Lucian of Samosata, De saltatione, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 37

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[37] Beginning with Chaos and the primal origin of the world, he must know everything down to the story of Cleopatra the Egyptian.¹ Let this be the range we prescribe for the dancer’s learning, and let him know thoroughly all that lies within it: the castration of Uranus, the begetting of Aphrodite, the battle of the Titans, the birth of Zeus, the stratagem of Rhea, the substitution of the stone, the fetters of Cronus, the casting of lots among the three brothers.²

De saltatione. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

The Dance (English) (Lucian, Vol. 5. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1936 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Περὶ Ὀρχήσεως Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 5. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1936 (printing).) — 37 focus

Λυκῖνος

ἀπὸ γὰρ χάους εὐθὺς καὶ τῆς πρώτης τοῦ κόσμου γενέσεως ἀρξάμενον χρὴ αὐτὸν ἅπαντα εἰδέναι ἄχρι τῶν κατὰ τὴν Κλεοπάτραν τὴν Αἰγυπτίαν.

τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ διαστήματι περιωρίσθω ἡμῖν ἡ τοῦ ὀρχηστοῦ πολυμαθία καὶ τὰ διὰ μέσου μάλιστα ἴστω, Οὐρανοῦ τομήν, Ἀφροδίτης γονάς, Τιτάνων μάχην, Διὸς γένεσιν, Ῥέας ἀπάτην, λίθου ὑποβολήν, Κρόνου δεσμά, τὸν τῶν τριῶν ἀδελφῶν κλῆρον.

Translations (1)

Of Pantomime Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 2. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 37 focus

[37] For his materials, he must draw continually, as I have said, upon his unfailing memory of ancient story; and memory must be backed by taste and judgement. He must know the history of the world, from the time when it first emerged from Chaos down to the days of Egyptian Cleopatra. These limitations we will concede to the pantomime’s wide field of knowledge; but within them he must be familiar with every detail:—the mutilation of Uranus, the origin of Aphrodite, the battle of Titans, the birth of Zeus, Rhea’s deception, her substitution of a stone for her child, the binding of Cronus, the partition of the world between the three brothers.

Notes on the current edition

The Dance

The compendium of mythology that follows is notable not only for its brevity but for its arrangement on geographical lines, which is unique, and I think was ado: by Lucian as an aid to memory, since the passage was clearly composed off-hand and very little retouched. He must have thought of it not only as displaying his own command of mythology and knowledge of what Pindar calls “the short road” in story-telling, but as a help to dancers, libretto-writers, and audiences, and incidentally of interest to the latter as a memorytest (cf. True Story, 1; The Dead Come to Life, 6; Mistaken Critic, 6). This is certainly the way in which most of its readers will want to use it now. Those who, perhaps from interest in it as a dancer’s repertory, wish to study it and find the notes given here and the further hints in the Index insufficient to their purpose should make use of Sir J. G. frazer’s Apollodorus (L.C.L.), which will make it all plain sailing.

Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, for their respective dominions.

Lucian of Samosata De saltatione 37

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

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