Greek Anthology Book 16 Planudean

ToposText · Greek Anthology · 394 sections

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§ 295 ANONYMOUS On the same It was not the plain of Smyrna that gave birth to divine Homer; no, nor Colophon, the star of delicate Ionia; not Chios, nor fruitful Egypt, nor holy Cyprus, nor the rocky island that was the home of the son of Laertes, nor Argos, the land of Danaus, and Cyclops -built Mycenae, nor the city of the ancient sons of Cecrops. No, he was not Earth’s work, but the Muses sent him from the sky to bring desirable gifts to the creatures of a day.
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§ 296 ANTIPATER OF SIDON On the same Some say, Homer, that thy nurse was Colophon, some lovely Smyrna, some Chios, some Ios; while some proclaim fortunate Salamis, and some Thessaly, mother of the Lapiths, some this place, some that, to be the land that brought thee to the birth. But if I may utter openly the wise prophecies of Phoebus, great Heaven is thy country, and thy mother was no mortal woman, but Calliope.
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§ 297 ANONYMOUS On the same Seven cities claim to be the root of Homer: Cyme, Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Pylos, Argos, Athens.
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§ 298 ANONYMOUS On the same Seven cities strive for the learned root of Homer: Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Ithaca, Pylos, Argos, Athens.
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§ 299 ANONYMOUS On the same A. WAST thou a Chian? Β. I say No. A. What then, a Smyrnian? Β, I deny it. A. Was either Cyme or Colophon thy native place, Homer? B. Neither. A. Was Salamis thy city? B. No, I do not spring from her either. A. But tell me thyself where thou wast born. Β. I will not. A. Wherefore? Β. I know for sure that if I tell the truth, I shall make the other cities my enemies.
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§ 300 ANONYMOUS On the same Thou art besung, Homer, for all ages and from all ages for having won thee the glory of the heavenly Muse. For thou didst sing the wrath of Achilles and the confusion of the Greek ships whirled hither and thither on the sea, and Odysseus, the subtle-minded, worn out by his wanderings, the husband that Penelope rejoiced to see again.
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§ 301 ANONYMOUS On the same If Homer be a god, let him be honoured as one of the gods; but if again he be not a god, let him be believed to be a god.
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§ 302 ANONYMOUS On the same Nature produced him; she produced him by a mighty effort, and after bearing him she ceased from her labour, having spent all her care on Homer alone.
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§ 303 ANONYMOUS On the same Who has not heard of the mighty voice of Homer? What land, what sea, does not know of the Grecian battle? The people of the Cimmerians, lacking the rays of the all-seeing Sun, has heard the name of Troy; Atlas has heard it, Atlas on whose shoulders broad-bosomed heaven rests.
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§ 304 ANONYMOUS On the same By telling the burnt city’s story, Homer, thou hast allowed unsacked cities to envy her fate.
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§ 305 ANTIPATER OF SIDON On a Portrait of Pindar As much as the trumpet out-peals the fawn-bone flute, so much does thy lyre out-ring all others. It was not idly, Pindar, that that swarm of bees fashioned the honeycomb about thy tender lips. I call to witness the horned god of Arcady, who chanted one of thy hymns and forgot his reed-pipe.
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§ 306 LEONIDAS OF TARENTUM On a Statue of Anacreon Look at old Anacreon, loaded profusely with wine, in a distorted attitude on the rounded basis. See how the greybeard, with a swimming leer in his amorous eyes, trails the robe that descends to his ankles. As one stricken by wine he has lost one of his two shoes, but in the other his wrinkled foot is fast. He is singing either of lovely Bathyllus or of Megisteus, holding uplifted in his hand his lovelorn lyre. But, father Dionysus, guard him; it is not meet that the servant of Bacchus fall by the hand of Bacchus.
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§ 307 BY THE SAME (?) On the same Look how old Anacreon stumbles from drunkenness and trails the mantle that falls down to his feet. In spite of all he keeps one of his slippers on, but has lost the other. Striking his lyre, he sings either of Bathyllus or beautiful Megisteus. Save the old man, Bacchus, from falling.
