1. Hesiod, Theogony, 27-34, 26 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)
| 26. ποιμένες ἄγραυλοι, κάκʼ ἐλέγχεα, γαστέρες οἶον | 26. of Helicon, and in those early day |
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2. Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, 675, 674 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 674. ἄρχοντί τʼ ἄρχων καὶ κασιγνήτῳ κάσις | |
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3. Parmenides, Fragments, 1.28-1.30 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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4. Pindar, Fragments, 33, 159 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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5. Pindar, Nemean Odes, 10.49-10.54 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 10.50. and his brother Polydeuces came to Pamphaes to receive a hospitable welcome, it is no wonder that it is innate in their race to be good athletes; since the Dioscuri, guardians of spacious Sparta, along with Hermes and Heracles, administer the flourishing institution of the games, and they care very much for just men. Indeed, the race of the gods is trustworthy. [55] Changing places in alternation, the Dioscuri spend one day beside their dear father Zeus, and the other beneath the depths of the earth in the hollows of Therapne, each fulfilling an equal destiny, since Polydeuces preferred this life to being wholly a god and living in heaven, when Castor was killed in battle. For Idas, angered for some reason about his cattle, stabbed him with the point of his bronze spear. Looking out from Taygetus, Lynceus saw them seated in the hollow of an oak; for that man had the sharpest eye of all who live on earth. He and Idas at once reached the spot with swift feet, and quickly contrived a mighty deed; [65] and these sons of Aphareus themselves suffered terribly by the devising of Zeus. For right away Polydeuces the son of Leda came in pursuit. They were stationed opposite, near the tomb of their father; from there they seized the grave-column, monument to Hades, a polished stone, and hurled it at the chest of Polydeuces. But they did not crush him, or drive him back; rushing forward with his swift javelin, [70] he drove its bronze point into the ribs of Lynceus, and Zeus hurled against Idas a fiery smoking thunderbolt. They burned together, deserted. Strife with those who are stronger is a harsh companion for men. Swiftly Polydeuces the son of Tyndareus went back to his mighty brother, and found him not yet dead, but shuddering with gasps of breath. |
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6. Pindar, Olympian Odes, 1.25-1.27, 1.36, 1.39-1.41, 1.46-1.52, 2.3-2.4, 3.11-3.18, 8.1-8.2, 10.3-10.7, 10.28-10.52, 10.54-10.59, 10.65-10.66, 10.78, 10.84-10.85 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 1.25. with whom the mighty holder of the earth Poseidon fell in love, when Clotho took him out of the pure cauldron, furnished with a gleaming ivory shoulder. Yes, there are many marvels, and yet I suppose the speech of mortals beyond the true account can be deceptive, stories adorned with embroidered lies; [30] and Grace, who fashions all gentle things for men, confers esteem and often contrives to make believable the unbelievable. But the days to come are the wisest witnesses. [35] It is seemly for a man to speak well of the gods; for the blame is less that way. Son of Tantalus, I will speak of you, contrary to earlier stories. When your father invited the gods to a very well-ordered banquet at his own dear Sipylus, in return for the meals he had enjoyed, then it was that the god of the splendid trident seized you, his mind overcome with desire, and carried you away on his team of golden horses to the highest home of widely-honored Zeus, to which at a later time Ganymede came also, [45] to perform the same service for Zeus. But when you disappeared, and people did not bring you back to your mother, for all their searching, right away some envious neighbor whispered that they cut you limb from limb with a knife into the water's rolling boil over the fire 1.50. and among the tables at the last course they divided and ate your flesh. For me it is impossible to call one of the blessed gods a glutton. I stand back from it. often the lot of evil-speakers is profitlessness. If indeed the watchers of Olympus ever honored a mortal man, [55] that man was Tantalus. But he was not able to digest his great prosperity, and for his greed he gained overpowering ruin, which the Father hung over him: a mighty stone. Always longing to cast it away from his head, he wanders far from the joy of festivity. He has this helpless life of never-ending labor, a fourth toil after three others, because he stole from the gods nectar and ambrosia, with