selected from the Borysthenitic Discourse

Dio's Borysthenitic Discourse joins two bodies of evidence rarely held together: the north Black Sea Greek city under Scythian and Sauromatian pressure, and a Greek account of a Magian cosmological myth ascribed to Zoroaster and the Magi.

The translation below gives sections 1-18, where Dio enters Borysthenes/Olbia, describes the Hypanis-Borysthenes estuary, the reduced city, Scythian trade dependence, Scythian dress, Sauromatian war, Achilles worship, Homeric memory, and a raid by Scythians; and sections 39-61, where he turns to the secret Magian chariot myth of Zeus, fire, flood, cosmic transformation, and remaking.

The English is a Good Works Translation from the Greek passages printed below.

Translation

Sections 1-3 -- Borysthenes, Hypanis, and the Northern Estuary

I was staying at Borysthenes in the summer, after I had sailed in during my exile. I wanted, if I could, to go through the land of the Scythians to the Getae, so that I might see for myself what affairs were like there. I was walking, then, about the hour when the market was full, beside the Hypanis.

The city takes its name from the Borysthenes because of the beauty and greatness of that river. Yet it lies by the Hypanis, as the present city does and as the earlier city was founded, not far above the headland called Hippolaus, directly opposite it. This is a sharp, firm piece of country, thrust out like a ram, around which the rivers come together.

From that point onward the waters already spread into a lake as far as the sea, for almost two hundred stadia. In that part the breadth is no less than the breadth of the rivers. Most of it is shoal water, and in calm weather the stillness stands fixed like a lake. On the right the river-channel is visible, and those who sail in judge the depth from the current. By that channel the river also goes out, because of the force of its stream; otherwise it would easily be blocked when a strong south wind blew into its mouth.

The rest is marshy shore, thick with reeds and trees. Many of the trees are seen even in the middle of the lake, so like masts that some inexperienced sailors have already been mistaken and have steered toward them as toward ships. Here also is the great store of salt from which most of the barbarians buy their salt, and likewise the Greeks and Scythians who live in the Tauric Chersonese. The rivers empty into the sea beside the fort of Alector, which is said to belong to the wife of the king of the Sauromatae.

Sections 4-6 -- A Greek City After Capture

The city of the Borysthenites is not, in size, equal to its ancient fame, because of continuous captures and wars. Since it has stood so long in the midst of the barbarians, and among almost the most warlike of them, it is always under attack and has often been taken. The last and greatest capture was not more than one hundred and fifty years ago. The Getae took this city and the other cities on the left side of Pontus as far as Apollonia.

From that time the condition of the Greeks in that region sank very low. Some cities were never resettled; others were resettled poorly; and in most of them barbarians streamed in. There have been many captures in many parts of Greece, because Greece has been scattered in many places.

After the Borysthenites had been taken then, they settled together again. The Scythians, in my judgment, were willing, because they needed the Greek market and the Greek ships sailing in. When the city had been overthrown, the Greeks stopped coming, since they had no people of their own speech to receive them; nor did the Scythians think fit, or know how, to make an emporium for them in the Greek manner.

The signs of that overthrow are plain: the poverty of the buildings and the way the city has been drawn into a small compass. One part has been built up against the old circuit-wall, where a few towers still remain, not in keeping with the size or strength of the city. The space between has been blocked there by houses, with whatever gaps they happen to have. A very low and weak little wall has been thrown alongside. Some of the towers stand far away from the inhabited city now, so far that one would not even suppose they had belonged to a single city. These are clear signs of capture. So too is the fact that none of the statues in the sanctuaries remains whole, but all have been mutilated, like the figures on tombs.

Sections 7-8 -- Callistratus in Scythian Dress

As I was saying, I happened to be walking in front of the city, and some of the Borysthenites came out from within toward me, as they were accustomed to do. Then Callistratus rode up from outside, first passing us on horseback; after he had gone a little beyond us, he dismounted, gave the horse to his attendant, and approached in a very orderly way with his hand drawn in under his cloak.

He had a large cavalry dagger at his belt. He wore trousers, and his other clothing was Scythian. Over his shoulders he had a small black cloak, thin, as the Borysthenites usually wear. They also use black clothing in general, I think from a certain Scythian people called the Melanchlaeni, named in this respect by the Greeks.

Callistratus was about eighteen years old, very handsome and tall, with much of the Ionian look in his appearance. He was said to be brave in war also, and to have killed many Sauromatae and taken others prisoner. He was eager for speeches and philosophy as well, so much so that he wished to sail away with me. For all these reasons he had a good name among the citizens, not least because of his beauty, and he had many lovers. This practice, love of males, has remained with them very strongly from the mother-city; so they are in danger of persuading even some of the barbarians to it, hardly for the good, but as those men would receive such a custom, in a barbarous way and not without violence.

Sections 9-14 -- Homer, Achilles, and a Small City in Order

Knowing that he loved Homer, I immediately asked him about that. Nearly all the Borysthenites are devoted to the poet, perhaps because they are still warlike even now, unless it is also because of their goodwill toward Achilles. They honor Achilles extraordinarily. They have built one temple to him on the island called Achilles' Island, and another in the city. Because of this they do not wish to hear about anyone except Homer. Though they no longer speak clear Greek in other matters, because they live among barbarians, almost all of them know the Iliad by heart.

I said to him playfully, "Callistratus, which poet seems better to you, Homer or Phocylides?"

He laughed and said, "I do not even know the name of the other poet, and I think none of these men does either. We do not believe there is any poet except Homer. Hardly anyone at all is ignorant of him. Their poets mention Homer alone in their poems; and in other matters they speak as usual, but whenever they are about to fight they exhort their own men as the songs of Tyrtaeus used to be recited in Sparta. All these poets are blind, and they do not think it possible for a poet to come into being in any other way."

"In that, at least," I said, "their poets have profited from Homer, as though from an eye disease. You do not know Phocylides, as you say; yet he became one of the poets of repute. When one of the merchants sails down to you, though he has never been here before, you do not dishonor him at once. First you taste his wine, or take a sample if he brings some other cargo; if it pleases you, you buy, and if not, you let it go. In the same way, you may take a brief sample of Phocylides' poetry. He is not one of those who draw out a long and continuous poem, as your poet carries through a single battle in more than five thousand verses. With him, two or three lines have both beginning and end. He even adds his own name to each thought, because he regards it as serious and of great worth, unlike Homer, who nowhere names himself in the poem.

"Does it not seem reasonable that Phocylides added his name to this judgment and declaration: This too is Phocylides': a small city living in order upon a crag is better than foolish Nineveh? Are not those verses, to those who do not listen carelessly, worth the whole Iliad and Odyssey? Or would it be more useful for you to hear about Achilles' leaps and rushes and his voice, how merely by crying out he turned the Trojans to flight? Would learning those things help you more than learning this: that a small city set on a rough crag is better and happier when it lives in order than a great city on a smooth and broad plain, if that city is inhabited disorderly and lawlessly by foolish men?"

Callistratus did not receive this very pleasantly. "Stranger," he said, "we love you and greatly respect you. Otherwise no Borysthenite would have endured a man saying such things about Homer and Achilles. The one is our god, as you see, and the other is honored almost immediately after the gods."

Wishing to soften him, and at the same time to bring him toward something useful, I said, "I ask you, in Homer's phrase, to pardon me, if any bad word has now been spoken. Another time we shall praise Achilles and Homer in whatever things they seem to us to say rightly. For the present we should examine the saying of Phocylides, since it seems to me to speak very well about the city."

Sections 15-18 -- A Scythian Raid and an Armed Audience

"Examine it," he said, "since you see that all these men desire to hear you and have gathered here by the river for that reason, though they are not in a very quiet state. You surely know that yesterday at noon the Scythians rode up. They killed some of the scouts who were not paying attention, and perhaps captured others alive. We do not know yet, because their flight took them farther away, since they were not fleeing toward the city."

This was in fact true. The gates had been shut, and the war-signal had been raised on the wall. Nevertheless, they were so fond of listening, and so Greek in character, that nearly all of them had come in arms because they wished to hear. Admiring their eagerness, I said, "Would you like us to go somewhere in the city and sit down? Perhaps now not everyone hears equally while we are walking, and those behind are having trouble and causing trouble for those ahead, as they hurry to come nearer."

