‘Ἐπεὶ δ̓ ἐνικήσαμεν τὸν πόλεμον ἐπιφανείᾳ τῶν θεῶν καὶ ὑποστρέψαντες εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον, εὐφημοῦντες τὸν Ἡρακλέα καὶ τὴν Ἄρτεμιν ἐχειροτονήθημεν ἐγὼ μὲν ἐνταῦθα τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι, ὁ δὲ εἰς Τύρον Ἡρακλεῖ, λαβόμενός μου τῆς δεξιᾶς ὁ Καλλισθένης διηγεῖται πρῶτον τὰ πεπραγμένα αὐτῷ περὶ τὴν Καλλιγόνην. [2] ῾Ἀλλὰ ἅπερ ἐποιήσαμεν, πάτεῤ εἶπε ‘τὰ μὲν νεότητος φύσει πέπρακται βίᾳ, τὰ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα προαιρέσει. Παρθένον γὰρ τὴν κόρην μέχρι τούτου τετήρηκα, καὶ ταῦτα πολέμοις ὁμιλῶν, ἐν οἷς οὐδεὶς ἀναβάλλεται τὰς ἡδονάς. [3] Νῦν οὖν εἰς τὴν Τύρον αὐτὴν ἀπαγαγεῖν ἔγνωκα πρὸς τὸν πατέρα καὶ νόμῳ παῤ ἐκείνου λαβεῖν τὸν γάμον. Ἂν μὲν οὖν ἐθελήσῃ μοι δοῦναι τὴν κόρην, ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ δέξομαι: ἂν δὲ σκαιὸς γένηται καὶ δύσκολος, παρθένον αὐτὴν ἀπολήψεται. [4] Ἐγὼ γὰρ προῖκα ἐπιδοὺς οὐκ εὐκαταφρόνητον ἀγαπητῶς ἂν λάβοιμι τὸν γάμον.’ Ἀναγνώσομαι δέ σοι καὶ τὸ συμβόλαιον, ὃ φθάνω πρὸ τοῦ πολέμου γράψας, δεόμενος συνοικίσαι τῷ Καλλισθένει τὴν κόρην, τό τε γένος αὐτοῦ καταλέγων καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα καὶ τὰς ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις ἀριστείας. [5] Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἡμῖν τὸ συγκείμενον. Ἐγὼ δέ, ἢν τὴν ἔφεσιν ἀγωνισώμεθα, διέγνωκα πρῶτον μὲν εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον διαπλεῦσαι, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ εἰς τὴν Τύρον.’ Καὶ ταῦτα διαμυθολογήσαντες ἐκοιμήθημεν τὸν
αὐτὸν τρόπον: τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ παραγενόμενος ὁ Κλεινίας ἔφη Θέρσανδρον διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς ἀποδεδρακέναι: τὴν γαρ ἔφεσιν οὐχ ὡς ἀγωνιούμενον πεποιῆσθαι, βουλόμενον δὲ μετὰ προφάσεως ἐπισχεθῆναι τὸν ἔλεγχον ὧν ἐτόλμησε. [2] Μείναντες οὖν τῶν ἑξῆς τριῶν ἡμερῶν, ὅσων ἦν ἡ προθεσμία, προσελθόντες τῷ προέδρῳ καὶ τοὺς νόμους ἀναγνόντες, καθ̓ οὓς οὐδεὶς ἔτι τῷ Θερσάνδρῳ λόγος πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἦν, νεὼς ἐπιβάντες καὶ οὐρίῳ χρησάμενοι πνεύματι κατήραμεν εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον, κἀκεῖ τοὺς πολυεύκτους ἐπιτελέσαντες γάμους ἀπεδημήσαμεν εἰς τὴν Τύρον. [3] Δύο δὲ ὕστερον ἡμερῶν τοῦ Καλλισθένους ἐλθόντες εὕρομεν τὸν πατέρα μέλλοντα θύειν τοὺς γάμους τῆς ἀδελφῆς εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν. Παρῆμεν οὖν ὡς καὶ συνθύσοντες αὐτῷ καὶ εὐξόμενοι τοῖς θεοῖς τούς τε ἐμοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνου γάμους σὺν ἀγαθαῖς φυλαχθῆναι τύχαις. Καὶ διεγνώκαμεν ἐν τῇ Τύρῳ παραχειμάσαντες διελθεῖν εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον.
The Dual Text
The site of the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — the final setting of ‘Leucippe and Clitophon’
DUAL GREEK AND ENGLISH TEXT
Translated by Stephen Gaselee
In this section, readers can view a section by section text of Leucippe and Clitophon, alternating between the original Greek and Gaselee’s English translation.
CONTENTS
BOOK I.
BOOK II.
BOOK III.
BOOK IV.
BOOK V.
BOOK VI.
BOOK VII.
BOOK VIII.
BOOK I.
Please note: the translator’s original footnotes are inserted in brackets in the text.
[1] Σιδὼν ἐπὶ θαλάττῃ πόλις, Ἀσσυρίων ἡ θάλασσα, μήτηρ Φοινίκων ἡ πόλις, Θηβαίων ὁ δῆμος πατήρ: δίδυμος λιμὴν ἐν κόλπῳ πλατύς, ἠρέμα κλείων τὸ πέλαγος. Ἧι γὰρ ὁ κόλπος κατὰ πλευρὰν ἐπὶ δεξιὰ κοιλαίνεται, στόμα δεύτερον ὀρώρυκται, καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ αὖθις εἰσρεῖ, καὶ γίνεται τοῦ λιμένος ἄλλος λιμήν, ὡς χειμάζειν μὲν ταύτῃ τὰς ὁλκάδας ἐν γαλήνῃ, θερίζειν δὲ τοῦ λιμένος ἐς τὸ προκόλπιον. [2] Ἐνταῦθα ἥκων ἐκ πολλοῦ χειμῶνος σῶστρα ἔθυον ἐμαυτοῦ τῇ τῶν Φοινίκων θεᾷ: Ἀστάρτην αὐτὴν οἱ Σιδώνιοι καλοῦσι. Περιϊὼν οὖν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην πόλιν καὶ περισκοπῶν τὰ ἀναθήματα, ὁρῶ γραφὴν ἀνακειμένην γῆς ἅμα καὶ θαλάττης. Εὐρώπης ἡ γραφή, Φοινίκων ἡ θάλασσα, Σιδῶνος ἡ γῆ. [3] Ἐν τῇ γῇ λειμὼν καὶ χορὸς παρθένων: ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ ταῦρος ἐνήχετο, καὶ τοῖς νώτοις καλὴ παρθένος ἐπεκάθητο, ἐπὶ Κρήτην τῷ ταύρῳ πλέουσα. Ἐκόμα πολλοῖς ἄνθεσιν ὁ λειμών, δένδρων αὐτοῖς ἀνεμέμικτο φάλαγξ καὶ φυτῶν: συνεχῆ τὰ δένδρα, συνηρεφῆ τὰ πέταλα: συνῆπτον οἱ πτόρθοι τὰ φύλλα, καὶ ἐγίνετο τοῖς ἄνθεσιν ὄροφος ἡ τῶν φύλλων συμπλοκή. [4] Ἔγραψεν ὁ τεχνίτης ὑπὸ τὰ πέταλα καὶ τὴν σκιάν, καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἠρέμα τοῦ λειμῶνος κάτω σποράδην διέρρει, ὅσον τὸ συνηρεφὲς τῆς τῶν φύλλων κόμης ἀνέῳξεν ὁ γραφεύς.
1. SIDON is on the sea-board of the Assyrian Ocean: it is the Phoenicians’ mother city, and its people may be termed the father of the Theban race. There is a double harbour in the bay, wide within but with a narrow entrance so as to land-lock the sea by a gentle curve: where the bay makes an inward turn towards the right, a second inlet has been channelled out, for the water to run in, and thus there is formed a further harbour behind the first, so that in winter the ships can lie safely in the inner basin, while in summer they need not proceed further than the outer port.
