents. And every one marvelled that no one of all those who died in Cilicia, in defence of your dominions and of the freedom of the Greeks, had had any tomb adorned for them either by him or by any other of the governors of the state; but that a tomb should be erected to Pythionica the courtesan, both in Athens and in Babylon; and they have now stood a long time. For a man who ventured to call himself a friend to you, has dared to consecrate a temple and a spot of ground to a woman whom everybody knew to have been common to every one who chose at the same fixed price, and to call both the temple and the altar those of Pythionica Venus; and in so doing, he despised also the vengeance of the Gods, and endeavoured to insult the honours to which you are entitled.” Philemon also mentions these circumstances, in his comedy called the Babylonian, where he says—You shall be queen of Babylon if the FatesWill but permit it. Sure you recollectPythionica and proud Harpalus.Alexis also mentions her in his Lyciscus.
Ἅρπαλος δ’ ὁ Μακεδὼν ὁ τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου πολλὰ χρημάτων συλήσας καὶ καταφυγὼν εἰς Ἀθήνας ἐρασθεὶς Πυθιονίκης πολλὰ εἰς αὐτὴν κατανάλωσεν ἑταίραν οὖσαν καὶ ἀποθανούσῃ πολυτάλαντον μνημεῖον κατεσκεύασεν ἐκφέρων τε αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τὰς ταφάς, ὥς φησι Ποσειδώνιος ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ καὶ εἰκοστῇ τῶν Ἱστοριῶν, τεχνιτῶν τῶν ἐπισημοτάτων χορῷ μεγάλῳ καὶ παντοίοις ὀργάνοις καὶ εὐφωνίαις παρέπεμπε τὸ σῶμα. Δικαίαρχος δ’ ἐν τοῖς περὶ τῆς εἰς Τροφωνίου Καταβάσεώς φησι· ταὐτὸ δὲ πάθοι τις ἂν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀθηναίων πόλιν ἀφικνούμενος κατὰ τὴν ἀπ’ Ἐλευσῖνος τὴν ἱερὰν ὁδὸν καλουμένην. καὶ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα καταστὰς οὗ ἂν φανῇ τὸ πρῶτον ὁ τῆς ᾽ Ἀθηνᾶς ἀφορώμενος νεὼς καὶ τὸ πόλισμα, ὄψεται παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτὴν ᾠκοδομημένον μνῆμα οἷον οὐχ ἕτερον οὐδὲ σύνεγγυς οὐδέν ἐστι τῷ μεγέθει. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον, ὅπερ εἰκός, ἢ Μιλτιάδου φήσειεν ἂν σαφῶς ἢ Περικλέους ἢ Κίμωνος ἤ τινος ἑτέρου τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν εἶναι, καὶ μάλιστα μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς πόλεως δημοσίᾳ κατεσκευασμένον, εἰ δὲ μή, δεδομένον κατασκευάσασθαι. πάλιν δ’ ὅταν ἐξετάσῃ Πυθιονίκης τῆς ἑταίρας ὄν, τίνα χρὴ προσδοκίαν λαβεῖν αὐτόν; Θεόπομπος δ’ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον Ἐπιστολῇ τὴν Ἁρπάλου διαβάλλων ἀκολασίαν φησὶν ἐπίσκεψαι δὲ καὶ διάκουσον σαφῶς παρὰ τῶν ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος ὃν τρόπον Πυθιονίκην περιέστειλεν τελευτήσασαν, ἣ Βακχίδος μὲν ἦν δούλη τῆς αὐλητρίδος, ἐκείνη δὲ Σινώπης τῆς Θρᾴττης τῆς ἐξ Αἰγίνης Ἀθήναζε μετενεγκαμένης τὴν πορνείαν ὥστε γίνεσθαι μὴ μόνον τρίδουλον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τρίπορνον αὐτήν, ἀπὸ πλειόνων δὲ ταλάντων ἢ διακοσίων δύο μνήματα κατεσκεύασεν αὐτῆς· ὃ καὶ πάντες ἐθαύμαζον, ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἐν Κιλικίᾳ τελευτησάντων ὑπὲρ τῆς σῆς βασιλείας καὶ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερίας οὐδέπω νῦν οὔτε ἐκεῖνος οὔτ’ ἄλλος οὐδεὶς τῶν ἐπιστατῶν κεκόσμηκε τὸν τάφον, Πυθιονίκης δὲ τῆς ἑταίρας φανήσεται τὸ μὲν Ἀθήνησιν, τὸ δ’ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι μνῆμα πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον ἐπιτετελεσμένον. ἣν γὰρ πάντες ᾔδεσαν κοινῆς δαπάνης κοινὴν τοῖς βουλομένοις γιγνομένην, ταύτης ἐτόλμησεν ὁ φίλος εἶναι σοῦ φάσκων ἱερὸν καί τέμενος ἱδρύσασθαι καὶ προσαγορεῦσαι τὸν ναὸν καὶ τὸν βωμὸν Πυθιονίκης Ἀφροδίτης, ἅμα τῆς τε παρὰ θεῶν τιμωρίας καταφρονῶν καὶ τὰς σὰς τιμὰς προπηλακίζειν ἐπιχειρῶν. μνημονεύει τούτων καὶ Φιλήμων ἐν Βαβυλωνίῳ· βασίλισσ’ ἔσῃ Βαβυλῶνος, ἂν οὕτω τύχῃ· τὴν Πυθιονίκην οἶσθα καὶ τὸν Ἅρπαλον. μνημονεύει δ’ αὐτῆς καὶ Ἄλεξις ἐν Λυκίσκῳ.
But after the death of Pythionica, Harpalus sent for Glycera, and she also was a courtesan, as Theopompus relates, when he says that Harpalus issued an edict that no one should present him with a crown, without at the same time paying a similar compliment to his prostitute; and adds,— “He has also erected a brazen statue to Glycera in Rhossus of Syria, where he intends to erect one of you, and another of himself. And he has permitted her to dwell in the palace in Tarsus, and he permits her to receive adoration from the people, and to bear the title of Queen, and to be complimented with other presents, which are only fit for your own mother and your own wife.” And we have a testimony coinciding with this from the author of the Satyric drama called Agen, which was exhibited, on the occasion when the Dionysian festival was celebrated on the banks of the river Hydaspes, by the author, whether he was Pythen of Catana or Byzantium, or the king himself. And it was exhibited when Harpalus was now flying to the sea-shore, after he had revolted; and it mentions Pythionica as already dead; and Glycera, as being with Harpalus, and as being the person who encouraged the Athenians to receive presents from Harpalus. And the verses of the play are as follows:—A. There is a pinnacle, where never birdsHave made their nests, where the long reeds do grow;And on the left is the illustrious templeRaised to a courtesan, which PallidesErected, but repenting of the deed,Condemn'd himself for it to banishment.And when some magi of the barbariansSaw him oppressed with the stings of conscience,They made him trust that they could raise againThe soul of Pythionica.And the author of the play calls Harpalus Pallides in this passage; but in what follows, he speaks of him by his real name, saying—B. But I do wish to learn from you, since IDwell a long way from thence, what is the fateAt present of the land of Athens; andHow all its people fare?A. Why, when they saidThat they were slaves, they plenty had to eat,But now they have raw vegetables only,And fennel, and but little corn or meat.B.I likewise hear that Harpalus has sent themA quantity of corn no less than Agen,And has been made a citizen of Athens.That corn was Glycera's. But it is perhapsTo them a pledge of ruin, not of a courtesan.
μετὰ δὲ τὴν Πυθιονίκης τελευτὴν ὁ Ἅρπαλος Γλυκέραν μετεπέμψατο καὶ ταύτην ἑταίραν, ὡς ὁ Θεόπομπος ἱστορεῖ, φάσκων ἀπειρηκέναι τὸν Ἅρπαλον μὴ στεφανοῦν ἑαυτόν, εἰ μή τις στεφανώσειε καὶ τὴν πόρνην. ἔστησέν τε εἰκόνα χαλκῆν τῆς Γλυκέρας ἐν Ῥωσσῷ τῆς Συρίας, οὗπερ καὶ σὲ καὶ αὑτὸν ἀνατιθέναι μέλλει. παρέδωκέν τε αὐτῇ κατοικεῖν ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις τοῖς ἐν Ταρσῷ καὶ περιορᾷ ὑπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ προσκυνουμένην καὶ βασίλισσαν προσαγορευομένην καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις δωρεαῖς τιμωμένην, αἷς πρέπον ἦν τὴν σὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν σοὶ συνοικοῦσαν. συνεπιμαρτυρεῖ δὲ τούτοις καὶ ὁ τὸν Ἀγῆνα τὸ σατυρικὸν δραμάτιον γεγραφώς, ὅπερ ἐδίδαξεν Διονυσίων ὄντων ἐπὶ τοῦ Ὑδάσπου ποταμοῦ, εἴτε Πύθων ἦν ὁ Καταναῖος ἢ Βυζάντιος ἢ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεύς, ἐδιδάχθη δὲ τὸ δρᾶμα ἤδη φυγόντος τοῦ Ἁρπάλου ἐπὶ θάλατταν καὶ ἀποστάντος. καὶ τῆς μὲν Πυθιονίκης ὡς τεθνηκυίας μέμνηται, τῆς δὲ Γλυκέρας ὡς οὔσης παρ᾽ αὐτῷ καὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις αἰτίας γινομένης τοῦ δωρεὰς λαμβάνειν παρὰ Ἁρπάλου, λέγων ὧδε· ἔστιν δ᾽, ὅπου μὲν ὁ κάλαμος πέφυχ’ ὅδε, ὀχύρωμ’ ἄορνον. οὑξ ἀριστερᾶς δ’ ὅδε πόρνης ὁ κλεινὸς ναός, ὃν δὴ Παλλίδης τεύξας κατέγνω διὰ τὸ πρᾶγμ’ αὑτοῦ φυγήν. ἐνταῦθα δὴ τῶν βαρβάρων τινὲς μάγοι ὁρῶντες αὐτὸν παγκάκως διακείμενον ἔπεισαν ὡς ἄξουσι τὴν ψυχὴν ἄνω τὴν Πυθιονίκης. Παλλίδην δ’ ἐνταῦθα ἐκάλεσε τὸν Ἅρπαλον. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἑξῆς τῷ κυρίῳ καλέσας αὐτόν φησιν· ἐκμαθεῖν δέ σου ποθῶ μακρὰν ἀποικῶν κεῖθεν, Ἀτθίδα χθόνα τίνες τύχαι κατέχουσιν ἢ πράττουσι τί. α. ὅτε μὲν ἔφασκον δοῦλον ἐκτῆσθαι βίον, ἱκανὸν ἐδείπνουν· νῦν δὲ τὸν χέδροπα μόνον καὶ τὸν μάραθον ἔσθουσι, πυροὺς δ’ οὐ μάλα, β. καὶ μὴν ἀκούω μυριάδας τὸν Ἅρπαλον αὐτοῖσι τῶν Ἀγῆνος οὐκ ἐλάσσονας σίτου διαπέμψαι καὶ πολίτην γεγονέναι. α. Γλυκέρας ὁ σῖτος οὗτος ἦν· ἔσται δ’ ἴσως αὐτοῖσιν ὀλέθρου κοὐχ ἑταίρας ἀρραβών.
