---
title: "Anacharsis, or Athletics · Ἀνάχαρσις ἢ Περὶ Γυμνασίων"
author: "Lucian"
translator: "Austin Morris Harmon"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 1 of 2
url: https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-anacharsis/1/
cite: "Lucian, tr. Austin Morris Harmon, Anacharsis, or Athletics · Ἀνάχαρσις ἢ Περὶ Γυμνασίων, section 1. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-anacharsis/1/"
---

# Anacharsis, or Athletics · Ἀνάχαρσις ἢ Περὶ Γυμνασίων

*Lucian, tr. Austin Morris Harmon*

Solon explains to the puzzled Scythian Anacharsis why Greek young men wrestle in the mud.

> Greek: ed. Austin Morris Harmon, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0062.tlg034, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Austin Morris Harmon, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0062.tlg034.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.

## 1. Sections 1–22

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

[¶0] 1. ANACHARSIS And why are your young men doing all this, Solon? Some of them, locked in each other’s arms, are tripping one another up, while others are choking and twisting each other and grovelling together in the mud, wallowing like swine. Yet, in the beginning, as soon as they had taken their clothes off, they put oil on themselves and took turns at rubbing each other down very peacefully—I saw it. Since then, I do not know what has got into them that they push one another about with lowered heads and butt their foreheads together like rams. And see there! That man picked the other one up by the legs and threw him to the ground, then fell down upon him and will not let him get up, shoving him all down into the mud; and now, after winding his legs about his middle and putting his forearm underneath his throat, he is choking the poor fellow, who is slapping him sidewise on the shoulder, by way of begging off, I take it, so that he may not be strangled completely. Even out of consideration for the oil, they do not avoid getting dirty; they rub off the ointment, plaster themselves with mud, mixed with streams of sweat, and make themselves a laughing-stock, to me at least, by slipping through each other's hands like eels.

> Greek: 1. Ἀνάχαρσις: ταῦτα δὲ ὑμῖν, ὦ Σόλων, τίνος ἕνεκα οἱ νέοι ποιοῦσιν; οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν περιπλεκόμενοι ἀλλήλους ὑποσκελίζουσιν, οἱ δὲ ἄγχουσι καὶ λυγίζουσι καὶ ἐν τῷ πηλῷ συναναφύρονται κυλινδούμενοι ὥσπερ σύες. καίτοι κατʼ ἀρχὰς εὐθὺς ἀποδυσάμενοι — ἑώρων γάρ — λίπα τε ἠλείψαντο καὶ κατέψησε μάλα εἰρηνικῶς ἅτερος τὸν ἕτερον ἐν τῷ μέρει. μετὰ δὲ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι παθόντες ὠθοῦσί τε ἀλλήλους συννενευκότες καὶ τὰ μέτωπα συναράττουσιν ὥσπερ οἱ κριοί. καὶ ἢν ἰδοὺ ἀράμενος ἐκεινοσὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἐκ τοῖν σκελοῖν ἀφῆκεν εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος, εἶτʼ ἐπικαταπεσὼν ἀνακύπτειν οὐκ ἐᾷ, συνωθῶν κάτω εἰς τὸν πηλόν· τέλος δὲ ἤδη περιπλέξας αὐτῷ τὰ σκέλη κατὰ τὴν γαστέρα τὸν πῆχυν ὑποβαλὼν τῷ λαιμῷ ἄγχει ἄθλιον, ὁ δὲ παρακροτεῖ εἰς τὸν ὦμον, ἱκετεύων οἶμαι, ὡς μὴ τέλεον ἀποπνιγείη. καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦ ἐλαίου ἕνεκα φείδονται μὴ μολύνεσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἀφανίσαντες τὸ χρῖσμα καὶ τοῦ βορβόρου ἀναπλησθέντες ἐν ἱδρῶτι ἅμα πολλῷ γέλωτα ἐμοὶ γοῦν παρέχουσιν ὥσπερ αἱ ἐγχέλυες ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν διολισθαίνοντες.

[¶1] 2. Another set is doing the same in the uncovered part of the court, though not in mud. They have a layer of deep sand under them in the pit, as you see, and not only besprinkle one another but of their own accord heap the dust on themselves like so many cockerels, in order that it may be harder to break away in the clinches, I suppose, because the sand takes off the slipperiness and affords a firmer grip on a dry surface.

> Greek: 2. Ἀνάχαρσις: ἕτεροι δὲ ἐν τῷ αἰθρίῳ τῆς αὐλῆς τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο δρῶσιν, οὐκ ἐν πηλῷ οὗτοί γε, ἀλλὰ ψάμμον ταύτην βαθεῖαν ὑποβαλόμενοι ἐν τῷ ὀρύγματι πάττουσίν τε ἀλλήλους καὶ αὐτοὶ ἑκόντες ἐπαμῶνται τὴν κόνιν ἀλεκτρυόνων δίκην, ὡς ἀφυκτότεροι εἶεν ἐν ταῖς συμπλοκαῖς, οἶμαι, τῆς ψάμμου τὸν ὄλισθον ἀφαιρούσης καὶ βεβαιοτέραν ἐν ξηρῷ παρεχούσης τὴν ἀντίληψιν.

[¶2] 3. Others, standing upright, themselves covered with dust, are attacking each other with blows and kicks. This one here looks as if he were going to spew out his teeth, unlucky man, his mouth is so full of blood and sand; he has had a blow on the jaw, as you see. But even the official there does not separate them and break up the fight—I assume from his purple cloak that he is one of the officials; on the contrary, he urges them on and praises the one who struck the blow.

> Greek: 3. Ἀνάχαρσις: οἱ δὲ ὀρθοστάδην κεκονιμένοι καὶ αὐτοὶ παίουσιν ἀλλήλους προσπεσόντες καὶ λακτίζουσιν. οὑτοσὶ γοῦν καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας ἔοικεν ἀποπτύσειν ὁ κακοδαίμων, οὕτως αἵματος αὐτῷ καὶ ψάμμου ἀναπέπλησται τὸ στόμα, πύξ, ὡς ὁρᾷς, παταχθέντος εἰς τὴν γνάθον. ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ὁ ἄρχων οὑτοσὶ διίστησιν αὐτοὺς καὶ λύει τὴν μάχην — τεκμαίρομαι γὰρ τῇ πορφυρίδι τῶν ἀρχόντων τινὰ τοῦτον εἶναι — ὁ δὲ καὶ ἐποτρύνει καὶ τὸν πατάξαντα ἐπαινεῖ.

[¶3] 4. Others in other places are all exerting themselves; they jump up and down as if they were running, but stay in the same place; and they spring high up and kick the air.

> Greek: 4. Ἀνάχαρσις: ἄλλοι δὲ ἀλλαχόθι πάντες ἐγκονοῦσι καὶ ἀναπηδῶσιν ὥσπερ θέοντες ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μένοντες καὶ εἰς τὸ ἄνω συναλλόμενοι λακτίζουσιν τὸν ἀέρα.

[¶4] 5. I want to know, therefore, what good it can be to do all this, because to me at least the thing looks more like insanity than anything else, and nobody can easily convince me that men who act in that way are not out of their minds.

> Greek: 5. Ἀνάχαρσις: ταῦτα οὖν ἐθέλω εἰδέναι τίνος ἀγαθοῦ ἂν εἴη ποιεῖν· ὡς ἔμοιγε μανίᾳ μᾶλλον ἐοικέναι δοκεῖ τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις ἂν ῥᾳδίως μεταπείσειέ με ὡς οὐ παραπαίουσιν οἱ ταῦτα δρῶντες.

[¶5] 6. SOLON It is only natural, Anacharsis, that what they are doing should have that appearance to you, since it is unfamiliar and very much in contrast with Seythian customs. In like manner you yourselves probably have much io your education and training which would appear strange to us Greeks if one of us should look in upon it as you are doing now. But have no fear, my dear sir; it is not insanity, and it is not out of brutality that they strike one another and tumble each other in the mud, or sprinkle each other with dust. The thing has a certain usefulness, not unattended by pleasure, and it gives much strength to their bodies. As a matter of fact, if you stop for some time, as I think you will, in Greece, before long you yourself will be one of the muddy or dusty set; so delightful and at the same time so profitable will the thing seem to you. ANACHARSIS Get out with you, Solon! You Greeks may have those benefits and pleasures. For my part, if one of you should treat me like that, he will find out that we do not carry these daggers at our belts for nothing!

