Humanitext Reader

Theocritus · Epigrams §13.1-13.6

Chrysogone's Dedication of a Statue to Aphrodite Urania

Passage 13 of 25 · Greek

Summary

This epigraph describes the dedication of a statue to Aphrodite Urania by Chrysogone, who, along with her husband Amphicles, enjoyed a prosperous family life under the goddess's protection, illustrating how honoring the gods brings blessings to mortals.

§13.1Ἡ Κύπρις οὐ πάνδημος.
This Cypris is not the common one.
ἱλάσκεο τὴν θεὸν εἰπὼν §13.2οὐρανίην, ἁγνῆς ἄνθεμα Χρυσογόνης §13.3οἴκῳ ἐν Ἀμφικλέους, ᾧ καὶ τέκνα καὶ βίον εἶχε §13.4ξυνόν.
Propitiate the goddess, calling her Heavenly, the offering of pure Chrysogone, in the house of Amphicles, with whom she had both children and life in common.
ἀεὶ δέ σφιν λώιον εἰς ἔτος ἦν §13.5ἐκ σέθεν ἀρχομένοις ὦ πότνια· κηδόμενοι γὰρ §13.6ἀθανάτων αὐτοὶ πλεῖον ἔχουσι βροτοί.
And it was always better for them year by year, as they began from you, O lady; for those mortals who care for the immortals themselves fare better.

Notes

  1. §13.1εἰπὼν οὐρανίην — οὐρανίην is an accusative adjective functioning as a predicate accusative after the participle εἰπὼν, meaning "calling her 'Heavenly' (Urania)". This highlights the contrast with οὐ πάνδημος (not the common one) at the beginning of the first line.
  2. §13.3 — A relative pronoun in the dative, with Ἀμφικλέους as its antecedent. Combined with the adjective ξυνόν (in common), it expresses association: "with whom (she) had both children and life in common." The subject of the verb εἶχε is Chrysogone, implied from the genitive Χρυσογόνης in the preceding line.
  3. §13.5ἐκ σέθεν ἀρχομένοις — σέθεν is the epic form of the second person singular genitive pronoun σού, referring to Aphrodite. The dative plural participle ἀρχομένοις agrees with σφιν (to them) in the previous line, meaning "to them who begin from you" (i.e., making you the start of all things), explaining the reason or condition of their prosperity.

Cite this passage

Theocritus, Epigrams §13.1-13.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0005.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:13.1-13.6

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.