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Sarpedon, son of Zeus, but he does not even defend his own son, who would not blame those who, because of such myths, are lovers of the gods, or rather, atheists, for their ignorance? Let them be flesh-like, but let not even Aphrodite be wounded in her body by Diomedes, "The son of Tydeus, high-spirited Diomedes, has wounded me", or in her soul by Ares, as Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, ever dishonors me, being lame, and loves destructive Ares. ... "and through his fair flesh it tore", he who is terrible in wars, the ally of Zeus against the Titans, appears weaker than Diomedes. "and he raged as when Ares brandishes his spear." Be silent, Homer, a god does not rage; but you describe the god to me as both blood-stained and the bane of mortals, "Ares, Ares, bane of mortals, blood-stained", you recount the god, and you will describe his adultery and his chains; And the two went to bed and slept, and around them the cunning bonds of resourceful Hephaestus were poured, nor was it possible to move a limb. Do they not cast down this great impious nonsense about the gods? Uranus is castrated, Cronus is bound and cast into Tartarus, the Titans rise up, Styx dies in the battle—they even show them to be mortal—they love one another, they love mortals; Aeneas, whom divine Aphrodite bore to Anchises, a goddess having slept with a mortal on the slopes of Ida. They do not love, they do not suffer; for either they are gods and desire will not touch them ... and if a god should take flesh according to a divine dispensation, is he at once a slave to desire? For never has love for a goddess or a woman so flooded about my heart and subdued it within my breast, not even when I loved the wife of Ixion, nor when I loved Danae of the fair ankles, daughter of Acrisius, nor when I loved the daughter of far-famed Phoenix, nor when I loved Semele, nor Alcmene in Thebes, nor when I loved Demeter, the fair-tressed queen, nor when I loved glorious Leto, nor you yourself. He is created, he is perishable, having nothing of God. But they even serve mortals: O house of Admetus, in which I, though a god, endured to praise a servile table, and they tend cattle: and coming to this land I tended cattle for my host, and I kept this house safe. Therefore Admetus is greater than the god. O prophet and wise one, who foresees the future for others, you did not foretell the murder of your beloved, but you even killed your friend with your own hand; and I the divine, unerring mouth of Phoebus

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Σαρπηδὼν ∆ιὸς υἱός, ὁ δ' οὐδ' ᾧ παιδὶ ἀμύνει, τίς οὐκ ἂν τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις μύθοις φιλοθέους, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀθέους, τῆς ἀμαθίας καταμέμψαιτο; ἔστωσαν σαρκοειδεῖς, ἀλλὰ μὴ τιτρωσκέσθω μηδὲ Ἀφροδίτη ὑπὸ ∆ιομήδους τὸ σῶμα, "οὖτά με Τυδέος υἱὸς ὑπέρθυμος ∆ιομήδης", ἢ ὑπὸ Ἄρεως τὴν ψυχήν, ὡς ἐμὲ χωλὸν ἐόντα ∆ιὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη αἰὲν ἀτιμάζει, φιλέει δ' ἀΐδηλον Ἄρηα. ... "διὰ δὲ χρόα καλὸν ἔδαψεν", ὁ δεινὸς ἐν πολέμοις, ὁ σύμ μαχος κατὰ Τιτάνων τοῦ ∆ιός, ἀσθενέστερος ∆ιομήδους φαίνεται. "μαίνετο δ' ὡς ὅτ' Ἄρης ἐγχέσπαλος" σιώπησον, Ὅμηρε, θεὸς οὐ μαίνεται· σὺ δέ μοι καὶ μιαιφόνον καὶ βροτολοιγόν, "Ἀρες, Ἄρες βροτολοιγέ, μιαιφόνε", διηγῇ τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὴν μοιχείαν αὐτοῦ διέξει καὶ τὰ δεσμά· τὼ δ' ἐς δέμνια βάντε κατέδραθον, ἀμφὶ δὲ δεσμοί τεχνήεντες ἔχυντο πολύφρονος Ἡφαίστοιο, οὐδέ τι κινῆσαι μελέων ἦν. οὐ καταβάλλουσι τὸν πολὺν τοῦτον ἀσεβῆ λῆρον περὶ τῶν θεῶν; Oὐρανὸς ἐκτέμνεται, δεῖται καὶ καταταρταροῦται Κρόνος, ἐπαν ίστανται Τιτᾶνες, Στὺξ ἀποθνῄσκει κατὰ τὴν μάχην ἤδη καὶ θνητοὺς αὐτοὺς δεικνύουσιν-ἐρῶσιν ἀλλήλων, ἐρῶσιν ἀνθρώπων· Aἰνείας, τὸν ὑπ' Ἀγχίσῃ τέκε δῖ' Ἀφροδίτη, Ἴδης ἐν κνημοῖσι θεὰ βροτῷ εὐνηθεῖσα. οὐκ ἐρῶσιν, οὐ πάσχουσιν· ἢ γὰρ θεοὶ καὶ οὐχ ἅψεται αὐτῶν ἐπιθυμία ... κἂν σάρκα θεὸς κατὰ θείαν οἰκονομίαν λάβῃ, ἤδη δοῦλός ἐστιν ἐπιθυμίας; οὐ γὰρ πώποτέ μ' ὧδε θεᾶς ἔρος οὐδὲ γυναικός θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι περιπροχυθεὶς ἐδάμασσεν, οὐδ' ὁπότ' ἠρασάμην Ἰξιονίης ἀλόχοιο, οὐδ' ὅτε περ ∆ανάης καλλισφύρου Ἀκρισιώνης, οὐδ' ὅτε Φοίνικος κούρης τηλεκλειτοῖο, οὐδ' ὅτε περ Σεμέλης, οὐδ' Ἀλκμήνης ἐνὶ Θήβῃ, οὐδ' ὅτε ∆ήμητρος καλλιπλοκάμοιο ἀνάσσης, οὐδ' ὅτε περ Λητοῦς ἐρικυδέος, οὐδὲ σεῦ αὐτῆς. γενητός ἐστιν, φθαρτός ἐστιν, οὐδὲν ἔχων θεοῦ. ἀλλὰ καὶ θητεύουσιν ἀνθρώποις· ὦ δώματ' Ἀδμήτεια, ἐν οἷς ἔτλην ἐγώ θῆσσαν τράπεζαν αἰνέσαι θεός περ ὤν, καὶ βουκολοῦσιν· ἐλθὼν δ' ἐς αἶαν τήνδ' ἐβουφόρβουν ξένῳ, καὶ τόνδ' ἔσῳζον οἶκον. οὐκοῦν κρείττων Ἄδμητος τοῦ θεοῦ. ὦ μάντι καὶ σοφὲ καὶ προειδὼς τοῖς ἄλλοις τὰ ἐσόμενα, οὐκ ἐμαντεύσω τοῦ ἐρωμένου τὸν φόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔκτεινας αὐτοχειρὶ τὸν φίλον· κἀγὼ τὸ Φοίβου θεῖον ἀψευδὲς στόμα