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has thrown over her left shoulder; and with her left hand holding the descending garment together, look, she has fastened the shawl with her fingertips. But her hair, free and unbound, wanders in the breezes about her shoulders, held back from her eyes by a headband, but streaming down her back. 29 And Hippolytus, this horseman, yes, by Zeus, is handsome to see. A chlamys is fitted on his right shoulder. Taking the bridle in his left hand, he checks the horse, as is likely, from its disorderly rush. 30 But if it pleases you, let us not pass by the mountain, whether it is Hymettus or Aegaleos or whatever it rejoices to be called. Here are lambs and flocks, and shepherd dogs terrifying the old woman with their barking and fury, brought from both sides by a servant. And a certain Attic old man is beside them; I think he is the shepherd of the flock; for he is half-naked, wearing an exomis, bent with age and with his limbs drawn together, carrying a shepherd's crook, and showing his time spent in the sun by the blackness of his color. He stretches out his right hand in supplication to Hippolytus, pitying the old age in which he himself stands, but fearing that the little woman might soon die first; and with his head and gaze he has turned toward the suffering. 31 And as you run up to the summit of the mountain, the sights are incomplete; a gazelle, not yet whole, but for now submerged up to its middle in the woods. For hearing the barking and noise of dogs, it foresees the hunt for itself and has run to the hollows of the wood as to a harbor. And it is thick and spreads out with its branches and with its shade comforts one who is struck by the sun's rays. 32 From here are country women and the goatherd standing with them. For not yet having run up to the top, but still ascending, they appear little by little, still hidden up to the navel and flank; and however much of the way remains, so much of their body is hidden from view. How much do you think this one at the end pants, going uphill and carrying the little child as a burden on her shoulders; which, fearing to fall, with one hand holds on to the top of its mother's head, and in its right hand carries a certain rattle that clatters with the movement of the hands when children play, and which received its name from being shaken. 33 They came up, as is likely, to see the drama concerning Hippolytus. Therefore the man with them points out the old woman's suffering with his right hand. And the two women are amazed and share the pain at the sight, the one with her fingertip, the other resting her chin on the back of her upturned hand. Of these, the one, ashamed to look at men with her head bare, places her hand over it instead of a veil; the other, having lifted her hand from the right armhole of her chiton, partly bares that part and would have shown her breast, if it were not bound by a band. 34 And a horseman and those with him emerging partly from the mountain-ridge went, as is likely, to seek beasts for their master, and they carry their small spears upright. Then, with the drama having happened in the meantime, now that they have returned, at the strangeness of the sight the other wept, his head lowered and falling toward his shoulder. 