---
title: "Amber, or The Swans · Περὶ τοῦ Ἡλέκτρου ἢ Κύκνων"
author: "Lucian"
translator: "Austin Morris Harmon"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
url: https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-amber/
cite: "Lucian, tr. Austin Morris Harmon, Amber, or The Swans · Περὶ τοῦ Ἡλέκτρου ἢ Κύκνων. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-amber/"
---

# Amber, or The Swans · Περὶ τοῦ Ἡλέκτρου ἢ Κύκνων

*Lucian, tr. Austin Morris Harmon*

Lucian goes to the river Po looking for the amber tears and the singing swans of the myths, and finds neither.

> Greek: ed. Austin Morris Harmon, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0062.tlg005, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Austin Morris Harmon, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0062.tlg005.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## Contents

1. [Sections 1–6](https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-amber/1.md)

## 1. Sections 1–6

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-amber/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-amber/1/#p-N

[¶0] 1. With regard to amber, you doubtless share the general belief in the story that poplars on the banks of the river Eridanus shed tears of it in grief over ‘Phaethon; and that these poplars are the sisters of Phaethon, who out of sorrow for the boy were changed into trees and still drip tears—of amber! Such tales, when I heard them from the lips of the poets, made me expect that if ever I got to the Eridanus, by going underneath one of the poplars and holding out a fold of my cloak I could supply myself with amber by catching a few of their tears.

> Greek: 1. Ἠλέκτρου πέρι καὶ ὑμᾶς δηλαδὴ ὁ μῦθος πέπεικεν, αἰγείρους ἐπὶ τῷ Ἠριδανῷ ποταμῷ δακρύειν αὐτὸ θρηνούσας τὸν Φαέθοντα, καὶ ἀδελφάς γε εἶναι τὰς αἰγείρους ἐκείνας τοῦ Φαέθοντος, εἶτα ὀδυρομένας τὸ μειράκιον ἀλλαγῆναι ἐς τὰ δένδρα, καὶ ἀποστάζειν ἔτι αὐτῶν δάκρυον δῆθεν τὸ ἤλεκτρον. τοιαῦτα γὰρ ἀμέλει καὶ αὐτὸς ἀκούων τῶν ποιητῶν ᾀδόντων ἤλπιζον, εἴ ποτε γενοίμην ἐπὶ τῷ Ἠριδανῷ, ὑπελθὼν μίαν τῶν αἰγείρων ἐκπετάσας τὸ προκόλπιον ὑποδέξεσθαι τῶν δακρύων ὀλίγα, ὡς ἤλεκτρον ἔχοιμι.

[¶1] 2. As a matter of fact, I did visit those parts not long ago (on another errand, to be sure); and as I had to go up the Eridanus, I kept a sharp lookout, but neither poplars nor amber were to be seen. Indeed, the very name of Phaethon was unknown to the natives. At any rate, when I went into the matter and inquired when we should reach the poplars—"the amber-poplars,”—the boatmen laughed and asked me to tell them more plainly what I meant. So I told them the story: that Phaethon was the child of the Sun, and that on coming of age he asked his father to let him drive the car and “do just one day” himself; his father consented, and he was thrown from the car and killed. “And his sisters,” said I, “out of sorrow turned into poplars somewhere in this neighbourhood of yours, on the banks of the Eridanus, at the spot where he fell, and still weep for him with. tears of amber.”

> Greek: 2. καὶ δὴ οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ κατʼ ἄλλο μέν τι χρέος, ἧκον δὲ ὅμως ἐς τὰ χωρία ἐκεῖνα, καὶ — ἔδει γὰρ ἀναπλεῖν κατὰ τὸν Ἠριδανόν — οὔτʼ αἰγείρους εἶδον πάνυ περισκοπῶν οὔτε τὸ ἤλεκτρον, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τοὔνομα τοῦ Φαέθοντος ᾔδεσαν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι. ἀναζητοῦντος γοῦν ἐμοῦ καὶ διαπυνθανομένου, πότε δὴ ἐπὶ τὰς αἰγείρους ἀφιξόμεθα τὰς τὸ ἤλεκτρον, ἐγέλων οἱ ναῦται καὶ ἠξίουν σαφέστερον λέγειν ὅ τι καὶ θέλοιμι· κἀγὼ τὸν μῦθον διηγούμην αὐτοῖς, Φαέθοντα γενέσθαι Ἡλίου παῖδα, καὶ τοῦτον ἐς ἡλικίαν ἐλθόντα αἰτῆσαι παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐλάσαι τὸ ἅρμα, ὡς ποιήσειε καὶ αὐτὸς μίαν ἡμέραν, τὸν δὲ δοῦναι, τὸν δὲ ἀπολέσθαι ἐκδιφρευθέντα, καὶ τὰς ἀδελφὰς αὐτοῦ πενθούσας ἐνταῦθά που, ἔφην, παρʼ ὑμῖν, ἵναπερ καὶ κατέπεσεν, ἐπὶ τῷ Ἠριδανῷ, αἰγείρους γενέσθαι καὶ δακρύειν ἔτι ἐπʼ αὐτῷ τὸ ἤλεκτρον.

