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Odyssey - Scheria / Phaeacia

καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ἐλέχθη περὶ τῆς τῶν θεῶν λήξεως, ὅτι κατενείμαντο γῆν πᾶσαν ἔνθα μὲν μείζους (113c) λήξεις, ἔνθα δὲ καὶ ἐλάττους, ἱερὰ θυσίας τε αὑτοῖς κατασκευάζοντες, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὴν νῆσον Ποσειδῶν τὴν Ἀτλαντίδα λαχὼν ἐκγόνους αὑτοῦ κατῴκισεν ἐκ θνητῆς γυναικὸς γεννήσας ἔν τινι τόπῳ τοιῷδε τῆς νήσου.

Like as we previously stated concerning the allotments of the Gods, that they portioned out the whole earth, here into larger allotments and there into smaller, and provided for themselves (113c) shrines and sacrifices, even so Poseidon took for his allotment the island of Atlantis and settled therein the children whom he had begotten of a mortal woman in a region of the island of the following description.

αὐτὸς δὲ τήν τε ἐν μέσῳ νῆσον οἷα δὴ θεὸς εὐμαρῶς διεκόσμησεν, ὕδατα μὲν διττὰ ὑπὸ γῆς ἄνω πηγαῖα κομίσας, τὸ μὲν θερμόν, ψυχρὸν δὲ ἐκ κρήνης ἀπορρέον ἕτερον, τροφὴν δὲ παντοίαν καὶ ἱκανὴν ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀναδιδούς.

And Poseidon himself set in order with ease, as a god would, the central island, bringing up from beneath the earth two springs of waters, the one flowing warm from its source, the other cold, and producing out of the earth all kinds of food in plenty.

ἔτι δὲ τὸν ἥμερον καρπόν, τόν τε ξηρόν, ὃς ἡμῖν τῆς τροφῆς ἕνεκά ἐστιν, καὶ ὅσοις χάριν τοῦ σίτου προσχρώμεθα – καλοῦμεν δὲ αὐτοῦ (115b) τὰ μέρη σύμπαντα ὄσπρια – καὶ τὸν ὅσος ξύλινος, πώματα καὶ βρώματα καὶ ἀλείμματα φέρων, παιδιᾶς τε ὃς ἕνεκα ἡδονῆς τε γέγονε δυσθησαύριστος ἀκροδρύων καρπός, ὅσα τε παραμύθια πλησμονῆς μεταδόρπια ἀγαπητὰ κάμνοντι τίθεμεν, ἅπαντα ταῦτα ἡ τότε ποτὲ οὖσα ὑφ᾽ ἡλίῳ νῆσος ἱερὰ καλά τε καὶ θαυμαστὰ καὶ πλήθεσιν ἄπειρ᾽ ἔφερεν.

The cultivated fruit also, and the dry, which serves us for nutriment, and all the other kinds that we use for our meals—the various species of which are comprehended under the name “vegetables”— (115b) and all the produce of trees which affords liquid and solid food and unguents, and the fruit of the orchard-trees, so hard to store, which is grown for the sake of amusement and pleasure, and all the after-dinner fruits that we serve up as welcome remedies for the sufferer from repletion,—all these that hallowed island, as it lay then beneath the sun, produced in marvellous beauty and endless abundance.

τὰ δὲ δὴ τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἐντὸς βασίλεια κατεσκευασμένα ὧδ᾽ ἦν. ἐν μέσῳ μὲν ἱερὸν ἅγιον αὐτόθι τῆς τε Κλειτοῦς καὶ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἄβατον ἀφεῖτο, περιβόλῳ χρυσῷ περιβεβλημένον, τοῦτ᾽ ἐν ᾧ κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς ἐφίτυσαν καὶ ἐγέννησαν τὸ τῶν δέκα βασιλειδῶν γένος: ἔνθα καὶ κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ἐκ πασῶν τῶν δέκα λήξεων ὡραῖα αὐτόσε ἀπετέλουν ἱερὰ ἐκείνων ἑκάστῳ. τοῦ δὲ Ποσειδῶνος αὐτοῦ νεὼς ἦν, σταδίου (116d) μὲν μῆκος, εὖρος δὲ τρίπλεθρος, ὕψος δ᾽ ἐπὶ τούτοις σύμμετρον ἰδεῖν, εἶδος δέ τι βαρβαρικὸν ἔχοντος. πάντα δὲ ἔξωθεν περιήλειψαν τὸν νεὼν ἀργύρῳ, πλὴν τῶν ἀκρωτηρίων, τὰ δὲ ἀκρωτήρια χρυσῷ: τὰ δ᾽ ἐντός, τὴν μὲν ὀροφὴν ἐλεφαντίνην ἰδεῖν πᾶσαν χρυσῷ καὶ ἀργύρῳ καὶ ὀρειχάλκῳ πεποικιλμένην, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πάντα τῶν τοίχων τε καὶ κιόνων καὶ ἐδάφους ὀρειχάλκῳ περιέλαβον. χρυσᾶ δὲ ἀγάλματα ἐνέστησαν, τὸν μὲν θεὸν ἐφ᾽ ἅρματος ἑστῶτα ἓξ ὑποπτέρων (116e) ἵππων ἡνίοχον, αὐτόν τε ὑπὸ μεγέθους τῇ κορυφῇ τῆς ὀροφῆς ἐφαπτόμενον, Νηρῇδας δὲ ἐπὶ δελφίνων ἑκατὸν κύκλῳ – τοσαύτας γὰρ ἐνόμιζον αὐτὰς οἱ τότε εἶναι – πολλὰ δ᾽ ἐντὸς ἄλλα ἀγάλματα ἰδιωτῶν ἀναθήματα ἐνῆν.

