[28] “And so, too, with music,” continued Alexander; “for I should not be willing to learn all there is in music, but only enough for playing the cithara or the lyre when I sing hymns in honour of the gods and worship them, and also, I suppose, in chanting the praises of brave men. It would surely not be becoming for kings to sing the odes of Sappho or Anacreon, whose theme is love; but if they do sing odes, let it be some of those of Stesichorus or Pindar, if sing they must. [29] But perhaps Homer is all one needs even to that end.” “What!” exclaimed Philip, “do you think that any of Homer’s lines would sound well with the cithara or the lyre?” And Alexander, glaring at him fiercely like a lion, said: “For my part, father, I believe that many of Homer’s lines would properly be sung to the trumpet — not, by heavens, when it sounds the retreat, but when it peals forth the signal for the charge, and sung by no chorus of women or maids, but by a phalanx under arms. They are much to be preferred to the songs of Tyrtaeus, which the Spartans use.” [30] At this Philip commended his son for having spoken worthily of the poet and well. “And indeed,” Alexander continued, “Homer illustrates the very point we have just mentioned. He has represented Achilles, for instance, when he was loitering in the camp of the Achaeans, as singing no ribald or even amorous ditties — though he says, to be sure, that he was in love with Briseis; nay, he speaks of him as playing the cithara, and not one that he had bought, I assure you, or brought from his father’s house, but one that he had plucked from the spoils when he took Thebe and slew Eëtion, the father of Hector’s wife. Homer’s words are:
[31] ‘To sooth his mood he sang
The deeds of heroes.’
Which means that a noble and princely man should never forget valour and glorious deeds whether he be drinking or singing, but should without ceasing be engaged in some great and some admirable action himself, or in recalling deeds of that kind.”
[32] In this fashion Alexander would talk with his father, thereby revealing his innermost thoughts. The fact is that while he loved Homer, for Achilles he felt not only admiration but even jealousy because of Homer’s poesy, just as handsome boys are sometimes jealous of others who are handsome, because these have more powerful lovers. To the other poets he gave hardly a thought; but he did mention [33] Stesichorus and Pindar, the former because he was looked upon as an imitator of Homer and composed a “Capture of Troy,” a creditable work, and Pindar because of the brilliancy of his genius and the fact that he had extolled the ancestor whose name he bore: Alexander, nicknamed the Philhellene, to whom the poet alluded in the verse
“Namesake of the blest sons of Dardanus.”
This is the reason why, when later he sacked Thebes, he left only that poet’s house standing, directing that this notice be posted upon it:
“Set not on fire the roof of Pindar, maker of song.”
Undoubtedly he was most grateful to those who eulogized him worthily, when he was so particular as this in seeking renown.
[34] “Well, then, my son,” said Philip, “since I am glad indeed to hear you speak in this fashion, tell me, is it your opinion that the king should not even make himself a dwelling beautified with precious ornaments of gold and amber and ivory to suit his pleasure?” “By no means should he, father,” he replied; “such ornaments should consist rather of spoils and armour taken from the enemy. He should also embellish the temples with such ornaments and thus propitiate the gods. This was Hector’s opinion when he challenged the best of the Achaeans, declaring that if victorious he would deliver the body to the allied host, ‘but the arms,’ said he, ‘I shall strip off and
‘hang them high
Within the temple of the archer-god Apollo.’
[35] For such adornment of sacred places is altogether superior to jasper, carnelian, and onyx, with which Sardanapallus bedecked Nineveh. Indeed, such ostentation is by no means seemly for a king though it may furnish amusement to some silly girl or extravagant woman. [36] And so I do not envy the Athenians, either, so much for the extravagant way they embellished their city and their temples as for the deeds their forefathers wrought; for in the sword of Mardonius and the shields of the Spartans who were captured at Pylos they have a far grander and more excellent dedication to the gods than they have in the Propylaea of the Acropolis and in Olympieum, which cost more than ten thousand talents.” [37] “In this particular, then,” said Philip, “you could not endorse Homer; for he has embellished the palace of Alcinoüs, a Greek and an islander, not only with gardens and orchards and fountains, but with statues of gold also. Nay, more, does he not describe the dwelling of Menelaus, for all that he had just got back from a campaign, as though it were some Persian or Median establishment, almost equalling the palaces of Semiramis, or of Darius and Xerxes? [38] He says, for instance:
‘A radiance bright, as of the sun or moon.
Throughout the high-roofed halls of Atreus’ son
Did shine.’
‘The sheen of bronze,
Of gold, of silver, and of ivory.’