> Greek: 6. Σόλων: καὶ εἰκότως, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, τοιαῦτά σοι τὰ γιγνόμενα φαίνεται, ξένα γε ὄντα καὶ πάμπολυ τῶν Σκυθικῶν ἐθῶν ἀπᾴδοντα, καθάπερ καὶ ὑμῖν πολλὰ εἰκὸς εἶναι μαθήματα καὶ ἐπιτηδεύματα τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἡμῖν ἀλλόκοτα εἶναι δόξαντα ἄν, εἴ τις ἡμῶν ὥσπερ σὺ νῦν ἐπισταίη αὐτοῖς. πλὴν ἀλλὰ θάρρει, ὦγαθέ· οὐ γὰρ μανία τὰ γιγνόμενά ἐστιν οὐδʼ ἐφʼ ὕβρει οὗτοι παίουσιν ἀλλήλους καὶ κυλίουσιν ἐν τῷ πηλῷ ἢ ἐπιπάττουσιν τὴν κόνιν, ἀλλʼ ἔχει τινὰ χρείαν οὐκ ἀτερπῆ τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ ἀκμὴν οὐ μικρὰν ἐπάγει τοῖς σώμασιν· ἢν γοῦν ἐνδιατρίψῃς, ὥσπερ οἶμαί σε ποιήσειν, τῇ Ἑλλάδι, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν εἷς καὶ αὐτὸς ἔσῃ τῶν πεπηλωμένων ἢ κεκονιμένων· οὕτω σοι τὸ πρᾶγμα ἡδύ τε ἅμα καὶ λυσιτελὲς εἶναι δόξει. Ἀνάχαρσις: ἄπαγε, ὦ Σόλων, ὑμῖν ταῦτα γένοιτο τὰ ὠφέλιμα καὶ τερπνά, ἐμὲ δὲ εἴ τις ὑμῶν τοιοῦτό τι διαθείη, εἴσεται ὡς οὐ μάτην παρεζώσμεθα τὸν ἀκινάκην.

[¶6] 7. But tell me, what name do you give to these performances? What are we to say they are doing? SOLON The place itself, Anacharsis, we call a gymnasium, and it is consecrated to Lyceian Apollo; you see his statue—the figure leaning against the pillar, with the bow in his left hand; his right arm bent back above his head indicates that the god is resting, as if after long exertion.

> Greek: 7. Ἀνάχαρσις: ἀτὰρ εἰπέ μοι, τί ὄνομα ἔθεσθε τοῖς γιγνομένοις, ἢ τί φῶμεν ποιεῖν αὐτούς; Σόλων: ὁ μὲν χῶρος αὐτός, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, γυμνάσιον ὑφʼ ἡμῶν ὀνομάζεται καὶ ἔστιν ἱερὸν Ἀπόλλωνος τοῦ Λυκείου. καὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα δὲ αὐτοῦ ὁρᾷς, τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ στήλῃ κεκλιμένον, τῇ ἀριστερᾷ μὲν τὸ τόξον ἔχοντα, ἡ δεξιὰ δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀνακεκλασμένη ὥσπερ ἐκ καμάτου μακροῦ ἀναπαυόμενον δείκνυσι τὸν θεόν.

[¶7] 8. As for these forms of athletics, that one yonder in the mud is called wrestling, and the men in the dust are wrestling too. When they stand upright and strike one another, we call it the pancratium.. We have other such athletic exercises, too—boxing, throwing the discus, and jumping— in all of which we hold contests, and the winner is considered best in his class and carries off the prizes.

> Greek: 8. Σόλων: τῶν γυμνασμάτων δὲ τούτων τὸ μὲν ἐν τῷ πηλῷ ἐκεῖνο πάλη καλεῖται, οἱ δʼ ἐν τῇ κόνει παλαίουσι καὶ αὐτοί, τὸ δὲ παίειν ἀλλήλους ὀρθοστάδην παγκρατιάζειν λέγομεν. καὶ ἄλλα δὲ ἡμῖν ἐστι γυμνάσια τοιαῦτα πυγμῆς καὶ δίσκου καὶ τοῦ ὑπεράλλεσθαι, ὧν ἁπάντων ἀγῶνας προτίθεμεν, καὶ ὁ κρατήσας ἄριστος εἶναι δοκεῖ τῶν καθʼ αὑτὸν καὶ ἀναιρεῖται τὰ ἆθλα.

[¶8] 9. ANACHARSIS And these prizes of yours, what are they? SOLON At the Olympic games, a wreath made of wild olive, at the Isthmian one of pine, and at the Nemean one of parsley, at the Pythian some of the apples sacred to Apollo, and with us at the Panathenaea, the oil from the holy olive. What made you laugh, Anacharsis? Because you think these prizes trivial? ANACHARSIS No, the prizes that you have told off are absolutely imposing, Solon; they may well cause those who have offered them to glory in their munificence and the contestants themselves to be tremendously eager to carry off such guerdons, so that they will go through all these preliminary hardships and risks, getting choked and broken in two by one another, for apples and parsley, as if it were not possible for anyone who wants them to get plenty of apples without any trouble, or to wear a wreath of parsley or of pine without having his face bedaubed with mud or letting himself be kicked in the belly by his opponent!

> Greek: 9. Ἀνάχαρσις: τὰ δὲ ἆθλα τίνα ὑμῖν ταῦτά ἐστιν; Σόλων: Ὀλυμπίασι μὲν στέφανος ἐκ κοτίνου, Ἰσθμοῖ δὲ ἐκ πίτυος, ἐν Νεμέᾳ δὲ σελίνων πεπλεγμένος, Πυθοῖ δὲ μῆλα τῶν ἱερῶν τοῦ θεοῦ, παρʼ ἡμῖν δὲ τοῖς Παναθηναίοις τὸ ἔλαιον τὸ ἐκ τῆς μορίας. τί ἐγέλασας, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι; ἢ διότι μικρά σοι εἶναι ταῦτα δοκεῖ; Ἀνάχαρσις: οὔκ, ἀλλὰ πάνσεμνα, ὦ Σόλων, κατέλεξας τὰ ἆθλα καὶ ἄξια τοῖς τε διαθεῖσιν αὐτὰ φιλοτιμεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τῇ μεγαλοδωρεᾷ καὶ τοῖς ἀγωνισταῖς αὐτοῖς ὑπερεσπουδακέναι περὶ τὴν ἀναίρεσιν τῶν τηλικούτων, ὥστε μήλων ἕνεκα καὶ σελίνων τοσαῦτα προπονεῖν καὶ κινδυνεύειν ἀγχομένους πρὸς ἀλλήλων καὶ κατακλωμένους, ὡς οὐκ ἐνὸν ἀπραγμόνως εὐπορῆσαι μήλων ὅτῳ ἐπιθυμία ἢ σελίνῳ ἐστεφανῶσθαι ἢ πίτυϊ μήτε πηλῷ καταχριόμενον τὸ πρόσωπον μήτε λακτιζόμενον εἰς τὴν γαστέρα ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνταγωνιστῶν.

[¶9] 10. SOLON But, my dear fellow, it is not the bare gifts that we have in view! They are merely tokens of the victory and marks to identify the winners. But the reputation that goes with them is worth everything to the victors, and to attain it, even to be kicked is nothing to men who seek to capture fame through hardships. Without hardships it cannot be acquired; the man who covets it must put up with many unpleasantnesses in the beginning before at last he can expect the profitable and delightful outcome of his exertions, ANACHARSIS By this delightful and profitable outcome, Solon, you mean that everybody will see them wearing wreaths and will applaud them for their victory after having pitied them a long time beforehand for their hard knocks, and that they will be felicitous to have apples and parsley in compensation for their hardships! SOLON You are still unacquainted with our ways, I tell you. After a little you will think differently about them, when you go to the games and see that great throng of people gathering to look at such spectacles, and amphitheatres filling that will hold thousands, and the contestants applauded, and the one among them who succeeds in winning counted equal to the gods.