which they had made him immortal, and gave them to his drinking companions. If any man expects that what he does escapes the notice of a god, he is wrong. [65] Because of that the immortals sent the son of Tantalus back again to the swift-doomed race of men. And when he blossomed with the stature of fair youth, and down darkened his cheek, he turned his thoughts to an available marriage, [70] to win glorious Hippodameia from her father, the lord of Pisa. He drew near to the gray sea, alone in the darkness, and called aloud on the deep-roaring god, skilled with the trident; and the god appeared to him, close at hand. 8.1. Olympian 8: For Alcimedon of Aegina Boys' Wrestling 460 B.C. Mother of golden-crowned contests, Olympia, queen of truth! where prophets, judging from burnt sacrifices, inquire of Zeus of the flashing thunderbolt, if he has any message to give concerning men [5] whose spirits are seeking to attain great excellence and a breathing-space from toils. Accomplishment is granted to the prayers of men in gratitude for their piety. Well-wooded grove of Pisa beside the Alpheus, [10] welcome this victory-procession and the garland we bring to the victor; the man who is attended by your splendid prize of honor has great glory forever. Some good things come to one man, some to another; with the favor of the gods, there are many paths of success. [15] Timosthenes, fortune has allotted you and your brother to the care of your ancestor Zeus, who made you renowned at Nemea, and made Alcimedon an Olympic victor beside the hill of Cronus. He was beautiful to look at, and his deeds did not belie his beauty when by his victory in wrestling he had Aegina with her long oars proclaimed as his fatherland. There the savior Themis, seated beside Zeus the god of hospitality, is honored more than among all other men. For when there is a heavy weight in the balance that sways many ways, to judge with a straight mind and not inopportunely 10.50. And he called it the Hill of Cronus; it had been nameless before, while Oenomaus was king, and it was covered with wet snow. But in this rite of first birth the Fates stood close by, and the one who alone puts genuine truth to the test, [55] Time. Time moved forward and told the clear and precise story, how Heracles divided the gifts of war and sacrificed the finest of them, and how he established the four years' festival with the first Olympic games and its victories. Who won the first garland, with the skill of his hands or feet or chariot, setting the boast of victory in his mind and achieving it with his deeds? In the foot race the best at running the straight course [65] with his feet was the son of Licymnius, Oeonus, who had come from Midea at the head of an army. In wrestling, Echemus won glory for Tegea. And the prize in boxing was won by Doryclus, who lived in the city of Tiryns. And in the four-horse chariot [70] the victor was Samos of Mantinea, the son of Halirhothius. Phrastor hit the mark with the javelin. Niceus sent the stone flying from his circling arm beyond all the others, and his fellow soldiers raised a sudden burst of loud cheering. |
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7. Pindar, Pythian Odes, 10.66 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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8. Sophocles, Ajax, 647, 646 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 646. All things the long and countless years first draw from darkness, and then bury from light; and there is nothing which man should not expect: the dread power of oath is conquered, as is unyielding will. |
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9. Cicero, On The Nature of The Gods, 2.64 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 2.64. In these impious fables, a physical and not inelegant meaning is contained; for they would denote that the celestial, most exalted, and ethereal nature — that is, the fiery nature, which produces all things by itself — is destitute of that part of the body which is necessary for the act of generation by conjunction with another. By Saturn they mean that which comprehends the course and revolution of times and seasons; the Greek name for which Deity implies as much, for he is called Κρόνος, which is the same with Χρόνος, that is, a "space of time." But he is called Saturn, because he is filled (saturatur) with years; and he is usually feigned to have devoured his children, because time, ever insatiable, consumes the rolling years; but to restrain him from immoderate haste, Jupiter has confined him to the course of the stars, which are as chains to him. Jupiter (that is, juvans pater) signifies a "helping father," whom, by changing the cases, we call Jove, a juvando. The poets call him "father of Gods and men;" and our