Naucratis also has produced some very celebrated courtesans of exceeding beauty; for instance, Doricha, whom the beautiful Sappho, as she became the mistress of her brother Charaxus, who had gone to Naucratis on some mercantile business, accuses in her poetry of having stripped Charaxus of a great deal of his property. But Herodots calls her Rhodopis, being evidently ignorant that Rhodopis and Doricha were two different people; and it was Rhodopis who dedicated those celebrated spits at Delphi, which Cratinus mentions in the following lines—* * * * Posidippus also made this epigram on Doricha, although he had often mentioned her in his Ethiopia, and this is the epigram—Here, Doricha, your bones have long been laid,Here is your hair, and your well-scented robe:You who once loved the elegant Charaxus,And quaff'd with him the morning bowl of wine.But Sappho's pages live, and still shall live,In which is many a mention of your name,Which still your native Naucratis shall cherish,As long as any ship sails down the Nile. Archedice also was a native of Naucratis; and she was a courtesan of great beauty. “For some how or other,” as Herodotus says, “Naucratis is in the habit of producing beautiful courtesans.”
ἐνδόξους δὲ ἑταίρας καὶ ἐπὶ κάλλει διαφερούσας ἤνεγκεν καὶ ἡ Ναύκρατις· Δωρίχαν τε, ἣν ἡ καλὴ Σαπφὼ ἐρωμένην γενομένην Χαράξου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτῆς κατ’ ἐμπορίαν εἰς τὴν Ναύκρατιν ἀπαίροντος διὰ τῆς ποιήσεως διαβάλλει ὡς πολλὰ τοῦ Χαράξου νοσφισαμένην. ʽ Ἡρόδοτος δ’ αὐτὴν Ῥοδῶπιν καλεῖ, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι ἑτέρα τῆς Δωρίχης ἐστὶν αὕτη, ἡ καὶ τοὺς περιβοήτους ὀβελίσκους ἀναθεῖσα ἐν Δελφοῖς, ὧν μέμνηται Κρατῖνος διὰ τούτων.., εἰς δὲ τὴν Δωρίχαν τόδ’ ἐποίησε τοὐπίγραμμα Ποσείδιππος, καίτοι καὶ ἐν τῇ Αἰσωπείᾳ πολλάκις αὐτῆς μνημονεύσας. ἐστὶ δὲ τόδε· Δωρίχα, ὀστέα μὲν σ’ ἁπαλῆς κόσμησ’ ἀπόδεσμα χαίτης ἥ τε μύρων ἔκπνοος ἀμπεχόνη, ᾗ ποτε τὸν χαρίεντα περιστέλλουσα Χάραξον σύγχρους ὀρθρινῶν ἥψαο κισσυβίων. Σαπφῷαι δὲ μένουσι φίλης ἔτι καὶ μενέουσιν ᾠδῆς αἱ λευκαὶ φθεγγόμεναι σελίδες, οὔνομα σὸν μακαριστόν, ὃ Ναύκρατις ὧδε φυλάξει ἔστ’ ἂν ἴῃ Νείλου ναῦς ἔφαλος τενάγη. καὶ Ἀρχεδίκη δ’ ἦν ἐκ τῆς Ναυκράτεως καὶ αὐτὴ ἑταίρα καλή. φιλεῖ γάρ πως ἡ Ναύκρατις, ὡς ὁ Ἡρόδοτός φησιν, ἐπαφροδίτους ἔχειν τὰς ἑταίρας.
There was also a certain courtesan named Sappho, a native of Eresus, who was in love with the beautiful Phaon, and she was very celebrated, as Nymphis relates in his Voyage round Asia. But Nicarete of Megara, who was a courtesan, was not a woman of ignoble birth, but she was born of free parents, and was very well calculated to excite affection by reason of her accomplishments, and she was a pupil of Stilpon the philosopher. There was also Bilisticha the Argive, who was a very celebrated courtesan, and who traced her descent back to the Atridæ, as those historians relate who have written the history of the affairs of Argolis. There was also a courtesan named Leæna, whose name is very celebrated, and she was the mistress of Harmodius, who slew the tyrant. And she, being tortured by command of Hippias the tyrant, died under the torture without having said a word. Stratocles the orator also had for his mistress a courtesan whose name was Leme, and who was nicknamed Parorama, because she used to let whoever chose come to her for two drachmas, as Gorgias says in his treatise on Courtesans. Now though Myrtilus appeared to be intending to say no more after this, he resumed his subject, and said:—But I was nearly forgetting, my friends, to tell you of the Lyda of Antimachus, and also of her namesake Lyda, who was also a courtesan and the mistress of Lamynthius the Milesian. For each of these poets, as Clearchus tells us in his Tales of Love, being inflamed with love for the barbarian Lyde, wrote poems, the one in elegiac, and the other in lyric verse, and they both entitled their poems “Lyde.” I omitted also to mention the female flute-player Nanno, the mistress of Mimnermus, and Leontium, the mistress of Hermesianax of Colophon. For he inscribed with her name, as she was his mistress, three books of elegiac poetry, in the third of which he gives a catalogue of things relating to Love; speaking in the following manner:— You know, too, how Œager's much-loved son,Skilfully playing on the Thracian harp,Brought back from hell his dear Agriope,And sail'd across th' inhospitable landWhere Charon drags down in his common boatThe souls of all the dead; and far resoundsThe marshy stream slow creeping through the reedsThat line the death-like banks. But Orpheus daredWith fearless soul to pass that lonely wave,Striking his harp with well-accustom'd hand.And with his lay he moved the pitiless gods,And various monsters of unfeeling hell.He raised a placid smile beneath the browsOf grim Cocytus; he subdued the glanceSo pitiless of the fierce, implacable dog,Who sharpen'd in the flames his fearful bark,Whose eye did glare with fire, and whose headsWith triple brows struck fear on all who saw.He sang, and moved these mighty sovereigns;So that Agriope once again did breatheThe breath of life. Nor did the son of Mene,Friend of the Graces, the sweet-voiced Musæus,Leave his Antiope without due honour,Who, amid the virgins sought by many suitorsIn holiest Eleusis' sacred soil,Sang the loud joyful song of secret oracles,Priestess of Rharian Ceres, warning men.And her renown to Pluto's realms extends.Nor did these bards alone feel Cupid's sway;The ancient bard, leaving Bœotia's halls,Hesiod, the keeper of all kinds of learning,Came to fair Ascra's Heliconian village,Where long he sought Eoia's wayward love;Much he endured, and many books he wrote,The maid the inspiring subject of his song.And that great poet whom Jove's Fate protects,Sweetest of all the votaries of the muse,Immortal Homer, sought the rocky isleOf Ithaca, moved by love for all the virtueAnd beauty of the chaste Penelope.Much for her sake he suffer'd; then he soughtA barren isle far from his native land,And wept the race of Icarus, and of AmyclusAnd Sparta, moved by his own woes' remembrances.Who has not heard of sweet Mimnermus' fame;Parent of plaintive elegiac verses,Which to his lyre in sweetest sounds he sangMuch did he suffer, burning with the loveOf cruel Nanno; and full oft inflamedWith ardent passion, did he feast with her,Breathing his love to his melodious pipe;And to his hate of fierce HermobiusAnd Pherecles, tuneful utterance he gave.Antimachus, too, felt the flame inspiredBy Lydian Lyde; and he sought the streamOf golden-waved Pactolus, where he laidHis lost love underneath the tearless earth,And weeping, went his way to Colophon;And with his wailing thus sweet volumes fill'd,Shunning all toil or other occupation.How many festive parties frequent rangWith the fond love of Lesbian Alcæus,Who sang the praises of the amorous Sappho,And grieved his Teian rival, breathing songsSuch as the nightingale would gladly imitate;For the divine Anacreon also soughtTo win the heart of the sacred poetess,Chief ornament of all the Lesbian bands;And so he roved about, now leaving Samos,Now parting from his own enslaved land,Parent of vines, to wine-producing Lesbos;And often he beheld Cape Lectum there,Across th' Aeolian wave. But greatest of all,The Attic bee oft left its rugged hill,Singing in tragic choruses divine,Bacchus and Love * ** * * *I tell, besides, how that too cautious man,Who earn'd deserved hate from every woman,Stricken by a random shot, did not escapeNocturnal pangs of Love; but wander'd o'erThe Macedonian hills and valleys green,Smitten with love for fair Argea, whoKept Archelaus' house, till the angry godFound a fit death for cold Euripides,Striving with hungry hounds in vain for life.Then there's the man whom, mid Cythera's rocks;The Muses rear'd, a faithful worshipperOf Bacchus and the flute, Philoxenus:Well all men know by what fierce passion movedHe to this city came; for all have heardHis praise of Galatea, which he sangAmid the sheepfolds. And you likewise knowThe bard to whom the citizens of CosA brazen statue raised to do him honour,And who oft sang the praises of his Battis,Sitting beneath a plane-tree's shade, Philetas;In verses that no time shall e'er destroy.Nor do those men whose lot in life is hard,Seeking the secret paths of high philosophy,Or those whom logic's mazes hold in chains,Or that laborious eloquence of words,Shun the sharp struggle and sweet strife of Love;But willing, follow his triumphant car.Long did the charms of fair Theano bindThe Samian Pythagoras, who laid bareThe tortuous mysteries of geometry;Who all the mazes of the sphere unfolded,And knew the laws which regulate the world,The atmosphere which doth surround the world,And motions of the sun, and moon, and stars.Nor did the wisest of all mortal men,Great Socrates, escape the fierce contagion,But yielded to the fiery might of Venus,And to the fascinations of the sex,Laying his cares down at Aspasia's feet;And though all doubts of nature he could solve,He found no refuge from the pursuit of Love.Love, too, did draw within the narrow IsthmusThe Cyrenean sage: and winning Lais,With her resistless charms, subdued and boundWise Aristippus, who philosophy.Deserted, and preferr'd a trifling life.