> Greek: 10. Σόλων: ἀλλʼ, ὦ ἄριστε, οὐκ εἰς ψιλὰ τὰ διδόμενα ἡμεῖς ἀποβλέπομεν. ταῦτα μὲν γάρ ἐστι σημεῖα τῆς νίκης καὶ γνωρίσματα οἵτινες οἱ κρατήσαντες. ἡ δὲ παρακολουθοῦσα τούτοις δόξα τοῦ παντὸς ἀξία τοῖς νενικηκόσιν, ὑπὲρ ἧς καὶ λακτίζεσθαι καλῶς ἔχει τοῖς θηρωμένοις τὴν εὔκλειαν ἐκ τῶν πόνων. οὐ γὰρ ἀπονητὶ προσγένοιτο ἂν αὕτη, ἀλλὰ χρὴ τὸν ὀρεγόμενον αὐτῆς πολλὰ τὰ δυσχερῆ ἀνασχόμενον ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τότʼ ἤδη τὸ λυσιτελὲς καὶ ἡδὺ τέλος ἐκ τῶν καμάτων περιμένειν. Ἀνάχαρσις: τοῦτο φής, ὦ Σόλων, τὸ τέλος ἡδὺ καὶ λυσιτελές, ὅτι πάντες αὐτοὺς ὄψονται ἐστεφανωμένους καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ ἐπαινέσονται πολὺ πρότερον οἰκτείραντες ἐπὶ ταῖς πληγαῖς, οἱ δὲ εὐδαιμονήσουσιν ἀντὶ τῶν πόνων μῆλα καὶ σέλινα ἔχοντες. Σόλων: ἄπειρος εἶ, φημί, τῶν ἡμετέρων ἔτι· μετὰ μικρὸν δὲ ἄλλα σοι δόξει περὶ αὐτῶν, ἐπειδὰν εἰς τὰς πανηγύρεις ἀπιὼν ὁρᾷς τοσοῦτο πλῆθος ἀνθρώπων συλλεγόμενον ἐπὶ τὴν θέαν τῶν τοιούτων καὶ θέατρα μυρίανδρα συμπληρούμενα καὶ τοὺς ἀγωνιστὰς ἐπαινουμένους, τὸν δὲ καὶ νικήσαντα αὐτῶν ἰσόθεον νομιζόμενον.

[¶10] 11. ANACHARSIS That is precisely the most pitiable part of it, Solon, if they undergo this treatment not before just a few but in the presence of so many spectators and witnesses of the brutality, who no doubt felicitate them on seeing them streaming with blood or getting strangled by their opponents; for these are the extreme felicities that go with their victory! With us Scythians, Solon, if anyone strikes a citizen, or assaults him and throws him down, or tears his clothing, the elders impose severe penalties upon him, even if the offence takes place before just a few witnesses, not to speak of such great assemblies as that at the Isthmus and that at Olympia which you describe. I assure you, I cannot help pitying the contestants for what they go through, and I am absolutely amazed at the spectators, the prominent men who come, you say, from all sides to the games, if they neglect their urgent business and fritter their time away in such matters. I cannot yet conceive what pleasure it is to them to see men struck, pummelled, dashed on the ground, and crushed by one another.

> Greek: 11. Ἀνάχαρσις: αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὦ Σόλων, καὶ τὸ οἴκτιστόν ἐστιν, εἰ μὴ ἐπʼ ὀλίγων ταῦτα πάσχουσιν, ἀλλὰ ἐν τοσούτοις θεαταῖς καὶ μάρτυσι τῆς ὕβρεως, οἳ δηλαδὴ εὐδαιμονίζουσιν αὐτοὺς αἵματι ῥαινομένους ὁρῶντες ἢ ἀγχομένους ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντιπάλων· ταῦτα γὰρ τὰ εὐδαιμονέστατα πρόσεστι τῇ νίκῃ αὐτῶν. παρʼ ἡμῖν δὲ τοῖς Σκύθαις ἤν τις, ὦ Σόλων, ἢ πατάξῃ τινὰ τῶν πολιτῶν ἢ ἀνατρέψῃ προσπεσὼν ἢ θοἰμάτια περιρρήξῃ, μεγάλας οἱ πρεσβῦται τὰς ζημίας ἐπάγουσι, κἂν ἐπʼ ὀλίγων μαρτύρων τοῦτο πάθῃ τις, οὔτι γε ἐν τηλικούτοις θεάτροις, οἷα σὺ διηγῇ τὸ Ἰσθμοῖ καὶ τὸ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ἀγωνιστὰς οἰκτείρειν μοι ἔπεισιν ὧν πάσχουσιν, τῶν δὲ θεατῶν οὓς φὴς ἁπανταχόθεν τοὺς ἀρίστους παραγίγνεσθαι εἰς τὰς πανηγύρεις καὶ πάνυ θαυμάζω, εἰ τἀναγκαῖα παρέντες σχολάζουσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκεῖνό πω δύναμαι κατανοῆσαι ὅ τι τὸ τερπνὸν αὐτοῖς, ὁρᾶν παιομένους τε καὶ διαπληκτιζομένους ἀνθρώπους καὶ πρὸς τὴν γῆν ἀραττομένους καὶ συντριβομένους ὑπʼ ἀλλήλων.

[¶11] 12. SOLON If it were the time, Anacharsis, for the Olympic or the Isthmian or the Panathenaic games, what takes place there would itself have taught you that we had not spent our energy on all this in vain. Just by talking about the delightfulness of the doings there, one cannot convince you of it as thoroughly as if you yourself, sitting in the midst of the spectators, were to see manly perfection, physical beauty, wonderful condition, mighty skill, irresistible strength, daring, rivalry, indomitable resolution, and inexpressible ardour for victory. I am very sure that you would never have stopped praising and cheering and clapping.

> Greek: 12. Σόλων: εἰ καιρὸς ἦν, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, Ὀλυμπίων ἢ Ἰσθμίων ἢ Παναθηναίων, αὐτὸ ἄν σε τὸ γιγνόμενον ἐδίδαξεν ὡς οὐ μάτην ἐσπουδάκαμεν ἐπὶ τούτοις. οὐ γὰρ οὕτω λέγων ἄν τις προσβιβάσειέν σε τῇ ἡδονῇ τῶν ἐκεῖ δρωμένων, ὡς εἰ καθεζόμενος αὐτὸς ἐν μέσοις τοῖς θεαταῖς βλέποις ἀρετὰς ἀνδρῶν καὶ κάλλη σωμάτων καὶ εὐεξίας θαυμαστὰς καὶ ἐμπειρίας δεινὰς καὶ ἰσχὺν ἄμαχον καὶ τόλμαν καὶ φιλοτιμίαν καὶ γνώμας ἀηττήτους καὶ σπουδὴν ἄλεκτον ὑπὲρ τῆς νίκης. εὖ γὰρ δὴ οἶδα ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἐπαύσω ἐπαινῶν καὶ ἐπιβοῶν καὶ ἐπικροτῶν.

[¶12] 13. ANACHARSIS No doubt, Solon; and laughing and gibing, into the bargain; for I see that all these things which you have enumerated—the perfection, the condition, the beauty, the daring—are being wasted for you without any great object in view, since your country is not in peril nor your farm-lands being ravaged, nor your friends and kinsmen insolently carried off. So the competitors are all the more ridiculous if they are the flower of the country, as you say, and yet endure so much for nothing, making themselves miserable and defiling their beautiful, great bodies with sand and black eyes to get possession of an apple and an olive-branch when they have won! You see, I like to keep mentioning the prizes, which are so fine! But tell me, do all the contestants get them? SOLON Not by any means; only one among them all, the victor.
ANACHARSIS Then do so many undergo hardships upon the uncertain and precarious chance of winning, Solon, knowing too that there will surely be but one winner and very many losers, who, poor fellows, will have received blows and in some cases even wounds for nothing?