When I said this, they all rushed at once into the temple of Zeus, where they were accustomed to deliberate. The oldest men, the most notable men, and the magistrates sat in a circle on benches. The rest of the crowd stood by, for there was a great open space in front of the temple.

A philosopher would have been very pleased by the sight. All of them wore their hair long and let their beards grow in the old style, as Homer says the Greeks did. Only one man among them was clean-shaven, and everyone reviled and hated him. It was said that he practiced this custom for no other reason than to flatter the Romans and display his friendship with them. In that man one could see how ugly the thing was, and how unsuitable to men.

When silence had come, I said that they seemed to me to do rightly, living as they did in an ancient Greek city, in wishing to hear about a city. "First," I said, "one must know clearly what the very thing is about which the speech is being made; in this way you will at the same time perceive what sort of thing it is. Most people know and pronounce the name of each thing, but are ignorant of the thing itself."

Sections 39-42 -- The Magi, Zoroaster, and the Chariot of Zeus

Another myth is sung in secret rites by men who are Magi, and it is held in wonder. They hymn this god as the perfect and first charioteer of the most perfect chariot. They say the chariot of the Sun is younger in comparison with that one, and more visible to most people, since its motion is plainly seen. For that reason it has received common fame, it seems, beginning almost with the earliest poets, who tell of risings and settings again and again, all explaining in the same way that the horses are yoked and the Sun himself mounts the car.

But the strong and perfect chariot of Zeus has been sung worthily by no poet here below, not by Homer, not by Hesiod. Zoroaster and the sons of the Magi sing it, having learned from him. The Persians say that Zoroaster, out of love for wisdom and justice, withdrew from the rest of mankind and lived by himself on a certain mountain. Then the mountain caught fire when much fire from above fell upon it, and it continued to burn. The king, with the most distinguished Persians, came near because he wished to pray to the god. The man came out from the fire unharmed; appearing gracious to them, he told them to take courage and to sacrifice certain sacrifices, since the god had come to that place.

After this he associated not with everyone, but with those who were best disposed toward truth and able to understand the god. The Persians called these men Magi, because they knew how to serve the divine power, not as the Greeks, in ignorance of the name, use it for sorcerers. These men do their other acts according to sacred words, and in particular they keep for Zeus a chariot of Nisaean horses, the fairest and greatest in Asia; for the Sun they keep one horse.

They explain the myth not as our prophets of the Muses explain each thing with much persuasion, but very sternly. They say that there is one guidance and charioteering of the whole universe, always carried on by the highest experience and strength, and that this is unceasing through unceasing cycles of time. The courses of Sun and Moon, as I said, are movements of parts; for that reason they are seen more plainly by human beings. Most people do not understand the movement and sweep of the whole, but are ignorant of the greatness of this contest.

Sections 43-46 -- The Four Horses of the Whole

What follows makes me ashamed to tell, concerning the horses and the chariot-driving, as they explain it; they do not much care whether the image is everywhere like what they mean. Perhaps I would seem strange if, beside Greek and graceful songs, I were chanting a barbarian song. Still, one must dare it.

They say the first of the horses, from above, surpasses immeasurably in beauty, size, and speed, because it runs on the outside, around the longest course. It is sacred to Zeus himself. It is winged. Its color is bright, of the purest radiance. In it the Sun and Moon are seen as visible marks, just as I think some of the marks on horses here are crescent-shaped and others of another form. These, seen by us compressed together, are like strong sparks of flame running through a bright beam of light, though they have their own motion by themselves. The other stars appear through that horse, and all are by nature parts of it: some circle with it and have this single motion; others run different courses. Among human beings some of these have each its own name; others are named in masses, according to their number, distributed into certain shapes and forms.

This brightest and most richly varied horse, dearest to Zeus himself, thus hymned by them, received the first sacrifices and honors, as was fitting for the first. The second horse, touching him and nearest to him, is named for Hera. It is obedient to the rein and gentle, much weaker in strength and speed. By its own nature it is black in color, but whatever is lit by the Sun is always brightened; whatever is shadowed in its circuit receives the appearance of its own color.

The third is sacred to Poseidon, slower than the second. The poets, in my opinion, tell that an image of this horse came to be among human beings, the one they call Pegasus; they say that he opened a spring in Corinth by striking with his hoof. The fourth horse is strangest of all to imagine: solid and unmoving, not winged at all, named for Hestia. Yet they do not turn away from the image. They say that this horse too is yoked to the chariot, but remains in place, biting an adamantine bit.

Sections 47-50 -- Fire, Flood, and the Correction of the World

They say that this horse presses against itself from every side with its parts, and that the two horses nearest it lean in the same way toward it, simply falling upon it and pushing. The outermost first horse is always carried around the standing one as around a turning-post. For the most part they continue in peace and friendship, unharmed by one another.

But once, after a great length of time and many circuits, a strong breath from the first horse struck downward from above, as from a passionate creature. It heated the others, especially the last one, and set on fire the mane in which it especially gloried, and all the adornment of the world.

The Magi say that the Greeks, remembering this event only once, attach it to Phaethon, because they cannot blame the charioteering of Zeus and do not wish to find fault with the courses of the Sun. So they say that a younger charioteer, a mortal son of the Sun, desired a hard sport that could not be borne by all mortals, asked his father to stand on the car, was carried along in disorder, burned all living things and plants, and at last was destroyed when struck by a stronger fire.

Again, when after many years the colt sacred to the Nymphs and Poseidon rises up, distressed and troubled beyond its custom, it floods this same yokefellow with much sweat. It attempts the opposite of the former destruction, storming it with much water. The Greeks, because of the youth of their memory and its weakness, tell of one such storm and say that Deucalion, then reigning among them, survived before the total destruction.

These things, happening rarely, seem to human beings to take place because of their own destruction, without reason and without sharing in the order of the whole. They do not perceive that they happen rightly and according to the judgment of the one who preserves and governs the whole. It is like a charioteer correcting one of his horses by pulling the bit or touching him with the goad: the horse leaps and is troubled, but is immediately brought back to what is needed. This, then, they call one strong charioteering, not the destruction of the whole universe.

Sections 51-57 -- The Contest and the Remaking

They speak again of another motion, the movement and transformation of the four, as they change into one another and exchange forms, until all things come together into one nature, conquered by the stronger. Even this motion they dare to compare to charioteering and the driving of a chariot, though the image needed is stranger still: as if some wonder-worker molded horses from wax, then removed and scraped something from each, adding now to one and now to another, and at last, after using up all four into one of the four, made one shape out of all the material.

Yet this is not like the condition of lifeless figures, with a craftsman working from outside and transferring the matter. Rather, the passion belongs to those very things themselves, as in a great and real contest in which they strive for victory. The victory and crown come by necessity to the first and strongest, in speed, strength, and every excellence, the one which at the beginning of the discourse we said was set apart for Zeus.

Because that horse is the mightiest of all and fiery by nature, it quickly consumes the others, as if they were truly made of wax. This is done in no great time, though to our reckoning it seems boundless. Taking up the whole substance of all things into itself, it appears much greater and brighter than before, conquered by no other mortal or immortal being, but victorious by itself over itself in the greatest contest. Standing high and proud, rejoicing in victory, it occupies the greatest possible place and needs a greater space because of its strength and passion.

When they reach this point in the account, they are ashamed to give the same name of animal to its nature. They say that by then it is simply the soul of the charioteer and master, or rather the very mind and ruling part of that soul. So too we speak, honoring and revering the greatest god with good works and auspicious words.

When mind has been left alone and has filled an immeasurable place with itself, poured everywhere evenly, with nothing dense left in it but rarity prevailing everywhere, and when it becomes most beautiful, taking on the purest nature of unmingled radiance, it immediately longs for its original life. Seized with desire for that charioteering, rule, and harmony of the three natures, and of Sun and Moon and the other stars, and simply of all animals and plants, it rushes toward generation, distribution, and the making of each thing, creating the present world again from the beginning, much better and brighter because it is younger.

