X.  Again they bring forward as another god Hephaistos.  And they say of him, that he is lame, and a cap is set on his head, and he holds in his hands firetongs and a hammer; and he follows the craft of iron working, that thereby he may procure the necessaries of his livelihood.  Is then this god so very needy?  But it cannot be that a god should be needy or lame, else he is very worthless.

And further they bring in another god and call him Hermes.  And they say that he is a thief,12    Adopting Professor Harris’s emendation *** = κλέπτης instead of *** = vir. a lover of avarice, and greedy for gain, and a magician and mutilated and an athlete, and an interpreter of language.  But it is impossible that a god should be a magician or avaricious, or maimed, or craving for what is not his, or an athlete.  And if it be otherwise, he is found to be useless.

And after him they bring forward as another god Asklepios.  And they say that he is a physician and prepares drugs and plaster that he may supply the necessaries of his livelihood.  Is then this god in want?  And at length he was struck with lightning by Dios on account of Tyndareos of Lacedæmon, and so he died.  If then Asklepios were a god, and, when he was struck with lightning, was unable to help himself, how should he be able to give help to others?  But that a divine nature should be in want or be destroyed by lightning is impossible.

And again they bring forward another as a god, and they call him Ares.  And they say that he is a warrior, and jealous, and covets sheep and things which are not his.  And he makes gain by his arms.  And they say that at length he committed adultery with Aphrodite, and was caught by the little boy Eros and by Hephaistos the husband of Aphrodite.  But it is impossible that a god should be a warrior or bound or an adulterer.

And again they say of Dionysos that he forsooth! is a god, who arranges carousals by night, and teaches drunkenness, and carries off women who do not belong to him.  And at length, they say, he went mad and dismissed his handmaidens and fled into the desert; and during his madness he ate serpents.  And at last he was killed by Titanos.  If then Dionysos were a god, and when he was being killed was unable to help himself, how is it possible that he should help others?

Herakles next they bring forward and say that he is a god, who hates detestable things, a tyrant,13    “Tyrant,” ***, seems out of place when connected with Herakles.  Perhaps *** = ebrius, which occurs at the close of the paragraph, should be read here.  Cf. also the Greek. and warrior and a destroyer of plagues.  And of him also they say that at length he became mad and killed his own children, and cast himself into a fire and died.  If then Herakles is a god, and in all these calamities was unable to rescue himself, how should others ask help from him?  But it is impossible that a god should be mad, or drunken or a slayer of his children, or consumed by fire.

[10] Σὺν τούτῳ δὲ καὶ Ἥφαιστόν τινα παρεισάγουσι θεὸν εἶναι καὶ τοῦτον χωλὸν καὶ κρατοῦντα σφῦραν καὶ πυρολάβον καὶ χαλκεύοντα χάριν τροφῆς. ἆρα ἐπενδεής ἐστιν; ὅπερ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται θεὸν εἶναι χωλὸν καὶ προσδεόμενον ἀνθρώπων. εἶτα τὸν Ἡρμῆν παρεισάγουσι θεὸν εἶναι ἐπιθυμητὴν καὶ πλεονέκτην καὶ μάγον καὶ κυλλὸν καὶ λόγων ἑρμηνευτήν. ὅπερ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται θεὸν εἶναι τοιοῦτον. Τὸν δὲ Ἀσκληπιὸν παρεισάγουσι θεὸν εἶναι, ἰατρὸν ὄντα καὶ κατασκευάζοντα φάρμακα καὶ σύνθεσιν ἐμπλάστρων χάριν τροφῆς. ἐπενδεὴς γὰρ ἦν: ὕστερον δὲ κεραυνοῦσθαι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ Διὸς διὰ Τυνδάρεων Λακεδαίμονος υἱὸν καὶ ἀποθανεῖν. εἰ δὲ Ἀσκληπιὸς θεὸς ὢν καὶ κεραυνωθεὶς οὐκ ἠδυνήθη ἑαυτῷ βοηθῆσαι πῶς ἄλλοις βοηθήσει; Ἄρης δὲ παρεισάγεται θεὸς εἶναι πολεμιστὴς καὶ ἐπιθυμητὴς θρεμμάτων καὶ ἑτέρων τινῶν: ὕστερον δὲ αὐτὸν μοιχεύοντα τὴν Ἀφροδίτην δεθῆναι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ νηπίου Ἔρωτος καὶ ὑπὸ Ἡφαίστου. πῶς οὖν θεός ἐστιν ὁ ἐπιθυμητὴς καὶ πολεμιστὴς καὶ δέσμιος καὶ μοιχός; Τὸν δὲ Διόνυσον παρεισάγουσι θεὸν εἶναι, νυκτερινὰς ἄγοντα ἑορτὰς καὶ διδάσκαλον μέθης καὶ ἀποσπῶντα τὰς τῶν πλησίον γυναῖκας καὶ μαινόμενον καὶ φεύγοντα: ὕστερον δὲ αὐτὸν σφαγῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν Τιτάνων. εἰ οὖν Διόνυσος σφαγεὶς οὐκ ἠδυνήθη ἑαυτῷ βοηθῆσαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ μαινόμενος ἦν καὶ δραπέτης, πῶς ἂν εἴη θεός; Τὸν δὲ Ἡρακλῆν παρεισάγουσι μεθυσθῆναι καὶ μανῆναι καὶ τὰ ἴδια τέκνα σφάξαι, εἶτα πυρὶ ἀναλωθῆναι καὶ οὕτως ἀποθανεῖν. πῶς δ' ἂν εἴη θεὸς μέθυσος καὶ τεκνοκτόνος καὶ κατακαιόμενος; ἢ πῶς ἄλλοις βοηθῆσαι, ἑαυτῷ βοηθῆσαι μὴ δυνηθείς;