1. Anacharsis was not the first to come from Scythia to Athens out of a longing for Greek culture. Before him there was Toxaris, a wise man, who loved beauty and was eager in pursuit of the best styles of living. At home he was not a member of the royal family or of the aristocracy; he belonged to the general run of the people—called “eight feet” in Scythia, meaning the owner of two oxen and a cart. This Toxaris never went back to Scythia, but died in Athens, where not long after his death he came to be considered a hero, and the Athenians sacrifice to him as “The Foreign Physician”—this was the name they gave him when they made him a hero. The reason for this designation, and the events which brought about his enrolment among the heroes, and his reputation as one of the sons of Asclepius are perhaps worth relating. Then you may see that to confer immortality on someone and send him to Zamolxis is a custom not of the Scythians only—it is also possible for Athenians to deify Scythians in Greece.
1. Οὐ πρῶτος Ἀνάχαρσις ἀφίκετο ἐκ Σκυθίας Ἀθήναζε παιδείας ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ Τόξαρις πρὸς αὐτοῦ, σοφὸς μὲν καὶ φιλόκαλος ἀνὴρ καὶ ἐπιτηδευμάτων φιλομαθὴς τῶν ἀρίστων, οἴκοι δὲ οὐ τοῦ βασιλείου γένους ὢν οὐδὲ τῶν πιλοφορικῶν, ἀλλὰ Σκυθῶν τῶν πολλῶν καὶ δημοτικῶν, οἷοί εἰσι παρ' αὐτοῖς οἱ ὀκτάποδες καλούμενοι, τοῦτο δέ ἐστι, δύο βοῶν δεσπότην εἶναι καὶ ἁμάξης μιᾶς. οὗτος ὁ Τόξαρις οὐδὲ ἀπῆλθεν ἔτι ὀπίσω ἐς Σκύθας, ἀλλ’ Ἀθήνησιν ἀπέθανεν, καὶ μετ' οὐ πολὺ καὶ ἥρως ἔδοξεν καὶ ἐντέμνουσιν αὐτῷ Ξένῳ Ἰατρῷ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι· τοῦτο γὰρ τοὔνομα ἥρως γενόμενος ἐπεκτήσατο. τὴν δ’ αἰτίαν τῆς ἐπωνυμίας καὶ ἀνθ' ὅτου ἐς τοὺς ἥρωας κατελέγη καὶ τῶν Ἀσκληπιαδῶν εἷς ἔδοξεν, οὐ χεῖρον ἴσως διηγήσασθαι, ὡς μάθητε οὐ Σκύθαις μόνον ἐπιχώριον ὂν ἀπαθανατίζειν καὶ πέμπειν παρὰ τὸν Ζάμολξιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀθηναίοις ἐξεῖναι θεοποιεῖν τοὺς Σκύθας ἐπὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος.
2. At the time of the great plague the wife of Archetiles the Areopagite dreamed that the Scythian Toxaris stood by her side and bade her tell the Athenians that they would be released from the grip of the plague if they sprinkled their alleyways liberally with wine. The Athenians took notice of what she told them and carried out frequent sprinklings with the result that the plague stopped—the smell of the wine may have dispersed some noxious vapours, or the hero Toxaris, being a medical man, may have had some other special knowledge when he gave his advice. In any case to this day payment for his cure is still offered to him—a white horse, sacrificed on his tomb. Dimaenete said he came from there when he gave her the instructions about the wine, and Toxaris was found buried there, being recognised by the inscription, though it was no longer all visible, and more especially by a carving of a Scythian on the pillar; in the figure’s left hand was a strung bow, in his right what looked like a book; even now you may still see more than half of it, including all the bow and the book; the upper half of the pillar including the face has been worn away in the course of time; it is situated not far from the Dipylon, on the left as you go towards the Academy; the mound is quite small and the pillar lies on the ground; nevertheless it is always garlanded and the story is that the hero has cured several sufferers from fevers—this is not surprising indeed since he once cured the whole city.