καὶ ἡ ἐξ Ἐρέσου δὲ τῆς ποιητρίας ὁμώνυμος ἑταίρα Σαπφὼ τοῦ καλοῦ Φάωνος ἐρασθεῖσα περιβόητος ἦν, ὥς φησι Νυμφόδωρος ἐν Περίπλῳ Ἀσίας. Νικαρέτη δὲ ἡ Μεγαρὶς οὐκ ἀγεννὴς ἦν ἑταίρα, ἀλλὰ καὶ γονέων ἕνεκα καὶ κατὰ παιδείαν ἐπέραστος ἦν, ἠκροᾶτο δὲ Στίλπωνος τοῦ φιλοσόφου. Βιλιστίχη δ’ ἡ Ἀργεία ἑταίρα καὶ αὐτὴ ἔνδοξος, τὸ γένος ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀτρειδῶν σῴζουσα, ὡς οἱ τὰ Ἀργολικὰ γράψαντες ἱστοροῦσιν. ἔνδοξος δ’ ἐστὶν καὶ Λέαινα ἡ ἑταίρα, Ἁρμοδίου ἐρωμένη τοῦ τυραννοκτονήσαντος· ἥτις καὶ αἰκιζομένη ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ Ἱππίαν τὸν τύραννον οὐδὲν ἐξειποῦσα ἐναπέθανεν ταῖς βασάνοις. Στρατοκλῆς δ’ ὁ ῥήτωρ ἐρωμένην εἶχε τὴν ἐπικληθεῖσαν Λήμην ἑταίραν, τὴν καλουμένην Παρόραμα καὶ Δίδραχμον διὰ τὸ καὶ δύο δραχμῶν φοιτᾶν πρὸς τὸν βουλόμενον, ὥς φησι Γοργίας ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἑταιρῶν. ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁ Μυρτίλος μέλλων σιωπᾶν “ἀλλὰ μικροῦ, ἔφη, ἄνδρες φίλοι, ἐξελαθόμην ὑμῖν εἰπεῖν τήν τε Ἀντιμάχου Λυδήν, προσέτι δὲ καὶ τὴν ὁμώνυμον ταύτης ἑταίραν Λυδὴν ἣν ἠγάπα Λαμύνθιος ὁ Μιλήσιος. ἑκάτερος γὰρ τούτων τῶν ποιητῶν, ὥς φησι Κλέαρχος ἐν τοῖς Ἐρωτικοῖς, τῆς βαρβάρου Λυδῆς εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν καταστὰς ἐποίησεν ὁ μὲν ἐν ἐλεγείοις, ὁ δ’ ἐν μέλει τὸ καλούμενον ποίημα Λυδήν. παρέλιπον δὲ καὶ τὴν Μιμνέρμου αὐλητρίδα Ναννὼ καὶ τὴν Ἑρμησιάνακτος τοῦ Κολοφωνίου Λεόντιον· ἀπὸ γὰρ ταύτης ἐρωμένης αὐτῷ γενομένης ἔγραψεν ἐλεγειακὰ τρία βιβλία, ὧν ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ κατάλογον ποιεῖται ἐρωτικῶν, οὑτωσί πως λέγων οἵην μὲν φίλος υἱὸς ἀνήγαγεν Οἰάγροιο ᾽ ᾽Ἀγριόπην Θρῇσσαν στειλάμενος κιθάρην Ἁιδόθεν ἔπλευσεν δὲ κακὸν καὶ ἀπειθέα χῶρον, ἔνθα Χάρων κοινὴν ἕλκεται εἰς ἄκατον ψυχὰς οἰχομένων, λίμνῃ δ’ ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἀυτεῖ ῥεῦμα διὲκ μεγάλων ῥυομένῃ δονάκων. ἀλλ’ ἔτλη παρὰ κῦμα μονόζωστος κιθαρίζων Ὀρφεύς, παντοίους δ’ ἐξανέπεισε θεούς· κωκυτὸν τ’ ἀθέμιστον ὑπ’ ὀφρύσι μηνίσαντα εἶδε, καὶ αἰνοτάτου βλέμμ’ ὑπέμεινε κυνός, ἐν πυρὶ μὲν φωνὴν τεθοωμένου, ἐν πυρὶ δ’ ὄμμα σκληρόν, τριστοίχοις δεῖμα φέρον κεφαλαῖς. ἔνθεν ἀοιδιάων μεγάλους ἀνέπεισεν ἄνακτας Ἀγριόπην μαλακοῦ πνεῦμα λαβεῖν βιότου. οὐ μὴν οὐδ’ υἱὸς Μήνης ἀγέραστον ἔθηκεν Μουσαῖος, Χαρίτων ἤρανος, Ἀντιόπην· ἥ τε πολὺν μύστῃσιν Ἐλευσῖνος παρὰ πέζαν εὐασμὸν κρυφίων ἐξεφόρει λογίων, Ῥάριον ὀργειῶνα νόμῳ διαπομπεύουσα Δήμητρα, γνωστὴ δ’ ἐστὶ καὶ εἰν Ἀίδῃ. φημὶ δὲ καὶ Βοιωτὸν ἀποπρολιπόντα μέλαθρον Ἡσίοδον, πάσης ἤρανον ἱστορίης, Ἀσκραίων ἐσικέσθαι ἐρῶνθ’ Ἑλικωνίδα κώμην ἔνθεν ὃ γ’ Ἠοίην μνώμενος Ἀσκραικὴν πόλλ’ ἔπαθεν, πάσας δὲ λόγων ἀνεγράψατο βίβλους ὑμνῶν, ἐκ πρώτης παιδὸς ἀνερχόμενος. αὐτὸς δ’ οὗτος ἀοιδός, ὃν ἐκ Διὸς αἶσα φυλάσσει ἥδιστον πάντων δαίμονα μουσοπόλων, λεπτυνθεὶς Ἰθάκην ἐνετείνατο θεῖος Ὅμηρος ᾠδῇσιν πινυτῆς εἵνεκα Πηνελόπης· ἣν διὰ πολλὰ παθὼν ὀλίγην ἐσενάσσατο νῆσον, πολλὸν ἀπ’ εὐρείης λειπόμενος πατρίδος· ἔκλεε δ’ Ἰκαρίου τε γένος καὶ δῆμον Ἀμύκλου καὶ Σπάρτην, ἰδίων ἁπτόμενος παθέων· Μίμνερμος δὲ τὸν ἡδὺν ὃς εὕρετο πολλὸν ἀνατλὰς ἦχον καὶ μαλακοῦ πνεῦμ’ ἀπὸ πενταμέτρου, καίετο μὲν Ναννοῦς· πολιῷ δ’ ἐπὶ πολλάκι λωτῷ κημωθεὶς κώμους εἶχε σὺν Ἑξαμύῃ. ἤρεθε δ’ Ἑρμόβιον τὸν ἀεὶ βαρὺν ἠδὲ Φερεκλῆν ἐχθρόν, μισήσας οἷ’ ἀνέπεμψεν ἔπη. Λυδῆς δ’ Ἀντίμαχος Λυδηίδος ἐκ μὲν ἔρωτος πληγεὶς Πακτωλοῦ ῥεῦμ’ ἐπέβη ποταμοῦ ἀδρανίῃ δὲ θανοῦσαν ὑπὸ ξηρὴν θέτο γαῖαν κλαίων, αἰάζων δ’ ἦλθεν ἀποπρολιπὼν ἄκρην ἐς Κολοφῶνα γόων δ’ ἐνεπλήσατο βίβλους ἱράς, ι ἐκ παντὸς παυσάμενος καμάτου. Λέσβιος Ἀλκαῖος δέ, πόσους ἀνεδέξατο κώμους, Σαπφοῦς φορμίζων ἱμερόεντα πόθον, γινώσκεις, ὁ ο ἀοιδὸς ἀηδόνος ἠράσαθ’ ὕμνων Τήιον ἀλγύνων ἄνδρα πολυφραδίῃ. καὶ γὰρ τὴν ὁ μελιχρὸς ἐφημίλλητ’ Ἀνακρείων στελλομένην πολλαῖς ἄμμιγα Λεσβιάσιν· φοίτα δ’ ἄλλοτε μὲν λείπων Σάμον, ἄλλοτε δ᾽ - αὐτὴν οἰνηρῇ δείρῃ κεκλιμένην πατρίδα, Λέσβον ἐς εὔοινον· τὸ δὲ Μύσιον εἴσιδε Λέκτον πολλάκις Αἰολικοῦ κύματος ἀντιπέρας. Ἀτθὶς δ’ οἷα μέλισσα πολυπρήωνα Κολώνην λείπουσ’ ἐν τραγικαῖς ᾖδε χοροστασίαις Βάκχον καὶ τὸν Ἔρωτα Θεωρίδος Ἠριγόνης τε ἅς ποτε γηραιῷ Ζεὺς ἔπορεν Σοφοκλεῖ. φημὶ δὲ καὶ κεῖνον τὸν ἀεὶ πεφυλαγμένον ἄνδρα καὶ πάντων μῖσος κτώμενον ι ἐκ συνοχῶν πάσας ἀμφὶ γυναῖκας ὑπὸ σκολιοῖο τυπέντα τόξου νυκτερινὰς οὐκ ἀποθέσθ’ ὀδύνας· ἀλλὰ Μακηδονίης πάσας κατενίσατο λαύρας αἰάζων, μέθεπεν δ’ Ἀρχέλεω ταμίην εἰσόκε δὴ δαίμων Εὐριπίδη εὕρετ’ ὄλεθρον, Ἀρριβίου στυγνῶν ἀντιάσαντι κυνῶν. ἄνδρα δὲ τὸν Κυθέρηθεν, ὃν ἐθρέψαντο τιθῆναι Βάκχου καὶ λωτοῦ πιστότατον ταμίην Μοῦσαι παίδευσάν τε Φιλόξενον, οἷα τιναχθεὶς Ὀρτυγίην ταύτης ἦλθε διὰ πτόλεως, γινώσκεις, ἀίουσα μέγαν πόθον ὃν Γαλατείη· αὐτοῖς μηλείοις θήκαθ’ ὑπὸ προγόνοις. οἶσθα δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀοιδόν, ὃν Εὐρυπύλου πολιῆται Κῷοι χάλκειον στῆσαν ὑπὸ πλατάνῳ Βιττίδα μολπάζοντα θοήν, περὶ πάντα Φιλίταν ῥήματα καὶ πᾶσαν τρυόμενον λαλιήν. οὐδὲ μὲν οὐδ’ ὁπόσοι σκληρὸν βίον ἐστήσαντο ἀνθρώπων, σκοτιὴν μαιόμενοι σοφίην, οὓς αὐτὴ περὶ πυκνὰ λόγοις ἐσφίγξατο μῆτις καὶ δεινὴ μύθων κῆδος ἔχουσ’ ἀρετή, οὐδ’ οἵδ’ αἰνὸν ἔρωτος ἀπεστρέψαντο κυδοιμὸν μαινόμενον, δεινὸν δ’ ἦλθον ὑφ’ ἡνίοχον. οἵη μὲν Σάμιον μανίη κατέδησε Θεανοῦς Πυθαγόρην, ἑλίκων κομψὰ γεωμετρίης ι εὑρόμενον, καὶ κύκλον ὅσον περιβάλλεται αἰθὴρ βαιῇ ἐνὶ σφαίρῃ πάντ’ ἀπομασσόμενον. οἵῳ δ’ ἐχλίηνεν ὃν ἔξοχον ἔχρη Ἀπόλλων ἀνθρώπων εἶναι Σωκράτη ἐν σοφίῃ Κύπρις μηνίουσα πυρὸς μένει, ἐκ δὲ βαθείης ψυχῆς κουφοτέρας ἐξεπόνησ’ ἀνίας, οἰκί’ ἐς Ἀσπασίης πωλεύμενος· οὐδέ τι τέκμαρ εὗρε, λόγων πολλὰς εὑρόμενος διόδους. ἄνδρα δὲ Κυρηναῖον ἔσω πόθος ἔσπασεν ᾽Ἰσθμοῦ δεινός, ὅτ’ Ἀπιδανῆς Λαίδος ἠράσατο ὀξὺς Ἀρίστιππος, πάσας δ’ ἠνήνατο λέσχας φεύγων, οὐδαμινόν τ’ ἐξεφόρησε βίον.
