§295τῶν ναῶν τῶν τριῶν ἐστιν.
is one of the three temples.
ἐν τούτῳ τῷ σχήματι στὰς ἔμπροσθεν τῆς εὐνῆς προβαλὼν τοὺς δακτύλους καὶ χρόνους τινὰς συλλογισάμενος, ἔχεις, ἔφη, δέκα ἔτη παρʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ τρία παρὰ τοῦ Σαράπιδος—καὶ ἅμα τὰ τρία καὶ δέκα ὡς ἑπτακαίδεκα ἐφάνη τῇ θέσει τῶν δακτύλων— ταῦτα δὲ εἶναι οὐκ ὄναρ, ἀλλʼ ὕπαρ, εἴσεσθαι δὲ καὶ αὐτόν.
Standing in this guise in front of my bed, extending his fingers and calculating some periods of time, he said: "You have ten years from me and three from Sarapis" — and at the same time the three and ten appeared as seventeen by the position of his fingers — and he said that these things were not a dream, but a waking reality, and that I myself would know it too.
καὶ ἅμα κελεύει καταβάντα εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν τὸν πρὸ τῆς πόλεως ῥέοντα λούσασθαι, ἡγήσεσθαι δὲ τῆς ὁδοῦ παῖδα ἄνηβον, καὶ δείκνυσι τὸν παῖδα.
And at the same time he ordered me to go down to the river flowing in front of the city and bathe, and that a prepubescent boy should lead the way, and he pointed out the boy.
καὶ τὰ μὲν κεφάλαια τῆς ἐπιφανείας ταῦτά ἐστιν, ὡς ἀντὶ τοῦ παντός γʼ ἂν ἐποιησάμην καὶ καθʼ ἕκαστα δύνασθαι διʼ ἀκριβείας διεξελθεῖν.
And these are the main points of the epiphany, which indeed I would have given anything to be able to recount in detail with precision.
ἦν δὲ καὶ δὴ μέσος χειμὼν καὶ βορέας μέγας καὶ κρυμὸς, καὶ αἱ ψηφῖδες οὕτως ὑπὸ τοῦ πάγου πρὸς ἀλλήλας ἐδέδεντο ὥστε ἐοικέναι κρυστάλλῳ συνεχεῖ, καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ οἷον εἰκὸς ἐν τοιούτῳ ἀέρι.
And indeed it was midwinter and a great north wind and frost, and the pebbles were so bound to one another by the ice that they resembled a continuous sheet of ice, and the water was such as is natural in such an atmosphere.
ἐπεὶ δʼ ἐξηγγέλθη τὰ τῆς ἐπιφανείας, παρέπεμπον ἡμᾶς οἱ φίλοι, καὶ τῶν ἰατρῶν οἵ τε δὴ συνήθεις καὶ ἄλλοι οἱ μὲν ὡς ἀγωνιῶντες, οἱ δὲ καὶ τῆς ἱστορίας ἕνεκα· ἐπεγένετο δὲ καὶ ἄλλος ὄχλος συχνὸς, καὶ γάρ τις καὶ διάδοσις ἔτυχεν ἔξω πυλῶν οὖσα καὶ πάντʼ ἦν κάτοπτα ἀπὸ τῆς γεφύρας.
And when the details of the epiphany were announced, my friends escorted me, and of the physicians both my acquaintances and others, some as if in anxiety, others also for the sake of curiosity; and another large crowd also joined in, for indeed there happened to be some distribution of doles outside the gates, and everything was visible from the bridge.
ἦν δέ τις Ἡρακλέων ἰατρὸς, ἑταῖρος ἡμέτερος, ὃς πρὸς ἐμὲ ὡμολόγησε τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ἦ μὴν πεπεικὼς αὑτὸν ἰέναι, ὡς εἰ τὰ κράτιστα πράξαιμι, ὀπισθοτόνῳ συνέξομαι, ἤ τῳ ἄλλῳ τοιούτῳ.