Flashing wholly, not with a disorderly or dirty flash such as winter lightning often sends out when clouds are driven violently, but with a pure flash, unmixed with anything dark, it changes easily together with its thought. Remembering Aphrodite and generation, it softens and relaxes itself, and, after extinguishing much of its light, turns into fiery air, a gentler fire. Then, mingling with Hera and sharing the most perfect bed, it rests and releases again the whole seed of the universe. This is what the sons of the wise hymn in secret rites as the blessed marriage of Hera and Zeus.

Having made the whole substance moist, one seed of the universe, and itself running through this like the breath in seed which shapes and makes, then it most resembles the constitution of other living things, insofar as it may not be unreasonable to say that it is composed of soul and body. The rest it now easily shapes and stamps, pouring around itself smooth and soft substance, all of it readily yielding.

Sections 58-61 -- The Young World

When it has worked and completed the world from the beginning, it displays the present world as fair in form and wonderfully beautiful, far brighter than it appears now. All the new works of craftsmen, just from the art and hands of the maker, are somehow better and more gleaming. Young plants are more flourishing than old ones, all like fresh shoots. Animals too are graceful and kindly to look upon after birth, not only the fairest of them, foals and calves and puppies, but even the cubs of the wildest beasts.

Human nature then is infant and moist, like the unfinished green growth of Demeter. When it advances into the measure of its season and youth, it is a shoot greater and more splendid than any plant. The whole heaven and cosmos, when it was first completed, ordered by the wisest and best art, just released from the hands of the maker, was bright, transparent, and shining in all its parts. It was never infant or weak according to human and mortal weakness of nature, but young and in its prime straight from the beginning.

Then its maker and father, seeing it, was not merely pleased; for that is a low passion among low things. He rejoiced and delighted greatly, sitting on Olympus, and his dear heart laughed in gladness when he saw that all the gods had now come into being and were present. The form of the world then, by which I mean the season and beauty of a thing always wonderfully beautiful, no human being could conceive or speak of worthily, neither any now nor any before, unless the Muses and Apollo spoke in divine rhythm from pure and perfect harmony.

So let us now leave these matters, since we have not hesitated to lift the discourse as far as we could. If the form of the speech turned out altogether lofty and vanished into the height, as men skilled in birds say that a bird which has gone very high and hidden itself in the clouds makes the omen incomplete, it is not right to blame me. Blame the demand of the Borysthenites, since at that time they ordered me to speak in this way.

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was made from selected Greek sections of Dio Chrysostom's Borysthenitic Discourse. The selection preserves the discourse's northern Black Sea frame and its closing Magian cosmological myth.

The English translation is independently derived from the Greek. No modern English translation was used as the base text.

Compiled for the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text: Greek

§ 1. Ἐτύγχανον μὲν ἐπιδημῶν ἐν Βορυσθένει τὸ θέρος, ὁπότε εἰσέπλευσα μετὰ τὴν φυγήν, βουλόμενος ἐλθεῖν, ἐὰν δύνωμαι, διὰ Σκυθῶν εἰς Γέτας, ὅπως θεάσωμαι τἀκεῖ πράγματα ὁποῖά ἐστι. καὶ δὴ καὶ περιεπάτουν περὶ πλήθουσαν ἀγορὰν παρὰ τὸν Ὕπανιν. ἡ γὰρ πόλις τὸ μὲν ὄνομα εἴληφεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Βορυσθένους διὰ τὸ κάλλος καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ ποταμοῦ, κεῖται δὲ πρὸς τῷ Ὑπάνιδι ἥ τε νῦν καὶ ἡ πρότερον οὕτως ᾠκεῖτο, οὐ πολὺ ἄνωθεν

§ 2. τῆς Ἱππολάου καλουμένης ἄκρας ἐν τῷ κατ’ ἀντικρύ. τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τῆς χώρας ὀξὺ καὶ στερεὸν ὥσπερ ἔμβολον, περὶ ὃ συμπίπτουσιν οἱ ποταμοί. τὸ δὲ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη λιμνάζουσι μέχρι θαλάττης ἐπὶ σταδίους σχεδόν τι διακοσίους: καὶ τὸ εὖρος οὐχ ἧττον ταύτῃ τῶν ποταμῶν. ἔστι δὲ αὐτοῦ τὸ μὲν πλέον τέναγος καὶ γαλήνη ταῖς εὐδίαις ὥσπερ ἐν λίμνῃ γίγνεται σταθερά. ἐν δὲ τοῖς δεξιοῖς φαίνεται ποταμός, καὶ τεκμαίρονται οἱ εἰσπλέοντες ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥεύματος τὸ βάθος. ὅθενπερ καὶ ἐξίησι, διὰ τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ ῥοῦ: εἰ δὲ μή, ῥᾳδίως ἂν ἐφράττετο τοῦ νότου πολλοῦ κατὰ στόμα

§ 3. εἰσπνέοντος. τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ᾐών ἐστιν ἑλώδης καὶ δασεῖα καλάμῳ καὶ δένδροις. φαίνεται δὲ τῶν δένδρων πολλὰ καὶ ἐν μέσῃ τῇ λίμνῃ, ὡς ἱστοῖς προσεοικέναι, καὶ ἤδη τινὲς τῶν ἀπειροτέρων διήμαρτον, ὡς ἐπὶ πλοῖα ἐπέχοντες. ταύτῃ δὲ καὶ τῶν ἁλῶν ἐστι τὸ πλῆθος, ὅθεν οἱ πλείους τῶν βαρβάρων λαμβάνουσιν ὠνούμενοι τοὺς ἅλας καὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ Σκυθῶν οἱ Χερρόνησον οἰκοῦντες τὴν Ταυρικήν. ἐκδιδόασι δὲ οἱ ποταμοὶ εἰς θάλασσαν παρὰ φρούριον Ἀλέκτορος, ὃ λέγεται τῆς γυναικὸς εἶναι τοῦ Σαυροματῶν

§ 4. βασιλέως. ἡ δὲ πόλις ἡ τῶν Βορυσθενιτῶν τὸ μέγεθός ἐστιν οὐ πρὸς τὴν παλαιὰν δόξαν διὰ τὰς συνεχεῖς ἁλώσεις καὶ τοὺς πολέμους. ἅτε γὰρ ἐν μέσοις οἰκοῦσα τοῖς βαρβάροις τοσοῦτον ἤδη χρόνον, καὶ τούτοις σχεδόν τι τοῖς πολεμικωτάτοις, ἀεὶ μὲν πολεμεῖται, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἑάλω: τὴν δὲ τελευταίαν καὶ μεγίστην ἅλωσιν οὐ πρὸ πλειόνων ἢ πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν ἐτῶν. εἷλον δὲ καὶ ταύτην Γέται καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τὰς ἐν τοῖς ἀριστεροῖς τοῦ Πόντου

§ 5. πόλεις μέχρι Ἀπολλωνίας. ὅθεν δὴ καὶ σφόδρα ταπεινὰ τὰ πράγματα κατέστη τῶν ταύτῃ Ἑλλήνων, τῶν μὲν οὐκέτι συνοικισθεισῶν πόλεων, τῶν δὲ φαύλως, καὶ τῶν πλείστων βαρβάρων εἰς αὐτὰς συρρυέντων. πολλαὶ γὰρ δή τινες ἁλώσεις κατὰ πολλὰ μέρη γεγόνασι τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ἅτε ἐν πολλοῖς τόποις διεσπαρμένης. ἁλόντες δὲ τότε οἱ Βορυσθενῖται πάλιν συνῴκησαν, ἐθελόντων ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν τῶν Σκυθῶν διὰ τὸ δεῖσθαι τῆς ἐμπορίας καὶ τοῦ κατάπλου τῶν Ἑλλήνων. ἐπαύσαντο γὰρ εἰσπλέοντες ἀναστάτου τῆς πόλεως γενομένης, ἅτε οὐκ ἔχοντες ὁμοφώνους τοὺς ὑποδεχομένους οὐδὲ τῶν Σκυθῶν ἀξιούντων οὐδὲ ἐπισταμένων ἐμπόριον αὐτῶν κατασκευάσασθαι

