1

 2

 3

 4

 5

 6

4

war, he fell together with his horse, and having been struck in the foot, remained lame. And he received, as they say, from a certain prophecy, that is, from his own mind from the star, the tongs for the purpose of making weapons from iron; whence he also became victorious in wars, whom they also deified. For before this they used clubs and stones and went to war.

And after Hephaestus, Helios his son reigned. and after him Sesostris, and after him Osiris, and after Osiris, Horus; and after him Thoulos, who, having accomplished many great deeds, went to the oracle to ask, saying, "Prophesy to us, O fire-strong, unerring, blessed, ethereal pole; after my first reign, was I able to subdue all things, or who will come after me." And an oracle was given to him thus: "First God, then Word, and Spirit with them; and all these are co-natural and one and going into one, whose power is eternal; and with swift feet walk, O mortal, accomplishing an uncertain life."

And the names of the 7 wandering stars are these. For the one called Kronos is called Lampon, that of Dios, Phaethon, that of Ares, Pyrois, that of Aphrodite, Kallistos, and that of Hermes, Ostemon. And these things are concerning the seven wandering stars, of which Seth set forth the names, having received wisdom from God. But men, having named their children after their names, were proclaimed false-named gods. And after many kings of the Egyptians, Sostris reigned, who subdued the Assyrians and Chaldeans and Persians as far as Babylon, and all of Asia and Europe and Scythia and Mysia. And on his return, he selected brave Scythian men, 15,000, and sent them to dwell in Persia, and these same Scythians remained in Persia until now, who were changed by the Persians into Parthians; who also have the dress and the language and the customs of the Scythians. 238 And in the time of this Sostris, king of Egypt, was Hermes Trismegistus, who declared that the name of the ineffable and creator was three greatest powers, and said that there was one divinity, for which reason he was called by the Egyptians thrice-greatest. For it is found in his various discourses, having spoken these things to Asclepius concerning the nature of God. "If there were not some providence of the Lord of all so as to reveal this word to me, such a desire would not have possessed you, that you should inquire about this. For it is not possible to provide such mysteries to the uninitiated, but listen with the mind. There was only one intellectual light, and there was always a luminous mind of mind, and nothing else was the unity of this, always in itself, being always by "itself, by its mind and light and spirit, it provides all things. Besides this, there is no god, no angel, no demon, no other substance." For he is lord and father and god of all things, by them and in them he is; for his word, having come forth, being all-perfect and a "creator, falling into fertile nature upon fertile water, made the water pregnant," and having said these things, he began to say: "I adjure you, O heaven, wise work of the great God, be gracious, I adjure you, voice of the father, which he first uttered to his only-begotten word, when he established the whole cosmos, be gracious, O Lord." That Libya was the daughter of Io and Dios; and Io was the daughter of Inachus, king of the west, from the tribe of Japheth, whom Picus, who is also Zeus, seized, she was married to a certain Poseidon, from whom was born Agenor, and Agenor, having come to Phoenicia, took a wife named Tyron, and he founds a city, in the name of his wife, which they called Tyre, and he reigned there. And he had sons from Tyro: Cadmus the Phoenician, Syrus, and Cilix. And when Agenor was dying, he divided all the land which he had subdued among his three sons, and Phoenix took Tyre and its territory, calling the country under him Phoenicia after his own name, likewise also Syrus called the country allotted to him Syria, after his own name; and Cilix called the region allotted to him Cilicia.

4

πόλεμον, συνέπεσε σὺν τῷ ἵππῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πληγεὶς τὸν πόδα ἔμεινε χωλεύων. ἐδέξατο δὲ, ὥς φασιν, ἐκ μαντείας τινὸς, τουτέστιν ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου νοὸς ἐκ τοῦ ἀστέρος τὴν ὀξυλάβην εἰς τὸ κατασκευάζειν ἐκ σιδήρου ὅπλα· ὅθεν καὶ ἐπικρατὴς ἐγένετο εἰς τοὺς πολέμους, ὅν τινα καὶ ἀπεθεώσαν. πρὸ γὰρ τούτου ῥοπάλοις καὶ λίθοις ἐχρῶντο καὶ ἐπολέμουν.

