ἔργον; ἄσβεστον ἐξ ἡλίου φυλάττουσι φλόγα παρθένοι παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἱεραὶ κατὰ
τὰς διαφόρους ὥρας, αἳ δὴ τὸ γενόμενον(764) περὶ τὴν γῆν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ πῦρ
φυλάττουσιν. ἔτι τούτων μεῖζον ἔχω σοι φράσαι τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦδε τεκμήριον,
αὐτοῦ τοῦ θειοτάτου βασιλέως ἔργον. οἱ μῆνες ἅπασι μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις ὡς ἔπος
εἰπεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς σελήνης ἀριθμοῦνται, [B] μόνοι δὲ ἡμεῖς καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι πρὸς
τὰς ἡλίου κινήσεις ἑκάστου μετροῦμεν ἐνιαυτοῦ τὰς ἡμέρας. εἴ σοι μετὰ
τοῦτο φαίην, ὡς καὶ τὸν Μίθραν τιμῶμεν καὶ ἄγομεν Ἡλίῳ τετραετηρικοὺς
ἀγῶνας, ἐρῶ νεώτερα· βέλτιον δὲ ἴσως ἕν τι τῶν παλαιοτέρων προθεῖναι. τοῦ
γὰρ ἐνιαυσιαίου κύκλου τὴν ἀρχὴν ἄλλος ἄλλοθεν ποιούμενος, οἱ μὲν τὴν
ἐαρινὴν ἰσημερίαν, οἱ δὲ τὴν ἀκμὴν τοῦ θέρους, οἱ πολλοὶ δὲ φθίνουσαν ἤδη
τὴν ὀπώραν, [C] Ἡλίου τὰς ἐμφανεστάτας ὑμνοῦσι δωρεάς ὁ μέν τις τὴν τῆς
ἐργασίας ἐνδιδομένην εὐκαιρίαν, ὅτε ἡ γῆ θάλλει καὶ γαυριᾷ, φυομένων ἄρτι
των καρπῶν ἁπάντων, γίνεται δὲ ἐπιτῆδεια πλεῖσθαι τὰ πελάγη καὶ τὸ τοῦ
χειμῶνος ἀηδὲς καὶ σκυθρωπὸν ἐπὶ τὸ φαιδρότερον μεθίσταται, οἱ δὲ τὴν τοῦ
θέρους ἐτίμησαν ὥραν,(765) ὡς ἀσφαλῶς τότε ὑπὶρ τῆς τῶν καρπῶν ἔχοντες
θαρρῆσαι γενέσεως, τῶν μὲν σπερμάτων ἤδη συνειλεγμένων, ἀκμαίας δὲ οὔσης
[D] τῆς ὀπώρας ἤδη και πεπαινομένων τῶν ἐπικειμένων καρπῶν τοῖς δένδροις.
ἄλλοι δὲ τούτων ἔτι κομψότεροι τέλος ἐνιαυτοῦ ὑπέλαβον τὴν τελειοτάτην τῶν
καρπῶν ἁπάντων ἀκμὴν καὶ φθίσιν· ταῦτά τοι καὶ φθινούσης ἤδη τῆς ὀπώρας
ἄγουσι τὰς κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν νουμηνίας. οἱ δὲ ἡμέτεροι προπάτορες ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ
τοῦ θειοτάτου βασιλέως τοῦ Νόμα μειζόνως ἔτι τὸν θεὸν τοῦτον σεβόμενοι τὰ
μὲν τῆς χρείας ἀπέλιπον, ἅτε οἶμαι φύσει θεῖοι καὶ περιττοὶ τὴν διάνοιαν,
αὐτὸν δὲ εἶδον τούτων τὸν αἴτιον [156] καὶ ἄγειν ἔταξαν συμφώνως ἐν τῇ
παρούσῃ τῶν ὡρῶν τὴν νουμηνίαν, ὁπότε ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἥλιος αὖθις ἐπανάγει πρὸς
ἡμᾶς ἀφεὶς τῆς μεσημβρίας τὰ ἔσχατα καὶ ὥσπερ περὶ νύσσαν τὸν αἰγοκέρωτα
κάμψας ἀπὸ τοῦ νότου πρὸς τὸν βορρᾶν ἔρχεται μεταδώσων ἡμῖν τῶν ἐπετείων
ἀγαθῶν. ὅτι δὲ τοῦτο ἀκριβῶς ἐκεῖνοι διανοηθέντες οὕτως ἐνεστήσαντο τὴν
ἐπέτειον νουμηνίαν, ἐνθένδ᾽ ἄν τις κατανοήσειεν. οὐ γὰρ οἶμαι καθ᾽ ἣν
ἡμέραν ὁ θεὸς τρέπεται, καθ᾽ ἣν δὲ τοῖς [B] πᾶσιν ἐμφανὴς γίνεται χωρῶν
ἀπὸ τῆς μεσημβρίας ἐς τὰς ἄρκτους ἄταξαν οὗτοι τὴν ἑορτήν. οὔπω μὲν γὰρ ἦν
αὐτοῖς ἡ τῶν κανόνων λεπτότης γνώριμος, οὓς ἐξηῦρον μὲν Χαλδαῖοι καὶ
Αἰγύπτιοι, Ἵππαρχος δὲ καὶ Πτολεμαῖος ἐτελειώσαντο, κρίνοντες δὲ αἰσθήσει
τοῖς φαινομένοις ἠκολούθουν.