2. Κατὰ τὸν λοιμὸν τὸν μέγαν ἔδοξεν ἡ Ἀρχιτέλους γυνή, Ἀρεοπαγίτου ἀνδρός, ἐπιστάντα οἱ τὸν Σκύθην κελεῦσαι εἰπεῖν Ἀθηναίοις ὅτι παύσονται τῷ λοιμῷ ἐχόμενοι, ἢν τοὺς στενωποὺς οἴνῳ πολλῷ ῥαίνωσι. τοῦτο συχνάκις γενόμενον—οὐ γὰρ ἠμέλησαν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἀκούσαντες—ἔπαυσε μηκέτι λοιμώττειν αὐτούς, εἴτε ἀτμούς τινας πονηροὺς ὁ οἶνος σβέσας τῇ ὀδμῇ, εἴτε ἄλλο τι πλέον εἰδὼς ὁ ἥρως ὁ Τόξαρις, ἅτε ἰατρικὸς ὤν, συνεβούλευσεν. ὁ δ’ οὖν μισθὸς τῆς ἰάσεως ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἀποδίδοται αὐτῷ λευκὸς ἵππος καταθυόμενος ἐπὶ τῷ μνήματι, ὅθεν ἔδειξεν ἡ Δειμαινέτη προσελθόντα αὐτὸν ἐντείλασθαι ἐκεῖνα τὰ περὶ τοῦ οἴνου· καὶ εὑρέθη κεῖθι ὁ Τόξαρις τεθαμμένος τῇ τε ἐπιγραφῇ γνωσθείς, εἰ καὶ μὴ πᾶσα ἔτι ἐφαίνετο, καὶ μάλιστα, ὅτι ἐπὶ τῇ στήλῃ Σκύθης ἀνὴρ ἐγκεκόλαπτο, τῇ λαιᾷ μὲν τόξον ἔχων ἐντεταμένον, τῇ δεξιᾷ δὲ βιβλίον, ὡς ἐδόκει. ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἴδοις ἂν αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ ἥμισυ καὶ τὸ τόξον ὅλον καὶ τὸ βιβλίον· τὰ δὲ ἄνω τῆς στήλης καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον ὁ χρόνος ἤδη ἐλυμήνατό που· ἔστιν δὲ οὐ πολὺ ἀπὸ τοῦ Διπύλου, ἐν ἀριστερᾷ εἰς Ἀκαδημίαν ἀπιόντων, οὐ μέγα τὸ χῶμα καὶ ἡ στήλη χαμαί· πλὴν ἀλλ’ ἔστεπταί γε ἀεί, καί φασι πυρεταίνοντάς τινας ἤδη πεπαῦσθαι ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὰ τὸν Δί' οὐδὲν ἄπιστον, ὃς ὅλην ποτὲ ἰάσατο τὴν πόλιν.
3. My reason for mentioning the story was this: Toxaris was still alive when Anacharsis, who had recently put in at Piraeus, went up to Athens. A stranger and a foreigner he experienced considerable confusion of mind, for everything was strange and there were the many sounds which frightened him; he did not know what to do with himself; he saw that people who saw him laughed at his dress; he met no one who spoke his language, and altogether he was already sorry he had made the trip. He decided just to see Athens and then immediately to retrace his steps and embark for the voyage back to the Bosporus, from where his journey home to Scythia would be quite short. While Anacharsis was in this frame of mind a good angel appeared to him when he was already in the Ceramicus, in fact it was Toxaris. Toxaris had been first attracted by the familiar cut of his Scythian dress and then was bound to recognise Anacharsis himself quite easily as he was of very noble stock and one of the leading men of Scythia. But Anacharsis had no means of recognising Toxaris as a fellow-countryman, with his Greek garb, his shaven chin, his lack of belt or sword, his fluency of speech—one of the real Attic aborigines; so much had time changed him.
3. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὗπερ ἕνεκα ἐμνήσθην αὐτοῦ, ἔζη μὲν ἔτι ὁ Τόξαρις, ὁ Ἀνάχαρσις δὲ ἄρτι καταπεπλευκὼς ἀνῄει ἐκ Πειραιῶς, οἷα δὴ ξένος καὶ βάρβαρος οὐ μετρίως τεταραγμένος ἔτι τὴν γνώμην, πάντα ἀγνοῶν, ψοφοδεὴς πρὸς τὰ πολλά, οὐκ ἔχων ὅ τι χρήσαιτο ἑαυτῷ· καὶ γὰρ συνίει καταγελώμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ὁρώντων ἐπὶ τῇ σκευῇ, καὶ ὁμόγλωσσον οὐδένα εὕρισκεν, καὶ ὅλως μετέμελεν αὐτῷ ἤδη τῆς ὁδοῦ, καὶ ἐδέδοκτο ἰδόντα μόνον τὰς Ἀθήνας ἐπὶ πόδα εὐθὺς ὀπίσω χωρεῖν καὶ πλοίῳ ἐπιβάντα πλεῖν αὖθις ἐπὶ Βοσπόρου, ὅθεν οὐ πολλὴ ἔμελλεν αὐτῷ ὁδὸς ἔσεσθαι οἴκαδε ἐς Σκύθας. οὕτως ἔχοντι τῷ Ἀναχάρσιδι ἐντυγχάνει δαίμων τις ἀγαθὸς ὡς ἀληθῶς ὁ Τόξαρις ἤδη ἐν τῷ Κεραμεικῷ. καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἡ στολὴ αὐτὸν ἐπεσπάσατο πατριῶτις οὖσα, εἶτα μέντοι οὐ χαλεπῶς ἔμελλε καὶ αὐτὸν γνώσεσθαι τὸν Ἀνάχαρσιν ἅτε γένους τοῦ δοκιμωτάτου ὄντα καὶ ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις Σκυθῶν. ὁ Ἀνάχαρσις δὲ πόθεν ἂν ἐκεῖνον ἔγνω ὁμοεθνῆ ὄντα, Ἑλληνιστὶ ἐσταλμένον, ἐν χρῷ κεκαρμένον τὸ γένειον, ἄζωστον, ἀσίδηρον, ἤδη στωμύλον, αὐτῶν τῶν Ἀττικῶν ἕνα τῶν αὐτοχθόνων; οὕτω μετεπεποίητο ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου.