§ 6. τὸν Ἑλληνικὸν τρόπον. σημεῖον δὲ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἥ τε φαυλότης τῶν οἰκοδομημάτων καὶ τὸ συνεστάλθαι τὴν πόλιν ἐς βραχύ. μέρει γάρ τινι προσῳκοδόμηται τοῦ παλαιοῦ περιβόλου, καθ̓ ὃ πύργοι τινὲς οὐ πολλοὶ διαμένουσιν οὐ πρὸς τὸ μέγεθος οὐδὲ πρὸς τὴν ἰσχὺν τῆς πόλεως. τὸ δὲ μεταξὺ συμπέφρακται κατ’ ἐκεῖνο ταῖς οἰκίαις οὐκ ἐχούσαις ὁποῖα διαλείπει. τειχίον δὲ παραβέβληται πάνυ ταπεινὸν καὶ ἀσθενές. τῶν δὲ πύργων εἰσί τινες πολὺ ἀφεστῶτες τοῦ νῦν οἰκουμένου, ὥστε μηδ̓ εἰκάσαι ὅτι μιᾶς ἦσαν πόλεως. ταῦτά τε δὴ οὖν σημεῖα ἐναργῆ τῆς ἁλώσεως καὶ τὸ μηδὲν τῶν ἀγαλμάτων διαμένειν ὑγιὲς τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς, ἀλλὰ ξύμπαντα λελωβημένα εἶναι, ὥσπερ τὰ ἐπὶ τῶν μνημάτων.

§ 7. ὅπερ οὖν ἔφην, ἔτυχον περιπατῶν πρὸ τῆς πόλεως, καί τινες ἐξῄεσαν ἔνδοθεν τῶν Βορυσθενιτῶν πρὸς ἐμέ, ὥσπερ εἰώθεσαν: ἔπειτα Καλλίστρατος ἐφ̓ ἵππου τὸ μὲν πρῶτον παρρίππευσεν ἡμᾶς ἔξωθεν προσελαύνων, παρελθὼν δὲ ὀλίγον κατέβη, καὶ τὸν ἵππον τῷ ἀκολούθῳ παραδοὺς αὐτὸς πάνυ κοσμίως προσῆλθεν ὑπὸ τὸ ἱμάτιον τὴν χεῖρα ὑποστείλας. παρέζωστο δὲ μάχαιραν μεγάλην τῶν ἱππικῶν καὶ ἀναξυρίδας εἶχε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην στολὴν Σκυθικήν, ἄνωθεν δὲ τῶν ὤμων ἱμάτιον μικρὸν μέλαν, λεπτόν, ὥσπερ εἰώθασιν οἱ Βορυσθενῖται. χρῶνται δὲ καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ ἐσθῆτι μελαίνῃ ὡς τὸ πολὺ ἀπὸ γένους τινὸς Σκυθῶν τῶν Μελαγχλαίνων, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκοῦσι,

§ 8. κατὰ τοῦτο ὀνομασθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων. ἦν δὲ ὡς ὀκτωκαίδεκα ἐτῶν ὁ Καλλίστρατος, πάνυ καλὸς καὶ μέγας, πολὺ ἔχων Ἰωνικὸν τοῦ εἴδους. ἐλέγετο δὲ καὶ τὰ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἀνδρεῖος εἶναι, καὶ πολλοὺς Σαυροματῶν τοὺς μὲν ἀνῃρηκέναι, τοὺς δὲ αἰχμαλώτους εἰληφέναι. ἐσπουδάκει δὲ καὶ περὶ λόγους καὶ φιλοσοφίαν, ὥστε καὶ ἐκπλεῦσαι σὺν ἐμοὶ ἐπεθύμει. διὰ πάντα δὴ ταῦτα εὐδοκίμει παρὰ τοῖς πολίταις, οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ κάλλους, καὶ εἶχε πολλοὺς ἐραστάς. πάνυ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο ἐμμεμένηκεν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς μητροπόλεως, τὸ περὶ τοὺς ἔρωτας τοὺς τῶν ἀρρένων: ὥστε κινδυνεύουσιν ἀναπείθειν καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐνίους οὐκ ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ σχεδόν, ἀλλ̓ ὡς ἂν ἐκεῖνοι τὸ τοιοῦτον ἀποδέξαιντο, βαρβαρικῶς

§ 9. καὶ οὐκ ἄνευ ὕβρεως. εἰδὼς οὖν αὐτὸν φιλόμηρον ὄντα περὶ τούτου εὐθὺς ἐπυνθανόμην. σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ πάντες οἱ Βορυσθενῖται περὶ τὸν ποιητὴν ἐσπουδάκασιν ἴσως διὰ τὸ πολεμικοὶ εἶναι ἔτι νῦν, εἰ μὴ ἄρα καὶ διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Ἀχιλλέα εὔνοιαν: τοῦτον μὲν γὰρ ὑπερφυῶς τιμῶσι, καὶ νεὼν τὸν μὲν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ Ἀχιλλέως καλουμένῃ ἵδρυνται, τὸν δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλει: ὥστε οὐδὲ ἀκούειν ὑπὲρ οὐδενὸς ἄλλου θέλουσιν ἢ Ὁμήρου. καὶ τἄλλα οὐκέτι σαφῶς ἑλληνίζοντες διὰ τὸ ἐν μέσοις οἰκεῖν τοῖς βαρβάροις ὅμως

§ 10. τήν γε Ἰλιάδα ὀλίγου πάντες ἴσασιν ἀπὸ στόματος. εἶπον οὖν προσπαίζων πρὸς αὐτόν, Πότερόν σοι δοκεῖ, ὦ Καλλίστρατε, ἀμείνων ποιητὴς Ὅμηρος ἢ Φωκυλίδης; καὶ ὃς γελάσας ἔφη, Ἀλλ̓ οὐδὲ ἐπίσταμαι ἔγωγε τοῦ ἑτέρου ποιητοῦ τὸ ὄνομα, οἶμαι δὲ μηδὲ τούτων μηδένα. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡγούμεθα ἡμεῖς ἄλλον τινὰ ποιητὴν ἢ Ὅμηρον. τοῦτον δὲ σχεδόν τι οὐδὲ ἄλλος οὐδεὶς ἀγνοεῖ. μόνου γὰρ Ὁμήρου μνημονεύουσιν οἱ ποιηταὶ αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς ποιήμασιν, καὶ ἄλλως μὲν εἰώθασι λέγειν, ἀεὶ δὲ ὁπόταν μέλλωσι μάχεσθαι παρακελεύονται τοῖς αὑτῶν ὥσπερ τὰ Τυρταίου ἐν Λακεδαίμονι ἐλέγετο. εἰσὶ δὲ πάντες οὗτοι τυφλοὶ καὶ οὐχ ἡγοῦνται δυνατὸν

§ 11. εἶναι ἄλλως τινὰ ποιητὴν γενέσθαι. Τοῦτο μέν, ἔφην, ἀπολελαύκασιν οἱ ποιηταὶ αὐτῶν ἀπ᾽ Ὁμήρου ὥσπερ ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμίας. τὸν δὲ Φωκυλίδην ὑμεῖς μὲν οὐκ ἐπίστασθε, ὡς λέγεις: πάνυ δὲ τῶν ἐνδόξων γέγονε ποιητῶν. ὥσπερ οὖν ἐπειδάν τις τῶν ἐμπόρων καταπλεύσῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς οὐ πρότερον παρα γεγονώς, οὐκ εὐθὺς ἠτιμάσατε αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ πρότερον γευσάμενοι τοῦ οἴνου, κἂν ἄλλο τι φορτίον ἄγῃ, δεῖγμα λαβόντες, ἐὰν μὲν ἀρέσῃ ὑμᾶς, ὠνεῖσθε, εἰ δὲ μή, ἐᾶτε: οὕτως, ἔφην, καὶ τῆς τοῦ Φωκυλίδου ποιήσεως ἔξεστί σοι λαβεῖν δεῖγμα ἐν βραχεῖ. καὶ γάρ ἐστιν οὐ τῶν μακράν τινα

