What succour, then, can one find, or what divine power must one propitiate? There is at Olympia, at the centre of the race-course, an altar to Poseidon Taraxippos, or Terror of Horses, on the spot where it happened that the horses most frequently became frightened and where many chariots were smashed. So the Eleans decided to erect an altar on the spot, believing that some deity was there. And from that time forward, they say, the place has been safe.
[77] πολὺ δὴ μᾶλλον ἔγωγε ὑμῖν συμβουλεύω τὸν θεὸν τοῦτον ἐξιλάσασθαι καὶ βωμὸν ἱδρύσασθαι τὸν αὐτόν, μὰ Δί᾽ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἵππων, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν, ὅπως μὴ ταράττησθε μηδὲ ἐκπίπτητε τῆς τάξεως. μὴ γὰρ δαιμόνια πάντ᾽ ᾖ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ μείζονος δεόμενα ἀποτροπῆς. φασὶν ἀρχαίαν βασιλίδα ἐν Κρήτῃ τῶν Ἡλιαδῶν ἐρασθῆναι ταύρου, καὶ [p. 290] συγγενομένην χαλεπόν τι καὶ μέγα τεκεῖν τέρας. δέδοικα δὴ κἀγὼ τὸν ἱππικὸν τοῦτον ἔρωτα τῆς πόλεως, μή τι δυσχερὲς ὑμῖν καὶ ξένον ἐνέγκῃ τῷ χρόνῳ.
[77] Well then, much more earnestly do I advise you to propitiate this god and raise an altar of the same kind, not, by Zeus, for the sake of the horses, but rather for the sake of yourselves, so that you may not be terrorized yourselves or be pitched headlong from your proper station. For perhaps all such disasters are the work of a deity, requiring unusual efforts to avert. It is said that an ancient Cretan queen, one of the daughters of Helius, became enamoured of a bull, and that after union with him she brought forth a savage, mighty monster. So I myself am apprehensive lest this passion for horses that infects the city may in time bring forth some strange and distressing offspring for you.
[78] πάλιν δὲ ἑτέραν παρθένον ποταμοῦ τινος ἐρασθεῖσαν ὁσημέραι φοιτᾶν ἐπὶ τὸ ῥεῦμα, καὶ τόν τε ἀφρὸν ἐντίθεσθαι ταῖς ἀγκάλαις καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ὑποδέχεσθαι τοῖς κόλποις.Ἀθήνησι δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ ζῷον ἀγαπηθῆναι τὸ καὶ παρ᾽ ὑμῖν εὐδοκιμοῦν: καὶ νῦν ἐστιν ἐν τῇ πόλει τόπος οὕτω καλούμενος Ἵππου καὶ κόρης ἄβατον. ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ συγκαθεῖρξε τὴν παῖδα τῷ ἵππῳ, καί φασιν οὕτω διαφθαρῆναι τὴν κόρην.
[78] They say also that at Athens this very species that you so much admire became the object of infatuation, and today there is in that city a site that bears the name, Sanctuary of Horse and Maiden. For the maiden’s father confined his daughter along with the horse, and thus, they say, she was ruined.
[79] σκοπεῖτε δὲ μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς ὑπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης ἐπιθυμίας ἀπόλησθε.ποῖος γὰρ Ὅμηρος ἢ τίς ἀνθρώπων δύναται τὰ συμβαίνοντα εἰπεῖν; οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἐκεῖνός φησι τὰ ἅρματα ταπεινὰ γίγνεσθαι μεταξὺ καὶ σφόδρα ὑψηλὰ κατὰ τὸν δρόμον, ὡς τὰς ὑμετέρας ψυχὰς ἰδεῖν ἔστι πασχούσας. φησὶ δ᾽ οὕτως, ἵν᾽ ὑμῖν καὶ χαρίσωμαί τι μικρόν:
ἅρματα δ᾽ ἄλλοτε μὲν χθονὶ πίλνατο πουλυβοτείρῃ,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἀΐξασκε μετήορα, τοὶ δ᾽ ἐλατῆρες
ἕστασαν ἐν δίφροισι, πάτασσε δὲ θυμὸς ἑκάστου
νίκης ἱεμένων, κέκλοντο δὲ οἷσιν ἕκαστος
ἵπποις.
