§2.15ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ δείπνῳ μουσικῇ τε καὶ ᾠδαῖς σχολάζουσιν· ᾄδεται δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ Ὁμήρου ἔπη μάλιστα· καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ πάρεστι καὶ συνευωχεῖται αὐτοῖς ὑπὲρ τὸν Ὀδυσσέα κατακείμενος.
At the dinner they occupy themselves with music and songs; and the epic poems of Homer are sung among them especially; and he himself is present and feasts with them, reclining just above Odysseus.
οἱ μὲν οὖν χοροὶ ἐκ παίδων εἰσὶν καὶ παρθένων· ἐξάρχουσι δὲ καὶ συνᾴδουσιν Εὔνομός τε ὁ Λοκρὸς καὶ Ἀρίων ὁ Λέσβιος καὶ Ἀνακρέων καὶ Στησίχορος· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτον παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐθεασάμην, ἤδη τῆς Ἑλένης αὐτῷ διηλλαγμένης.
Now the choruses are of boys and virgins; and Eunomus the Locrian, Arion the Lesbian, Anacreon, and Stesichorus lead and sing with them; for indeed I saw this last one among them, Helen having already been reconciled to him.
ἐπειδὰν δὲ οὗτοι παύσωνται ᾄδοντες, δεύτερος χορὸς παρέρχεται ἐκ κύκνων καὶ χελιδόνων καὶ ἀηδόνων.
And when these cease singing, a second chorus comes forward of swans and swallows and nightingales.
ἐπειδὰν δὲ καὶ οὗτοι ᾄσωσιν, τότε ἤδη πᾶσα ἡ ὕλη ἐπαυλεῖ τῶν ἀνέμων καταρχόντων.
And when these also have sung, then indeed the whole wood plays the flute in accompaniment, the winds leading the way.
§2.16μέγιστον δὲ δὴ πρὸς εὐφροσύνην ἐκεῖνο ἔχουσιν· πηγαί εἰσι δύο παρὰ τὸ συμπόσιον, ἡ μὲν γέλωτος, ἡ δὲ ἡδονῆς· ἐκ τούτων ἑκατέρας πάντες ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς εὐωχίας πίνουσιν καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἡδόμενοι καὶ γελῶντες διάγουσιν.
And they have this especially great thing for merriment: there are two springs beside the symposium, one of laughter, and the other of pleasure; from each of these everyone drinks at the beginning of the feast, and they pass the remaining time enjoying themselves and laughing.
§2.17βούλομαι δὲ εἰπεῖν καὶ τῶν ἐπισήμων οὕστινας παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐθεασάμην· πάντας μὲν τοὺς ἡμιθέους καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ Ἴλιον στρατεύσαντας πλήν γε δὴ τοῦ Λοκροῦ Αἴαντος, ἐκεῖνον δὲ μόνον ἔφασκον ἐν τῷ τῶν ἀσεβῶν χώρῳ κολάζεσθαι, βαρβάρων δὲ Κύρους τε ἀμφοτέρους καὶ τὸν Σκύθην Ἀνάχαρσιν καὶ τὸν Θρᾷκα Ζάμολξιν καὶ Νομᾶν τὸν Ἰταλιώτην, καὶ μὴν καὶ Λυκοῦργον τὸν Λακεδαιμόνιον καὶ Φωκίωνα καὶ Τέλλον τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, καὶ τοὺς σοφοὺς ἄνευ Περιάνδρου.
And I wish to tell also of those of the distinguished men whom I saw among them: all the demigods and those who campaigned against Ilium, except indeed for the Locrian Ajax, for him alone they said was being punished in the place of the impious; and of barbarians, both Cyruses, and Anacharsis the Scythian, and Zalmoxis the Thracian, and Numa the Italian; and indeed also Lycurgus the Lacedaemonian, and Phocion and Tellus the Athenians, and the wise men without Periander.
εἶδον δὲ καὶ Σωκράτη τὸν Σωφρονίσκου ἀδολεσχοῦντα μετὰ Νέστορος καὶ Παλαμήδους· περὶ δὲ αὐτὸν ἦσαν Ὑάκινθός τε ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος καὶ ὁ Θεσπιεὺς Νάρκισσος καὶ Ὕλας καὶ ἄλλοι καλοί.
And I saw also Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus, chattering with Nestor and Palamedes; and around him were Hyacinthus the Lacedaemonian, and Narcissus the Thespian, and Hylas, and other handsome men.
καί μοι ἐδόκει ἐρᾶν τοῦ Ὑακίνθου· τὰ πολλὰ γοῦν ἐκεῖνον διήλεγχεν.
And he seemed to me to be in love with Hyacinthus; at any rate, for the most part he was refuting him.
ἐλέγετο δὲ χαλεπαίνειν αὐτῷ ὁ Ῥαδάμανθυς καὶ ἠπειληκέναι πολλάκις ἐκβαλεῖν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς νήσου, ἢν φλυαρῇ καὶ μὴ ἐθέλῃ ἀφεὶς τὴν εἰρωνείαν εὐωχεῖσθαι.
And Rhadamanthys was said to be angry with him, and to have threatened many times to cast him out of the island, if he should talk nonsense and not be willing, having abandoned his irony, to feast.