But in this Hermesianax is mistaken where he represents Sappho and Anacreon as contemporaries. For the one lived in the time of Cyrus and Polycrates; but Sappho lived in the reign of Alyattes, the father of Croesus. But Chameleon, in his treatise on Sappho, does assert that some people say that these verses were made upon her by Anacreon—Love, the golden-haired god,Struck me with his purple ball,And with his many wiles doth seizeAnd challenge me to sport with him.But she-and she from Lesbos comes,That populous and wealthy isle—Laughs at my hair and calls it grey,And will prefer a younger lover.And he says, too, that Sappho says this to him—You, O my golden-throned muse,Did surely dictate that sweet hymn,Which the noble Teian bard,From the fair and fertile isle,Chief muse of lovely womanhood,Sang with his dulcet voice. But it is plain enough in reality that this piece of poetry is not Sappho's. And I think myself that Hermesianax is joking concerning the love of Anacreon and Sappho. For Diphilus the comic poet, in his play called Sappho, has represented Archilochus and Hipponax as the lovers of Sappho. Now it appears to me, my friends, that I have displayed some diligence in getting up this amorous catalogue for you, as I myself am not a person so mad about love as Cynulcus, with his calumnious spirit, has represented me. I confess, indeed, that I am amorous, but I do deny that I am frantic on the subject.And why should I dilate upon my sorrows,When I may hide them all in night and silence?as Aeschylus the Alexandrian has said in his Amphitryon. And this is the same Aeschylus who composed the Messenian poems—a man entirely without any education.
ἐν τούτοις ὁ Ἑρμησιάναξ σφάλλεται συγχρονεῖν οἰόμενος Σαπφὼ καὶ Ἀνακρέοντα, τὸν μὲν κατὰ Κῦρον καὶ Πολυκράτην γενόμενον, τὴν δὲ κατ’ Ἀλυάττην τὸν Κροίσου πατέρα. χαμαιλέων δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ Σαπφοῦς καὶ λέγειν τινάς φησιν εἰς αὐτὴν πεποιῆσθαι ὑπὸ Ἀνακρέοντος τάδε· σφαίρῃ δεῦτέ με πορφυρέῃ βάλλων χρυσοκόμης Ἔρως νήνι ποικιλοσαμβάλῳ συμπαίζειν προκαλεῖται, ἡ δ᾽, ἐστὶν γὰρ ἀπ’ εὐκτίτου Λέσβου, τὴν μὲν ἐμὴν κόμην, λευκὴ γάρ, καταμέμφεται, πρὸς δ’ ἄλλην τινὰ χάσκει. καὶ τὴν Σαπφὼ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ταῦτά φησιν εἰπεῖν κεῖνον, ὦ χρυσόθρονε Μοῦσ᾽, ἔνισπες ὕμνον, ἐκ τᾶς καλλιγύναικος ἐσθλᾶς Τήιος χώρας ὃν ἄειδε τερπνῶς πρέσβυς ἀγαυός. ὅτι δὲ οὔκ ἐστι Σαπφοῦς τοῦτο τὸ ᾆσμα παντί που δῆλον. ἐγὼ δὲ ἡγοῦμαι παίζειν τὸν Ἑρμησιάνακτα περὶ τούτου τοῦ ἔρωτος, καὶ γὰρ Δίφιλος ὁ κωμῳδιοποιὸς πεποίηκεν ἐν Σαπφοῖ δράματι Σαπφοῦς ἐραστὰς Ἀρχίλοχον καὶ Ἱππώνακτα. ταῦθ’ ὑμῖν, ὦ ἑταῖροι, οὐκ ἀμερίμνως δοκῶ τὸν ἐρωτικὸν τοῦτον πεποιῆσθαι κατάλογον, οὐκ ὢν οὕτως ἐρωτομανὴς ὡς διαβάλλων μ’ εἴρηκεν ὁ Κύνουλκος, ἀλλ’ ἐρωτικὸς μὲν εἶναι ὁμολογῶ, ἐρωτομανὴς δὲ οὔ. τίς δ’ ἔστ’ ἀνάγκη δυστυχεῖν ἐν πλείοσιν, ἐξὸν σιωπᾶν κἀν σκότῳ κρύπτειν τάδε; Αἰσχύλος ἔφη ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεὺς ἐν Ἀμφιτρύωνι. οὗτος δέ ἐστιν Αἰσχύλος ὁ καὶ τὰ Μεσσηνιακὰ ἔπη συνθείς, ἀνὴρ εὐπαίδευτος.
Therefore I, considering that Love is a mighty and most powerful deity, and that the Golden Venus is so too, recollect the verses of Euripides on the subject, and say—Dost thou not see how great a deityResistless Venus is? No tongue can tell,No calculation can arrive at allHer power, or her dominions' vast extent;She nourishes you and me and all mankind,And I can prove this, not in words alone,But facts will show the might of this fair goddess.The earth loves rain when the parch'd plains are dry,And lose their glad fertility of yieldFrom want of moisture. Then the ample heaven,When fill'd with rain, and moved by Venus' power,Loves to descend to anxious earth's embrace;Then when these two are join'd in tender loveThey are the parents of all fruits to us,They bring them forth, they cherish them; and soThe race of man both lives and flourishes. And that most magnificent poet Aeschylus, in his Danaides, introduces Venus herself speaking thus—Then, too, the earth feels love, and longs for wedlock,And rain, descending from the amorous air,Impregnates his desiring mate; and sheBrings forth delicious food for mortal man,—Herds of fat sheep, and corn, the gift of Ceres;The trees love moisture, too, and rain descendsT' indulge their longings, I alone the cause.