On arriving there after a severe storm, I went to make my votive offerings for my safe arrival to the Phoenicians’ goddess; Astarte the people of Sidon call her: as I was thus walking about the city, paying especial attention to the temple-offerings, I saw a picture hanging up which was a landscape and a sea-scape in one. The painting was of Europa: the sea depicted was the Phoenician Ocean; the land, Sidon. On the land part was a meadow and a troop of girls: in the sea a bull was swimming, and on his back sat a beautiful maiden, borne by the bull towards Crete. The meadow was thick with all kinds of flowers, and among them was planted a thicket of trees and shrubs, the trees growing so close that their foliage touched: and the branches, intertwining their leaves, thus made a kind of continuous roof over the flowers beneath. The artist had also represented the shadows thrown by the leaves, and the sun was gently breaking through, here and there, on to the meadow, where the painter had represented openings in the thick roof of foliage.
[5] Ὅλον ἐτείχιζε τὸν λειμῶνα περιβολή, εἴσω δὲ τοῦ τῶν ὀρόφων στεφανώματος ὁ λει
μὼν ἐκάθητο: αἱ δὲ πρασιαὶ τῶν ἀνθέων ὑπὸ τὰ πέταλα τῶν φυτῶν στοιχηδὸν ἐπεφύκεσαν, νάρκισσος καὶ ῥόδα καὶ μύρριναι: ὕδωρ δὲ κατὰ μέσον ἔρρει τοῦ λειμῶνος, τὸ μὲν ἀναβλύζον κάτωθεν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, τὸ δὲ τοῖς ἄνθεσι καὶ τοῖς φυτοῖς περιχεόμενον. [6] Ὀχετηγός τις ἐγέγραπτο δίκελλαν κατέχων καὶ περὶ μίαν ἀμάραν κεκυφὼς καὶ ἀνοίγων τὴν ὁδὸν τῷ ῥεύματι. Ἐν δὲ τῷ τοῦ λειμῶνος τέλει πρὸς ταῖς ἐπὶ θάλατταν τῆς γῆς ἐκβολαῖς τὰς παρθένους ἔταξεν ὁ τεχνίτης. [7] Τὸ σχῆμα ταῖς παρθένοις καὶ χαρᾶς καὶ φόβου: στέφανοι περὶ τοῖς μετώποις δεδεμένοι: κόμαι κατὰ τῶν ὤμων λελυμέναι: τὸ σκέλος πᾶν γεγυμνωμέναι, τὸ μὲν ἄνω τοῦ χιτῶνος, τὸ δὲ κάτω τοῦ πεδίλου, τὸ γὰρ ζῶμα μέχρι γόνατος ἀνεῖλκε τὸν χιτῶνα: τὸ πρόσωπον ὠχραί, σεσηρυῖαι τὰς παρειάς, τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀνοίξασαι πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν, μικρὸν ὑποκεχηνυῖαι τὸ στόμα, ὥσπερ ἀφήσειν ὑπὸ φόβου μέλλουσαι καὶ βοήν: [8] τὰς χεῖρας ὡς ἐπὶ τὸν βοῦν ὤρεγον. Ἐπέβαινον ἄκρας τῆς θαλάττης, ὅσον μικρὸν ὑπεράνω τῶν ταρσῶν ὑπερέχειν τὸ κῦμα: ἐῴκεσαν δὲ βούλεσθαι μὲν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸν ταῦρον δραμεῖν, φοβεῖσθαι δὲ τῇ θαλάττῃ προσελθεῖν. Τῆς δὲ θαλάττης ἡ χρόα διπλῆ: τὸ μὲν γὰρ πρὸς τὴν γῆν ὑπέρυθρον, κυάνεον δὲ τὸ πρὸς τὸ πέλαγος.