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§ 308 EUGENES On the same BACCHUS, thou hast betrayed by thy liquid nectar, his delight, Anacreon, the companion of the honeyed Loves, the swan of Teos. For his leering glance, and the edge of his mantle hanging about his ankles, and his single sandal, tell that he is drunk with wine; but yet his lyre plays continually the hymn to the Loves. Keep the old man from falling, O Bacchus.
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§ 309 ANONYMOUS On the same Thou seest me, the old man of Teos never sated by loves, singing alike to young men and to maidens. But my eyes are heavy with wine, and I bear from my revelling the pleasant signs of sleepless night-festivals.
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§ 310 DAMOCHARIS On a Picture of Sappho Nature herself, the creative artist, gave thee, painter, the Muse of Mytilene to portray. Her eyes overflow with brightness, and this clearly shows a fancy full of happy images. Her skin, naturally smooth and not too highly coloured (?), reveals her simplicity, and the mingled gaiety and gravity of her face announces the union in her of the Muse and Cypris.
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§ 311 ANONYMOUS On Oppians Halieutics OPPIAN, collecting in his pages the tribes that swim the sea, served to all young men a dish of fish infinite in variety.
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§ 312 ANONYMOUS On a Portrait of George Queen Calliope, when she saw George, said, “This, not Zeus, is my real father.”
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§ 313 ANONYMOUS On a Statue of the Rhetor Ptolemy at Antioch A. Statue, who created thee? B. Eloquence. A. Whose art thou? B. Ptolemy's. A. Which? B. The Cretan’s. A. Because of what? B. For merit. A. What kind of merit? B. All kinds. A. To whom? B. To lawyers. A. And does a wooden statue satisfy you? B. Yes, Ptolemy accepts no gold.
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§ 314 ARABIUS SCHOLASTICUS: The city could have afforded a golden statue for Longinus if august Justice did not loathe gold.
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§ 315 THOMAS SCHOLASTICUS: I love three stars of Rhetoric, because they alone are the best of all rhetoricians. I love thy works, Demosthenes, but I am also a great lover of both Aristides and Thucydides.
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§ 316 MICHAEL THE GRAMMARIAN On a Portrait of Agathias Scholasticus The city, with the regard of a mother to her son, figured here Agathias the rhetor and verse-writer, admiring the harmony of his eloquence in both respects, giving him the portrait as a testimony of its love and his own literary skill; and with him it set up portraits of Memnonius, his father, and of his brother, representatives of a most venerable family.
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§ 317 PALLADAS: Looking here on Gessius, dumb and speechless, if he be of stone, tell by thy sooth, Delian Apollo, which is the stone statue of which.
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§ 318 ANONYMOUS On the Portrait of a Dull Rhetor Who painted thee who speakest not in the character of a rhetor? Thou art silent, and dost not speak: nothing more lifelike.
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§ 319 ANONYMOUS On a Portrait of the Rhetor Marinus Portraits are an honour dear to men, but for Marinus a portrait is an insult, as it exhibits the uncomeliness of his form.
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§ 320 ANONYMOUS On a Portrait of the Rhetor Aristides Aristides put an end to the ancient quarrel that the cities of Ionia had about Homer’s parentage. For they all say, “It was Smyrna who gave birth to divine Homer, even she who bore likewise the rhetor Aristides.”
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§ 321 ANONYMOUS: The portrait is that of the rhetor Callistus, and pour a libation, ye who pass by it, to Hermes, the god of eloquence.
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§ 322 ANONYMOUS: Phyrmus set up the portrait of Phyrmus, the fire-bearer the fire-bearer’s, the son the father’s, the rhetor the rhetor’s.
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§ 323 MESOMEDES On the Invention of Glass The workman having quarried it, brought the glass and put in the fire the mass hard as iron, and the glass, set afire by the all-devouring flames, ran out melted like wax. And to men it was a marvel to see a trail flowing from the fire, and the workman trembling lest it should fall and break; and on the points of the double forceps he put the lump.
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§ 324 ANONYMOUS: I, THE pencil, was silver when I came from the fire, but in thy hands I have become golden likewise. So, charming Leontion, hath Athena well gifted thee with supremacy in art, and Cypris with supremacy in beauty.
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§ 325 JULIANUS, PREFECT OF EGYPT On a Statue of Pythagoras The sculptor wished to portray not that Pythagoras who explained the versatile nature of numbers, but Pythagoras in discreet silence. Perhaps he has hidden within the statue the voice that he could have rendered if he chose.