§ 12. καὶ συνεχῆ ποίησιν εἰρόντων, ὥσπερ ὁ ὑμέτερος μίαν ἑξῆς διέξεισι μάχην ἐν πλείοσιν ἢ πεντακισχιλίοις ἔπεσιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ δύο καὶ τρία ἔπη αὐτῷ καὶ ἀρχὴν ἡ ποίησις καὶ πέρας λαμβάνει. ὥστε καὶ προστίθησι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καθ̓ ἕκαστον διανόημα, ἅτε σπουδαῖον καὶ πολλοῦ ἄξιον ἡγούμενος, οὐχ ὥσπερ Ὅμηρος οὐδαμοῦ

§ 13. τῆς ποιήσεως ὠνόμασεν αὑτόν. ἢ οὐ δοκεῖ σοι εἰκότως προσθεῖναι Φωκυλίδης τῇ τοιαύτῃ γνώμῃ καὶ ἀποφάσει, καὶ τόδε Φωκυλίδου: πόλις ἐν σκοπέλῳ κατὰ κόσμον οἰκεῦσα σμικρὴ κρέσσων Νίνου ἀφραινούσης. ἀλλ̓ οὐ πρὸς ὅλην Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν ταῦτα τὰ ἔπη ἐστὶ τοῖς μὴ παρέργως ἀκροωμένοις; ἢ μᾶλλον ὑμῖν ἀκούειν συνέφερε περὶ τῶν τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως πηδήσεών τε καὶ ὀρούσεων καὶ τῆς φωνῆς, ὅτι μόνον φθεγξάμενος ἔτρεπε τοὺς Τρῶας, ταῦτα μᾶλλον ὠφελεῖ ὑμᾶς ἐκμανθάνοντας ἢ ἐκεῖνο, ὅτι ἡ σμικρὰ πόλις ἐν τραχεῖ σκοπέλῳ κειμένη κρείττων ἐστὶ καὶ εὐτυχεστέρα κατὰ κόσμον οἰκοῦσα ἢ μεγάλη ἐν λείῳ καὶ πλατεῖ πεδίῳ, ἐάνπερ ἀκόσμως καὶ ἀνόμως

§ 14. ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων ἀφρόνων οἰκῆται; καὶ ὃς οὐ μάλα ἡδέως ἀποδεξάμενος, Ὦ ξένε, εἶπεν, ὅτι ἡμεῖς σε ἀγαπῶμεν καὶ σφόδρα αἰδούμεθα: ὡς ἄλλως γε οὐδεὶς ἄν ἠνέσχετο Βορυσθενιτῶν εἰς Ὅμηρον καὶ Ἀχιλλέα τοιαῦτα εἰπόντος. ὁ μὲν γὰρ θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐστιν, ὡς ὁρᾷς, ὁ δὲ καὶ σχεδόν τι μετὰ τοὺς θεοὺς τιμᾶται. κἀγὼ πραῧναι βουλόμενος αὐτόν, ἅμα δὲ ἐπί τι χρήσιμον ἀγαγεῖν, Παραιτοῦμαί σε, εἶπον, καθ̓ Ὅμηρον συγγνώμην ἔχειν μοι, ‘ εἴ τι κακὸν νῦν εἴρηται ’. αὖθις γάρ ποτε ἐπαινεσόμεθα Ἀχιλλέα τε καὶ Ὅμηρον

§ 15. ὅσα δοκεῖ ἡμῖν ὀρθῶς λέγειν. τὸ δὲ παρὸν σκεπτέον ἂν εἴη τὸ τοῦ Φωκυλίδου: ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ σφόδρα καλῶς λέγειν ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως. Σκόπει, ἔφη, ἐπεὶ καὶ τούσδε ὁρᾷς πάντας ἐπιθυμοῦντας ἀκοῦσαί σου καὶ διὰ τοῦτο συνερρυηκότας δεῦρο πρὸς τὸν ποταμόν, καίτοι οὐ σφόδρα ἀθορύβως ἔχοντας. οἶσθα γὰρ δήπου ὅτι χθὲς οἱ Σκύθαι προσελάσαντες μεσημβρίας τοὺς μέν τινας ἀπέκτειναν τῶν σκοπῶν οὐ προσέχοντας, τοὺς δὲ ἐζωγρήκασιν ἴσως: οὐ γάρ πω ἐπιστάμεθα διὰ τὸ μακροτέραν αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι τὴν φυγήν,

§ 16. ἅτε οὐ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν φεύγουσιν. ἦν δὲ τῷ ὄντι ταῦτα οὕτως, καὶ αἵ τε πύλαι συγκέκλειντο καὶ τὸ σημεῖον ἦρτο ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους τὸ πολεμικόν. ἀλλ̓ ὅμως οὕτως ἦσαν φιλήκοοι καὶ τῷ τρόπῳ Ἕλληνες, ὥστε μικροῦ δεῖν ἅπαντες παρῆσαν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις, βουλόμενοι ἀκούειν. κἀγὼ ἀγάμενος αὐτῶν τὴν προθυμίαν, Βούλεσθε, ἔφην, καθιζώμεθα ἰόντες ποι τῆς πόλεως; τυχὸν γὰρ νῦν οὐ πάντες ὁμοίως ἀκούουσιν ἐν τῷ βαδίζειν, ἀλλ̓ οἱ ὄπισθεν πράγματα ἔχουσι καὶ παρέχουσι τοῖς πρὸ αὐτῶν, σπεύδοντες ἐγγυτέρω προσελθεῖν.

§ 17. ὡς δὲ τοῦτο εἶπον, εὐθὺς ὥρμησαν ἅπαντες εἰς τὸ τοῦ Διὸς ἱερόν, οὗπερ εἰώθασι βουλεύεσθαι. καὶ οἱ μὲν πρεσβύτατοι καὶ οἱ γνωριμώτατοι καὶ οἱ ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς κύκλῳ καθίζοντο ἐπὶ βάθρων: τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν πλῆθος ἐφεστήκεσαν. ἦν γὰρ εὐρυχωρία πολλὴ πρὸ τοῦ νεώ. πάνυ οὖν ἄν τις ἥσθη τῇ ὄψει φιλόσοφος ἀνήρ, ὅτι ἅπαντες ἦσαν τὸν ἀρχαῖον τρόπον, ὥς φησιν Ὅμηρος τοὺς Ἕλληνας, κομῶντες καὶ τὰ γένεια ἀφεικότες, εἷς δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς μόνος ἐξυρημένος, καὶ τοῦτον ἐλοιδόρουν τε καὶ ἐμίσουν ἅπαντες. ἐλέγετο δὲ οὐκ ἄλλως τοῦτο ἐπιτηδεύειν, ἀλλὰ κολακεύων Ῥωμαίους καὶ τὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς φιλίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενος: ὥστε εἶδεν ἄν τις ἐπ’ ἐκείνου

§ 18. τὸ αἰσχρὸν τοῦ πράγματος καὶ οὐδαμῇ πρέπον ἀνδράσιν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡσυχία ἐγένετο, εἶπον ὅτι δοκοῦσί μοι ὀρθῶς ποιεῖν, πόλιν οἰκοῦντες ἀρχαίαν καὶ Ἑλληνίδα, βουλόμενοι ἀκοῦσαι περὶ πόλεως. καὶ πρῶτόν γε, ἔφην, ὅ, τι ἐστὶν αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὑπὲρ οὗ ὁ λόγος γνῶναι σαφῶς: οὕτω γὰρ ἂν εἴητε ἅμα ᾐσθημένοι καὶ ὁποῖόν τί ἐστιν. οἱ γὰρ πολλοί, ἔφην, ἄνθρωποι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτὸ ἴσασι καὶ φθέγγονται τοῦ