35 Among them, on high ground, are goats having risen up against each other with their horns, walking on their hind feet and rearing up for the clash of horns; another leaps just like them, and jumps on the old man's shoulders with its forefeet raised. The rest of the goat-herd, as is the custom of goats, is occupied with grazing, one after another. 36 But since, as it pleased the painter, he set down a certain part of the Trojan tales in his pictures, variegating the narratives for us with a change of scene, come now, let us ascend with him to the heights and let us too paint in words the picture that is placed above the things that have been described. 37 The Trojans toiled, the Greeks toiled, fighting for Helen. And once when they were about to join battle, if I remember the epic poems at all, when their army was swelling with vigor and spirit, and they were rushing against each other, it seemed that the end of the common battle would be the judgment concerning Helen, having committed it to two men, to Paris and indeed to Menelaus, the one justly seeking her whom he had, the other her whom

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ὦμον ἀριστερὸν ἀναβέβληται· καὶ τῇ λαιᾷ τὴν ἐσθῆτα κατιοῦσαν συνέχουσα ἄκροις ἰδοὺ δακτύλοις συνέσφιγξε τὸ προβόλιον. ἡ δὲ κόμη ἐλευθέρα καὶ ἀνειμένη ταῖς αὔραις περιπλανᾶται τοῖς ὤμοις, ὁμωνύμῳ στέμματι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μὲν ἀνεσταλμένη, τὰ νῶτα δὲ περιρρέουσα. 29 Ὁ δὲ Ἱππόλυτος ἱππότης οὗτος καὶ ναὶ μὰ ∆ία πρέπων ὁρᾶσθαι. χλαμὺς αὐτῷ πρὸς ὦμον δεξιὸν ἐναρμόττεται. τὸν χαλινὸν τῇ λαιᾷ λαβών, ἀτάκτου ῥύμης τὸν ἵππον, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἀνακρούεται. 30 Ἀλλ' εἰ δοκοῦν ὑμῖν ἐστιν, μηδὲ τὸ ὄρος παρέλθωμεν, εἴτε τίς ἐστιν Ὑμηττὸς ἢ τὸ Αἰγάλεων ἢ ὅ τι χαίρει λεγόμενον. ἄρνες ἐνταῦθα καὶ ποῖμναι σκύλακές τε ποιμενικοὶ ὑλακῇ καὶ θυμῷ καταπλήττοντες τὴν γραῦν, οἰκέτου διχόθεν φερόμενοι. πρεσβύτης δέ τις Ἀττικὸς παρ' αὐτούς· νομέα τοῦτον οἶμαι τῆς ποίμνης· ἡμίγυμνός τε γάρ ἐστιν, ἐξωμίδα ἐνειμένος κεκυφώς τε τῷ γήρᾳ καὶ [τοῖς μέλε]σι συγκαθήμενος καλαύροπά τε φέρων καὶ τῷ τοῦ χρώματος μέλανι τὴν ἐν ἡλίῳ διατριβὴν ἐνδεικνύμενος. προτείνε̣ι̣ δ̣ε`̣ πρὸς ἱκετηρίαν Ἱππολύτου τὴν δεξιάν, ἐλεῶν τὸ γῆρας, ἐν ᾧπερ δὴ καὶ καθέστηκε, δεδιὼς δὲ μὴ καὶ φθάσῃ τάχα προτελευτῆσαν τὸ γύναιον· κεφαλῇ δὲ καὶ βλέμματι πρὸς δὴ τὸ πάθος μετέστραπται. 