[79] And do you beware lest you also through a passion like that be destroyed.
For what Homer or what mortal man at all can describe the things that happen here? For example, in Homer’s narrative the chariots do not sink so low at times and then rise so high on the course as your spirits may be seen to rise and fall. And this is the way he puts it, if I may favour you with a short passage:
At times the cars clung close to bounteous earth,
At times they bounded high; the drivers still
Stood firm, though hearts did pound as each man strove
To win the goal, and each called to his team.
[80] ἐνταῦθα τοὺς μὲν ἡνιόχους πεποίηκεν ἀγωνιστὰς καὶ φιλοτιμουμένους, τοὺς δὲ θεατὰς καθ᾽ ἡσυχίαν θεωροῦντας, ὥσπερ καὶ προσῆκε. μόνον δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῷ τέλει φησὶν Αἴαντα τὸν Λοκρὸν ὁρᾶν ἀπρεπέστερον καὶ λοιδορεῖσθαι Ἰδομενεῖ περὶ τῶν ἵππων τῶν Εὐμήλου. οὗτος μέντοι ἐστὶν ὁ περὶ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν αὖθις ἀσεβήσασἁλισκομένης τῆς Τροίας, καὶ αὐτός τε διὰ τοῦτο κεραυνωθεὶς καὶ τοῦ χειμῶνος καὶ τῆς ναυαγίας τοῖς πᾶσιν αἴτιος γενόμενος. ὁ γὰρ ἐν τοιούτοις θρασὺς καὶ προπετὴς οὐδὲ τἄλλα εἶναι δύναται σώφρων, ὥσπερ καὶ εἶπον ἤδη.
[80] In this passage it is the charioteers who are represented as contestants and rivals, while the spectators look on in silence, as indeed was fitting. And only at the end does the poet say that Ajax the Locrian behaved in rather unseemly fashion as a spectator by abusing Idomeneus with reference to the horses of Eumelus. It was Ajax, moreover, who also was guilty of impiety toward Athena at the capture of Troy and on that account was himself smitten with a thunderbolt and thereby caused the storm and shipwreck that befell them all. For the man who in such matters as those is brazen and forward cannot act sanely in other matters, as I have said before.
[81] τοῦτο μὲν οὖν τοιοῦτον παράδειγμα [p. 291] κακίας καὶ ἀνοίας ὅμοιος ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων ἀνθρώπων τοῖς παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ῾πλὴν ὅτι μάχεσθαί γε οὐδεὶς ἱκανός ἐστιν οὐδὲ ἀριστεύειν οὐδὲ αἱρεῖν πόλεις, ὡς ἐκεῖνοσ᾽ ὑμῶν δὲ οὐδεὶς ἐν τῇ θέᾳ καθέστηκεν, ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον πέτεσθε τῶν ἵππων καὶ τῶν ἡνιόχων, καὶ γελοίως ἐλαύνετε καὶ ἡνιοχεῖτε καὶ διώκετε καὶ ἡγεῖσθε καὶ πίπτετε. τοιγαροῦν οὐ κακῶς τις παρεποίησε τῶν σαπρῶν τούτων ποιητῶν:
[81] Here, then, you have an instance of wickedness and folly alike, and from men also such as are at Alexandria, except that in fighting, in deeds of valour, and in capturing cities no man here is the equal of Ajax. But among you not a man keeps his seat at the games; on the contrary you fly faster than the horses and their drivers, and it is comical to see the way you drive and play the charioteer, urging the horses on and taking the lead and — getting spilled. And so it is no bad parody that has been composed by one of your feeble versifiers:
[82]
ἅρματα δ᾽ ἄλλοτε μὲν χθονὶ πίλνατο πουλυβοτείρῃ,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἀΐξασκε μετήορα: τοὶ δὲ θεαταὶ
θώκοις ἐν σφετέροις οὔθ᾽ ἕστασαν οὔτε κάθηντο,
χλωροὶ ὑπαὶ δείους πεφοβημένοι, οἱ δ᾽ ὑπὸ νίκης
ἀλλήλοισί τε κεκλόμενοι καὶ πᾶσι θεοῖσι
χεῖρας ἀνίσχοντες μεγάλ᾽ εὐχετόωντο ἕκαστοι.
