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Hear, then, of the great Zeus himself, of the unions hidden through metamorphosis because of the jealousy of foolish men. For in the first place, wishing to resolve for the wise the suspected sin of adultery in indiscriminate union, whenever he was about to marry and, knowing that, according to the many, he was not becoming an adulterer as on a first marriage bed, through the apparent (as I said) sin, he provided for the sinless marriage. For he marries his sister Hera, having likened himself to a cuckoo's wing, from whom were born both Hebe and Eileithyia. For he begets Metis without union with anyone, just as Hera also [begets] Hephaestus. Moreover, he unites with the sister born to him from Ouranos and Thalassa from the castration of Cronus, <from whom> [came] Eros and Cypris, whom they also call Dodona. And he also unites with Antiope, daughter of Nycteus, having likened himself to a satyr, from whom Amphion and Zethus were born. And he comes together with Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon, having likened himself to Amphitryon who had married her, from whom Heracles was born. And he approaches Aegina, daughter of Asopus, having become an eagle, from whom Aeacus is born. And with Amalthea, daughter of Phocus, having likened himself to a bear, he lies. And to Danae, daughter of Acrisius, he flowed down as gold, from whom Perseus flew up. For Callisto, daughter of Lycaon, he became a wild lion, and she bears another, Arcas. With Europa, daughter of Phoenix, he came together by means of a bull, from whom sprang Minos and Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon. To Eurymedusa, daughter of Achelsus, having become an ant, from whom [came] Myrmidon. To the nymph of Hersaeus, having become a vulture, from whom [came] the ancient wise men in Sicily. With Eima the earth-born in Rhodes he came together through a shower of rain, from whom [came] Spartaeus, Cronius, Cytus. He wedded Cassiopeia, having likened himself to her husband Phoenix, from whom sprang for him Anchinoos. With Nemesis, daughter of Thestius, who was also thought to be Leda, having become a swan or a goose he begat Helen, and again, having become a star, he brought forth Castor and Polydeuces. For Lamia he was transformed into a hoopoe. Mnemosyne, when he had likened himself to a shepherd, he reveals as the mother of the Muses. He marries Semele, daughter of Cadmus, with torches, from whom he brings forth Dionysus. He himself weds his daughter Persephone, having himself likened to a serpent, she who was also thought to be the wife of his brother Plouton. And he unites with many others even without metamorphosis, with their husbands not having jealousy as if over a sin, but knowing well that by sharing ungrudgingly with their wives he begets, bestowing on them Hermes-es, Apollos, Dionysoi, Endymions and as many others as we have mentioned, most distinguished in beauty from his union. And so that I may not spend time on an endless narration, you will find ungrudging unions of all the gods with Zeus, but the foolish speak of adulteries of the gods, who do not even guard against unions with males as shameful things, but practice this too as something seemly. For instance, Zeus himself loves Ganymede, -Poseidon, Pelops-Apollo, Cinyras, Zacynthus, Hyacinthus, Phorbas, Hylas, Admetus, Cyparissus, Amyclas, Troilus, Branchus, Tymnaeus, Parus, Potnieus, Orpheus-and Dionysus, Adonis, Ampelus, Hymenaios, Hermaphroditus, Achilles-and Asclepius, Hippolytus-and Hephaestus, Peleus-and Pan, Daphnis-and Hermes, Perseus, Chrysus, Thersus, Odrysus-and Heracles, Abde-