ὑπολαμβάνων οὖν μέγαν εἶναι δαίμονα καὶ δυνατώτατον τὸν Ἔρωτα, προσέτι τε καὶ τὴν Ἀφροδίτην τὴν χρυσῆν, τὰ Εὐριπίδου ἐπὶ νοῦν λαμβάνων λέγω· τὴν Ἀφροδίτην οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅση θεός; ἣν οὐδ’ ἂν εἴποις οὐδὲ μετρήσειας ἂν ὅση πέφυκε κἀφ’ ὅσον διέρχεται. αὕτη τρέφει σὲ κἀμὲ καὶ πάντας βροτούς. τεκμήριον δέ μὴ λόγῳ μόνον μάθῃς, ἔργῳ δὲ δείξω τὸ σθένος τὸ τῆς θεοῦ ἐρᾷ μὲν ὄμβρου γαῖ᾽, ὅταν ξηρὸν πέδον ἄκαρπον αὐχμῷ νοτίδος ἐνδεῶς ἔχῃ. ἐρᾷ δ’ ὁ σεμνὸς οὐρανὸς πληρούμενος ὄμβρου πεσεῖν εἰς γαῖαν Ἀφροδίτης ὕπο. ὅταν δὲ συμμιχθῆτον ἐς ταὐτὸν δύο, φύουσιν ἡμῖν πάντα καὶ τρέφουσ’ ἅμα, δι’ ὧν βρότειον ζῇ τε καὶ θάλλει γένος. καὶ ὁ σεμνότατος δ’ Αἰσχύλος ἐν ταῖς Δαναίσιν αὐτὴν παράγει τὴν Ἀφροδίτην λέγουσαν· ἐρᾷ μὲν ἁγνὸς οὐρανὸς τρῶσαι χθόνα, ἔρως δὲ γαῖαν λαμβάνει γάμου τυχεῖν· ὄμβρος δ’ ἀπ’ εὐνάοντος οὐρανοῦ πεσὼν ἔκυσε γαῖαν· ἡ δὲ τίκτεται βροτοῖς μήλων τε βοσκὰς καὶ βίον Δημήτριον δενδρῶτις ὥρα δ’ ἐκ νοτίζοντος γάμου ι- τέλειος ἐστί. τῶν δ’ ἐγὼ παραίτιος.
And again, in the Hippolytus of Euripides, Venus says—And all who dwell to th' eastward of the sea,And the Atlantic waves, all who beholdThe beams of the rising and the setting sun,Know that I favour those who honour me,And crush all those who boast themselves against me. And, therefore, in the case of a young man who had every other imaginable virtue, this one fault alone, that he did not honour Venus, was the cause of his destruction. And neither Diana, who loved him exceedingly, nor any other of the gods or demi-gods could defend him; and accordingly, in the words of the same poet,—Whoe'er denies that Love's the only god,Is foolish, ignorant of all that's true,And knows not him who is the greatest deityAcknowledged by all nations. And the wise Anacreon, who is in everybody's mouth, is always celebrating love. And, accordingly, the admirable Critias also speaks of him in the following manner:—Teos brought forth, a source of pride to Greece,The sweet Anacreon, who with sweet notes twinedA wreath of tuneful song in woman's praise,The choicest ornament of revelling feasts,The most seductive charm; a match for flutes'Or pipes' shrill aid, or softly moving lyre:O Teian bard, your fame shall never die;Age shall not touch it; while the willing slaveMingles the wine and water in the bowl,And fills the welcome goblet for the guests;While female bands, with many twinkling feet,Lead their glad nightly dance; while many drops,Daughters of these glad cups; great Bacchus' juice,Fall with good omen on the cottabus dish.
ἐν Ἱππολύτῳ Εὐριπιδείῳ πάλιν ἡ Ἀφροδίτη φησίν ὅσοι τε Πόντου τερμόνων τ’ Ἀτλαντικῶν ναίουσιν εἴσω φῶς ὁρῶντες ἡλίου, τοὺς μὲν σέβοντας τἀμὰ πρεσβεύω κράτη, σφάλλω δ’ ὅσοι φρονοῦσιν εἰς ἡμᾶς μέγα. νεανίσκῳ γὰρ τὴν πᾶσαν ἀρετὴν ἔχοντι τοῦτο μόνον τὸ ἁμάρτημα προσόν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐτίμα τὴν Ἀφροδίτην, αἴτιον ἐγένετο τοῦ ὀλέθρου· καὶ οὔτε ἡ Ἄρτεμις ἡ περισσῶς ἀγαπήσασα οὔτε τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν τις ἢ δαιμόνων ἐβοήθησεν αὐτῷ. κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν οὖν ποιητὴν· ὅστις δ’ Ἔρωτα μὴ μέγαν κρίνει θεόν, ἢ σκαιός ἐστιν ἢ καλῶν ἄπειρος ὢν οὐκ οἶδε τὸν μέγιστον ἀνθρώποις θεόν. ὃν ὁ σοφὸς ὑμνῶν αἰεί ποτε Ἀνακρέων πᾶσίν ἐστιν διὰ στόματος, λέγει οὖν περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ κράτιστος Κριτίας τάδε· τὸν δὲ γυναικείων μελέων πλέξαντα πότ’ ᾠδὰς ἡδὺν Ἀνακρείοντα Τέως εἰς Ἑλλάδ᾽ ἀνῆγεν, συμποσίων ἐρέθισμα, γυναικῶν ἠπερόπευμα, αὐλῶν ἀντίπαλον, φιλοβάρβιτον, ἡδύν, ἄλυπον. οὒ ποτέ σου φιλότης γηράσεται οὐδὲ θανεῖται, ἒς τ’ ἂν ὕδωρ οἴνῳ συμμιγνύμενον κυλίκεσσι παῖς διαπομπεύῃ, προπόσεις ἐπὶ δεξιὰ νωμῶν, παννυχίδας θ’ ἱερὰς θήλεις χοροὶ ἀμφιέπωσιν, πλάστιγξ θ’ ἡ χαλκοῦ θυγάτηρ ἐπ’ ἄκραισι καθίζῃ κοττάβου ὑψηλαῖς κορυφαῖς Βρομίου ψακάδεσσιν.
But Archytas the Harmonist, as Chamæleon calls him, says that Alcman was the original poet of amatory songs, and that he was the first poet to introduce melodies inciting to lawless indulgence,.... being, with respect to women.... On which account he says in one of his odes—But Love again, so Venus wills,Descends into my heart,And with his gentle dew refreshes me.He says also that he was in a moderate degree in love with Megalostrate, who was a poetess, and who was able to allure lovers to her by the charms of her conversation. And he speaks thus concerning her—This gift, by the sweet Muse inspired,That lovely damsel gave,The golden-hair'd Megalostrate. And Stesichorus, who was in no moderate degree given to amorous pursuits, composed many poems of this kind; which in ancient times were called παιδιὰ and παιδικά. And, in fact, there was such emulation about composing poems of this sort, and so far was any one from thinking lightly of the amatory poets, that Aeschylus, who was a very great poet, and Sophocles, too, introduced the subject of the loves of men on the stage in their tragedies: the one describing the love of Achilles for Patroclus, and the other, in his Niobe, the mutual love of her sons (on which account some men have given an ill name to that tragedy); and all such passages as those are very agreeable to the spectators.
Ἀρχύτας δ’ ὁ ἁρμονικός, ὥς φησι Χαμαιλέων, Ἀλκμᾶνα γεγονέναι τῶν ἐρωτικῶν μελῶν ἡγεμόνα καὶ ἐκδοῦναι πρῶτον μέλος ἀκόλαστον, ὄντα καταφερῆ περὶ τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τὴν τοιαύτην μοῦσαν εἰς τὰς διατριβάς. διὸ καὶ λέγειν ἔν τινι τῶν μελῶν ἔρως με δαὖτε Κύπριδος ἕκατι γλυκὺς κατείβων καρδίαν ἰαίνει. λέγει δὲ καὶ ὡς τῆς Μεγαλοστράτης οὐ μετρίως ἐρασθείς, ποιητρίας μὲν οὔσης, δυναμένης; δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν ὁμιλίαν τοὺς ἐραστὰς προσελκύσασθαι· λέγει δ’ οὕτως περὶ αὐτῆς· τοῦθ’ ἁδειᾶν Μουσᾶν ἔδειξε δῶρον μάκαιρα παρθένων ἁ ξανθὰ Μεγαλοστράτα. καὶ Στησίχορος δ’ οὐ μετρίως ἐρωτικὸς γενόμενος συνέστησε καὶ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον τῶν ᾀσμάτων· ἃ δὴ καὶ τὸ παλαιὸν ἐκαλεῖτο παίδεια καὶ παιδικά, οὕτω δ’ ἐναγώνιος ἦν ἡ περὶ τὰ ἐρωτικὰ πραγματεία, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἡγεῖτο φορτικοὺς τοὺς ἐρωτικούς, ὥστε καὶ Αἰσχύλος μέγας ὢν ποιητὴς καὶ Σοφοκλῆς ἦγον εἰς τὰ θέατρα διὰ τῶν τραγῳδιῶν τοὺς ἔρωτας, ὁ μὲν τὸν Ἀχιλλέως πρὸς Πάτροκλον, ὁ δ’ ἐν τῇ Νιόβῃ τὸν τῶν παίδων διὸ καὶ παιδεράστριὰν τινες καλοῦσι τὴν τραγῳδίαν καὶ ἐδέχοντο τὰ τοιαῦτα ἄσμενοι οἱ θεαταί.
Ibycus, too, of Rhegium, speaks loudly as follows—In early spring the gold Cydonian apples,Water'd by streams from ever-flowing rivers,Where the pure garden of the Virgins is,And the young grapes, growing beneath the shadeOf ample branches flourish and increase:But Love, who never rests, gives me no shade,Nor any recruiting dew; but like the wind,Fierce rushing from the north, with rapid fire,Urged on by Venus, with its maddening droughtBurns up my heart, and from my earliest youth,Rules o'er my soul with fierce dominion.And Pindar, who was of an exceedingly amorous disposition, says—Oh may it ever be to me to love,And to indulge my love, remote from fear;And do not thou, my mind, pursue a chaseBeyond the present number of your years.On which account Timon, in his Silli, says—There is a time to love, a time to wed,A time to leave off loving;and adds that it is not well to wait until some one else shall say, in the words of this same philosopher—When this man ought to set (δύνειν) he now beginsTo follow pleasure (ἡδύνεσθαι).Pindar also mentions Theoxenus of Tenedos, who was much beloved by him; and what does he say about him?—And now (for seasonable is the time)You ought, my soul, to pluck the flowers of love,Which suit your age.And he who, looking on the brilliant light that beamsFrom the sweet countenance of Theoxenus,Is not subdued by love,Must have a dark discolour'd heart,Of adamant or iron made,And harden'd long in the smith's glowing furnace.That man is scorn'd by bright-eyed Venus.Or else he's poor, and care doth fill his breast;Or else beneath some female insolenceHe withers, and so drags on an anxious life:But I, like comb of wily bees,Melt under Venus's warm rays,And waste away while I beholdThe budding graces of the youth I love.Surely at Tenedos, persuasion soft,And every grace,Abides in the lovely son of wise Agesilas. And many men used to be as fond of having boys for their favourites as women for their mistresses. And this was a frequent fashion in many very well regulated cities of Greece. Accordingly, the Cretans, as I have said before, and the Chalcidians in Eubœa, were very much addicted to the custom of having boy-favourites. Therefore Echemens, in his History of Crete, says that it was not Jupiter who carried off Ganymede, but Minos. But the before-mentioned Chalcidians say that Ganymede was carried off from them by Jupiter; and they show the spot, which they call Harpagius; and it is a place which produces extraordinary myrtles. And Minos abandoned his enmity to the Athenians, (although it had originated in consequence of the death of his son, out of his love for Theseus: and he gave his daughter Phædra to him for his wife,) as Zenis, or Zeneus, the Chian, tells us in his treatise on Country.