> Greek: 13. Ἀνάχαρσις: νὴ Δίʼ, ὦ Σόλων, καὶ ἐπιγελῶν γε προσέτι καὶ ἐπιχλευάζων· ἅπαντα γὰρ ὁπόσα κατηριθμήσω ἐκεῖνα, τὰς ἀρετὰς καὶ τὰς εὐεξίας καὶ τὰ κάλλη καὶ τόλμαν, ὁρῶ οὐδενὸς μεγάλου ἕνεκα παραπολλυμένας ὑμῖν, οὔτε πατρίδος κινδυνευούσης οὔτε χώρας πορθουμένης οὔτε φίλων ἢ οἰκείων πρὸς ὕβριν ἀπαγομένων. ὥστε τοσούτῳ γελοιότεροι ἂν εἶεν, ἄριστοι μέν, ὡς φής, ὄντες, μάτην δὲ τοσαῦτα πάσχοντες καὶ ταλαιπωρούμενοι καὶ αἰσχύνοντες τὰ κάλλη καὶ τὰ μεγέθη τῇ ψάμμῳ καὶ τοῖς ὑπωπίοις, ὡς μήλου καὶ κοτίνου ἐγκρατεῖς γένοιντο νικήσαντες. ἡδὺ γάρ μοι ἀεὶ μεμνῆσθαι τῶν ἄθλων τοιούτων ὄντων. ἀτὰρ εἰπέ μοι, πάντες αὐτὰ λαμβάνουσιν οἱ ἀγωνισταί; Σόλων: οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλὰ εἷς ἐξ ἁπάντων, ὁ κρατήσας αὐτῶν. Ἀνάχαρσις: εἶτα, ὦ Σόλων, ἐπὶ τῷ ἀδήλῳ καὶ ἀμφιβόλῳ τῆς νίκης τοσοῦτοι πονοῦσι, καὶ ταῦτʼ εἰδότες ὅτι ὁ μὲν νικῶν εἷς ἔσται πάντως, οἱ δὲ ἡττώμενοι πάμπολλοι, μάτην ἄθλιοι πληγάς, οἱ δὲ καὶ τραύματα λαβόντες;

[¶13] 14. SOLON It seems, Anacharsis, that you have never yet done any thinking about the proper way to direct a state; otherwise you would not disparage the best of institutions. If ever you make it your object to find out how a state is to be organized in the best way possible, and how its citizens are to reach the highest degree of excellence, you will then praise these exercises and the rivalry which we display in regard to them, and you will know that they have. much that is useful intermingled with the hardships, even if you now think our energy is spent on them for nothing. ANACHARSIS T assure you, Solon, I had no other object in coming to your country from Scythia, over such a vast stretch of land and across the wide and tempestuous Euxine, than to learn the laws of the Greeks, to observe your institutions, and to acquaint myself with the best form of polity. Thatis why I selected you in particular out ofall the Athenians for my friend and host, in deference to your reputation, for I used to hear that you were a maker of laws, an inventor of excellent institutions, an introducer of advantageous practices, and in a word, the fashioner of a polity. So do be quick about teaching me and making a disciple of me. For my part I would gladly sit beside you without meat or drink as long as you could endure to talk, and listen to you with avidity while you described government and laws.

> Greek: 14. Σόλων: ἔοικας, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, μηδέπω ἐννενοηκέναι πολιτείας ὀρθῆς πέρι μηδέν· οὐ γὰρ ἂν τὰ κάλλιστα τῶν ἐθῶν ἐν ψόγῳ ἐτίθεσο. ἢν δέ σοι μελήσῃ ποτὲ εἰδέναι ὅπως ἂν τὰ κάλλιστα οἰκηθείη πόλις καὶ ὅπως ἂν ἄριστοι γένοιντο οἱ πολῖται αὐτῆς, ἐπαινέσῃ τότε καὶ τὰς ἀσκήσεις ταύτας καὶ τὴν φιλοτιμίαν ἣν φιλοτιμούμεθα περὶ αὐτάς, καὶ εἴσῃ ὅτι πολὺ τὸ χρήσιμον ἔχουσιν ἐγκαταμεμιγμένον τοῖς πόνοις, εἰ καὶ νῦν μάτην σπουδάζεσθαι δοκοῦσιν. Ἀνάχαρσις: καὶ μήν, ὦ Σόλων, κατʼ οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἀπὸ τῆς Σκυθίας ἥκω παρʼ ὑμᾶς τοσαύτην μὲν γῆν διοδεύσας, μέγαν δὲ τὸν Εὔξεινον καὶ δυσχείμερον περαιωθείς, ἢ ὅπως νόμους τε τοὺς Ἑλλήνων ἐκμάθοιμι καὶ ἔθη τὰ παρʼ ὑμῖν κατανοήσαιμι καὶ πολιτείαν τὴν ἀρίστην ἐκμελετήσαιμι. διὸ καὶ σὲ μάλιστα φίλον ἐξ ἁπάντων Ἀθηναίων καὶ ξένον προειλόμην κατὰ κλέος, ἐπείπερ ἤκουον νόμων τε συγγραφέα τινὰ εἶναι σε καὶ ἐθῶν τῶν ἀρίστων εὑρετὴν καὶ ἐπιτηδευμάτων ὠφελίμων εἰσηγητήν, καὶ ὅλως πολιτείας τινὸς συναρμοστήν. ὥστε οὐκ ἂν φθάνοις διδάσκων με καὶ μαθητὴν ποιούμενος· ὡς ἔγωγε ἡδέως ἂν ἄσιτός σοι καὶ ἄποτος παρακαθεζόμενος, εἰς ὅσον ἂν αὐτὸς διαρκοίης λέγων, κεχηνὼς ἐπακούοιμι περὶ πολιτείας τε καὶ νόμων διεξιόντος.

[¶14] 15. SOLON To describe everything, my friend, in brief compass is not an easy task, but if you take it up a little at a time, you will find out in detail all the opinions we hold about the gods and about parents, marriage, and everything else. And I shall now tell you what we think about our young men, and how we deal with them from the time when they begin to know good from bad, to be physically mature, and to bear hardships, in order that you may learn why we prescribe these exercises for them and compel them to train their bodies. It is not simply on account of the contests, in order that they may be able to take the prizes—very few out of the entire number have the capacity for that—but because we seek a certain greater good from it for the entire state and for the young men themselves. There is another competition which is open to all good citizens in common, and a wreath that is not made of pine or olive or parsley, but contains in itself all human felicity,—that is to say, freedom for each individual singly and for the state in general, wealth, glory, enjoyment of ancestral feast-days, safety for one’s family, and in short, the fairest blessings that one could pray to receive from the gods. All these things are interwoven in the wreath that I speak of and accrue from the contest to which these exercises and hardships lead.

> Greek: 15. Σόλων: τὰ μὲν πάντα οὐ ῥᾴδιον, ὦ ἑταῖρε, διελθεῖν ἐν βραχεῖ, ἀλλὰ κατὰ μέρη ἐπιὼν εἴσῃ ἕκαστα, οἷα μὲν περὶ θεῶν, οἷα δὲ περὶ γονέων ἢ περὶ γάμων ἢ τῶν ἄλλων δοκεῖ ἡμῖν. ἃ δὲ περὶ τῶν νέων γιγνώσκομεν καὶ ὅπως αὐτοῖς χρώμεθα, ἐπειδὰν πρῶτον ἄρξωνται συνιέναι τε τοῦ βελτίονος καὶ τῷ σώματι ἀνδρίζεσθαι καὶ ὑφίστασθαι τοὺς πόνους, ταῦτα ἤδη σοι διέξειμι, ὡς μάθοις οὗτινος χάριν τὰς ἀσκήσεις ταύτας προτεθείκαμεν αὐτοῖς καὶ διαπονεῖν τὸ σῶμα καταναγκάζομεν, οὐ μόνον ἕνεκα τῶν ἀγώνων, ὅπως τὰ ἆθλα δύναιντο ἀναιρεῖσθαι — ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνα μὲν γὰρ ὀλίγοι πάνυ ἐξ ἁπάντων χωροῦσιν — ἀλλὰ μεῖζόν τι ἁπάσῃ τῇ πόλει ἀγαθὸν ἐκ τούτου καὶ αὐτοῖς ἐκείνοις προσκτώμενοι. κοινὸς γάρ τις ἀγὼν ἄλλος ἅπασι τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς πολίταις πρόκειται καὶ στέφανος οὐ πίτυος οὐδὲ κοτίνου ἢ σελίνων, ἀλλʼ ὃς ἐν αὑτῷ συλλαβὼν ἔχει τὴν ἀνθρώπου εὐδαιμονίαν, οἷον ἐλευθερίαν λέγω αὐτοῦ τε ἑκάστου ἰδίᾳ καὶ κοινῇ τῆς πατρίδος καὶ πλοῦτον καὶ δόξαν καὶ ἑορτῶν πατρίων ἀπόλαυσιν καὶ οἰκείων σωτηρίαν, καὶ συνόλως τὰ κάλλιστα ὧν ἄν τις εὔξαιτο γενέσθαι οἱ παρὰ τῶν θεῶν. ταῦτα πάντα τῷ στεφάνῳ ὅν φημι συναναπέπλεκται καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἐκείνου περιγίγνεται ἐφʼ ὃν αἱ ἀσκήσεις αὗται καὶ οἱ πόνοι ἄγουσιν.