ἠΰτε περ κλαγγὴ γεράνων πέλει ἠὲ κολοιῶν,
αἵ�
�᾽ ἐπεὶ οὖν ζῦθόν τ᾽ ἔπιον καὶ ἀθέσφατον οἶνον,
κλαγγῇ ταί γε πέτονται ἀπὸ σταδίοιο κελεύθου.
[82] At times the cars clung close to bounteous earth,
At times they bounded high; but in their seats
The gaping crowd did neither stand nor sit,
Pallid with fear and fright, and in their zeal
To win they shouted each to each, and, hands
Upraised, they vowed great offerings to all the gods.
Just as the scream of cranes or cry of daws
Doth rise, when they have drunk of beer and wine
O’ermuch, and clamourous they fly to reach
The course; as daws or starlings in a cloud
[83]
οἱ δ᾽ ὥστε ψαρῶν νέφος ἔρχεται ἠὲ κολοιῶν οὖλον κεκλήγοντες, ὅτε προΐδωσιν ἰόντα
ἵππον, ὃς ἀνθρώποισι φόνον φέρει ἠλιθίοισιν:
ὣς οἱ κεκλήγοντες ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλοισιν ἔπιπτον.
ὡς δ᾽ ἄνεμος ἄχνας φορέει ἱερὰς κατ᾽ ἀλωάς,
ὡς δ᾽ ἀναμαιμάει βαθέ᾽ ἄγκεα θεσπιδαὲς πῦρ,
πάντῃ δ᾽ εἰλυφόων ἄνεμος φέρει, οἱ δέ τε θάμνοι
πρόρριζοι πίπτουσιν ἐπειγόμενοι πυρὸς ὁρμῇ:
ὣς οἱ μὲν μάρναντο πυρὸς δέμας: οὐδέ κε φαίης
οὔτε ποτ᾽ ἠέλιον σόον ἔμμεναι οὔτε σελήνην.
[83] With baleful screaming swoop, when they behold
A horse onrushing, bearing death to fools;
So these with yells upon each other fell.
Just as the wind o’er sacred floor doth bear
The chaff, as flaming fire doth sweep deep glens,
Whirled by the wind now here now there, and ‘neath
Its onslaught thickets shrivel, root and branch;
So these did strive like fire; nor couldst thou say
That either sun or moon was safe from them.
[84] οἵηπερ φύλλων γενεή, τοίη δὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν,
ἀνδρῶν κουφονόων, φιλαοιδοτάτων, ἀγερώχων.
ἠχὴ δ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων ἵκετ᾽ αἰθέρα καὶ Διὸς αὐλάς.
ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκεν ἰδὼν ἐς πλησίον ἄλλον: [p. 292]
οἰνοβαρές, κυνὸς ὄμματ᾽ ἔχων, κραδίην δ᾽ ἐλάφοιο,
τί πτώσσεις; τί δ᾽ ὀπιπτεύεις κατὰ ἅρμ᾽ ἐν ἀγῶνι;
εἰ δ᾽ ἄγε νυν πείρησαι, ἵνα κναφθεὶς ἀποτίνῃς.
[84] Just like the growth of leaves, so that of men,
Shallow of mind, devoted to song, and proud,
And from both sides the noise pierced heaven’s vault,
The courts of Zeus. And thus one turned and spake
Unto his neighbour: “Heavy with wine art thou;
Thou hast the eyes of a dog, the heart of a hind.
Why dost thou quake and stare at a car in the race?
Just try me, then, if thou wouldst mangled lie.”
Hippocoön to him made this reply:
“Kind sir, in silence sit and heed my word:
A weak thing is thy driver, slow thy team.”
[85] τὸν δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ Ἱπποκόων ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέειπε:
τέττα, σιωπῇ ἧσο, ἐμῷ δ᾽ ἐπιπείθεο μύθῳ:
ἠπεδανὸς δέ νύ τοι θεράπων, βραδέες δέ τοι ἵπποι.
τὸν δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὑπὸ ζυγόφιν προσέφη πόδας αἰόλος ἵππος:
οὐχ ὁράᾳς οἷος κἀγὼ καλός τε μέγας τε;
ἀλλ᾽ ἔπι τοι κἀμοὶ θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιή.
αἲ γάρ πως ὑμᾶς γε καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐνθάδε πάντας
ὁπλήεντας ἔθηκε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη,
ὡς μή μοι τρύζητε καθήμενοι ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος.
ὣς ἔφαθ᾽: οἱ δ᾽ εὔχοντο Διὶ Κρονίωνι ἄνακτι.
[85] To him then spake the charger fleet from ‘neath
The yoke: “See’st not how fine a steed am I,
How handsome and stalwart? Still for even me
Doth wait grim death and stubborn-hearted fate.
I would that you yourselves had all received
From white-armed Hera just such hooves as mine;
No more would you sit and murmur each to each.”
He spake. But they made vows to Zeus the King.
[86] ταῦτα μὲν ὑμῖν ἀπὸ πολλῶν καὶ φαύλων ὀλίγα, ὅπως μὴ μόνοι δοκῆτε εἶναι γελοῖοι. καὶ μὴν αἰσχρόν ἐστιν, ἄνδρες Ἀλεξανδρεῖς,τοὺς πυνθανομένους περὶ τῆς πόλεως τὰ μὲν ἄλλ᾽ ἀκούειν θαυμαστὰ οἷα, περὶ δὲ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν μηδὲν σεμνὸν λέγεσθαι μηδ᾽ ἄξιον ζήλου, τοὐναντίον δὲ ὡς φαύλους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους διαβεβλῆσθαι, μίμους καὶ γελωτοποιοὺς μᾶλλον, οὐκ ἄνδρας ἐρρωμένους, ὡς τῶν κωμικῶν ἔφη τις ἐπὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις: ἀκόλαστος ὄχλος ναυτική τ᾽ ἀταξία.
[86] There you have just a few out of many sorry verses, to prove that you are not the only ones to seem ridiculous. And certainly it is disgraceful, men of Alexandria, that those who inquire about your city are told how wonderful everything else is here, but that with respect to yourselves nothing is mentioned of which to be proud or fit to emulate, but that, on the contrary, you are given a bad name as being worthless fellows, mere mimes and buffoons instead of men of real valour, as one of the comic poets said of people like yourselves,
An unbridled mob, a disorderly gang of tars.
[87] ἔστι γὰρ ὅμοιον ὥσπερ εἰ οἰκίαν μέν τις ἴδοι πάνυ καλήν, τὸν δὲ δεσπότην αὐτὸν ἀνδράποδον μηδὲ θυρωρεῖν ἄξιον. τῷ παντὶ γὰρ κρεῖττον ἐρημίαν καθορᾶν καὶ δεκαπέντε ἀνθρώπους εὐπόρους ἢ πλῆθος ἀνήριθμον ἀνθρώπων ἀθλίων καὶ μαινομένων, ὥσπερ τινὰκόπρον βαθεῖαν ἐν ταὐτῷ νενημένην ἐκ παντοδαπῶν λυμάτων. οὐδὲ γὰρ πόλιν εἴποι τις ἂν ὀρθῶς τὴν ἐκ τοιούτων, οὐδέ γε χορὸν τοὺς ὁποίους δήποτε συνελθόντας, οὐδὲ στρατόπεδον πάντα ὄχλον.