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§ 326 ANONYMOUS On a Picture of the same The painter drew the very image of Pythagoras, and you would have seen him with his voice, too, had Pythagoras wished to speak.
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§ 327 JOANNES BARBOCALLUS On a Picture of Socrates How wise was the painter! He did not put life into the wax, doing this favour to the soul of Socrates.
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§ 328 ANONYMOUS PLATO, teaching the mind to walk in the aether, utters words concerning things passing comprehension.
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§ 329 ANONYMOUS On a Portrait of Aristotle This is Aristotle measuring the earth and the starry heavens.
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§ 330 ANONYMOUS On the same Intellect and the soul of Aristotle, the picture of both is the same.
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§ 331 AGATHIAS SCHOLASTICUS On a Picture of Plutarch The valiant sons of Italy set up thy renowned form, Plutarch of Chaeronea, because in thy Parallel Lives thou didst couple the best of the Greeks with the warlike citizens of Rome. But not even thyself couldst write a life parallel to thine own, for thou hast no equal.
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§ 332 BY THE SAME On a Statue of Aesop Thou didst well, old Lysippus, sculptor of Sicyon, in placing the portrait of Samian Aesop in front of the Seven Sages, since they for their part put force, and not persuasion, into their saws, but he, saying the right thing in his wise fables and inventions, playing in serious earnest, persuades men to be sensible. Rough expostulation is to be avoided, but the sweetness of the Samian’s fables makes a pretty bait.
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§ 333 ANTIPHILUS OF BYZANTIUM On Diogenes The wallet and cloak and the barley-dough thickened with water, the staff planted before his feet, and the earthenware cup, are estimated by the wise Dog as sufficient for the needs of life, and even in these there was something superfluous; for, seeing the countryman drinking from the hollow of his hand, he said, “Why, thou earthen cup, did I burden myself with thee to no purpose?”
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§ 334 By the same On the same Even brass is aged by time, but not all the ages, Diogenes, shall destroy thy fame, since thou alone didst show to mortals the rule of self-sufficiency and the easiest path of life.
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§ 335 Epigrams ON THE STATUES OF ATHLETES IN THE HIPPODROME AT CONSTANTINOPLE On Porphyrius The Emperor and the faction erected the statue of Porphyrius, son of Calchas, loaded with many crowns won by skilled toil, the youngest of all the drivers as well as the best, and winner of as many victories as any. This man’s statue should have been of gold, not of bronze like the others.
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§ 336 On the same Four times before did the people shout distinctly, desiring Porphyrius, the son of Calchas, but he, taking up the reins and his driving belt at the right of the Emperor’s seat, drives, starting from there, urging on his team, and in the middle of his racing career his bronze statue was erected with the first down on his cheeks. If this honour came to him quicker than years, yet it came late after victories won by much labour/after many crowns.
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§ 337 On the same Cytherea was in love with Anchises and Selene with Endymion, and now it seems that Victory is in love with Porphyrius, who, ever changing his own team for that of another driver of his faction, was often crowned in the races that lasted all day without labour on his part, his companion only following him.
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§ 338 On the same Victory gave to thee, Porphyrius, while still young, this honour which time has given to others late in life and grudgingly; for, having counted the performances that won thee many crowns, she found them superior to those of old drivers. Why! did not the rival faction, in admiration of thy glory, applaud thee loudly? Blessed is the most free people of the Blues, to whom our great Emperor granted thee as a gift.
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§ 339 On the same The valiant to the valiant; the wise to the wise; the sons of victory, the Blues, to the son of victory, Porphyrius, erected this statue; for he glories in the two victories he gained by the interchanged teams, the team he gave and the team he received.
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§ 340 On the same To others when they have retired, but to Porphyrius alone while still racing, did the Emperor give this honour. For often he drove his own horses to victory and then took in hand the team of his adversary, and was again crowned. Hence arose a keen rivalry on the part of the Greens, hence a shout of applause for him, O King, who will give joy both to Blues and to Greens.
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§ 341 On the same The votes of all erected near to Victory the statue of me, Porphyrius, while still driving. For my own faction demanded the honour, and the opposite one desired to have me again, renouncing their hostility. I got the best of the other drivers by my cleverness, giving them in exchange for their own better horses, and then showing them to be my inferiors.
