§8φέρε δὲ ἤδη τούτων ἀφέμενοι τῶν λόγων εἰς αὐτὸν ἀνέλθωμεν τὸν οὐρανὸν ποιητικῶς ἀναπτάμενοι κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν Ὁμήρῳ καὶ Ἡσιόδῳ ὁδὸν καὶ θεασώμεθα ὅπως διακεκόσμηται τὰ ἄνω.
Come now, letting go of these stories, let us ascend to heaven itself, flying up poetically along the same path as Homer and Hesiod, and let us contemplate how the upper regions are arranged.
καὶ ὅτι μὲν χαλκοῦς ἐστιν τὰ ἔξω, καὶ πρὸ ἡμῶν τοῦ Ὁμήρου λέγοντος ἠκούσαμεν· ὑπερβάντι δὲ καὶ ἀνακύψαντι μικρὸν εἰς τὸ ἄνω καὶ ἀτεχνῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ νώτου γενομένῳ φῶς τε λαμπρότερον φαίνεται καὶ ἥλιος καθαρώτερος καὶ ἄστρα διαυγέστερα καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἡμέρα καὶ χρυσοῦν τὸ δάπεδον.
That its exterior is made of bronze, we have heard Homer say even before our time; but to one who has crossed over and peeked a little into the upper region, and literally reached its back, a brighter light appears, a purer sun, clearer stars, and the whole is day and the floor is of gold.
εἰσιόντων δὲ πρῶτα μὲν οἰκοῦσιν αἱ Ὧραι· πυλωροῦσι γάρ· ἔπειτα δʼ ἡ Ἶρις καὶ ὁ Ἑρμῆς ὄντες ὑπηρέται καὶ ἀγγελιαφόροι τοῦ Διός, ἑξῆς δὲ τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τὸ χαλκεῖον ἀνάμεστον ἁπάσης τέχνης, μετὰ δὲ αἱ τῶν θεῶν οἰκίαι καὶ τοῦ Διὸς τὰ βασίλεια, ταῦτα πάντα περικαλλῆ τοῦ Ἡφαίστου κατασκευάσαντος. §9οἱ δὲ θεοὶ πὰρ Ζηνὶ καθήμενοι —
πρέπει γάρ, οἶμαι, ἄνω ὄντα μεγαληγορεῖν — ἀποσκοποῦσιν εἰς τὴν γῆν καὶ πάντῃ περιβλέπουσιν ἐπικύπτοντες εἴ ποθεν ὄψονται πῦρ ἀναπτόμενον ἢ ἀναφερομένην κνῖσαν
ἑλισσομένην περὶ καπνῷ.
As one enters, first of all live the Hours, for they act as gatekeepers; then Iris and Hermes, who are the servants and messengers of Zeus, and next, the smithy of Hephaestus, full of every art, and after that, the dwellings of the gods and the palace of Zeus, all of which Hephaestus constructed to be exceedingly beautiful.\n And the gods, sitting by Zeus—for it is fitting, I think, to speak grandly when one is on high—look down toward the earth and peer all around, bending forward to see if they can catch sight of a fire being kindled anywhere or fat-savour being carried up, curling about with smoke.
κἂν μὲν θύῃ τις, εὐωχοῦνται πάντες ἐπικεχηνότες τῷ καπνῷ καὶ τὸ αἷμα πίνοντες τοῖς βωμοῖς προσχεόμενον ὥσπερ αἱ μυῖαι· ἢν δὲ οἰκοσιτῶσιν, νέκταρ καὶ ἀμβροσία τὸ δεῖπνον.
And if anyone offers a sacrifice, they all feast, gaping at the smoke and drinking the blood poured upon the altars just like flies; but if they eat at home, nectar and ambrosia are their dinner.
πάλαι μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄνθρωποι συνειστιῶντο καὶ συνέπινον αὐτοῖς, ὁ Ἰξίων καὶ ὁ Τάνταλος· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἦσαν ὑβρισταὶ καὶ λάλοι, ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ἔτι καὶ νῦν κολάζονται, ἄβατος δὲ τῷ θνητῷ γένει καὶ ἀπόρρητος ὁ οὐρανός. §10τοιοῦτος ὁ βίος τῶν θεῶν.
In the past, indeed, humans also feasted and drank with them, such as Ixion and Tantalus; but since they were insolent and talkative, they are punished even to this day, and heaven has become untrodden and forbidden to the mortal race.\n Such is the life of the gods.