31 Ἀναδραμόντι δέ σοι πρὸς ἀκρωνυχίαν τοῦ ὄρους ἡμιτελῆ τὰ θεάματα· δὸρξ οὔπω μὲν ὅλος, μέχρι δὲ τέως τοῦ μέσου πρὸς τὴν ὕλην καταδυόμενος. κυνῶν γὰρ ὑλακῆς καὶ θορυβούντων ἀκούσας τὴν ἐφ' ἑαυτῷ μαντεύεται θήραν καὶ τοῖς κόλποις τῆς ὕλης ὡς δὴ λιμένι προσέδραμεν. ἡ δὲ ἀμφιλαφής τε ἐστὶν καὶ χεῖται τοῖς κλάδοις καὶ τῇ σκιᾷ παραμυθεῖται τὸν ταῖς ἀκτῖσι βαλλόμενον. 32 Ἀγροίκων δὲ γυναῖκες ἐντεῦθεν καὶ ὁ σὺν ταύταις αἰπόλος ἱστάμενος. οὔπω γὰρ πρὸς ἄκραν ἀναδραμόντες, ἀλλ' ἀνιόντες ἔτι κατὰ μικρὸν ἀναφαίνονται, εἰς ὀμφαλὸν ἔτι καὶ λαγόνα κρυπτόμενοι· καὶ ὅσον ἦσαν ὁδοῦ, τοσοῦτον λείπει πρὸς θέαν τοῦ σώματος. πόσον οἴει τὴν ἐν ἄκρῳ ταύτην ἀσθμαίνειν πρὸς ἄναντες ἀνιοῦσαν καὶ φορτίον τοῖς ὤμοις ἐπάγουσαν τὸ παιδάριον· ὅπερ δὴ καταπεσεῖν δεδιὸς χειρὶ μὲν ἑτέρᾳ κεφαλῆς ἄκρας τῆς τεκούσης ἀντέχεται, τῇ δεξιᾷ δὲ κρόταλόν τι φέρει χειρῶν κινήσει παταγοῦν, ὅταν οἱ παῖδες ἀθύρωσι, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ σείεσθαι προσηγορίαν δεξάμενον. 33 Ἀνῆλθον δὲ ὡς εἰκὸς τὰ περὶ τὸν Ἱππόλυτον θεασόμεναι δράματα. τοιγαροῦν ὁ παρὰ ταύταις ἀνὴρ τὸ τῆς γραὸς πάθος τῇ δεξιᾷ παραδείκνυσιν. αἱ δὲ δύο τεθήπασί τε καὶ συναλγοῦσι τῇ θέᾳ, ἡ μὲν ἄκρῳ δακτύλῳ, ἡ δὲ ἀνεστραμμένῃ χειρὶ τοῖς τῶν δακτύλων νώτοις τὴν ἑαυτῆς γένυν ἐρείσασα. τούτων ἡ μὲν γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ βλέπειν αἰδουμένη πρὸς ἄρρενας ἀντὶ φάρους τινὸς τὴν χεῖρα κατ' αὐτῆς ἐπιτίθησιν· ἡ δὲ χεῖρα τῆς δεξιᾶς μασχάλης τοῦ χιτῶνος ἀναρτήσασα παραγυμνοῖ τὸ μέρος καὶ τὸν μασθὸν ἂν ὑπέδειξεν, εἰ μὴ τῇ ταινίᾳ συνέσφικτο. 34 Ἱππεὺς δὲ καὶ οἱ παρὰ τοῦτον τῆς ἀκρωρείας ἐκ μέρους ἀνέχοντες θηρία μὲν, ὡς εἰκὸς, τῷ δεσπότῃ ζητήσοντες ᾤχοντο καὶ φέρουσιν ὀρθὰ τὰ δοράτια. εἶτα συμβάντος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ δράματος, νῦν ὡς ἐπανῆλθον, τῷ παραδόξῳ τῆς θέας † ἅτερος καθειμένῃ τῇ κεφαλῇ καὶ πιπτούσῃ πρὸς ὦμον ἐδάκρυσεν. 35 Ὧν ἐν μετεώρῳ τράγοι τοῖς κέρασι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀναστάντες, ποσὶ τοῖς ὄπισθε βαίνοντες καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῶν κεράτων ἐμβολὴν ἐγειρόμενοι· ὁ δὲ σκιρτᾷ μὲν ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοι, τῶν δὲ τοῦ γέροντος ὤμων ποσὶ προσανεστηκόσιν ἐφάλλεται. τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν αἰπόλιον, ᾗ νόμος αἰγῶν, ἄλλος ἐπ' ἄλλῳ τῆς νομῆς ἀπησχόληται. 36 Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ, τῷ ζωγράφῳ δοκοῦν, μέρος τι τῶν Τρωϊκῶν ἐναπετίθει τοῖς γράμμασι, θέας ἡμῖν παραλλαγῇ καταποικίλλων τὰ διηγήματα, δεῦρο δὴ συναναβάντες αὐτῷ πρὸς τὰ μετέωρα τὴν τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐπικειμένην γραφὴν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ αὐτοὶ ζωγραφήσωμεν. 37 Ἐπόνουν Τρῶες, ἐπόνουν Ἕλληνες α᾿̣μ̣φ' Ἑλένῃ μαχόμενοι. καί ποτε συμβαλεῖν μελλόντων, εἴ τι καὶ μέμνημαι τῶν ἐπῶν, ἀκμῇ τε καὶ θυμῷ σφριγῶντος αὐτοῖς τοῦ στρατεύματος, καὶ κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐπειγομένων, τῆς κοινῆς μάχης ἐδόκει πέρας ἔσεσθαι τὴν περὶ τῆς Ἑλένης κρίσιν εἰς δύο που περιστήσαντας, εἰς τε Πάριν εἴς τε δὴ καὶ Μενέλαον, τὸν μὲν ἣν εἶχε δικαίως ζητοῦντα, τὸν δὲ ἣν