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rus, Dryops, Jocasta, Philoctetes, Hylas, Polyphemus, Haemon, Chonus, Eurystheus. Therefore, dearest, I have set before you in part the loves of all the more famous gods, so that you may know that only for foolish humans does jealousy arise concerning this. For this reason they are mortal and live their lives in sorrow, because what seemed good to the gods, they themselves through their own jealousy have declared to be bad. You will be blessed, therefore, for the rest of your life by imitating gods and not humans. For humans, seeing you preserve what is considered self-control, praise you on account of their own passion, but do not help you; but the gods, seeing you make yourself like them, will both praise and help you. For consider how many lovers they have had in succession, some of whom they turned into constellations, and of others they benefited both their children and their helpers. For example, Zeus made Callisto a constellation, the one called the Little Bear, which some also call the Dog's Tail. Poseidon, on account of Amphitrite, placed the Dolphin in the heavens, and deemed Orion, the son of Euryale daughter of Minos, worthy of the stars on account of his mother Euryale. Dionysus, the crown of Ariadne. Zeus placed the eagle that helped in the abduction of Ganymede, and Ganymede himself with the honor of the Water-pourer, and he honored the bull on account of Europa. But also Castor and Polydeuces and Helen, to gratify Leda, he made stars, and Perseus on account of Danae, and Arcas on account of Callisto, the Maiden, also called Justice, on account of Themis, Heracles on account of Alcmene. And I will not prolong this any further; for it would be a long task to say in detail how many others the gods have benefited by their unions with humans on account of many lovers, unions which the foolish forbid as evil deeds, not knowing that pleasure is the great enjoyment among humans. What then? Do not also the most famous of the wise prefer pleasure and have they not united with whom they wished? Of whom the first is the teacher of Greece, about whom Phoebus himself said: "Socrates is the wisest of all men," does he not in the most well-ordered city [Lacedaemon] propose that women be held in common and under his cloak cover the handsome Alcibiades? And the Socratic Antisthenes also writes about the necessity of so-called adultery not being rejected. But also his student Diogenes, did he not with Lais for a fee, that of carrying her on his shoulders, have intercourse in public with frankness? Does not Epicurus prefer pleasure? Does not Aristippus, having anointed himself with myrrh, give himself wholly to Aphrodite? Does not Zeno, hinting that things are indifferent, say that the divine is in all things, so that it may become known to the intelligent, so that with whomever one unites, it is as if one unites with oneself, and it is superfluous to forbid so-called adulteries or unions with a mother or daughter or sister or children? And Chrysippus in his erotic letters also mentions the image in Argos, which shows the face of Hera at the genitals of Zeus. I know that these things appear dreadful and most shameful to those uninitiated in the truth, but not to the gods and philosophers of the Greeks, nor to the mysteries of Dionysus and Demeter. But on top of all these things (so that I do not waste time by recounting the lives of all gods and philosophers) let there be two greatest models for you, among gods, Zeus, and among men, the philosopher Socrates. And the rest