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§ 342 On the same The sculptor exactly portrayed in bronze Porphyrius himself, fashioning him as if alive. But who shall mould his grace, his races, the inspired tricks of his craft, and victory that never varied?
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§ 343 On the same In a brazen image the Lord of the Latins set up the victorious driver, strong himself as brass, as being skilled and dear to the Blues; but we shall see many statues yet of Porphyrius erected because of his victories.
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§ 344 On the same A. Who art thou, dear young man, the point of thy chin just marked with down? B. Stranger, I am Porphyrius. A. Thy country? B. Africa. A. Who hath honoured thee? B. The Emperor, on account of my driving. A. Who testifies to it? B. The faction of the Blues. A. Porphyrius, thou shouldst have had Lysippus, a skilled sculptor, to testify to so many victories.
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§ 345 On the same Thou standest near Victory and King Alexander, thou who hast gathered thee the glory of both.
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§ 346 On the same The eye of Fortune ranges over all things, but now the eye of Fortune is attracted to the exploits of Porphyrius alone.
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§ 347 On the same The people, in admiration of thy whirling whip and thy shield, was minded to set thee up in two aspects as was fitting, as a strong driver and a strong warrior; but the bronze, forming itself like thy soul, would not flow in two streams.
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§ 348 On the same Why did the distinguished faction of the Greens erect on the course the statue of the charioteer Porphyrius? The Emperor himself issued the order. What could he do but honour him in view of his good will to him and of his skill as a driver?
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§ 349 On the same Our Sovereign Lord, who grants this favour to the Greens, gave to Porphyrius after the races an honour worthy of his performances. For often the people, their attention turned to exploits more than usually brilliant, praised Calliopas1 and again Porphyrius, the two names that belonged to this brazen hero, who won the meed of valour in the chariot-races.
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§ 350 On the same · Not only did divine Victory crown thee on the race-course, but in war, too, she showed thee to be victorious, then when the Emperor, with the Greens to assist him, warred with the furiously raging enemy of the throne; when the savage tyrant2 fell, as Rome was on the point of perishing, and the light of Latin liberty came back. Therefore the Monarch gave to the Greens the privileges they formerly had, and the artist wrought and polished thy image, Porphyrius.
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§ 351 On the same The crowns from the hostile faction too, Porphyrius, are unimpeachable witnesses of thy exploits. For ever in the race thou conquerest one after the other all the rival charioteers, a mere toy for thy skilled hands. Therefore hast thou alone gained an unwonted mark of honour, a bronze statue in the grounds of each faction.
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§ 352 On the same The sculptor made the bronze like unto the charioteer, but would that he could have fashioned also the vastness of his skill, its vastness and beauty, a thing that when Nature brought forth late in her life she swore, “I cannot travail again/* She swore it with truthful lips, for to Porphyrius first and alone she gave all her gifts.
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§ 353 On the same If envy could be at rest and chose1 to judge the contests, all men testify to the achievements of Porphyrius. Yea, perchance they would say after reckoning up his races, “That is a slender reward for so much exertion.** For, having gathered into one all the separate qualities which adorn each driver, he showed himself to be the great man he is.
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§ 354 On the same Thrice-desired Porphyrius, the city reverencing thee honours thee with a bronze statue. She would have wished it to be gold, but Nemesis was before her eyes. But if thy well-wishers, the faction of the Greens, never cease celebrating thy wonted victories, they are every man of them living statues in thy honour, and all gold is worthless in comparison with them.
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§ 355 On the same Not yet has Fortune worthily rewarded thy hard-won victories, for thy victories are greater than the prizes that have fallen to thee. But remain now in this, the first of the factions, the more constant and more excellent, consuming the envious hearts of our enemies, who, seeing thy whip ever victorious, never cease to blame their own recklessness.
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§ 356 On the same Time is the cause of the honours of others, and those who are judged worthy of them, owing to their victories, do not lack grey hairs, but lack that virtue on which glory depends. Porphyrius alone twice gained the splendour of such gifts, not boasting many decades of years, but many hundreds of victories, and all of them akin to the Graces.