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§ 39. ἕτερος δὲ μῦθος ἐν ἀπορρήτοις τελεταῖς ὑπὸ μάγων ἀνδρῶν ᾄδεται θαυμαζόμενος, οἳ τὸν θεὸν τοῦτον ὑμνοῦσιν ὡς τέλειόν τε καὶ πρῶτον ἡνίοχον τοῦ τελειοτάτου ἅρματος. τὸ γὰρ Ἡλίου ἅρμα νεώτερόν φασιν εἶναι πρὸς ἐκεῖνο κρινόμενον, φανερὸν δὲ τοῖς πολλοῖς, ἅτε προδήλου γιγνομένης τῆς φορᾶς. ὅθεν κοινῆς φήμης τυγχάνειν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἀπὸ πρώτων σχεδόν τι τῶν ποιητῶν τῶν ἀνατολὰς καὶ δύσεις ἑκάστοτε λεγόντων κατὰ ταὐτὰ πάντων ἐξηγουμένων ζευγνυμένους τε τοὺς ἵππους καὶ τὸν Ἥλιον αὐτὸν ἐπιβαίνοντα

§ 40. τοῦ δίφρου. τὸ δὲ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ τέλειον ἅρμα τὸ Διὸς οὐδεὶς ἄρα ὕμνησεν ἀξίως τῶν τῇδε οὔτε Ὅμηρος οὔτε Ἡσίοδος, ἀλλὰ Ζωροάστρης καὶ μάγων παῖδες ᾄδουσι παῤ ἐκείνου μαθόντες: ὃν Πέρσαι λέγουσιν ἔρωτι σοφίας καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἀποχωρήσαντα τῶν ἄλλων καθ̓ αὑτὸν ἐν ὄρει τινὶ ζῆν: ἔπειτα ἁφθῆναι τὸ ὄρος πυρὸς ἄνωθεν πολλοῦ κατασκήψαντος συνεχῶς τε κάεσθαι. τὸν οὖν βασιλέα σὺν τοῖς ἐλλογιμωτάτοις Περσῶν ἀφικνεῖσθαι πλησίον, βουλόμενον εὔξασθαι τῷ θεῷ: καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς ἀπαθῆ, φανέντα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἵλεων θαρρεῖν κελεῦσαι καὶ θῦσαι θυσίας τινάς,

§ 41. ὡς ἥκοντος εἰς τὸν τόπον τοῦ θεοῦ. συγγίγνεσθαί τε μετὰ ταῦτα οὐχ ἅπασιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἄριστα πρὸς ἀλήθειαν πεφυκόσι καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ξυνιέναι δυναμένοις, οὓς Πέρσαι μάγους ἐκάλεσαν, ἐπισταμένους θεραπεύειν τὸ δαιμόνιον, οὐχ ὡς Ἕλληνες ἀγνοίᾳ τοῦ ὀνόματος οὕτως ὀνομάζουσιν ἀνθρώπους γόητας. ἐκεῖνοι δὲ τά τε ἄλλα δρῶσι κατὰ λόγους ἱεροὺς καὶ δὴ τῷ Διὶ τρέφουσιν ἅρμα Νισαίων ἵππων: οἱ δέ εἰσι κάλλιστοι καὶ μέγιστοι τῶν κατὰ τὴν

§ 42. Ἀσίαν: τῷ δέ γε Ἡλίῳ ἕνα ἵππον. ἐξηγοῦνται δὲ τὸν μῦθον οὐχ ὥσπερ οἱ παῤ ἡμῖν προφῆται τῶν Μουσῶν ἕκαστα φράζουσι μετὰ πολλῆς πειθοῦς, ἀλλὰ μάλα αὐθαδῶς. εἶναι γὰρ δὴ τοῦ ξύμπαντος μίαν ἀγωγήν τε καὶ ἡνιόχησιν ὑπὸ τῆς ἄκρας ἐμπειρίας τε καὶ ῥώμης γιγνομένην ἀεί, καὶ ταύτην ἄπαυστον ἐν ἀπαύστοις αἰῶνος περιόδοις. τοὺς δὲ Ἡλίου καὶ Σελήνης δρόμους, καθάπερ εἶπον, μερῶν εἶναι κινήσεις, ὅθεν ὑπ’ ἀνθρώπων ὁρᾶσθαι σαφέστερον. τῆς δὲ τοῦ ξύμπαντος κινήσεως καὶ φορᾶς μὴ ξυνιέναι

§ 43. τοὺς πολλούς, ἀλλ̓ ἀγνοεῖν τὸ μέγεθος τοῦδε τοῦ ἀγῶνος. τὸ δὴ μετὰ τοῦτο αἰσχύνομαι φράζειν τῶν ἵππων πέρι καὶ τῆς ἡνιοχήσεως, ὅπως ἐξηγούμενοι λέγουσιν, οὐ πάνυ τι φροντίζοντες ὅμοιόν σφισι γίγνεσθαι πανταχῇ τὸ τῆς εἰκόνος. ἴσως γὰρ ἂν φαινοίμην ἄτοπος παρὰ Ἑλληνικά τε καὶ χαρίεντα ᾄσματα βαρβαρικὸν ᾆσμα ἐπᾴδων: ὅμως δὲ τολμητέον. φασὶ τῶν ἵππων τὸν πρῶτον ἄνωθεν ἀπείρῳ διαφέρειν κάλλει τε καὶ μεγέθει καὶ ταχυτῆτι, ἅτε ἔξωθεν περιτρέχοντα τὸ μήκιστον τοῦ δρόμου, αὐτοῦ Ζηνὸς ἱερόν: πτηνὸν δὲ εἶναι: τὴν δὲ χρόαν λαμπρόν, αὐγῆς τῆς καθαρωτάτης: τὸν δὲ Ἥλιον ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν Σελήνην σημεῖα προφανῆ ὁρᾶσθαι, ὥσπερ οἶμαι καὶ τῶνδε τῶν ἵππων ἐστὶ σημεῖα, τὰ μὲν μηνοειδῆ, τὰ δὲ

§ 44. ἀλλοῖα. ταῦτα δὲ ὑφ̓ ἡμῶν ὁρᾶσθαι συνεστραμμένα, καθάπερ ἐν αὐγῇ λαμπρᾷ φλογὸς σπινθῆρας ἰσχυροὺς διαθέοντας, ἰδίαν δὲ κίνησιν ἔχειν καθ̓ αὑτά. καὶ τἄλλα ἄστρα δἰ ἐκείνου φαινόμενα καὶ ξύμπαντα ἐκείνου πεφυκότα μέρη τὰ μὲν περιφέρεσθαι σὺν αὐτῷ μίαν ταύτην ἔχοντα κίνησιν, τὰ δὲ ἄλλους θεῖν δρόμους. τυγχάνειν δὲ παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ταῦτα μὲν ἰδίου ἕκαστον ὀνόματος: τὰ δὲ ἄλλα κατὰ πλῆθος ἀθρόα, διανενεμημένα εἴς τινα

§ 45. σχήματα καὶ μορφάς. ὁ μὲν δὴ λαμπρότατος ἵππος καὶ ποικιλώτατος αὐτῷ τε Διὶ προσφιλέστατος, ὧδέ πως ὑμνούμενος ὑπ’ αὐτῶν, θυσίας τε καὶ τιμὰς ἅτε πρῶτος εἰκότως πρώτας ἔλαχεν: δεύτερος δὲ μετ̓ ἐκεῖνον ἁπτόμενος αὐτοῦ καὶ πλησιώτατος Ἥρας ἐπώνυμος, εὐήνιος καὶ μαλακός, πολὺ δὲ ἥττων κατά τε ῥώμην καὶ τάχος. χροιὰν δὲ τῇ μὲν αὑτοῦ φύσει μέλας, φαιδρύνεται δὲ ἀεὶ τὸ καταλαμπόμενον Ἡλίῳ: τὸ δὲ σκιασθὲν ἐν τῇ περιφορᾷ

§ 46. τὴν αὑτοῦ μεταλαμβάνει τῆς χρόας ἰδέαν. τρίτος Ποσειδῶνος ἱερός, τοῦ δευτέρου βραδύτερος. τούτου δὲ μυθολογοῦσιν εἴδωλον οἱ ποιηταὶ γενέσθαι παῤ ἀνθρώποις, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, ὅντινα ὀνομάζουσι Πήγασον, καί φασιν ἀνεῖναι κρήνην ἐν Κορίνθῳ χαράξαντα τῇ ὁπλῇ. ὁ δὲ δὴ τέταρτος εἰκάσαι πάντων ἀτοπώτατος, στερεός τε καὶ ἀκίνητος, οὐχ ὅπως πτερωτός, ἐπώνυμος Ἑστίας. ὅμως δὲ οὐκ ἀποτρέπονται τῆς εἰκόνος, ἀλλὰ ἐνεζεῦχθαί φασι καὶ τοῦτον τῷ ἅρματι, μένειν δὲ κατὰ χώραν χαλινὸν ἀδάμαντος ἐνδακόντα.