Μετὰ δὲ τὸν Ἥφαιστον, ἐβασίλευσεν Ἥλιος ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ. μετὰδὲ τοῦτον Σέσωστρις, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Ὄσιρις, καὶ μετὰ τὸν Ὄσιριν, Ὅρος· καὶ μετ' αὐτὸν Θοῦλος, ὅστις πολλὰ κατορθώματα ποιήσας, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ μαντεῖον ἐρωτῆσαι, λέγων, "Προφήτευσον ἡμῖν πυρισθενὲς ἀψευδὲς μακαριστὸν αἰθέριον πόλον· μετεγκλήνον τῆς πρώτης ἐμῆς βασιλείας ἠδυνήθη ὑποτάξαι τὰ πάντα, ἢ τίς μετεμέ." καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ χρησμὸς οὕτως· "πρῶτα θεὸς, μετέπειτα λόγος, καὶ πνεῦμα σὺν αὐτοῖς· σύμφυτα δὲ ταῦτα πάντα καὶ ἓν καὶ εἰς ἓν ἰόντα, οὗ κράτος αἰώνιον· ὠκέσι δὲ ποσὶ βαδίζε θνητὲ, ἄδηλον διανύων βίον."

Αἱ δὲ ἐπωνυμίαι τῶν ζ ἀστέρων τῶν πλανητῶν εἰσὶν οὗτοι. ὁ γὰρ λεγόμενος Κρόνος καλεῖται λάμπον, ὁ δὲ ∆ιὸς, Φαέθων, ὁ δὲ Ἄρεως, πυρώης, ὁ δὲ Ἀφροδίτης, κάλλιστος, ὁ δὲ Ἑρμοῦ, ὁστέμων. καὶ ταῦτα περὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀστέρων τῶν πλανήτων, ὧν τινων ὁ Σὴθ τὰς ὀνομασίας ἐξέθετο, παρὰ θεοῦ λαβὼν σοφίαν. ἄνθρωποι δὲ εἰς τὰ ὀνομασίας αὐτῶν τοὺς παῖδας αὐτῶν ἐπονομάσαντες, θεοὶ ψευδώνυμοι ἀνηγορεύθησαν. μετὰ πολλοὺς δὲ βασιλεῖς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων, ἐβασίλευσε Σώστρις, ὅστις ὑπέταξεν Ἀσσυρίους καὶ Χαλδαίους καὶ Πέρσας ἕως Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν πᾶσαν καὶ Εὐρώπην καὶ Σκυθίαν καὶ Μυσίαν. καὶ ἐν τῷ ὑποστρέφειν αὐτὸν, ἐξελέξατο ἄνδρας γενναίους Σύθας, χιλιάδας ιε, καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς οἰκεῖν ἐν Περσίδι, καὶ ἔμειναν οἱ αὐτοὶ Σκύθαι ἐν Περσίδι, μέχρι τῆς νῦν, οἵτινες μετεβλήθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν Περσῶν Πάρθοι· οἳ καὶ τὴν φορεσίαν καὶ τὴν λαλιὰν καὶ τὰ ἔθη Σκυθῶν ἔχουσιν. 238 Ἐπὶ δὲ τούτου τοῦ Σώστρι βασιλέως Αἰγύπτου ἦν Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, ὃς ἔφρασε τρεῖς μεγίστας εἶναι δυνάμεις τὸ τοῦ ἀρρήτου καὶ δημιουργοῦ ὄνομα, μίαν δὲ θεότητα εἶναι εἶπεν, διὸ ἐκλήθη ἀπὸ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων τρεῖς μέγιστος. ἐμφέρεται γὰρ ἐν διαφόροις αὐτοῦ λόγοις, πρὸς Ἀσκληπιὸν