The meadow was surrounded on all sides by an enclosure, and lay wholly within the embowering roof; beneath the shrubs grass-beds of flowers grew orderly — narcissus, roses, and bays; in the middle of the meadow in the picture flowed a rivulet of water, bubbling up on one side from the ground, and on the other watering the flowers and shrubs; and a gardener had been painted holding a pick, stooping over a single channel and leading a path for the water. —
The painter had put the girls at one end of the meadow where the land jutted out into the sea. Their look was compounded of joy and fear: garlands were bound about their brows; their hair had been allowed to flow loose on their shoulders; their legs were bare, covered neither by their tunics above nor their sandals below, a girdle holding up their skirts as far as the knee; their faces were pale and their features distorted; their eyes were fixed wide open upon the sea, and their lips were slightly parted, as if they were about to utter a cry of fear; their hands were stretched out in the direction of the bull. They were rushing to the water’s edge, so that the surge just wetted their feet: and they seemed to be anxious to run after the bull, but to be afraid of entering the water.
The sea had two different tinges of colour; towards the land it was almost red, but out towards the deep water it was dark blue: and foam, and rocks, and wave crests had been painted in it.
[9] Ἀφρὸς δὲ ἐπεποίητο καὶ πέτραι καὶ κύματα: αἱ πέτραι τῆς γῆς ὑπερβεβλημέναι, ὁ ἀφρὸς περιλευκαίνων τὰς πέτρας, τὸ κῦμα κορυφούμενον καὶ περὶ τὰς πέτρας λυόμενον εἰς τοὺς ἀφρούς. Ὁ ταῦρος ἐν μέσῃ τῇ θαλάττῃ ἐγέγραπτο τοῖς κύμασιν ἐποχούμενος, ὡς ὄρους ἀναβαίνοντος τοῦ κύματος ἔνθα καμπτόμενον τοῦ βοὸς κυρτοῦται τὸ σκέλος. [10] Ἡπαρθένος μέσοις ἐπεκάθητο τοῖς νώτοις τοῦ βοός, οὐ περιβάδην, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πλευράν, ἐπὶ δεξιὰ συμβᾶσα τὼ πόδε, τῇ λαιᾷ τοῦ κέρως ἐχομένη, ὥσπερ ἡνίοχος χαλινοῦ: καὶ γὰρ ὁ βοῦς ἐπέστραπτο ταύτῃ μᾶλλον πρὸς τὸ τῆς χειρὸς ἕλκον ἡνιοχούμενος. Χιτὼν ἀμφὶ τὰ στέρνα τῆς παρθένου μέχρις αἰδοῦς: τοὐντεῦθεν ἐπεκάλυπτε χλαῖνα τὰ κάτω τοῦ σώματος: λευκὸς ὁ χιτών, ἡ χλαῖνα πορφυρᾶ, τὸ δὲ σῶμα διὰ τῆς ἐσθῆτος ὑπεφαίνετο. [11] Βαθὺς ὀμφαλός, γαστὴρ τεταμένη, λαπάρα στενή: τὸ στενὸν εἰς ἰξὺν καταβαῖνον ηὐρύνετο. Μαζοὶ τῶν στέρνων ἠρέμα προκύπτοντες: ἡ συνάγουσα ζώνη τὸν χιτῶνα καὶ τοὺς μαζοὺς ἔκλειε, καὶ ἐγίνετο τοῦ σώματος κάτοπτρον ὁ χιτών. [12] Αἱ χεῖρες ἄμφω διετέταντο, ἡ μὲν ἐπὶ κέρας, ἡ δὲ ἐπ̓ οὐράν: ἤρτητο δὲ ἀμφοῖν ἑκατέρωθεν ὑπὲρ τὴν κεφαλὴν καλύπτρα κύκλῳ τῶν νώτων ἐμπεπετασμένη. Ὁ δὲ κόλπος τοῦ πέπλου πάντοθεν ἐτέτατο κυρτούμενος: καὶ ἦν οὗτος ἄνεμος τοῦ ζωγράφου. Ἡ δὲ ἐπεκάθητο τῷ ταύρῳ δίκην πλεούσης νεώς, ὥσπερ ἱστίῳ τῷ πέπλῳ χρωμένη. [13] Περὶ δὲ τὸν βοῦν ὠρχοῦντο δελφῖνες, ἔπαιζον Ἔρωτες: εἶπες ἂν αὐτῶν γεγράφθαι καὶ τὰ κινήματα. Ἔρως εἷλκε τὸν βοῦν: Ἔρως, μικρὸν παιδίον, ἡπλώκει τὸ πτερόν, ἤρτητο τὴν φαρέτραν, ἐκράτει τὸ πῦρ: ἐπέστραπτο δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸν Δία καὶ ὑπεμειδία, ὥσπερ αὐτοῦ καταγελῶν ὅτι δἰ αὐτὸν γέγονε βοῦς.