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§ 357 LEONTIUS SCHOLASTICUS On the same Cytherea loved Anchises, and Selene Endymion, so it is fabled by men of old time. But now a new fable shall be sung, that Victory, it seems, fell in love with the eyes and chariot of Porphyrius.
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§ 358 On the same under his other name, Calliopas When a youth thou didst conquer thy elders, and now, in thy later years, thou conquerest the young drivers of racing four- horse chariots. Having accomplished thy six decades of years, thou hast won, Calliopas, a statue for thy victories, by command of the Emperor, so that thy renown may abide for future ages. Would that thy body were as immortal as thy renown.
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§ 359 On the same Victory, the charioteer, dedicated to thee, Calliopas, this brazen image of thy divine form, because in thy old age thou didst conquer men in the prime of youth by thy force in subduing horses, and in thy youth didst conquer thy elders by skill. Hence the faction of the Blues, the children of liberty, erected two prizes for thee, one for thy art and the other for thy force.
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§ 360 On the same Thy old age has surpassed thy youth in victories, and thou didst ever overcome all, Calliopas. Therefore do the Emperor and this free faction again raise this honour for thee, a monument of thy skill and valour.
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§ 361 On the same O Calliopas, thou who raisest applause in the theatre, this is thy portrait which a swarm of much-envied crowns raises to thee. For neither did any charioteer cozen thee, nor did any hard-mouthed horse’s jaws refuse to obey thy reins. Alone hast thou gained the reward of victory; verily the opinion of all is that by contending thou leavest prizes for others.
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§ 362 On the same O Calliopas, celebrated for thy achievements, what does it profit thee that thy labours are rewarded with a bronze statue by the Emperor, by this myriad-throated faction, by the whole city, considering that even the hands of the hostile faction applauded thy exploits?
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§ 363 On Faustinas Wits are the mothers of a winner’s honours, not the force of youth, nor swift driving, nor favourable occasion. May thy mind, Faustinus, be propitious, which takes precedence of all these things, and whose companion is immortal Victory.
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§ 364 On the same Formerly in thy youth, Faustinus, the minds of the old men feared thee, and now the strength of the young men trembles before thine in thy advanced years. The first place was ever gained for thee by thy toil, which brings honour to thee, an old man among the youths, a youth among the old men.
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§ 365 On Constantinus Since Constantinus entered the house of Hades the race-course is full of despondency, and pleasure has abandoned the spectators, nor even in the streets does one see the old friendly strife.
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§ 366 On the same The citizens, mourning thee, erected thy image, Constantinus, to be a delight to thy departed spirit. When the people confirmed thy fame on thy death, the Emperor, too, was mindful of thy exertions after thy decease, because the abusive 2 art of driving has perished, ceasing finally with thee as it began with thee.
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§ 367 On the same While Constantinus yet lived, the city deemed a bronze statue a small reward for him, for the whole people knew how many crowns in his long racing career he had set on his head because of glorious Victory. But when he died, in regret for him, it erected this his dear form, so that posterity, too, should be kept mindful of his achievements.
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§ 368 On the same The Blues and Greens, always at variance, shouted aloud one concordant decision, that thou, Constantinus, shouldst have on thy tomb this ornament, acclaimed by all, pleasing to all.
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§ 369 On the same Immortal Constantinus, thy course, high in the light, has traversed the boundaries of east, west, south, and north. Let none say thou art dead, for even Hades cannot lay his hand on the invincible.
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§ 370 On the same THIS, his statue, has been placed near those of his own family, for it was proper that they should stand in one place, the three who won equal glory for their skill in the race, gaining equal swarms of innumerable crowns.
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§ 371 On the same Here the city erected Constantinus, son of Faustinus, next his own family, the best of all charioteers. For through all the long time he raced he never failed, but ended by a victory, as he had formerly begun by a victory. When he was a young man the older drivers who had won crowns on the course appointed him president of the races.
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§ 372 On the same This is a gift for thee, Constantinus, from thy nurse, Victory, who hath followed thee from thy childhood all through thy life. For in the five times ten years thou didst pass on the race-course thou didst never light on thy equal, or even on one a little inferior to thee; but while yet a lad and beardless thou didst conquer men, when grown up thou didst conquer those of thine age, and in thine old age the young men.
