16

the acceptance of victims was introduced, full of cruelty, so that the curses previously spoken against us seemed now to have reached their fulfillment, with men slaughtering and bloodying the altars.” 1.9.12 So says Porphyry, no less than Theophrastus. And a seal for our argument would be Plato in the Cratylus, before the things said by him about the Greeks, speaking thus, word for word: “It seems to me that the first men in Greece held only these as gods, the very ones that many of the barbarians now do: sun and moon and earth and stars and sky; and so, seeing them all always going on their course and running, from this nature of ‘running’ (theein) they named them ‘gods’ (theous).” 1.9.13

9. THAT THEY HAD NO MYTHOLOGY ABOUT THE GODS, NOR INDEED THE ERECTION OF WOODEN IMAGES

But that the first and most ancient men neither paid attention to the building of temples nor to the setting up of wooden images, since at that time the art of painting or modeling or carving or statue-making had not yet been invented, nor indeed were building or architecture yet established, is clear, I think, to anyone who reasons. 1.9.14 But that there was no memory for them then of the gods and heroes named afterwards, nor then was there for them any Zeus, or Cronos, or Poseidon, or Apollo, or Hera, or Athena, or Dionysus, nor any other female and male god, such as the countless ones afterwards among both barbarians and Greeks, but not even was any good or evil demon marveled at among men, but only the visible celestial stars, from 'theein', which is 'to run', happened to get the name of 'gods', as they themselves say, and that not even were these worshipped with sacrifices of living animals and with the honors devised afterwards—this argument is not ours, but the testimony is from their own home and from the Greeks themselves, providing the proof through the sayings set forth before and those that will be cited in order. 1.9.15 And our sacred scriptures also teach this, stating that in the beginning the honor of the visible luminaries was allotted to all the nations, but to the Hebrew race alone was entrusted the full knowledge of the God who is maker and creator of all things and of the true piety towards him. 1.9.16 Therefore there was no account of a Greek or barbarian theogony for the most ancient of men, nor an erection of lifeless wooden images, nor the now abundant nonsense of the naming of male and female gods. 1.9.17 At any rate, the appellations and the names, invented later by men, were not yet known among men then, nor invocations of unseen demons and spirits, no outlandish mythologies about gods and heroes, no mysteries of secret rites, nor anything at all of the great and idle talk of the superstition of later men. 1.9.18 These things, therefore, were inventions of men and fabrications of a mortal nature, or rather contrivances of shameful and licentious ways, according to the divine oracle among us which says: “The devising of idols was the beginning of fornication.” 1.9.19 At any rate, the polytheistic error of all the nations has appeared long ages later, beginning from the Phoenicians and Egyptians, and passing from them both to the other nations and as far as the Greeks themselves, as the most ancient history also relates this again, which it is now time to examine, beginning from the Phoenician accounts. 1.9.20

10. THAT THE THINGS COMMONLY REPORTED AMONG THE MANY CONCERNING THE GODS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED MORE RECENTLY INTO LIFE

16

θυμάτων παράληψις ἐπεισήχθη ὠμότητος πλήρης, ὡς δοκεῖν τὰς πρόσθεν λεχθείσας καθ' ἡμῶν ἀρὰς νῦν τέλος εἰληφέναι, σφαξάντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τοὺς βωμοὺς αἱμαξάντων.» 1.9.12 Τοσαῦτα καὶ ὁ Πορφύριος, οὐ μᾶλλον ἢ ὁ Θεόφραστος. ἐπισφράγισμα δὲ τοῦ λόγου γένοιτ' ἂν ἡμῖν ὁ Πλάτων ἐν Κρατύλῳ, πρόσθεν τῶν εἰρημένων αὐτῷ περὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὧδέ πη φάσκων πρὸς ῥῆμα· «Φαίνονταί μοι οἱ πρῶτοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων περὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα τούτους μόνους τοὺς θεοὺς ἡγεῖσθαι, οὕσπερ νῦν πολλοὶ τῶν βαρβάρων, ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ γῆν καὶ ἄστρα καὶ οὐρανόν· ἅτε οὖν αὐτὰ ὁρῶντες πάντα ἀεὶ ἰόντα δρόμῳ καὶ θέοντα, ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς φύσεως τῆς τοῦ θέειν θεοὺς αὐτοὺς ἐπονομάσαι». 1.9.13

θʹ. ΟΤΙ ΜΗ∆ΕΜΙΑ ΤΙΣ ΗΝ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΘΕΩΝ ΜΥΘΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΟΥ∆Ε ΓΕ