§ 47. συνερείδειν δὲ πανταχόθεν αὑτῷ τοῖς μέρεσι, καὶ τὼ δύο τὼ πλησίον ὁμοίως πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐγκλίνειν, ἀτεχνῶς ἐπιπίπτοντε καὶ ὠθουμένω: τὸν δὲ ἐξωτάτω πρῶτον ἀεὶ περὶ τὸν ἑστῶτα ὡς νύσσαν φέρεσθαι. τὸ μὲν οὖν πολὺ μετ̓ εἰρήνης καὶ φιλίας διατελοῦσιν ἀβλαβεῖς ὑπ’ ἀλλήλων. ἤδη δέ ποτε ἐν μήκει χρόνου καὶ πολλαῖς περιόδοις ἰσχυρὸν ἆσθμα τοῦ πρώτου προσπεσὸν ἄνωθεν, οἷα δὴ θυμοειδοῦς, ἐθέρμηνε τοὺς ἄλλους, σφοδρότερόν γε μὴν τὸν τελευταῖον: τήν τε δὴ χαίτην περιέφλεξεν αὐτοῦ, ᾗ μάλιστα ἠγάλλετο, καὶ τὸν

§ 48. ἅπαντα κόσμον. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ πάθος ἅπαξ Ἕλληνας μνημονεύοντάς φασι Φαέθοντι προσάπτειν, οὐ δυναμένους μέμφεσθαι τὴν Διὸς ἡνιόχησιν, τούς τε Ἡλίου δρόμους οὐκ ἐθέλοντας ψέγειν. διό φασι νεώτερον ἡνίοχον, Ἡλίου παῖδα θνητόν, ἐπιθυμήσαντα χαλεπῆς καὶ ἀξυμφόρου πᾶσι τοῖς θνητοῖς παιδιᾶς, αἰτησάμενον παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπιστῆναι τῷ δίφρῳ, φερόμενόν τε ἀτάκτως πάντα καταφλέξαι ζῷα καὶ φυτά, καὶ τέλος αὐτὸν διαφθαρῆναι πληγέντα ὑπὸ

§ 49. κρείττονος πυρός. πάλιν δὲ ὅταν διὰ πλειόνων ἐτῶν ὁ Νυμφῶν καὶ Ποσειδῶνος ἱερὸς πῶλος ἐπαναστῇ, παρὰ τὸ σύνηθες ἀγωνιάσας καὶ ταραχθείς, ἱδρῶτι πολλῷ κατέκλυσε τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον ἅτε ὁμόζυγα: πειρᾶται δὴ τῆς ἐναντίας τῇ πρότερον φθορᾷ, ὕδατι πολλῷ χειμαζόμενος. καὶ τοιοῦτον ἕνα χειμῶνα διηγεῖσθαι τοὺς Ἕλληνας ὑπὸ νεότητός τε καὶ μνήμης ἀσθενοῦς, καὶ λέγουσι Δευκαλίωνα

§ 50. βασιλεύοντα τότε σφίσιν ἀρκέσαι πρὸ τῆς παντελοῦς φθορᾶς. ταῦτα δὲ σπανίως ξυμβαίνοντα δοκεῖν μὲν ἀνθρώποις διὰ τὸν αὑτῶν ὄλεθρον γίγνεσθαι μὴ κατὰ λόγον μηδὲ μετέχειν τῆς τοῦ παντὸς τάξεως, λανθάνειν δὲ αὐτοὺς ὀρθῶς γιγνόμενα καὶ κατὰ γνώμην τοῦ σῴζοντος καὶ κυβερνῶντος τὸ πᾶν. εἶναι γὰρ ὅμοιον ὥσπερ ὅταν ἅρματος ἡνίοχος τῶν ἵππων τινὰ κολάζῃ χαλινῷ σπάσας ἢ κέντρῳ ἁψάμενος: ὁ δ̓ ἐσκίρτησε καὶ ἐταράχθη, παραχρῆμα εἰς δέον καθιστάμενος. μίαν μὲν οὖν λέγουσι ταύτην ἡνιόχησιν ἰσχυράν, οὐχ ὅλου

§ 51. φθειρομένου τοῦ παντός. πάλιν δὲ ἑτέραν τῆς τῶν τεττάρων κινήσεως καὶ μεταβολῆς, ἐν ἀλλήλοις μεταβαλλομένων καὶ διαλλαττόντων τὰ εἴδη, μέχρις ἂν εἰς μίαν ἅπαντα συνέλθῃ φύσιν, ἡττηθέντα τοῦ κρείττονος. ὅμως δὲ καὶ ταύτην τὴν κίνησιν ἡνιοχήσει προσεικάζειν τολμῶσιν ἐλάσει τε ἅρματος, ἀτοπωτέρας δεόμενοι τῆς εἰκόνος: οἷον εἴ τις θαυματοποιὸς ἐκ κηροῦ πλάσας ἵππους, ἔπειτα ἀφαιρῶν καὶ περιξύων ἀφ̓ ἑκάστου προστιθείη ἄλλοτε ἄλλῳ, τέλος δὲ ἅπαντας εἰς ἕνα τῶν τεττάρων ἀναλώσας μίαν

§ 52. μορφὴν ἐξ ἁπάσης τῆς ὕλης ἐργάζοιτο. εἶναί γε μὴν τὸ τοιοῦτο μὴ καθάπερ ἀψύχων πλασμάτων ἔξωθεν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ πραγματευομένου καὶ μεθιστάντος τὴν ὕλην, αὐτῶν δὲ ἐκείνων γίγνεσθαι τὸ πάθος, ὥσπερ ἐν ἀγῶνι μεγάλῳ τε καὶ ἀληθινῷ περὶ νίκης ἐριζόντων: γίγνεσθαι δὲ τὴν νίκην καὶ τὸν στέφανον ἐξ ἀνάγκης τοῦ πρώτου καὶ κρατίστου τάχει τε καὶ ἀλκῇ καὶ τῇ ξυμπάσῃ ἀρετῇ,

§ 53. ὃν εἴπομεν ἐν ἀρχῇ τῶν λόγων ἐξαίρετον εἶναι Διός. τοῦτον γάρ, ἅτε πάντων ἀλκιμώτατον καὶ φύσει διάπυρον, ταχὺ ἀναλώσαντα τοὺς ἄλλους, καθάπερ οἶμαι τῷ ὄντι κηρίνους, ἐν οὐ πολλᾷ τινι χρόνῳ, δοκοῦντι δὲ ἡμῖν ἀπείρῳ πρὸς τὸν ἡμέτερον αὐτῶν λογισμόν, καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν πάντων πᾶσαν εἰς αὑτὸν ἀναλαβόντα, πολὺ κρείττω καὶ λαμπρότερον ὀφθῆναι τοῦ πρότερον, ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς ἄλλου θνητῶν οὐδὲ ἀθανάτων, ἀλλ̓ αὐτὸν ὑφ̓ αὑτοῦ νικηφόρον γενόμενον τοῦ μεγίστου ἀγῶνος. στάντα δὲ ὑψηλὸν καὶ γαῦρον, χαρέντα τῇ νίκῃ, τόπον τε ὡς πλεῖστον καταλαβεῖν καὶ μείζονος χώρας δεηθῆναι

§ 54. τότε ὑπὸ ῥώμης καὶ μένους. κατὰ τοῦτο δὴ γενόμενοι τοῦ λόγου δυσωποῦνται τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπονομάζειν τοῦ ζῴου φύσιν. εἶναι γὰρ αὐτὸν ἤδη τηνικάδε ἁπλῶς τὴν τοῦ ἡνιόχου καὶ δεσπότου ψυχήν, μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὸ τὸ φρονοῦν καὶ τὸ ἡγούμενον αὐτῆς. οὕτως δὴ λέγομεν καὶ ἡμεῖς τιμῶντες καὶ σεβόμενοι τὸν μέγιστον θεὸν

