Lucian · Dialogues of The Gods §12.1-12.2

Zeus Giving Birth to Dionysus from His Thigh

Passage 12 of 25 · Greek

Summary

Poseidon seeks to visit Zeus, but Hermes explains that Zeus cannot be seen as he is resting after giving birth to Dionysus from his thigh. Hermes recounts Semele's tragic death caused by Hera's jealousy, and how Zeus brought the premature embryo to term inside his own thigh.

§12.1ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Ἔστιν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, νῦν ἐντυχεῖν τῷ Διί;

POSEIDON Is it possible, Hermes, to meet Zeus now?

ΕΡΜΗΣ Οὐδαμῶς, ὦ Πόσειδον.

HERMES By no means, Poseidon.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Ὅμως προσάγγειλον αὐτῷ.

POSEIDON Nevertheless, announce me to him.

ΕΡΜΗΣ Μὴ ἐνόχλει, φημί· ἄκαιρον γάρ ἐστιν, ὥστε οὐκ ἂν ἴδοις αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ παρόντι.

HERMES Do not bother him, I say; for it is an inconvenient time, so that you would not see him at present.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Μῶν τῇ Ἥρᾳ σύνεστιν;

POSEIDON Is he with Hera?

ΕΡΜΗΣ Οὔκ, ἀλλ’ ἑτεροῖόν τί ἐστιν.

HERMES No, but it is something else.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Συνίημι· ὁ Γανυμήδης ἔνδον.

POSEIDON I understand; Ganymede is inside.

ΕΡΜΗΣ Οὐδὲ τοῦτο· ἀλλὰ μαλακῶς ἔχει αὐτός.

HERMES Not even that; but he himself is unwell.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Πόθεν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ;

POSEIDON How so, Hermes?

δεινὸν γὰρ τοῦτο φῄς.

For you say something terrible.

ΕΡΜΗΣ Αἰσχύνομαι εἰπεῖν, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν.

HERMES I am ashamed to say, but it is so.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Ἀλλὰ οὐ χρὴ πρὸς ἐμὲ θεῖόν γε ὄντα.

POSEIDON But you should not be ashamed before me, who am your uncle.

ΕΡΜΗΣ Τέτοκεν ἀρτίως, ὦ Πόσειδον.

HERMES He has just given birth, Poseidon.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Ἄπαγε, τέτοκεν ἐκεῖνος;

POSEIDON Go on! He has given birth?

ἐκ τίνος;

By whom?

οὐκοῦν ἐλελήθει ἡμᾶς ἀνδρόγυνος ὤν;

Had he then been a hermaphrodite without our knowing?

ἀλλὰ οὐδὲ ἐπεσήμανεν ἡ γαστὴρ αὐτῷ ὄγκον τινά.

But his belly did not show any swelling.

ΕΡΜΗΣ Εὖ λέγεις· οὐ γὰρ ἐκείνη εἶχε τὸ ἔμβρυον.

HERMES You are right; for it was not his belly that held the embryo.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Οἶδα· ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἔτεκεν αὖθις ὥσπερ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν· τοκάδα γὰρ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἔχει.

POSEIDON I know; he gave birth again from his head, just like Athena; for he has a breeding head.

ΕΡΜΗΣ Οὔκ, ἀλλὰ ἐν τῷ μηρῷ ἐκύει τὸ τῆς Σεμέλης βρέφος.

HERMES No, but he was pregnant with Semele's baby in his thigh.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Εὖ γε ὁ γενναῖος, ὡς ὅλος ἡμῖν κυοφορεῖ καὶ πανταχόθι τοῦ σώματος.

POSEIDON Well done, the noble fellow! How he bears children for us with his whole body and from everywhere.

ἀλλὰ τίς ἡ Σεμέλη ἐστί;

But who is Semele?

§12.2ΕΡΜΗΣ Θηβαία, τῶν Κάδμου θυγατέρων μία.

HERMES A Theban woman, one of Cadmus' daughters.

ταύτῃ συνελθὼν ἐγκύμονα ἐποίησεν.