[¶15] 16. ANACHARSIS Then, Solon, you amazing person, when you had such magnificent prizes to tell of, you spoke of apples and parsley and a sprig of wild olive and a bit of pine? SOLON But really, Anacharsis, even those prizes will no longer appear trivial to you when you understand what I mean. They originate in the same purpose, and are all small parts of that greater contest and of the wreath of complete felicity which I mentioned. Our conversation, departing somehow or other from the natural sequence, touched first upon the doings at the Isthmus and Olympia and Nemea. However, as we are at leisure and you are eager, you say, to hear, it will be an easy matter for us to hark back to the -beginning, to the common competition which is, as I say, the object of all these practices. ANACHARSIS It would be better, Solon, to do so, for by keeping to the highway our talk would make greater progress, and perhaps knowing these prizes may persuade me never again to laugh at those others, if I should see a man putting on airs because he wears a wreath of wild olive or parsley. But if it is all the same to you, let us go into the shade over yonder and sit on the benches, so as not to be annoyed by the men who are shouting at the wrestlers. Besides—I may as well be frank!—I no longer find it easy to stand the sun, which is fierce and burning as it beats upon my bare head. I thought it best to leave my cap at home, so as not to be the only person among you in a foreign costume. _ But the season of the year is the very fieriest, for the star which you call the Dog burns everything up and makes the air dry and parching, and the sun, now hanging overhead at midday, produces this blazing heat, insupportable to the body. I wonder, therefore, how it is that you, an elderly man, do not perspire in the heat as I do, and do not seem to be troubled by it at all; you do not even look about for a shady spot to enter, but stand the sun with ease. SOLON These useless exertions, Anacharsis, the continual somersaults in the mud and the open-air struggles in the sand give us our immunity from the shafts of the sun and we have no further need of a cap to keep its rays from striking our heads.

> Greek: 16. Ἀνάχαρσις: εἶτα, ὦ θαυμάσιε Σόλων, τοιαῦτά μοι καὶ τηλικαῦτα ἔχων ἆθλα διεξιέναι, μῆλα καὶ σέλινα διηγοῦ καὶ θαλλὸν ἐλαίας ἀγρίας καὶ πίτυν; Σόλων: καὶ μήν, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνά σοι ἔτι δόξει μικρὰ εἶναι, ὁπόταν ἃ λέγω καταμάθῃς· ἀπὸ γάρ τοι τῆς αὐτῆς γνώμης γίγνεται, καὶ μέρη πάντα ταῦτά ἐστι μικρὰ τοῦ μείζονος ἐκείνου ἀγῶνος καὶ τοῦ στεφάνου ὃν κατέλεξα τοῦ πανευδαίμονος. ὁ δὲ λόγος, οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ὑπερβὰς τὴν τάξιν, ἐκείνων πρότερον ἐπεμνήσθη τῶν Ἰσθμοῖ γιγνομένων καὶ Ὀλυμπίασι καὶ ἐν Νεμέᾳ. πλὴν ἀλλὰ νώ — σχολὴν γὰρ ἄγομεν καὶ σύ, ὡς φής, προθυμῇ ἀκούειν — ἀναδραμούμεθα ῥᾳδίως πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τὸν κοινὸν ἀγῶνα διʼ ὅν φημι πάντα ταῦτα ἐπιτηδεύεσθαι. Ἀνάχαρσις: ἄμεινον, ὦ Σόλων, οὕτως· καθʼ ὁδὸν γὰρ ἂν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος μᾶλλον προχωροίη, καὶ τάχʼ ἂν ἴσως ἀπὸ τούτων πεισθείην μηδὲ ἐκείνων ἔτι καταγελᾶν, εἴ τινα ἴδοιμι σεμνυνόμενον κοτίνῳ ἢ σελίνῳ ἐστεφανωμένον. ἀλλʼ εἰ δοκεῖ, εἰς τὸ σύσκιον ἐκεῖσε ἀπελθόντες καθίσωμεν ἐπὶ τῶν θάκων, ὡς μὴ ἐνοχλοῖεν ἡμῖν οἱ ἐπικεκραγότες τοῖς παλαίουσιν. ἄλλως τε — εἰρήσεται γάρ — οὐδὲ τὸν ἥλιον ἔτι ῥᾳδίως ἀνέχομαι ὀξὺν καὶ φλογμώδη ἐμπίπτοντα γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ. τὸν γὰρ πῖλόν μοι ἀφελεῖν οἴκοθεν ἔδοξεν, ὡς μὴ μόνος ἐν ὑμῖν ξενίζοιμι τῷ σχήματι. ἡ δὲ ὥρα τοῦ ἔτους ὅ τι περ τὸ πυρωδέστατόν ἐστι, τοῦ ἀστέρος ὃν ὑμεῖς κύνα φατὲ πάντα καταφλέγοντος καὶ τὸν ἀέρα ξηρὸν καὶ διακαῆ τιθέντος, ὅ τε ἥλιος κατὰ μεσημβρίαν ἤδη ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς ἐπικείμενος φλογμὸν τοῦτον οὐ φορητὸν ἐπάγει τοῖς σώμασιν. ὥστε καὶ σοῦ θαυμάζω, ὅπως γηραιὸς ἤδη ἄνθρωπος οὔτε ἰδίεις πρὸς τὸ θάλπος ὥσπερ ἐγὼ οὔτε ὅλως ἐνοχλουμένῳ ἔοικας, οὐδὲ περιβλέπεις σύσκιόν τι ἔνθα ὑποδύσῃ, ἀλλὰ δέχῃ τὸν ἥλιον εὐμαρῶς. Σόλων: οἱ μάταιοι γὰρ οὗτοι πόνοι, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, καὶ αἱ συνεχεῖς ἐν τῷ πηλῷ κυβιστήσεις καὶ αἱ ὕπαιθροι ἐν τῇ ψάμμῳ ταλαιπωρίαι τοῦτο ἡμῖν τὸ ἀμυντήριον παρέχουσι πρὸς τὰς τοῦ ἡλίου βολάς, καὶ οὐκέτι πίλου δεόμεθα ὃς τὴν ἀκτῖνα κωλύσει καθικνεῖσθαι τῆς κεφαλῆς.

[¶16] 17. Let us go, however. And take care not to regard everything that I may say to you as a law, so as to believe it at all hazards. Whenever you think I am incorrect in anything that I say, contradict me at once and set my reasoning straight. One thing or the other, certainly, we cannot fail to accomplish: either you will become firmly convinced after you have exhausted all the objections that you think ought to be made, or else I shall be taught that I am not correct in my view of the matter. In that event the entire city of Athens could not be too quick to acknowledge its gratitude to you, because in so far as you instruct me and convert me to a better view, you will have conferred the grgatest possible benefit upon her. For I could not keep anything from her, but shall at once contribute it all to the public. Taking my stand in the Pnyx, I shall say to everyone: “Men of Athens, I made you the laws which I thought would’ be most beneficial to the city, but this guest of mine”—and then I shall point to you, Anacharsis,—“a Scythian, indeed, but a man of learning, has converted me and taught me other better forms of education and training. Therefore let him be written down as your benefactor, and set his statue up in bronze beside the Namesakes or on the Acropolis beside Athena.” You may be very sure that the city of Athens will not be ashamed to learn what is to her advantage from a foreign guest.