§ 55. ἔργοις τε ἀγαθοῖς καὶ ῥήμασιν εὐφήμοις. λειφθεὶς γὰρ δὴ μόνος ὁ νοῦς καὶ τόπον ἀμήχανον ἐμπλήσας αὑτοῦ ἅτ̓ ἐπ’ ἴσης πανταχῇ κεχυμένος, οὐδενὸς ἐν αὐτῷ πυκνοῦ λειφθέντος, ἀλλὰ πάσης ἐπικρατούσης μανότητος, ὅτε κάλλιστος γίγνεται, τὴν καθαρωτάτην λαβὼν αὐγῆς ἀκηράτου φύσιν, εὐθὺς ἐπόθησε τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς βίον. ἔρωτα δὴ λαβὼν τῆς ἡνιοχήσεως ἐκείνης καὶ ἀρχῆς καὶ ὁμονοίας τῆς τε τῶν τριῶν φύσεων καὶ ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἄστρων, ἁπάντων τε ἁπλῶς ζῴων καὶ φυτῶν, ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὸ γεννᾶν καὶ διανέμειν ἕκαστα καὶ δημιουργεῖν τὸν ὄντα νῦν κόσμον ἐξ ἀρχῆς

§ 56. πολὺ κρείττω καὶ λαμπρότερον ἅτε νεώτερον. ἀστράψας δὲ ὅλος οὐκ ἄτακτον οὐδὲ ῥυπαρὰν ἀστραπήν, οἵαν χειμέριος ἐλαυνομένων βιαιότερον πολλάκις τῶν νεφῶν διῇξεν, ἀλλὰ καθαρὰν καὶ ἀμιγῆ παντὸς σκοτεινοῦ, μετέβαλε ῥᾳδίως ἅμα τῇ νοήσει. μνησθεὶς δὲ Ἀφροδίτης καὶ γενέσεως ἐπράϋνε καὶ ἀνῆκεν αὑτόν, καὶ πολὺ τοῦ φωτὸς ἀποσβέσας εἰς ἀέρα πυρώδη τρέπεται πυρὸς ἠπίου. μιχθεὶς δὲ τότε Ἥρᾳ καὶ μεταλαβὼν τοῦ τελειοτάτου λέχους, ἀναπαυσάμενος ἀφίησι τὴν πᾶσαν αὖ τοῦ παντὸς γονήν. τοῦτον ὑμνοῦσι παῖδες σοφῶν ἐν ἀρρήτοις τελεταῖς Ἥρας καὶ Διὸς εὐδαίμονα γάμον.

§ 57. ὑγρὰν δὲ ποιήσας τὴν ὅλην οὐσίαν, ἓν σπέρμα τοῦ παντός, αὐτὸς ἐν τούτῳ διαθέων, καθάπερ ἐν γονῇ πνεῦμα τὸ πλάττον καὶ δημιουργοῦν, τότε δὴ μάλιστα προσεοικὼς τῇ τῶν ἄλλων συστάσει ζῴων, καθ̓ ὅσον ἐκ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος συνεστάναι λέγοιτ̓ ἂν οὐκ ἄπο τρόπου, τὰ λοιπὰ ἤδη ῥᾳδίως πλάττει καὶ τυποῖ, λείαν καὶ μαλακὴν αὑτῷ περιχέας τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ πᾶσαν εἴκουσαν εὐπετῶς.

§ 58. ἐργασάμενος δὲ καὶ τελεώσας ἀπέδειξεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὸν ὄντα κόσμον εὐειδῆ καὶ καλὸν ἀμηχάνως, πολὺ δὴ λαμπρότερον ἢ οἷος ὁρᾶται νῦν. πάντα γάρ που καὶ τἄλλα ἔργα τῶν δημιουργῶν καινὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τέχνης καὶ τῶν χειρῶν παραχρῆμα τοῦ ποιήσαντος κρείττω καὶ στιλπνότερα. καὶ τῶν φυτῶν τὰ νεώτερα εὐθαλέστερα τῶν παλαιῶν ὅλα τε βλαστοῖς ἐοικότα. καὶ μὴν τά γε ζῷα εὐχάριτα καὶ προσηνῆ ἰδεῖν μετὰ τὴν γένεσιν, οὐ μόνον τὰ κάλλιστα αὐτῶν, πῶλοί τε καὶ μόσχοι καὶ σκύλακες, ἀλλὰ καὶ θηρίων σκύμνοι τῶν

§ 59. ἀγριωτάτων. ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀνθρώπου φύσις νηπία τότε καὶ ὑδαρὴς ὁμοία Δήμητρος ἀτελεῖ χλόῃ, προελθοῦσα δὲ εἰς τὸ μέτρον ὥρας καὶ νεότητος παντὸς ἀτεχνῶς φυτοῦ κρεῖττον καὶ ἐπιφανέστερον βλάστημα. ὁ δὲ ξύμπας οὐρανός τε καὶ κόσμος, ὅτε πρῶτον συνετελέσθη, κοσμηθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς σοφωτάτης τε καὶ ἀρίστης τέχνης, ἄρτι τῶν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ χειρῶν ἀπηλλαγμένος, λαμπρὸς καὶ διαυγὴς καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς μέρεσι παμφαίνων, νήπιος μὲν οὐδένα χρόνον ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἀσθενὴς κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην τε καὶ θνητὴν τῆς φύσεως

§ 60. ἀσθένειαν, νέος δὲ καὶ ἀκμάζων εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς. ὅτε δὴ καὶ ὁ δημιουργὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ πατὴρ ἰδὼν ἥσθη μὲν οὐδαμῶς: ταπεινὸν γὰρ ἐν ταπεινοῖς τοῦτο πάθος: ἐχάρη δὲ καὶ ἐτέρφθη διαφερόντως ἥμενος Οὐλύμπῳ, ἐγέλασσε δέ οἱ φίλον ἦτορ γηθοσύνῃ, ὅθ̓ ὁρᾶτο θεοὺς τοὺς ἅπαντας ἤδη γεγονότας καὶ παρόντας. τὴν δὲ τότε μορφὴν τοῦ κόσμου, λέγω δὲ τὴν τε ὥραν καὶ τὸ κάλλος ἀεὶ καλοῦ ὄντος ἀμηχάνως, οὐδεὶς δύναιτ̓ ἂν ἀνθρώπων διανοηθῆναι καὶ εἰπεῖν ἀξίως οὔτε τῶν νῦν οὔτε τῶν πρότερον, εἰ μὴ Μοῦσαί τε καὶ Ἀπόλλων ἐν θείῳ ῥυθμῷ τῆς εἰλικρινοῦς τε καὶ ἄκρας ἁρμονίας.

§ 61. ὅθεν δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐάσωμεν τὰ νῦν, ὅσον ἡμῖν δυνατὸν ἐπᾶραι τὸν λόγον οὐκ ὀκνήσαντες. εἰ δὲ ἀτεχνῶς ὑψηλόν τε καὶ ἐξίτηλον ἀπέβη τὸ τοῦ λόγου σχῆμα, ὥσπερ οἱ δεινοὶ περὶ τοὺς ὄρνιθάς φασι τὸν σφόδρα ἄνω χωρήσαντα καὶ τοῖς νέφεσιν ἐγκρύψαντα αὑτὸν ἀτελῆ τὴν μαντείαν ποιεῖν, οὐκ ἐμὲ ἄξιον αἰτιᾶσθαι, τὴν δὲ Βορυσθενιτῶν ἀξίωσιν, ὡς τότε ἐκεῖνοι λέγειν προσέταξαν.

Source Colophon

The selected Greek source was extracted from the local Dio Chrysostom source text and copied for this translation pass at Tulku/Tools/scythian/sources/expansion_bench_2026-05-11/dio_borysthenes_magian_selected_greek_source_manual81.txt.

The local source text identifies the Greek as the Perseus presentation of Dio Chrysostom, Orationes, speech 19, based on J. de Arnim's 1893 Weidmann edition, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

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