Having coupled with her, he made her pregnant.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Εἶτα ἔτεκεν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, ἀντ' ἐκείνης;

POSEIDON And then he gave birth, Hermes, instead of her?

ΕΡΜΗΣ Καὶ μάλα, εἰ καὶ παράδοξον εἶναί σοι δοκεῖ· τὴν μὲν γὰρ Σεμέλην ὑπελθοῦσαι ἡ Ἥρα—οἶσθα ὡς ζηλότυπός ἐστι—πείθει αἰτῆσαι παρὰ τοῦ Διὸς μετὰ βροντῶν καὶ ἀστραπῶν ἥκειν παρ' αὐτήν·

HERMES Indeed so, even if it seems paradoxical to you; for Hera—you know how jealous she is—stealing upon Semele, persuaded her to ask Zeus to come to her with thunder and lightning.

ὡς δὲ ἐπείσθη καὶ ἧκεν ἔχων καὶ τὸν κεραυνόν, ἀνεφλέγη ὁ ὄροφος, καὶ ἡ Σεμέλη μὲν διαφθείρεται ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρός, ἐμὲ δὲ κελεύει ἀνατεμόντα τὴν γαστέρα τῆς γυναικὸς ἀνακομίσαι ἀτελὲς ἔτι αὐτῷ τὸ ἔμβρυον ἑπτάμηνον·

And when he was persuaded and came holding also his thunderbolt, the roof caught fire, and Semele was destroyed by the flames, but he ordered me to cut open the woman's belly and bring him the embryo, which was still unfinished at seven months.

καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐποίησα, διελὼν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μηρὸν ἐντίθησιν, ὡς ἀποτελεσθείη ἐνταῦθα, καὶ νῦν τρίτῳ ἤδη μηνὶ ἐξέτεκεν αὐτὸ καὶ μαλακῶς ἀπὸ τῶν ὠδίνων ἔχει.

And when I had done so, he cut open his own thigh and put it inside, so that it might be fully formed there, and now in the third month he has brought it forth and is unwell from the labor pains.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Νῦν οὖν ποῦ τὸ βρέφος ἐστίν;

POSEIDON Where then is the baby now?

ΕΡΜΗΣ Ἐς τὴν Νῦσαν ἀποκομίσας παρέδωκα ταῖς Νύμφαις ἀνατρέφειν Διόνυσον αὐτὸν ἐπονομασθέντα.

HERMES Having carried it off to Nysa, I delivered it to the Nymphs to bring up, the baby being named Dionysus.

ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ Οὐκοῦν ἀμφότερα τοῦ Διονύσου τούτου καὶ μήτηρ καὶ πατὴρ ὁ ἀδελφός ἐστιν;

POSEIDON So then, for this Dionysus, is my brother both mother and father?

ΕΡΜΗΣ Ἔοικεν.

HERMES It seems so.

ἄπειμι δ’ οὖν ὕδωρ αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸ τραῦμα οἴσων καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ποιήσων ἃ νομίζεται ὥσπερ λεχοῖ.

At any rate, I am off to carry water for his wound and to do the other things that are customary, just as for a woman in childbed.

Notes

¦p.v.7.p.300¦θεῖόν γε ὄντα — This is not the accusative of the adjective meaning 'divine' or 'god,' but rather the noun meaning 'uncle.' Since Poseidon is the brother of Zeus, he is the uncle of Hermes (Zeus's son). Misinterpreting this as an adjective would result in 'before me, who am a god,' which is unnatural in a dialogue between two deities.
¦p.v.7.p.302¦ὑπελθοῦσαι — Although the manuscripts read `ὑπελθοῦσαι` (nominative feminine plural), grammatically it must be understood as the nominative feminine singular `ὑπελθοῦσα`, agreeing with the subject `ἡ Ἥρα` of the main clause. Alternatively, it can be seen as a corruption of `ὑπελθοῦσαν`, agreeing with `Σεμέλην`. In either case, the sense is that Hera 'stole upon' or 'ingratiated herself with' Semele.

Cite this passage

Lucian, Dialogues of The Gods §12.1-12.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg068.humanitext-grc3:12.1-12.2

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.