(Do you wish me to mention yet another proof of this, I mean the work of
King Numa?(766) In Rome maiden priestesses(767) guard the undying flame of
the sun at different hours in turn; they guard the fire that is produced
on earth by the agency of the god. And I can tell you a still greater
proof of the power of this god, which is the work of that most divine king
himself. The months are reckoned from the moon by, one may say, all other
peoples; but we and the Egyptians alone reckon the days of every year
according to the movements of the sun. If after this I should say that we
also worship Mithras, and celebrate games in honour of Helios every four
years, I shall be speaking of customs that are somewhat recent.(768) But
perhaps it is better to cite a proof from the remote past. The beginning
of the cycle of the year is placed at different times by different
peoples. Some place it at the spring equinox, others at the height of
summer, and many in the late autumn; but they each and all sing the
praises of the most visible gifts of Helios. One nation celebrates the
season best adapted for work in the fields, when the earth bursts into
bloom and exults, when all the crops are just beginning to sprout, and the
sea begins to be safe for sailing; and the disagreeable, gloomy winter
puts on a more cheerful aspect, others again award the crown to the summer
season,(769) since at that time they can safely feel confidence about the
yield of the fruits, when the grains have already been harvested and
midsummer is now at its height, and the fruits on the trees are ripening.
Others again, with still more subtlety, regard as the close of the year
the time when all the fruits are in their perfect prime and decay has
already set in. For this reason they celebrate the annual festival of the
New Year in late autumn. But our forefathers, from the time of the most
divine king Numa, paid still greater reverence to the god Helios. They
ignored the question of mere utility, I think, because they were naturally
religious and endowed with unusual intelligence; but they saw that he is
the cause of all that is useful, and so they ordered the observance of the
New Year to correspond with the present season; that is to say when King
Helios returns to us again, and leaving the region furthest south and,
rounding Capricorn as though it were a goal‐post, advances from the south
to the north to give us our share of the blessings of the year. And that
our forefathers, because they comprehended this correctly, thus
established the beginning of the year, one may perceive from the
following. For it was not, I think, the time when the god turns, but the
time when he becomes visible to all men, as he travels from south to
north, that they appointed for the festival. For still unknown to them was
the nicety of those laws which the Chaldæans and Egyptians discovered, and
which Hipparchus(770) and Ptolemy(771) perfected: but they judged simply
by sense‐perception, and were limited to what they could actually see.)