[¶2] 3. “Who told you that?” said they. “The cheat and liar! We never saw any driver fall from a car, and we haven't the poplars you speak of. If we had anything of that sort, do you suppose that for two obols we would row or tow our boats upstream, when we could get rich by picking up the tears. of the poplars?”’ This remark struck me uncommonly, and I held my tongue for shame that I had acted like a child, and no mistake, in believing the poets, who are such incredible liars that nothing sensible finds any favour with them. Well, this was one great expectation that I was disappointed in; and I was as vexed as if I had let the amber slip through my fingers, for I was already imagining all the different uses which I should make of it.

> Greek: 3. τίς ταῦτά σοι, ἔφασκον, διηγήσατο ἀπατεὼν καὶ ψευδολόγος ἄνθρωπος; ἡμεῖς δὲ οὔτε ἡνίοχον τινα ἐκπίπτοντα εἴδομεν οὔτε τὰς αἰγείρους ἃς φὴς ἔχομεν. εἰ δὲ ἦν τι τοιοῦτον, οἴει ἡμᾶς δυοῖν ὀβολοῖν ἕνεκα ἐρέττειν ἂν ἢ ἕλκειν τὰ πλοῖα πρὸς ἐναντίον τὸ ὕδωρ, οἷς ἐξῆν πλουτεῖν ἀναλέγοντας τῶν αἰγείρων τὰ δάκρυα; τοῦτο λεχθὲν οὐ μετρίως μου καθίκετο, καὶ ἐσιώπησα αἰσχυνθείς, ὅτι παιδίου τινος ὡς ἀληθῶς ἔργον ἐπεπόνθειν πιστεύσας τοῖς ποιηταῖς ἀπίθανα οὕτως ψευδομένοις, ὡς μηδὲν ὑγιὲς ἀρέσκεσθαι αὐτοῖς. μιᾶς μὲν δὴ ταύτης ἐλπίδος οὐ μικρᾶς ἐψευσμένος ἠνιώμην καθάπερ ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν τὸ ἤλεκτρον ἀπολωλεκώς, ὅς γε ἤδη ἀνέπλαττον ὅσα καὶ οἷα χρήσομαι αὐτῷ.

[¶3] 4. But the other story I thought I should find completely true there—the one about troops of swans that sing on the banks of the river. So I put a second question to the boatmen—for we were still on our way up. “But, how about your swans?” I asked. “At what time do they sing so melodiously, ranged along the river, on this side and on that? People say, at all events, that they were associates of Apollo, men with the gift of song, who somewhere in these parts changed into birds, and for that reason do not forget their music, but still continue to sing.”

> Greek: 4. ἐκεῖνο δὲ καὶ πάνυ ἀληθὲς ᾤμην εὑρήσειν παρʼ αὐτοῖς, κύκνους πολλοὺς ᾄδοντας ἐπὶ ταῖς ὄχθαις τοῦ ποταμοῦ. καὶ αὖθις ἠρώτων τοὺς ναύτας — ἀνεπλέομεν γὰρ ἔτι — ἀλλʼ οἵ γε κύκνοι πηνίκα ὑμῖν τὸ λιγυρὸν ἐκεῖνο ᾄδουσιν ἐφεστῶτες τῷ ποταμῷ ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν; φασὶ γοῦν Ἀπόλλωνος παρέδρους αὐτοὺς ὄντας, ᾠδικοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἐνταῦθά που ἐς τὰ ὄρνεα μεταπεσεῖν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ᾄδειν ἔτι οὐκ ἐκλαθομένους τῆς μουσικῆς.

[¶4] 5. ith a burst of laughter they replied: "Why, man, aren’t you ever going to stop telling lies about our country and our river? We are always on the water, and have worked on the Eridanus since we were children, almost; now and then we see a few swans in the marshes by the river, and they have a very unmusical and feeble croak; crows or daws are Sirens to them. As for the sweet song you speak of, we never heard it or even dreamed of it, so we wonder how these stories about us got to your people.”