[87] In fact it is just as if you should see a house that is very beautiful, but should discover that the master himself is a slave and not fit to be even the porter. On the whole it is better to face empty benches than to behold no more than fifteen substantial citizens in the midst of an innumerable horde of wretched, raving creatures, a sort of concentrated dunghill piled high with the sweepings of every kind. Why, the word ‘city’ could not justly be applied to a community composed of men like that, any more than ‘chorus’ befits a chance company of nondescripts or ‘army’ just any mob!
[88] οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ τοῦ Ξέρξου στράτευμα λαμπρὸν ἦν, πλὴν εἰ μή τι διορύττειν ἢ διασκάπτειν ἢ τοιοῦτον ἕτερον ἔργον πράττειν:οὐδὲ ἡ τῶν Τρώων πόλις εὐδαίμων, ὅτι πονηρῶν καὶ ἀκολάστων [p. 293] ὑπῆρξε
πολιτῶν. καίτοι μεγάλη τε καὶ ἔνδοξος ἦν: ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ὁ τῆς Ἰθάκης πολίτης ἐπόρθησεν αὐτήν, ὁ τῆς μικρᾶς καὶ ἀδόξου σφόδρα οὖσαν εὐρύχωρον. φοβοῦμαι δὴ μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀπόλησθε ἐκείνοις παραπλησίως, εἰ καὶ ψυχρότερόν ἐστιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι κἀκείνην ὑπὸ ἵππου τινὸς φθαρῆναι λέγεται: πλὴν οἱ μὲν ἴσως ὑφ᾽ ἑνός,
[88] For example, even the host of Xerxes was not brilliant, except at breaching a wall or digging a canal or some other manual labour; nor was the city of the Trojans fortunate, since it consisted of depraved, licentious citizens. And yet it was both large and famous; but still the man from Ithaca sacked it, yes, the man from that tiny, inglorious island sacked a city of exceedingly wide domain. Therefore I fear that you also may perish like those Trojans — if I may be permitted the trite observation that Troy also is said to have been destroyed by a certain horse; however, while the Trojans perhaps were taken captive by a single horse, your capture is the work of many horses.
[89] ὑμεῖς δὲ ὑπὸ πλειόνων ἑαλώκατε. μὴ γὰρ τοῦτο μόνον ἡγεῖσθε ἅλωσιν εἶναι πόλεως, ἄν τινες τὸ τεῖχος καταβαλόντες ἀποσφάττωσι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἀπάγωσιν καὶ τὰς οἰκίας κατακάωσιν: αὕτη μὲν ἴσως τελευταία καὶ πρὸς ὀλίγον γιγνομένη καὶ μᾶλλον ἐλεεῖσθαι τοὺς παθόντας ἢ καταγελᾶσθαι παρασκευάζουσα: παρ᾽ οἷς δ᾽ ἂν ᾖ πάντων ἀμέλεια τῶν καλῶν, ἑνὸς δὲ πράγματος ἀγεννοῦς ἔρως, καὶ πρὸς μόνον τοῦτο ἀποβλέπωσι καὶ περὶ τοῦτο διατρίβωσι πηδῶντες καὶ μαινόμενοι καὶ παίοντες ἀλλήλους καὶ ἀπόρρητα λέγοντες καὶ τοὺς θεοὺς αὐτοὺς πολλάκις λοιδοροῦντες καὶ τὰ ὄντα ῥιπτοῦντες καὶ γυμνοὶ βαδίζοντες ἀπὸ τῆς θέας ἐνίοτε, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν αἰσχρὰ πόλεως καὶ ἐπονείδιστος ἅλωσις.
Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom Page 283