Οὕτω δὲ ταῦτα καὶ παρὰ τῶν μεταγενεστέρων, ὡς ἔφην, ἔχοντα κατενοήθη. πρὸ
τῆς νουμηνίας, εὐθέως μετὰ τὸν τελευταῖον τοῦ Κρόνου μῆνα, ποιοῦμεν Ἡλίῳ
[C] τὸν περιφανέστατον ἀγῶνα, τὴν ἑορτὴν Ἡλίῳ καταφημίσαντες ἀνικήτῳ, μεθ᾽
ὃν οὐδὲν θέμις ὧν ὁ τελευταῖος μὴν ἔχει σκυθρωπῶν μέν, ἀναγκαίων δ᾽ ὅμως,
ἐπιτελεσθῆναι θεαμάτων, ἀλλὰ τοῖς Κρονίοις οὖσι τελευταίοις εὐθὺς συνάπτει
κατὰ τὸν κύκλον τὰ Ἡλίαια, ἃ δὴ πολλάκις μοι δοῖεν οἱ βασιλεῖς ὑμνῆσαι καὶ
ἐπιτελέσαι θεοί, καὶ πρό γε τῶν ἄλλων αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν ὅλων Ἥλιος, ὁ
περὶ τὴν τἀγαθοῦ γόνιμον οὐσίαν ἐξ ἁιδίου προελθὼν μέσος [D] ἐν μέσοις
τοῖς νοεροῖς θεοῖς, συνοχῆς τε αὐτοὺς πληρώσας καὶ κάλλους μυρίου καὶ
περιουσίας γονίμου καὶ τελείου νοῦ καὶ πάντων ἀθρόως τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀχρόνως,
καὶ ἐν τῷ νῦν ἐλλάμπων εἰς τὴν ἐμφανῆ μέσην τοῦ παντὸς οὐρανοῦ φερομένην
ἕδραν οἰκείαν ἐξ ἀιδίου, καὶ μεταδιδοὺς τῷ φαινομένῳ παντὶ τοῦ νοητοῦ
κάλλους, τὸν δὲ οὐρανὸν σύμπαντα πληρώσας τοσούτων θεῶν [157] ὁπόσων αὐτὸς
ἐν ἑαυτῷ νοερῶς ἔχει, περὶ αὐτὸν ἀμερίστως πληθυνομένων καὶ ἑνοειδῶς αὐτῷ
συνημμένων, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ὑπὸ τὴν σελήνην τόπον διὰ τῆς ἀειγενεσίας
συνέχων καὶ τῶν ἐνδιδομένων ἐκ τοῦ κυκλικοῦ σώματος ἀγαθῶν, ἐπιμελόμενος
τοῦ τε(772) κοινοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένους ἰδίᾳ τε τῆς ἡμετέρας πόλεως, ὥσπερ
οὖν καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐξ ἀιδίου ψυχὴν ὑπέστησεν, ὀπαδὸν ἀποφήνας αὑτοῦ.
ταῦτά τε οὖν, ὅσα [B] μικρῷ πρόσθεν ηὐξάμην, δοίη, καὶ ἔτι κοινῇ μὲν τῇ
πόλει τὴν ἐνδεχομένην ἀιδιότητα μετ᾽ εὐνοίας χορηγῶν φυλάττοι, ἡμῖν δὲ ἐπὶ
τοσοῦτον εὖ πρᾶξαι τά τε ἀνθρώπινα καὶ τὰ θεῖα δοίη, ἐφ᾽ ὅσον βιῶναι
συγχωρεῖ, ζῆν δὲ καὶ ἐμπολιτεύεσθαι τῷ βίῳ δοίη ἐφ᾽ ὅσον αὐτῷ τε ἐκείνῳ
φίλον ἡμῖν τε λώιον καὶ τοῖς κοινοῖς συμφέρον Ῥωμαίων πράγμασιν.
(But the truth of these facts was recognised, as I said, by a later
generation. Before the beginning of the year, at the end of the month
which is called after Kronos,(773) we celebrate in honour of Helios the
most splendid games, and we dedicate the festival to the Invincible Sun.
And after this it is not lawful to perform any of the shows that belong to
the last month, gloomy as they are, though necessary. But, in the cycle,
immediately after the end of the Kronia(774) follow the Heliaia. That
festival may the ruling gods grant me to praise and to celebrate with
sacrifice! And above all the others may Helios himself, the King of the
All, grant me this, even he who from eternity has proceeded from the
generative substance of the Good: even he who is midmost of the midmost
intellectual gods; who fills them with continuity and endless beauty and
superabundance of generative power and perfect reason, yea with all
blessings at once, and independently of time! And now he illumines his own
visible abode, which from eternity moves as the centre of the whole
heavens, and bestows a share of intelligible beauty on the whole visible
world, and fills the whole heavens with the same number of gods as he
contains in himself in intellectual form. And without division they reveal
themselves in manifold form surrounding him, but they are attached to him
to form a unity. Aye, but also, through his perpetual generation and the
blessings that he bestows from the heavenly bodies, he holds together the
region beneath the moon. For he cares for the whole human race in common,
but especially for my own city,(775) even as also he brought into being my
soul from eternity, and made it his follower. All this, therefore, that I
prayed for a moment ago, may he grant, and further may he, of his grace,
endow my city as a whole with eternal existence, so far as is possible,
and protect her; and for myself personally, may he grant that, so long as
I am permitted to live, I may prosper in my affairs both human and divine;
finally may he grant me to live and serve the state with my life, so long
as is pleasing to himself and well for me and expedient for the Roman
Empire!)