Πλάτων δὲ μόνος οὐ παρῆν, ἀλλʼ ἐλέγετο αὐτὸς ἐν τῇ ἀναπλασθείσῃ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ πόλει οἰκεῖν χρώμενος τῇ πολιτείᾳ καὶ τοῖς νόμοις οἷς συνέγραψεν.
Plato alone was not present, but he was said to dwell in the city modeled by himself, using the constitution and the laws which he wrote.
§2.18οἱ μέντοι ἀμφʼ Ἀρίστιππόν τε καὶ Ἐπίκουρον τὰ πρῶτα παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐφέροντο ἡδεῖς τε ὄντες καὶ κεχαρισμένοι καὶ συμποτικώτατοι.
However, those around Aristippus and Epicurus held the first place among them, being pleasant, agreeable, and most companionable.
παρῆν δὲ καὶ Αἴσωπος ὁ Φρύξ· τούτῳ δὲ ὅσα καὶ γελωτοποιῷ χρῶνται.
And Aesop the Phrygian was also present; and they use him as a jester.
Διογένης μέν γε ὁ Σινωπεὺς τοσοῦτον μετέβαλεν τοῦ τρόπου, ὥστε γῆμαι μὲν ἑταίραν τὴν Λαίδα, ὀρχεῖσθαι δὲ πολλάκις ὑπὸ μέθης ἀνιστάμενον καὶ παροινεῖν.
Indeed, Diogenes of Sinope changed his character so much that he married the courtesan Lais, and often got up and danced under the influence of drink and acted rowdily in his cups.
τῶν δὲ Στωικῶν οὐδεὶς παρῆν· ἔτι γὰρ ἐλέγοντο ἀναβαίνειν τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς ὄρθιον λόφον.
Of the Stoics, no one was present; for they were said to be still ascending the steep hill of virtue.
ἠκούομεν δὲ καὶ περὶ Χρυσίππου ὅτι οὐ πρότερον αὐτῷ ἐπιβῆναι τῆς νήσου θέμις, πρὶν τὸ τέταρτον ἑαυτὸν ἐλλεβορίσῃ.
And we heard also about Chrysippus that it is not lawful for him to set foot on the island until he has dosed himself with hellebore for the fourth time.
τοὺς δὲ Ἀκαδημαϊκοὺς ἔλεγον ἐθέλειν μὲν ἐλθεῖν, ἐπέχειν δὲ ἔτι καὶ διασκέπτεσθαι· μηδὲ γὰρ αὐτὸ τοῦτό πω καταλαμβάνειν, εἰ καὶ νῆσός τις τοιαύτη ἐστίν.
And they said that the Academics wished to come, but were still suspending judgment and deliberating; for they did not yet grasp even this very point, whether indeed there is any such island.
ἄλλως τε καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ Ῥαδαμάνθυος, οἶμαι, κρίσιν ἐδεδοίκεσαν, ἅτε καὶ τὸ κριτήριον αὐτοὶ ἀνῃρηκότες.
And besides, I think, they feared the judgment before Rhadamanthys, inasmuch as they themselves had done away with the criterion.
πολλοὺς δὲ αὐτῶν ἔφασκον ὁρμηθέντας ἀκολουθεῖν τοῖς ἀφικνουμένοις ὑπὸ νωθείας ἀπολείπεσθαι μὴ καταλαμβάνοντας καὶ ἀναστρέφειν ἐκ μέσης τῆς ὁδοῦ.
And many of them, they said, having set out to follow those who were arriving, were left behind through sluggishness, not catching up, and turned back from the middle of the way.
§2.19οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἦσαν οἱ ἀξιολογώτατοι τῶν παρόντων.
These indeed were the most noteworthy of those present.
τιμῶσι δὲ μάλιστα τὸν Ἀχιλλέα καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Θησέα.
And they honor Achilles most, and after him Theseus.
περὶ δὲ συνουσίας καὶ ἀφροδισίων οὕτω φρονοῦσιν· μίσγονται μὲν ἀναφανδὸν πάντων ὁρώντων καὶ γυναιξὶ καὶ ἄρρεσι, καὶ οὐδαμῶς τοῦτο αὐτοῖς αἰσχρὸν δοκεῖ· μόνος δὲ Σωκράτης διώμνυτο ἦ μὴν καθαρῶς πλησιάζειν τοῖς νέοις· καὶ μέντοι πάντες αὐτοῦ ἐπιορκεῖν κατεγίνωσκον· πολλάκις γοῦν ὁ μὲν Ὑάκινθος ἢ ὁ Νάρκισσος ὡμολόγουν, ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἠρνεῖτο.
And concerning intercourse and love-making they think thus: they copulate openly in the sight of everyone, both with women and with males, and this in no way seems shameful to them; Socrates alone used to swear solemnly that he associated with the youths in absolute purity; and indeed everyone condemned him for swearing falsely; at any rate, often Hyacinthus or Narcissus would confess, but he would deny it.
αἱ δὲ γυναῖκές εἰσι πᾶσι κοιναὶ καὶ οὐδεὶς φθονεῖ τῷ πλησίον, ἀλλʼ εἰσὶ περὶ τοῦτο μάλιστα Πλατωνικώτατοι· καὶ οἱ παῖδες δὲ παρέχουσι τοῖς βουλομένοις οὐδὲν ἀντιλέγοντες.
And the women are common to all, and no one envies his neighbor, but in this they are especially most Platonic; and the boys also surrender themselves to those who wish without saying anything against it.