[39] And yet, according to your conception, it should have shone, not with such materials, but rather with Trojan spoils!” Here Alexander checked him and said, “I have no notion at all of letting Homer go undefended. For it is possible that he described the palace of Menelaus to accord with his character, since he is the only one of the Achaeans whom he makes out to be a faint-hearted warrior. [40] Indeed it is fairly clear that this poet never elsewhere speaks without a purpose, but repeatedly depicts the dress, dwelling, and manner of life of people so as to accord with their character. This is why he beautified the palace of the Phaeacians with groves, perennial fruits, and ever-flowing springs; [41] and again, with even greater skill, the grotto of Calypso, since she was a beautiful and kindly goddess living off by herself on an island. For he says that the island was wonderfully fragrant with the odours of sweetest incense burning there; and again, that it was overshadowed with luxuriant trees; that round about the grotto rambled a beautiful vine laden with clusters, while before it lay soft meadows with a confusion of parsley and other plants; and, finally, that in its centre were four springs of crystal-clear water which flowed out in all directions, seeing that the ground was not on a slope or uneven. Now all these touches are marvellously suggestive of love and pleasure, and to my thinking reveal the character of the goddess. [42] The court of Menelaus, however, he depicts as rich in possessions and rich in gold, as though he were some Asiatic king, it seems to me. And, in fact, Menelaus was not far removed in line of descent from Tantalus and Pelops; which I think is the reason why Euripides has his chorus make a veiled allusion to his effeminacy when the king comes in:
‘And Menelaus,
By his daintiness so clear to behold,
Sprung from the Tantalid stock.’
[43] The dwelling of Odysseus, however, is of a different kind altogether; he being a cautious man, Homer has given him a home furnished to suit his character. For he says:
‘Rooms upon rooms are there: around its court
Are walls and battlements, and folding doors
Shut fast the entrance; no man may contemn
Its strength.’
[44] “But there are passages where we must understand the poet to be giving advice and admonition, others where he merely narrates, and many where his purpose is censure and ridicule. Certainly, when he describes going to bed or the routine of daily life, Homer seems a competent instructor for an education that may truthfully be described as heroic and kingly. Lycurgus, for instance, may have got from him his idea of the common mess of the Spartans when he founded their institutions. [45] In fact, the story is that he came to be an admirer of Homer and was the first who brought his poems from Crete, or from Ionia, to Greece. To illustrate my point: the poet represents Diomede as reclining on a hard bed, the ‘hide of an ox that dwelleth afield’; round about him he had planted his spears upright, butts downward, not for the sake of order but to have them ready for use. Furthermore, he regales his heroes on meat, and beef a
t that, evidently to give them strength, not pleasure. [46] For instance, he is always talking about an ox being slain by Agamemnon, who was king over all and the richest, and of his inviting the chieftains to enjoy it. And to Ajax, after his victory, Agamemnon gives the chine of an ox as a mark of favour. [47] But Homer never represents his heroes as partaking of fish although they are encamped by the sea; and yet he regularly calls the Hellespont fish-abounding, as in truth it is; Plato has very properly called attention to this striking fact. Nay, he does not even serve fish to the suitors at their banquet though they are exceedingly licentious and luxury-loving men, are in Ithaca and, what is more, engaged in feasting. [48] Now because Homer does not give such details without a purpose, he is evidently declaring his own opinion as to what kind of nourishment is best, and what it is good for. If he wishes to commend a feature, he uses the expression ‘might-giving,’ that is to say, ‘able to supply might’ or strength. In the passages in question he is giving instruction and advice as to how good men should take thought even for their table, since, as it happened, he was not unacquainted with food of all kinds and with high living. So true is this that the peoples of to-day who have fairly gone mad in this direction — the Persians, Syrians and, among the Greeks, the Italiots, and Ionians — come nowhere near attaining the prodigality and luxury we find in Homer.”
[49] “But how is it that he does not give the finest possible apparel to his heroes?” Philip enquired. “Why, by Zeus, he does,” replied all, “though it is no womanish or embroidered apparel; Agamemnon is the only one that wears a purple robe, and even Odysseus has but one purple cloak that he brought from home. For Homer believes that a commander should not be mean of appearance or look like the crowd of private soldiers, but should stand out from the rest in both garb and armour so as to show his greater importance and dignity, yet without being a fop or fastidious about such things. [50] He roundly rebuked the Carian, for instance, who decked himself out for war in trappings of gold. These are his words:
‘who, madly vain,
Went to the battle pranked like a young girl
In golden ornaments. They spared him not
The bitter doom of death; he fell beneath
The hand of swift Aeacides within
The river’s channel. There the great in war,
Achilles, spoiled Nomion of his gold.’
[51] Thus he ridicules him for his folly as well as his vanity in that he practically carried to the foemen a prize for slaying him. Homer, therefore, clearly does not approve the wearing of gold, particularly on going into a battle, whether bracelets and necklaces or even such golden head-gear and bridles for one’s horses as the Persians are said to affect; for they have no Homer to be their censor in affairs of war.