And there was a certain physician, Heracleon, a companion of ours, who confessed to me the next day that he had indeed gone persuading himself that, even if I fared best, I would be seized with tetanus, or some other such thing.
ὡς δὴ ἐγενόμεθα ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, οὐδὲν ἔδει τοῦ παρακελευσομένου, ἀλλʼ ἔτι τῆς θέρμης τῆς ἐκ τῆς ὄψεως τοῦ θεοῦ μεστὸς ὢν ἀπορρίψας τὰ ἱμάτια οὐδʼ ἀνατρίψασθαι δεηθεὶς, ἵεμαι οὗ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸ βαθύτατον ἦν.
When indeed we were at the river, there was no need of anyone to encourage me, but still full of the warmth from the vision of the god, throwing off my clothes and not even needing to rub myself down, I rushed to where the river was deepest.
ἔπειθʼ ὥσπερ ἐν κολυμβήθρᾳ καὶ μάλα ἠπίου καὶ κεκραμένου ὕδατος ἐχρώμην διατριβῇ, ἐννέων τε καὶ ἀνακλύζων ἐμαυτὸν πάντη.
Then, as if in a swimming pool of very mild and tempered water, I spent my time, swimming and washing myself all over.
ὡς δʼ ἐξέβην, ὅτε δὴ χρὼς πᾶς ἤνθει καὶ τὸ σῶμα πάντη κοῦφον ἦν, καὶ βοὴ πολλὴ τῶν τε παρόντων καὶ ἐπιόντων, τὸ πολυύμνητον δὴ τοῦτο βοώντων, μέγας ὁ Ἀσκληπιός. καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τούτου τίς ἂν ἐνδείξασθαι δυνηθείη;
And when I came out, when indeed all my skin was glowing and my body was entirely light, and there was a great shout from both those present and those coming up, shouting this famous cry: "Great is Asclepius!" And who could describe the events after this?
ἅπαν γὰρ τὸ λοιπὸν τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ τῆς νυκτὸς §296τὸ εἰς εὐνὴν διεσωσάμην τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ λουτρῷ σχέσιν, καὶ οὔτε τι ξηροτέρου οὔτε ὑγροτέρου τοῦ σώματος ᾐσθόμην, οὐ τῆς θέρμης ἀνῆκεν οὐδὲν, οὐ προσεγένετο, οὐδʼ αὖ τοιοῦτον ἡ θέρμη ἦν, οἷον ἄν τῳ καὶ ἀπʼ ἀνθρωπίνης μηχανῆς ὑπάρξειεν, ἀλλά τις ἦν ἀλέα διηνεκὴς, δύναμιν φέρουσα ἴσην διὰ παντὸς τοῦ σώματός τε καὶ τοῦ χρόνου.
For all the rest of the day and of the night until going to bed, I preserved the condition resulting from the bath, and I felt my body to be neither drier nor wetter, and none of the warmth relaxed, nor did any increase, nor again was the warmth such as might be produced for someone by human means, but it was a kind of continuous mild heat, bringing equal strength through all my body and through all the time.
παραπλησίως δὲ καὶ τὰ τῆς γνώμης εἶχεν.
And the state of my mind was in a similar condition.
οὔτε γὰρ οἷον ἡδονὴ περιφανὴς ἦν οὔτε κατʼ ἀνθρωπίνην σωφροσύνην ἔφησθα ἂν εἶναι αὐτὸ, ἀλλʼ ἦν τις ἄρρητος εὐθυμία, πάντα δεύτερα τοῦ παρόντος καιροῦ τιθεμένη, ὥστε οὐδʼ ὁρῶν τὰ ἄλλα ἐδόκουν ὁρᾶν· οὕτω πᾶς ἦν πρὸς τῷ θεῷ.
For there was neither anything like conspicuous pleasure, nor would you say it was according to human moderation, but there was an unspeakable cheerfulness, making everything secondary to the present moment, so that even when looking at other things I did not seem to see them; so entirely was I devoted to the god.
ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν σὸν ἤδη, ὦ δέσποτα, γίγνεται δεῖξαι καὶ παραστῆσαι ὅ τι ἑξῆς λέγοντες καὶ ὅποι τραπόμενοι σοί τʼ ἂν κεχαρισμένα ποιοῖμεν καὶ τοῦ λόγου προΐοιμεν ὡς κάλλιστα.
But from this point, O Master, it is now your part to show and suggest what we should say next and where we should turn, so as to do what is pleasing to you and proceed with our speech in the finest way.
πότερα ἐπειδὴ ποταμοῦ καὶ χειμῶνος τοιούτου καὶ λουτροῦ μνείαν ἐποιησάμην, ἕτερα ἐφεξῆς τῆς αὐτῆς ἰδέας λέγω καὶ οἷον κατάλογόν τινα λουτρῶν ποιῶμαι χειμερίων τε καὶ θείων καὶ πάντως παραδόξων;
Whether, since I have made mention of the river and of such a winter and of the bath, I should speak of other things next of the same kind and make a sort of catalogue of winter baths, both divine and altogether extraordinary?
ἢ διαλαβὼν τὸν λόγον καί τινα τῶν ἐν μέσῳ διηγήσωμαι;
Or should I divide the narrative and recount some of the intervening events?
ἢ κράτιστον καὶ τἀν τῷ μέσῳ πάντα ὑπερβάντα ἀποδοῦναι τὸ τέλος τῷ πρώτῳ λόγῳ, πῶς ἔσχε τὰ τῆς χρησμῳδίας τῆς περὶ τῶν ἐτῶν καὶ πῶς ἅπαντα ἀπέβη;
Or is it best, having bypassed all the intervening things, to render the conclusion to the first story, how the matter of the oracle concerning the years stood and how everything turned out?
πολλὰ μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἄλλα ἐπεσήμηνεν ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῶν ἐφεστηκότων ἀεὶ κινδύνων ἐξαρπάζων, οἳ πυκνοὶ νυκτὸς ἑκάστης καὶ ἡμέρας ἦσαν, ἄλλοτε ἄλλοι προσβάλλοντες, τότε δὲ ἐπανιόντες οἱ αὐτοὶ, καὶ ὁπότε ἀπαλλαγείη τις, ἀντιλαμβάνοντες ἕτεροι, καὶ πρὸς ἕκαστα τούτων ἀλεξιφάρμακα ᾔει παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ παραμυθίαι παντοῖαι καὶ ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ·
For indeed the god indicated many other things, snatching me out of the dangers constantly impending, which were frequent each night and day, some attacking at one time, others at another, then the same ones returning, and whenever one was removed, others taking hold, and for each of these remedies came from the god and all kinds of comfort both in deed and in word.
ἓν δὲ δὴ καὶ τόδε μέμνημαι πραχθὲν αὐτῷ ποτε.
And indeed I remember this one thing also having been done by him once.
ἔφη χρῆναι τελευτᾶν εἰς τρίτην ἡμέραν, καὶ ταῦτα ἀναγκαίως ἔχειν, καὶ ἅμα σύμβολα ἔδωκε, καὶ ὁποῖʼ ἄττα ἔσται τὰ τῆς ἐπιούσης ἡμέρας, καὶ γὰρ τὸν ἀέρα ὁποῖος καὶ τὸν ἡνίοχον ὅπου φανήσοιτο καὶ ἄλλα ἔδωκε σύμβολα τῆς ἀληθείας· ἀλλὰ δεῖν οὕτω ποιεῖν, πρῶτον μὲν ἀναβάντα ἐπὶ τὸ ζεῦγος ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν τὸν διὰ τῆς πόλεως ῥέοντα, γενόμενον δὲ οὗ ἐστιν ἤδη ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἱερὰ δρᾶσαι
He said that I must die on the third day, and that this was necessary, and at the same time he gave signs, and of what sort the events of the following day would be—for indeed what kind of weather and where the charioteer would appear, and he gave other signs of the truth; but that I must act thus: first, having mounted the carriage, to go to the river flowing through the city, and having arrived where it is already outside the city, to perform sacred rites.