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ἄκουε τοίνυν αὐτοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου ∆ιὸς διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀνοήτων ἀνδρῶν ζηλοτυπίαν τὰς διὰ τῆς μεταμορφώσεως λανθανούσας κοινωνίας. ἐν πρώτοις γὰρ τῆς ἀδιαφόρου μίξεως τὴν ὑπονοουμένην τῆς μοιχείας ἁμαρ- τίαν σοφοῖς λῦσαι θέλων, ὁπότε ἔμελλεν γαμεῖν καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ πρώτῃ εὐνῇ κατὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς μοιχὸς εἰδὼς οὐ γινόμενος, διὰ τῆς δοκούσης (ὡς ἔφην) ἁμαρτίας τὸν ἀναμάρτητον γάμον ἐπορίσατο. ἀδελφὴν γὰρ αὑτοῦ Ἥραν οὖσαν γαμεῖ, ὁμοιωθεὶς κόκκυγος πτερῷ, ἐξ ἧς Ἥβη τε καὶ Eἰλείθυια ἐγένετο. τὴν Μῆτιν γὰρ χωρὶς τῆς πρός τινα μίξεως ἀπο- κυίσκει, ὡς καὶ Ἥρα τὸν Ἥφαιστον. ἔτι δὲ μίγνυται ἀδελφῇ τῇ ἐξ Oὐρανοῦ καὶ Θαλάσσης αὐτῷ γενομένῃ ἀπὸ τῆς Κρόνου ἐκτομῆς, <ἐξ ἧς> Ἔρως καὶ Κύπρις, ἣν καὶ ∆ωδώνην λέγουσιν. μίγνυται δὲ καὶ Ἀν- τιόπῃ τῇ Νυκτέως, σατύρῳ παρεικασμένος, ἐξ ἧς Ἀμφίων καὶ Ζῆθος γεγόνασιν. Ἀλκμήνῃ τε τῇ Ἀμφιτρύωνος γυναικὶ συνέρχεται, ὁμοιωθεὶς Ἀμφιτρύωνι τῷ γεγαμηκότι, ἐξ ἧς Ἡρακλῆς ἐγένετο. καὶ Aἰγίνῃ τῇ Ἀσωποῦ πλησιάζει, γενόμενος ἀετός, ἐξ ἧς Aἰακὸς τίκτεται. Ἀμαλθείᾳ δὲ τῇ Φώκου ὁμοιωθεὶς ἄρκτῳ συνευνάζεται. καὶ ∆ανάῃ τῇ Ἀκρισίου χρυσὸς ἐπερρύη, ἐξ ἧς Περσεὺς ἀνέπτη. Καλλιστοῖ τῇ Λυκάονος ἠγριώθη λέων, καὶ ἄλλον τίκτει Ἀρκάδα. Eὐρώπῃ τῇ Φοίνικος διὰ ταύρου συν- ῆλθεν, ἐξ ἧς Μίνως καὶ Ῥαδάμανθυς καὶ Σαρπηδὼν ἐξέφυσαν. Eὐρυ μεδούσῃ τῇ Ἀχελσου μύρμηξ γενόμενος, ἐξ ἧς Μυρμιδών. Ἑρσαίου νύμφῃ γενόμενος γύψ, ἐξ ἧς οἱ ἐν Σικελίᾳ πάλαι σοφοί. εἰμα τῇ γηγε- νεῖ ἐν Ῥόδῳ διὰ ὄμβρου συνῆλθεν, ἐξ ἧς Σπαρταῖος, Κρόνιος, Κύτος. Κασσιέπειαν ἐνύμφευσεν, ὁμοιωθεὶς τῷ γήμαντι Φοίνικι, ἐξ ἧς Ἀγχίνοος αὐτῷ ἐξέφυ. Νεμέσει τῇ Θεστίου τῇ καὶ Λήδᾳ νομισθείσῃ κύκνος ἢ χὴν γενόμενος Ἑλένην ἐτεκνώσατο καὶ αὖθις ἀστὴρ γενόμενος Κάστορα καὶ Πολυδεύκην ἐξέφηνεν. Λαμίᾳ ἐπεμορφώθη ἔποψ. Μνημοσύνην, αὐτὸς εἰκασθεὶς ποιμένι, Μουσῶν ἀποφαίνει μητέρα. Σεμέλην τὴν Κά- δμου πυρσέων γαμεῖ, ἐξ ἧς ∆ιόνυσον τελεῖ. Περσεφόνην αὐτὸς ἐκνυμ- φεύει τὴν θυγατέρα, αὐτὸς ὁμοιωθεὶς δράκοντι, τῇ καὶ γυναικὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ Πλούτωνος εἶναι νομισθείσῃ. καὶ ἄλλαις πολλαῖς καὶ δίχα μεταμορφώσεως μίγνυται, ζῆλον τῶν ἀνδρῶν οὐκ ἐχόντων ὡς ἐφ' ἁμαρτίᾳ, ἀλλ' εὖ εἰδότων ὅτι ἀφθόνως ταῖς γυναιξὶν αὐτῶν κοινωνῶν γεννᾷ, χαριζόμενος αὐτοῖς Ἑρμεῖς, Ἀπόλλωνας, ∆ιονύσους, Ἐνδυμίωνας καὶ ὅσους ἄλλους εἰρήκαμεν, ἐκ μίξεως αὐτοῦ κάλλει διαπρεπεστά- τους. καὶ ἵνα μὴ εἰς ἄπειρον ἐξήγησιν τὸν χρόνον δαπανῶ, πάντων μετὰ ∆ιὸς θεῶν ἀφθόνους εὑρήσεις κοινωνίας, οἱ ἀνόητοι δὲ μοιχείας λέγουσι τῶν θεῶν μηδὲ τῶν ἀρρένων τὰς μίξεις φυλασσομένων ὡς αἰσχράς, ἀλλὰ ἐπιτηδευόντων καὶ τοῦτο ὡς εὐπρεπές. αὐτίκα γοῦν αὐτὸς ὁ Ζεὺς Γανυμήδους ἐρᾷ, -Ποσειδῶν Πέλοπος-Ἀπόλλων Κινύρου, Ζακύνθου, Ὑακίνθου, Φόρβαντος, Ὕλα, Ἀδμήτου, Κυπαρίσσου, Ἀμύκλα, Τρωίλου, Βράγχου, Τυμναίου, Πάρου, Ποτνιέως, Ὀρφέως-∆ιόνυσος δὲ Ἀδώνι δος, Ἀμπέλου, Ὑμεναίου, Ἑρμαφροδίτου, Ἀχιλλέως-ὁ δὲ Ἀσκλη- πιὸς Ἱππολύτου-καὶ Ἥφαιστος Πηλέως-Πὰν δὲ ∆άφνιδος-ὁ δὲ Ἑρμῆς Περσέως, Χρύσου, Θέρσου, Ὀδρύσου-Ἡρακλῆς δὲ Ἀβδή-