> Greek: 17. Σόλων: ἀπίωμεν δʼ οὖν. καὶ ὅπως μὴ καθάπερ νόμοις προσέξεις οἷς ἂν λέγω πρὸς σέ, ὡς ἐξ ἅπαντος πιστεύειν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλʼ ἔνθα ἄν σοι μὴ ὀρθῶς τι λέγεσθαι δοκῇ, ἀντιλέγειν εὐθὺς καὶ διευθύνειν τὸν λόγον. δυοῖν γὰρ θατέρου πάντως οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοιμεν, ἢ σὲ βεβαίως πεισθῆναι ἐκχέαντα ὁπόσα οἴει ἀντιλεκτέα εἶναι ἢ ἐμὲ ἀναδιδαχθῆναι ὡς οὐκ ὀρθῶς γιγνώσκω περὶ αὐτῶν. καὶ ἐν τούτῳ πᾶσα ἄν σοι ἡ πόλις ἡ Ἀθηναίων οὐκ ἂν φθάνοι χάριν ὁμολογοῦσα· ὅσα γὰρ ἂν ἐμὲ παιδεύσῃς καὶ μεταπείσῃς πρὸς τὸ βέλτιον, ἐκείνην τὰ μέγιστα ἔσῃ ὠφεληκώς. οὐδὲν γὰρ ἂν ἀποκρυψαίμην αὐτήν, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς εἰς τὸ μέσον καταθήσω φέρων καὶ καταστὰς ἐν τῇ πνυκὶ ἐρῶ πρὸς ἅπαντας, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐγὼ μὲν ὑμῖν ἔγραψα τοὺς νόμους οἵους ᾤμην ὠφελιμωτάτους ἔσεσθαι τῇ πόλει, ὁ δὲ ξένος οὑτοσί — δείξας σέ, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι — Σκύθης μέν ἐστι, σοφὸς δὲ ὢν μετεπαίδευσέ με καὶ ἄλλα βελτίω μαθήματα καὶ ἐπιτηδεύματα ἐδιδάξατο· ὥστε εὐεργέτης ὑμῶν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἀναγεγράφθω καὶ χαλκοῦν αὐτὸν ἀναστήσατε παρὰ τοὺς ἐπωνύμους ἢ ἐν πόλει παρὰ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν. καὶ εὖ ἴσθι ὡς οὐκ αἰσχυνεῖται ἡ Ἀθηναίων πόλις παρὰ βαρβάρου καὶ ξένου τὰ συμφέροντα ἐκμανθάνοντες.

[¶17] 18. ANACHARSIS Ah! that is just what I used to hear about you Athenians, that you never really mean what you say. For how could I, a nomad and a rover, who have lived my life on a wagon, visiting different lands at different seasons, and have never dwelt in a city or seen one until now—how could I hold forth upon statecraft and teach men sprung from the soil, who have inhabited this very ancient city for so many years in law and order? Above all, how could I teach you, Solon, who from the first, they say, have made it a special study to know how the government of a state can be conducted best and what laws it should observe to be prosperous? However, in this too, since you are a law-giver, I must obey you; so I shall contradict you if I think that you are incorrect in anything that you say, in order that I may learn my lesson more thoroughly. See, we have escaped the sun and are now in the shade; here is a very delightful and opportune seat on the cool stone. So begin at the beginning and tell why you take your young men in hand and train them from their very boyhood, how they turn out excellent men as a result of the mud and the exercises, and what the dust and the somersaults contribute to their excellencé. That is what I was most eager to hear at the beginning: the rest you shall teach me later, as opportunity offers, each particular in its turn. But bear this in mind, please, Solon, throughout your talk, that you will be speaking to a foreigner. I say this in order that you may not make your explanations too involved or too long, for I am afraid that I may forget the commencement if the sequel should be too profuse in its flow.

> Greek: 18. Ἀνάχαρσις: τοῦτʼ ἐκεῖνο ἦν ἄρα, ὃ ἐγὼ περὶ ὑμῶν ἤκουον τῶν Ἀθηναίων, ὡς εἴητε εἴρωνες ἐν τοῖς λόγοις. ἐπεὶ πόθεν ἂν ἐγὼ νομὰς καὶ πλάνης ἄνθρωπος, ἐφʼ ἁμάξης βεβιωκώς, ἄλλοτε ἄλλην γῆν ἀμείβων, πόλιν δὲ οὔτε οἰκήσας πώποτε οὔτε ἄλλοτε ἢ νῦν ἑωρακώς, περὶ πολιτείας διεξίοιμι καὶ διδάσκοιμι αὐτόχθονας ἄνδρας πόλιν ταύτην ἀρχαιοτάτην τοσούτοις ἤδη χρόνοις ἐν εὐνομίᾳ κατῳκηκότας, καὶ μάλιστα σέ, ὦ Σόλων, ᾧ τοῦτο ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ μάθημα, ὡς φασίν, ἐγένετο, ἐπίστασθαι ὅπως ἂν ἄριστα πόλις οἰκοῖτο καὶ οἷστισιν νόμοις χρωμένη εὐδαιμονήσειε; πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο ὡς νομοθέτῃ πειστέον σοι, καὶ ἀντερῶ ἤν τί μοι δοκῇ μὴ ὀρθῶς λέγεσθαι, ὡς βεβαιότερον μάθοιμι. καὶ ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἤδη ἐκφυγόντες τὸν ἥλιον ἐν τῷ συνηρεφεῖ ἐσμεν, καὶ καθέδρα μάλα ἡδεῖα καὶ εὔκαιρος ἐπὶ ψυχροῦ τοῦ λίθου. λέγε οὖν τὸν λόγον ἐξ ἀρχῆς καθʼ ὅ τι τοὺς νέους παραλαβόντες ἐκ παίδων εὐθὺς διαπονεῖτε, καὶ ὅπως ὑμῖν ἄριστοι ἄνδρες ἀποβαίνουσιν ἐκ τοῦ πηλοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀσκημάτων τούτων, καὶ τί ἡ κόνις καὶ τὰ κυβιστήματα συντελεῖ πρὸς ἀρετὴν αὐτοῖς. τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ μάλιστα ἐξ ἀρχῆς εὐθὺς ἐπόθουν ἀκοῦσαι· τὰ δʼ ἄλλα εἰς ὕστερον διδάξῃ με κατὰ καιρὸν ἕκαστον ἐν τῷ μέρει. ἐκείνου μέντοι, ὦ Σόλων, μέμνησό μοι παρὰ τὴν ῥῆσιν, ὅτι πρὸς ἄνδρα βάρβαρον ἐρεῖς. λέγω δὲ ὡς μὴ περιπλέκῃς μηδὲ ἀπομηκύνῃς τοὺς λόγους· δέδια γὰρ μὴ ἐπιλανθάνωμαι τῶν πρώτων, εἰ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα πολλὰ ἐπιρρέοι.

[¶18] 19. SOLON You yourself, Anacharsis, can regulate that better, wherever you think that my discussion is not fully clear, or that it is meandering far from its channel in a random stream; for you can interpose any question that you will, and cut it short. But if what I say is not foreign to the case and beside the mark, there will be nothing, I suppose, to hinder, even if I should speak at length, since that is the tradition in the court of the Areopagus, which judges our cases of manslaughter. Whenever it goes up to the Areopagus and holds a sitting to judge a case of manslaughter or premeditated wounding or arson, an opportunity to be heard is given to each party to the case, and the plaintiff and defendant plead in turn, either in person or through professional speakers whom they bring to the bar to plead in their behalf. As long as they speak about the case, the court tolerates them and listens in silence; but if anyone prefaces his speech with an introduction in order to make the court more favourable, or brings emotion or exaggeration into the case— tricks that are often devised by the disciples of rhetoric to influence the judges,—then the crier appears and silences them at once, preventing them from talking nonsense to the court and from tricking the case out in words, in order that the Areopagites may see the facts bare. So, Anacharsis, I make you an Areopagite for the present. Listen to me according to the custom of the court and tell me to be silent if you perceive that I am plying you with rhetoric. But as long as what I say is germane to the case, let me have the right to speak at length. Besides, we are not going to converse in the sun now, so that you would find it burdensome if my talk were prolonged; the shade is thick, and we have plenty of time. ANACHARSIS What you say is reasonable, Solon, and already I am more than a little grateful to you for incidentally teaching me about what takes place in the Areopagus, which is truly admirable and what good judges would do, who intend to cast their ballot in accordance with the facts. On these conditions, therefore, proceed, and in my _ capacity of Areopagite, since you have made me that, I shall give you a hearing in the manner of that court.

