Lucian of Samosata, Juppiter Tragoedus, Emily James Smith (Translator), 10

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Aphrodite

Take me, too, then, Hermes, and place me somewhere in the front rows, for I am golden.

Hermes

Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite. Unless I am exceedingly blear-eyed, you were quarried out of the white stone of Pentele, and then, at the good pleasure of Praxiteles, you became Aphrodite and were handed over to the Knidians.

Aphrodite

But I will furnish you a trustworthy referee in Homer, who, up and down in his poetry, declares me "golden Aphrodite."

Hermes

Oh, Homer says that Apollo, too, is full of gold and rich, but now you will see him sitting somewhere in the worst seats, for the robbers took his crown and stripped the pegs from his lyre. So you may congratulate yourself that you are not placed down among the servants.

Juppiter Tragoedus. Lucian of Samosata. Emily James Smith (Translator). Medford, MA. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Zeus the Tragedian (English) (Selections from Lucian. Smith, Emily James, translator. New York: Harper Brothers, 1892.)

Editions (1)

Ζεὺς Τραγῳδός Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.) — 10 focus

Ἀφροδίτη

οὐκοῦν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, κἀμὲ λαβὼν ἐν τοῖς προέδροις που κάθιζε· χρυσῆ γάρ εἰμι.

Ἑρμῆς

οὐχ ὅσα γε, ὦ Ἀφροδίτη, κἀμὲ ὁρᾶν, ἀλλʼ εἰ μὴ πάνυ λημῶ, λίθου τοῦ λευκοῦ, Πεντέληθεν, οἶμαι, λιθοτομηθεῖσα, εἶτα δόξαν οὕτω Πραξιτέλει Ἀφροδίτη γενομένη Κνιδίοις παρεδόθης.

Ἀφροδίτη

καὶ μὴν ἀξιόπιστόν σοι μάρτυρα τὸν Ὅμηρον παρέξομαι ἄνω καὶ κάτω τῶν ῥαψῳδιῶν χρυσῆν με τὴν Ἀφροδίτην εἶναι λέγοντα.

Ἑρμῆς

καὶ γὰρ τὸν Ἀπόλλω ὁ αὐτὸς πολύχρυσον εἶναι ἔφη καὶ πλούσιον· ἀλλὰ νῦν ὄψει κἀκεῖνον ἐν τοῖς ζευγίταις που καθήμενον, ἀπεστεφανωμένον τε¹ ὑπὸ τῶν λῃστῶν καὶ τοὺς κόλλοπας τῆς κιθάρας περισεσυλημένον. ὥστε ἀγάπα καὶ σὺ μὴ πάνυ ἐν τῷ θητικῷ ἐκκλησιάζουσα.

Translations (2)

Zeus Rants Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.) — 10 focus

APHRODITE

Well then, Hermes, take me and seat me in the front row somewhere, for I am golden.

HERMES

Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite: unless I am stone blind, you are of white marble, quarried on Pentelicus, no doubt, and then, the plan having approved itself to Praxiteles, turned iuto Aphrodite and put into the care of the Cnidians.

APHRODITE

But I'll prove it to you by a competent witness, Homer, who says all up and down his lays that I am “golden Aphrodite.”

HERMES

Yes, and the same man said that Apollo was rich in gold and wealthy, but now you'll see that he too is sitting somewhere among the middle class, uncrowned by the pirates and robbed of the pegs of his lyre. So be content yourself if you are not quite classed with the common herd in the meeting.

Zeus Tragoedus Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 3. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 10 focus

Aphrodite

Then, Hermes, find me a place in the front row; I am golden.

Hermagoras

Not so, Aphrodite, if I can trust my eyes; I am purblind, or you are white marble; you were quarried, I take it, from Pentelicus, turned by Praxiteles’s fancy into Aphrodite, and handed over to the Cnidians.

Aphrodite

Wait; my witness is unexceptionable—Homer. ‘The Golden Aphrodite’ he calls me, up and down his poems.

Hermagoras

Oh, yes, no doubt; be called Apollo rich, ‘rolling in gold’; but now where will you find Apollo? Somewhere in the third-class seats; his crown has been taken off and his harp pegs stolen by the pirates, you see. So you may think yourself lucky with a place above the fourth.

Lucian of Samosata Juppiter Tragoedus 10

Emily James Smith (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Aphrodite

Take me, too, then, Hermes, and place me somewhere in the front rows, for I am golden.

Hermes

Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite. Unless I am exceedingly blear-eyed, you were quarried out of the white stone of Pentele, and then, at the good pleasure of Praxiteles, you became Aphrodite and were handed over to the Knidians.

Aphrodite

But I will furnish you a trustworthy referee in Homer, who, up and down in his poetry, declares me "golden Aphrodite."

Hermes

Oh, Homer says that Apollo, too, is full of gold and rich, but now you will see him sitting somewhere in the worst seats, for the robbers took his crown and stripped the pegs from his lyre. So you may congratulate yourself that you are not placed down among the servants.

Current edition Perseus

Ἀφροδίτη

οὐκοῦν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, κἀμὲ λαβὼν ἐν τοῖς προέδροις που κάθιζε· χρυσῆ γάρ εἰμι.

Ἀφροδίτη

καὶ μὴν ἀξιόπιστόν σοι μάρτυρα τὸν Ὅμηρον παρέξομαι ἄνω καὶ κάτω τῶν ῥαψῳδιῶν χρυσῆν με τὴν Ἀφροδίτην εἶναι λέγοντα.

APHRODITE

Well then, Hermes, take me and seat me in the front row somewhere, for I am golden.