ancestors "the most good, the most great;" and as there is something more glorious in itself, and more agreeable to others, to be good (that is, beneficent) than to be great, the title of "most good" precedes that of "most great." This, then, is he whom Ennius means in the following passage, before quoted — Look up to the refulgent heaven above, Which all men call, uimously, Jove: which is more plainly expressed than in this other passage of the same poet — On whose account I'll curse that flood of light, Whate'er it is above that shines so bright. Our augurs also mean the same, when, for the "thundering and lightning heaven," they say the "thundering and lightning Jove." Euripides, among many excellent things, has this: The vast, expanded, boundless sky behold, See it with soft embrace the earth enfold; This own the chief of Deities above, And this acknowledge by the name of Jove. 2.64. now these immoral fables enshrined a decidedly clever scientific theory. Their meaning was that the highest element of celestial ether or fire, which by itself generates all things, is devoid of that bodily part which requires union with another for the work of procreation. By Saturn again they denoted that being who maintains the course and revolution of seasons and periods of time, et deity actually so designated in Greek, for Saturn's Greek name is Kronos, which is the same as chronos, a space of time. The Latin designation 'Saturn' on the other hand is due to the fact that he is 'saturated' or 'satiated with years' (anni); the fable is that he was in the habit of devouring his sons — meaning that Time devours the ages and gorges himself insatiably with the years that are past. Saturn was bound by Jove in order that Time's courses might not be unlimited, and that Jove might fetter him by the bonds of the stars. But Jupiter himself — the name means 'the helping father,' whom with a change of inflexion we style Jove, from iuvare 'to help'; the poets call him 'father of gods and men,' and our ancestors entitled him 'best and greatest,' putting the title 'best,' that is most beneficent, before that of 'greatest,' because universal beneficence is greater, or at least more lovable, than the possession of great wealth — |
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10. Plutarch, On Isis And Osiris, None (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 363d. that Typhon's flight from the battle was made on the back of an ass and lasted for seven days, and that after he had made his escape, he became the father of sons, Hierosolymus and Judaeus, are manifestly, as the very names show, attempting to drag Jewish traditions into the legend. Such, then, are the possible interpretations which these facts suggest. But now let us begin over again, and consider first the most perspicuous of those who have a reputation for expounding matters more philosophically. These men are like the Greeks who say that Cronus is but a figurative name for Chronus (Time), Hera for Air, and that the birth of Hephaestus symbolises the change of Air into Fire. And thus among the Egyptians such men say that Osiris is the Nile consorting with the Earth, which is Isis, and that the sea is Typhon into which the Nile discharges its waters and is lost to view and dissipated |
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11. Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies, 5.6.36 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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12. Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5.24.9 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 5.24.9. ὁ δὲ ἐν τῷ βουλευτηρίῳ πάντων ὁπόσα ἀγάλματα Διὸς μάλιστα ἐς ἔκπληξιν ἀδίκων ἀνδρῶν πεποίηται· ἐπίκλησις μὲν Ὅρκιός ἐστιν αὐτῷ, ἔχει δὲ ἐν ἑκατέρᾳ κεραυνὸν χειρί. παρὰ τούτῳ καθέστηκε τοῖς ἀθληταῖς καὶ πατράσιν αὐτῶν καὶ ἀδελφοῖς, ἔτι δὲ γυμνασταῖς ἐπὶ κάπρου κατόμνυσθαι τομίων, μηδὲν ἐς τὸν Ὀλυμπίων ἀγῶνα ἔσεσθαι παρʼ αὐτῶν κακούργημα. οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες οἱ ἀθληταὶ καὶ τόδε ἔτι προσκατόμνυνται, δέκα ἐφεξῆς μηνῶν ἀπηκριβῶσθαί σφισι τὰ πάντα ἐς ἄσκησιν. | 5.24.9. But the Zeus in the Council Chamber is of all the images of Zeus the one most likely to strike terror into the hearts of sinners. He is surnamed Oath-god, and in each hand he holds a thunderbolt. Beside this image it is the custom for athletes, their fathers and their brothers, as well as their trainers, to swear an oath upon slices of boar's flesh that in nothing will they sin against the Olympic games. The athletes take this further oath also, that for ten successive months they have strictly followed the regulations for training. |
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13. Anon., Schol.Ar.Av., 179
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