καὶ ὁ Ῥηγῖνος δὲ Ἴβυκος βοᾷ καὶ κέκραγεν ἦρι μὲν αἵ τε Κυδώνιαι μαλίδες ἀρδόμεναι ῥόαι τ’ ἐκ ποταμῶν ἵνα παρθένων κᾶπος ἀκήρατος, αἵ τ’ οἰνανθίδες αὐξόμεναι σκιεροῖσιν ὑφ’ ἕρνεσιν οἰναρέοις θαλέθοισιν ἐμοὶ δ’ ἔρος οὐδεμίαν κατάκοιτος ὥραν ἅθ’ ὑπὸ στεροπᾶς φλέγων Θρηίκιος βορέας, ἀίσσων παρὰ Κύπριδος ἀζαλέαις μανίαισιν ἐρεμνὸς ἀθαμβὴς ἐγκρατέως πάϊθεν φυλάσσει ἡμετέρας φρένας. καὶ Πίνδαρος δ’ οὐ μετρίως ὢν ἐρωτικός φησιν εἴη καὶ ἐρᾶν καὶ ἔρωτι. χαρίζεσθαι κατὰ καιρὸν μὴ πρεσβυτέραν ἀριθμοῦ δίωκε, θυμέ, πρᾶξιν, διόπερ καὶ ὁ Τίμων ἐν τοῖς Σίλλοις ἔφη· ὥρη ἐρᾶν, ὥρη δὲ γαμεῖν, ὥρη δὲ πεπαῦσθαι, καὶ μὴ ἀναμένειν ἔστ’ ἂν ἐκεῖνό τις φθέγξηται κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον φιλόσοφον ἡνίκ᾽ ἐχρῆν δύνειν, νῦν ἄρχεται ἡδύνεσθαι. μνησθεὶς δὲ καὶ τοῦ Τενεδίου Θεοξένου ὁ Πίνδαρος, ὃς ἦν αὐτοῦ ἐρώμενος, τί φησιν; χρῆν μὲν κατὰ καιρὸν ἐρώτων δρέπεσθαι, θυμέ, σὺν ἁλικίᾳ· τὰς δὲ Θεοξένου ἀκτῖνας ποτ’ ὄσσων μαρμαρυζοίσας δρακεὶς ὃς μὴ πόθῳ κυμαίνεται, ἐξ ἀδάμαντος ἢ σιδάρου κεχάλκευται μέλαιναν καρδίαν ψυχρᾷ φλογί, πρὸς δ’ Ἀφροδίτας ἀτιμασθεὶς ἑλικογλεφάρου ἢ περὶ χρήμασι μοχθίζει βιαίως ἢ γυναικείῳ θράσει ψυχὰν φορεῖται πᾶσαν ὁδὸν θεραπεύων. ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ θεᾶς ἕκατι κηρὸς ὣς δαχθεὶς ἕλᾳ ἱρᾶν μελισσᾶν τάκομαι, εὖτ’ ἂν ἴδω παίδων νεόγυιον ἐς ἥβαν. ἐν δὲ ἄρα καὶ Τενέδῳ πειθὼ τ’ ἔναιεν καὶ Χάρις υἱὸν ἀνᾶγ’ Ἁγησίλα. ὅλως δὲ τοὺς παιδικοὺς ἔρωτας τῶν ἐπὶ ταῖς θηλείαις προκρίνουσι πολλοί, παρὰ γὰρ τὰς ἄλλας ταῖς εὐνομουμέναις πόλεσιν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος σπουδασθῆναι τόδε τὸ ἔθος. Κρῆτες γοῦν, ὡς ἔφην, καὶ οἱ ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ Χαλκιδεῖς περὶ τὰ παιδικὰ δαιμονίως ἐπτόηνται. Ἐχεμένης γοῦν ἐν τοῖς Κρητικοῖς οὐ τὸν Δία φησὶν ἁρπάσαι τὸν Γανυμήδην ἀλλὰ Μίνωα, οἱ δὲ προειρημένοι Χαλκιδεῖς παρ’ αὑτοῖς φασιν ἁρπασθῆναι τὸν Γανυμήδην ὑπὸ τοῦ Διὸς καὶ τὸν τόπον δεικνύντες Ἁρπάγιον καλοῦσιν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ μυρρίναι διάφοροι πεφύκασιν. καὶ τὴν πρὸς Ἀθηναίους δ’ ἔχθραν διελύσατο Μίνως, καίπερ ἐπὶ θανάτῳ παιδὸς συστᾶσαν, Θησέως ἐρασθεὶς καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα τούτῳ γυναῖκα ἔδωκε Φαίδραν, ὡς Ζῆνις ἢ Ζηνεύς φησιν ὁ Χῖος ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς πατρίδος συγγράμματι.
But Hieronymus the Peripatetic says that the ancients were anxious to encourage the practice of having boy-favourites, because the vigorous disposition of youths, and the confidence engendered by their association with each other, has often led to the overthrow of tyrannies. For in the presence of his favourite, a man would choose to do anything rather than to get the character of a coward. And this was proved in practice in the case of the Sacred Band, as it was called, which was established at Thebes by Epaminondas. And the death of the Pisistratidæ was brought about by Harmodius and Aristogiton; and at Agrigentum in Sicily, the mutual love of Chariton and Melanippus produced a similar result, as we are told by Heraclides of Pontus, in his treatise on Amatory Matters. For Melanippus and Chariton, being informed against as plotting against Phalaris, and being put to the torture in order to compel them to reveal their accomplices, not only did not betray them, but even made Phalaris himself pity them, on account of the tortures which they had undergone, so that he dismissed them with great praise. On which account Apollo, being pleased at this conduct, gave Phalaris a respite from death; declaring this to the men who consulted the Pythian priestess as to how they might best attack him. He also gave them an oracle respecting Chariton, putting the Pentameter before the Hexameter, in the same way as afterwards Dionysius the Athenian did, who was nicknamed the Brazen, in his Elegies; and the oracle runs as follows—Happy were Chariton and Melanippus,Authors of heavenly love to many men. The circumstances, too, that happened to Cratinus the Athenian, are very notorious. For he, being a very beautiful boy, at the time when Epimenides was purifying Attica by human sacrifices, on account of some old pollution, as Neanthes of Cyzicus relates in the second book of his treatise on Sacrifices, willingly gave himself up to secure the safety of the woman who had brought him up. And after his death, Apollodorus, his friend, also devoted himself to death, and so the calamities of the country were terminated. Ad owing to favouritism of this kind, the tyrants (for friendships of this sort were very adverse to their interests) altogether forbad the fashion of making favourites of boys, and wholly abolished it. And some of them even burnt down and rased to the ground the palæstræ, considering them as fortresses hostile to their own citadels; as, for instance, Polycrates the tyrant of Samos did.
Ἱερώνυμος δ’ ὁ περιπατητικὸς περισπουδάστους φησὶν γενέσθαι τοὺς τῶν παίδων ἔρωτας ὅτι πολλάκις ἡ τῶν νέων ἀκμὴ καὶ τὸ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἑταιρικὸν συμφρονῆσαν πολλὰς τυραννίδας καθεῖλεν. παιδικῶν γὰρ παρόντων ἐραστὴς πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἕλοιτ’ ἂν παθεῖν ἢ δειλοῦ δόξαν ἀπενέγκασθαι παρὰ τοῖς παιδικοῖς. ἔργῳ γοῦν τοῦτο ἔδειξεν ὁ συνταχθεὶς Θήβησιν ὑπὸ Ἐπαμινώνδου ἱερὸς λόχος καὶ ὁ κατὰ τῶν Πεισιστρατιδῶν θάνατος ὑπὸ Ἁρμοδίου καὶ Ἀριστογείτονος γενόμενος, περὶ Σικελίαν δ’ ἐν Ἀκράγαντι ὁ Χαρίτωνος καὶ Μελανίππου ἔρως. Μελάνιππος δ’ ἦν τὰ παιδικά, ὥς φησιν Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Ποντικὸς ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἐρωτικῶν, οὗτοι φανέντες ἐπιβουλεύοντες Φαλάριδι καὶ βασανιζόμεναι ἀναγκαζόμενοί τε λέγειν τοὺς συνειδότας οὐ μόνον οὐ κατεῖπον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Φάλαριν αὐτὸν εἰς ἔλεον τῶν βασάνων ἤγαγον, ὡς ἀπολῦσαι αὐτοὺς πολλὰ ἐπαινέσαντα. διὸ καὶ ὁ Ἀπόλλων ἡσθεὶς ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀναβολὴν τοῦ θανάτου τῷ Φαλάριδι ἐχαρίσατο, τοῦτο ἐμφήνας τοῖς πυνθανομένοις τῆς Πυθίας ὅπωσαὐτῷ ἐπιθῶνται ἔχρησεν δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀμφὶ τὸν Χαρίτωνα, προτάξας τοῦ ἑξαμέτρου τὸ πεντάμετρον, καθάπερ ὕστερον καὶ Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἐποίησε ὁ ἐπικληθεὶς Χαλκοῦς ἐν τοῖς λ· ἐλεγείοις. ἐστὶν δὲ ὁ χρησμὸς ὅδε· εὐδαίμων Χαρίτων καὶ Μελάνιππος ἔφυ, θείας ἁγητῆρες ἐφαμερίοις φιλότατος. διαβόητα δ’ ἐστὶν καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ Κρατίνῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίῳ γενόμενα· ὃς μειράκιον ὢν εὔμορφον, Ἐπιμενίδου καθαίροντος τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἀνθρωπείῳ αἵματι διά τινα μύση παλαιά, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Νεάνθης ὁ Κυζικηνὸς ἐν β’ περὶ Τελετῶν, ἑκὼν αὑτὸν ἐπέδωκεν ὁ Κρατῖνος ὑπὲρ τῆς θρεψαμένης· ᾧ καὶ ἐπαπέθανεν ὁ ἐραστὴς Ἀριστόδημος, λύσιν τ’ ἔλαβε τὸ δεινόν. διὰ τοὺς τοιούτους οὖν ἔρωτας οἱ τύραννοι πολέμιοι γὰρ αὐτοῖς αὗται αἱ φιλίαι τὸ παράπαν ἐκώλυον τοὺς παιδικοὺς ἔρωτας, πανταχόθεν αὐτοὺς ἐκκόπτοντες. εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ τὰς παλαίστρας ὥσπερ ἀντιτειχίσματα ταῖς ἰδίαις ἀκροπόλεσιν ἐνεπίμπρασάν τε καὶ κατέσκαψαν· ὡς ἐποίησε Πολυκράτης ὁ Σαμίων τύραννος.
