Lucian of Samosata, De saltatione, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 44

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

[44] Also what happened on Nemean soil, the story of Hypsipyle and Archemorus, is very essential for the dancer to remember.¹ And from an earlier time he will know the enforced virginity of Danae, the birth of Perseus, and the quest of the Gorgons which he assumed. Related to this is the Ethiopian tale of Cassiopea, Andromeda, and Cepheus, who have been placed in the roll of constellations by the faith of men of after time. And he will also know that ancient tale of Aegyptus and Danaus, and the bride-night plot.

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).) — 44 focus

Λυκῖνος

καὶ τὰ ἐν Νεμέᾳ δέ, ἡ Ὑψιπύλη καὶ Ἀρχέμορος, ἀναγκαιότατα τῷ ὀρχηστῇ μνημονεύματα. καὶ πρὸ αὐτῶν εἴσεται τὴν Δανάης παρθένευσιν καὶ Περσέως γένεσιν καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ τὰς Γοργόνας ἆθλον αὐτῷ προῃρημένον, ᾧ οἰκεία καὶ ἡ Αἰθιοπικὴ διήγησις, Κασσιέπεια καὶ Ἀνδρομέδα καὶ Κηφεύς, οὓς καὶ ἄστροις ἐγκατέλεξεν ἡ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα πίστις. κἀκεῖνα δὲ τὰ ἀρχαῖα τὰ Αἰγύπτου καὶ Δαναοῦ εἴσεται καὶ τὴν ἐπιθαλάμιον ἐπιβουλήν.

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.) — 44 focus

[44] Nor is any story more essential to the pantomime’s purpose than that of Hypsipyle and Archemorus in Nemea; and, in older days, the imprisonment of Danae, the begetting of Perseus, his enterprise against the Gorgons; and connected therewith is the Ethiopian narrative of Cassiopea, and Cepheus, and Andromeda, all of whom the belief of later generations has placed among the stars. To these must be added the ancient legend of Aegyptus and Danaus, and of that guilty weddingnight.

Notes on the current edition

The Dance

Just why it should be so essential is not very obvious. The infant Archemorus was killed by a dragon when his nurse Hypsipyle left him at a spring in order to point out the way to Thebes to the army of the seven chieftains. But Lucian’s remark may have been called forth by the thought of Hypsipyle’s earlier history as queen of Lemnos—her killing her husband and saving her father, and her love for Jason.

Lucian of Samosata De saltatione 44

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers