§9.30.1ταῖς Μούσαις δὲ ἀγάλματα τὰ μὲν πρῶτά ἐστι Κηφισοδότου τέχνη πάσαις, προελθόντι δὲ οὐ πολὺ τρεῖς μέν εἰσιν αὖθις Κηφισοδότου, Στρογγυλίωνος δὲ ἕτερα τοσαῦτα, ἀνδρὸς βοῦς καὶ ἵππους ἄριστα εἰργασμένου· τὰς δὲ ὑπολοίπους τρεῖς ἐποίησεν Ὀλυμπιοσθένης.
For the Muses, the first statues, representing them all, are the work of Cephisodotus. For one who has gone forward a little, there are again three by Cephisodotus, and another such number by Strongylion, a man who worked cattle and horses excellently; and the remaining three Olympiosthenes made.
καὶ Ἀπόλλων χαλκοῦς ἐστιν ἐν Ἑλικῶνι καὶ Ἑρμῆς μαχόμενοι περὶ τῆς λύρας, καὶ Διόνυσος ὁ μὲν Λυσίππου, τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα ἀνέθηκε Σύλλας τοῦ Διονύσου τὸ ὀρθόν, ἔργον τῶν Μύρωνος θέας μάλιστα ἄξιον μετά γε τὸν Ἀθήνῃσιν Ἐρεχθέα· ἀνέθηκε δὲ οὐκ οἴκοθεν, Ὀρχομενίους δὲ ἀφελόμενος τοὺς Μινύας.
There is also a bronze Apollo on Helicon and a Hermes fighting for the lyre, and a Dionysus, one indeed by Lysippus, but the other, a standing statue of Dionysus, Sulla dedicated. This statue is a work of Myron, most worthy of being seen, at least after the Erechtheus in Athens; and he dedicated it not from his own home, but having taken it away from the Minyans of Orchomenus.
τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων λεγόμενον θυμιάμασιν ἀλλοτρίοις τὸ θεῖον σέβεσθαι.
This is what is said by the Greeks, 'to worship the divine with others' incense'.
§9.30.2ποιητὰς δὲ ἤ καὶ ἄλλως ἐπιφανεῖς ἐπὶ μουσικῇ, τοσῶνδε εἰκόνας ἀνέθεσαν· Θάμυριν μὲν αὐτόν τε ἤδη τυφλὸν καὶ λύρας κατεαγυίας ἐφαπτόμενον, Ἀρίων δὲ ὁ Μηθυμναῖός ἐστιν ἐπὶ δελφῖνος.
And of poets, or those otherwise illustrious for music, they dedicated statues of the following: Thamyris himself, already blind and touching a broken lyre, and Arion of Methymna is on a dolphin.
ὁ δὲ Σακάδα τοῦ Ἀργείου τὸν ἀνδριάντα πλάσας, οὐ συνεὶς Πινδάρου τὸ ἐς αὐτὸν προοίμιον, ἐποίησεν οὐδὲν ἐς τὸ μῆκος τοῦ σώματος εἶναι τῶν αὐλῶν μείζονα τὸν αὐλητήν.
The one who fashioned the statue of Sacadas the Argive, not understanding Pindar's prelude to him, made the flute-player in no way larger than the flutes with respect to the length of his body.
§9.30.3κάθηται δὲ καὶ Ἡσίοδος κιθάραν ἐπὶ τοῖς γόνασιν ἔχων, οὐδέν τι οἰκεῖον Ἡσιόδῳ φόρημα· δῆλα γὰρ δὴ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐπῶν ὅτι ἐπὶ ῥάβδου δάφνης ᾖδε.
And Hesiod also sits, having a cithara on his knees, an attribute in no way suitable for Hesiod; for indeed it is clear even from his verses themselves that he sang holding a laurel branch.
περὶ δὲ Ἡσιόδου τε ἡλικίας καὶ Ὁμήρου πολυπραγμονήσαντι ἐς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον οὔ μοι γράφειν ἡδὺ ἦν, ἐπισταμένῳ τὸ φιλαίτιον ἄλλων τε καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ὅσοι κατʼ ἐμὲ ἐπὶ ποιήσει τῶν ἐπῶν καθεστήκεσαν.
But concerning the age of Hesiod and Homer, for one who has investigated with the greatest accuracy, it was not pleasant for me to write, knowing the fault-finding disposition of others, and not least of those who in my time had established themselves in the composition of epic poetry.
§9.30.4Ὀρφεῖ δὲ τῷ Θρᾳκὶ πεποίηται μὲν παρεστῶσα αὐτῷ Τελετή, πεποίηται δὲ περὶ αὐτὸν λίθου τε καὶ χαλκοῦ θηρία ἀκούοντα ᾄδοντος.
For Orpheus the Thracian, there is made Telete standing beside him, and there are made around him beasts of stone and bronze listening to him singing.
πολλὰ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἄλλα πιστεύουσιν οὐκ ὄντα Ἕλληνες καὶ δὴ καὶ Ὀρφέα Καλλιόπης τε εἶναι Μούσης καὶ οὐ τῆς Πιέρου καί οἱ τὰ θηρία ἰέναι πρὸς τὸ μέλος ψυχαγωγούμενα, ἐλθεῖν δὲ καὶ ἐς τὸν Ἅιδην ζῶντα αὐτὸν παρὰ τῶν κάτω θεῶν τὴν γυναῖκα αἰτοῦντα.
Indeed the Greeks believe many other things that are not true, and indeed also that Orpheus was the son of the Muse Calliope and not of the daughter of Pierus, and that the beasts came to his song, being charmed, and that he went even to Hades alive, asking for his wife from the gods below.
ὁ δὲ Ὀρφεὺς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ὑπερεβάλετο ἐπῶν κόσμῳ τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ μέγα ἦλθεν ἰσχύος οἷα πιστευόμενος εὑρηκέναι τελετὰς θεῶν καὶ ἔργων ἀνοσίων καθαρμοὺς νόσων τε ἰάματα καὶ τροπὰς μηνιμάτων θείων.
But Orpheus, in my opinion, surpassed those before him in the adornment of verses, and came to great power inasmuch as he was believed to have discovered initiations of gods, purifications from unholy deeds, remedies for diseases, and turning-away of divine wraths.
§9.30.5τὰς δὲ γυναῖκάς φασι τῶν Θρᾳκῶν ἐπιβουλεύειν μὲν αὐτῷ θάνατον, ὅτι σφῶν τοὺς ἄνδρας ἀκολουθεῖν ἔπεισεν αὐτῷ πλανωμένῳ, φόβῳ δὲ τῶν ἀνδρῶν οὐ τολμᾶν· ὡς δὲ ἐνεφορήσαντο οἴνου, ἐξεργάζονται τὸ τόλμημα, καὶ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἀπὸ τούτου κατέστη μεθυσκομένους ἐς τὰς μάχας χωρεῖν.
And they say that the women of the Thracians plotted death against him, because he persuaded their husbands to follow him in his wandering, but from fear of their husbands they did not dare; but when they had filled themselves with wine, they accomplished the daring deed, and for the husbands, from this, it became a custom to go into battles drunk.
εἰσὶ δὲ οἵ φασι κεραυνωθέντι ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ συμβῆναι τὴν τελευτὴν Ὀρφεῖ· κεραυνωθῆναι δὲ αὐτὸν τῶν λόγων ἕνεκα ὧν ἐδίδασκεν ἐν τοῖς μυστηρίοις οὐ πρότερον ἀκηκοότας ἀνθρώπους.
And there are those who say that his death happened to Orpheus having been struck by lightning by the god; and that he was struck by lightning on account of the teachings which he taught in the mysteries to men who had not heard them before.
§9.30.6ἄλλοις δὲ εἰρημένον ἐστὶν ὡς προαποθανούσης οἱ τῆς γυναικὸς ἐπὶ τὸ Ἄορνον διʼ αὐτὴν τὸ ἐν τῇ Θεσπρωτίδι ἀφίκετο· εἶναι γὰρ πάλαι νεκυομαντεῖον αὐτόθι· νομίζοντα δέ οἱ ἕπεσθαι τῆς Εὐρυδίκης τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ἁμαρτόντα ὡς ἐπεστράφη, αὐτόχειρα αὐτὸν ὑπὸ λύπης αὑτοῦ γενέσθαι.
And by others it has been said that, his wife having died before him, on her account he arrived at Aornum in Thesprotia; for there was of old an oracle of the dead there; and thinking that the soul of Eurydice was following him, and having erred when he turned around, he became his own killer from grief.
λέγουσι δὲ οἱ Θρᾷκες, ὅσαι τῶν ἀηδόνων ἔχουσι νεοσσιὰς ἐπὶ τῷ τάφῳ τοῦ Ὀρφέως, ταύτας ἥδιον καὶ μεῖζόν τι ᾄδειν.
And the Thracians say that, as many of the nightingales as have nests on the tomb of Orpheus, these sing sweeter and louder.