Ταῦτά σοι, ὦ φίλε Σαλούστιε, κατὰ τὴν τριπλῆν τοῦ θεοῦ δημιουργίαν [C] ἐν
τρισὶ μάλιστα νυξὶν ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν ἐπελθόντα μοι τῇ μνήμῃ καὶ γράψαι πρὸς
σὲ ἐτόλμησα, ἐπεί σοι καὶ τὸ πρότερον εἰς τὰ Κρόνια γεγραμμένον ἡμῖν οὐ
παντάπασιν ἀπόβλητον ἐφάνη. τελειοτέροις δ᾽ εἰ βούλει περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν καὶ
μυστικωτέροις λόγοις ἐπιστῆσαι, ἐντυχὼν τοῖς παρὰ τοῦ θείου γενομένοις
Ἰαμβλίχου περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν τούτων συγγράμμασι τὸ τέλος ἐκεῖσε τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης
[D] εὑρήσεις σοφίας. δοίη δ᾽ ὁ μέγας Ἥλιος μηδὲν ἔλαττόν με τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ
γνῶναι, καὶ διδάξαι κοινῇ τε ἅπαντας, ἰδίᾳ δὲ τοὺς μανθάνειν ἀξίους. ἕως
δέ μοι τοῦτο δίδωσιν ὁ θεός, κοινῇ θεραπεύωμεν τὸν τῷ θεῷ φίλον Ἰάμβλιχον,
ὅθεν καὶ νῦν ὀλίγα ἐκ πολλῶν ἐπὶ νοῦν ἐλθόντα διεληλύθαμεν. ἐκείνου δὲ εὖ
οἶδα ὡς οὐδεὶς ἐρεῖ τι τελειότερον, οὐδὲ εἰ πολλὰ πάνυ προσταλαιπωρήσας
καινοτομήσειεν· ἐκβήσεται γάρ, ὡς εἰκός, [158] τῆς ἀληθεστάτης τοῦ θεοῦ
νοήσεως. ἦν μὲν οὖν ἴσως μάταιον, εἰ διδασκαλίας χάριν ἐποιούμην τοὺς
λόγους, αὐτὸν(776) μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνόν τι συγγράφειν, ἐπεὶ δὲ ὕμνον ἐθέλων
διελθεῖν τοῦ θεοῦ χαριστήριον ἐν τούτῳ τόπον ὑπελάμβανον τοῦ(777) περὶ τῆς
οὐσίας αὐτοῦ φράσαι κατὰ δύναμιν τὴν ἐμήν, οὐ μάτην οἶμαι πεποιῆσθαι τοὺς
λόγους τούσδε, τὸ
(This discourse, friend Sallust,(778) I composed in three nights at most,
in harmony with the three‐fold creative power of the god,(779) as far as
possible just as it occurred to my memory: and I have ventured to write it
down and to dedicate it to you because you thought my earlier work on the
Kronia(780) was not wholly worthless. But if you wish to meet with a more
complete and more mystical treatment of the same theme, then read the
writings of the inspired Iamblichus on this subject,(781) and you will
find there the most consummate wisdom which man can achieve. And may
mighty Helios grant that I too may attain to no less perfect knowledge of
himself, and that I may instruct all men, speaking generally, but
especially those who are worthy to learn. And so long as Helios grants let
us all in common revere Iamblichus, the beloved of the gods. For he is the
source for what I have here set down, a few thoughts from many, as they
occurred to my mind. However I know well that no one can utter anything
more perfect than he, nay not though he should labour long at the task and
say very much that is new. For he will naturally diverge thereby from the
truest knowledge of the god. Therefore it would probably have been a vain
undertaking to compose anything after Iamblichus on the same subject if I
had written this discourse for the sake of giving instruction. But since I
wished to compose a hymn to express my gratitude to the god, I thought
that this was the best place in which to tell, to the best of my power, of
his essential nature. And so I think that not in vain has this discourse
been composed. For the saying)
Κὰδ δύναμιν δ᾽ ἕρδειν ἱέρ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν(782)
(“To the extent of your powers offer sacrifice to the immortal
gods,”)
οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν θυσιῶν μόνον, [B] ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν εὐφημιῶν τῶν εἰς τοὺς θεοὺς
ἀποδεχόμενος. εὔχομαι οὖν τρίτον ἀντὶ τῆς προθυμίας μοι ταύτης εὐμενῆ
γενέσθαι τὸν βασιλέα τῶν ὅλων Ἥλιον, καὶ δοῦναι βίον ἀγαθὸν καὶ
τελειοτέραν φρόνησιν καὶ θεῖον νοῦν ἀπαλλαγήν τε τὴν εἱμαρμένην ἐκ τοῦ
βίου πρᾳοτάτην ἐν καιρῷ τῷ προσήκοντι, ἄνοδόν τε ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν [C] τὸ μετὰ
τοῦτο καὶ μονὴν παρ᾽ αὐτῷ, μάλιστα μὲν ἀίδιον, εἰ δὲ τοῦτο μεῖζον εἴη τῶν
ἐμοὶ βεβιωμένων, πολλὰς πάνυ καὶ πολυετεῖς περιίδους.