τοιγαροῦν καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι συνῳδὰ τούτοις καὶ ἀκόλουθα περὶ τὰς θρησκείας ἐπιτηδεύουσιν.
Consequently, humans also practice things in harmony with and following these regarding their worship.
καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ὕλας ἀπετέμοντο καὶ ὄρη ἀνέθεσαν καὶ ὄρνεα καθιέρωσαν καὶ φυτὰ ἐπεφήμισαν ἑκάστῳ θεῷ.
And first, they set apart sacred groves, dedicated mountains, consecrated birds, and assigned plants to each god.
μετὰ δὲ νειμάμενοι κατὰ ἔθνη σέβουσι καὶ πολίτας αὐτῶν ἀποφαίνουσιν, ὁ μὲν Δελφὸς τὸν Ἀπόλλω καὶ ὁ Δήλιος, ὁ δὲ Ἀθηναῖος τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν — μαρτυρεῖται γοῦν τὴν οἰκειότητα τῷ ὀνόματι — καὶ τὴν Ἥραν ὁ Ἀργεῖος καὶ ὁ Μυγδόνιος τὴν Ῥέαν καὶ τὴν Ἀφροδίτην ὁ Πάφιος.
Afterward, having distributed them by nations, they worship them and declare them to be their citizens—the Delphian and the Delian worship Apollo, the Athenian worships Athena (at least her intimacy is witnessed by her name), the Argive worships Hera, the Mygdonian worships Rhea, and the Paphian worships Aphrodite.
οἱ δʼ αὖ Κρῆτες οὐ γενέσθαι παρʼ αὐτοῖς οὐδὲ τραφῆναι μόνον τὸν Δία λέγουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τάφον αὐτοῦ δεικνύουσιν· καὶ ἡμεῖς ἄρα τοσοῦτον ἠπατήμεθα χρόνον οἰόμενοι τὸν Δία βροντᾶν τε καὶ ὕειν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ἐπιτελεῖν, ὁ δὲ ἐλελήθει πάλαι τεθνεὼς παρὰ Κρησὶ τεθαμμένος. §11ἔπειτα δὲ ναοὺς ἐγείραντες ἵνα αὐτοῖς μὴ ἄοικοι μηδὲ ἀνέστιοι δῆθεν ὦσιν, εἰκόνας αὐτοῖς ἀπεικάζουσιν παρακαλέσαντες ἢ Πραξιτέλην ἢ Πολύκλειτον ἢ Φειδίαν, οἱ δὲ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπου ἰδόντες ἀναπλάττουσι γενειήτην μὲν τὸν Δία, παῖδα δὲ εἰς ἀεὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα καὶ τὸν Ἑρμῆν ὑπηνήτην καὶ τὸν Ποσειδῶνα κυανοχαίτην καὶ γλαυκῶπιν τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν.
But on the other hand, the Cretans not only say that Zeus was born and reared among them, but they even point out his tomb; so we have been deceived for so long a time, thinking that Zeus thundered and rained and performed all other things, whereas he, without our realizing, had died long ago and been buried among the Cretans.\n Then, having erected temples so that the gods would not, forsooth, be homeless and hearthless, they fashion likenesses for them, having called upon Praxiteles or Polyclitus or Phidias; and these sculptors, having seen them heaven knows where, mold Zeus with a beard, Apollo as forever a boy, Hermes with a first beard, Poseidon dark-haired, and Athena flashing-eyed.
ὅμως δʼ οὖν οἱ παριόντες εἰς τὸν νεὼν οὔτε τὸν ἐξ Ἰνδῶν ἐλέφαντα ἔτι οἴονται ὁρᾶν οὔτε τὸ ἐκ τῆς Θρᾴκης μεταλλευθὲν χρυσίον ἀλλʼ αὐτὸν τὸν Κρόνου καὶ Ῥέας, εἰς τὴν γῆν ὑπὸ Φειδίου μετῳκισμένον καὶ τὴν Πισαίων ἐρημίαν ἐπισκοπεῖν κεκελευσμένον, ἀγαπῶντα εἰ διὰ πέντε ὅλων ἐτῶν θύσει τις αὐτῷ πάρεργον Ὀλυμπίων.
Nevertheless, those who enter the temple no longer think they are looking at ivory from India or gold mined from Thrace, but at the son of Cronus and Rhea himself, relocated to the earth by Phidias and commanded to watch over the wilderness of the Pisans, content if every five whole years someone offers sacrifice to him as a byproduct of the Olympic games.