HERMES

Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite: unless I am stone blind, you are of white marble, quarried on Pentelicus, no doubt, and then, the plan having approved itself to Praxiteles, turned iuto Aphrodite and put into the care of the Cnidians.

APHRODITE

But I'll prove it to you by a competent witness, Homer, who says all up and down his lays that I am “golden Aphrodite.”

Aphrodite

Then, Hermes, find me a place in the front row; I am golden.

Hermagoras

Not so, Aphrodite, if I can trust my eyes; I am purblind, or you are white marble; you were quarried, I take it, from Pentelicus, turned by Praxiteles’s fancy into Aphrodite, and handed over to the Cnidians.

Aphrodite

Wait; my witness is unexceptionable—Homer. ‘The Golden Aphrodite’ he calls me, up and down his poems.

Hermagoras

Oh, yes, no doubt; be called Apollo rich, ‘rolling in gold’; but now where will you find Apollo? Somewhere in the third-class seats; his crown has been taken off and his harp pegs stolen by the pirates, you see. So you may think yourself lucky with a place above the fourth.

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Aphrodite Take me, too, then, Hermes, and place me somewhere in the front rows, for I am golden.

Hermes Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite. Unless I am exceedingly blear-eyed, you were quarried out of the white stone of Pentele, and then, at the good pleasure of Praxiteles, you became Aphrodite and were handed over to the Knidians.

Aphrodite But I will furnish you a trustworthy referee in Homer, who, up and down in his poetry, declares me "golden Aphrodite."

Hermes Oh, Homer says that Apollo, too, is full of gold and rich, but now you will see him sitting somewhere in the worst seats, for the robbers took his crown and stripped the pegs from his lyre. So you may congratulate yourself that you are not placed down among the servants.

Current edition Perseus

Ἀφροδίτη οὐκοῦν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, κἀμὲ λαβὼν ἐν τοῖς προέδροις που κάθιζε· χρυσῆ γάρ εἰμι.

Ἀφροδίτη καὶ μὴν ἀξιόπιστόν σοι μάρτυρα τὸν Ὅμηρον παρέξομαι ἄνω καὶ κάτω τῶν ῥαψῳδιῶν χρυσῆν με τὴν Ἀφροδίτην εἶναι λέγοντα.

APHRODITE Well then, Hermes, take me and seat me in the front row somewhere, for I am golden.

HERMES Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite: unless I am stone blind, you are of white marble, quarried on Pentelicus, no doubt, and then, the plan having approved itself to Praxiteles, turned iuto Aphrodite and put into the care of the Cnidians.

APHRODITE But I'll prove it to you by a competent witness, Homer, who says all up and down his lays that I am “golden Aphrodite.”

Aphrodite Then, Hermes, find me a place in the front row; I am golden.

Hermagoras Not so, Aphrodite, if I can trust my eyes; I am purblind, or you are white marble; you were quarried, I take it, from Pentelicus, turned by Praxiteles’s fancy into Aphrodite, and handed over to the Cnidians.

Aphrodite Wait; my witness is unexceptionable—Homer. ‘The Golden Aphrodite’ he calls me, up and down his poems.

Hermagoras Oh, yes, no doubt; be called Apollo rich, ‘rolling in gold’; but now where will you find Apollo? Somewhere in the third-class seats; his crown has been taken off and his harp pegs stolen by the pirates, you see. So you may think yourself lucky with a place above the fourth.

Stable identifiers

Aphrodite

Take me, too, then, Hermes, and place me somewhere in the front rows, for I am golden.

Hermes

Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite. Unless I am exceedingly blear-eyed, you were quarried out of the white stone of Pentele, and then, at the good pleasure of Praxiteles, you became Aphrodite and were handed over to the Knidians.

Aphrodite

But I will furnish you a trustworthy referee in Homer, who, up and down in his poetry, declares me "golden Aphrodite."

Hermes

Oh, Homer says that Apollo, too, is full of gold and rich, but now you will see him sitting somewhere in the worst seats, for the robbers took his crown and stripped the pegs from his lyre. So you may congratulate yourself that you are not placed down among the servants.

Ἀφροδίτη

οὐκοῦν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, κἀμὲ λαβὼν ἐν τοῖς προέδροις που κάθιζε· χρυσῆ γάρ εἰμι.

Ἀφροδίτη

καὶ μὴν ἀξιόπιστόν σοι μάρτυρα τὸν Ὅμηρον παρέξομαι ἄνω καὶ κάτω τῶν ῥαψῳδιῶν χρυσῆν με τὴν Ἀφροδίτην εἶναι λέγοντα.

APHRODITE

Well then, Hermes, take me and seat me in the front row somewhere, for I am golden.

HERMES

Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite: unless I am stone blind, you are of white marble, quarried on Pentelicus, no doubt, and then, the plan having approved itself to Praxiteles, turned iuto Aphrodite and put into the care of the Cnidians.

APHRODITE

But I'll prove it to you by a competent witness, Homer, who says all up and down his lays that I am “golden Aphrodite.”

Aphrodite

Then, Hermes, find me a place in the front row; I am golden.

Hermagoras

Not so, Aphrodite, if I can trust my eyes; I am purblind, or you are white marble; you were quarried, I take it, from Pentelicus, turned by Praxiteles’s fancy into Aphrodite, and handed over to the Cnidians.

Aphrodite

Wait; my witness is unexceptionable—Homer. ‘The Golden Aphrodite’ he calls me, up and down his poems.

Hermagoras

Oh, yes, no doubt; be called Apollo rich, ‘rolling in gold’; but now where will you find Apollo? Somewhere in the third-class seats; his crown has been taken off and his harp pegs stolen by the pirates, you see. So you may think yourself lucky with a place above the fourth.