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ρου, ∆ρύοπος, Ἰοκάστου, Φιλοκτήτου, Ὕλα, Πολυφήμου, Aἵμονος, Χώνου, Eὐρυσθέως. πάντων οὖν σοι τῶν ἐπισημοτέρων θεῶν ἐκ μέρους τοὺς ἔρωτας παρεθέμην, φιλτάτη, ἵν' εἰδῇς ὅτι μόνοις ἀνθρώποις τοῖς ἀνοήτοις περὶ τούτου γίνεται ζηλοτυπία. διὸ καὶ θνητοὶ τυγχάνουσιν καὶ λυπηρῶς τὸν βίον διατελοῦσιν, ὅτι τὰ δόξαντα τοῖς θεοῖς καλὰ αὐτοὶ διὰ τὸν αὐτῶν ζῆλον κακὰ εἶναι ἀπεφήναντο. μακαρία οὖν ἔσῃ τοῦ λοι- ποῦ μιμουμένη θεοὺς καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώπους. ἄνθρωποι γὰρ τὴν νομι- ζομένην σωφροσύνην ἰδόντες σε διαφυλάσσουσαν, διὰ τὸ ἴδιον πάθος ἐπαινοῦσιν μέν, οὐκ ὠφελοῦσιν δέ· θεοὶ δὲ ἐξομοιουμένην σε ἑαυτοῖς ὁρῶντες καὶ ἐπαινέσουσιν καὶ ὠφελήσουσιν. λόγισαι γάρ μοι πόσας ἠμείψαντο ἐρωμένας, ὧν τὰς μὲν κατηστέρισαν, τινῶν δὲ καὶ τέκνα καὶ συνεργοὺς εὐηργέτησαν. αὐτίκα γοῦν Ζεὺς κατηστέρισεν Καλλιστώ, τὴν λεγομένην ἄρκτον μικράν, ἣν καὶ κυνὸς οὐρὰν προσαγορεύουσίν τινες. Πο- σειδῶν ∆ελφῖνα διὰ τὴν Ἀμφιτρίτην ἐνέταξεν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ Ὠρίωνα τὸν ἐξ Eὐρυάλης τῆς Μίνω δι' Eὐρυάλην τὴν μητέρα τῶν ἄστρων κατ- ηξίωσεν. ∆ιόνυσος τὸν Ἀριάδνης στέφανον. Ζεὺς τὸν ἀετὸν συνεργή- σαντα ἐπὶ τῇ Γανυμήδους ἁρπαγῇ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Γανυμήδην ἐν Ὑδρηχόου τιμῇ ἔταξεν καὶ ταῦρον δι' Eὐρώπην ἐτίμησεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ Κάστορα καὶ Πολυδεύκην καὶ Ἑλένην Λήδᾳ χαριζόμενος ἐποίησεν ἀστέρας καὶ Περσέα διὰ ∆ανάην καὶ Ἀρκάδα διὰ Καλλιστώ, Παρθένον τὴν καὶ ∆ίκην διὰ Θέμιν, Ἡρακλέα διὰ Ἀλκμήνην. καὶ οὐκέτι μηκύνω πλέον· μακρὸν δὲ τὸ κατ' εἶδος λέγειν ὅσους ἄλλους διὰ πολλὰς ἐρωμένας εὐεργετήκασιν οἱ θεοὶ ταῖς πρὸς ἀνθρώπους κοινωνίαις, ἃς οἱ ἀνόητοι ὡς κακὰς πράξεις ἀπαγορεύουσιν, οὐκ εἰδότες ὅτι ἡδονή ἐστιν ἡ μεγάλη ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀπό- λαυσις. τί δέ; καὶ τῶν σοφῶν οἱ περιβόητοι οὐχ ἡδονὴν προκρίνουσιν καὶ αἷς ἐβουλήθησαν ἐμίγησαν; ὧν πρῶτος ὁ τῆς Ἑλλάδος διδάσκαλος, περὶ οὗ αὐτὸς ὁ Φοῖβος ἔφη· «Ἀνδρῶν ἁπάντων Σωκράτης σοφώτατος», οὐκ ἐν τῇ εὐνομωτάτῃ πόλει [τῇ Λακεδαίμονι] κοινὰς προτίθησι τὰς γυ- ναῖκας καὶ ὑπὸ τῷ τρίβωνι τὸν καλὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην καλύπτει; καὶ ὁ Σω- κρατικὸς δὲ Ἀντισθένης περὶ τοῦ δεῖν τὴν λεγομένην μοιχείαν μὴ ἀπο- σείεσθαι γράφει. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ τούτου μαθητὴς ∆ιογένης Λαδι οὐκ ἐπὶ μισθῷ, τῷ φέρειν αὐτὴν ἐπ' ὤμων, δημοσίᾳ κοινωνεῖ μετὰ παρρησίας; οὐκ Ἐπίκουρος ἡδονὴν προκρίνει; οὐκ Ἀρίστιππος μυρισθεὶς ὅλον αὑτὸν Ἀφροδίτῃ χαρίζεται; οὐ Ζήνων ἀδιαφορεῖν αἰνισσόμενος διὰ πάντων τὸ θεῖον εἶναι λέγει, ἵνα γνώριμον τοῖς συνετοῖς γένηται, ἵνα, ᾧ ἄν τις μιγῇ, ὡς ἑαυτῷ μίγνυται, καὶ περισσὸν τὸ ἀπαγορεύειν τὰς λεγομένας μοιχείας ἢ μίξεις μητρὸς ἢ θυγατρὸς ἢ ἀδελφῆς ἢ παίδων; Χρύσιππος δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἐρωτικαῖς ἐπιστολαῖς καὶ τῆς ἐν Ἄργει εἰκόνος μέμνηται, πρὸς τῷ τοῦ ∆ιὸς αἰδοίῳ φέρων τῆς Ἥρας τὸ πρόσωπον. οἶδα ὅτι ταῦτα τοῖς ἀληθείας ἀμυήτοις φοβερὰ καὶ αἴσχιστα καταφαίνεται, ἀλλ' οὐ τοῖς Ἑλλήνων θεοῖς καὶ φιλοσόφοις, οὐ τοῖς ∆ιονύσου καὶ ∆ήμητρος μυστη- ρίοις. ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἅπασιν τούτοις (ἵνα μὴ πάντων θεῶν καὶ φιλοσόφων τοὺς βίους λέγων παραναλίσκω τοὺς χρόνους) δύο ἔστωσάν σοι μέγιστοι σκοποί, θεῶν μὲν Ζεύς, ἀνδρῶν δὲ φιλοσόφων Σωκράτης. τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