The rocks ran out from the shore and were whitened with foam, while the waves rose into crests and were then dashed into foam by breaking upon the rocks. Far out in the ocean was painted a bull breasting the waves, while a billow rose like a mountain where his leg was bent in swimming: the maiden sat on the middle of his back, not astride but sideways, with her feet held together on the right: with her left hand she clung to his horn, like a charioteer holding the reins, and the bull inclined a little in that direction, guided by the pressure of her hand. On the upper part of her body she wore a tunic down to her middle, and then a robe covered the lower part of her body: the tunic was white, the robe purple: and her figure could be traced under the clothes — the deep-set navel, the long slight curve of the belly, the narrow waist, broadening down to the loins, the breasts gently swelling from her bosom and confined, as well as her tunic, by a girdle: and the tunic was a kind of mirror of the shape of her body. Her hands were held widely apart, the one to the bull’s horn, the other to his tail; and with both she held above her head the ends of her veil which floated down about her shoulders, bellying out through its whole length and so giving the impression of a painted breeze. Thus she was seated on the bull like a vessel under way, using the veil as a sail; about the bull dolphins gambolled, Cupids sported: they actually seemed to move in the picture. Love himself led the bull — Love, in the guise of a tiny boy, his wings stretched out, wearing his quiver, his lighted torch in his hands: he was turning towards Zeus with a smile on his face, as if he were laughing at him for becoming a bull for his sake.
[1] Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τἆλλα μὲν ἐπῄνουν τῆς γραφῆς, ἅτε δὲ ὢν ἐρωτικὸς περιεργότερον ἔβλεπον τὸν ἄγοντα τὸν βοῦν Ἔρωτα καὶ ‘οἷον’ εἶπον ‘ἄρχει βρέφος οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς καὶ θαλάττης.’ Ταῦτά μου λέγοντος νεανίσκος καὶ αὐτὸς παρε�
�τὼς ‘ἐγὼ ταῦτ̓ ἂν ἐδείκνυν’ [2] ἔφη ‘τοσαύτας ὕβρεις ἐξ ἔρωτος παθών.’ ‘Καὶ τί πέπονθας’ εἶπον, ‘ὦγαθέ; καὶ γὰρ ὁρῶ σε τὴν ὄψιν οὐ μακρὰν ὄντα τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ τελετῆς.’ ‘Σμῆνος ἀνεγείρεις’ εἶπε ‘λόγων: τὰ γὰρ ἐμὰ μύθοις ἔοικε.’ ‘Μὴ κατοκνήσῃς, ὦ βέλτιστε’ ἔφην, ‘πρὸς τοῦ Διὸς καὶ τοῦ Ἔρωτος αὐτοῦ, ταύτῃ μᾶλλον ἥσειν, [3] εἰ καὶ μύθοις ἔοικε.’ Καὶ ταῦτα δὴ λέγων δεξιοῦμαί τε αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπί τινος ἄλσους ἄγω γείτονος, ἔνθα πλάτανοι μὲν ἐπεφύκεσαν πολλαὶ καὶ πυκναί, παρέρρει δὲ ὕδωρ ψυχρόν τε καὶ διαυγές, οἷον ἀπὸ χιόνος ἄρτι λυθείσης ἔρχεται. Καθίσας οὖν αὐτὸν ἐπί τινος θώκου χαμαιζήλου καὶ αὐτὸς παρακαθισάμενος ‘ὥρα μοι’ ἔφην ‘τῆς τῶν λόγων ἀκροάσεως: πάντως δ̓ ὁ τόπος ἡδὺς καὶ μύθων ἄξιος ἐρωτικῶν.’
Complete Works of Achilles Tatius Page 45