4. Toxaris addressed him in Scythian. “Are you not perchance Anacharsis the son of Daucetas?” he asked. Anacharsis wept for joy at having found one who spoke his tongue and knew who he was back home in Scythia. “How is it that you know me, my friend?” he asked. “I myself am from your country. My name is Toxaris; no aristocrat, so you wouldn’t recognise it.” “Surely you’re not the same Toxaris as the one who, as I heard, out of love for Greece left his wife and young children in Scythia and went to Athens and now spends his life there honoured by the men of rank?” “I am that man,” he said, “if there is still some word of me at home.” “Well,” said Anacharsis, “you may know that I am a disciple and a convert to your longing to see Greece. This was why I left home and came on this journey. My adventures among the peoples on the way have been past telling, and if I had not met you I should have gone back again to my ship before sunset as I had decided; I have been in such a state of confusion, with everything so strange and novel to my eyes. Now by our native gods Acinaces and Zamolxis I ask you, Toxaris, to take me with you and be my guide and show me the best of what there is in Athens and then in the rest of Greece—their finest laws, their greatest men, their customs, assemblies, their way of life, their constitution. It was to see all this that you, and I after you, made our long journey. Do not let me go back without seeing it all.”
4. Ἀλλὰ Τόξαρις Σκυθιστὶ προσειπὼν αὐτόν, Οὐ σύ, ἔφη, Ἀνάχαρσις ὢν τυγχάνεις ὁ Δαυκέτου; ἐδάκρυσεν ὑφ' ἡδονῆς ὁ Ἀνάχαρσις, ὅτι καὶ ὁμόφωνον εὑρήκει τινά, καὶ τοῦτον εἰδότα ὅστις ἦν ἐν Σκύθαις, καὶ ἤρετο, Σὺ δὲ πόθεν οἶσθα ἡμᾶς, ὦ ξένε; Καὶ αὐτός, ἔφη, ἐκεῖθέν εἰμι παρ' ὑμῶν, Τόξαρις τοὔνομα, οὐ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν, ὥστε καὶ ἐγνῶσθαι ἄν σοι κατ' αὐτό. Μῶν, ἔφη, σὺ ὁ Τόξαρις εἶ περὶ οὗ ἐγὼ ἤκουσα ὥς τις Τόξαρις ἔρωτι τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀπολιπὼν καὶ γυναῖκα ἐν Σκυθίᾳ καὶ παιδία νεογνὰ οἴχοιτο ἐς Ἀθήνας καὶ νῦν διατρίβοι κεῖθι τιμώμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρίστων; Ἐγώ, ἔφη, ἐκεῖνός εἰμι, εἴ τις κἀμοῦ λόγος ἔτι παρ' ὑμῖν. Οὐκοῦν, ἦ δ’ ὃς ὁ Ἀνάχαρσις, μαθητήν σου ἴσθι με γεγενημένον καὶ ζηλωτὴν τοῦ ἔρωτος ὃν ἠράσθης, ἰδεῖν τὴν Ἑλλάδα, καὶ κατά γε τὴν ἐμπορίαν ταύτην ἀποδημήσας. ἥκω σοι μυρία παθὼν ἐν τοῖς διὰ μέσου ἔθνεσιν, καὶ εἴ γε μὴ σοὶ ἐνέτυχον, ἔγνωστο ἤδη πρὶν ἥλιον δῦναι, ὀπίσω αὖθις ἐπὶ ναῦν κατιέναι· οὕτως ἐτεταράγμην ξένα καὶ ἄγνωστα πάντα ὁρῶν. ἀλλὰ πρὸς Ἀκινάκου καὶ Ζαμόλξιδος, τῶν πατρῴων ἡμῖν θεῶν, σύ με, ὦ Τόξαρι, παραλαβὼν ξενάγησον καὶ δεῖξον τὰ κάλλιστα τῶν Ἀθήνησιν, εἶτα καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ ἄλλῃ Ἑλλάδι, νόμων τε τοὺς ἀρίστους καὶ ἀνδρῶν τοὺς βελτίστους καὶ ἤθη καὶ πανηγύρεις καὶ βίον αὐτῶν καὶ πολιτείαν, δι’ ἅπερ σύ τε κἀγὼ μετὰ σὲ τοσαύτην ὁδὸν ἥκομεν, καὶ μὴ περιίδῃς ἀθέατον αὐτῶν ἀναστρέψοντα.
