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I do not know, but at least I think I know clearly, that he is a god. For instance,

appearing as a world-ruler by his power, he dissolves many marriages and punishes his father along with his uncles, and when he died in this way, the Cretans point out his tomb. And in Mesopotamia lie a certain Helios in Hatra, a certain Selene in Carrhae, a certain man Hermes in Egypt, Ares in Thrace, Aphrodite in Cyprus, Asclepius in Epidaurus; and the tombs of many other such beings

are shown. Thus, it is manifestly confessed by those who think rightly that they were born as men. And their contemporaries, perceiving that they were born mortals, paid them less attention after they died, but the great length of time invested them with the reputation of gods. And do not be surprised if the people in the time of Asclepius and Heracles were deceived, or in the time of Dionysus or some other of that age, when even Hector in Ilium and Achilles on the island Leuce are worshiped by those there, Patroclus by the Opuntians, Alexander the Macedonian by the Rhodians. But also among the Egyptians even now a man is worshiped as a god before his death. And this is a lesser impiety, that the Egyptians bestow divine honors on a living man, but the most ridiculous thing of all is that they worship birds and reptiles and all animals. For the majority of men think or do nothing with judgment. But consider this, the most shameful thing of all: they depict Zeus himself, whom they call the father of gods and men, in union with Leda, and dedicate the painting in public. And for vengeance of this

outrage, I would wish that they would paint their king of the time in a shameful embrace, just as they have dared to do in the case of Zeus, and having done so, dedicate it in public, so that at least from the anger of the temporary king (and he being a man) they might learn by being punished how they ought to render due honor. But I say these things to you not as having myself already recognized the true god, but confessing with good judgment: If even what god

the first four elements cannot be god, having been created by another, nor the mixture, nor the blending, nor the generation, nor the whole visible vessel that contains all, nor the sediment collecting in hades, nor the water on the surface, nor the boiling substance, nor the air extending from it to the things here. For the four elements, if they were separate from one another, could not be mixed for the generation of a living being without some great artisan—and if they were always joined to one another, even so they are fitted together by an artisan mind for the appropriate limbs and parts of the living being, so that it can preserve the proportion of each to each and have a well-defined state and all the internal parts receive their proper harmony; and likewise the artisan mind precisely arranges the proper places of each with all beauty. To speak concisely: and the other things, whatever a living being must have, nothing was lacking to this great living being of the whole circuit. Thus, there must be some uncreated artisan mind, who either brought together the separate elements or, they being together, skillfully blended them for the generation of a living being and completed one work from them all; for it is impossible for a very wise work to be completed without some greater mind. Nor indeed can Eros be the artisan of all things, not

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οὐκ οἶδα, ἀλλ' οὖν γε σαφῶς, ὅτι θεός, νομίζω εἰδέναι. αὐτίκα γοῦν