The royal palace within the acropolis was arranged in this manner. In the center there stood a temple sacred to Cleito and Poseidon, which was reserved as holy ground, and encircled with a wall of gold; this being the very spot where at the beginning they had generated and brought to birth the family of the ten royal lines. Thither also they brought year by year from all the ten allotments their seasonable offerings to do sacrifice to each of those princes. (116d) And the temple of Poseidon himself was a stade in length, three plethra in breadth, and of a height which appeared symmetrical therewith; and there was something of the barbaric in its appearance. All the exterior of the temple they coated with silver, save only the pinnacles, and these they coated with gold. As to the interior, they made the roof all of ivory in appearance, variegated with gold and silver and orichalcum, and all the rest of the walls and pillars and floors they covered with orichalcum. And they placed therein golden statues, one being that of the God standing on a chariot and driving six (116e) winged steeds, his own figure so tall as to touch the ridge of the roof, and round about him a hundred Nereids on dolphins (for that was the number of them as men then believed); and it contained also many other images, the votive offerings of private men.

περὶ δὲ τὸν νεὼν ἔξωθεν εἰκόνες ἁπάντων ἕστασαν ἐκ χρυσοῦ, τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ αὐτῶν ὅσοι τῶν δέκα ἐγεγόνεσαν βασιλέων, καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερα ἀναθήματα μεγάλα τῶν τε βασιλέων καὶ ἰδιωτῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς τε τῆς πόλεως καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν ὅσων ἐπῆρχον. βωμός (117a) τε δὴ συνεπόμενος ἦν τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐργασίας ταύτῃ τῇ κατασκευῇ, καὶ τὰ βασίλεια κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ πρέποντα μὲν τῷ τῆς ἀρχῆς μεγέθει, πρέποντα δὲ τῷ περὶ τὰ ἱερὰ κόσμῳ.

And outside, round about the temple, there stood images in gold of all the princes, both themselves and their wives, as many as were descended from the ten kings, together with many other votive offerings both of the kings and of private persons not only from the State itself but also from all the foreign peoples over whom they ruled. And the altar, (117a) in respect of its size and its workmanship, harmonized with its surroundings; and the royal palace likewise was such as befitted the greatness of the kingdom, and equally befitted the splendor of the temples.

ταῖς δὲ δὴ κρήναις, τῇ τοῦ ψυχροῦ καὶ τῇ τοῦ θερμοῦ νάματος, πλῆθος μὲν ἄφθονον ἐχούσαις, ἡδονῇ δὲ καὶ ἀρετῇ τῶν ὑδάτων πρὸς ἑκατέρου τὴν χρῆσιν θαυμαστοῦ πεφυκότος, ἐχρῶντο περιστήσαντες οἰκοδομήσεις καὶ δένδρων φυτεύσεις πρεπούσας (117b) ὕδασι, δεξαμενάς τε αὖ τὰς μὲν ὑπαιθρίους, τὰς δὲ χειμερινὰς τοῖς θερμοῖς λουτροῖς ὑποστέγους περιτιθέντες, χωρὶς μὲν βασιλικάς, χωρὶς δὲ ἰδιωτικάς, ἔτι δὲ γυναιξὶν ἄλλας καὶ ἑτέρας ἵπποις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὑποζυγίοις, τὸ πρόσφορον τῆς κοσμήσεως ἑκάστοις ἀπονέμοντες. τὸ δὲ ἀπορρέον ἦγον ἐπὶ τὸ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἄλσος, δένδρα παντοδαπὰ κάλλος ὕψος τε δαιμόνιον ὑπ᾽ ἀρετῆς τῆς γῆς ἔχοντα, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἔξω κύκλους δι᾽ ὀχετῶν κατὰ τὰς γεφύρας (117c) ἐπωχέτευον: οὗ δὴ πολλὰ μὲν ἱερὰ καὶ πολλῶν θεῶν,