(I apply not to sacrifice only, but also to the praises that we offer to
the gods. For the third time, therefore, I pray that Helios, the King of
the All, may be gracious to me in recompense for this my zeal; and may he
grant me a virtuous life and more perfect wisdom and inspired
intelligence, and, when fate wills, the gentlest exit that may be from
life, at a fitting hour; and that I may ascend to him thereafter and abide
with him, for ever if possible, but if that be more than the actions of my
life deserve, for many periods of many years!)
ORATION V
Introduction To Oration V
The cult of Phrygian Cybele the Mother of the Gods, known to the Latin
world as the Great Mother, Magna Mater, was the first Oriental religion
adopted by the Romans. In the Fifth Oration, which is, like the Fourth, a
hymn, Julian describes the entrance of the Goddess into Italy in the third
century B.C. In Greece she had been received long before, but the more
civilised Hellenes had not welcomed, as did the Romans, the more barbarous
features of the cult, the mutilated priests, the Galli, and the worship of
Attis.(783) They preferred the less emotional cult of the Syrian Adonis.
In Athens the Mother of the Gods was early identified with Gaia the Earth
Mother, and the two became inextricably confused.(784) But Julian, in this
more Roman than Greek, does not shrink from the Oriental conception of
Cybele as the lover of Attis, attended by eunuch priests, or the frenzy of
renunciation described by Catullus.(785) But he was first of all a Neo‐
Platonist, and the aim of this hymn as of the Fourth Oration is to adapt
to his philosophy a popular cult and to give its Mysteries a philosophic
interpretation.
The Mithraic religion, seeking to conciliate the other cults of the
empire, had from the first associated with the sun‐god the worship of the
Magna Mater, and Attis had been endowed with the attributes of Mithras.
Though Julian’s hymn is in honour of Cybele he devotes more attention to
Attis. Originally the myth of Cybele symbolises the succession of the
seasons; the disappearance of Attis the sun‐god is the coming of winter;
his mutilation is the barrenness of nature when the sun has departed; his
restoration to Cybele is the renewal of spring. In all this he is the
counterpart of Persephone among the Greeks and of Adonis in Syria. Julian
interprets the myth in connection with the three worlds described in the
Fourth Oration. Cybele is a principle of the highest, the intelligible
world, the source of the intellectual gods. Attis is not merely a sun‐god:
he is a principle of the second, the intellectual world, who descends to
the visible world in order to give it order and fruitfulness. Julian
expresses the Neo‐Platonic dread and dislike of matter, of the variable,
the plural and unlimited. Cybele the intelligible principle would fain
have restrained Attis the embodiment of intelligence from association with
matter. His recall and mutilation symbolise the triumph of unity over
multiformity, of mind over matter. His restoration to Cybele symbolises
the escape of our souls from the world of generation.
Julian follows Plotinus(786) in regarding the myths as allegories to be
interpreted by the philosopher and the theosophist. They are riddles to be
solved, and the paradoxical element in them is designed to turn our minds
to the hidden truth. For laymen the myth is enough. Like all the Neo‐
Platonists he sometimes uses phrases which imply human weakness or
chronological development for his divinities and then withdraws those
phrases, explaining that they must be taken in another sense. His attitude
to myths is further defined in the Sixth(787) and Seventh Orations. The
Fifth Oration can hardly be understood apart from the Fourth, and both
must present many difficulties to a reader who is unfamiliar with
Plotinus, Porphyry, the treatise _On the Mysteries_, formerly attributed
to Iamblichus, Sallust, _On the Gods and the World_, and the extant
treatises and fragments of Iamblichus. Julian composed this treatise at
Pessinus in Phrygia, when he was on his way to Persia, in 362 A.D.
ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΟΣ
(Julian, Caesar)
ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΜΗΤΕΡΑ ΤΩΝ ΘΕΩΝ
(Hymn to the Mother of the Gods)
Ἆρά γε χρὴ φάναι καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων; καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀρρήτων γράψομεν καὶ τὰ
ἀνέξοιστα ἐξοίσομεν(788) καὶ τὰ ἀνεκλάλητα ἐκλαλήσομεν; [159] τίς μὲν ὁ
Ἄττις ἤτοι Γάλλος, τίς δὲ ἡ τῶν θεῶν Μήτηρ, καὶ ὁ τῆς ἁγνείας ταυτησί
τρόπος ὁποῖος, καὶ προσέτι τοῦ χάριν οὑτοσὶ(789) τοιοῦτος ἡμῖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς
κατεδείχθη, παραδοθεὶς μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχαιοτάτων Φρυγῶν, παραδεχθεὶς δὲ
πρῶτον ὑφ᾽ Ἑλλήνων, καὶ τούτων οὐ τῶν τυχόντων, ἀλλ᾽ Ἀθηναίων, ἔργοις
διδαχθέντων, ὅτι μὴ καλῶς ἐτώθασαν ἐπὶ τῷ τελοῦντι τὰ ὄργια τῆς Μητρός;
λέγονται γὰρ οὗτοι περιυβρίσαι [B] καὶ ἀπελάσαι τὸν Γάλλον ὡς τὰ θεῖα
καινοτομοῦντα, οὐ ξυνέντες ὁποῖόν τι τῆς θεοῦ τὸ χρῆμα καὶ ὡς ἡ παρ᾽
αὐτοῖς τιμωμένη Δηὼ καὶ Ῥέα καὶ Δημήτηρ. εἶτα μῆνις τὸ ἐντεῦθεν τῆς θεοῦ
καὶ θεραπεία τῆς μήνιδος. ἡ γὰρ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς καλοῖς ἡγεμὼν γενομένη τοῖς
Ἕλλησιν, ἡ τοῦ Πυθίου πρόμαντις θεοῦ, τὴν τῆς Μητρὸς τῶν θεῶν μῆνιν
ἐκέλευσεν ἱλάσκεσθαι· καὶ ἀνέστη, φασίν, ἐπὶ τούτῳ τὸ μητρῷον, οὗ τοῖς
Ἀθηναίοις δημοσίᾳ πάντα ἐφυλάττετο τὰ γραμματεῖα. μετὰ δὴ [C] τοὺς Ἕλληνας
αὐτα Ῥωμαῖοι παρεδέξαντο, συμβουλεύσαντος καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῦ Πυθίου ἐπὶ τὸν
πρὸς Καρχηδονίους πόλεμον ἄγειν ἐκ Φρυγίας τὴν θεὸν σύμμαχον. καὶ οὐδὲν
ἴσως κωλύει προσθεῖναι μικρὰν(790) ἱστορίαν ἐνταῦθα. μαθόντες γὰρ τὸν
χρησμὸν στέλλουσιν οἱ τῆς θεοφιλοῦς οἰκήτορες Ῥώμης πρεσβείαν αἰτήσουσαν
παρὰ τῶν Περγάμου βασιλέων, οἳ τότε ἐκράτουν τῆς Φρυγίας, καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτῶν
δὲ τῶν Φρυγῶν τῆς θεοῦ [D] τὸ ἁγιώτατον ἄγαλμα. λαβόντες δὲ ἦγον τὸν ἱερὸν
φόρτον ἐνθέντες εὐρείᾳ φορτίδι πλεῖν εὐπετῶς δυναμένῃ τὰ τοσαῦτα πελάγη.
περαιωθεῖσα δὲ Αἴγαιόν τε καὶ Ἰόνιον, εἶτα περιπλεύσασα Σικελίαν τε καὶ τὸ
Τυρρηνὸν πέλαγος ἐπὶ τὰς ἐκβολὰς τοῦ Τύβριδος κατήγετο· καὶ δῆμος ἐξεχεῖτο
τῆς πόλεως σὺν τῇ γερουσίᾳ, ὑπήντων γε μὴν πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἱερεῖς τε καὶ
ἱέρειαι πᾶσαι καὶ πάντες ἐν κόσμῳ τῷ πρέποντι κατὰ τὰ πάτρια, [160]
μετέωροι πρὸς τὴν ναῦν οὐριοδρομοῦσαν ἀποβλέποντες, καὶ περὶ τὴν τρόπιν
ἀπεσκόπουν τὸ ῥόθιον σχιζομένων τῶν κυμάτων· εἶτα εἰσπλέουσαν ἐδεξιοῦντο
τὴν ναῦν προσκυνοῦντες ἕκαστος ὡς ἔτυχε προσεστὼς πόρρωθεν. ἡ δὲ ὥσπερ
ἐνδείξασθαι τῷ Ῥωμαίων ἐθέλουσα δήμῳ, ὅτι μὴ ξόανον ἄγουσιν ἀπὸ τῆς
Φρυγίας ἄψυχον, ἔχει δὲ ἄρα δύναμίν τινα μείζω καὶ θειοτέραν ὃ δὴ παρὰ τῶν
Φρυγῶν λαβόντες ἔφερον, ἐπειδὴ τοῦ Τύβριδος ἥψατο, [B] τὴν ναῦν ἵστησιν
ὥσπερ ῥιζωθεῖσαν ἐξαίφνης κατὰ τοῦ Τύβριδος. εἷλκον δὴ οὖν πρὸς ἀντίον τὸν
ῥοῦν, ἡ δὲ οὐχ εἵπετο. ὡς(791) βραχέσι δὲ ἐντετυχηκότες ὠθεῖν ἐπειρῶντο
τὴν ναῦν, ἡ δὲ οὐκ εἶκεν ὠθούντων. πᾶσα δὲ μηχανὴ προσήγετο τὸ ἐντεῦθεν, ἡ
δὲ οὐχ ἧττον ἀμετακίνητος ἦν· ὥστε ἐμπίπτει κατὰ τῆς ἱερωμένης τὴν
παναγεστάτην ἱερωσύνην παρθένου δεινὴ καὶ ἄδικος ὑποψία, καὶ τὴν Κλωδίαν
ᾐτιῶντο· [C] τοῦτο γὰρ ὄνομα ἦν τῇ σεμνῇ παρθένῳ· μὴ παντάπασιν ἄχραντον
μηδὲ καθαρὰν φυλάττειν ἑαυτὴν τῷ θεῷ· ὀργίζεσθαι οὖν αὐτὴν καὶ μηνίειν
ἐμφανῶς· ἐδόκει γὰρ ἤδη τοῖς πᾶσιν εἶναι τὸ χρῆμα δαιμονιώτερον. ἡ δὲ τὸ
μὲν πρῶτον αἰδοῦς ὑπεπίμηπλατο πρός τε τὸ ὄνομα καὶ τὴν ὑποψίαν· οὕτω πάνυ
πόρρω ἐτύγχανε τῆς αἰσχρᾶς καὶ παρανόμου πράξεως. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἑώρα τὴν αἰτίαν
ἤδη καθ᾽ ἑαυτῆς ἐξισχύουσαν, περιελοῦσα τὴν ζώνην [D] καὶ περιθεῖσα τῆς
νεὼς τοῖς ἄκροις, ὥσπερ ἐξ ἐπιπνοίας τινὸς ἀποχωρεῖν ἐκέλευεν ἅπαντας,
εἶτα ἐδεῖτο τῆς θεοῦ μὴ περιιδεῖν αὐτὴν(792) ἀδίκοις ἐνεχομένην
βλασφημίας. βοῶσα δὲ ὥσπερ τι κέλευσμα, φασί, ναυτικόν, Δέσποινα Μῆτερ
εἴπερ εἰμὶ σώφρων, ἕπου μοι, ἔφη. καὶ δὴ τὴν ναῦν οὐκ ἐκίνησε μόνον, ἀλλὰ
καὶ εἵλκυσεν ἐπὶ πολὺ πρὸς τὸν ῥοῦν· καὶ δύο ταῦτα Ῥωμαίοις ἔδειξεν ἡ θεὸς
οἶμαι κατ᾽ ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν. [161] ὡς οὔτε μικροῦ τινος τίμιον ἀπὸ τῆς
Φρυγίας ἐπήγοντο(793) φόρτον, ἀλλὰ τοῦ παντὸς ἄξιον, οὔτε ὡς ἀνθρώπινον
τοῦτον, ἀλλὰ ὄντως θεῖον, οὔτε ἄψυχον γῆν, ἀλλὰ ἔμπνουν τι χρῆμα καὶ
δαιμόνιον. ἓν μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτον ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς ἡ θεός· ἕτερον δέ, ὡς τῶν
πολιτῶν οὐδὲ εἶς λάθοι ἂν αὐτὴν χρηστὸς ἢ φαῦλος ὤν. κατωρθώθη μέντοι καὶ
ὁ πόλεμος αὐτίκα Ῥωμαίοις πρὸς Καρχηδονίους, ὥστε τὸν τρίτον ὑπὲρ τῶν
τειχῶν αὐτῆς μόνον Καρχηδόνος γενέσθαι.
(Ought I to say something on this subject also? And shall I write about
things not to be spoken of and divulge what ought not to be divulged?