νάμει κοσμοκράτωρ ἀναφανεὶς πολλοὺς διαλύει γάμους καὶ τὸν πατέρα σὺν τοῖς θείοις κολάζει καὶ οὕτως τελευτήσαντος τὸν τάφον Κρῆτες ἐπι- δεικνύουσιν. ἐν δὲ τῇ Μεσοποταμίᾳ κεῖνται Ἥλιος μέν τις ἐν Ἄτροις, Σελήνη δέ τις ἐν Κάρραις, Ἑρμῆς ἐν Aἰγύπτῳ τις ἄνθρωπος, Ἄρης ἐν Θρᾴκῃ, Ἀφρο- δίτη ἐν Κύπρῳ, Ἀσκληπιὸς ἐν Ἐπιδαύρῳ· καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν τοιούτων φαί- νονται τάφοι. οὕτως προφανῶς τοῖς ὀρθῶς νοοῦσιν ἄνθρωποι γεγε- νῆσθαι ὡμολόγηνται. καὶ οἱ μὲν συνχρονοῦντες αὐτοῖς, ὑπαισθόμενοι αὐτοὺς θνητοὺς γεγονέναι, ἀμελέστερον αὐτοῖς ἀποθανοῦσιν προσεῖχον, ὁ δὲ πολὺς χρόνος δόξαν θεῶν αὐτοῖς περιέθηκεν. καὶ μὴ θαύμαζε εἰ οἱ κατὰ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ἡρακλέα γενόμενοι ἐξηπατήθησαν ἢ κατὰ ∆ιό- νυσον ἢ κατὰ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν τότε, ὅπου καὶ Ἕκτορα ἐν Ἰλίῳ καὶ Ἀχιλ- λέα ἐν Λεύκῃ τῇ νήσῳ οἱ ἐκεῖ προσκυνοῦσιν, Πάτροκλον Ὀπούντιοι, τὸν Μακεδόνα Ἀλέξανδρον Ῥόδιοι. ἀλλὰ καὶ παρ' Aἰγυπτίοις ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἄνθρωπος ὡς θεὸς πρὸ τοῦ θανάτου προσκυνεῖται. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἧττόν ἐστιν ἀσέβημα ὅτι ζῶντος ἀνθρώπου θείας τιμὰς νομίζουσιν Aἰγύπ τιοι, ἀλλὰ τὸ πάντων γελοιότατον ὅτι καὶ πτηνὰ καὶ ἑρπετὰ καὶ ζῷα πάντα προσκυνοῦσιν. οὐδὲν γὰρ κρίσει νοοῦσιν ἢ ποιοῦσιν οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. τὸ δὲ πάντων αἴσχιστον ἰδέ μοι· τὸν ∆ία αὐτόν, ὃν[τα] πατέρα θεῶν τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων λέγουσιν, Λήδᾳ συνεσχηματισμένον [ὃν πολλοὶ δία] ἀναγράψαντες ἐν πίνακι δημοσίᾳ ἀνατιθέασιν. πρὸς δὲ τὴν ἐκδικίαν ταύ- της τῆς ὕβρεως ἤθελον εἰ τὸν τοῦ καιροῦ βασιλέα αὐτῶν γράψαν- τες ἐπὶ αἰσχρᾶς πλοκῆς, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ ∆ιὸς τετολμήκασιν ποιῆσαι, οὕτω ποιήσαντες ἀνέθεσαν δημοσίᾳ, ἵνα κἂν ἀπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ προσκαίρου βασιλέως (καὶ ταῦτα ἀνθρώπου ὄντος) μάθωσι κολασθέν- τες ὡς δεῖ τὴν δέουσαν ἀπονέμειν τιμήν. ταῦτα δέ σοι λέγω οὐχ ὡς αὐτὸς ἤδη ἐπιγνοὺς τὸν ὄντως θεόν, ἀλλ' εὐγνωμονῶν ὁμολογῶ· Eἰ καὶ τί θεὸς

τὰ πρῶτα τέσσαρα στοιχεῖα θεὸς εἶναι οὐ δύναται τὰ ὑπὸ ἄλλου γενό- μενα, οὐχ ἡ μίξις, οὐχ ἡ κρᾶσις, οὐχ ἡ γένεσις, οὐ τὸ πᾶν περιέχον ὁρα- τὸν κύτος οὐδὲ ἡ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ συρρέουσα ὑποστάθμη, οὐ τὸ ἐπιπολάζον ὕδωρ, οὐχ ἡ ζέουσα οὐσία, οὐχ ὁ ἐξ αὐτῆς μέχρι τῶν ἐνταῦθα διήκων ἀ»ρ. τά τε γὰρ στοιχεῖα τέσσαρα εἴτε ἀλλήλων διεστάλκει, ἄνευ τινὸς μεγάλου τεχνίτου μιγῆναι πρὸς ζσου γένεσιν οὐκ ἐδύνατο-εἴτε ἀεὶ ἀλλήλοις συνῆπτο, καὶ οὕτως ὑπὸ τεχνίτου νοῦ πρὸς τὸ οἰκεῖον τῶν τοῦ ζσου μελῶν καὶ μερῶν συναρμόζεται, ἵνα τὴν ἑκάστου πρὸς ἕκαστον ἀναλογίαν ἀποσσζειν δύνηται καὶ τὴν ἕξιν εὐπερίγραφον ἔχῃ καὶ τὰ ἔνδοθεν πάντα τὴν προσήκουσαν ἁρμονίαν λαμβάνῃ· ὁμοίως τε καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους τόπους ἑκάστου μετὰ πάσης εὐμορφίας ὁ τεχνίτης νοῦς ἀκριβοῖ. συνελὼν ἐρῶ· καὶ τὰ ἄλλα, ὅσα ποτὲ ζῷον δεῖ ἔχειν, οὐδὲν ἐνέλειπε τῷ μεγάλῳ τούτῳ ζσῳ τῆς ὅλης περιφορᾶς. οὕτως ἀνάγκη τινὰ εἶναι νοῦν ἀγέννητον τεχνίτην, ὃς τὰ στοιχεῖα ἢ διεστῶτα συνήγαγεν ἢ συνόντα ἀλλήλοις πρὸς ζσου γένεσιν τεχνικῶς ἐκέρασεν καὶ ἓν ἐκ πάν των ἔργον ἀπετέλεσεν· ἀδύνατον γὰρ ἄνευ τινὸς νοῦ μείζονος πάνυ σοφὸν ἔργον ἀποτελεῖσθαι. οὐδὲ μὴν ἔρως εἶναι δύναται πάντων τεχνίτης, οὐκ