The springs they made use of, one kind being of cold, another of warm water, were of abundant volume, and each kind was wonderfully well adapted for use because of the natural taste and excellence of its waters; and these they surrounded with buildings and with plantations of trees such as suited the waters; (117b) and, moreover, they set reservoirs round about, some under the open sky, and others under cover to supply hot baths in the winter; they put separate baths for the kings and for the private citizens, besides others for women, and others again for horses and all other beasts of burden, fitting out each in an appropriate manner. And the outflowing water they conducted to the sacred grove of Poseidon, which contained trees of all kinds that were of marvellous beauty and height because of the richness of the soil; and by means of channels they led the water to the outer circles over against the bridges. (117c) And there they had constructed many temples for gods,

(119c) τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀρχῶν καὶ τιμῶν ὧδ᾽ εἶχεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς διακοσμηθέντα. τῶν δέκα βασιλέων εἷς ἕκαστος ἐν μὲν τῷ καθ᾽ αὑτὸν μέρει κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ πόλιν τῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ τῶν πλείστων νόμων ἦρχεν, κολάζων καὶ ἀποκτεινὺς ὅντιν᾽ ἐθελήσειεν: ἡ δὲ ἐν ἀλλήλοις ἀρχὴ καὶ κοινωνία κατὰ ἐπιστολὰς ἦν τὰς τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος, ὡς ὁ νόμος αὐτοῖς παρέδωκεν καὶ γράμματα ὑπὸ τῶν πρώτων ἐν στήλῃ γεγραμμένα (119d) ὀρειχαλκίνῃ, ἣ κατὰ μέσην τὴν νῆσον ἔκειτ᾽ ἐν ἱερῷ Ποσειδῶνος, οἷ δὴ δι᾽ ἐνιαυτοῦ πέμπτου, τοτὲ δὲ ἐναλλὰξ ἕκτου, συνελέγοντο, τῷ τε ἀρτίῳ καὶ τῷ περιττῷ μέρος ἴσον ἀπονέμοντες, συλλεγόμενοι δὲ περί τε τῶν κοινῶν ἐβουλεύοντο καὶ ἐξήταζον εἴ τίς τι παραβαίνοι, καὶ ἐδίκαζον.

(119c) Of the magistracies and posts of honor the disposition, ever since the beginning, was this. Each of the ten kings ruled over the men and most of the laws in his own particular portion and throughout his own city, punishing and putting to death whomsoever he willed. But their authority over one another and their mutual relations were governed by the precepts of Poseidon, as handed down to them by the law and by the records inscribed by the first princes on a pillar of orichalcum, which was placed within the temple of Poseidon in the center of the island; (119d) and thither they assembled every fifth year, and then alternately every sixth year—giving equal honor to both the even and the odd—and when thus assembled they took counsel about public affairs and inquired if any had in any way transgressed and gave judgement.

ὅτε δὲ δικάζειν μέλλοιεν, πίστεις ἀλλήλοις τοιάσδε ἐδίδοσαν πρότερον. ἀφέτων ὄντων ταύρων ἐν τῷ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἱερῷ, μόνοι γιγνόμενοι δέκα ὄντες, ἐπευξάμενοι τῷ θεῷ τὸ κεχαρισμένον (119e) αὐτῷ θῦμα ἑλεῖν, ἄνευ σιδήρου ξύλοις καὶ βρόχοις ἐθήρευον, ὃν δὲ ἕλοιεν τῶν ταύρων, πρὸς τὴν στήλην προσαγαγόντες κατὰ κορυφὴν αὐτῆς ἔσφαττον κατὰ τῶν γραμμάτων. ἐν δὲ τῇ στήλῃ πρὸς τοῖς νόμοις ὅρκος ἦν μεγάλας ἀρὰς ἐπευχόμενος τοῖς ἀπειθοῦσιν.

And when they were about to give judgement they first gave pledges one to another of the following description. In the sacred precincts of Poseidon there were bulls at large; and the ten princes, being alone by themselves, after praying to the God that they might capture a victim well-pleasing unto him, (119e) hunted after the bulls with staves and nooses but with no weapon of iron; and whatsoever bull they captured they led up to the pillar and cut its throat over the top of the pillar, raining down blood on the inscription. And inscribed upon the pillar, besides the laws, was an oath which invoked mighty curses upon them that disobeyed.

