Delphi Complete Works of Lucian

by Lucian Samosata

  And certeynely the symulacre of love ressenibleth love in alle pointes, as heed and garnements and throne; and thou mightest not lyknen him unto no thing elles, and thou wolde. But whan thou lokest on Iuno, sche wil schewe thee grete dyversitee of semblauntz; for al be it that the hool, trewely considered, be luno, natheles it conteyneth some dele of Minerve and Venus and Luna and Cibella and Deane and Fortune and Parcas. And in that oon bond sche holt a troncheon, and in that other a distaf; and on hir hede sche bereth rayes, and a tour, and that ceynt that men arayen with Venus Celestial allone. And abouten hir sche hath me gold and precious stones right costlewe, some whyte and some watry, and manye lyk wyn and manye lyk fuyr; and therto sardoynes withouten nombre and berylles and emeraudes. Thise stones bryngen men of Egypte and Inde and Ethyope and Medye and Ermonye and Babyloyne. But I schal devyse you a thyng that is yit me to speke of. Sche bereth on hir hede a ston that hight Lampe and hath his name after that that it doth. That ston schyneth in the nyght with grete claretee and serveth all the temple with light, right as it were of lampes. In the daye his schyninge is feble but it hath a right fuyry aspect. And ther is an other merveylle in that ydole. Gif thou loke on hir stondynge ayenst hir, sche loketh on thee, and if thou remeve thee, hir regard folweth thee; natheles if an other beholde hir fro the tothere syde, sche doth right so to him also.

  And betwene hem stont a symulacre of gold, not lyk the othere symulacres in no kynde, that hath no propre schap but bereth the qualitees of the other goddes. And the Assuriens hem selve elepen it Tokene, for thei han not goven him no propre name; in sothe thei mowe not seyn whens it cam ne what maner thyng it is. But some beleven, it is of Bachus, and othere that it is of Deucalioun, and othere that it is of Semiramys. And for sothe a dowve of gold stont on his hede, and so thei devisen that it is Semiramys Tokene. And it doth iorney twyes eech yeer to the See, for to fecchen that water aforseyde.

  In the temple himself on the left syde in entrynge is first a thron of Elye the sonne, but noon ymage of him sytt there on. For of Sonne and Mone only schewen thei non symulacres, and I lernede wherfore thei folwen this usaunce. Thei seyn that of othere goddes it is leful to lete make symulacres, for that here schappes ben not seen of alle men. But Sonne and Mone ben wel visible and alle men beholden hem. Whi thanne make simulacres of thynges that aperen in the eyr?

  And ther nyghe this throne is sett a symulacre of Apollo, not lyk as he is wont to ben formed. For alle othere leven Apollo yong and formen him as a stripling, but thise allone schewcn a symulacre of Apollo berded. And doynge this thei preisen hem selve and repreven Grekes and alle othere men that worschippen Apollo in lyknesse of a child. And the resoun is, for it semetth hem gret folye to maken schappes of Goddes inperfyt, and al that is yong thei demen yit inperfyt. And here Apollo hath other novelrye; for thei allone arayen him with clothynges.

  Now of the wondres that he doth I can speke largely, but I wol telle only that that is most marveyllous; and first I schalle make mencioun of the oracle. Ther ben manye oracles amonges Grekes and manye amonges Egyptyens, and some in Libye, and also manye in Asye. But thise oracles speken not withouten prestes or prophetes; but that oon meveth be himself and be himself acomplischeth his fercastinge, wher of the maner is right so. Whan he is in wille for to make predicatioun, atte firste he meveth on his thron, and thanne anon the prestes beren him up; but if thei ne beren him not up, he svveteth and meveth ever the more. And whyls thei carryen him on here scholdres, he dryveth hem, tornynge hem in alle weyes and lepynge fro that oon to that other. And atte last the Chefe Preste meteth him and axeth him of alle manere thinges; and gif he wole not that a thyng ben don, he draweth him backwardes; but if he commende a thyng, he dryveth his bereres forwardes right as he were dryvinge a charre. So assembler] thei the predicatiounes, and withouten this don thei no thing, ne solempne ne lewede. And he speketh of the yeer and the sesouns ther of, ye, whan thei ne axe not; and he speketh of the Tokene, whan it schal gon that iorney aforseyde. And I schalle seye you an other wonder that he wroghte in min owene presence. Whan the prestes wolde beren him up and carryen him, he lafte hem doun on the erthe and fleighe in the eyr al be him self.

  There beside Apollo is a symulacre of Atlas, and there neer, of Mercure and of Lucine.

  Now have I devysed you how that the temple is aparaylled with innen. Withouten is set a gret awtere of brasse, and there nyghe ben othere symulacres of kynges and prestes withouten nombre; and I schalle telle you the that ben moste worthy of mencioun. At the lefte syde of the temple stont a symulacre of Semiramys schewinge the temple with hir righte bond, the whiche was sett up for this resoun. Sche made ordeynaunce unto alle that duelleden in Surrye that thei scholde worschippe hir as here goddesse, recchynge nought of the othere goddes and Iuno hirself. And thei didde right so. But after, for als moche as syknesses and tribulaciouns and peynes weren leyde on hir by the goddes, sche cessed of that folye and knouleched that sche was mortalle and commaunded alle hir subgettes to tornen hem ayen un to Iuno. Wherfore sche stont yit in suche gyse, devysing to alle that comen that thei schulle worschippe Iuno, and knoulechynge that sche is not goddesse no more, but that other.

  And in that place saughe I also ymages of Eleyne and Ecube and Andromacha and Parys and Ector and Achilles. And I saughe Nireos ymage, that was sone of Aglaye, and Philomele and Progne, that weren yit wommen, and Tereus himself, that was a brid, and an other ymage of Semiramys, and of Combabe that that I spak of, and a right fayr of Stratonice, and oon of Alexaundre lyk as it were the verray man, and there beside him stont Sardanapalle in other schappe and other aparayl.

  And in the clos at large pasturen grete boles and hors and egles and beres and lyouns; and thei don no manere harm to men but ben everyche of hem holy and tame.

  Prestes thei apoynten withouten nombre, of the whiche some slcen the victimes and some beren the offrynges of licours and some ben cleped Fuyrbereres and some Awtere Prestes. Whan I was there, me than a 300 weren wont to assemblen hem for sacrifise. Thei ben clothed in whyte robes alle, and thei han a poynted cappe on here hedes. And everyche yeer a newe chefe preste is sett over hem, that allone wereth a robe of purpre and is crouned with a eoronale of gold. And therto is other gret multytude of religious men, of floyteres and piperes and Galles, and also wommen that ben wode and out of here witte.

  Twyes each day sacrifise is perfourmed, to the which allé comen. To love thei sacrificen withouten ony noys, ne syngynge not ne floytynge; but whan thei presenten offrynges to Iuno, thanne thei syngen and floyten and sounen cymbales. And as to this thei mighte not telle me no thing certeyn.

  Ther is also a lak, a lityl fro the temple, in the whiche holy fissches ben norysscht, withouten nombre and of dy verse kyndes. Some of hem ben ful grete, and thise han names and comen whan thei ben cleped. And whan I was there, amonges hem was oon that werde gold. On his fynne was festned a ioyelle of gold; and often tymes I saughe him, and he hadde that ioyelle.

  That lak is passynge depe. I assayde it not, but men seyn that it hath wel me than a 200 fadmes; and in the myd place ther of stont an awtere of stone. Seeynge it on a sodeyne, thou woldest trowen that it fleyted and rode upon the water, and manye men wenen thus; but I suppose that a gret piler pight undernethe bereth up the awtere. And it is ever more dressed with gerlondes and hath encens brennynge, and manye swymmen overthwart to it eech day for a vowe that thei han, and bryngen gerlondes.

  At that place ben wondur grete festes, the which highte Desceyntes unto the Lak, be cause that in the festes allé the ydoles gon doun to the lak. Amonges hem Iuno cometh first, be cause of the fissches, to the entente that love schalle not seen hem first; for if so be that this happeth, thei dyen alle, as men seyn. And for sothe he cometh to seen hem, but sche, stondynge beforn him, letteth him, and with manye supplicatiouns sendeth him his weye.

  Wondur grete ben also the festes that thei ben wont to make in goynge to the see. Of the festes ne can I not seye no thing certeyn, be cause that I ne wente not myself ne assayde not that pilgrimage. But what thei don
whan thei retornen, that I saughe and schalle devyse you. Thei beren everychon a pot fulle of water, and thise pottes ben seeled with waxe. And of hem self thei ne breke not the seel for to schede it out: but ther is a holy Cokke, that wonetlh nyghe to the lak, that whan he resceyveth the vesseles he loketh to the seel, and getteth him a fee for to undon the bond and remeve the waxe; and the Cokke gadereth moche silver thorghe this werk. And fro thens thei hem self bryngen it in to the temple, and scheden it out; and after this thei perfourmen sacrifise, and than thei wenden hoom ayen.