περὶ θεοῦ εἰρηκὼς φύσεως ταῦτα. "εἰ μὴ πρόνοιά τις ἦν τοῦ πάντων Κυρίου ὥστε μοι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἀποκαλύψαι, οὐδὲ ὑμᾶς τοιοῦτος ἔρως κατεῖχεν, ἵνα περὶ τούτου ζητήσητε. οὐ γὰρ ἐφικτόν ἐστι εἰς ἀμυήτους τοιαῦτα μυστήρια παρέχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τῷ νοῒ ἀκούσατε. ἓν μόνον φῶς ἦν νοερὸν, καὶ ἦν ἀεὶ νοῦς νοὸς φωτεινὸς, καὶ οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἦν ἡ τούτου ἑνότης ἀεὶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ὢν ἀεὶ τῷ "ἑαυτοῦ νοῒ καὶ φωτὶ καὶ πνεύματι πάντα παρέχει. ἐκτὸς τούτου, οὐ θεὸς, οὐκ ἄγγελος, οὐ δαίμων, οὐκ οὐσία τις ἄλλη." πάντων γὰρ κύριος καὶ πατὴρ καὶ θεὸς πάντων, ὑπ' αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐστί· ὁ γὰρ λόγος αὐτοῦ προελθὼν, παντέλειος ὢν καὶ "δημιουργὸς, ἐν γονίμῳ φύσει πεσὼν ἐπὶ γονίμῳ ὕδατι, ἔγκυον τὸ ὕδωρ ἐποίησεν," καὶ ταῦτα εἰρηκὼς ἤρξατο λέγειν· "ὁρκίζω σε οὐρανὲ Θεοῦ μεγάλου σοφὸν ἔργον, ἵλαος ἔσο, ὁρκίζω σε φωνὴν πατρὸς, ἣν ἐφθέγξατο πρώτην πρὸς τὸν μονογενῆ λόγον αὐτοῦ, ἡνίκα κόσμον ἅπαντα ἐστηρίξατο, ἵλαος ἔσο Κύριε." Ὅτι Λιβύη ἡ θυγάτηρ τῆς Ἰὼ καὶ ∆ιός· ἡ δὲ Ἰὼ ἦν θυγάτηρἸνάχου βασιλέως τῆς δύσεως, ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς τοῦ Ἰάφεθ, ἣν καὶ ἥρπασε Πῖκος ὁ καὶ Ζεὺς, ἐγαμήθη τινὶ Ποσειδῶνι, ἐξ οὗ ἐτέχθη ὁ Ἀγήνωρ, καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ Ἀγήνωρ ἐπὶ τὴν Φοινίκην, ἔλαβε γυναῖκα ὀνόματι Τύρων, καὶ κτίζει πόλιν, εἰς ὄνομα τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ, ἣν ἐκάλουν Τύρον, καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐκεῖ. Ἔσχε δὲ υἱὸν ἐκ τῆς Τύρου Κάδμον τὸν Φοίνικα, τὸν Σύρον καὶ τὸν Κίλικα. τελευτῶν δὲ ὁ Ἀγήνωρ, πᾶσαν ἣν ὑπέταξε γῆν, ἐμέρισε τοῖς τρισὶν αὐτοῦ υἱοῖς, καὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ Φοίνιξ Τύρον καὶ τὴν ἐνορίαν αὐτῆς, καλέσας τὴν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ χώραν Φοινίκην εἰς τὸ ἴδιον ὄνομα, ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ Σύρος τὴν ἐπιλαχοῦσαν αὐτῷ χώραν, εἰς τὸ ἴδιον ὄνομα ἐκάλεσε Συρίαν· καὶ ὁ Κήληξ τὸ ἐπιλαχὸν αὐτῷ κλῖμα, ἐκάλεσε Κιλικίαν.