5. “Your words,” said Toxaris, “betray little affection if you mean to come to the very doors and then go back again. Cheer up now! You won’t go away, in the way you suggest, and the city will not readily let you go: she has more charms than that to captivate the stranger. She will grip your heart so tightly that you will not remember wife or children, if you have any, any more. Now I’ll show you the quickest way of seeing the whole city of Athens and more—all Greece and the glories of the Greek nation. There is a certain wise man in Athens. He is Athenian by birth but has travelled abroad widely to Asia and Egypt and has mixed with the cream of mankind. But for all that he is not one of the rich; actually he is quite poor. You’ll see he is an old man dressed in very humble fashion. Nevertheless he is held in great honour for his wisdom and other qualities. As a result they employ him to frame laws for the government of the city and are resolved to live in accordance with his ordinances. Make him your friend, get to know what sort of man he is, and you will find all Greece in him, and know already the sum of her glories. I could do you no greater favour than to introduce you to him.”
5. Τοῦτο μέν, ἔφη ὁ Τόξαρις, ἥκιστα ἐρωτικὸν εἴρηκας, ἐπὶ τὰς θύρας αὐτὰς ἐλθόντα οἴχεσθαι ἀπιόντα. πλὴν ἀλλὰ θάρρει. οὐ γὰρ ἄν, ὡς φής, ἀπέλθοις οὐδ’ ἂν ἀφείη σε ῥᾳδίως ἡ πόλις· οὐχ οὕτως ὀλίγα τὰ θέλγητρα ἔχει πρὸς τοὺς ξένους, ἀλλὰ μάλα ἐπιλήψεταί σου, ὡς μήτε γυναικὸς ἔτι μήτε παίδων, εἴ σοι ἤδη εἰσί, μεμνῆσθαι. ὡς δ’ ἂν τάχιστα πᾶσαν ἴδοις τὴν πόλιν τὴν τῶν Ἀθηνῶν, μᾶλλον δὲ τὴν Ἑλλάδα ὅλην καὶ τὰ Ἑλλήνων καλά, ἐγὼ ὑποθήσομαί σοι. ἔστι σοφὸς ἀνὴρ ἐνταῦθα, ἐπιχώριος μέν, ἀποδημήσας δὲ μάλα πολλὰ ἔς τε Ἀσίαν καὶ ἐς Αἴγυπτον καὶ τοῖς ἀρίστοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων συγγενόμενος, τὰ ἄλλα οὐ τῶν πλουσίων, ἀλλὰ καὶ κομιδῇ πένης. ὄψει γέροντα οὕτω δημοτικῶς ἐσταλμένον. πλὴν διά γε τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἀρετὴν πάνυ τιμῶσιν αὐτόν, ὥστε καὶ νομοθέτῃ χρῶνται πρὸς τὴν πολιτείαν καὶ ἀξιοῦσι κατὰ τὰ ἐκείνου προστάγματα βιοῦν. εἰ τοῦτον φίλον κτήσαιο καὶ μάθοις οἷος ἀνήρ ἐστι, πᾶσαν νόμιζε τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχειν καὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον ἤδη ἂν εἰδέναι τῶν τῇδε ἀγαθῶν· ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ὅ τι ἂν μεῖζόν σοι καλὸν χαρίσασθαι δυναίμην ἢ συστήσας ἐκείνῳ.
