§23.1φαίνεσθαι δὲ ἐνύπνιον τὸν Ἀχιλλέα τοῖς μὲν προσσχοῦσι τῇ νήσῳ, τοῖς δὲ καὶ πλέουσιν, ἐπειδὰν οὐ πόρρω αὐτῆς ἀπόσχωσιν, καὶ φράζειν ὅποι προσσχεῖν τῆς νήσου ἄμεινον καὶ ὅποι ὁρμίσασθαι.
It is said that Achilles appears in a dream to those who have landed on the island, and also to those who are sailing when they are not far from it, and tells them where it is better to land on the island and where to anchor.
οἳ δὲ καὶ ὕπαρ λέγουσιν φανῆναί σφισιν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱστοῦ ἢ ἐπʼ ἄκρου τοῦ §23.2κέρως τὸν Ἀχιλλέα, καθάπερ τοὺς Διοσκόρους· τοσόνδε μόνον τῶν Διοσκόρων μεῖον ἔχειν τὸν Ἀχιλλέα, ὅσον οἱ μὲν Διόσκοροι τοῖς πανταχοῦ πλωιζομένοις ἐναργεῖς φαίνονται καὶ φανέντες σωτῆρες γίγνονται, ὃ δὲ τοῖς πελάζουσιν ἤδη τῇ νήσῳ.
Others say that Achilles appeared to them even awake, upon the mast or on the tip of the yardarm, just like the Dioscuri; and that Achilles is inferior to the Dioscuri only in this much, that whereas the Dioscuri appear clearly to those sailing everywhere and by appearing become their saviors, he appears only to those who are already drawing near to the island.
οἳ δὲ καὶ τὸν Πάτροκλόν §23.3σφισιν ὀφθῆναι ἐνύπνιον λέγουσιν.
Others say that Patroclus also appeared to them in a dream.
τάδε μὲν ὑπὲρ τῆς νήσου τῆς τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως ἀκοὴν ἀνέγραψα τῶν ἢ αὐτῶν προσσχόντων ἢ ἄλλων πεπυσμένων· καί μοι δοκεῖ οὐκ ἄπιστα εἶναι.
These things concerning the island of Achilles I have recorded from hearsay, from those who either landed there themselves or learned of it from others; and they do not seem to me to be incredible.
§23.4Ἀχιλλέα γὰρ ἐγὼ πείθομαι εἴπερ τινὰ καὶ ἄλλον ἥρω εἶναι, τῇ τε εὐγενείᾳ τεκμαιρόμενος καὶ τῷ κάλλει καὶ τῇ ῥώμῃ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τῷ νέον μεταλλάξαι ἐξ ἀνθρώπων καὶ τῇ Ὁμήρου ἐπʼ αὐτῷ ποιήσει καὶ τῷ ἐρωτικὸν γενέσθαι καὶ φιλέταιρον, ὡς καὶ ἐπαποθανεῖν ἑλέσθαι τοῖς παιδικοῖς.
For I am persuaded that Achilles, if indeed any other, is a hero, judging by his noble birth, his beauty, the strength of his soul, his departing from mankind while still young, Homer's poetry about him, and his having been amorous and fond of his companions, so that he even chose to die after his beloved.