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§ 373 On the same The city wished Constantinus to wield the reins for ever; she wished it, but Nature refused to grant her desire. Therefore she bethought her of erecting this statue to console her for her lost love, that time and oblivion should not envelop him, but that he might remain, the desire of his lovers, the envy of charioteers, an ornament to the course, and a tale for future generations to tell; and that one in time to come, looking on inferior drivers, should bless the former age that looked on him.
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§ 374 On the same Constantinus having won five-and-twenty races on one morning, changed his team with his rival’s, and taking the same horses that he had formerly beaten, won twenty-one times with them. Often there was a great strife between the two factions as to which was to have him, and they gave him two robes to choose from.
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§ 375 On the same AWAKE, Constantinus! Why dost thou sleep the brazen sleep? The people long to see thy team on the course, and the charioteers, lacking thy instruction, sit just like orphaned children.
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§ 376 On Uranius URANIUS, who had distinguished himself in the service of both the factions, gained glory from both while still driving. His first reward came from the Greens, and stands near their stand. They also, when he had retired from racing, brought him back again to the chariots, mindful of his former victory.
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§ 377 On the same The Emperor, when Uranius had retired from the race-course after gaining splendid victories, made him mount again his victorious chariot, doing a favour to all the factions; for the city has no desire for the races without Uranius. Therefore, admiring him for his first victories and his last, the city erected his statue during the second period of his career.
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§ 378 On the same Uranius has Nicea and New Rome near him, being native of one and having gained glory in the other. He wins from both sides, because he was very clever at dashing forward and getting past on both sides of the course. Therefore did they portray him in golden metal, the precious charioteer in the most precious of possessions.
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§ 379 THOMAS On Anastasias Beneath this earth lies Anastasius the bold driver, mindful no more of the chariot-race, he who of old set on his head as many crowns as were the racing days that other charioteers saw.
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§ 380 On Porphyrius, of the faction of the Blues PORPHYRIUS, the wonder of the Blues, having conquered every charioteer on earth does well to rise and race towards heaven. for he, victorious over every driver here below, mounts to join the sun on its course.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg7000.tlg001:381
§ 381 On the same This Porphyrius, son of Calchas, with the first down on his cheeks, held the reins for the faction of the Blues. I marvel how some artist’s hand has painted his horses as if alive. Really, if he whips them again, I think he will be carried again to victory.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg7000.tlg001:382
§ 382 On Faustinas, of the faction of the Greens Look on the work of the architect of this house. For if it had not been covered by a strong roof Faustinus, the ancient glory of the Greens, would have mounted racing to heaven, so like the life are he and his team. Take the roof off and he will reach the sky.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg7000.tlg001:383
§ 383 On the same This is Faustinus, the former charioteer, after engaging whom the faction of the Greens never knew what defeat was in the race. He was old, as you see, but in his strength he was as a young man, and was never once vanquished.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg7000.tlg001:384
§ 384 On Constantinus, the Charioteer of the Whites CONSTANTINUS, wielding the reins of the White faction, were he not restrained by the solidity of the house, would conquer those three, getting to heaven first. You would see him mount the heavens without breath. The artist persuades me that I see him alive.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg7000.tlg001:385
§ 385 On the same Constantinus was his name, but in the old days he skilfully drove the four-horse chariot of the Whites. Since Charon carried him off, it is set, the light of horse-racing and all the delight and art of the theatre.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg7000.tlg001:386
§ 386 On Julianus, the Charioteer of the Reds The hand of man knows how to give birth to men long ago dead, for Julianus is as strong here as of old, guiding this way and that the reins of the Red faction. Now he stands painted here on high, himself and his chariot; his hand awaits the signal. Give him a winning-post.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg7000.tlg001:387
§ 387 On the same This Julianus, with his car of the Red faction, conquered his adversaries in the race. But if the painter had endued him with breath he is ready again to drive his chariot and come in first, and even take the crown.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg7000.tlg001:388
§ 388 JULIANUS, PREFECT OF EGYPT ONCE, weaving a garland, I found Love among the roses, and catching him by the wings dipped him in wine. I took and drank him, and now within me he tickles with his wings.

Via ToposText (topostext.org), a project of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation created by Brady Kiesling. Translated by William Roger Paton (1857-1921). Composed ca. 500 CE. Licence: public domain. Source.