6. “Let us not delay then, Toxaris,” said Anacharsis, “take me with you to him, though I’m afraid of one thing, that he may be difficult to approach and not consider your representations on my behalf as of any importance.” “Hush now,” replied Toxaris, “I fancy I shall be showing him a great kindness by giving him the chance to show good-will to a stranger. You just follow on. You’ll see his reverence for Zeus the God of Strangers as well as his general goodness and kindness. Well, that’s a piece of luck! Here he is coming in our direction, that fellow deep in thought, the one muttering to himself.” He addressed Solon at once: “I’ve come,” he said, “with the greatest of gifts for you, a stranger in need of your friendship.
6. Μὴ τοίνυν μέλλωμεν, ἔφη, ὦ Τόξαρι, ὁ Ἀνάχαρσις, ἀλλά με λαβὼν ἄγε παρ' αὐτόν. ἀτὰρ ἐκεῖνο δέδια, μὴ δυσπρόσοδος καὶ ἐν παρέργῳ θῆταί σου τὴν ἔντευξιν τὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. Εὐφήμει, ἦ δ’ ὅς, ἐκείνῳ τὰ μέγιστα χαριεῖσθαί μοι δοκῶ ἀφορμὴν παρασχὼν τῆς ἐς ξένον ἄνδρα εὐποιίας. ἕπου μόνον· εἴσῃ γὰρ ὅση πρὸς τὸν Ξένιον ἡ αἰδὼς καὶ ἡ ἄλλη ἐπιείκεια καὶ χρηστότης. μᾶλλον δὲ κατὰ δαίμονα οὗτος αὐτὸς ἡμῖν πρόσεισιν, ὁ ἐπὶ συννοίας, ὁ λαλῶν ἑαυτῷ. καὶ ἅμα προσειπὼν τὸν Σόλωνα, Τοῦτό σοι, ἔφη, δῶρον μέγιστον ἥκω ἄγων, ξένον ἄνδρα φιλίας δεόμενον.
7. He is one of our Scythian nobility, but that hasn’t prevented him from leaving all his possessions there to visit you men of Greece and to see the fairest things that Greece can offer, I’ve discovered a short way of enabling him to see everything easily in person and to become known to the cream of your nation: this was to bring him to you. If I know Solon, you’ll do this and look after him and make him a true son of Greece. Anacharsis, as I told you just now, having seen Solon you have seen everything: here is Athens, here is Greece; you’re no longer a stranger, everybody knows you, everybody loves you. Such is the quality of this old man. In his company you will forget everything you left in Scythia. Here is the reward of your voyaging abroad, the end of your passionate longing. Here for you is the measure of Greece, here a specimen of Attic philosophy. Just realise how blessed you are to meet Solon, and to meet him as a friend.”
7. Σκύθης δέ ἐστι τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν εὐπατριδῶν, καὶ ὅμως τἀκεῖ πάντα ἀφεὶς ἥκει συνεσόμενος ὑμῖν καὶ τὰ κάλλιστα ὀψόμενος τῆς Ἑλλάδος, κἀγὼ ἐπίτομόν τινα ταύτην ἐξεῦρον αὐτῷ, ὅπως ῥᾷστα καὶ αὐτὸς μάθοι πάντα καὶ γνώριμος γένοιτο τοῖς ἀρίστοις· τοῦτο δ’ ἦν σοὶ προσαγαγεῖν αὐτόν. εἰ τοίνυν ἐγὼ Σόλωνα οἶδα, οὕτω ποιήσεις καὶ προξενήσεις αὐτοῦ καὶ πολίτην γνήσιον ἀποφανεῖς τῆς Ἑλλάδος. καὶ ὅπερ σοι ἔφην μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν, ὦ Ἀνάχαρσι, πάντα ἑώρακας ἤδη Σόλωνα ἰδών· τοῦτο αἱ Ἀθῆναι, τοῦτο ἡ Ἑλλάς· οὐκέτι ξένος σύ γε, πάντες σε ἴσασι, πάντες σε φιλοῦσι. τηλικοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ κατὰ τὸν πρεσβύτην τοῦτον. ἁπάντων ἐπιλήσῃ τῶν ἐν Σκυθίᾳ συνὼν αὐτῷ. ἔχεις τῆς ἀποδημίας τὰ ἆθλα, τοῦ ἔρωτος τὸ τέλος. οὗτός σοι ὁ Ἑλληνικὸς κανών, τοῦτο δεῖγμα τῆς φιλοσοφίας τῆς Ἀττικῆς. οὕτω τοίνυν γίγνωσκε ὡς εὐδαιμονέστατος ὤν, ὃς συνέσῃ Σόλωνι καὶ φίλῳ χρήσῃ αὐτῷ.