> Greek: 5. οἱ δὲ σὺν γέλωτι, Σύ, ἔφησαν, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, οὐ παύσῃ τήμερον καταψευδόμενος τῆς χώρας ἡμῶν καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ; ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀεὶ πλέοντες καὶ ἐκ παίδων σχεδὸν ἐργαζόμενοι ἐν τῷ Ἠριδανῷ ὀλίγους μὲν κύκνους ἐνίοτε ὁρῶμεν ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ κρώζουσιν οὗτοι πάνυ ἄμουσον καὶ ἀσθενές, ὡς τοὺς κόρακας ἢ τοὺς κολοιοὺς Σειρῆνας εἶναι πρὸς αὐτούς, ᾀδόντων δὲ ἡδὺ καὶ οἷον σὺ φὴς οὐδὲ ὄναρ ἀκηκόαμεν· ὥστε θαυμάζομεν πόθεν ταῦτα εἰς ὑμᾶς ἀφίκετο περὶ ἡμῶν.

[¶5] 6. Many such deceptions can be practised on men when they put faith in those who exaggerate everything they tell. Therefore I am now afraid on my own account that you who have just come to town and are about to hear me for the first time may expect to find amber and swans here, and after a while may go away laughing at the men who promised you that ‘such treasures were abundant in my discourse. But I swear that neither you nor anyone else ever heard me make such boasts about my compositions, and never will! Others, to be sure, you can find in plenty of the Eridanus kind: their words distil very gold instead of amber, and they are far more melodious than the swans of poetry. But as for my talk, you already see how simple and matter-of-fact it is, and that there is no - music to it. So look out that you do not set your hopes of me too high, and thereby have an experience like people who see things under water. They expect them to be as large as they looked through the water, from above, when the image was magnified under the light; and when they fish them up, they are annoyed to find them a great deal smaller. I warn you, therefore, at the ‘outset—don’t expect that when you have bailed out the water and exposed my thoughts you will make a great haul, or else you will have yourselves to blame for your expectations!

> Greek: 6. πολλὰ τοιαῦτα ἐξαπατηθῆναι ἔστι πιστεύοντας τοῖς πρὸς τὸ μεῖζον ἕκαστα ἐξηγουμένοις. ὥστε κἀγὼ νῦν δέδια ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ μὴ ὑμεῖς ἄρτι ἀφιγμένοι, καὶ τοῦτο πρῶτον ἀκροασόμενοι ἡμῶν, ἤλεκτρά τινα καὶ κύκνους ἐλπίσαντες εὑρήσειν παρʼ ἡμῖν, ἔπειτα μετʼ ὀλίγον ἀπέλθητε καταγελῶντες τῶν ὑποσχομένων ὑμῖν τοιαῦτα πολλὰ κειμήλια ἐνεῖναι τοῖς λόγοις. ἀλλὰ μαρτύρομαι, ὡς ἐμοῦ τοιαῦτα μεγαλαυχουμένου περὶ τῶν ἐμῶν οὔτε ὑμεῖς οὔτε ἄλλος πω ἀκήκοεν, οὐδʼ ἂν ἀκούσειέν ποτε. ἄλλοις μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ὀλίγοις ἐντύχοις ἂν Ἠριδανοῖς τισι καὶ οἷς οὐκ ἤλεκτρον, ἀλλὰ χρυσὸς αὐτὸς ἀποστάζει τῶν λόγων, πολὺ τῶν κύκνων τῶν ποιητικῶν λιγυρωτέροις· τὸ δὲ ἐμὸν ὁρᾶτε ἤδη ὁποῖον ἁπλοϊκὸν καὶ ἄμυθον, οὐδέ τις ᾠδὴ πρόσεστιν. ὥστε ὅρα μὴ τοιοῦτό τι πάθῃς μείζω περὶ ἡμῶν ἐλπίσας, οἷόν τι πάσχουσιν οἱ τὰ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ὁρῶντες· οἰόμενοι γὰρ τηλικαῦτα εἶναι αὐτὰ οἷα διεφαίνετο αὐτοῖς ἄνωθεν, εὐρυνομένης τῆς σκιᾶς πρὸς τὴν αὐγήν, ἐπειδὰν ἀνασπάσωσι, πολλῷ μικρότερα εὑρίσκοντες ἀνιῶνται. ἤδη οὖν σοι προλέγω, ἐκχέας τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἀποκαλύψας τἀμὰ μηδὲν μέγα προσδοκήσῃς ἀνιμήσεσθαι, ἢ σαυτὸν αἰτιάσῃ τῆς ἐλπίδος.