But among the Spartans, as Agnon the Academic philosopher tells us, girls and boys are all treated in the same way before marriage: for the great lawgiver Solon has said—Admiring pretty legs and rosy lips;—as Aeschylus and Sophocles have openly made similar statements; the one saying, in the Myrmidons—You paid not due respect to modesty,Led by your passion for too frequent kisses;—and the other, in his Colchian Women, speaking of Ganymede, says—Inflaming with his beauty mighty Jove. But I am not ignorant that the stories which are told about Cratinus and Aristodemus are stated by Polemo Periegetes, in his Replies to Neanthes, to be all mere inventions. But you, O Cynulcus, believe that all these stories are true, let them be ever so false. And you take the greatest pleasure in all such poems as turn on boys and favourite; of that kind; while the fashion of making favourites of boys was first introduced among the Grecians from Crete, as Timæus informs us. But others say that Laius was the originator of this custom, when he was received in hospitality by Pelops; and that he took a great fancy to his son, Chrysipps, whom he put into his chariot and carried off, and fled with to Thebes. But Praxilla the Sicyonian says that Chrysippus was carried off by Jupiter. And the Celtæ, too, although they have the most beautiful women of all the barbarians, still make great favourites of boys..... And the Persians, according to the statement of Herodotus, learnt from the Greeks to adopt this fashion.
παρὰ δὲ Σπαρτιάταις, ὡς Ἅγνων φησὶν ὁ Ἀκαδημαικός, πρὸ τῶν γάμων ταῖς παρθένους ὡς παιδικοῖς νόμος ἐστὶν ὁμιλεῖν. καὶ γὰρ ὁ νομοθέτης Σόλων ἔφη· μηρῶν ἱμείρων καὶ γλυκεροῦ στόματος. Αἰσχύλος τε καὶ Σοφοκλῆς ἀναφανδὸν ἔφασαν, ὁ μὲν Μυρμιδόσιν σέβας δὲ μηρῶν ἁγνὸν οὐκ ἐπῃδέσω, ὦ δυσχάριστε τῶν πυκνῶν φιλημάτων, ὁ δ’ ἐν Κολχίσιν περὶ Γανυμήδους τὸν λόγον ποιούμενος· μηροῖς ὑπαίθων τὴν Διὸς τυραννίδα. οὐκ ἀγνοῶ δὲ ὅτι τὰ περὶ Κρατῖνον καὶ Ἀριστόδημον πεπλάσθαι φησὶν Πολέμων ὁ περιηγητὴς ἐν ταῖς πρὸς τὸν Νεάνθην Ἀντιγραφαῖς. ὑμεῖς δέ, ὦ Κύνουλκε, τὰς διηγήσεις ταύτας, κἂν ψευδεῖς ὦσιν, ἀληθεῖς εἶναι πιστεύετε, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν ποιημάτων ἃ περὶ τοὺς παιδικούς ἐστιν ἔρωτας ἰδίως μελετᾶτε …, ὁ τοῦ παιδεραστεῖν παρὰ πρώτων Κρητῶν εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας παρελθόντος, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Τίμαιος, ἄλλοι δέ φασι τῶν τοιούτων ἐρώτων κατάρξασθαι Λάιον ξενωθέντα παρὰ Πέλοπι καὶ ἐρασθέντα τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Χρυσίππου, ὃν καὶ ἁρπάσαντα καὶ ἀναθέμενον εἰς ἅρμα εἰς Θήβας φυγεῖν. Πράξιλλα δ’ ἡ Σικυωνία ὑπὸ Διὸς φησιν ἁρπασθῆναι τὸν Χρύσιππον. καὶ Κελτοὶ δὲ τῶν βαρβάρων καίτοι καλλίστας ἔχοντες γυναῖκας παιδικοῖς μᾶλλον χαίρουσιν ὡς πολλάκις ἐνίους ἐπὶ ταῖς δοραῖς μετὰ δύο ἐρωμένων ἀναπαύεσθαι. Πέρσας δὲ παρ’ Ἑλλήνων φησὶν Ἡρόδοτος μαθεῖν τὸ παισὶν χρῆσθαι.
Alexander the king was also very much in the habit of giving in to this fashion. Accordingly, Dicæarchus, in his treatise on the Sacrifice at Troy, says that he was so much under the influence of Bagoas the eunuch, that he embraced him in the sight of the whole theatre; and that when the whole theatre shouted in approval of the action, he repeated it. And Carystius, in his Historic Commentaries, says,—“Charon the Chalcidian had a boy of great beauty, who was a great favourite of his: but when Alexander, on one occasion, at a great entertainment given by Craterus, praised this boy very much, Charon bade the boy go and salute Alexander: and he said, 'Not so, for he will not please me so much as he will vex you.' For though the king was of a very amorous disposition, still he was at all times sufficiently master of himself to have a due regard to decorum, and to the preservation of appearances. And in the same spirit, when he had taken as prisoners the daughters of Darius, and his wife, who was of extraordinary beauty, he not only abstained from offering them any insult, but he took care never to let them feel that they were prisoners at all; but ordered them to be treated in every respect, and to be supplied with everything, just as if Darius had still been in his palace; on which account, Darius, when he heard of this conduct, raised his hands to the Sun and prayed that either he might be king, or Alexander.” But Ibycus states that Talus was a great favourite of Rhadamanthus the Just. And Diotimus, in his Heraclea, says that Eurystheus was a great favourite of Hercules, on which account he willingly endured all his labours for his sake. And it is said that Argynnus was a favourite of Agamemnon; and that they first became acquainted from Agamemnon seeing Argynnus bathing in the Cephisus. And afterwards, when he was drowned in this river, (for he was continually bathing in it,) Agamemnon buried him, and raised a temple on the spot to Venus Argynnis. But Licymnius of Chios, in his Dithyrambics, says that it was Hymenæus of whom Argynnus was a favourite. And Aristocles the harp-player was a favourite of King Antigonus: and Antigonus the Carystian, in his Life of Zeno, writes of him in the following terms: —“Antigonus the king used often to go to sup with Zeno; and once, as he was returning by daylight from some entertainment, he went to Zeno's house, and persuaded him to go with him to sup with Aristocles the harp-player, who was an excessive favourite of the king's.”