8. It would be a long business to tell how Solon was pleased by the gift, what he said, and how they kept company afterwards, Solon, the educator, instilling the noblest lessons, making Anacharsis friends with everyone, introducing him to the noblest Greeks, and looking after him in every way, so that his time in Greece might pass most pleasantly, and Anacharsis, in admiration of Solon’s wisdom, unwilling to leave his side for a moment. So just as Toxaris had promised him, from one person, Solon, he quickly learnt everything, became known to everyone, and won respect through him. For Solon’s praise carried no small weight, and in this too men obeyed him as a lawgiver, and they made friends with those to whom he showed respect, accepting them as men of worth. In the end, if we are to believe Theoxenus, who tells this story as well about him, Anacharsis alone of barbarians was even initiated into the mysteries after being made an Athenian citizen; nor I fancy would he have returned to Scythia, had not Solon died.
8. Μακρὸν ἂν εἴη διηγήσασθαι, ὅπως μὲν ἥσθη ὁ Σόλων τῷ δώρῳ, οἷα δὲ εἶπεν, ὡς δὲ τὸ λοιπὸν συνῆσαν, ὁ μὲν παιδεύων καὶ διδάσκων τὰ κάλλιστα, ὁ Σόλων, καὶ φίλον ἅπασι ποιῶν τὸν Ἀνάχαρσιν καὶ προσάγων τοῖς Ἑλλήνων καλοῖς καὶ πάντα τρόπον ἐπιμελούμενος, ὅπως ἥδιστα διατρίψῃ ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι, ὁ δὲ τεθηπὼς τὴν σοφίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ μηδὲ τὸν ἕτερον πόδα ἑκὼν εἶναι ἀπολειπόμενος. ὡς γοῦν ὑπέσχετο αὐτῷ ὁ Τόξαρις, ἐξ ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς τοῦ Σόλωνος ἅπαντα ἔγνω ἐν ἀκαρεῖ καὶ πᾶσιν ἦν γνώριμος καὶ ἐτιμᾶτο δι’ ἐκεῖνον. οὐ γὰρ μικρὸν ἦν Σόλων ἐπαινῶν, ἀλλ’ οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ τοῦτο ὡς νομοθέτῃ ἐπείθοντο καὶ ἐφίλουν οὓς ἐκεῖνος δοκιμάζοι καὶ ἐπίστευον ἀρίστους ἄνδρας εἶναι. τὰ τελευταῖα καὶ ἐμυήθη μόνος βαρβάρων Ἀνάχαρσις, δημοποίητος γενόμενος, εἰ χρὴ Θεοξένῳ πιστεύειν καὶ τοῦτο ἱστοροῦντι περὶ αὐτοῦ· καὶ οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ ἀνέστρεψεν οἶμαι ἐς Σκύθας, εἰ μὴ Σόλων ἀπέθανεν.
9. Would you like me to complete my story so that it should not roam about in a headless condition? It’s high time to find out what Anacharsis and Toxaris from Scythia are still doing here at this time in Macedon bringing old Solon with them from Athens. Well, my own situation is like that of Anacharsis—and please do not resent my likening myself to a man of regal stature, for he too was a barbarian, and no one could say that we Syrians are inferior to Scythians. It isn’t on grounds of royalty that I compare my situation with his, but rather because we are both barbarians. For when I first came to live in your city, I was utterly terrified as soon as I saw its size, its beauty, its high population, its power and general splendour. For a long time I was struck with wonder at these things and could not take in the spectacle—just as when the young man from the islands came to the house of Menelaus. How could I help feeling like this when I saw the city at such a peak of excellence and, as the poet says,“Blossoming with all good things whereby a cityflourisheth.”