> Greek: 19. Σόλων: σὺ τοῦτο, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, ταμιεύσῃ ἄμεινον, ἔνθα ἄν σοι δοκῇ μὴ πάνυ σαφὴς ὁ λόγος εἶναι ἢ πόρρω ποι ἀποπλανᾶσθαι εἰκῆ ῥέων· ἐρήσῃ γὰρ μεταξὺ ὅ τι ἂν ἐθέλῃς καὶ διακόψεις αὐτοῦ τὸ μῆκος. ἢν μέντοι μὴ ἐξαγώνια μηδὲ πόρρω τοῦ σκοποῦ τὰ λεγόμενα ᾖ, κωλύσει οὐδέν, οἶμαι, εἰ καὶ μακρὰ λέγοιτο, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῇ βουλῇ τῇ ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου, ἥπερ τὰς φονικὰς ἡμῖν δίκας δικάζει, πάτριον οὕτω ποιεῖν. ὁπόταν γὰρ ἀνελθοῦσα εἰς τὸν πάγον συγκαθέζηται φόνου ἢ τραύματος ἐκ προνοίας ἢ πυρκαϊᾶς δικάσοντες, ἀποδίδοται λόγος ἑκατέρῳ τῶν κρινομένων καὶ λέγουσιν ἐν τῷ μέρει ὁ μὲν διώκων ὁ δὲ φεύγων, ἢ αὐτοὶ ἢ ῥήτορας ἀναβιβάζονται τοὺς ἐροῦντας ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν. οἱ δὲ ἔστʼ ἂν μὲν περὶ τοῦ πράγματος λέγωσιν, ἀνέχεται ἡ βουλὴ καθʼ ἡσυχίαν ἀκούουσα· ἢν δέ τις ἢ φροίμιον εἴπῃ πρὸ τοῦ λόγου, ὡς εὐνουστέρους ἀπεργάσαιτο αὐτούς, ἢ οἶκτον ἢ δείνωσιν ἔξωθεν ἐπάγῃ τῷ πράγματι — οἷα πολλὰ ῥητόρων παῖδες ἐπὶ τοὺς δικαστὰς μηχανῶνται — παρελθὼν ὁ κῆρυξ κατεσιώπησεν εὐθύς, οὐκ ἐῶν ληρεῖν πρὸς τὴν βουλὴν καὶ περιπέττειν τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐν τοῖς λόγοις, ὡς γυμνὰ τὰ γεγενημένα οἱ Ἀρεοπαγῖται βλέποιεν. ὥστε καὶ σέ, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, Ἀρεοπαγίτην ἐν τῷ παρόντι ποιοῦμαι ἔγωγε, καὶ κατὰ τὸν τῆς βουλῆς μου νόμον ἄκουε, καὶ σιωπᾶν κέλευε, ἢν αἴσθῃ καταρρητορευόμενος· ἄχρι δ' ἂν οἰκεῖα τῷ πράγματι λέγηται, ἐξέστω ἀπομηκύνειν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑφʼ ἡλίῳ ἔτι ποιησόμεθα τὴν συνουσίαν, ὡς ἄχθεσθαι εἰ ἀποτείνοιτο ἡ ῥῆσις, ἀλλὰ ἥ τε σκιὰ πυκνὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς σχολὴν ἄγομεν. Ἀνάχαρσις: εὐγνώμονά σου ταῦτα, ὦ Σόλων, καὶ ἔγωγε ἤδη χάριν οὐ μικρὰν οἶδά σοι καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις, ὅτι πάρεργον τοῦ λόγου καὶ τὰ ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ γιγνόμενα ἐδιδάξω με, θαυμάσια ὡς ἀληθῶς καὶ ἀγαθῶν βουλευτῶν ἔργα πρὸς ἀλήθειαν οἰσόντων τὴν ψῆφον. ἐπὶ τούτοις οὖν ἤδη λέγε, καὶ ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης ἐγὼ — τοῦτο γὰρ ἔθου με — κατὰ σχῆμα τῆς βουλῆς ἀκούσομαί σου.

[¶19] 20. SOLON Then you must first let me tell you briefly what our ideas are about a city and its citizens. We consider that a city is not the buildings, such as walls and temples and docks. These constitute a firm-set, immovable body, so to speak, for the shelter and protection of the community, but the whole significance is in the citizens, we hold, for it is they _ who fill it, plan and carry out everything, and keep it safe; they are something like what the soul is within the individual. So, having noted this, we naturally take care of the city’s body, as you see, beautifying. it so that it may be as fair as possible, not only well furnished inside with buildings but most securely fenced with these external ramparts. But above all and at all hazards we endeavour to insure that the citizens shall be virtuous in soul and strong in body, thinking that such men, joined together in public life, will make good use of themselves in times of peace, will bring the city safe out of war, and will keep it always free and prosperous. Their early upbringing we entrust to mothers, nurses, and tutors, to train and rear them with liberal teachings; but when at length they become able to understand what is right, when modesty, shame, fear, and ambition spring up in them, and when at length their very bodies seem well fitted for hardships as they get firmer and become more strongly compacted, then we take them in hand and teach them, not only prescribing them certain disciplines and exercises for the soul, but in certain other ways habituating their bodies also to hardships. We have not thought it sufficient for each man to be as he was born, either in body or in soul, but we want education and disciplines for them by which their good traits may be much improved and their bad altered for the better. We take example from the farmers, who shelter and enclose their plants while they are small and young, so that they may not be injured by the breezes: but when the stalk at last begins to thicken, they prune away the excessive growth and expose them te the winds to be shaken and tossed, in that way making them more fruitful.

> Greek: 20. Σόλων: οὐκοῦν διὰ βραχέων προακοῦσαι χρή σε ἃ περὶ πόλεως καὶ πολιτῶν ἡμῖν δοκεῖ. πόλιν γὰρ ἡμεῖς οὐ τὰ οἰκοδομήματα ἡγούμεθα εἶναι, οἷον τείχη καὶ ἱερὰ καὶ νεωσοίκους, ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὥσπερ σῶμά τι ἑδραῖον καὶ ἀκίνητον ὑπάρχειν εἰς ὑποδοχὴν καὶ ἀσφάλειαν τῶν πολιτευομένων, τὸ δὲ πᾶν κῦρος ἐν τοῖς πολίταις τιθέμεθα· τούτους γὰρ εἶναι τοὺς ἀναπληροῦντας καὶ διατάττοντας καὶ ἐπιτελοῦντας ἕκαστα καὶ φυλάττοντας, οἷόν τι ἐν ἡμῖν ἑκάστῳ ἐστὶν ἡ ψυχή. τοῦτο δὴ τοίνυν κατανοήσαντες ἐπιμελούμεθα μέν, ὡς ὁρᾷς, καὶ τοῦ σώματος τῆς πόλεως, κατακοσμοῦντες αὐτὸ ὡς κάλλιστον ἡμῖν εἴη, ἔνδοθέν τε οἰκοδομήμασιν κατεσκευασμένον καὶ ταῖς ἔκτοσθεν ταύταις περιβολαῖς εἰς τὸ ἀσφαλέστατον πεφραγμένον. μάλιστα δὲ καὶ ἐξ ἅπαντος τοῦτο προνοοῦμεν, ὅπως οἱ πολῖται ἀγαθοὶ μὲν τὰς ψυχάς, ἰσχυροὶ δὲ τὰ σώματα γίγνοιντο· τοὺς γὰρ τοιούτους σφίσι τε αὐτοῖς καλῶς χρήσεσθαι ἐν εἰρήνῃ συμπολιτευομένους καὶ ἐκ πολέμου σώσειν τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἐλευθέραν καὶ εὐδαίμονα διαφυλάξειν. τὴν μὲν δὴ πρώτην ἀνατροφὴν αὐτῶν μητράσι καὶ τίτθαις καὶ παιδαγωγοῖς ἐπιτρέπομεν ὑπὸ παιδείαις ἐλευθερίοις ἄγειν τε καὶ τρέφειν αὐτούς, ἐπειδὰν δὲ συνετοὶ ἤδη γίγνωνται τῶν καλῶς ἐχόντων, καὶ αἰδὼς καὶ ἐρύθημα καὶ φόβος καὶ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ἀρίστων ἀναφύηται αὐτοῖς, καὶ αὐτὰ ἤδη τὰ σώματα ἀξιόχρεα δοκῇ πρὸς τοὺς πόνους παγιώτερα γιγνόμενα καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἰσχυρότερον συνιστάμενα, τηνικαῦτα ἤδη παραλαβόντες αὐτοὺς διδάσκομεν, ἄλλα μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς μαθήματα καὶ γυμνάσια προτιθέντες, ἄλλως δὲ πρὸς τοὺς πόνους καὶ τὰ σώματα ἐθίζοντες. οὐ γὰρ ἱκανὸν ἡμῖν ἔδοξε τὸ μόνον φῦναι ὡς ἔφυ ἕκαστος ἤτοι κατὰ τὸ σῶμα ἢ κατὰ τὴν ψυχήν, ἀλλὰ καὶ παιδεύσεως καὶ μαθημάτων ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς δεόμεθα, ὑφʼ ὧν τά τε εὐφυῶς διακείμενα βελτίω παρὰ πολὺ γίγνοιτο ἂν καὶ τὰ φαύλως ἔχοντα μετακοσμοῖτο πρὸς τὸ βέλτιον. καὶ τὸ παράδειγμα ἡμῖν παρὰ τῶν γεωργῶν, οἳ τὰ φυτὰ μέχρι μὲν πρόσγεια καὶ νήπιά ἐστι, σκέπουσιν καὶ περιφράττουσιν ὡς μὴ βλάπτοιντο ὑπὸ τῶν πνευμάτων, ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἤδη παχύνηται τὸ ἔρνος, τηνικαῦτα περιτέμνουσίν τε τὰ περιττὰ καὶ παραδιδόντες αὐτὰ τοῖς ἀνέμοις δονεῖν καὶ διασαλεύειν καρπιμώτερα ἐξεργάζονται.