  But the grettest of alle festes wherof I knowe is kepte in the firste somer sesoun, and some men clepen it Fuyr Feste and some Torche Feste. Ther inne thei don sacrifise in this wyse. Thei kutten grete trees and setten hem in the clos, and after, brynginge gotes and schepe and othere bestes, thei hangen hem fro the trees, alle on lyve, and eke briddesand clothes and ioyelles of gold and of silver. And whan thei han mad everyche thing complet and perfyt, thei beren the ydoles aboute the trees, and thanne thei casten inne fuyr and als swytlie alle tho thinges brennen. To this feste comen manye bothe fro Surrye and from alle the marches there aboute; and alle bryngen here owne holy thinges and han alle here Tokenes made in lyknesse of that on.

  And upon sette dayes the multytude assemblen hem in the clos, and manye Galles and the religious men that I spak of perfourmen here cerimonyes; and thei kutten here owne armes and beten that oon that other upon the bak. And manyc that stont ther neer floyten, and manye beten timbres, and othere syngen wode songes and holy. This is don withouten the temple, and thei that don it comen not in to the temple.

  And in thise dayes Galles ben made. For whan the floyten and perfourmen here rytes, that folye sone entreth into manye, and manye ther ben that camen for to seen and thanne wroghten in thilke manere. And I shal descryve what thei don. The yong man to whom Fortune hath goven this adversitee, he casteth offe his clothinge and cometh in to the myddes, cryinge in a grete voyce, and taketh up a swerd that hath stode there thise manye yeeres, I wene. Thanne he geldeth him right anon and renneth throghe the Cytee berynge in his hondes the parties therof he gelt him. And that house into the whiche he schalle casten thise, he getteth thens femele wedes and wommanlyche aparayles. Thus don thei whan thei gelden hem.

  And Galles at here dyenge ben not enterred in lyk manere as other men, but gif a Galle dye, his felawes liften him up and carryen him in to the skirtes of the Cytee and sette doun the man himself and the fertre on the whiche thei broghte him, and casten stones aboven; and whan this is don, thei wenden boom ay en. And thei wayten for the nombre of 7 dayes or that thei entren in to the temple; for if thei entren before, thei misdon. And the customes that thei folwen therto ben thise. If so be that ony of hem seeth a dede man, he cometh not in to the temple that day; but on the nexte daye, aftre that he hath pured him, thanne he entreth. And the that ben of the dede mannes kyn wayten for the space of 30 dayes and lette sahaven here hedes or thei entren; but before that this hath ben don, it is not leful for to entren.

  Thei sacrificen boles and kyn and gotes and schepe. Swyn only thei ne sacrificen not nouther eten be cause that thei demen hem unclcne. But othere men demen hem not unclene but holy. And amonges briddes the dowve semeth hem wondur holy thing, and thei ben not wont so moche as to touchen hem; and gif thei touchen hem maugree hem selven, thei ben unclene that day. Therfore dowves lyven amonges hem and entren here houses and gadren here mete for the moste part atte erthe.

  And I schal telle you what the pilgrimes alle don. Whan that a man wole faren for the firste sythe to the Holy Cytee, he schaveth his heed and his browes, and after that, he sacrificeth a schep; and than he kerveth it and eteth it allé, saf only the flees that he leyeth on the erthe and kneleth ther on, and taketh the bestes feet and heed and putteth upon his owne heed. Ther with alle he preyeth, askynge that this present sacrifise be resceyved and behotynge a grettere that nexte sythe. And whan alle this is atte ende, he putteth a gerlond on his owne heed and on the hedes of his felawes that wolle gon that ilke pilgrimage. Thanne levynge his owne contree he doth iorney; and he useth cold watre bothe for to wasschen with and to drynken, and slepeth alle weyes on the erthe; for he ne may not liggen in no maner bedde un to tyme that his pilgrimage be fulfilled and he be comen ayen to his owne contree. And in the Holy Cytee he is resceyved of an hoste that he knoweth not propurly. For certeyne men in that place ben apoynted unto everyche cytee as hostes, and dyverse kynredes han this office of linage. And Assuryens clepen the men Maistres be cause thei techen hem everyche thing.

  And the sacrifises ben not perfourmed in the temple, but whan he hath presented his victime beforn the awtere, he schedeth offrynge of wyn there on, and thanne he ayen ledeth him on lyve to his logging, and whan he is comen there he sacrificeth and preyeth be him self.