9. Βούλεσθε οὖν ἐπαγάγω ἤδη τῷ μύθῳ τὸ τέλος, ὡς μὴ ἀκέφαλος περινοστοίη; ὥρα γοῦν εἰδέναι οὗτινός μοι εἵνεκα ὁ Ἀνάχαρσις ἐκ Σκυθίας καὶ Τόξαρις τὰ νῦν ἐς Μακεδονίαν ἥκετον ἔτι καὶ Σόλωνα γέροντα ἄνδρα ἐπαγομένω Ἀθήνηθεν. φημὶ δὴ ὅμοιόν τι καὶ αὐτὸς παθεῖν τῷ Ἀναχάρσιδι—καὶ πρὸς Χαρίτων μὴ νεμεσήσητέ μοι τῆς εἰκόνος, εἰ βασιλικῷ ἀνδρὶ ἐμαυτὸν εἴκασα· βάρβαρος μὲν γὰρ κἀκεῖνος καὶ οὐδέν τι φαίης ἂν τοὺς Σύρους ἡμᾶς φαυλοτέρους εἶναι τῶν Σκυθῶν. ἀτὰρ οὐδὲ κατὰ τὸ βασιλικὸν εἰσποιῶ τἀμὰ ἐς τὴν ὁμοιότητα, κατ' ἐκεῖνα δέ. ὅτε γὰρ πρῶτον ἐπεδήμησα ὑμῶν τῇ πόλει, ἐξεπλάγην μὲν εὐθὺς ἰδὼν τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ κάλλος καὶ τῶν ἐμπολιτευομένων τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τὴν ἄλλην δύναμιν καὶ λαμπρότητα πᾶσαν. ὥστε ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐτεθήπειν πρὸς ταῦτα καὶ οὐκ ἐξήρκουν τῷ θαύματι, οἷόν τι καὶ ὁ νησιώτης ἐκεῖνος νεανίσκος ἐπεπόνθει πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Μενελάου οἰκίαν. καὶ ἔμελλον οὕτω διατεθήσεσθαι τὴν γνώμην ἰδὼν πόλιν ἀκμάζουσαν ἀκμῇ τοσαύτῃ καὶ κατὰ τὸν ποιητὴν ἐκεῖνονἀνθοῦσαν ἀγαθοῖς πᾶσιν οἷς θάλλει πόλις.
10. In this plight then I was already considering what steps I should take next. I had some time since decided to show you something of my oratory, for who else would deserve it if I had passed by such a city in silence? To tell the truth, I enquired who were the leading citizens and who might be approached and enlisted as patrons and general supporters. My case was better than that of Anacharsis—he had but one patron, Toxaris, and that one a barbarian, while I have many, and what is more they have all told me the same thing in about the same words: “There are many good and knowledgeable persons in our city, friend—nowhere else will you find such quality—, but we have two men of outstanding merit, pre-eminent in birth and reputation, and in culture and oratorical power comparable to the Ten Attic Orators. They enjoy the devoted respect of the people, and their word is law. They wish whatever is best for the city. Their goodness, their kindness towards strangers, their freedom from censure, eminent though they be, their kindly courtesy, their gentleness and ease of access, these qualities you yourself will tell to others when you have presently made trial of them.
10. Οὕτω δὴ ἔχων ἐσκοπούμην ἤδη περὶ τῶν πρακτέων, καὶ τὸ μὲν δεῖξαι τῶν λόγων ὑμῖν πάλαι ἐδέδοκτο. τίσι γὰρ ἂν ἄλλοις ἔδειξα σιωπῇ παροδεύσας τηλικαύτην πόλιν; ἐζήτουν γάρ, οὐδὲ ἀποκρύψομαι τἀληθές, οἵτινες οἱ προὔχοντες εἶεν καὶ οἷς ἄν τις προσελθὼν καὶ ἐπιγραψάμενος προστάτας συναγωνισταῖς χρῷτο πρὸς τὰ ὅλα. ἐνταῦθά μοι οὐχ εἶς, ὥσπερ τῷ Ἀναχάρσιδι, καὶ οὗτος βάρβαρος, ὁ Τόξαρις, ἀλλὰ πολλοί, μᾶλλον δὲ πάντες τὰ αὐτὰ μόνον οὐ ταῖς αὐταῖς συλλαβαῖς ἔλεγον· ὦ ξένε, πολλοὶ μὲν καὶ ἄλλοι χρηστοὶ καὶ δεξιοὶ ἀνὰ τὴν πόλιν, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀλλαχόθι τοσούτους εὕροις ἄνδρας ἀγαθούς, δύο δὲ μάλιστά ἐστον ἡμῖν ἄνδρε ἀρίστω, γένει μὲν καὶ ἀξιώματι πολὺ προὔχοντε ἁπάντων, παιδείᾳ δὲ καὶ λόγων δυνάμει τῇ Ἀττικῇ δεκάδι παραβάλλοις ἄν. ἡ δὲ παρὰ τοῦ δήμου εὔνοια πάνυ ἐρωτικὴ πρὸς αὐτούς, καὶ τουτὶ γίγνεται, ὅ τι ἂν οὗτοι ἐθέλωσιν. ἐθέλουσι γὰρ ὅ τι ἂν ἄριστον ᾖ τῇ πόλει. τὴν μὲν γὰρ χρηστότητα καὶ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ξένους φιλανθρωπίαν καὶ τὸ ἐν μεγέθει τοσούτῳ ἀνεπίφθονον καὶ τὸ μετ' εὐνοίας αἰδέσιμον καὶ τὸ πρᾷον καὶ τὸ εὐπρόσοδον αὐτὸς ἂν ἄλλοις διηγήσαιο πειραθεὶς μικρὸν ὕστερον.