Shall I utter the unutterable? Who is Attis(794) or Gallus,(795) who is
the Mother of the Gods,(796) and what is the manner of their ritual of
purification? And further why was it introduced in the beginning among us
Romans? It was handed down by the Phrygians in very ancient times, and was
first taken over by the Greeks, and not by any ordinary Greeks but by
Athenians who had learned by experience that they did wrong to jeer at one
who was celebrating the Mysteries of the Mother. For it is said that they
wantonly insulted and drove out Gallus, on the ground that he was
introducing a new cult, because they did not understand what sort of
goddess they had to do with, and that she was that very Deo whom they
worship, and Rhea and Demeter too. Then followed the wrath of the goddess
and the propitiation of her wrath. For the priestess of the Pythian god
who guided the Greeks in all noble conduct, bade them propitiate the wrath
of the Mother of the Gods. And so, we are told, the Metroum was built,
where the Athenians used to keep all their state records.(797) After the
Greeks the Romans took over the cult, when the Pythian god had advised
them in their turn to bring the goddess from Phrygia as an ally for their
war against the Carthaginians.(798) And perhaps there is no reason why I
should not insert here a brief account of what happened. When they learned
the response of the oracle, the inhabitants of Rome, that city beloved of
the gods, sent an embassy to ask from the kings of Pergamon(799) who then
ruled over Phrygia and from the Phrygians themselves the most holy
statue(800) of the goddess. And when they had received it they brought
back their most sacred freight, putting it on a broad cargo‐boat which
could sail smoothly over those wide seas. Thus she crossed the Aegean and
Ionian Seas, and sailed round Sicily and over the Etruscan Sea, and so
entered the mouth of the Tiber. And the people and the Senate with them
poured out of the city, and in front of all the others there came to meet
her all the priests and priestesses in suitable attire according to their
ancestral custom. And in excited suspense they gazed at the ship as she
ran before a fair wind, and about her keel they could discern the foaming
wake as she cleft the waves. And they greeted the ship as she sailed in
and adored her from afar, everyone where he happened to be standing. But
the goddess, as though she desired to show the Roman people that they were
not bringing a lifeless image from Phrygia, but that what they had
received from the Phrygians and were now bringing home possessed greater
and more divine powers than an image, stayed the ship directly she touched
the Tiber, and she was suddenly as though rooted in mid‐stream. So they
tried to tow her against the current, but she did not follow. Then they
tried to push her off, thinking they had grounded on a shoal, but for all
their efforts she did not move. Next every possible device was brought to
bear, but in spite of all she remained immovable. Thereupon a terrible and
unjust suspicion fell on the maiden who had been consecrated to the most
sacred office of priestess, and they began to accuse Claudia(801)—for that
was the name of that noble maiden(802)—of not having kept herself
stainless and pure for the goddess; wherefore they said that the goddess
was angry and was plainly declaring her wrath. For by this time the thing
seemed to all to be supernatural. Now at first she was filled with shame
at the mere name of the thing and the suspicion; so very far was she from
such shameless and lawless behaviour. But when she saw that the charge
against her was gaining strength, she took off her girdle and fastened it
about the prow of the ship, and, like one divinely inspired, bade all
stand aside: and then she besought the goddess not to suffer her to be
thus implicated in unjust slanders. Next, as the story goes, she cried
aloud as though it were some nautical word of command, “O Goddess Mother,
if I am pure follow me!” And lo, she not only made the ship move, but even
towed her for some distance up stream. Two things, I think, the goddess
showed the Romans on that day: first that the freight they were bringing
from Phrygia had no small value, but was priceless, and that this was no
work of men’s hands but truly divine, not lifeless clay but a thing
possessed of life and divine powers. This, I say, was one thing that the
goddess showed them. And the other was that no one of the citizens could
be good or bad and she not know thereof. Moreover the war of the Romans
against the Carthaginians forthwith took a favourable turn, so that the
third war was waged only for the walls of Carthage itself.(803))
[B] Τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἱστορίας, εἰ καί τισιν ἀπίθανα δόξει καὶ φιλοσόφῳ
προσήκειν οὐδὲν οὐδὲ θεολόγῳ, λεγέσθω μὴ μεῖον, κοινῇ μὲν ὑπὸ πλείστων
ἱστοριογράφων ἀναγραφόμενα, σωζόμενα δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ χαλκῶν εἰκόνων ἐν τῇ
κρατίστῃ καὶ θεοφιλεῖ Ῥώμῃ. καίτοι με οὐ λέληθεν ὅτι φήσουσιν αὐτά τινες
τῶν λίαν σοφῶν ὕθλους εἶναι γρᾳδίων οὐκ ἀνεκτούς. ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεῖ ταῖς
πόλεσι πιστεύειν μᾶλλον τὰ τοιαῦτα ἢ τουτοισὶ τοῖς κομψοῖς, ὧν τὸ ψυχάριον
δριμὺ μέν, ὑγιὲς δὲ οὐδὲ ἓν βλέπει.(804)