φιλόπαις δ’ ἦν ἐκμανῶς καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ βασιλεύς. Δικαίαρχος γοῦν ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς ἐν Ἰλίῳ Θυσίας Βαγώου τοῦ εὐνούχου οὕτως αὐτόν φησιν ἡττᾶσθαι ὡς ἐν ὄψει θεάτρου ὅλου καταφιλεῖν αὐτὸν ἀνακλάσαντα, καὶ τῶν θεατῶν ἐπιφωνησάντων μετὰ κρότου οὐκ ἀπειθήσας πάλιν ἀνακλάσας ἐφίλησεν. Καρύστιος δ’ ἐν Ἱστορικοῖς Ὑπομνήμασι Χάρωνι, φησί, τῷ Χαλκιδεῖ παῖς καλὸς ἦν καὶ εἶχεν εὖ πρὸς αὐτόν. ὡς δ’ Ἀλέξανδρος παρὰ Κρατερῷ αὐτὸν ἐπῄνεσεν γενομένου πότου, ὁ Χάρων ἐκέλευσε τὸν παῖδα καταφιλῆσαι τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον καὶ ὃς ᾽ μηδαμῶς, εἶπεν, οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἐμὲ εὐφρανεῖ ὡς σὲ λυπήσει ὥσπερ γὰρ ἦν ἐρωτικὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος, οὕτως καὶ πρὸς τὸ καθῆκον ἐγκρατὴς καὶ πρὸς τὸ πρεπωδέστατον. αἰχμαλώτους γοῦν λαβὼν τὰς Δαρείου θυγατέρας καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα κάλλει διαπρεπεστάτην οὖσαν οὐ μόνον ἀπέσχετο, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἐκείνας μαθεῖν ἐποίησεν ὅτι εἰσὶν αἰχμάλωτοι, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἔτι Δαρείου ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ ὄντος πάντα αὐταῖς χορηγεῖσθαι ἐκέλευσεν. διόπερ καὶ Δαρεῖος τοῦτο μαθὼν ηὔξατο τῷ Ἡλίῳ τὰς χεῖρας ἀνατείνας ἢ αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν ἢ Ἀλέξανδρον. Ῥαδαμάνθυος δὲ τοῦ δικαίου Ἴβυκος ἐραστήν φησι γενέσθαι Τάλων. Διότιμος δ’ ἐν τῇ Ἡρακλείᾳ Εὐρυσθέα φησὶν Ἡρακλέους γενέσθαι παιδικά, διόπερ καὶ τοὺς ἄθλους ὑπομεῖναι. Ἀγαμέμνονά τε Ἀργύννου ἐρασθῆναι λόγος, ἰδόντα ἐπὶ τῷ Κηφισῷ νηχόμενον· ἐν ᾧ καὶ τελευτήσαντα αὐτὸν συνεχῶς γὰρ ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ τούτῳ ἀπελούετο θάψας εἵσατο καὶ ἱερὸν αὐτόθι Ἀφροδίτης Ἀργυννίδος. Λικύμνιος δ’ ὁ Χῖος ἐν Διθυράμβοις Ἀργύννου φησὶν ἐρώμενον Ὑμέναιον γενέσθαι. Ἀντιγόνου δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐρώμενος ἦν Ἀριστοκλῆς ὁ κιθαρῳδός, περὶ οὗ Ἀντίγονος ὁ Καρύστιος ἐν τῷ Ζήνωνος Βίῳ γράφει οὕτως· Ἀντίγονος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπεκώμαζε τῷ Ζήνωνι. καί ποτε καὶ μεθ’ ἡμέραν ἐλθὼν ἔκ τινος πότου καὶ ἀναπηδήσας πρὸς τὸν Ζήνωνα ἔπεισεν αὐτὸν συγκωμάσαι αὑτῷ πρὸς Ἀριστοκλέα τὸν κιθαρῳδόν, οὗ σφόδρα ἤρα ὁ βασιλεύς.
Sophocles, too, had a great fancy for hating boy-favourites, equal to the addiction of Euripides for women. And accordingly, Ion the poet, in his book on the Arrival of Illustrious Men in the Island of Chios, writes thus:—"I met Sophocles the poet in Chios, when he was sailing to Lesbos as the general: he was a man very pleasant over his wine, and very witty. And when Hermesilaus, who was connected with him by ancient ties of hospitality, and who was also the proxenus of the Athenians, entertained him, the boy who was mixing the wine was standing by the fire, being a boy of a very beautiful complexion, but made red by the fire: so Sophocles called him and said, 'Do you wish me to drink with pleasure? and when he said that he did, he said, 'Well, then, bring me the cup, and take it away again in a leisurely manner.' And as the boy blushed all the more at this, Sophocles said to the guest who was sitting next to him, 'How well did Phrynichus speak when he said—The light of love doth shine in purple cheeks.And a man from Eretria, or from Erythræ, who was a school— master, answered him,—' You are a great man in poetry, O Sophocles; but still Phrynichus did not say well when he called purple cheeks a mark of beauty. For if a painter were to cover the cheeks of this boy with purple paint he would not be beautiful at all. And so it is not well to compare what is beautiful with what is not so.' And on this Sophocles, laughing at the Eretrian, said,—' Then, my friend, I suppose you are not pleased with the line in Simonides which is generally considered among the Greeks to be a beautiful one—The maid pour'd forth a gentle voiceFrom out her purple mouth.And you do not either like the poet who spoke of the golden-haired' Apollo; for if a painter were to represent the hair of the god as actually golden, and not black, the picture would be all the worse. Nor do you approve of the poet who spoke of rosy-fingered. For if any one were to dip his fingers in rosy-coloured paint he would make his hands like those of a purple-dyer, and not of a pretty woman.' And when they all laughed at this, the Eretrian was checked by the reproof; and Sophocles again turned to pursue the conversation with the boy; for he asked him, as he was brushing away the straws from the cup with his little finger, whether he saw any straws: and when he said that he did, he said, 'Blow them away, then, that you may not dirty your fingers.' And when he brought his face near the cup he held the cup nearer to his own mouth, so as to bring his own head nearer to the head of the boy. And when he was very near he took him by the hand and kissed him. And when all clapped their hands, laughing and shouting out, to see how well he had taken the boy in, he said, ' I, my friends, am meditating on the art of generalship, since Pericles has said that I know how to compose poetry, but not how to be a general; now has not this stratagem of mine succeeded perfectly?' And he both said and did many things of this kind in a witty manner, drinking and giving himself up to mirth: but as to political affairs he was not able nor energetic in them, but behaved as any other virtuous Athenian might have done.
φιλομεῖραξ δὲ ἦν ὁ Σοφοκλῆς, ὡς Εὐριπίδης φιλογύνης. Ἴων γοῦν ὁ ποιητὴς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιγραφομέναις Ἐπιδημίαις γράφει οὕτως·Σοφοκλεῖ τῷ ποιητῇ ἐν Χίῳ συνήντησα ὅτε ἔπλει εἰς Λέσβον στρατηγός, ἀνδρὶ παιδιώδει παρ’ οἶνον καὶ δεξιῷ. Ἑρμησίλεω δὲ ξένου οἱ ἐόντος καὶ προξένου Ἀθηναίων ἑστιῶντος αὐτόν, ἐπεὶ παρὰ τὸ πῦρ ἑστεὼς ὁ τὸν οἶνον ἐγχέων παῖς ὡραῖος καὶ ἐρυθρὸς ἐὼν …, δῆλος ἦν πτοεόμενος· εἶπέ τε· ᾽ βούλει με ἡδέως πίνειν; ` φάντος δ’ αὐτοῦ ᾽ βραδέως τοίνυν καὶ πρόσφερέ μοι καὶ ἀπόφερε τὴν κύλικα.᾽ ἔτι πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐρυθριάσαντος τοῦ παιδὸς εἶπε πρὸς τὸν συγκατακείμενον ᾽ ὡς καλῶς Φρύνιχος ἐποίησεν εἴπας· λάμπει δ’ ἐπὶ πορφυρέαις παρῇσι φῶς ἔρωτος.᾽ καὶ πρὸς τόδε ἠμείφθη ὁ Ἐρετριεὺς ἢ Ἐρυθραῖος γραμμάτων ἐὼν διδάσκαλος· ‘σοφὸς μὲν δὴ σύ γε εἶ, ὦ Σοφόκλεις, ἐν ποιήσει· ὅμως μέντοι γε οὐκ εὖ εἴρηκε Φρύνιχος πορφυρέας εἰπὼν τὰς γνάθους τοῦ καλοῦ, εἰ γὰρ ὁ ζωγράφος χρώματι πορφυρέῳ ἐναλείψειε τοῦδε τοῦ παιδὸς τὰς γνάθους, οὐκ ἂν ἔτι καλὸς φαίνοιτο. οὐ κάρτα δεῖ τὸ καλὸν τῷ μὴ καλῷ φαινομένῳ εἰκάζειν.’ ἀναγελάσας ἐπὶ τῷ Ἐρετριεῖ Σοφοκλῆς· οὐδὲ τόδε σοι ἀρέσκει ἄρα, ὦ ξένε, τὸ Σιμωνίδειον, κάρτα δοκέον τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εὖ εἰρῆσθαι· πορφυρέου ἀπὸ στόματος ἱεῖσα φωνὰν παρθένος, οὐδ’ ὁ ποιητής, ἔφη, ὁ λέγων χρυσοκόμαν Ἀπόλλωνα· χρυσέας γὰρ εἰ ἐποίησεν ὁ ζωγράφος τὰς τοῦ θεοῦ κόμας καὶ μὴ μελαίνας, χεῖρον ἂν ἦν τὸ ζωγράφημα. οὐδὲ ὁ φὰς ῥοδοδάκτυλον εἰ γάρ τις εἰς ῥόδεον χρῶμα βάψειε τοὺς δακτύλους, πορφυροβάφου χεῖρας καὶ οὐ γυναικὸς καλῆς ποιήσειεν ἄν γελασάντων δὲ ὁ μὲν Ἐρετριεὺς ἐνωπήθη τῇ ἐπιρραπίξει, ὁ δὲ πάλιν τοῦ παιδὸς τῷ λόγῳ εἴχετο. εἴρετο γάρ μιν ἀπὸ τῆς κύλικος κάρφος τῷ μικρῷ δακτύλῳ ἀφαιρετέοντα, εἰ καθορᾷ τὸ κάρφος. φάντος δὲ καθορᾶν ᾽ ἄπο τοίνυν φύσησον αὐτό, ἵνα μὴ πλύνοιτο ὁ δάκτυλός σευ προσαγαγόντος δ’ αὐτοῦ τὸ πρόσωπον πρὸς τὴν κύλικα ἐγγυτέρω τὴν κύλικα τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ στόματος ἦγεν, ἵνα δὴ ἡ κεφαλῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ ἀσσοτέρα γένηται. ὡς δ’ ἦν οἱ κάρτα πλησίον, προσλαβὼν τῇ χειρὶ ἐφίλησεν. ἐπικροτησάντων δὲ πάντων σὺν γέλωτι καὶ βοῇ ὡς εὖ ὑπηγάγετο τὸν παῖδα, ᾽ μελετῶ, εἶπεν, στρατηγεῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες ἐπειδήπερ Περικλῆς ποιεῖν μέν με ἔφη, στρατηγεῖν δ’ οὐκ ἐπίστασθαι. ἆρ’ οὖν οὐ κατ’ ὀρθόν μοι πέπτωκεν τὸ στρατήγημα; τοιαῦτα πολλὰ δεξιῶς ἔλεγέν τε καὶ ἔπρησσεν ὅτε πίνοι ἢ πράσσοι. τὰ μέντοι πολιτικὰ οὔτε σοφὸς οὔτε ῥεκτήριος ἦν, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἄν τις εἷς τῶν χρηστῶν Ἀθηναίων.