ΞΟΑΝΩΝ Ι∆ΡΥΣΙΣ Ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν οἱ πρῶτοι καὶ παλαίτατοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὔτε ναῶν οἰκοδομίαις προσεῖχον οὔτε ξοάνων ἀφιδρύμασιν, οὔπω τότε γραφικῆς οὐδὲ πλαστικῆς ἢ γλυπτικῆς ἢ ἀνδριαντοποιητικῆς τέχνης ἐφευρημένης, οὐδὲ μὴν οἰκοδομικῆς οὐδὲ ἀρχιτεκτονικῆς πω[ς] συνεστώσης, παντί 1.9.14 τῳ οἶμαι συλλογιζομένῳ δῆλον εἶναι. ὅτι δὲ οὐδὲ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα κατωνομασμένων θεῶν τε καὶ ἡρώων μνήμη τις τοῖς τότε παρῆν οὔτ' οὖν τις ἦν αὐτοῖς Ζεύς, οὐ Κρόνος, οὐ Ποσειδῶν, οὐκ Ἀπόλλων, οὐχ Ἥρα, οὐκ Ἀθηνᾶ, οὐ ∆ιόνυσος, οὐδέ τις ἕτερος θήλειά τε καὶ ἄρρην θεός, οἷοι μετὰ ταῦτα μυρίοι παρά τε βαρβάροις καὶ Ἕλλησιν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ δαίμων τις ἀγαθὸς ἢ φαῦλος ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐθαυμάζετο, μόνα δὲ τὰ φαινόμενα τῶν οὐρανίων ἄστρων, παρὰ τὸ θέειν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τρέχειν, θεῶν δὴ προσηγορίας, ὡς αὐτοί φασιν, ἐτύγχανον, καὶ οὐδὲ ταῦτα ταῖς διὰ ζῴων θυσίαις καὶ ταῖς μετὰ ταῦτα περινοηθείσαις τιμαῖς ἐθρησκεύετο, οὐχ ἡμέτερος ὁ λόγος, οἴκοθεν δὲ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν Ἑλλήνων ἡ μαρτυρία, διὰ τῶν προτεθειμένων φωνῶν καὶ τῶν αὖθις ἑξῆς παρατεθησομένων τὴν ἀπό1.9.15 δειξιν παρασχομένη. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ οἱ ἱεροὶ καθ' ἡμᾶς διδάσκουσι λόγοι, πᾶσι μὲν τοῖς ἔθνεσι τὸ κατ' ἀρχὰς τὴν τῶν ὁρωμένων φωστήρων τιμὴν ἀπονενεμῆσθαι περιέχοντες, μόνῳ δὲ τῷ Ἑβραίων γένει τὴν ἐποπτείαν ἀνατεθεῖσθαι τοῦ τῶν ὅλων ποιητοῦ τε καὶ δημιουργοῦ θεοῦ 1.9.16 καὶ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἀληθοῦς εὐσεβείας. οὐκ ἄρα τις ἦν θεογονίας Ἑλληνικῆς ἢ βαρβαρικῆς τοῖς παλαιοτάτοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων λόγος, οὐδὲ ξοάνων ἀψύχων ἵδρυσις οὐδὲ ἡ νῦν πολλὴ φλυαρία τῆς τῶν θεῶν ἀρ1.9.17 ρένων τε καὶ θηλειῶν ὀνομασίας. αἱ γοῦν προσηγορίαι καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὕστερον ἐφευρημένα οὔπω τότε ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐγνωρίζετο, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ δαιμόνων καὶ πνευμάτων ἀφανῶν ἀνακλήσεις, οὐκ ἔκτοποι περὶ θεῶν καὶ ἡρώων μυθολογίαι, οὐκ ἀπορρήτων τελετῶν μυστήρια, οὐδ' ὅλως τι τῆς πολλῆς καὶ ἀδολέσχου τῶν μετέπειτα ἀνδρῶν δεισιδαι1.9.18 μονίας. ἀνθρώπων ἄρα ταῦτα ἦν εὑρήματα καὶ θνητῆς φύσεως ἀναπλάσματα, μᾶλλον δὲ τρόπων αἰσχρῶν καὶ ἀκολάστων ἐπιτεχνήματα, κατὰ τὸ παρ' ἡμῖν θεῖον λόγιον τὸ φάσκον· «ἀρχὴ πορνείας ἐπίνοια εἰδώλων». 1.9.19 ἡ γοῦν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων πολύθεος πλάνη μακροῖς ὕστερον αἰῶσι πέφανται, ἀρξαμένη μὲν ἀπὸ Φοινίκων καὶ Αἰγυπτίων, διαβᾶσα δὲ ἐκ τούτων ἐπί τε τὰ λοιπὰ ἔθνη καὶ μέχρις αὐτῶν Ἑλλήνων, ὡς καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν ἡ τῶν παλαιτάτων ἱστορία κατέχει, ἣν καὶ αὐτὴν ἐπισκέψασθαι καιρὸς ἀπὸ τῶν Φοινικικῶν ἀρξαμένους. 1.9.20

ιʹ. ΟΤΙ ΝΕΩΤΕΡΑ ΤΩΙ ΒΙΩΙ ΠΑΡΕΙΣΗΚΤΑΙ ΤΑ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΘΕΩΝ ΠΑΡΑ ΤΟΙΣ

ΠΟΛΛΟΙΣ ΤΕΘΡΥΛΗΜΕΝΑ