ὅτ᾽ οὖν κατὰ τοὺς (120a) αὑτῶν νόμους θύσαντες καθαγίζοιεν πάντα τοῦ ταύρου τὰ μέλη, κρατῆρα κεράσαντες ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου θρόμβον ἐνέβαλλον αἵματος, τὸ δ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ εἰς τὸ πῦρ ἔφερον, περικαθήραντες τὴν στήλην: μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο χρυσαῖς φιάλαις ἐκ τοῦ κρατῆρος ἀρυτόμενοι, κατὰ τοῦ πυρὸς σπένδοντες ἐπώμνυσαν δικάσειν τε κατὰ τοὺς ἐν τῇ στήλῃ νόμους καὶ κολάσειν εἴ τίς τι πρότερον παραβεβηκὼς εἴη, τό τε αὖ μετὰ τοῦτο μηδὲν τῶν γραμμάτων ἑκόντες παραβήσεσθαι, μηδὲ ἄρξειν μηδὲ ἄρχοντι (120b) πείσεσθαι πλὴν κατὰ τοὺς τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπιτάττοντι νόμους. ταῦτα ἐπευξάμενος ἕκαστος αὐτῶν αὑτῷ καὶ τῷ ἀφ᾽ αὑτοῦ γένει, πιὼν καὶ ἀναθεὶς τὴν φιάλην εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, περὶ τὸ δεῖπνον καὶ τἀναγκαῖα διατρίψας,

When, then, they had done sacrifice according to their laws and were consecrating (120a) all the limbs of the bull, they mixed a bowl of wine and poured in on behalf of each one a gout of blood, and the rest they carried to the fire, when they had first purged the pillars round about. And after this they drew out from the bowl with golden ladles, and making libation over the fire swore to give judgement according to the laws upon the pillar and to punish whosoever had committed any previous transgression; and, moreover, that henceforth they would not transgress any of the writings willingly, nor govern nor submit to any governor's edict (120b) save in accordance with their father's laws. And when each of them had made this invocation both for himself and for his seed after him, he drank of the cup and offered it up as a gift in the temple of the God; and after spending the interval in supping and necessary business,

ἐπειδὴ γίγνοιτο σκότος καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἐψυγμένον τὸ περὶ τὰ θύματα εἴη, πάντες οὕτως ἐνδύντες ὅτι καλλίστην κυανῆν στολήν, ἐπὶ τὰ τῶν ὁρκωμοσίων καύματα χαμαὶ καθίζοντες, νύκτωρ, (120c) πᾶν τὸ περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ἀποσβεννύντες πῦρ, ἐδικάζοντό τε καὶ ἐδίκαζον εἴ τίς τι παραβαίνειν αὐτῶν αἰτιῷτό τινα: δικάσαντες δέ, τὰ δικασθέντα, ἐπειδὴ φῶς γένοιτο, ἐν χρυσῷ πίνακι γράψαντες μετὰ τῶν στολῶν μνημεῖα ἀνετίθεσαν.

when darkness came on and the sacrificial fire had died down, all the princes robed themselves in most beautiful sable vestments, and sate on the ground beside the cinders of the sacramental victims throughout the night, extinguishing all the fire that was round about the sanctuary; (120c) and there they gave and received judgement, if any of them accused any of committing any transgression. And when they had given judgement, they wrote the judgements, when it was light, upon a golden tablet, and dedicated them together with their robes as memorials.

νόμοι δὲ πολλοὶ μὲν ἄλλοι περὶ τὰ γέρα τῶν βασιλέων ἑκάστων ἦσαν ἴδιοι, τὰ δὲ μέγιστα, μήτε ποτὲ ὅπλα ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλους οἴσειν βοηθήσειν τε πάντας, ἄν πού τις αὐτῶν ἔν τινι πόλει τὸ βασιλικὸν καταλύειν ἐπιχειρῇ γένος, κοινῇ (120d) δέ, καθάπερ οἱ πρόσθεν, βουλευόμενοι τὰ δόξαντα περὶ πολέμου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πράξεων, ἡγεμονίαν ἀποδιδόντες τῷ Ἀτλαντικῷ γένει. θανάτου δὲ τὸν βασιλέα τῶν συγγενῶν μηδενὸς εἶναι κύριον, ὃν ἂν μὴ τῶν δέκα τοῖς ὑπὲρ ἥμισυ δοκῇ.

And there were many other special laws concerning the peculiar rights of the several princes, whereof the most important were these: that they should never take up arms against one another, and that, should anyone attempt to overthrow in any city their royal house, they should all lend aid, taking counsel in common, like their forerunners, (120d) concerning their policy in war and other matters, while conceding the leadership to the royal branch of Atlas; and that the king had no authority to put to death any of his brother-princes save with the consent of more than half of the ten.

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