[52] “By inculcating such conduct as the following, he has made his officers good and his soldiers well disciplined. For instance, he has them advance
‘silently, fearing their leaders’
whereas the barbarians advance with great noise and confusion, like cranes, thus showing that it is important for safety and victory in battle that the soldiers stand in awe of their commanders. For those who are without fear of their own officers would be the first to be afraid of the enemy. [53] Furthermore, he says that even when they had won a victory the Achaeans kept quiet in their camp, but that among the Trojans, as soon as they thought they had gained any advantage, at once there were throughout the night
‘the sound
Of flutes and fifes, and tumult of the crowd.’
implying that here also we have an excellent indication of virtue according as men bear their successes with self-restraint, or, on the contrary, with reckless abandon. [54] And so to me, father, Homer seems a most excellent disciplinarian, and he who tries to give heed to him will be a highly successful and exemplary king. For he clearly takes for granted himself that pre-eminently kingly virtues are two — courage and justice. Mark what he says,
‘An excellent king and warrior mighty withal.’
as though all the other virtues followed in their train.
[55] “However, I do not believe that the king should simply be distinguished in his own person for courage and dignity, but that he should pay no heed to other people either when they play the flute or the harp, or sing wanton and voluptuous songs; nor should he tolerate the mischievous craze for filthy language that has come into vogue for the delight of fools; [56] nay, he should cast out all such things and banish them to the uttermost distance from his own soul, first and foremost, and then from the capital of his kingdom — I mean such things as ribald jests and those who compose them, whether in verse or prose, along with scurrilous gibes — then, in addition, he should do away with indecent dancing and the lascivious posturing of women in licentious dances as well as the shrill and riotous measures played on the flute, syncopated music full of discordant turns, and motley combinations of noisy clanging instruments. [57] One song only will he sing or permit to be sung — the song that comports with the God of War, full of vigour, ringing clear, and stirring in the hearer no feeling of delight or languidness, but rather an overpowering fear and tumult; in short, such a song as Ares himself awoke, as he
‘shrilly yelled, encouraging
The men of Troy, as on the city heights
He stood.’
or as Achilles when, at the mere sound of his voice and before he could be seen, he turned the Trojans to flight and thus caused the destruction of twelve heroes midst their own chariots and arms. [58] Or it might be like the triumphal song composed by the Muses for the celebration of victory, like the paean which Achilles bade the Achaeans chant as he brought Hector’s body to the ships, he himself leading:
‘Now then, ye Achaean youth, move on and chant
A paean, while, returning to the fleet,
We bring great glory with us; we have slain
The noble Hector, whom, throughout their town,
The Trojans ever worshipped like a god.’
[59] Or, finally, it might be the exhortations to battle such as we find in the Spartan marching songs, its sentiments comporting well with the polity of Lycurgus and the Spartan institutions:
‘Up, ye sons of Sparta,
Rich in citizen fathers;
Thrust with the left your shields forth,
Brandish bravely your spears;
Spare not your lives.
That’s not custom in Sparta.’
[60] “In conformity with these songs, our king should institute dance movements and measures that are not marked by reeling or violent motions, but are as virile and sober as may be, composed in a sedate rhythm; the dance should be the ‘enoplic,’ the execution of which is not only a tribute to the gods but a drill in warfare as well — the dance in which the poet says Meriones was skilful, for he has put these words into the mouth of a certain Trojan:
‘Had I but struck thee, dancer though thou art,
Meriones, my spear had once for all
Ended thy dancing.’
[61] Or do you think that he can have meant that some other dance was known to the son of Molus, who was accounted one of the best of the Achaeans, and not the military dance of the Kouretes, a native Cretan dance, the quick and light movement designed to train the soldiers to swerve to one side and easily avoid the missile? [62] From these considerations, moreover, it follows that the king should not offer such prayers as other men do nor, on the other hand, call upon the gods with such a petition as Anacreon, the Ionian poet, makes:
‘O King with whom resistless love
Disports, and nymphs with eyes so dark,
And Aphrodite, fair of hue,
O thou who rangest mountain crests,
Thee do I beseech, do thou
To me propitious come and hear
With kindly heart the prayer I make:
Cleobulus’ confessor be
And this love of mine approve,
O Dionysus.’
[63] Nor, by heavens, should he ever utter such praye
rs as those we find in the ballads and drinking-songs of the Attic symposia, for these are suitable, not for kings, but for country folk and for the merry and boisterous clan-meetings. For instance,
‘Would that I became a lovely ivory harp,
And some lovely children carried me to Dionysus’ choir!
Would that I became a lovely massive golden trinket,
And that me a lovely lady wore!’
[64] He would much better pray as Homer has represented the king of all the Greeks as praying:
‘O Zeus, most great and glorious, who dost rule
The tempest — dweller of the ethereal space!
Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom Page 4