  Ther is also this other maner sacrifise. Thei dressen here victimes with gerlondes and hurlen hem doun the degrees of the entree on lyve, and in fallynge doun thei dyen. And some men hurlen here owne children thens, but not in lyke manere as the bestes. Thei putten hem in a walet and beren hem doun in bond, and thei scornen hem with alle, seyinge that thei ben not children but oxen.

  And alle leten marke hem, some on the wriste and some on the nekke; and for that skylle alle Assuryens beren markes.

  And thei don another thing, in the whiche thei acorden to men of Trosen allone of Grekes, and I schalle telle you what the don. Men of Trosen han made ordeynaunce as touchinge the maydens and the bachelers, that thei schulle not maryen or thei lette scheren here lokkes for worschipe of Ypolitc; and so thei don. That thing is don also in the Holy Cytee. The bacheleres offren of here berdes, and the children from here birthe leten holy crulles growe, the which thei scheren whan thei ben presented in the temple and putten in boystes outher of silver or often tymes of gold, that thei naylen faste in the temple, and than gon here weye; but first thei wryten there on here names everychon. Whan I was yong, I fulfilled that ryte; and bothe my crulle and my name ben yit in the seyntuarye.

  THE SYRIAN GODDESS: Strong and Garstang Translation

  Translated by Herbert A. Strong and John Garstang

  1. There is in Syria a city not far from the river Euphrates : it is called “the Sacred City,” and is sacred to the Assyrian Hera. As far as I can judge this name was not conferred upon the city when it was first settled, but originally it bore another name. In course of time the great sacrifices were held therein, and then this title was bestowed upon it. I will speak of this city, and of what it contains. I will speak also of the laws which govern its holy rites, of its popular assemblies and of the sacrifices offered by its citizens. I will speak also of all the traditions attaching to the founders of this holy place: and of the manner of the founding of its temple. I write as an Assyrian born who have witnessed with mine own eyes some of the facts which I am about to narrate: some, again, I learnt from the priests: they occurred before my time, but I narrate them as they were told to me.

  2. The first men on earth to receive knowledge of the gods, and to build temples and shrines and to summon meetings for religious observances are said to have been the Egyptians. They were the first, too, to take cognizance of holy names, and to repeat sacred traditions. Not long after them the Assyrians heard from the Egyptians their doctrines as to the gods, and they reared temples and shrines: in these they placed statues and images.

  3. Originally the temples of the Egyptians possessed no images. And there exist in Syria temples of a date not much later than those of Egypt, many of which I have seen myself, for instance, the temple of Hercules in Tyre. This is not the Hercules of Greek legend; but a Tyrian hero of much greater antiquity than he.

  4. There is likewise in Phœnicia a temple of great size owned by the Sidonians. They call it the temple of Astarte. I hold this Astarte to be no other than the moon-goddess. But according to the story of one of the priests this temple is sacred to Europa, the sister of Cadmus. She was the daughter of Agenor, and on her disappearance from Earth the Phœnicians honoured her with a temple and told
a sacred legend about her; how that Zeus was enamoured of her for her beauty, and changing his form into that of a bull carried her off into Crete. This legend I heard from other Phœnicians as well; and the coinage current among the Sidonians bears upon it the effigy of Europa sitting upon a bull, none other than Zeus. Thus they do not agree that the temple in question is sacred to Europa.

  5. The Phœnicians have also another sacred custom, derived from Egypt, not from Assyria: it came, they say, from Heliopolis into Phœnicia. I never witnessed this myself, but it is important, and of great antiquity.

  6. I saw too at Byblos a large temple, sacred to the Byblian Aphrodite : this is the scene of the secret rites of Adonis: I mastered these. They assert that the legend about Adonis and the wild boar is true, and that the facts occurred in their country, and in memory of this calamity they beat their breasts and wail every year, and perform their secret ritual amid signs of mourning through the whole countryside. When they have finished their mourning and wailing, they sacrifice in the first place to Adonis, as to one who has departed this life: after this they allege that he is alive again, and exhibit his effigy to the sky. They proceed to shave their heads, too, like the Egyptians on the loss of their Apis. The women who refuse to be shaved have to submit to the following penalty, viz., to stand for the space of an entire day in readiness to expose their persons for hire. The place of hire is open to none but foreigners, and out of the proceeds of the traffic of these women a sacrifice to Aphrodite is paid.