11. “To excite your wonder still more, they belong to one and the same household. They are in fact father and son. The father you may imagine to be a Solon, a Pericles, or an Aristides, while the son will win your heart as soon as you see him, so tall is he and handsome with his manly grace; and let him but speak and he will leave you with your ears enchained, such charm is there in the young man’s tongue. Whenever he comes forward to speak in public the entire city listen to him open-mouthed—it is the story of the Athenians and the son of Clinias over again with this difference: the Athenians quite soon repented of their affection for Alcibiades, while here there is not only love for the young man but a ready reverence already and in short the well-being and happiness of our state are summed up in this one man. If he and his father were to take you in and make you their friend, then the whole city is yours. Let them but lift a finger and any doubts you may have will be no more.” This by Zeus (if I must swear to it) is what all told me, and by my experience already it is clear that they told me but a fraction of the truth. “Then sit no more and brook no more delay,” as the Ceian says. No, I must pull every rope, do and say everything to make such men my friends; if that is once attained, then ahead there is nothing but calm weather, a fair wind, a sea barely rippling, and a harbour near at hand.
11. Καὶ ὡς μᾶλλον θαυμάσῃς, μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς οἰκίας ἐστόν, υἱὸς καὶ πατήρ, ὁ μέν, εἴ τινα Σόλωνα ἢ Περικλέα ἢ Ἀριστείδην ἐπινοεῖς, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς καὶ ὀφθεὶς μὲν αὐτίκα ἐπάξεταί σε, οὕτω μέγας ἐστὶ καὶ καλὸς ἀρρενωπήν τινα τὴν εὐμορφίαν· εἰ δὲ καὶ φθέγξαιτο μόνον, οἰχήσεταί σε ἀπὸ τῶν ὤτων ἀναδησάμενος, τοσαύτην Ἀφροδίτην ἐπὶ τῇ γλώττῃ ὁ νεανίσκος ἔχει. ἥ γέ τοι πόλις ἅπασα κεχηνότες αὐτοῦ ἀκούουσιν, ὁπόταν δημηγορήσων παρέλθῃ, ὁποῖόν φασι τοὺς τότε Ἀθηναίους πρὸς τὸν τοῦ Κλεινίου πεπονθέναι, παρ' ὅσον τοῖς μὲν οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν μετεμέλησε τοῦ ἔρωτος, ὃν ἠράσθησαν τοῦ Ἀλκιβιάδου, τοῦτον δὲ ἡ πόλις οὐ φιλεῖ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἰδεῖσθαι ἤδη ἀξιοῖ, καὶ ὅλως ἒν τοῦτο ἡμῖν δημόσιον ἀγαθόν ἐστιν καὶ μέγα ὄφελος ἅπασιν, ἁνὴρ οὗτος. εἰ δὴ αὐτός τε καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ δέξαιντό σε καὶ φίλον ποιήσαιντο, πᾶσαν ἔχεις τὴν πόλιν, καὶ ἐπισεῖσαι χρὴ τὴν χεῖρα, τοῦτο μόνον, καὶ οὐκέτ' ἐνδοιάσιμα τὰ σά. ταῦτα νὴ τὸν Δί' ἅπαντες ἔλεγον (εἰ χρὴ καὶ ὅρκον ἐπάγειν τῷ λόγῳ), καί μοι ἤδη πειρωμένῳ τὸ πολλοστὸν τῶν προσόντων εἰρηκέναι ἔδοξαν. “οὐχ ἕδρας τοίνυν οὐδ’ ἀμβολᾶς ἔργον,” ὡς ὁ Κεῖός φησιν, ἀλλὰ χρὴ πάντα μὲν κάλων κινεῖν, πάντα δὲ πράττειν καὶ λέγειν, ὡς φίλοι ἡμῖν τοιοῦτοι γένοιντο· ἢν γὰρ τοῦτο ὑπάρξῃ, εὔδια πάντα καὶ πλοῦς οὔριος καὶ λειοκύμων ἡ θάλαττα καὶ ὁ λιμὴν πλησίον.