Humanitext Reader

Theocritus · Epigrams §8.1-8.6

Dedication of a Statue of Asclepius by Nicias

Passage 8 of 25 · Greek

Summary

Relates how the god Asclepius came to Miletus to dwell with the physician Nicias, who commissioned the sculptor Eetion to carve a beautiful statue of the god from cedar wood under a promise of high reward.

§8.1Ἦλθε καὶ ἐς Μίλητον ὁ τοῦ Παιήονος υἱός, §8.2ἰητῆρι νόσων ἀνδρὶ συνοισόμενος §8.3Νικίᾳ, ὅς μιν ἐπʼ ἦμαρ ἀεὶ θυέεσσιν ἱκνεῖται, §8.4καὶ τόδʼ ἀπʼ εὐώδους γλύψατʼ ἄγαλμα κέδρου, §8.5Ἠετίωνι χάριν γλαφυρᾶς χερὸς ἄκρον ὑποστὰς §8.6μισθόν· ὁ δʼ εἰς ἔργον πᾶσαν ἀφῆκε τέχνην.
The son of Paieon came also to Miletus, to dwell with a man who is a healer of diseases, Nicias, who always daily approaches him with sacrifices, and had this image carved from fragrant cedar wood, having promised to Eetion, as a return for his skilled hand, a high reward; and he let loose all his art upon the work.

Notes

  1. §8.2συνοισόμενος — Future middle participle of συμφέρω. Here used in the sense of 'to associate with, dwell with', expressing purpose ('in order to dwell with'). It governs the dative phrase `ἰητῆρι... ἀνδρὶ... Νικίᾳ`.
  2. §8.4γλύψατʼ — Third-person singular aorist middle of γλύφω (to carve), with elision. The middle voice denotes that the subject Nicias did not carve it himself, but had it carved for himself by a sculptor (indirect or causative middle).
  3. §8.5ὑποστάς — Second aorist active participle of ὑφίσταμαι (to promise, undertake). It takes the dative `Ἠετίωνι` as the person to whom the promise is made, while its direct object is `μισθόν` in the next line (§8.6), modified by `ἄκρον` at the end of §8.5.

Cite this passage

Theocritus, Epigrams §8.1-8.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0005.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:8.1-8.6

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.