[¶20] 21. Their souls we fan into flame with music and arithmetic at first and we teach them to write their letters and to read them trippingly. As they progress, we recite for them sayings of wise men, deeds of olden times, and helpful fictions, which we have adorned with metre that they may remember them better. Hearing of certain feats of arms and famous exploits, little by little they grow covetous and are incited to imitate them, in order that they too may be sung and admired by men of after time. Both Hesiod and Homer have composed much poetry of that sort for us. When they enter political life and have at length to handle public affairs—but this, no doubt, is foreign to the case, as the subject proposed for discussion at the outset was not how we discipline their souls, but why we think fit to train their bodies with hardships like these. Therefore I order myself to be silent, without waiting for the crier to do it, or for you, the Areopagite; it is out of deference, I suppose, that you tolerate my saying so much that is beside the point. ANACHARSIS Tell me, Solon, when people do not say what is most essential in the Areopagus, but keep it to themselves, has the court devised no penalty for them? SOLON Why did you ask me that question? I do not understand. ANACHARSIS Because you propose to pass over what is best and: for me most delightful to hear about, what concerns the soul, and to speak of what is less essential, gymnastics and physical exercises. SOLON Why, my worthy friend, I remember your admonitions in the beginning and do not wish the discussion to meander out of its channel for fear of confusing your memory with its flow. However, I shall discuss this, too, in brief, as best I can. To consider it carefully would be matter for another conversation.

> Greek: 21. Σόλων: τὴν μὲν τοίνυν ψυχὴν μουσικῇ τὸ πρῶτον καὶ ἀριθμητικῇ ἀναρριπίζομεν, καὶ γράμματα γράψασθαι καὶ τορῶς αὐτὰ ἐπιλέξασθαι διδάσκομεν· προϊοῦσιν δὲ ἤδη σοφῶν ἀνδρῶν γνώμας καὶ ἔργα παλαιὰ καὶ λόγους ὠφελίμους ἐν μέτροις κατακοσμήσαντες, ὡς μᾶλλον μνημονεύοιεν, ῥαψῳδοῦμεν αὐτοῖς. οἱ δὲ καὶ ἀκούοντες ἀριστείας τινὰς καὶ πράξεις ἀοιδίμους ὀρέγονται κατὰ μικρὸν καὶ πρὸς μίμησιν ἐπεγείρονται, ὡς καὶ αὐτοὶ ᾄδοιντο καὶ θαυμάζοιντο ὑπὸ τῶν ὕστερον. οἷα πολλὰ Ἡσίοδός τε ἡμῖν καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐποίησαν. ἐπειδὰν δὲ πλησιάζωσι πρὸς τὴν πολιτείαν καὶ δέῃ αὐτοὺς ἤδη μεταχειρίζεσθαι τὰ κοινά — καίτοι ἔξω τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἴσως ταῦτα· οὐ γὰρ ὅπως τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἀσκοῦμεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς προὔκειτο εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ διʼ ὅ τι τοῖς τοιούτοις πόνοις καταγυμνάζειν αὐτοὺς ἀξιοῦμεν. ὥστε αὐτὸς ἐμαυτῷ σιωπᾶν προστάττω, οὐ περιμείνας τὸν κήρυκα οὐδὲ τὸν Ἀρεοπαγίτην σέ, ὃς ὑπʼ αἰδοῦς, οἶμαι, ἀνέχῃ ληροῦντα ἤδη τοσαῦτα ἔξω τοῦ πράγματος. Ἀνάχαρσις: εἰπέ μοι, ὦ Σόλων, πρὸς δὲ δὴ τοὺς τὰ ἀναγκαιότατα μὴ λέγοντας ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ, ἀλλὰ ἀποσιωπῶντας, οὐδὲν τῇ βουλῇ πρόστιμον ἐπινενόηται; Σόλων: τί τοῦτο ἤρου με; οὐδέπω γὰρ δῆλον. Ἀνάχαρσις: ὅτι τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ ἐμοὶ ἀκοῦσαι ἥδιστα παρείς, τὰ περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς, τὰ ἧττον ἀναγκαῖα λέγειν διανοῇ, γυμνάσια καὶ διαπονήσεις τῶν σωμάτων. Σόλων: μέμνημαι γάρ, ὦ γενναῖε, τῶν ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς προρρήσεων καὶ ἀποπλανᾶν οὐ βούλομαι τὸν λόγον, μή σου ἐπιταράξῃ τὴν μνήμην ἐπιρρέων. πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῦτα ἐρῶ διὰ βραχέων, ὡς οἷόν τε· τὸ γὰρ ἀκριβὲς τῆς περὶ αὐτῶν διασκέψεως ἑτέρου ἂν εἴη λόγου.

[¶21] 22. We harmonize their minds by causing them to learn by heart the laws of the community, which are exposed in public for everyone to read, written in large letters, and tell what one should do and what one should refrain from doing; also by causing them to hold converse with good men, from whom they learn to say what is fitting and do what is right, to associate with one another on an equal footing, not to aim at what is base, to seek what is noble, and to do no violence. These men we call sophists and philosophers. Furthermore, assembling them in the theatre, we instruct them publicly through comedies and tragedies, in which they behold both the virtues and the vices of the ancients, in order that they may recoil from the vices and emulate the virtues. The comedians, indeed, we allow to abuse and ridicule any citizens whom they perceive to be following practices that are base and unworthy of the city, not only for the sake of those men themselves, since they are made better by chiding, but for the sake of the general public, that they may shun castigation for similar offences.

> Greek: 22. Σόλων: ῥυθμίζομεν οὖν τὰς γνώμας αὐτῶν νόμους τε τοὺς κοινοὺς ἐκδιδάσκοντες, οἳ δημοσίᾳ πᾶσι πρόκεινται ἀναγιγνώσκειν μεγάλοις γράμμασιν ἀναγεγραμμένοι, κελεύοντες ἅ τε χρὴ ποιεῖν καὶ ὧν ἀπέχεσθαι, καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν συνουσίαις, παρʼ ὧν λέγειν τὰ δέοντα ἐκμανθάνουσι καὶ πράττειν τὰ δίκαια καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἴσου ἀλλήλοις συμπολιτεύεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐφίεσθαι τῶν αἰσχρῶν καὶ ὀρέγεσθαι τῶν καλῶν, βίαιον δὲ μηδὲν ποιεῖν. οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες οὗτοι σοφισταὶ καὶ φιλόσοφοι πρὸς ἡμῶν ὀνομάζονται. καὶ μέντοι καὶ εἰς τὸ θέατρον συνάγοντες αὐτοὺς δημοσίᾳ παιδεύομεν ὑπὸ κωμῳδίαις καὶ τραγῳδίαις ἀρετάς τε ἀνδρῶν παλαιῶν καὶ κακίας θεωμένους, ὡς τῶν μὲν ἀποτρέποιντο, ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνα δὲ σπεύδοιεν. τοῖς δέ γε κωμῳδοῖς καὶ λοιδορεῖσθαι καὶ ἀποσκώπτειν ἐφίεμεν εἰς τοὺς πολίτας οὓς ἂν αἰσχρὰ καὶ ἀνάξια τῆς πόλεως ἐπιτηδεύοντας αἴσθωνται, αὐτῶν τε ἐκείνων χάριν, ἀμείνους γὰρ οὕτω γίγνονται ὀνειδιζόμενοι, καὶ τῶν πολλῶν, ὡς φεύγοιεν τὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὁμοίοις ἔλεγχον.