Lucian, Contemplantes, ed. Austin Morris Harmon, 14

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Χάρων

ἐκεῖνος δὲ τίς ἐστιν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, ὁ τὴν πορφυρᾶν ἐφεστρίδα ἐμπεπορπημένος, ὁ τὸ διάδημα, ᾧ τὸν δακτύλιον ὁ μάγειρος ἀναδίδωσι τὸν ἰχθὺν ἀνατεμών,
νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ; βασιλεὺς δέ τις εὔχεται εἶναι.

Ἑρμῆς

εὖ γε παρῳδεῖς, ὦ Χάρων. ἀλλὰ Πολυκράτην ὁρᾷς τὸν Σαμίων τύραννον πανευδαίμονα ἡγούμενον εἶναι· ἀτὰρ καὶ οὗτος αὐτὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ παρεστῶτος οἰκέτου Μαιανδρίου προδοθεὶς Ὀροίτῃ τῷ σατράπῃ ἀνασκολοπισθήσεται ἅθλιος¹ ἐκπεσὼν τῆς εὐδαιμονίας ἐν ἀκαρεῖ τοῦ χρόνου· καὶ ταῦτα γὰρ τῆς Κλωθοῦς ἐπήκουσα.

Χάρων

ἄγαμαι Κλωθοῦς γεννικῆς· καῖε² αὐτούς, ὦ βελτίστη, καὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς ἀπότεμνε καὶ ἀνασκολόπιζε, ὡς εἰδῶσιν ἄνθρωποι ὄντες· ἐν τοσούτῳ δὲ ἐπαιρέσθων ὡς ἂν ἀφʼ ὑψηλοτέρου ἀλγεινότερον καταπεσούμενοι. ἐγὼ δὲ γελάσομαι τότε γνωρίσας αὐτῶν ἕκαστον γυμνὸν ἐν τῷ σκαφιδίῳ μήτε τὴν πορφυρίδα μήτε τιάραν ἢ κλίνην χρυσῆν κομίζοντας.

Contemplantes. Lucian. ed. Austin Morris Harmon. Medford, MA. Perseus 4.0.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities; Harvard Library Arcadia Fund; Google Digital Humanities Awards Program.

Current edition Perseus

Χάρων ἢ Ἐπισκοποῦντες (Greek) (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.)

Translations (2)

Charon, or the Inspectors Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.) — 14 focus

CHARON

But who is that man, Hermes, with the purple mantle about him, the one with the crown, to whom the cook, who has just cut open the fish, is giving the ring,

All in a sea-girt island; a king he would have us believe him

The verse is composed of the beginning of Odyssey1, 50 and the end of Odyssey 1, 180. ?¹

HERMES

You are good at parody, Charon. The man whom you see is Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, who considers himself wholly fortunate; yet the servant who stands at his elbow, Maeandrius, will betray him into the hands of the satrap Oroetes, and he will be crucified, poor man, after losing his good fortune inamoment’s time. This, too, I heard trom Clotho.

CHARON

Well done, Clotho, noble lady that you are! Burn them, gracious lady, cut off their heads and crucify them, so that they may know they are human. In the meantime let them be exalted, only to have a sorrier fall from a higher place. For my part I shall laugh when I recognize them aboard my skiff, stripped to the skin, taking with them neither purple mantle nor tiara nor throne of gold.

Charon Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 1. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 14 focus

Charon

But who is that in the purple robe, Hermes?— the one with the diadem? His cook has just been cleaning a fish, and is now handing him a ring,—‘in yonder sea-girt isle’; ''tis, sure, some king.'

Hermes

Ha, ha! A parody, this time——That is Polycrates, tyrant of Samos. He is extremely well pleased with his lot: yet that slave who now stands at his side will betray him to the satrap Oroetes, and he will be crucified. It will not take long to overturn his prosperity, poor man! This, too, I had from Clotho.

Charon

I like Clotho; she is a lady of spirit. Have at them, madam! Off with their heads! To the cross with them! Let them know that they are men. And let them be exalted in the meantime; the higher they mount, the heavier will be the fall. I shall have a merry time of it hereafter, identifying their naked shades, as they come aboard; no more purple robes then; no tiaras; no golden couches!

Notes on the current edition

Χάρων ἢ Ἐπισκοποῦντες

1. ἄθλιος Herswerden: ἄθλιος MSS.

2. καῖε Struve: καὶ MSS. Fritzsche reads ἄγαμαι Κλωθοῦς· γεννικῶς καῖε.

Lucian Contemplantes 14

ed. Austin Morris Harmon

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Current edition Perseus

Charon

But who is that in the purple robe, Hermes?— the one with the diadem? His cook has just been cleaning a fish, and is now handing him a ring,—‘in yonder sea-girt isle’; ''tis, sure, some king.'

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Charon But who is that in the purple robe, Hermes?— the one with the diadem? His cook has just been cleaning a fish, and is now handing him a ring,—‘in yonder sea-girt isle’; ''tis, sure, some king.'

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Charon

But who is that in the purple robe, Hermes?— the one with the diadem? His cook has just been cleaning a fish, and is now handing him a ring,—‘in yonder sea-girt isle’; ''tis, sure, some king.'